John J. Spiekerman

Salty soils: a ‘growing' issue for agriculture

When you think of salt, your mind likely wanders to the last bit of food you seasoned. We all know salt improves the taste of food. However, most probably don't recognize its importance in human history or its role in agriculture. It was once lauded for economic value (hence the phrase “worth one's salt”), as

Pluto and beyond: Voyaging into interstellar space

Pluto! Enigmatic, icy, and (at one time) one of the nine planets to grace the solar system we call home. Now labeled a “dwarf planet” after contentious debate in 2006, Pluto sadly wasn't even able to complete one orbit around the sun between its discovery and demotion. Unfortunately for Pluto, size matters in the planet

On thin ice: polar bear conservation in the midst of climate change

Everyone has seen it: a panning video showing thousands of miles of Arctic ice. This is usually followed by that same area now enveloped in water with the obligatory polar bear floating on a miniscule ice float. As polar bears rely heavily on sea ice as protective cover to hunt seals, their main food source,

Biofuel ethics: food versus fuel

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

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