Erik Stokstad

Dueling Visions for a Hungry World

AGRICULTURESparks began to fly when scientists and activists against genetically modified crops came together to assess agricultural knowledge and the role of biotech in development.

Will Deepwater Horizon Set a New Standard for Catastrophe

Gulf Oil SpillThe fiery destruction of an oil drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico on 20 April may have triggered one of the worst environmental disasters in U.S. history. The impact of the crisis, which began with the deaths of 11 workers and then simmered for several days before an expanding oil slick grabbed worldwide attention, promises to test the federal governments ability to protect habitat, wildlife, and the economic well-being of a four-state region on a scale never before imagined.

Despite Progress, Biodiversity Declines

2010, the International Year of Biodiversity, celebrates Earth9s glorious variety of species and ecosystems. But many are threatened or damaged, and the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has failed to meet its lofty goal of a significant slowdown in biodiversity loss by 2010. Next month, CBD will meet to adopt a new strategic plan, see p. 1298. The draft revises several of the 21 previous subtargets, such as controlling invasive species and creating more nature reserves. Science examines the major modifications proposed for six central targets. For each, we include a recent example of an advance or setback, as well as the assessment of progress by CBD9s Global Biodiversity Outlook 3. The charts show the change over time of key parameters; however, these global trends mask large regional variation.

Ammonia Pollution From Farming May Exact Hefty Health Costs

A new study finds that ammonia pollution linked to U.S. farming may impose human health costs that are greater than the profits earned by agricultural exports. Some analysts say the findings highlight the need to pay more attention to ammonia pollution caused by fertilizer use and livestock agriculture.

Pesticides Under Fire for Risks to Pollinators

Citing evidence from laboratory and field studies that neonicotinoids threaten honey bees and other pollinators, the European Union is poised to ban the use of three of the most common neonicotinoids in several crops by the end of the year. Even as European regulators act, however, scientists are divided on whether pollinators are exposed to enough of the pesticides to pose a grave threat to their colonies, in part because of a paucity of data and the challenges of doing rigorous field trials. Pesticide and seed companies maintain that their products are safe when used properly. And many scientists remain unconvinced that chronic exposure to doses typically encountered in farm fields is a leading cause of pollinator declines.

Open-Source Ecology Takes Root Across the World

In 2005, a handful of young researchers fed up with their inability to answer a major ecological question by reviewing the literature decided to take matters into their own hands and created a network of small experiments. In the past 6 years, the collaboration, called the Nutrient Network, has grown far beyond initial expectations, with scientists volunteering at 68 sites in 12 countries. In part, it9s popular because the simple experiments are designed to answer a broad set of questions about how grasslands respond to global change without disproportionate effort by any one individual. The network also provides an easy way for young faculty members, postdocs, and grad students to get involved in a large collaboration and contribute to high-profile papers.

Field Research on Bees Raises Concern About Low-Dose Pesticides

Five years ago, bees made headlines when a mysterious condition called colony collapse disorder decimated honey bee colonies in parts of the United States. Now bees are poised to be in the news again, this time because of evidence that systemic insecticides, a common way to protect crops, indirectly harm these important pollinators. Two field studies reported online this week in Science document problems. In bumble bees, exposure to one such chemical leads to a dramatic loss of queens and could help explain the insects9 decline. In honey bees, another insecticide interferes with the foragers9 ability to find their way back to the hive. Researchers say these findings are cause for concern and will increase pressure to improve pesticide testing and regulation.

Down on the Shrimp Farm

Sludge dumping, along with other environmentally harmful practices, gave shrimp farming a bad reputation. But in the past 15 years, many shrimp farmers have been cleaning up their act. Although motivated more by economics than environmental concerns, they have made substantial strides in many places to reduce their toll on the marine world, both locally and globally. Researchers around the world are refining a system called biofloc technology that relies on cultivating microbes to recycle nutrients and reduce waste. Academics and companies are also striving to improve processed shrimp feed and replace the fish meal it contains with other protein sources, a change that could help prevent further depletion of fish species at the base of oceanic food webs. Ultimately, by making shrimp aquaculture more productive—through breeding programs and perhaps high-tech inland farms—some researchers hope they can grow cheaper, more plentiful shrimp while sparing marine habitats altogether.

Could Less Meat Mean More Food

Here9s a simple idea you may have heard for improving food security: Eat less meat. The logic goes like this. People in the developed world eat a huge amount of animal protein. And consumption of meat, eggs, and milk is already growing globally as people in poorer nations get richer and shift their diets. That9s a problem because animals are eating a growing share of the world9s grain harvests—and already directly or indirectly utilize up to 80% of the world9s agricultural land. Yet they supply just 15% of all calories. So, the argument goes, if we just ate less meat, we could free up a lot of plants to feed billions of hungry people and gain a lot of good farmland. Some food-security researchers, however, are skeptical. Although cutting back on meat has many potential benefits, they say the complexities of global markets and human food traditions could also produce some counterintuitive—and possibly counterproductive—results.

New Rules on Saving Wetlands Push the Limits of the Science

In one of the most significant wetlands regulations in 2 decades, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has spelled out what developers must do to mitigate damage from their construction projects.