Tag: Biodiversity
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15 Indigenous Vegetables that are Nutritious and Delicious
The incredible variety of the planet’s plant life is disappearing. The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reports that approximately 75 percent of the Earth’s plant genetic resources are now extinct. Another third of plant biodiversity is expected to disappear by 2050. Unfortunately, most investment in agriculture is for crops such as wheat, rice, and maize,…
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Amazon Deforestation Increases 28 Percent in One Year
By Daniela Montalto Last week, the Brazilian government released annual figures for deforestation in the Amazon and the news is not good. A total of 5,843 square kilometres are estimated lost between August 2012 and July 2013, an increase in deforestation of 28 percent compared to the previous year. [caption id="attachment_312504" align="alignnone" width="500"] Last year’s…
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U.S. Destroys Confiscated Ivory, Sends Message that Elephant Poaching, Wildlife Trafficking Must be Crushed
The U.S. yesterday destroyed its six-ton stock of confiscated elephant ivory, sending a clear message that the nation will not tolerate wildlife crime that threatens to wipe out the African elephant and a host of other species around the globe. The destruction of this ivory, which took place at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Wildlife…
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Plastic Debris in Oceans Spawns ‘Plastisphere’ of Microbes
The plastic debris that litters the world’s oceans has developed its own unique and diverse microbial ecosystem, researchers report. [caption id="attachment_311995" align="alignnone" width="500"] Members of the rich microbial ecosystem living on plastic debris in scanning electron microscope images: a) a diatom and bacterial filaments; b) filamentous cyanobacteria; c) a predatory ciliate in foreground covered with…
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Pesticide Companies Sue EU Commission for Protecting Pollinators
On Nov. 6 BASF, a German agrochemical company, took legal action in the General Court of the European Union (EU) to challenge the EU Commission’s decision to restrict seed treatment uses of the insecticide fipronil. BASF joins chemical companies Bayer and Syngenta in challenging the EU’s decision to restrict the use of certain pesticides that…