Human beings are great runners because we’re stupendous sweaters!
We’ve understood for a long time that being bi-pedal gave our forebears a significant survival advantage. Being able to see prey and predators long before they see you certainly helps determine who or what ends up on the dinner plate. But now we’ve found that our best survival trait in those early times may have […]
Our genetic cousins are on life support…
What a sad legacy we are leaving! The Eastern Gorilla, the largest remaining primate, is now critically endangered with a 70% decline in numbers over the past 20 years. There are now less than 5,000 left. They join the western gorilla, Bornean orangutan and Sumatran orangutan who had already been declared as critically endangered. Four […]
There’s a good side to El Niño!
There can be no question that the current El Niño – the worst on record – is having a devastating impact. Large parts of Asia, the Americas and Australia are experiencing extreme drought. So how, I hear you ask, can there be a good side to El Niño? The answer is sugar and palm oil! Less of […]
Have we overshot Earth’s carrying capacity?
Human population growth has followed the trajectory of a typical invasive species, says a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature, and that suggests there may be a looming global population “crash.” “The question is: Have we overshot Earth’s carrying capacity today?” said Elizabeth Hadly, a professor in environmental biology at Stanford University and senior author […]
The Epidemic Accelerates!
Look down. What do you see? Statistically, at least one out of every nine of you are going to be looking at clear evidence of obesity. Ladies, for you, it’s one out of every seven! No, I’m not talking about ‘a couple of extra pounds’, I’m talking about obesity! It gets worse… 1 in 40 of […]
The Case of the Disappearing Bee
Can you imagine breakfast without coffee or life without chocolate? No apples or pears, citrus, watermelon, tomatoes or berries? No grapes for the table or your wine? You may have to because nature’s pollinators are under significant threat of extinction. When most of us think of bees, we think of the honey bee shown above. But the […]
Nine reasons you need to get rid of your lawn!
I’ve been a ‘no-lawn’ advocate for at least the last 25 years. If the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result, why do so many millions of us get out every weekend and mow our lawns? OK, if you’ve got young children, you’re excused for […]
2015 ‘shattered’ global temperature records!
Less than a week ago I wrote that we’re in record breaking mode. Every month for the past five months has seen a new record for global temperatures. The World Meteorological Organisation has now released the results for the whole 2015 year. The news is not good… “Today the Earth is already 1°C hotter than at the […]
The treatment for prostrate cancer just got better, cheaper and faster!
One in every seven men will get prostrate cancer. In America, there is one death from prostrate cancer every 19 minutes and a new diagnosis every 2.4 minutes of every day of the year! Prostrate cancer is the most common form of cancer yet is one of the hardest to treat. The problem is that the […]
Of Death and Regrets
My father-in-law died last week. He didn’t ‘pass over’ or ‘pass away’. He died. He’s dead. He’s not coming back – or at least not in a recognizable form. He was 75, touring New Zealand and suddenly collapsed and died within minutes. A good death. I can write about what he did or did not […]
