An unbalance in nutrients threatens plant biodiversity

An unnatural balance of nutrients threatens biodiversity in a survival of the fittest scenario, according to the results of a world-first global experiment published in the prestigious Nature journal. Professor Jennifer Firn, from QUT’s Science and Engineering Faculty, is part of a global network of researchers who have tested the impact increased nutrient levels is having on grasslands across six continents. The …

Dr. Glen Barry – On Ecology And Going Back To The Land

Not much new land is being made, yet land’s well-being is central to the well-being of human and all life. On land, in a miraculous act of biological emergence, plants and animals have naturally evolved and self-organized to form ecosystems and ultimately the biosphere. Yet existing land and its ecology have been treated incautiously and with great malice for centuries. …

Can urban gardeners benefit ecosystems while keeping food traditions alive?

When conjuring up an image of a healthy ecosystem, few of us would think of a modern city. But scientists are increasingly recognizing that the majority of ecosystems are now influenced by humans, and even home gardens in urban landscapes can contribute important ecosystem services. “Ecosystem services are the benefits that ecosystems provide to humans. In a natural ecosystem, these …

Paul Ehrlich – How Humans Cause Mass Extinctions

STANFORD – There is no doubt that Earth is undergoing the sixth mass extinction in its history – the first since the cataclysm that wiped out the dinosaurs some 65 million years ago. According to one recent study, species are going extinct between ten and several thousand times faster than they did during stable periods in the planet’s history, and …

Why Synthetic Vitamins Should Be Avoided Whenever Possible – Robert Harrington

Also known as retinal palmitate and retinol palmitate, vitamin A palmitate is one of the most commonly found of all the synthetic vitamin isolates. Virtually all the homogenized milk that children have drank for decades has been fortified with the additive vitamin A palmitate. “The Environmental Working Group (EWG) and New York Senator Chuck Schumer have called attention to the fact that high …