Stronger Plants, Stronger Science, and Stronger Communication
So much for the idea that Oprah would embrace science-based decision making. A few months ago, on my nature networks blog I suggested that we start a movement to lobby Oprah to place a non-fiction science book on her list every few months. The idea was to create a forum in the mass media to…
A story today by Andrew Revkin in the New York Times reveals that for more than a decade the Global Climate Coalition, a group representing industries with profits tied to fossil fuels, led an aggressive lobbying and public relations campaign against the idea that emissions of heat-trapping gases could lead to global warming. “Some environmentalists…
Read More “Scientific Consensus on Climate Change and GE Crops” »
The New York Times Sunday magazine “Green Mind” special featured interviews with two exceptional individuals who are leaders of the modern green movement. Steven Chu is a Nobel-prize winning physicist. Stewart Brand founded one of the most beloved “catalogs” of all time, “The Whole Earth Catalog“. Clearly, these accomplishments reflect their creativity, perseverance and love…
The Obamas have started planting their garden with 55 varieties of vegetables — from a wish list of the kitchen staff — grown from organic seedlings started at the Executive Mansion’s greenhouses. “The Obamas will feed their love of Mexican food with cilantro, tomatillos and hot peppers. Lettuces will include red romaine, green oak leaf,…
For years, journalists, television producers and newspaper reporters that write about genetically engineered crops, have used the term “GMO” (genetically modified organism) to describe these new crop varieties. The marketing industry has taken to writing “GMO-free” on their products, as a way to increase sales to consumers fearful of the genetic engineering process. The problem…
The Open Laboratory 2008, an anthology of the best scienceblogs of 2008, is now for sale. This year’s editor Jennifer Rohn put together a collection of fifty-two selected blog posts showcasing the quality and diversity of science writing on blogs in 2008. You can see the background story on how the book came about, here.
Science based information is critical to Sustainable Agriculture. Agricultural scientists (26) from corn producing states have sent a letter to the EPA criticizing GE seed companies for limiting access to seeds for scientific research. (Pollack, Andrew, NYT, 2/20/09) All of the scientists have been active participants of the Regional Research Projects NCCC-46 “Development, Optimization, and…
Read More “Guest blogger Raoul Adamchak on corporate transparency” »
By the year 2050, the Earth’s population will double. If we continue with current farming practices, vast amounts of wilderness will be lost, millions of birds and billions of insects will die, and the environmental cost will be immeasurable. Clearly, the world needs a better way to meet the demand for increased food production. To…
Here I have posted a time-lapse video (4 months) of a rice field at the International Rice Research Institute. This video, shot by Gene Hettle, shows survival of the submergence tolerance rice, developed by our team, after a 17 day flood. The Sub1 rice yielded about 3 fold more in these field trials. In farmers…
If GE crops are considered safe by most scientists, why not simply label the produce from these crops and let people decide for themselves? Most people like to know what they are eating and make their own choices. I am a label reader. If there is an excess of added sugar or too many ingredients…