If there weren’t any pesky practical limitations, what world-changing device would you invent? In the second installment of Babelgum and GOOD’s new Big Ideas competition, Columbia professor Dickson Despommier imagines filling New Yorks skyscrapers with
Nearly a third of managed honeybee colonies in America died out or disappeared over the past winter which is far worse than the previous winter. On average, U.S. beekeepers lost 45.1% of the colonies in their operation during the winter of 2012/2013 according
The world faces a looming and growing agricultural crisis. Our planet is experiencing rising demands for crop production by increasing human population, meat and dairy consumption from growing affluence, and biofuel consumption. New research by Deepak Ray and
The EU directives on the marketing of seeds and plant propagating material are currently being reviewed in Brussels. The new regulation threatens rare varieties and farmers’ varieties. Non-commercial varieties are under particular threat of extinction, as the new
Indian farmers often set fire to fields to clear them for planting. According to Indian agricultural practice, preparing for planting with fire has the benefit of clearing out some pests that eat crops and turning crop residues from the previous season into
A French farmer who can no longer perform his routine farming duties because of permanent pesticide injuries has had his day in court, literally, and the perpetrator of his injuries found guilty of chemical poisoning. The French court in Lyon ruled that Monsanto’s
Recurring droughts highlight need to better manage water resources and safeguard food security. Ongoing worldwide drought has hurt global grain production and contributed to food price spikes every other year since 2007.One of the key messages that FAO is
As food prices creep up again for the third time in five years, concerns about global food security are also on the rise. The United Nations has reported a climb in global food prices after experiencing a decline over the past three months.Since many countries
More than one-third of US states in the southern Great Plains could run out of groundwater within the next 30 years according to a new study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Study finds that the two most important aquifers
Spain has faced the driest winter ever recorded. It has raised red flags in Spain, where farmers face the threat of extreme drought. Grain crops in Spain are suffering after an unusually dry autumn and winter. The amount of rainfall has been just half of normal in
