TOP 100 CAMPING SITES
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| Endangered Indian python targets equally endangered Chinese deer In China's Datian Nature Reserve, an endangered subspecies of Eld's deer (Cervus eldi hainanus) and an equally endangered subspecies of Indian python (Python melurus Schlegel) are supposed to live in symbiotic harmony.It seems that's no longer the case, according to the Xinhua News Agency. [More] rss.sciam.com |
Floral Footprint: The Real Price of Flowers “Roses are red….” They are also fragile and almost always flown to the U.S. from warmer climes in South America. In Europe, roses are most often imported from Africa. On either continent the flowers are hauled in temperature-controlled trucks and locked up overnight in cold boxes before their final journey to the local florist. According to Flowerpetal.com, which tries to limit the environmental impact of floral purchases, supplying the 100 million roses ordered for a typical Valentine’s Day produces 9,900 tons of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions. So what’s a lovesick but “green” beau to do?First, don’t assume that imported roses are more environmentally hostile than domestic ones. A 2007 study from Cranfield University in England found that raising 12,000 Kenyan roses resulted in 13,200 pounds of CO 2 ; the equivalent number grown in a Dutch hothouse accounted for 77,160 pounds. (Both examples included energy used in production and delivery to European airports by airplane or truck.) Roses from the Netherlands required artificial light, heat and cooling over the eight- to 12-week growing cycle, whereas Africa’s strong sun provided much of what was needed. [More] rss.sciam.com |
Bat Killer: White Nose Syndrome [Video] Since it was first observed in New York in 2006, a bat-killing infection known as white nose syndrome has spread across the Eastern Seaboard. More than a million bats of six different species have perished so far and infected caverns continue to be discovered. That's bad news since the fungus kills at least 90 percent of the bats it infects. [More] rss.sciam.com |
First light! Panels start producing power, but paperwork drags on Editor's Note: Scientific American 's George Musser will be chronicling his experiences installing solar panels in Solar at Home (formerly 60-Second Solar). Read his introduction here and see all posts here . What a beautiful Indian summer day to inaugurate our solar panels. The electrician finished wiring up the inverter on Saturday and flipped the switch, and I spent much of yesterday running to the basement and checking the inverter readout to confirm that the sun was indeed powering our house. The system isn’t hooked up to the grid yet, but at least we're offsetting some of our domestic power consumption. [More] rss.sciam.com |
Genetically Modified Tobacco Could Smoke Other Crops as Energy Source Tobacco plants produce abundant biomass in more than 100 countries and could -- with certain genetic modifications -- be used to produce abundant biofuels, researchers say.Researchers at the Biotechnology Foundation Laboratories of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, have successfully tested genetic manipulations to increase oil accumulation in the leaves of tobacco plants, according to a paper published online in Plant Biotechnology Journal . [More] rss.sciam.com |