Clear-cut tropical forest revitalized with industrial orange peel waste

Andrea James 6:26 am Sat Sep 2, 2017

In 1997, ecologists Daniel Janzen and Winnie Hallwachs convinced a Costa Rican orange juice maker to to dump their waste peels in a clear-cut abandoned pasture that was in a national park. Twenty years later, the enriched soil nourishes tropical forest again, according to a new report.

Via ZME:

Princeton ecology grad student Timothy Treuer said after visiting the location: “It was so completely overgrown with trees and vines that I couldn’t even see the 7-foot-long sign with bright yellow lettering marking the site that was only a few feet from the road." Treuer's colleague Jonathan Choi added, "The site was more impressive in person than I could’ve imagined. While I would walk over exposed rock and dead grass in the nearby fields, I’d have to climb through undergrowth and cut paths through walls of vines in the orange peel site itself.”

A win-win for everyone!

• Low-cost agricultural waste accelerates tropical forest regeneration (Restoration Ecology via ZME)

Scientists have mapped 20 percent of the ocean floor

In ten years, scientists hope to have mapped the entire ocean floor in high resolution. This week, the Nippon Foundation-GEBCO Seabed 2030 Project announced that they've completed 20 percent of… READ THE REST
"The current [insect] extinction crisis is deeply worrisome," say experts

Twenty-five experts have issued a warning about the potentially cataclysmic consequences of the rapidly shrinking insect population, reports The Guardian. In a two-part article for Biological Conservation, the scientists wrote:… READ THE REST
Antarctica reaches 20º C (68º F), highest recorded temp ever on icy continent

Scientists say 20.75º C logged at Seymour Island is ‘incredible and abnormal’ READ THE REST
Short Post, just one paragraph

Dessert cheesecake wafer bear claw fruitcake. Fruitcake chupa chups donut candy canes marzipan. Apple pie sweet roll tart chocolate cake macaroon marshmallow carrot cake gummi bears sweet. Pastry sugar plum… READ THE REST
Save 50% on a 1-year subscription to Dashlane's premium password manager

We all know vital information about ourselves and our private digital accounts can be compromised by cybercriminals. However, many would be frightened to know just how compromised they and their… READ THE REST
The Bite Helper removes the itch of a mosquito bite in seconds

While mosquitoes have certainly earned their title as the deadliest animal on earth, their impact on most of our lives is usually a lot less consequential. But even though they… READ THE REST