Love in the key of fermentation This was written during February, the month with Valentine’s Day, which leads our thoughts to yeasts. Okay well, love. But love can lead to sex, and that leads to reproduction. Yeasts may not know about love, but they do know reproduction. So do we humans: our population here onContinue reading “As we gallop toward 7 billion people, what can yeast teach us about population?”
Category Archives: environment
Trees ain’t thermometers
I used to work on Mountain Home State Forest in the southern Sierra. MHSF has about 3000 specimen-sized sequoia within its boundaries. Dendrochronolgists often visited to see the stumps from logging in the mid to late 1800s. These were often over 2000 years old when they had been cut. The Dendrochronolgists were interested in theContinue reading “Trees ain’t thermometers”
Mark Bittman asks, “What Do You Think About Genetically Engineered Food?”
Mark Bittman is asking, “What Do You Think About Genetically Engineered Food?” Specifically, he wants you to answer four questions for a non-scientific poll: 1. Does it bother you that there are genetically engineered ingredients in most of the foods sold in American supermarkets? 2. Do you want the products that contain genetically engineered ingredientsContinue reading “Mark Bittman asks, “What Do You Think About Genetically Engineered Food?””
A warmer and wetter world
I found a link the other day to a government website with global mean precipitation data from 1900 to 2000. Of course, I can’t find the link now (please comment if you have the link, but first see the note at the end of the post). Anyway, I put the numbers into an Excel spreadsheetContinue reading “A warmer and wetter world”
Plants moving to lower and warmer elevations in a warming world
A news release out of the University of California at Davis says, “study shows plants moved downhill, not up, in warming world.” In a paper published last month in the journal Science, a UC Davis researcher and his co-authors challenge a widely held assumption that plants will move uphill in response to warmer temperatures. ItContinue reading “Plants moving to lower and warmer elevations in a warming world”
Sunday funny
I wrote recently that Mick Hume over at Spiked-online had a thoughtful post on the “shocking” revelations that a British undercover cop, Police Constable (PC) Mark Kennedy has gone native and offered to give evidence for the defense. Now Josh at Cartoons by Josh has added humor. He worries “it might not play on theContinue reading “Sunday funny”
Undercover cop goes native
Mick Hume over at Spiked-online has a thoughtful post on the “shocking” revelations that a British undercover cop, Police Constable (PC) Mark Kennedy has gone native and offered to give evidence for the defense. Which aspect are we supposed to be most shocked by? The fact that the police are so paranoid they have spentContinue reading “Undercover cop goes native”
Can anything go right this year?
Haiti still reels from its earthquake from one year ago, Darfur and Somalia fester, the Korean peninsula appears to be close to war, unemployment near 10% has become endemic. Problems, crises, tragedies. Can 2011 be anything but a repeat of 2010? Over at the Rational Optimist Blog, Matt Ridley reminds us of the accomplishments ofContinue reading “Can anything go right this year?”
Predictions from 40 years ago
Take a look at this Life magazine article from January 30, 1970. How many of the environmental predictions came close? Apologies for any typos…it’s hard to see the screen with my gas mask on. I believed the first prediction, “In a decade, urban dwellers will have to wear gas masks to survive air pollution.” CanContinue reading “Predictions from 40 years ago”
Should the FDA require DHMO to be listed on food labels?
Dihydrogen monoxide (DHMO) is used in the production of genetically modified crops. It is also used as a food additive and preservative. Every year people die from accidents involving DHMO, including DHMO poisoning. Some have died from as little as one drop. Additionally, the burning of hydrocarbons (e.g., wood and fossil fuels) releases DHMOContinue reading “Should the FDA require DHMO to be listed on food labels?”