Environment

Potato-Ravaging Pests: Science Can Fix That

Around 3,000 farmers work 6,000 hectares in Veracruz, the west coast of Mexico, to grow potatoes (Solanum tuberosum). In recent decades, the fields of the Cofre de Perote area were affected by the presence of the golden nematode of potatoes (Globodera rost ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 14 2014 - 1:15pm

Genetically Modified Wheat, Without The GMO Drama

Researchers have discovered "the most famous wheat gene," a reproductive traffic cop of sorts that can be used to transfer valuable genes from other plants to wheat, which clears the way for wheat varieties with disease- and pest-resistance trai ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 15 2014 - 6:29pm

Drought And Dry Lightning Have Made It A Long California Fire Season

Fires, mudslides and earthquakes are part of California life but residents might be wishing for a few more mudslides right about now. The temperature is nothing special but the worst drought in 20 years and dry lightning have meant an abundance of forest ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 16 2014 - 6:10pm

New Land, Fewer Harvests? The Possible Future Of Global Agriculture

Over half of the Earth's accessible agricultural land is already under cultivation because ecological factors such as climate, soil quality, water supply and topography determined the suitability of land for agriculture when people had to just find t ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 17 2014 - 5:01pm

In A Global Warming Future, Autumn Foliage Will Come Later, Last Longer

There are few things as spectacular as flying into Pennsylvania in the autumn. The myriad vibrant colors in the trees inspire people to take jaunts into the countryside.  That will still happen in the future, it may just come later next century, according ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 19 2014 - 6:27pm

Feeding Africa Could Increase Global Warming- Unless We Embrace Science

It's no secret how Africa can feed itself- grow more food. That sort of naïve statement is fine for environmentalists who were born as part of the  Agricultural 1%, but it falls apart in the real world that exists outside fundraising campaigns. A lar ...

Blog Post - Hank Campbell - Sep 19 2014 - 1:40pm

Khabarovsk Krai On Fire

Khabarovsk Krai, a territory occupying the coastline of the Sea of Okhotsk, is on fire. Dozens of red hotspots, accompanied by plumes of smoke mark active fires. The smoke, which appears mostly white or grey, blows to the east towards the Sea of Okhotsk. ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 22 2014 - 3:00pm

Solar Energy Process Could Make Keystone XL Palatable To Environmentalists

Civil engineering scholars have created a method that uses solar energy to accelerate pond reclamation efforts by industry and that means cleaning up oil sands tailings could be a lot greener. Instead of using UV lamps as a light source to treat oil sands ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 23 2014 - 6:30pm

Colorado's Front Range Wildfires Are Not Special

In our hyperactive media climate, where every incident is proof or not proof of something, it has become common to see claims that wildfires have become worse due to global warming even as American CO2 emissions have dropped. Scientists have put a fire re ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 25 2014 - 7:00am

The Growing Threat To Grassland Is Trees

Mother Nature may be out to kill us but we shouldn't take it personally. She is out to kill everything. We just never noticed in the past.  Today, thanks to long-term science projects, we can see how nature pits species off against each other. And bi ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 25 2014 - 12:01pm