Despite the overwhelming scientific evidence (see previous ASO blogs on the subject, like the ones found here and here), climate change is still regularly denied by a rather large proportion of the U.S. population. Much of this denial may be traced back to certain groups and interests that benefit from the government and other players
We need to do more, faster. The food crisis is permanently harming millions of children. They need our help. This is about even more than alleviating human suffering; it is about global peace and stability. –Ban-Ki Moon, UN Secretary General, 2009 Globally, we are food insecure. Rampant food waste, coupled with climate change and unrestricted
Water holds the key to sustainable development. We need it for health, food security, and economic progress. Yet, each year brings new pressures. — Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary-General, 2013 The distribution and availability of water are defining features of life. As populations increase and global temperatures rise due to human-induced climate change, we will see
We cannot talk about streams without first discussing a very important concept: the watershed [1]. A watershed, or drainage basin, is an area between ridges where precipitation collects in creeks and streams, eventually coalescing to form rivers. The way precipitation moves across land is analogous to the way water from a faucet pools in the
Anyone that has seen Alfred Hitchcock's “The Birds†should have a healthy fear of crows. Even to someone who has never enjoyed the glorious spectacle of crows pecking people's eyes out in black and white, crows are unsettling. They are a large menacing black bird with a blood-curdling caw; add the fact that a group
by Uma Nagendra, Athens Science CafeÌ Ah, summer in the American South: the air is abuzz with cicadas, air conditioning, and aerosol bugspray. For many, it's a season equally beloved and reviled. Everyone seems to have their favorite griping point: the relentless humidity, the constant threat of mosquitoes, or my personal nemesis—poison ivy. Although poison
Written and Illustrated by Uma Nagendra Uma Nagendra is a PhD Candidate at the University of Georgia and became interested in studying natural disasters since Hurricane Katrina hit her hometown of New Orleans. She enjoys finding creative ways to demonstrate complicated ecological concepts—preferably if it involves running around outside or drawing pictures. When not crawling over downed
Links: Sunflower Domestication, Corn Domestication, Wayne Parrott’s GMO Talk, Scientific Article 1, Scientific Article GMO and Crop Domestication, Scientific Article 3 (paywall),UN Food and Agriculture Organization Book Chapter, Nonfiction book partially covering this topic Rishi R. Masalia is a Ph.D graduate student in the Department of Plant Biology at the University of Georgia studying the
Is it right to allocate a portion of our food crops for producing fuel? What the problem really boils down to is energy. In the past decade or so, worldwide biodiesel and bioethanol production have increased fivefold. Worryingly the vast majority of that biofuel originated from ethanol was obtained from corn in the US. This
If you drive longer than five miles in the South, you'll undoubtedly see an abandoned lot covered in kudzu. Up until the 1950s, farmers transplanted the fast-growing vine from Asia to the U.S. to stop soil erosion along roads. Individual kudzu vines can grow more than 100 feet per growing season, easily spreading over the
Link 1, Link 2, Link 3
I will attempt to graze over a topic ubiquitous in the southeast: invasive plants. With over 5,000 nonnative plant species in the U.S., you could say that this is no small problem, whether it is in our hands or not. You may ask yourself: Why should I care about the spread of some obnoxious, ugly
