Maize farmers turning to sorghum in Swaziland and to cassava in Kenya. Is it climate change beginning to bite?
Water, water everywhere
A couple of fun stories about the historical dimension of the exploitation of aquatic biodiversity from Britain’s Daily Mail this morning. First, how Google Earth revealed a thousand-year-old fish trap off the coast of Wales. And second, how the reintroduction of the beaver, absent since it was hunted to extinction in the 16th century, could reduce water bills.
Ghanaian women not ready for biofuels
“Destruction of economic trees such as shea-nut and dawadawa trees actually deny community members, especially women their source of livelihood. It also restricts the hitherto extensive traditional rearing of animals in the affected communities.”
Bad news alert, from AllAfrica.com.
Nibbles: Beer, Alice Walters, Soils, Coconuts
- Cassava beer: what’s not to like?
- A food guru speaks. We listen.
- “By 2020, 30% of the world’s arable land may be salinated.”
- A coconut renaissance in India?
Featured: Seed longevity
Jeremy explains Luigi’s overly telegraphic post on seed longevity:
Laconic, possibly to a fault. The point being that Olivia Judson’s normally impeccable science-writing has failed her this once, but comments there are closed, so Luigi is taking the opportunity to set her straight here. If she notices …