Biodiversity Conservation

Powerful art from Robin Wood. 

It is very hot down under, and the combination of climate change and El Nino is devastating for the corals along the Great Barrier Reef. This is so heartbreaking. This has prompted the government to implement its highest response level (level three) to help tackle the crisis.

(Photo source)

A level three response means stepped-up surveys to better understand and tackle threats to the reef.

The Great Barrier Reef is comprised of about 3,000 reefs and 900 islands, stretching 2,000km along Australia’s northeast coast. It is considered the world’s largest living structure. The Australian economy is highly dependent on the reef, as more than $3bn is generated each year from the reef’s tourism industry.

(Photo source: XL Catlin Seaview Survey)

We’re growing super #bacteria in space. http://ow.ly/Ccita

Most Americans could be sustained on local foods alone—except in NY and LA

The researchers found that based on population data from the year 2000, up to 82% of people in the US could eat a standard American diet with food from within 50 miles of home. That proportion goes up to 85% for a vegetarian diet, and down to 80% for a meat-intensive diet. If the foodshed radius expands to 100 miles, the potential for a standard American diet goes up to 90%, 93% for a vegetarian diet, and 88% for a meat-intensive diet.

Not everyone can eat so locally, though, even in the utopian model created with the study’s computer programs and algorithms. While most cities, including Chicago and San Francisco, can feed 100% of their populations with food from within 50 miles, large cities that have relatively little nearby cropland cannot. “New York City and Los Angeles, for example, can support only about 10% of their populations with a 50-mile foodshed radius but as much as 30-50% with a 100-mile foodshed radius.”