Predicting the forest of the future
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Archive for the ‘Wildlife and Habitat’ Category
Jun10
Jun04
Another reason to be ticked off
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
It’s time to add another tongue-tying illness to the list of maladies carried by ticks. Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne illness in the U. S., with more than 30,000 people infected annually. Ticks that carry Lyme can also spread anaplasmosis and babesiosis. And now they have been tied to Borrelia miyamotoi, a pathogen characterized by relapsing fevers. (more…)
May31
Fuel from reeds
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Almost any kind of plant material can be used as a feedstock to make ethanol. To date, most ethanol comes from sugar- and starch-based feedstocks because processing is relatively cheap and easy. Unfortunately, it also means producing fuel from crops that are ordinarily used for food, such as corn. (more…)
May27
The European Commission takes a stand for bees
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Wild and managed pollinators are on the decline. Locally, this means less successful gardens. The big picture is even more sobering. Dwindling numbers of honeybees, bumblebees, and other pollinating insects threaten our food security. About 1/3 of important food crops require pollinator services. (more…)
May23
Mind the gap
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
The structure of a tree is a remarkable engineering feat. Why don’t trees fall over more often? When tree crowns catch the full force of the wind, their trunks acts as a lever, transferring that force to root systems that anchor the tree in the soil. If the tree has a tap root, it’s unlikely to blow over in a wind-storm. (more…)
Environmental News
- "Hazardous" air, murky skies in Singapore from Indonesian fires June 20, 2013
- Storm Barry heads for Mexico Gulf coast oil installations June 20, 2013
- New indictments for ex-BP executive, engineer over Gulf spill June 20, 2013
- Arizona wildfire threatens hundreds of homes, California blaze wanes June 19, 2013
- Storm Barry heads for Mexico Gulf coast oil installations June 19, 2013
