Horticulture News
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Indonesia’s ambitious forest moratorium moves forward
A summary of key elements, and unanswered questions, in Indonesia’s recent moratorium on new forest permits. On May 20, 2011, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono signed a Presidential Instruction (“decree”) putting into effect a two-year moratorium on issuing new permits for use of primary natural forest and peatland. The highly anticipated moratorium is part of a ...
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Dairy industry receives $1.1 million from USDA to help farmers measure and communicate stewardship
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced a $1.1 million Conservation Innovation Grant (CIG) to the Dairy Research Institute™ (formerly known as Dairy Science Institute, Inc.), an affiliate of the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy®. The funding will support the development of a Dairy Farm Stewardship Toolkit for dairy farmers to evaluate their production techniques and identify ...
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Skagit county’s samish bay shellfish beds deserve better protection, say federal, state and county officials
Skagit County’s Samish watershed will come under closer scrutiny by federal, state and county environmental inspectors as they pursue cleaner water and safer shellfish in Puget Sound’s Samish Bay. The boost in protection includes coordinated inspections in the Samish Watershed and a $960,000 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency grant to Skagit County to locate, identify and remedy ...
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Alien plants `can help alleviate poverty`
Alien plant species can significantly reduce biodiversity but they can also boost an ecosystem's biomass production, on average by more than half, according to a global analysis of scientific literature. Introduced alien species are usually seen as a threat to biodiversity and hence to the poor who depend on ecosystems for their livelihoods. But boosting the amount of biomass produced is seen by ...
By SciDev.Net
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Marrone Bio Innovations Raises $25.4 Million Series C Financing
Marrone Bio Innovations, Inc. (MBI) is pleased to announce the closing of a $25.4 million private round of financing with three new investors and re-investment of existing investors. New investors investing in this Series C preferred financing are Syngenta Ventures, Mitsui Global Investment, and a family investment trust. Existing investors include Stuart Mill Venture Partners, Contrarian ...
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Global Ecology Announces Development of Fertilizer Production Facilities
Global Ecology Corporation (GEC), (OTCQB: GLEC) (PINKSHEETS: GLEC), announced today the signing of letters of intent with three towns in southern Alabama; Castleberry, Fort Deposit and White Hall, to develop waste remediation facilities for the production of natural fertilizer and soil additives. As an added benefit, the deployment of GEC's organic waste remediation technology will greatly reduce ...
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Intensive Agriculture Implicated in Transmission of Deadly Nipah Virus to Humans
In a study released today, scientists reveal the factors behind the emergence of the deadly Nipah virus in Malaysia and Singapore in 1998, which caused more than 100 fatalities and cost hundreds of millions of dollars in economic losses. In this paper published today in Interface, a journal of the Royal Society, scientists describe two different stages of a deadly disease outbreak and a missed ...
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Climate change could impact livestock production
Land used for livestock grazing; referred to range land in the western U.S. and pasture land in the eastern half of the country, encompasses over 584 million acres of non-Federal land and represents a very complex ecosystem. While the intensity of the management of these lands differs from parcel to parcel, there is no doubt they all play a vital role in livestock production. However, little ...
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City of Hope Implements Sustainability Initiatives With ValleyCrest Landscape Maintenance
HydroPoint Data Systems, Inc. and ValleyCrest Landscape Maintenance announced today that Darryl Wilson, Facilities Director for City of Hope, and Richard Restuccia, Director, Water Management Solutions for ValleyCrest Landscape Maintenance will co-present a success story for the HydroPoint Sustainability 360° Educational Series on a June 9, 2011 live webcast. The webcast will feature results ...
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Recession and renewables cut greenhouse emissions in 2009
Greenhouse gas emissions decreased very sharply in 2009, by 7.1 % in the EU-27 and 6.9 % in the EU-15. These most recent results, compiled by the European Environment Agency (EEA), confirm estimates made by the EEA last year. This decrease was largely the result of the economic recession of 2009, but also sustained strong growth in renewable energy. Professor Jacqueline McGlade, Executive ...
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U.S. Supreme Court Denies Review of EPA Decision on Carbofuran Domestic Tolerances
The U.S. Supreme Court today denied a petition by FMC Corporation and three national grower groups for review of a lower appellate court ruling which had upheld the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) decision to deny an administrative hearing on the revocation of domestic tolerances for carbofuran. "We are greatly disappointed by the U.S. Supreme Court's decision not to review the lower ...
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Research sheds new light on methane emissions from the northern beef herd
New CSIRO research indicates that the amount of methane emitted from cattle fed on tropical grasses in northern Australia is up to 30 per cent less than figures currently used to calculate the northern cattle industry’s contribution to Australia’s greenhouse gas accounts. Speaking at today’s Lansdown Field Day near Townsville, Queensland, CSIRO research leader Dr Ed Charmley ...
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Restoring forests: an opportunity for Africa
New research shows that Africa offers some of the greatest opportunities globally for restoring forests. This post originally appeared on Mongabay. Tropical forest news last week was dominated by Indonesia and Brazil. Forest clearing has surged over the past year in parts of the Amazon, the Brazilian Government reported. Meanwhile, Indonesia’s President signed a moratorium on cutting some ...
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DIY-ers Reveal Key Decision Points for Selecting Paint and Stain Products
A recent survey* sponsored by OlympicPaints and Stains revealed that when it comes to "do-it-yourself" (DIY) projects, Americans plan to roll up their sleeves and get to work. In fact, 54 percent anticipate a paint or exterior stain project in the next year, but would also like to help reduce their carbon footprint while doing so. However, nearly three-fourths (73 percent) of them believe buying ...
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Agilent Technologies publishes industry`s first compendium to test for synthetic marijuana compounds
Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) today announced availability of the industry's first GC/MS compendium to test for synthetic cannabinoids, recently declared controlled substances by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. They are most commonly found in "herbal incense" blends. The compendium, available from Agilent at no cost to qualified forensics labs, contains detailed procedures for sample ...
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Biohappiness key to future, says Swaminathan
The father of the Green Revolution in Asia and World Food Prize winner, M.S. Swaminathan, has launched a book on 'biohappiness'. In Search of Biohappiness maintains that true, long-term wellbeing can only be achieved by harnessing biodiversity to work for people in sustainable and equitable ways. "Biohappiness arises from the conversion of bioresources into jobs and income in an environmentally ...
By SciDev.Net
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Oceana Launches New Campaign in U.S. to Stop Seafood Fraud
Oceana, the largest international advocacy group working solely to protect the world’s oceans, today launched its new campaign to Stop Seafood Fraud at The National Press Club in Washington, D.C. At the press briefing, Oceana and other experts explained how seafood fraud can come in many different forms – from mislabeling fish and falsifying ...
By Oceana
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Reading Takes Root: The Davey Tree Expert Company Announces Plans to Bring More Than 25,000 Reading Trees to Communities Across the Country
Many people say their favorite place to read a book is under the cool shade of a tree canopy, whether it's on their backyard patio, at the park or near a beach. The Davey Tree Expert Company is honoring the 25-year legacy of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" by bringing that coveted experience to more communities across the country. In a program it calls "Reading Takes Root," Davey will donate and plant ...
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I love your hat
Ward Bunyan took a snapshot of this view of sister mountaintops in Arizona (about 40 miles west of Flagstaff) sharing a fluffy white chapeau, and thought we'd like to see it. We did. Thought you would too. Ward knew it was a giant lenticular cloud topping the two peaks. "What is not readily apparent in the photo is that the cloud has the outside edges slightly rolled down all the way around ...
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Our hot-off-the-presses catalog features new products
Have you seen our newest weather catalog? It's a real beauty, if we do say so ourselves (and not just because some of those who work diligently on the E-Newsletter had a small hand in it)! We always like to pack our catalog with all the information you might need about our products. This time we went even further, adding some pages to introduce new products and clarify how our sensors, ...
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