Hard or soft? When engineering shorelines, it makes a big difference
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Most of us have experienced a river shoreline— from a park, a train, or a boat. When we see where the water meets the land, how many of us have considered how modified shorelines influence river health? [Read more…] about Hard or soft? When engineering shorelines, it makes a big difference
More efficient boilers and new windows have a positive impact on the environment and wallets
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When it comes to making buildings more energy efficient, there are the elaborate steps, like solar panels and green roofs. And there are simpler measures, like updating water boilers and installing controllable thermostats. [Read more…] about More efficient boilers and new windows have a positive impact on the environment and wallets
Our addiction to gas, coal, and other fossil energy is acidifying the ocean
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Earth is called “the blue planet” because oceans cover more than 70% of its surface. Oceans affect weather and temperature and are home to a diversity of marine life.
[Read more…] about Our addiction to gas, coal, and other fossil energy is acidifying the ocean
Cheap, fast meat—is it worth it?
Beef costs consumers about 50% less than it did in the 1970s. While this sounds like good news for those of us that enjoy burgers, these savings come with serious costs to the environment and human health.
Good intentions went awry with this invasive species
Can an ornamental bush displace native plants, degrade wildlife habitat, and alter forest soil? In the case of Japanese Barberry, the answer is yes.
[Read more…] about Good intentions went awry with this invasive species
What do cheese production, sewage treatment, and antibiotics have in common?
Without microbes, none of these things would be possible.
Microbes are single-celled organisms that include bacteria and fungi. Microbes “breathe” and “eat” — except they aren’t restricted to oxygen like us — and their food includes sugars and starches, as well as rocks and chemicals.
Microbes are everywhere and they make up a large part of the environment. A single teaspoon of garden soil can hold more than a billion microbes. Even extreme places, such as Antarctic ice sheets, are home to flourishing microbial communities.
These tiny powerhouses are essential to healthy soils. Through a process called decomposition, microbes break complex organic substances into smaller units that other plants can more readily absorb.
Dr. Amy Burgin is a soil scientist at the University of Nebraska…
“Microbes do a lot of really good things for us – beer, wine, bread, cheese, all kinds of good stuff, in addition to cleaning out water and keeping us healthy,” says Burgin.
Many microbes produce chemicals that compete with and fight off other microbes. We know these mainly as antibiotics. Penicillin, for example, was first extracted from bread molds.
Transgenic crops, such as Bt corn, are another example of how humans have tapped into microbial chemical warfare.
By borrowing genes’ bacterium that produces a toxin poisonous to insects, plant scientists have create created a strain of genetically modified corn that can ward off insects.
While the merits of genetically modified crop remain hotly debated, one thing is certain —we owe a lot to microbes. Without them, plants wouldn’t grow, food would be scarce, and the world would be overflowing with garbage.
Photo, taken on November 12, 2006 using a Nikon D50, courtesy of Mark Thurman via Flickr.
This script was adapted from a column by Amy Burgin that originally ran in the Poughkeepsie Journal. You can access the original article here – http://www.caryinstitute.org/ecofocus_2008-09-14.html.
Old McDonald might soon have a farm inside a skyscraper in midtown Manhattan
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To feed the 8 million people living in New York City, it takes farmland equivalent to the size of Virginia to produce enough food. There is a growing push to build farms right inside major cities. Farms built inside of buildings were first conceptualized more than a decade ago.
[Read more…] about Old McDonald might soon have a farm inside a skyscraper in midtown Manhattan
Few ecosystems on our planet are as mysterious and misunderstood as groundwater
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Despite the fact many of us drink ground water every day, and all of us eat food irrigated by ground water, few people know where it comes from or how to protect it. And because we are misinformed, we don’t always manage this valuable resource wisely.
[Read more…] about Few ecosystems on our planet are as mysterious and misunderstood as groundwater
When it comes to protecting polar bears, a threatened species, our hands are tied
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Polar bears are the largest terrestrial predators on Earth, outweighing lions, tigers, and all other bears. They have to be big to catch their preferred prey — seals and small whales. To do this, the bears prowl the edges of holes in the sea ice, waiting for seals and whales to surface. They pull their meal from the water and eat it on the sea ice.
[Read more…] about When it comes to protecting polar bears, a threatened species, our hands are tied
The next generation of electricity might be powered by wastewater
For most of us, the word “micro-organism” takes us back to high school biology lab. At the time, few of us knew that the bacteria swimming under our microscopes were powerhouses that could be harnessed to create energy. [Read more…] about The next generation of electricity might be powered by wastewater
Domestic cats are an environmental issue
Ecologists talk a lot about invasive species. These are plants and animals that are not native to North America, and cause enormous economic and ecological damage when they establish. Examples include cane toads, kudzu, zebra mussels, and fire ants. [Read more…] about Domestic cats are an environmental issue
When a ship and a whale collide, the whale loses
The U.S. currently has 14 National Marine Sanctuaries; in total they encompass some 150,000 square miles of habitat. These protected areas are like national parks for marine life. Within their waters, giant humpback whales breed and temperate reefs flourish. [Read more…] about When a ship and a whale collide, the whale loses
Strange things are happening at the top of the Earth
The Arctic Ocean, which is normally blanketed in sea ice, is losing more and more of its ice cover. Since satellites began to monitor Arctic in the 1970s, sea ice has been steadily retreating, with ice cover declining by as much as 50%. Adding to the problem, newly formed ice is much thinner, making it prone to melting. [Read more…] about Strange things are happening at the top of the Earth
We humans have an appetite for freshwater
Globally, human demand for freshwater is tremendous. We capture half of the available water flowing to the ocean. Several of the world’s greatest rivers—including the Nile, the Ganges, and the Colorado— are so tapped by human demands that they experience dry periods where they no longer flow to the sea. [Read more…] about We humans have an appetite for freshwater
Is The Air We Breathe Worth Paying For?
Rancorous public debate surrounds the Clean Air Act and whether the EPA should have strict authority to regulate the emission of air pollutants. Opponents call the EPA the “job-killing” agency, since it costs power plants significant money to remove pollutants from the air we breathe. [Read more…] about Is The Air We Breathe Worth Paying For?
More wildlife diseases are making the leap to humans
Research has found that when humans modify the environment, fragmenting habitat and reducing species diversity, we are more likely to contract diseases normally confined to wildlife. [Read more…] about More wildlife diseases are making the leap to humans
In our nation’s quest for non-renewable energy, we’re blowing up mountains!
Some of the most scenic mountain views in our nation are being transformed, with dire consequences for wildlife, freshwater, and humans. Lush forests are being razed, leaving behind what looks like desert mesas from the Southwest, separated by barren streams filled with broken rock. Welcome to mountaintop removal coal mining. [Read more…] about In our nation’s quest for non-renewable energy, we’re blowing up mountains!
What Happened To All The Bats?
About six years ago, biologists in New York State noticed that bats were missing in large numbers from the evening sky. Mystified at first, they soon discovered a disturbing trend. Deceased bats had a strange white fungus on their muzzles. [Read more…] about What Happened To All The Bats?
The Other One Percent
