insert_link Environment Southern Africa Climate Tipping Points By Vitalio Angula, via Evergreen News Global Warming and Climate Change could lead to the total collapse of Namibia’s Cattle Industry if global temperatures exceed 3 Degrees Celsius in the second half of the 21st Century experts at a Southern African Climate Change and Adaptive Land Management (SASSCAL) meeting held in the capital Windhoek recently revealed. The TIPPECC Co-Design and Research Dissemination Meeting with […] todayJuly 2, 2024 27
insert_link Environment Hurricane Beryl pummels Caribbean, strengthens to Category 5 By Chandan KHANNA Hurricane Beryl has strengthened into a top-level category 5 storm after it swept across several islands in the southeastern Caribbean, dumping heavy rain and unleashing devastating winds. Beryl is now the earliest category 5 storm in the Atlantic on record and has developed into a "potentially catastrophic" hurricane, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said. The NHC said in its latest update […] todayJuly 2, 2024 20
insert_link Environment Karachi heatwave claims lives The southern Pakistani city of Karachi is in the grip of an extreme heatwave. The head of the city's largest ambulance service says more than 800 people have died in the last two weeks, even as hundreds more are still receiving treatment for heat-related illnesses. According to Pakistan's Meteorological Department, the maximum temperature crossed the 40 degrees Celsius mark over the last three days, mainly due to the suspension of […] todayJuly 1, 2024 25
insert_link Africa Study: A third of Africa’s great apes at risk from mining of transition metals Rising demand for the metals needed to power the global renewable energy transition potentially threatens more than a third of Africa’s great apes. Nearly 180,000 gorillas, chimpanzees and bonobos face potential fallout from current and future mining projects for these transition metals, particularly in West Africa. Direct and indirect potential impacts from mining on apes include habitat destruction, health threats from light pollution and disease transmission, […] todayJuly 1, 2024 28
insert_link Africa Kenyan farmers turn to WhatsApp & AI tools to combat crop diseases Farmers in Kenya and other countries are using online chat groups and artificial intelligence (AI) tools to help combat crop losses due to pests and diseases. New research shows chat groups modeled on those used in human health care can offer benefits to farmers and enhance their communication with plant doctors. Organizations such as PlantVillage and CABI are using such digital tools and chat groups to expand their […] todayJune 27, 2024 34
insert_link Environment Elon Musk could avert global species extinction with only a portion of his wealth A new study has pinpointed the most crucial areas around the world for protecting Earth’s rarest and most endangered species, the vast majority of which are found in tropical and subtropical moist forests. Just five countries — the Philippines, Brazil, Indonesia, Madagascar and Colombia — contain 59% of all identified sites globally. Only 7% of land protected over the past five years overlapped with these critical […] todayJune 26, 2024 19
insert_link Environment The role and importance of farmers’ associations By Erastus Ngaruka: Technical Advisor – Livestock & Rangeland Management The agricultural sector in Namibia is the backbone of the country’s economy through its three main pillars, namely, food production, employment creation, and income generation. The sector faces endless challenges associated with climate, market, technologies, inputs, and conflicts amongst others. These are hindering sustainable crop and livestock production in the country at all scales in […] todayJune 26, 2024 21
insert_link Environment What the 3.2 million-year-old Lucy fossil reveals about nudity and shame Popular renderings of Lucy tend to dress her in thick, reddish-brown fur. Dave Einsel/Getty Images By Stacy Keltner, Kennesaw State University Fifty years ago, scientists discovered a nearly complete fossilized skull and hundreds of pieces of bone of a 3.2-million-year-old female specimen of the genus Australopithecus afarensis, often described as “the mother of us all.” During a celebration following her discovery, she was named “Lucy,” […] todayJune 24, 2024 14
insert_link Africa Elephants use the tips of their trunks to grasp things with great precision – how this can help robotic design By Pauline Costes, Sorbonne Université An elephant uses its trunk for eating, drinking water, communicating, exploring the environment, social behaviour, and making and using tools. The trunk, which contains six muscle groups, is not only very strong – it can uproot a tree – but can be used with great precision. Elephants use a number of techniques to grasp objects, including suction, pinching […] todayJune 21, 2024 23
