On March 22, 2006, Chinese government introduced a 5% tax on disposable wooden chopsticks in a bid to preserve its forests.
China produces about 45 billion pairs of chopsticks a year, therefore, consuming millions of trees and bamboo plants. Therefore, the in order to improve the environment and narrow the gap between rich and poor, the government initiated this move. The disposable wooden chopsticks are splints of wood that are about eight and 10 inches long. The wooden chopsticks have always been target of environmentalist and of school children who have written to the Chinese prime minister asking for a ban on such disposable wooden chopsticks. There are some Chinese who doubt that the tax increase would protect the environment while some are optimistic about this new move taken by the government to preserve trees and protect the environment.

Personal opinion:  I think this might not be a very effective way to preserve trees, but it is a good initiative by the Chinese government. By putting a 5% tax on the wooden chopsticks, it is creating awareness among the Chinese that the wooden chopsticks are having harmful environmental impact. Since, the Chinese produces billions of wooden chopsticks, and hence it is cutting down millions of trees and plants to produce such chopsticks, this has negative impact on the environment. Especially, with the growing concern and risk of global warming and a great need to plant trees to decrease the risk of the global warming. The move made by the Chinese government is a good start but my not be wholly effective. It might need to take a stronger and more affirmative action to have a greater and more positive environmental impact.

Source: BBC News

Weblink: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4831734

With increase alarm of global warming, there have been rush to plant forests, so that it can soak up and store carbon dioxide; carbon sink. This process called “carbon sink” reduces the risk of global warming, however, new research showed that increase in plantation of forests could cause problems such as reduction local water supplies by up to 50%.
A recent international study on the forest plantations for the purpose carbon sinks has found that while intensive plantations does help to cut down the effect and risk of global warming, but they can also sap stream flows and cause salinity.

Personal Opinion: The trees must have taken up water from the streams for various purposes such as: photosynthesis, maintain the turgor pressure, environment and nutrients uptake. If more trees are planted the water uptake will increase and this could have led to loss of water in stream. However, I personally believe that this loss of water should not cause great alarm because even though the plant is taking in water, it will transpire the water into the atmosphere as well, and through the process of water cycle, the streams will be filled again. However, the issue of global warming is far more alarming and the increase in plantation of forest is a good thing and should be contribution of global warming. So, the increase plantation of forest is our encouraged as it is one of the most efficient way to cut down risk of global warming, since the human are not controlling or watching out their activity which is increasing the emission of CO2 and only hope!

source: The Australian

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Omega-3 fats are beneficial for people suffering from Alzheimer disease, growing children and people at risk of heart disease. It is difficult for people to get required amount of omega-3 fatty acid because of the limited source to fish. However, now theHumans can benefit from the recent development of genetically modified plant that is capable of produce omega-3 fatty acids that naturally occur in fish and algae, by the Australian scientist.The CSIRO developed the breed of plant by splicing the genes responsible for making the omega-3 fatty acid, and then insert into oil-seed crops such as grain legumes and canola.
The researcher are targeting to increase  the Omega-3 fatty acid content in the GM plant by 10% more than the omega-3 fatty acid content in fish by one or two years. 

Therefore, these GM plants are an excellent and easy way for people to get required omega-3 content in their diets. These Grain crops with omega-3 fatty acids will benefit people with fish allergies.Sydney nutrionist Ms. Griffith is supportive of the GM crop. She believes that social attitudes to genetic technology in plant production were unlikely to change overnight, but expects people to accept GM technology more as they realized its health benefits. 

I believe and agree to Ms. Griffith’s view. GM plant such as this is very effective because it is easily accessible and improves nutrient diets. Although, it might be difficult at first to accept such GM plants,  if it is scientifically proved that it has no bad or ill effect on humans, and is beneficial rather than harmful, then people should not hold back to accept it and rather we should encourage invention of more of such GM crops.

source: Herald Sun (Australia)

weblink:http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe/document?_m=00276e8c1cecd602a31af4dd8bc5f2c7&_docnum=2&wchp=dGLbVtb-zSkVA&_md5=6f205a2a01298df648caf5e097bac710

According to Weed scientists, Crop cultivation in spring might help increase the populations of desirable weeds. Weeds are grouped intro “desirable” and “undesirable” category, and there have been funded researches that have tried to understand the effect of these two categories of weed on crop cultivation.

James Clarke ADAS claimed that spring cultivation is required to be able to achieve much more desirable species such as fat hen and polygonums than other seasonal crop cultivation. Recent work as part of the SAFFIE project and for Defra investigated whether spring wheat cultivation might stimulate weed germination.
The research showed that when crops were sowed in other season but spring they had difficulty in increasing growth of desirable weed species while removing undesirable ones. However when crops were sowed in spring in winter-sown cropping areas, it resulted in significant increase in populations of desirable species. Hence, in the spring crop area, there were good numbers of spring species. The weeds did not cause any problem or yield loss furthermore; these weeds are rare and important for plant biodiversity.

In conclusion, summing up entire article, sowing crops in spring will increase the population of “desired” weeds; which will not cause loss of crop production, or any such problem like “undesirable” weeds, and further more it will enhance biodiversity. Therefore, the best time to sow crops is during the spring season!!!

source:Farmers Guardian

headline:Spring cultivations increase wanted weeds

weblink:

http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe/document?_m=45da43ccde80cb52062c26efd9ef6538&_docnum=25&wchp=dGLbVtb-zSkVA&_md5=7044ff7c41df330fd34276db0bd9cdfc

Genetically-modified tomatoes may be the key to win the global fight against bird flu.
This is because Australian plant scientist Amanda Walmsley is working on growing a vaccine on GM tomatoes against the deadly H5N1 virus.She is hoping to develop a vaccine for the birds to fight against H5N1 virus that is causing the bird flu. The technique used will be similar to the vaccine created against the Newcastle Disease in tobacco plant. To develop such GM tomatoes will involve introduction of one of the H5N1 virus gene into tomato plants cells. The injected viral gene would order the tomato cells to produce a specific protein, found in bird flu, effectively making it a factory for the vaccine. This vaccination on bird will have proteins that will protect them if they came into contact with H5N1.

If this vaccine is turns out to be successful, it will reduce the number and risk of viral infected birds in poultry,  hence in turn decrease the possible of the bird flu turning into pandemic, and reduce the risk of it being transmitted in and between humans,Dr Walmsley hopes to have a vaccine ready for preliminary test in mice by the end of the year.  

I believe that this is just a starting step, if Dr. Walmsley does succeed in her mission, it will be a boost to a fight against the bird flu. The GM tomatoes are our new hope to fight the battle. Although the vaccine is against bird, it will have a major impact on us, because if we reduce the viral infection among birds, this will automatically reduce the viral to spread in human, and will stop the flu from becoming pandemic

 source: Financial Times Information

            Global News Wireweblink: http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe/document?_m=0a07cb8961e85a87cab271a7c1997ad8&_docnum=12&wchp=dGLbVtb-zSkVA&_md5=6417dc2b2ede16a3df8dc51f71186f7a

Soyabean rust is a serious disease caused by the fungus phakospora pachyrhizi in soyabeans. For the first time, the disease was found in North America in November 2004, and South America in 2001. Many believe the disease came from South America with the Hurrican Ivan. The threat of this pathogen in U.S is unnown, but the disease has caused a restain in soyabean cultivation in S. America. The spores of the fungus cannot survive the freezing weather. Hence, it is only likely to survive the winters in southern portion of U.S  The medium of th rust spores dispersal is wind. The spores can also survive on the alternative hosts such as Kudzu, winer vetch, white clover, many bean species and lupines.

source

1. Hernández, J.R.. 2004. Invasive Fungi. Asian soybean rust. Systematic Botany & Mycology Laboratory, ARS, USDA. Retrieved April 12, 2006, from http://nt.ars-grin.gov/sbmlweb/OnlineResources/FungiOnline.cfm .
2. North America Plant Disease Forecast Center. Soyabean Rust-where did it come from?.  http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/pp/soybeanrust/where.php

Abitoic stress such as salinity, poor nutrient uptake, drought..etc  is one of the most damaging and widespread stress faced by the plants. However, few resistance genes exist that can treat with the aniotic stress tolerance. The Generation Challenge program led by International Rice Research Institue has found two such genes that can improve rice productivity. The researchers are working on saltol that treats salinity tolerance and pup1 which will improve the phosphorous uptake. The Saltol is mapped in chromosome 1 of the seedling while the pup 1 is mapped in the rice chromosome 12. The cloning of these two genes are expected to be complete in a year and two. Once these genes are succefully cloned and engineered into the rice, it will incerease the productivity of the rice and inturn increase the farmers income.

Source: Global Knowledge center on crop biotechnology
published date: April 11, 2006
website:http://www.isaaa.org/kc/
more information regarding the article can be found in the website: http://www.generationcp.org/sccv10/sccv10_upload/opposites_attract.pdf