One of the world’s oldest scientific societies has weighed in on one of the planet’s most vexing future challenges: How to support a growing human population without undermining ecological and economic systems. The Royal Society in the United Kingdom unveiled its first major report on population issues, which includes eight recommendations for policy action and…
The Obama administration announced a broad plan to foster development of the nation’s “bioeconomy,” including the use of renewable resources and biological manufacturing methods. The National Bioeconomy Blueprint, as the plan is called, discusses a variety of measures and strategies to spur research and development of medical treatments, crops, biofuels and biological manufacturing processes that…
Earth’s glaciers are seriously out of balance with the global climate and are already on their way to losing almost 40% of their volume. That is the assessment of scientists after studying a representative group of 144 small and large glaciers around the world. Their figures assume no further warming of the climate. However, if…
There’s far more little bits of plastic in the ocean than previous studies have indicated, according to new research. While armadas of plastic ducks might make the headlines, it’s tiny pieces that cause most concern to environmentalists. Fish are believed to suffer liver damage from ingesting plastic, for example, and there’s evidence it can even…
A fire-free farming method practiced by early inhabitants of the Amazonian savannahs could help inform efforts to conserve and rehabilitate these important ecosystems around the world, a study has found. The research provides greater historic context for findings presented at a conference in January, which suggested that slash-and-burn — in which trees are felled, left…
Generating wind energy is more than twice as cheap as solar photovoltaic energy production, a study of alternative energy in six developing countries has found. The findings, published in Nature Climate Change, could help inform global debates on financing initiatives aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions in developing countries. The authors note that differentiating technologies…
Scientists say the notoriously dry continent of Africa is sitting on a vast reservoir of groundwater. They argue that the total volume of water in aquifers underground is 100 times the amount found on the surface. The team have produced the most detailed map yet of the scale and potential of this hidden resource. Writing…
Big science is in competition for government funds, not only with manned space flight, and with various programs of real science, but also with many other things that we need government to do. We had better not try to defend science by attacking spending on these other needs. We would lose, and would deserve to…
The impact of climate change on corn-price volatility outweighs movements caused by energy market policies and oil prices, according to research published in the journal Nature Climate Change. “U.S. corn-price volatility exhibits higher sensitivity to near-term climate change than to energy policy influences or agriculture-energy market integration,” researchers Noah S. Diffenbaugh, Thomas W. Hertel, Martin…
A new company backed by two Google Inc. billionaires, film director James Cameron and other space exploration proponents is aiming high in the hunt for natural resources—with mining asteroids the possible target. The venture, called Planetary Resources Inc., revealed little in a recent press release except to say that it would “overlay two critical sectors—space…