EcoWorldly

Bacterial evolution can be accelerated with the MAGE technique to produce large numbers of  favorable mutations (micrograph image magnified 10, 000 times)

Bacteria are prolific replicators, and some species can replicate into the millions in just a few hours. Bacteria, in the functioning of their cellular and biochemical machinery, also just happen to manufacture some very useful chemicals and bio-active molecules. The microbe populations also exhibit high rates of random mutation, which can confer adaptive traits, over time, onto the newer, variant population.

These attributes of bacterial life forms have been exploited in the lab (and in other industries) for some time, but generating genomic diversity in the lab has been challenging; inserting genes or entire genetic sequences into a cell’s nucleus (and DNA) can be done readily, but controlling or directing how exactly these hybrids mutate, is quite another thing. Further, new phenotypes (the main physical traits or properties) don’t usually happen fast or frequently enough for practical uses. But with a new technique called MAGE (Multiplex Automated Genome Engineering), bacteria are now being engineered (and “directed”) to perform these functions much faster and much more efficiently.

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In a recent international conference on ‘Climate Change: Technology Development & Transfer’ held in Delhi, the Prime Minister of India Dr. Manmohan Singh began his speech by stating that climate friendly and environmentally sound technologies should be viewed as global public goods.

The panel, also chaired by the Maldives President after his country’s recent underwater stunt, called for the Northern countries to do (much) more than just emissions reduction. The statement also comes shortly after media reports suggest India could change its national position on climate change to drop the ‘deal-breaker’ tag put on it by the West.

The BIG question: Will India change its official position ahead of Copenhagen?

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Yearly, 1.8 million people will die due to waterborne diseases.  Sadly, most of these deaths are children under the age of 5, at rate of 5000 children a day.  There is a way to reverse and end this tragedy. The Water Solution is available and saving lives in Africa.  Imagine a small, portable, straw-like device that hangs around the neck of a child and each straw can save a child’s life for one year.

“WATER IS LIFE!” a child exclaims as he sees his siblings live instead of die. Genius inventions like these are changing the world on a global scale — saving lives and bringing children and families back into healthier states.

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NATO’s Science for Peace program and the Middle East Desalination Research Center (MEDRC) have awarded a team of three universities, one Jordanian, one Israeli and one American a grant to set up two parallel water desalination plants at one site each in Jordan and Israel. This grant is meant to promote collaboration across borders and between the two neighbouring countries, in a region not known for its congenial ties between neighbours. Read the rest of this entry »

With the news that climate change is occurring at a faster rate than climate models have predicted, geoengineering solutions have been brought to the fore and are being taken more seriously. The main focus of these emergency geoengineering strategies is a reduction in “shortwave” radiation entering the Earth’s atmosphere via the solar wind.

The short-term goal here is an overall reduction in global atmospheric temperatures to slow, or even reverse, warming trends. These solutions include increasing the amount of reflective particles surrounding the Earth by placing reflective particles (”mirrors”) outside the atmosphere. Such a solution may be justified to quickly curtail an emergent crisis–such as the rapid disintegration of the polar icecaps. Another strategy is to blanket the upper atmosphere with sulfur particles to block shortwave energy from reaching the Earth’s surface, thus producing a pronounced cooling effect (of variable duration).

However, in a recently published paper, Climate Engineering Responses to Climate Emergencies by Blackstock et al, this and other controversial strategies are analyzed in terms of feasibility, short-term impact, and also, the potential risks and dangers. The authors are also calling for a study phase. The major criticism in the paper is that current geoengineering strategies focus on a reduction of temperature without due consideration of the impact on precipitation, which also drives climate change. The cooler the surface temperature, in general, the less overall precipitation ( due to the fact that there is less energy for evaporation). Focusing only on temperature reduction, via incoming solar radiation, could backfire, leading to a shift in global hydrology cycles and, possibly, drought. Also, sulfur in the atmosphere combines with water to form sulfuric acid–the primary source of “acid rain”–a problem dramatically reduced since the passage of the Clean Air act.

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The Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) is launching a high-tech initiative in an effort to promote awareness, tourism, and gorilla conservation. The unique Friend a Gorilla project will launch on September 26th in Kampala.  Gorilla enthusiasts will now be able to watch, track and befriend real live gorillas from the comfort of their own home.   But wait - there’s more! Read the rest of this entry »

A new report ranks ten leading world cities on their greenhouse gas emissions. It also examines how and why the emissions differ.

As the report says, over 50% of the world’s population lives in urban areas. Leading cities of the world, global cities, are the places where greenhouse gas emissions really need to be cut. The greenest city from the study is Barcelona and the worst is Denver.
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Scientists have discovered that sunspots are not the only thing from the Sun that have a significant and varied impact on the Earth.

There is a “solar cycle” of approximately 11 years. Variation of the Sun’s impact on the Earth during those 11 years is generally thought to be due to sunspots. The Sun also shoots high-speed winds at the Earth, however, and scientists have just discovered that these super winds significantly affect the Earth in several ways.

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Last week, the Internet celebrated its 40th birthday! Forty glorious years that saw not just the transition from ARPANet to the now popular Internet but also Web 2.0 and what not! The Internet has been a revolution–in the making! The Internet that we know of today has been around for a little over a decade. That is also the time period when awareness and action on the “global” climate crisis has been phenomenal. And the link, evident!

According to the Internet Governance Forum, Internet consumes up to one trillion kilowatt hours of electricity per year, amounting to around 5% of the world’s total electricity consumption. The ‘tools’ of the IT sector are also manufactured using metals of various kinds. So the question remains, can Internet really help solve the climate crisis? The answer, on behalf of a generation grown up with the Internet, a firm Yes!

Here are five ways how Internet is helping fight climate change:

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Greenpeace’s “Solar Generation” activists installed solar panels on President Obama’s Grandmother’s house in Kenya last week.
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