• Sunflower radiation absorption project grows around Fukushima.

    The devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan in March caused a nuclear disaster that left high quantities of radioactive cesium and other toxins in the soil in around the Fukushima prefecture. But a recent campaign has been launched by civil servants and ind

  • Exceptional drought across the United States

    More of the United States was in exceptional drought in July 2011 than in any other month in the past 12 years, according to the National Climatic Data Center. The worst of the drought is spread across Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and parts of Arizona, Colorado,

  • Grasshopper population spiking across Texas

    Texans just can’t catch a break this summer. In the midst of this historic drought now there’s a grasshopper problem. A large seasonal population of grasshoppers is taking ranchers’ land. The pests are eating the grass intended for cows and other animals.The drought

  • The future of cover crops

    Winter cover crops are an important component of nutrient cycling, soil cover and organic matter content. Although its benefits are well documented, cover crop use in farming systems is relatively low. Research has shown that time and money are the two primary reasons

  • New and old threats to soybean production

    University of Illinois researchers identified the top pathogens, pests and weeds affecting soybean production. Soybean aphid, soybean rust, soybean cyst nematode, Sclerotina stem rot and the exotic pathogen, red leaf blotch, were featured as some of the top biotic

  • China: Rain quenches thirst of areas hit by drought

    Rain in Central and South China is expected to drench drought-hit regions over the next three days, which could help to ease the dry spell, but experts warned the local public to prepare for heavy rains and even floods.At least light to moderate rains would

  • Texas suffers from “exceptional” drought

    A report released Thursday from a consortium of national climate experts said Texas saw the highest levels of drought over the last week — rated as "exceptional" — jump from 43.97 percent of the state to 50.65 percent of the state. Devastating drou

  • Locust plague ravages NW China

    Large swarms of locusts have laid waste to vast tracts of northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, with authorities expecting the plague to worsen as the weather heats up. The locust plague began in the pastureland of the Ili River Valley and Taer Basin in

  • 20 signs of incoming global food crisis

    In case you haven’t noticed, the world is on the verge of a horrific global food crisis.  At some point, this crisis will affect you and your family.  It may not be today, and it may not be tomorrow, but it is going to happen.  Crazy weather and horrifying natural