Feeding Another 4 Billion, and Other News

The world's croplands could feed 4 billion more people than they do now.  How?

Just by shifting from producing animal feed and biofuels to producing exclusively food for human consumption, according to Emily Cassidy at the University of Minnesota, lead author of a paper published in Environmental Research Letters. new research from the Institute on the Environment.

In other words, live lower on the food chain (remember entropy?) and stop burning food in our cars.

Read more about the study at ScienceDaily.

Climate Change IS Occurring Ten Times Faster Than at Any Time in Past 65 Million Years

The planet is undergoing one of the largest changes in climate since the dinosaurs went extinct. But what might be even more troubling for humans, plants and animals is the speed of the change. Stanford climate scientists warn that the likely rate of change over the next century will be at least 10 times quicker than any climate shift in the past 65 million years.

Remember - adaptation takes time that we might not have.

Tropical Diseases Spreading North, for Humans and Their Food.

Where human health is concerned, there is not only the direct risk from pathogens like dengue, malaria and cholera, all of which are linked to warmer temperatures, but indirect risks from threats to agricultural systems and game species crucial for subsistence and cultural activities.