Satellite Images of Farm Land

http://geology.com/nasa/farm-land/

Around the world, agricultural practices have developed as a function of topography, soil type, crop type, annual rainfall, and tradition. These images from NASA’s Terra satellite show differences in field geometry and size in different parts of the world. Each scene presented here covers an area of 10.5 by 12 kilometers. Images and captions by Earth Observatory.

Random hamster

This project proposes to incorporate more meaningfully the life of hamsters, a pet usually kept marginalized in a cage, with the life of the family by making it play a significant role during a card game. Every time the hamster gives a spin in her wheel a random number is generated. This number is then used as a triggering event in the card game. According to certain rules defined in the game the hamster can also win a hand, in this case every participant must give her a peanut. The project leaves open the question either the hamster will learn by conditioning and will eventually alter the dynamic of the game. More information about the game and the whole process followed in this project can be seen in Maria Helena's blog. Programmed using the Arduino microcontroller. Code available here.

Cow farts collected in plastic tank for global warming study

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/2274995/Cow-farts-collected-in-plastic-tank-for-global-warming-study.html

Experts said the slow digestive system of cows makes them a key producer of methane, a potent greenhouse gas that gets far less public attention than carbon dioxide.

In a bid to understand the impact of the wind produced by cows on global warming, scientists collected gas from their stomachs in plastic tanks attached to their backs.

Almost Transformers

http://www.neatorama.com/2008/10/26/almost-transformers/

Amorphous Organic - Alastair Mackie

http://www.uglydoggy.com/2009/01/its-friday-play-chess.html

Gas Mask for dogs

http://www.gasmasks.net/articles/dogmask/dogmask.htm

Nature loss 'dwarfs bank crisis'

The global economy is losing more money from the disappearance of forests than through the current banking crisis, according to an EU-commissioned study.

It puts the annual cost of forest loss at between $2 trillion and $5 trillion.

The figure comes from adding the value of the various services that forests perform, such as providing clean water and absorbing carbon dioxide.

The review that Mr Sukhdev leads, The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (Teeb), was initiated by Germany under its recent EU presidency, with the European Commission providing funding.

"Teeb will do the same for the value of nature, and show the risks we run by not valuing it adequately."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7662565.stm

Some have ethical concerns over the valuing of nature purely in terms of the services it provides humanity; but the counter-argument is that decades of trying to halt biodiversity decline by arguing for the intrinsic worth of nature have not worked, so something different must be tried.

Biodiversity nears 'point of no return'

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8461727.stm

Our ecological footprint - what we take out of the planet - is now 1.3 times the biological capacity of the Earth.

Perverse subsidies and the lack of value attached to the services provided by ecosystems have been factors contributing to their loss. What we cannot cost, we don't value - until it has gone.

Overfishing has reduced blue fin tuna numbers to 18% of what they were in the mid-1970s.

World's biodiversity 'crisis' needs action, says UN

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8449506.stm

With species extinctions running at about 1,000 times the "natural" or "background" rate, some biologists contend that we are in the middle of the Earth's sixth great extinction - the previous five stemming from natural events such as asteroid impacts.

Rubber duck

- my rhino rubber duck!

and an (ok, not too serious) article on the ecology of the rubber duck:

http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/Rubber_duck

Why the pink-footed goose is a CO2 villain

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/jan/20/pink-footed-goose-co2-villain

Could this bird really have a worse carbon footprint than a patio heater?

Pink-footed geese - their numbers, and the amount of carbon they release, are on the increase

What was less well known about the pink-footed goose, until now, is that each bird is responsible for more than 100kg of ­carbon-dioxide emissions each year. The pink-footed goose: the bird with a carbon footprint four times larger than a patio heater.

A new analysis by Speed and his colleagues, published in the journal Polar Biology, calculates that each goose grubs up some 37kg of Arctic carbon each year. That's the equivalent of 136kg of carbon-dioxide emissions per bird, compared with a measly 35kg of CO2 produced by the average patio heater.

Ironically, the number of pink-footed geese, and the amount of carbon they release, is on the increase due to conservation measures in Britain and northern Europe. Changes in farming styles and reduced shooting have also contributed to a three-fold rise in the Svalbard population since the 1960s.

World Health Organisation: Traditional Medicine Factsheet

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs134/en/

Key facts

* In some Asian and African countries, 80% of the population depend on traditional medicine for primary health care.
* Herbal medicines are the most lucrative form of traditional medicine, generating billions of dollars in revenue.
* Traditional medicine can treat various infectious and chronic conditions: new antimalarial drugs were developed from the discovery and isolation of artemisinin from Artemisia annua L., a plant used in China for almost 2000 years.
* Counterfeit, poor quality, or adulterated herbal products in international markets are serious patient safety threats.
* More than 100 countries have regulations for herbal medicines.

Pet Food Politics: The Chihuahua in the Coal Mine

http://fora.tv/2008/08/26/Pet_Food_Politics_The_Chihuahua_in_the_Coal_Mine#Marion_Nestle_on_the_Pet_Food_Industry

Into the twilight years without a backward glance

Jogging may be slowly spreading in the Middle Kingdom, but the phenomenon of walking backwards is already firmly established. It's so popular I've seen it across China, from Hohhot to Beijing to Guangzhou, thousands of kilometers south.

"Over time I've come to learn that Chinese medicine often asks you to work backwards like this. It's when we're dying for escape from the heat of Beijing's infernal summers that we need to drink warm water, one traditional Chinese doctor told me for an article I was researching. It's when we're sick and our bodies are craving comfort that we should inflict more pain through acupuncture's needle pricks or cupping's flaming bruises. "

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/life/2010-01/19/content_9341576.htm

Why a Healthy Liver Equals Healthy Eyes

According to TCM, diseases involving the eye are closely related to a liver imbalance. Whenever studying TCM theory, it is important to recognize that a reference to an organ includes the actual organ, but also incorporates the accompanying meridian and its energy. Thus, disharmony in the actual liver or its associated energetics could be at the root of a visionary decline. Although TCM’s terminology may sound foreign, the connectedness between these two organs has been confirmed repeatedly for thousands of years.

http://www.liversupport.com/wordpress/2010/01/why-a-healthy-liver-equals-healthy-eyes/

Illegal Wildlife Trade Found On The Internet

Illegal wildlife traders are using the Internet to pull in more customers, avoid laws and evade authorities, according to animal rights activists at the Asia for Animals 2010 conference on Sunday.

Referring to a study on the illegal online wildlife trade in 2008, Ge said there continued to be a “huge volume of wildlife and their products traded online on a daily basis.” The research was conducted over a three-month period in 11 countries including the U.S., China and Australia. The study found more than 7,000 online ads selling illegal wildlife products.

70.5 percent of the ad base came from the United States, while Britain and China were only at about 8 percent each, according to the study. Estimated values of the final sales on these websites accounted for more than 457,000 dollars, but the actual figure was likely much higher as most sites did not advertise prices.

http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/1810361/illegal_wildlife_trade_found_on_the_internet/

Cancer Patients Add Traditional Chinese Medicine To Their Western Treatments

A survey done in Hong Kong found that more than half of the cancer patients studied combined Western medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine with the Western treatment they were undergoing (reported in 7th Space Interactive ).

http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977999726&grpId=3659174697248548&nav=Groupspace

Bear tapping: A bile business

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20227061.400-bear-tapping-a-bile-business.html?page=1

Despite its obvious cruelty, bear farming is legal in China. While CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, lists Asiatic black bears at the highest level of endangerment, China grants them only second-level protection, which allows them to be farmed. There are no reliable estimates of the remaining wild population in China, though some have put it as low as 15,000.

‘Dragon’s Blood’ May Fight an Ulcer Bacterium

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/27/health/research/27reme.html?ex=1354424400&en=6d70cc18866006ea&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Researchers have discovered that a plant widely used in traditional Chinese medicine contains compounds that slow the growth of the germ that causes most peptic ulcers

Traditional Treatments Show Promise for HIV, Psoriasis

Traditional Chinese medicine's astragalus root shows promise in HIV treatment, and the plant extract, indigo naturalis, may help calm the skin condition psoriasis.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode.cfm?id=traditional-treatments-show-promise-08-12-09

Traditional Chinese medicine eyes European market

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2010-01/15/content_12816281.htm

LANZHOU, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- A leading pharmaceutical firm that produces traditional Chinese medicine in the northwestern Gansu Province is hoping to make Sweden its gateway to the European Union market after a landmark EU directive on herbal drugs takes effect in 15 months.

Top 100 invasive species

http://conservationinstitute.org/invasivespecies.htm

Expansion of global trade, and increases in human mobility have resulted in unprecedented invasion by nonnative species. These invasive species can produce severe, often irreversible impacts on agriculture, recreation, and our natural resources. Invasive species threaten biodiversity, habitat quality, and ecosystem function. They are the second-most important threat to native species, behind habitat destruction, having contributed to the decline of 42% of U.S. endangered and threatened species. Introduced species also present an ever-increasing threat to food and fiber production. In the United States, the economic costs of non-native species invasions reach billions of dollars each year.

Whether they are called invasive, non-native, alien, exotic, or non-indigenous, introduced species are those that evolved elsewhere and have been purposely or accidentally relocated . While some species have invaded habitats on their own (e.g., migrating wildlife, plants and animals rafting on floating debris), human exploration and colonization have dramatically increased the diversity and scale of invasions by exotic species. Introduced species often find no natural enemies in their new habitat and therefore spread easily and quickly. Invasive species is a problem on land and in the oceans, in deserts, islands, forests, rivers, lakes, farms, almost everywhere.

Red-Eared Sliders: Basic Facts and Health Care

http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/res.html

Most Red-Eared sliders destined for the pet trade are doomed to die a premature death from the day they hatch. The vast majority are sold to unknowledgeable dealers who in turn sell them without adequate care information to equally unknowledgeable purchasers. The Tortoise Trust would like to see it made a legal requirement that all exotic animals can only be sold if accompanied by accurate and adequate information on basic husbandry. Some 3 to 4 million Red-eared sliders are exported from the U.S.A every year. Most originate from intensive farms in Louisiana and Mississippi. The same commercial turtle hunters who supply replacement breeding stock for these farms are also responsible for collecting as many as 25,000 - 30,000 adult animals per week for export to foreign food markets (mainly in the Far East).

Horror in a half-shell

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2007/may/04/animalwelfare.world


"When the park's rangers looked at the culling option they found it cost the same (£25 per animal) to have them humanely put down by a vet as it would to catch them and send them on a permanent holiday to a terrapin sanctuary in Tuscany."

"The sanctuary scheme is run by the British Chelonia Group, which has dispatched 700 terrapins in the past three years to a secure reserve blessed with pools warmed by volcanic rock and Italian sunshine. Freeman says that while the terrapins are surviving in British ponds, many are suffering from a climate and diet that does not really suit them. The City of London Authority, which manages the heath, has also accepted an offer from a sanctuary in Norfolk."

Abandoned Pets: Another Consequence of Foreclosure, Unemployment

http://www.nowpublic.com/world/abandoned-pets-another-consequence-foreclosure-unemployment

In addition to homeless families, abandoned pets are also considered to be one of the unfortunate consequences of the current economic recession. Most of these animals were left behind in properties that were repossessed due to mortgage default while the others were given up because their owners are no longer capable of caring for them due to tight financial circumstances resulting from job loss.

Look out! Abandoned terrapins about

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/look-out-abandoned-terrapins-about-1863903.html

Discarded pet turtles are turning up in urban ponds across the country – with devastating consequences for indigenous wildlife

Such is the scale of the problem that 51 terrapins and turtles, from five different species, were recently removed from a single pond in a north London park after the local authority called in a specialist trapper. Two years ago, a colony of 150 of the creatures was removed from the 25 ponds on Hampstead Heath and re-homed at a sanctuary in Tuscany.

The result is a double headache for conservation groups as they try to control the problem by trapping and removing the unwanted invaders but struggle to find new homes for the captives because of their longevity (some species can live for up to 50 years) and the costs of running a dedicated aquarium. One sanctuary receives unwanted animal at a rate of six a week.

Staffordshire Bull Terrier is most abandoned dog

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2008/06/06/staffordshire-bull-terrier-is-most-abandoned-dog-115875-20596626/

The RSPCA said there were 158 Staffies at its shelters at the start of last month.

It blamed yobs who buy the breed as a status symbol and train them to be aggressive.

German shepherds were the second most unwanted, with 92 in shelters, followed by rottweilers.

RSPCA's Mark Bowles said: "People just kick them out. It's very sad pets are part of out throwaway society."

Chief Constable Richard Brunstom waned of a surge in "fashion accessory" dogs.

Rise in abandoned pets reported by UK animal charities

The number of pets housed at animal shelters or abandoned over Christmas and the new year has risen sharply, according to UK animal charities.

Battersea Dogs and Cats Home said it was unable to cope with numbers of pets arriving and, for the first time, has had to create a waiting list.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8462858.stm


Abandoned pets 'on the rise'

http://news.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/hi/the_p_word/newsid_8016000/8016579.stm

The RSPCA dealt with 11,586 rejected animals last year which equates to an average of 30 animals every day.

The charity says the problem could also be getting worse with another 1,432 animals dumped in the first two months of 2009.

What's more, the number of people who have called the RSPCA because they want to get rid of their pets is up by 52 per cent.

With the increase in workload, the charity also expects to struggle with a reduction in donations as a recession-hit country reigns in its finances.


RSPCA says pets are falling prey to a throwaway society

The number of pets being abandoned by owners in the UK has grown by almost 25 per cent in a year, raising concern that animals are the latest victims of a “throwaway society”.

Figures from the RSPCA, the country’s biggest animal welfare charity, also show that half of the 7,347 animals rescued from the streets last year were cats.

The RSPCA rescued nearly 150,000 animals last year. Farm animal rescues were up by 96 per cent and those of horses and ponies up 66 per cent. This was largely because of the severe flooding that swept the country. For the second year more wild birds were rescued than any other species. The figure was 40,910, down on the 2006 total of 48,221.


http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article3828089.ece

Giant Invasive Snakes Threaten U.S. Wildlife, People

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/10/giant-snakes/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wired%2Findex+%28Wired%3A+Index+3+%28Top+Stories+2%29%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

Individual snakes from all nine species have been found in the United States, but so far only three species — Burmese pythons, boa constrictors and northern African pythons — have established breeding populations in the wild, all currently confined to southern Florida. Based on the snakes’ preferred climate range, potential ecological impact and prevalence in trade and commerce, the report classified five species as high risk and the other four as medium risk to native ecosystems.

Birds as natural squirrel repellant

http://www.examiner.com/x-12669-SF-Living-Green-Examiner~y2010m1d5-Walnut-Creek-uses-birds-as-natural-squirrel-repellant

Beth Slate works with the Agriculture Department in Contra Costa County. She has been a part of the bird luring project, which has included welcome mats and 20 raptor perches near the burrow colonies to attract the carnivorous predators.

Slate says: "We want to encourage the hawks which are a lot more suburban, residential friendly to reduce the squirrel population."

Wildlife resources: a global account of economic use

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=edro0UWcWn0C&lpg=PA155&ots=fGsVjs3VlC&dq=uses%20for%20birds&pg=PA156#v=onepage&q=uses%20for%20birds&f=false

Birds of prey tackle town pests

http://www.thisissurreytoday.co.uk/business/Birds-prey-tackle-town-pests/article-887086-detail/article.html

While some people may choose to put a cat among the pigeons to frighten them off, a Leatherhead company uses their fellow birds instead.

UK meeting aims for new global biodiversity deal

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8464686.stm

According to UN documents prepared following consultations with governments, these could include:

* stopping the rate of biodiversity loss by 2020
* ending subsidies that harm biodiversity
* ending destructive fishing practices
* controlling the unintentional transfer of species from place to place
* placing at least 15% of land and sea area under protection

Mr Djoghlaf also pointed to a lack of awareness and knowledge about the natural world among the public and politicians, citing a study published last September showing that nearly 40% of British children between five and 10 did not know the difference between a bee and a wasp.

"Restoration of our ecosystems must be seen as a sensible and cost-effective investment in this planet's economic survival and growth," writes Mr Benn.

Rare Breeds, Frozen in Time

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/06/dining/06frozen.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Located on a 45-acre estate in Newport, SVF is the only organization in the country dedicated to conserving rare heritage livestock breeds by freezing their semen and embryos

Stewart Brand: Rethinking Green - (extract on the case for ecosystem alteration)

On the subject of bioengineering (direct intervention in climate), Brand suggested that we will have to follow of the example of beneficial "ecosystem engineers" such as earthworms and beavers and tweak our niche (the planet) toward a continuing life-friendly climate, using methods such a cloud-brightening with atomized seawater and recreating what volcanoes do when they pump sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere, cooling the whole world.

http://fora.tv/2009/10/09/Stewart_Brand_Rethinking_Green

Rare pig breed resurrected for ham lovers

http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/60-second-science/post.cfm?id=rare-pig-breed-resurrected-for-ham-2009-06-24

The distinctive Mangalica pig—known as much for its curly hair as for its fatty flesh—was saved so it can be sold and eaten.

At one time, only 198 purebred pigs remained in the world. Farmers preferred other breeds. "The corpulent Mangalica grows very slowly and cannot be kept in closed quarters. It is therefore poorly suited to modern industrial pig farms, and it has been gradually replaced by modern breeds," according to the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity in Florence, Italy.

DEER ANTLER to Nourish Blood, Bone, and Joints

http://www.itmonline.org/arts/antler.htm

TRADITIONAL MEDICINE COMMENTARIES

The book Ten Lectures on the Use of Medicinals from the Personal Experience of Jiao Shude (12) provides these insights:

Lurong (velvet deer antler): Warm in nature and sweet and salty in flavor, lurong supplements kidney yang, strengthens sinew and bone, boosts sinew and marrow, and nourishes the blood. It is used for patterns of vacuity detriment, such a kidney deficiency and cold limbs, soreness of the limbs, dizzy head and blurred vision, seminal emission, and impotence.

Lujiao (ossified deer antler): Salty in flavor and warm in nature, lujiao supplements kidney yang and boosts essence and blood. It is similar in action to, and can substitute for, lurong, but it is less effective.

Lujiaojiao (deer antler gelatin): Sweet in flavor and warm in nature, lujiaojiao warms and supplements the kidney, supplements yang within yin, frees the blood of the thoroughfare vessel (chongmai), engenders essence and blood, and stanches flooding (excessive uterine bleeding)….It is mostly used for flooding and spotting, vaginal discharge, deficiency bleeding, and yin type flat-abscess (lumps that are not red, swollen, hot, or painful).

Comparisons: Lurong is commonly used as a drastic liver-kidney supplementing medicinal. It has greater supplementing power than lujiao. Lujiao, by contrast, has a moderate liver-kidney supplementing effect, but it quickens the blood, dissipates stasis, and disperses swelling and toxin with greater strength than lurong….Used processed or as a glue (lujiaojiao), it tends to warm and supplement the liver and kidney, enrich and nourish essence-blood. Lujiaojiao is similar in action to lurong, but being slower to supplement, it must be taken over a long period of time to be effective. Lujiaoshuang, which is the dregs left after making lujiaojiao, is less warming and supplementing than either lujiao or lujiaojiao. Lujiaoshuang is used for spleen-stomach deficiency cold, low food intake, and sloppy stool, and it is also used as a substitute for lujiao and lujiaojiao, in which case the dosage must be increased.

THE MEDICINAL USE OF SNAKES IN CHINA

http://www.itmonline.org/arts/snakes.htm

China uses snake-based earthquake prediction system

According to China Daily and as reported by Reuters, the earthquake bureau in Nanning, capital of the Guangxi province, has set up a 24-hour video feed to monitor the behavior of snakes at snake farms. The scientists say that snakes are particularly sensitive to vibrations caused by impending earthquakes.

Jiang reportedly said that snakes can sense an earthquake from 120 km (70 miles) away, three to five days before it happens.

http://news.mongabay.com/2006/1228-snakes.html

School uses worms to beat rats

http://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/news/topstories/2367254.lambeth_school_uses_worms_to_beat_rats/

Sick of the pink-tailed rodents coming in to the school to feast on waste in the bins, Dunraven school's facilities manager David Parry decided to drive them out with an army of up to 300,000 wiggling warriors.

Colombia Uses Mine-Detecting Rats in War Zones

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=6de_1177725576

The Colombian army, fighting 3 different guerrilla groups and private armies of drug dealers, are using specially-trained rats to detect mines and will deploy the new warriors in their combat zones next year.

Rat Radar: Rodent Uses Natural "GPS"

Hikers trekking through unfamiliar territory are well advised to carry a compass, if not a GPS unit, to stay on course. Other animals are lucky enough to have complex navigational equipment in-built. New research reveals that Israel's blind mole rat (Spalax ehrenbergi) uses the Earth's magnetic field on long journeys, much like a compass, to continuously monitor and maintain its course.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/01/0129_040129_blindmolerat.html

Can animals live in high-rise blocks?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8079079.stm

Wearable Dog Poop Catching Gizmo

http://craziestgadgets.com/2008/07/31/wearable-dog-poop-catching-gizmo/

Dog Fouling Facts

http://www.keepbritaintidy.org/KeyIssues/DogFouling/KeyFacts/Default.aspx




How big is the problem?

Dog fouling has actually reduced over the last decade.

* Estimates put the UK dog population at 6.5 million (Petfood Manufacturers Association, 2003), producing 1,000 tonnes of faeces every day (Cuthbert Jackson, Dog Warden News, 2002)
* In 2004/05 the average number of complaints to local authorities was 194 per authority (Keep Britain Tidy, Control of Dogs Survey, 2005/06)
* 95% of the British public are worried by the amount of dog fouling in public places (Local Government Association)
* 91% of councils employ a dog warden (Keep Britain Tidy, Control of Dogs Survey, 2005)
* Not only is dog fouling unpleasant, it’s dangerous. You can contract Toxocariasis from dog mess, which can lead to blindness

Local Environmental Quality Survey of England 2007/08

Dog fouling has fallen for the second successive year. It was evident on 6% of sites surveyed. Dog fouling has now fallen by 1% in each of the last two years.

Producing Methane Gas (CH4) + Vermicomposting

http://www.sustainableenergy.eq.edu.au/activity/activity10_1.html

http://home.howstuffworks.com/vermicomposting.htm

What Do Dog Fur and Coffee Grounds Have in Common? Compost Fertilizer

http://ezinearticles.com/?What-Do-Dog-Fur-and-Coffee-Grounds-Have-in-Common?-Compost-Fertilizer&id=2222608

This article will educate you on the best things that should be added to your compost bin as well as what to avoid. The list below includes items that many compost connoisseurs recommend as the best material to create an outstanding fertilizer for your new garden:

* Cow or Horse manure
* Paper towel or Toilet Paper Cardboard rolls
* Coffee grounds
* Used Coffee Filters
* Used Tea bags
* Old Cotton or Wool towels
* Dryer/Vacuum cleaner lint
* Eggshells
* Fireplace ashes
* Fruits and vegetables (Orange or Banana Peels, Apple cores)
* Lawn clippings and Small Branches
* Animal fur
* Straw or hay
* Houseplants
* Tree and Bush Leaves
* Peanut shells
* Shredded newspaper
* Wood chips or Sawdust
* Stagnant Water
* Moss
* Weeds that are not seeding

Britain must grow more sustainable food, says Benn

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/jan/05/uk-farming-2030-food-report

Proposals for national food strategy calls for UK farming 'revolution' in response to climate change and food security

Murmure: Contact - Thermo Sensitive Ink Card

http://yayeveryday.com/post/6568

Biomimicry

Beetle's Shell Offers Clues to Harvesting Water

A beetle that lives in the Namib Desert, one of the hottest places on Earth, survives by using its bumpy shell to draw drinking water from periodic fog-laden winds. Scientists at the British Ministry of Defense are mimicking the shell's architecture to design more efficient water-harvesting techniques.



biomineralization -

http://www.physorg.com/news179137286.html

"Examples of biomineralization are everywhere, she said: the houselike structures that mollusks make, the glassy frameworks of marine sponges, ultra-hard mammalian teeth, and the calcium phosphate skeletons that give human bodies their shape. "

The anti-virus software that's modelled on ants

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/sep/30/anti-virus-software-ants

For most people, the reaction to discovering that your computer has a bug is to throw your hands in the air, swear and call a friend. That might be about to change, now that US researchers have discovered a fresh approach to computer security that takes real-life bugs as its inspiration. Their idea? Hordes of "digital ants" that find and destroy viruses and computer worms on your PC.

Sim Animals

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/feb/02/sim-animals-wii

Icon: Review: Radical Nature (at Barbican)

http://www.iconeye.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4055
"
The kind of will that man has pitted against nature since he learned to stitch together an animal-skin parka. Only now there are billions of us and we have superior firepower. We no longer need protecting from nature, it needs protecting from us."