Archive for 2007

amateur science

mushroom on the roof Originally uploaded by hans s I posted about the extended growing season for mushrooms in the UK a few weeks ago. A cool fact I didn’t know at the time: the discovery was due to a 50 year data collection by Alan Ganges, an amateur mycologist. Fungus enthusiast Edward Gange amassed […]

worse than predicted

Our worst case climate change scenarios are quite possibly much better than the reality will be. From a discussion of hurricanes in The Weather Makers: Some commentators believe that the discrepancy between the computer models and conditions in the real world somehow indicates that global warming is not responsible for the increasing cyclone activity. Others, […]

Stop Dieting

Someone really needs to do something about companies like weight watchers. And our idea of fat people needs to change. Fat is not ugly or lazy or even unhealthy in many cases. And dieting does not work. There is a reason that fat people cannot stay thin after they diet and that thin people cannot […]

double the mushrooms

Means more food (for trees!) The climate is getting warmer and winter is coming later. This means fungi have more time to grow. And fungi make tree food! Fungi play a key role in forest ecosystems, breaking down leaf litter and returning nutrients to trees via their roots. The expanded fruiting season implies a major […]