Alarmed by a substantial oversight in the global climate talks leading up to the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen next month, more than 60 of the world's most prominent agricultural scientists and leaders underscored how the almost total absence of agriculture in the agreement could lead to widespread famine and food shortages in the years ahead. [...more]
According to the latest research, species around the world are going extinct faster that previously thought, at a rate not seen since the extinction of the dinosaurs. The Living Planet index which was released today shows that due to destructive human activity, the diversity of all life on earth has decreased by over 30%, nearly a third in fact in the past thirty-five years. [...more]
In the first experiment in a natural environment, Brown University scientists have shown that greater plant diversity significantly enhances an ecosystem’s productivity. The finding, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, underscores the importance of biodiversity to an ecosystem’s value, such as capturing the global warming gas carbon dioxide. [...more]
