Study Says Global Warming May Increase Kidney Stone Disease

A US study predicts more Americans would likely suffer from kidney stones in the coming years as a result of global warming.

Kidney stones are often caused by dehydration from high heat conditions or by not drinking enough liquid. If global warming continues as projected by United Nations Panel on Climate Change, the United States can expect as much as a 30-percent growth in kidney stone disease in some of its driest areas, according to the study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.

Biofuel - Food Connection

Are food supply shrinking because of biofuel production? Consider this: About 25% of the US corn crop goes into ethanol production: A US law mandates a minimum of 15 billion gallons of corn-based ethanol by 2015, an amount that could cut up nearly all of the US crop, according to experts.

This scenario is taking on a bad rap for proponents of biofuels. "Burning food today to serve the mobility of rich countries is a crime against humanity, "said Jean Ziegler, a special rapporteur on the Right to Food for the United Nations, quoted in Time.com in its April 28 issue.

Biodiversity: Why It's Loss Is A Concern

Biodiversity is the term given to the variety of life on earth. The United Nations' Convention on Biological Diversity defines biodiversity as " the variability among living organisms from all sources including, inter alia, terrestial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this include diversity within species."

Biodiversity in our environment is crucial to sustaining human livelihoods. People especially in developing countries are dependent on continued diversity, that is why the government strive to maintain and conserve it. The great wealth of plant and animal species and their interactions with one another, and with the environment, made earth habitable for humans.

Moringa Oil Tapped As Biofuel In US

Malunggay or horseradish in English is a wonderful plant from the Philippines that is being tapped for use as biofuel source in the United States. Moringa oil or oil extracted from the seed of the malunggay plant has been reported to have a growing demand in the US for use as biodiesel.