If you have been reading this blog for some time, you know that I believe that we are heading straight toward a triple crisis. Indeed, we are already experiencing an economical crisis and we may soon face environmental issues. It seems that I am not the only one thinking that Nature might soon be reaching …
I know it since I read Collapse, Jared Diamond’s fantastic book about how various societies disappeared : trees matter ! Between soil erosion prevention and climate change mitigation, there are many reasons for keeping forests alive. Now comes a British study noting that the annual cost of deforestation is five trillion dollar. This research is …
After no less than ten years of exploration all around the world ( with no less than 2,700 scientists, 80+ nations, 540 expeditions) the Census Of Marine Life is finally out. And the findings are more than interesting. The wealth of the planet Ocean is astonishing as it is estimated there are over a million …
To the UNEP : ” For millennia, medical practitioners have harnessed substances from nature for treatments and cures: aspirin from the willow and, more recently, Taxol – the groundbreaking anti-cancer drug – from the bark of the Pacific yew. Some of the biggest breakthroughs may be yet to come. But this can happen only if …
While traveling at 220 km/h in the TGV between Nancy and Paris I read about the Fresh Kills landfill and how it became a beautiful park in Staten Island. This is a continuation of my previous post, Turning a landfill into a beautiful garden. Indeed Courrier International proposed last week the translation of the full …
I recently finished reading a most interesting book of what Mankind would leave behind once it has disappeared from the surface of the Earth. This 300-page thought experiment was written by the American journalist Alan Weisman. Even if cities like New York will disappear as buildings crumble and as plants of all sorts grow, Nature …
The French daily Le Figaro publishes a translation of the best New York Times articles each Friday. This enabled me to come accross another huge oil spill, this time located in Ecuador, South America. During three decades Texaco operated more than 300 oil wells without taking any notice of environmental issues. As a result the company …
Biodiversity is a vital issue to us all as to the United Nations the disappearance of both fauna and floral species costs six percent of the world GDP, or more than $3,100 billion (2,000 billion euros) per year. The Mother Nature Network published recently a splendid infographic with the Top 20 countries with most endangered species. …
Evidence keeps on piling : investing in Nature and the environment is perhaps one of the best thing you can do, not only for Mankind as a whole but also for yourself as Return On Investments (ROI) are high. The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) issued a report which according to the BBC shows …
We have seen it before, biodiversity is impressively rich in places where Mankind isn’t too much present. Indeed, the WWF wrote in December 2008 that the Greater Mekong is a biodiversity treasure. Now the organization notes : Over 350 new species including the world’s smallest deer, a “flying frog” and a 100 million-year old gecko …
