Monthly Archives: May 2009

Shellfish reefs are ‘most imperilled sea habitat’

Globally, 85 per cent of reefs have been lost. Destructive fishing practices, disease and coastal development threaten many of the survivors. What sounds like an apocalyptic vision of the future for the world’s tropical corals is in fact a chilling … Continue reading

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Owls replace pesticides in Israel

Many farmers are installing nest boxes to encourage the birds, which hunt the crop-damaging rodents. In Israel, where there is a drive to reduce the use of toxic chemical pesticides, this has been turned into a government-funded national programme. Scientists … Continue reading

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And Now Plastic will Grow On Trees

In a Giant step towards sustainable ecosystem growth , researchers hope to turn plants into a renewable, nonpolluting replacement for crude oil. To achieve this, scientists have to learn how to convert plant biomass into a building block for plastics … Continue reading

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In Chile, the birds are dying, and no one knows why

Chilean scientists are investigating three mysterious ecological disasters that have caused the deaths of hundreds of penguins, millions of sardines and about 2,000 baby flamingos in the past few months. The events started to unfold in March, when the remains … Continue reading

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