14-Year-Old Mobilizes Kids Around the World for Change
U.S. Could Produce 12 Times its Energy Needs with Wind Power
A recent study from the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) suggests that the continental U.S. has the potential to produce 37 million gigawatt-hours of electricity from wind power each year. That’s a huge leap from the 52,026 gigawatt-hours we used in 2008.
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Octavia Butler’s Prescient “Parable of the Sower”
This is a letter that I wrote to my local Bayview librarian to promote Octavia E. Butler’s Parable of the Sower as a book that our entire city reads together:
Dear Linda Brooks Burton,
I wish to recommend Octavia Butler’s brilliant Parable of the Sower as a selection for San Francisco’s “One City One Book” project. Butler’s prescient fictional tale, set in the urban dystopia of a permanently drought-stricken California in the year 2024, reflects many of the pressing issues that face our city and community. She deftly weaves topics concerning water scarcity, local food production, books, race, religion, politics, poverty and sustainability into her gripping story, and depicts a dysfunctional world not all that different from our own.
Climate Change Sets Rural Livelihoods Off Course in Zimbabwe
At a public borehole in Zviyambe, a village in the backyard of Zimbabwe, approximately 250 kilometres away from Harare, the capital city, butterflies, goats, cattle and human beings mix and mingle in edenic fashion all in search of the precious liquid: water. Under a blazing sun, Sekai Mabika (not her real name) and her sister take turns to fill up buckets with water all the while shooing the goats away while the butterflies flutter hither and thither sipping at the water spilled to the ground and the cattle standby for their turn to drink water. Read the rest of this entry »
Obsessed with the Magic of Chickens
I met several lovely chickens yesterday when I was in Oakland, and I am now quite smitten. They are truly engrossing creatures to observe; the animal’s social behavior is very complex, their vocalizations are both soothing and fascinating, to say nothing of the delicious fresh eggs they provide. More and more urban chickens are being raised in cities, as increasing numbers of people are growing their own food and trying to create a more locally-based, sustainable and self-sufficient food supply.
Los Angeles May Now Require Rainwater Harvesting
Los Angeles has proposed a new water management law that would require rainwater harvesting on all new homes, large developments, as well as on some redevelopment projects. The Department of Public Works unanimously approved the new ordinance in January for the increasingly parched region. It requires various methods to capture, reuse or infiltrate all of the rainwater runoff that is generated by a 3/4 inch rainstorm.
These rain barrels have been made from recycled cherry containers.
Common but Lethal Soil Fungus Becoming Resistant to Antifungals
Aspergillus fumigatus – a common but sometimes lethal soil fungus
Aspergillus fumigatus is a fungus found commonly in ordinary garden soil. When the spores of the fungus are inhaled, It can also cause disease–sometimes fatally in those with already compromised immune systems and respiratory disease such as COPD. Doctors who treat the illness have long-recognized that in some patients, the fungus is resistant to standard treatment with chemicals called azoles. The problem becomes potentially worse as azoles are also heavily used as farm fungicides. A team of Dutch researchers (Verweij and Kema), reporting in last December’s edition of the medical journal The Lancet Infectious Diseases suggest that over-use of the farm fungicide may be contributing to the growing resistance of this fungus to the disease-fighting chemicals.
On the Brink of Extinction: Call to Close Cruel and Inhumane Tiger Farms
Published on January 28th, 2010
Officials from 13 nations are meeting to discuss conservation efforts to save the endangered tiger. Officials from countries where tigers still roam – Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia, Thailand and Vietnam - are taking part in the Asia Ministerial Conference (AMC) on Tiger Conservation. The conference runs from January 27 to January 30, 2010, in Thailand. Read the rest of this entry »
Origin of Tasmanian Devil Cancer Uncovered
Male Tasmanian Devil
A relatively rare form of transmissible cancer–known as Devil Facial Tumor Disease (DFTD)–has been decimating Tasmanian Devil (Sarcophilus harisii) populations in Northeast Tasmania over the past thirteen or more years. First identified in 1996, the cancer has become so pervasive that the animal–the world’s largest carnivorous marsupial–has now become one of the world’s most endangered species.
UK plans to reintroduce insects into environment: should humans be running interference?
It’s a long-standing debate; just how much of a role should humans be playing when it comes to the environment and their influence on the natural order of things with regards to ecosystems and the animal kingdom. There is even more controversy when humans choose to be involved to rectify species decline that have occurred as part of nature and not as a direct result of human impact. A new situation in the UK brings this debate to light. Read the rest of this entry »
