Home/Posts Tagged ‘ecosystems’
Posts Tagged ‘ecosystems’
Conservation, Nature, Jun 2nd, 2011,
The second installment of Adam Curtis’ new documentary series “All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace” (recently on the BBC) focuses on how ecologists once reasoned that nature was made up of mechanistic, computer-like systems, consisting of many factors working in harmony in order to maintain balance. This view of ecosystems, which does not fully account for the chaos caused by the inherent flux of nature, has fallen out of fashion among many contemporary ecologists. They claim previous ecological theories were inspired by man-made machinery and not nature itself. Yet despite the fact that nature may be chaotic,…
Tags: Adam Curtis, All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace, biodiversity, capitalism, commodification, Conservation, Defra, ecology, ecosystems, natural capital, NEA, TEEB
Climate Change, Politics, Wildlife & Flora, Sep 18th, 2010,
Ireland industrialized and urbanized both later and to a lesser extent than many other European countries. It is known for its beautiful green countryside and pastoral villages and is considered to have low pollution levels in terms of water and air quality. Yet Ireland lost most of its forestland long ago due to the widespread establishment of agriculture. This put stresses on the survival native species, but hedgerows, riverbanks and other ‘green corridors’ still enable vestiges of Ireland’s native ecosystems to survive. The scale of Ireland’s forests have grown in recent years to cover around 10% of the island, yet…
Tags: Climate change, Comhar, ecosystems, government, green infrastructure, Ireland, Irish, Maguire, report
Climate Change, Nature, Pollution, Aug 29th, 2010,
Although the Mediterranean sea covers only one per cent of the world’s marine areas, it contains some six per cent of its marine species. Some of the world’s most endangered species, can be found in the Mediterranean. Fish stocks are down to 20 per cent of natural levels in some areas and the Mediterranean is now a net importer of fish. Today, 82 million people live in coastal cities; by 2025 there will be an estimated 150-170 million. The southern countries account for 32 per cent of the region’s population; by 2025 that is expected to have reached 60 per…
Tags: Climate change, coastal, ecosystems, environmental, EU, Europe, Mediterranean, sea, warming, Wildlife & Flora
Climate Change, Videos & Documentaries, Wildlife & Flora, May 27th, 2010,
In this video from Time magazine, marine biologist Rick Steiner goes through the many layers of disaster regarding the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, from the irresponsible behavior of BP before the leak, to the lousy clean-up efforts. According to Steiner, the lasting effects of the oil leak and chemical dispersants used by the clean-up teams will manifest for years to come in terms of poisoning ecosystems. Also, come hurricane season, hurricanes will draw up the oil from deeper waters and bring it onto the coast. Doesn’t make you feel great about the Obama administration’s new energy plan,…
Tags: biologist, clean up, disaster, ecosystems, Gulf, leak, marine, oil, Rick, spill, Steiner, video, wildlife
Climate Change, Wildlife & Flora, Apr 27th, 2010,
A new major environmental book, entitled Silent Summer: The State of Wildlife in Britain and Ireland, offers up disturbing facts and figures about the human impact on nature in the British Isles. Celebrated naturalist, broadcaster and national treasure Sir David Attenborough has penned the forward to the book, a collaborative effort by 40 UK ecologists, which outlines the impacts of pesticides, population growth and intensive farming on British and Irish flora and fauna. The 600-page book, edited by Norman Maclean, emeritus professor of genetics at Southampton University, lays bare the grim reversal in the populations of many butterflies, bees, flies…
Tags: Attenborough, Britain, British, David, ecosystems, environmental, pesticide, Silent Spring, Silent Summer, Times, UK
Green living, Nature, Politics, Feb 6th, 2010,
![]( "<!--:en-->Economist Pavan Sukhdev on")
' src='http://gf2.statico.be/wp-content/themes/greenfudge/thumbnails/6943.jpg' alt='economist-pavan-sukhdev-on-natural-capital-and-the-green-economy' class='art-teaser' width='95' height='95' /> The green economy is the only sustaining economy. It is one that values its natural resources properly and uses them sparingly and for the right intent. In the spirit of the earlier post on ‘new economics’ or non consumption-based economic ideas that include green issues, here is a bit more on models for economic development that don’t depend on standard GDP growth: In an interview with The Ecologist, Deutsche Bank economist Pavan Sukhdev explains economic ideas that factor in conservation, climate change, biodiversity and the concept of ‘natural capital’. Proposed and existing models of carbon trading schemes put a negative…
Tags: biodiversity, ecologist, economics, Economist, economy, ecosystems, Green, growth, natural, natural capital, Pavan, resources, Sukhdev
Science & Technology, Nov 20th, 2009,
An ecological impossibility has finally become possible: the conversion of desert territory into a fertile garden area. Geoff Lawton, a researcher of the Permaculture Research institute, would be the miracle-worker this time. The given area of land was approximately 2 miles from the Dead Sea. Temperatures here would swell over 122 F (50 C) and farming conditions involved plastic strips along with massive amounts of fertilizer and synthetic chemicals. Lawton and his team had 10 acres of this salty, flat soil to run amok with. To start, they created a system that collected rainwater into water-harvesting ditches, or swales. These…
Tags: converting desert into gardens, desert, ecosystems, environment, garden
