Campus_Community_Centre: Heide's Blog

The Browning of the Green Revolution

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 13:09:41 EST

Source - By: Mulvaney, Khan & Ellsworth
World population has doubled in half a century since the onset of the Green Revolution that tripled global cereal production with high-yielding varieties and escalating inputs of synthetic nitrogen. Under this strategy, annual sales have increased from 13 to more than 110 million tons of nitrogen, applied largely in ammoniacal fertilizers produced by the energy-expensive Haber-Bosch process. Today’s intensive use of nitrogen fertilizers, besides supplying the most important plant nutrient for achieving high yields, is generally believed to build soil organic matter by increasing the input of residue carbon as well as supplying nitrogen, itself a key constituent. After several decades of high-input agriculture, the benefits should be readily apparent from long-term cropping experiments specifically directed toward documenting changes over time in crop yield and soil properties for sites with detailed management records.

Popular Nanoparticle Causes Toxicity in Fish, Study Shows

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 23:04:41 EST

Source - A nanoparticle growing in popularity as a bactericidal agent has been shown to be toxic to fish, according to a Purdue University study. Nanosilver suspended in solution proved toxic and even lethal to minnows. When the nanosilver was allowed to settle, the solution became several times less toxic but still caused malformations in the minnows.

Food Sovereignty: something’s moving in Europe

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 12:31:02 EST

Source - By Esther Vivas
The growing impossibility of a dignified livelihood in the European countryside has provoked a widespread and active social response on the part of Europeans unwilling to sacrifice their society and environment to corporate greed. Farmers’ unions, environmental organizations, consumers’ groups, fair trade organizations, and economic solidarity networks, among many others, have begun to work throughout Europe to denounce the impact of the EU’s agricultural policies and call for alternatives.

GM potato cleared for EU farming

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 11:59:21 EST

Source - The European Commission has cleared the way for a genetically modified potato to be grown in the EU - only the second GM product it has allowed. The starch of the Amflora potato can be utilised for industrial uses like making paper, and for animal feed - but not for human consumption.

Human gut microbes hold 'second genome'

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 11:55:17 EST

Source - By Doreen Walton
The human gut holds microbes containing millions of genes, say scientists. In fact, there are more genes in the flora in the intestinal system than the rest of our bodies. So many that they are being dubbed our "second genome".