We have a great post going up tomorrow morning on the USDA’s recent approval of Monsanto’s genetically modified (GM) — “genetically engineered” (“GE”) if you live in Europe — sugar beets and GM alfalfa from Ken Roseboro, editor of The Organic & Non-GMO Report. It will cover health concerns (based on scientific studies), environmental concerns, legal concerns, considerable threats to organic farmers and consumers, and the USDA’s decision to ignore public concerns and comments from hundreds of thousands of U.S. citizens. But I wanted to chime in on this with a few comments of my own.
More Trees in Neighborhood = Healthier Babies
You’ve heard all the obvious benefits of urban trees — shading buildings, sheltering wildlife, filtering air pollution, stopping erosion. A new Portland study suggests a more surprising benefit: healthier newborns. Researchers used satellite images to compare tree cover around the…
5 Good Plant Species for Green Roofs in Colorado
Thinking of creating a green roof (aka living roof)? Wondering what plant species to grow on top? Live in Colorado or near it? Researchers from the Colorado State University’s Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture have your thoughts in mind.…
To Eat Less, Imagine Eating More
This is an interesting one, couldn’t pass it up. A new study published in Science in December has found that if you think about eating a lot of a food, just think about it, the next time you have the opportunity to eat it you will eat less than you would otherwise.
Physicist “Solves” the City, Turns It Into an Equation
I went through a ton of urban theories as a Master’s student in city planning, but something I didn’t have access to at that time was physicist Geoffrey West’s urban equations. Because he had not created them yet. The 70-year-old…
NASA: World’s Largest Lakes are Warming
What’s one major sign the world is warming? The world’s large bodies of water are warming. In a first-of-its-kind study, NASA has now concluded that the world’s largest lakes have been steadily warming over the past 25 years. Yep, no…
GM Salmon WON’T Feed Hungry World Populations
Genetically modified organism (GMO) proponents constantly proclaim that GMOs will help feed the hungry and solve world hunger. This is one supposed benefit of genetically modified (GM) salmon as well. But a recent report out of Europe, GE Salmon Will…
Sperm Quantity and Quality Hit Hard by BPA
A recent study of male Chinese workers has found that the infamous endocrine-disrupting chemical bisphenol A (BPA) causes sperm counts and concentrations to drop. Additionally, it found that the “quality” of the sperm was worse, meaning lower sperm motility (the…
High-Fructose Corn Syrup is Evil: 7 Key Findings
If you look at the ingredients of the food you buy, you’ve probably seen high-fructose corn syrup on the list more times than you can count. Following up on a great new corn syrup post by Jeannie, “Corn Syrup May…