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Q&A with Earth director Alastair Fothergill

Posted by Hannah

Green Living Polar bears and prophecies from the director of Earth. Earth, the hotly anticipated new film from Disneynature—in theatres on Earth Day (April 22)—follows three families of mammals. It captures the spectacle of the animal kingdom on the Arctic sea ice, in the tropics and Kalahari Desert, and at the Antarctic’s Southern Ocean. Green Living caught up with Emmy Award-winning wildlife filmmaker and Earth’s co-director Alastair Fothergill (best known for producing and directing the BBC series Planet Earth) for a chat about climate, camera angles and the thrill of the chase. Green Living: What do you hope people will … Read more…

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Dying trees could exacerbate climate change

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Forests could emit more carbon than they store if temperatures rise. Forestry experts have again warned that climate change could transform forests from sinks to sources of carbon. The carbon storing capacity of global forests could be lost entirely if the earth heats up 2.5° Celsius above pre-industrial levels, according to a new report. The analysis by the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) is a synthesis of existing information. “This is the first time it has been put together on a global scale,” says Alexander Buck, IUFRO deputy executive director, in Vienna. “It is the most thorough assessment … Read more…

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Muslim students weigh in on evolution

Posted by Hannah

In Indonesia and Pakistan, questions about how science and faith can be reconciled. In the first large study of its kind, a survey of 3,800 high-school students in Indonesia and Pakistan has found that teachers are delivering conflicting messages about evolution. The Can$250,000 Islam and Evolution research project is the first large study of students, teachers and scientists in countries with significant Muslim populations to examine their understanding and acceptance of evolution. Some results from the three-year project were presented at a symposium at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, this week. “We now have empirical data for how Muslim students, … Read more…

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Canadian science minister under fire

Posted by Hannah

Comments on evolution spark fierce criticism. It’s been a rough month for Canada’s minister of science and technology. Gary Goodyear, who was appointed to the new position in October 2008, has been roundly criticized in the media for an outburst during a meeting with a university teachers’ group and for his comments on evolution. Some Canadian researchers say the criticism is unreasonable, but others say it suggests that Goodyear, a chiropractor by training, is not in tune with the community whose portfolio he oversees. :: Keep reading in Nature ::

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Climate change may alter malaria patterns

Posted by Hannah

Malaria has long been endemic in Kenya’s humid lowlands and its tropical coast. But in recent decades there has been a spike in the number of malaria epidemics in the East African Highlands—an area where the people living there have little experience with the disease. The East African Highlands are high above sea level. Traditionally, the cool breezy climate has been inhospitable to mosquitoes. But in the late 1990s average temperatures in Kenya’s highlands were as much as 4 degrees higher than normal and the incidence of malaria jumped 300 percent. Many experts believe that climate change is fueling this … Read more…