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Environment

Scientist solves mystery of green lightning

In May 2008, Chile's Chaiten volcano violently erupted, spewing out clouds of dirty ash and illuminating the dark sky with a most unusual kind of lightning. Photographer Carlos Gutierrez captured the dramatic nighttime display—in which green lightning emerged from the ash cloud—in the striking image above. (See also "PHOTOS: Chile Volcano Erupts With Ash and Lightning.") thunder-640 The origin of the bright green lightning bolts remained a mystery until atmospheric scientist Arthur Few, of Rice Univ...

Bangladesh releases first GM food

Authorities in Bangladesh have released the country's first ever genetically modified crop to farmers amid criticism from environmental groups, officials said today. Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) has begun distributing the seedlings of four types of genetically modified aubergine following approval from the government's biosafety regulator, reports AFP. bt brinjal 22"We have released the varieties after extensive tests on environmental and health impacts. They are comple...

‘Windfall’ explores the business of climate change

Apparently, if you look at climate change the right way, it looks like money instead of disaster — if you’re looking at it from a corporate boardroom, for example, and not, say, coastal Bangladesh. Journalist McKenzie Funk spent six years traveling the world to report “Windfall,” his account of how governments and corporations — many of whom heavily contribute to the problem of global warming but balk at mandates to cut greenhouse gas emissions — are confronting climate change with engineering, money and lawyers. [caption id="attachment_3069" align="alignleft" width="198"]windfall

Will water constrain energy future?

Energy and water security are crucial to human and economic development. The two resources are now more interconnected than ever—significant amounts of water are needed in almost all energy generation processes, from generating hydropower, to cooling and other purposes in thermal power plants, to extracting and processing fuels. Conversely, the water sector needs energy – mainly in the form of electricity – to extract, treat and transport water. Both energy and water are used in the production of crops, including those used to generate energy through biofuels. But energy and water resources are under unprecedented pressure, and there is growing competition for their use from people, industries, ecosystems, and growing economie...

Sundarbans, the beautiful Bangladesh

THE men from a village of beautiful Bangladesh were shouting, beating the ground with long sticks.

Crouching down, growling and marauding, is not a royal bengal tiger but one of their own.

It’s just past dusk and the band of villagers - a bit like volunteer rural firefighters - are demonstrating how they balance protecting the endangered bengal tiger, the national animal of Bangladesh, with safeguarding the village community. We’re in the Sundarban of Bangladesh - a vast natural wonderland seen by few Westerners. The UNESCO World Heritage Site is the largest mangrove forest-wetland in the world and is populated by hundreds of bird and fish species, reptiles, deer and dolphins - an...

Farmers say no to GM vegetables in Bangladesh

One hundred civil society organisations have written to Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to oppose the commercialisation of a genetically modified (GM) eggplant. Known locally as Bt-Brinjal, the GM eggplant contains a synthetic insect-killing toxin similar to Cry1Ac from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (hence the acronym Bt) targeted at the fruit and shoot borer. bt brinjalBt toxins are already known to have many off-target effects, including toxicity to beneficial pest pre...
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