Agriculture27
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Study Finds Genetic Clues to How Plants Adapt to Climate
Using supercomputers to analyze hundreds of thousands of genetic markers, scientists say they have found how a common weed uses its genetic code to adapt to changes in its environment such as cold and drought. The findings could help develop crops that are more adaptable to climate change.
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Photo Essay: Fire and Ice off Cascadia
A team of scientists traveled to the Pacific Northwest aboard the R/V Atlantis last fall to investigate whether the waxing and waning of ice ages and volcanic eruptions are somehow related.
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Toxic Chemicals All Around Us: Is Green Chemistry the Answer?
We live in a world filled with synthetic chemicals, many with known or suspected health hazards. Can green chemistry, the design of chemical products without hazardous substances, provide a solution?
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Matching Funds Boost Contributions through Dec. 31
The Earth Institute will benefit this holiday season from a matching gift from dedicated donor Betsee Parker, who will match your contributions dollar for dollar up to $300,000 this holiday season.
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Will Africa Finally Achieve a Green Revolution?
Earth Institute agricultural scientist Pedro A. Sanchez argues in a new essay that new developments in both science and politics give him hope that sub-Saharan Africa will be able to feed itself by 2050, even with a projected population by then of about 2 billion people.
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Warming Streams Have Cascading Impacts in the Amazon
To protect a river, you must preserve its headwaters. Agricultural development is warming streams at the headwaters of the Xingu River, in Mato Grosso, Brazil. Rising temperatures have local impacts that could cascade into regional changes, highlighting the importance of responsible land use outside of protected areas.
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MPA Alum Focuses on Marine Conservation
Olivia Kemp, a 2013 alumna of the MPA in Environmental Science and Policy program, is using the skills she developed in the program to develop her career focusing on conservation, food security and sustainable development. Now with Blue Ventures, Kemp is working with local communities in Madagascar to create a focus on community-led marine conservation.
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Revitalizing Africa’s Soils
To feed our burgeoning global population, the world has to at least double crop yields by 2050, by improving seeds of high yielding crops and cultivating healthy fertile soils. A new on-the-spot soil testing kit will help meet this challenge.
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Hatchets, Ratchets & Pivots: Book Talk by Ruth DeFries
As Professor Ruth DeFries aptly stated in her opening remarks at yesterday’s book launch for “The Big Ratchet,” if you look at satellite pictures of the earth, you see the imprint of the human species everywhere. Humans have come to dominate the planet. But how did this come to be? This question, among others, is…
By studying thousands of buildings and analyzing their electricity use, Columbia Climate School Dean Alexis Abramson has been able to uncover ways to significantly cut energy consumption and emissions. Watch the Video: “Engineering a Cooler Future Through Smarter Buildings“
