An international team of scientists, including from the Universities of Bristol and Oxford, and the Natural History Museum, have discovered that a well-preserved fossilised worm dating from 518-million-years-ago resembles the ancestor of three major groups of living animals. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Apr 04, 2024•5 min
Despite efforts to pivot toward renewable sources of energy, oil remains the backbone of modern society. It provides fuels for heat and transportation, and chemicals for everything from plastics to pharmaceuticals. But all these uses require separating crude oil into its various components. That separation process—which traditionally relies on heat—takes a tremendous amount of energy and accounts for roughly 1% of global greenhouse gas emissions each year. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy ...
Apr 02, 2024•5 min
Agriculture has disrupted the planet more than anything we have ever done, including burning fossil fuels. A sustainable future depends on recognizing this fact – and radically changing how we farm and eat. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Apr 01, 2024•6 min
News Headlines Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mar 29, 2024•7 min
Nuts, long known for their health benefits, have always been associated with holiday indulgence and the Spring Festival period in China generally sees explosive growth in sales. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mar 28, 2024•3 min
Researchers from the Marine Ecology Group in UCC in Ireland collected feathers from Manx shearwaters, a seabird species thought to be at risk from oil pollution. The researchers examined the feathers to see how quickly water would pass through after exposure to increasing concentrations of oil. Feathers were also assessed under high-powered microscopes to examine structural changes after contamination. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Mar 26, 2024•3 min
Agricultural rewilding" can also help to overcome concerns about the impact of rewilding on livelihoods and produce "win-win" environmental and human benefits, according to the researchers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mar 25, 2024•3 min
Headline news Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mar 23, 2024•5 min
Wood is the wonder fibre of the world. Multifunctional and renewable, when used sustainably, wood and its components are an indispensable part of the everyday life. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mar 21, 2024•5 min
Water security remains one of the biggest challenges facing South Africa, with the country’s supply facing many threats amid increasing demand and relatively low water availability. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mar 19, 2024•9 min
Headlines of the week. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mar 15, 2024•7 min
On quiet nights across large swaths of the African bush, you may hear a series of whooping calls in the distance. This unique sound is the long-distance vocalisation used by spotted hyenas ( Crocuta crocuta ) to communicate with each other. For hyenas, it’s advantageous to know who is calling before deciding to respond. They don’t treat every member of their group the same – and the caller could even be an intruder in their territory. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Mar 14, 2024•4 min
Climate change has already increased global temperatures, greatly increasing extremes. This will continue unless greenhouse gas emissions are reduced to “net-zero”. The 1.5°C target of the Paris Agreement requires emissions reductions of around 50% in the next 10 years . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mar 12, 2024•6 min
During the northern hemisphere summer of 2022, yet another round of extreme heat waves roasted Eurasia, North America and northern Africa – a stark reminder that these conditions are becoming the new normal. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mar 11, 2024•7 min
Headline news of the week. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mar 09, 2024•6 min
As farmers protest across Europe, blockading cities, smashing through police barricades, and dumping manure, European politicians are falling over themselves to promise increased trade barriers against African food and agriculture imports. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mar 07, 2024•5 min
There is a growing global interest in producing high-quality protein products from simple flies or fly larvae, to be specific. And two Cape Town companies are making food while the sun shines. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mar 06, 2024•2 min
More than half of federal funding for “climate-smart” agriculture in the US goes to farming practices that are unlikely to reduce greenhouse gas emissions – and in some cases, would even increase them, according to a new report by the non-profit Environmental Working Group (EWG). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Mar 05, 2024•4 min
Agricultural producers face dual challenges of increasing output for a growing world population while reducing negative effects on the environment. Digital technologies and artificial intelligence can facilitate sustainable production, but farmers must weigh opportunities and risks when deciding whether to embrace such tools. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mar 04, 2024•5 min
Headlines of the week. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mar 02, 2024•5 min
Compared to conventional practices and bare soil, plant covers generated by intercropping between the alleys of olive groves increase carbon sequestration and reduce soil losses due to erosion. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mar 01, 2024•3 min
Imagine a world where iconic African raptor species like the secretarybird, Wahlberg’s eagle, African harrier-hawk and brown snake eagle, amongst others, are no longer around – vanished from the landscape. While this may sound like a doomsday prediction, without intervention, this might one day be a reality – especially in the west of the African continent. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Feb 26, 2024•4 min
News Headlines of the week. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Feb 24, 2024•6 min
Grown-up giraffes just aren’t huggy, cuddling, demonstrative animals. So it took identity-recognition software grinding through five years of data to reveal that female social life matters to survival. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/johannpretorius/message Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Feb 22, 2024•4 min
Agriculture involves a difficult balance between food production and environmental impact. For example, fertilisers can help to achieve good crop yields, but over-using them produces greenhouse gas emissions and pollution . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Feb 20, 2024•7 min
Crop micronutrients refer to essential elements that plants require in small quantities for proper growth, development, and overall health. While plants need these nutrients in smaller amounts compared to macronutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, they are nonetheless critical for various physiological processes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Feb 19, 2024•4 min
Farming and Agriculture Head lines of the week. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Feb 16, 2024•6 min
The U.S. marijuana industry is booming as states all across the country continue to legalize medical and recreational cannabis. U.S. marijuana sales are reportedly set to jump over 20% to $33 billion in 2022, which is up from just $9 billion five years ago and $3 billion in 2015. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Feb 12, 2024•6 min
Across Europe, tens of thousands of farmers have been coming out in force to air their grievances, ranging from the cost-of-living crisis to the EU’s sustainability policies, and the fallout from the Russia-Ukraine war. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Feb 05, 2024•4 min
News head line news of the week. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Feb 02, 2024•6 min