Ecology


Enjoy Those Bananas While You Can

The ones that many of us ate as children are not the ones we are eating now.
The ones we are eating now may disappear soon:

Introduced to our hemisphere in the late 19th century, the Gros Michel was almost immediately hit by a blight that wiped it out by 1960. The Cavendish was adopted at the last minute by the big banana companies – Chiquita and Dole – because it was resistant to that blight, a fungus known as Panama disease. For the past fifty years, all has been quiet in the banana world. Until now.
Panama disease – or Fusarium wilt of banana – is back, and the Cavendish does not appear to be safe from this new strain, which appeared two decades ago in Malaysia, spread slowly at first, but is now moving at a geometrically quicker pace. There is no cure, and nearly every banana scientist says that though Panama disease has yet to hit the banana crops of Latin America, which feed our hemisphere, the question is not if this will happen, but when.

This is not just a minor problem for US breakfast and lunch menus. Consider Uganda: according to this article bananas account for up to 80% of the local diet.
Part of the answer may be genetically modified bananas. Would you eat them?

Also, should you be reconsidering your Chiquita investments?


Has Artificial Life Been Created?

Greg Laden says:

I think it has been created over the last few months but the announcement is delayed for obvious reasons … nobody wants the equivilant of “Cold Fusion” tacked to your resume.

Surely that will get you to follow the read it all link!

You will find this gem and many more cool science oriented posts at the current edition of Tangled Bank hosted by The Other 95%.


A Little Bit of Possible Good News

A sure way to begin holding the line on greenhouse gas emissions and oil dependency is to reduce the rate of growth in gasoline usage and eventually to start reducing total gasoline usage.
From Texas this good news:

State transportation officials announced today that rising costs, dwindling federal funds, and lawmakers’ opposition to private-sector investment in toll projects have combined to force it to sharply scale back construction plans.
“The people of Texas need to understand that within a very short period of time, there will be no money for mobility projects,” said Texas Transportation Commission member Ned Holmes of Houston.
The affected projects will be those designed to build new roads, or add lanes to existing roads. Projects already under contract and those designed to maintain or rehabilitate existing roads won’t be affected.

Yep, stop building new roads to reduce the growth rate in fuel consumption.