Pesticide firms compete to showcase bee-protection programmes
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Monsanto’s “Bee Summits” and Bayer AG’s “Bee care centre” are the latest examples of how pesticide makers are competing to showcase their goodwill to policymakers in Europe and the US that they are taking the necessary steps to protect bee populations. The companies say their pesticides are not the problem, but critics say science shows the opposite.
See on euractiv.com
Prince William: we must stop endangered animals becoming extinct - Telegraph
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Prince William says he hopes his “generation is not the first to consider elephants, rhinos or tigers as historical creatures” while speaking at an international poaching conference.
The Duke joined his father the Prince of Wales in co-hosting the wildlife conference with Environment Secretary Owen Paterson at St James’s Palace.
Prince William is passionate about Africa’s wildlife and people and is royal patron of the wildlife conservation charity Tusk Trust, which works in the continent on projects to preserve endangered animals.
See on telegraph.co.uk
Late arrival for rare butterflies
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The UK’s spring butterflies are being welcomed by enthusiasts, but weeks later than they usually arrive.
The second-coldest March on record contributed to the delayed emergence of many rare species, according to the charity Butterfly Conservation.
“First sightings” recorded by the public showed the insects typically appeared a fortnight later than normal.
One rare species - the grizzled skipper - emerged a month later than last year.
See on bbc.co.uk
Seattle News and Events | New Ordering System Connects Local Institutions With Farm-Fresh
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The problem with farm-to-table restaurants, so far as the farmers are concerned, is the difficulty of getting those tables sat during a recession. While chefs may wholeheartedly support locavorism, they only buy as much product as their customers demand – and if their restaurants close, they don’t buy any product at all.
That’s why farmers are increasingly promoting their wares to the institutionswhich don’t have the option of shutting down or moving to a faraway city where the economy’s healthier.
“Institutions are anchors in our community,”Northwest Agriculture Business Center’s marketing coordinator Emma Brewster explained at last week’s Planning for Agriculture in the Puget Sound Region conference, sponsored by the American Farmland Trust.
See on seattleweekly.com
Big picture: Belated bluebell bloom
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The beautiful blue haze and sweet scent of the UK’s native bluebells make it one of the most spectacular annual floral displays in Europe. But is it late this year?
Fred Rumsey, a botanist from the Natural History Museum, London, UK believes so: “Our initial impression being that flowering is between four and five weeks behind what it was last year.” He told BBC Nature that flowering times of both native and non-native bluebell species can be useful in demonstrating and quantifying the effects of climate change.
See on bbc.co.uk
Big picture: Belated bluebell bloom
See on Scoop.it - 100 Acre WoodThe beautiful blue haze and sweet scent of the UK’s native bluebells make it one of the most spectacular annual floral displays in Europe. But is it late this year?
Fred Rumsey, a botanist from the Natural History Museum, London, UK believes so: “Our initial impression being that flowering is between four and five weeks behind what it was last year.” He told BBC Nature that flowering times of both native and non-native bluebell species can be useful in demonstrating and quantifying the effects of climate change.
See on bbc.co.uk
Biochar: Carbon’s Champion: Organic Gardening
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“I haven’t washed my hair since 1965,” says Craig Sams, who, when we met at the August 2012 Biochar Conference at Sonoma State University in Rohnert Park, California, sported a clean-looking, thick shock of Euro-style, longish white hair. The reason is that there’s a healthy ecology of microbes up there that he doesn’t want to scrub off by using soap. And so a rinse with warm water and olive oil is all he uses.
Protecting microbes is what he does these days as founder of Carbon Gold Ltd., a biochar company in Bristol, England. Biochar is plant matter, wood mostly, roasted until it’s black and crumbly. It’s not burnt to ash but is a form of charcoal that has some of the same characteristics as humus, plus one very important other function: When it’s buried in the soil, it stores carbon so it doesn’t enter the air as carbon dioxide and contribute to global warming.
We reported on biochar in our December 2010/January 2011 issue. But let Sams himself describe what’s happened with biochar since then:
See on organicgardening.com
German farmers can’t keep up with organic boom | Environment | DW.DE | 14.05.2013
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Organic produce is a given in a lot of shops in Germany. But while demand is increasing, cultivation is lagging behind. Since Germany is failing to turn out enough organic products on its own, many of the products must be imported.
Organic apples from Argentina, tomatoes from Spain – when looking at the assortment in German organic supermarkets, consumers are easily confused. Even though one might want to make ecologically correct and sustainable decisions when shopping, many of the fruits and vegetables have travelled a long way, leaving a considerable carbon footprint. German grocers are not just importing the exotic produce such as bananas and mangoes that are impossible to grow in Germany, but also potatoes, apples and cucumbers, as well as pork and dairy products.
See on dw.de
Alien invaders wage ‘biological war’
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German researchers have discovered the biological keys to the success of an invasive species, wreaking havoc across Europe and the US,
The Asian ladybird was originally brought in to control aphids in greenhouses.
But it has escaped and is increasing uncontrollably across Europe, wiping out native species.
The alien is winning, say scientists, because its body fluid contains a parasite toxic to other insects.
The research is published in the Journal, Science.
See on bbc.co.uk
Nature Studies: Cross the Atlantic in a ship? The beautiful Monarch can do better than that
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Britain is pretty poorly off for butterflies, all things considered, with a measly 58 breeding species: cross the Channel and you’ll find nearly five times as many. So something that sets your average British butterfly-lover’s heart a-thumping is the occasional chance meeting with a rare migrant from elsewhere.
The Camberwell beauty, from the Nordic countries, with its maroon wings bordered with cream, is a quite stunning one, while very handsome, too, is the Queen of Spain fritillary from France; but the greatest prize is almost certainly the monarch, for anyone who sees one in Britain is witnessing something extraordinary: an insect which has just flown the Atlantic.
See on independent.co.uk
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