CABI Blogs: hand picked... and carefully sorted

The face of climate change

Is it a polar bear or…a child in Africa?

(image by Just being myself)

Going Veggie to save the planet – does what you eat really matter to our planet?

According to Lord Stern of Brentford, what we eat does matter and we should be eating less meat or even becoming vegetarians to reduce greenhouse gases emissions and, therefore, stop global warming from increasing and climate change from happening.

International Day of Climate Action – 24 October 2009

“Scientists say that 350ppm CO2 in the atmosphere is the safe limit for humanity.” Read on to find out why.

Climate change – the influence on food security

“When it rains, it does not rain on one roof only”

 
This is a saying from the home village in western Kenya of my friend and colleague Dennis Rangi, CABI’s Executive Director for International Development. He said this in his introduction to the CABI Summit in London which I though was particularly apt as I listened to speakers talk about the impact of climate change on their part of the world. Dennis showed two photographs of Mount Kilimanjaro and described how he remembers growing up looking at the mountain, a powerful symbol of Africa thats snow-cap has receded in a stark reminder of the reality of climate change.
 

How synchrotrons could aid crop protection

Image courtesy of Diamond (www.diamond.ac.uk) 

2003 saw construction begin on a facility representing the UK’s largest investment in science for over 40 years. Diamond Light Source opened in 2007 and is an impressive structure on the South Oxfordshire landscape, 10 miles or so from where I’m sitting in CABI’s head office. It is a synchrotron and without synchrotrons scientists couldn’t have carried out groundbreaking research as diverse as studying the life cycle of the deadly malaria parasite in living red blood cells or following the crystallisation of pure cocoa butter to find out the optimum conditions for chocolate manufacture¹. Last week saw the 100^th structure to be identified by Diamond².

Barack Obama is deeply committed to passing a climate bill this year

An article in yesterday’s New York Times online reported that the Obama administration announced on Wednesday (30/09/09) that they’re moving forward on new rules to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from hundreds of power plants and large industrial facilities, rather than waiting for Congress to act. Read on to find out how far reaching the new rules will be.

Is it a bug’s life?

Avid followers of …handpicked and carefully sorted…. will recall my previous blog on bees and the debate on whether neonicotinoid insecticides should be banned or not. Well, unsurprisingly, the debate continues. A media release from the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) on 11 September called for an “independent and comprehensive assessment of the impact of neonicotinoids”. This is in response to a call from Buglife for the suspension on the use of these chemicals.

Bacteria-based biofuel: as long as there’s sunshine

Carbon-neutral because, like plants, bacteria use carbon dioxide for growth. Read on to find out more about this promising new biofuel source.

Seal the Deal! Hollywood joins the campaign to combat climate change

Climate change is here and threatens us all; say Hollywood actors, film directors, environmentalists and politicians in a new UN public service announcement series, launched this week, urging viewers to sign the Climate Petition on the Seal the Deal!

Falling deforestation rates in the Brazilian Amazon

Things are looking up for the future of the Amazon. A number of positive news stories have appeared in the last month including decreased deforestation rates, regeneration of previously deforested land, new land reform legislation and progress with action on cattle ranching. Here’s a summary – follow the links for more information and sources.

Falling deforestation rates
Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon is likely to fall between 8,500 km² and 9,000 km² for the 12 months ended 31 July 2009, a reduction of 29-37% from last year, despite July's jump in logging, reports Brazil's Environment Minister Carlos Minc.

Minc’s estimates are based on a preliminary report by Brazil's National Institute of Space Studies (INPE) which showed a 46% reduction in deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon for the year ended in July. Although Minc would have us believe that 90% of this reduction is due to increased enforcement effort, experts say falling commodity prices resulting from the global economic crisis was also a factor - deforestation has in the past increased when demand for soya beans, beef and timber have gone up.