Ecology and Biofuels

 Nitrates are widely used as fertilisers at farms. Excess levels of nitrates can damage freshwaters and the marine environment by promoting eutrophication. Excessive growth of algae chokes other life. Eliminating excess nitrates from drinking water is very costly. Keeping aquatic systems unpolluted is a responsibility of  mankind. [1]

The Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU), together with BASF SE started a joint safety project to study long-term effect of nanoparticles in lung. Germany takes the world leadership in safety research on nanoparticles. The project will be funded with 5 million Euro during 4 years. [1]

Weiss et al. 2012 summarises the available data of  actual studies related to the environmental impacts of biofuels. One metric ton (t) of biofuel was found to save 55 ± 34 gigajoules of primary energy and 3 ± 1 t carbon dioxide equivalents of greenhouse gases, compared to conventional fuels. [1]

BASF announced to build a plant for formic acid at Geismar, Louisiana/USA. The new plant will have an annual capacity of more than 50,000 tons adding to the actual capacity of 255.000 tons of formic acid produced by BASF in its sites in Ludwigshafen/Germany, and Nanjing/China.  [1]

Dr. Eric A Davidson writes that meat consumption must be reduced. Fertiliser use and management of manure must change to avoid that the targets of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will not be met. [1]

Rauth et al 2012 report that prenatal exposure to chlorpyrifos, measured in umbilical cord blood,  is associated with neurobehavioural deficits in humans and animals. Affected are, alertness, emotions, control of impulse and social relationship. Rauth and colleagues found in their study more than  4,39 Pikogramm Chlorpyrifos/gram umbelical blood., which is   even rather low, compared to samples of the blood bank of Cincinnati whhich present an average 9,9 Pikogramm pro Gramm. [1]

Scientists call for 50% reduction in mean per capita meat consumption in the developed world [1]

The US company Planetary Resources announced that it will combine space exploration with mining of natural resources of asteroids, aiming to generate trillions of Dollars and promote material welfare of mankind. [1]

MicroRNA (miRNA) are short ribonucleic acid (RNA) molecules which have very few nucleotides (an average of 22). MiRNA genes are located in the intergenic regions of the plant genome. They regulate the post-transcriptional expression of proteins in plants and animals. MiRNAs are likely to be involved in most biological processes. [1]

Mining increases water scarcity in Ecuador endangering food security of the region. Rural population  from all parts of Ecuador claim that the traditional usage of natural water resources is the basis of their existence. The free access to natural and clean water resources is considered a human right, which was even stipulated in the constitution of Ecuador in 2008. [1]