Ecology
‘Extinction Crisis’ Threatening Global Food Supply, UN Report Warns
A drop in global biodiversity is putting our ability to produce food at risk, a new United Nations report warns. According to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, biodiversity in food and agriculture “is indispensable to food security and sustainable…
Cuba’s Tobacco Growers Confront Climate Change
Looking at the plain, one-story wooden shacks that dot the countryside in Cuba’s vuelta abajo region, one would never guess that the farmers here grow one of the island’s most valuable natural resources: cigar tobacco. Though Cuban cigars are famous…
Saving the Environment One Hair Wash at a Time
In the ongoing dialogue surrounding water consumption and saving water, the length of your shower, how you water your yard and even your toothbrush usage probably come up. But there is another water-thirsty activity that should be added to the…
Scientists Have an Inkling Squids Could Help Cut Plastic Pollution
A recently-discovered squid protein could be used to stop microplastic fibres leaking into the environment. A review published in Frontiers in Chemistry, conducted by scientists at Penn State University in US, suggests material found in the ringed teeth of a…
Tourists Are Trashing the World’s Tallest Mountain, So China Has Banned Them From Its Base Camp
China has closed its Everest base camp to tourists because of a buildup of trash on the world’s tallest mountain. The move comes as the Tibet Autonomous Region Sports Bureau said it had collected 8.4 metric tons (approximately 9.3 U.S.…
First Mammal Species Recognized as Extinct Due to Climate Change
A small rodent that lived only on a single island off Australia is likely the world’s first mammal to become a casualty of climate change, scientists reported in June 2016. The government of Australia has now officially recognized the Bramble…
We Are Eating Large Wild Animals into Extinction
Much of the planet’s megafauna is being driven extinct because of the usual causes: habitat loss and rampant poaching for body parts like horns, bones and tusks. But there is another reason large vertebrates are going extinct: people keep on…