globalbriefs
Johnny Appletree One Life Yields Two Forests
Jadav “Molai” Payeng spent 30 years single-handedly planting a 1,360-acre forest in his native India. The ex- traordinary, yet humble, eco-conscious farmer stands as a shining example of what one person can accomplish to make the world a better place. Now he is planning on devoting his next 30 years to planting another forest.
Payeng makes a living in the forest he planted, rearing cows and selling milk in the nearest town with his wife and three children. He says, “I feel sad when I see people felling trees. We have to save the nature, or else we all will perish.” In 1979, when Payeng was 16, he began planting vegetation to transform the landscape after seeing wildlife perish from exposure along a barren sandbar near his home in northern India’s Assam region. Decades later, the lush ecosystem he created is now a safe haven for a variety of large and small species that include birds, deer, rhinos, tigers and elephants impacted by extensive habitat loss.
Source:
Treehugger.com
Hands Off Protecting a Natural Laboratory
The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) is working to preserve a tract known as the Experi- mental Lakes Area (ELA), a world-renowned freshwater research facility in Northwestern Ontario that takes research out of the lab and into the environment, where scientists can isolate the effects of specific pollutants on aquatic ecosystems.
Over the past four decades, research conducted at the ELA has provided sci- entific evidence of the environmental effects of acid rain, phosphorous and other pollutants that has informed policy around the world. With new pressures like climate change and poorly understood emerging contaminants such as chromite, nanoparticles and endocrine disrupters, the logic for continued support is strong. IISD President and CEO Scott Vaughan emphasizes the mission is to be an
independent, world-class research facility for freshwater ecosystems science, maintained “in the public domain and in the public interest.”
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Nanocellulose, a material derived from tree fiber and some grain stalks, could now potentially be sourced from blue-green algae in sufficient quantities to cost- efficiently create ultra-thin media displays, lightweight body armor, a one-pound boat that carries up to 1,000 pounds of cargo, and a wide range of other products. R. Malcolm Brown, Jr., Ph.D., a biology profes- sor at the University of Texas at Austin, presented his team’s findings at an American Chemical Society conference as a major step toward “one of the most important discover- ies in plant biology.” Brown’s method uses genes from the family of bacteria that pro- duces vinegar and secretes nanocel- lulose. The genetically altered algae, known as cyanobacteria, are entirely self-sustaining. They produce their own food from sunlight and water and absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, offering a natural way to reduce this major greenhouse gas.
Brown says bacterial nanocel- lulose can be used to create ballistic glass, aerospace materials or even wound dressings, because it retains its stiffness and strength even when submerged in liquid. Its most obvi- ous application would be in paper, cardboard and display industries.
Source:
TheVerge.com
Exp. 6/30/13
Exp. 6/30/13
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