- Scientists create a digital database of biodiversity
Valuable specimens of flora and fauna from natural collections, bibliographic sources and archival collections, which are in the resources of Polish scientific institutions, will soon be digitized and available. The data collected under the IMBIO project, led by the University of Warsaw, covers all life forms with a cell nucleus ( Eukaryota ). The implementation of the project, coordinated by Dr. Piotr Tykarski from the University of Warsaw, involves 18 scientific partners, cooperating with each other within the National Biodiversity Information Network (KSIB). The digital collection will include only organisms characteristic of Poland or also of the world? - Protection of rare and endangered species of flora
The importance of plants for humans cannot be overestimated. They are present directly or indirectly in almost every area of life. Meanwhile, the richness of their diversity is deteriorating at an alarming rate, mainly due to anthropogenic pressure. It is estimated that one in four species in the world is threatened with extinction in their natural habitats. In Poland, a similar percentage of the threat to our native flora is observed. Initiatives are taken that cover different levels of biodiversity organization, from genetic to species to ecosystem. These initiatives are based on tools specialized in a given direction and to a large extent are related to an institution or organization operating in a given area of natural resource protection. - Tree surgeons - knowledge and practice
Preserving the natural heritage is a priority in nursing and treatment activities carried out by specialists from the Polish Society of Tree Surgeons of the Supreme Technical Organization. For over 30 years, members of this organization have shared a common passion to restore the health and well-being of nature monuments and other trees that are mutilated, weakened and plagued by pests. They listen to the rhythm of their lives, diagnose and undertake the necessary treatments. - Polish biologists have discovered a new genus and species of cyanobacteria
Not only a new species, but also a completely new type - i.e. a taxonomically higher unit - of cyanobacteria was discovered by a team of scientists led by Polish researcher Prof. dr hab. Iwona Jasser from the University of Warsaw, Faculty of Biology. This cyanosis species, unlike any previously known species, lives in the geothermal spring of the East Pamir Mountains (Tajikistan). According to its discoverers, it may turn out to be not only a new evolutionary line of cyanobacteria, but also a potential producer of valuable bioactive substances. An article about the new organism - and others isolated from geothermal environments in Iceland, Poland, Greece and Tajikistan - appeared in the journal Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution ”. The results described in the publication concern research conducted by three different teams. - Natural sweeteners and the wisdom of nature
Although we have a wide selection of natural and artificial sweeteners on the market, sugar still has a dominant and unthreatened position. It is referred to as "white death". The list of negative effects it can cause is very long, but the truth about the dire effects of white sugar on human health was difficult to reach. Meanwhile, nature in the long process of evolution has produced many safe natural sweeteners. Only some of them can be found in food products, but their popularity is still far behind white sugar. In Poland, stevia is gaining more and more popularity. Contains stevioside , 150 times sweeter than normal white sugar, and is also used to treat certain diseases. - Economics in environmental protection
An important motive for the application of economics in environmental protection is the search for solutions that would allow for the greatest advantage of benefits over costs. To this end - sometimes relying on Lagrange 's theorem - economists propose a solution that equates marginal benefits with marginal costs. It is very difficult to precisely find such a level of protection, but the adopted standards should be at least approximately justified by the fact that their possible change would not be justified by a comparison of costs and benefits. - Plants communicate with each other
Plants warn each other through electrical signals transmitted on the surface of the leaves. The new plant communication mechanism was described and explained by a team led by a Polish scientist. Plants are not as primitive organisms as they seem. They can perceive stimuli, process and remember physiologically. The research was funded by the National Science Center. - Social commitment to energy transformation
Most of us intuitively feel that the current model of economic development cannot last forever, because the growing human population, improving its standard of living and consuming more and more goods, burdens the environment and changes the Earth's climate each year. We have known about these threats for a long time, and the awareness of their occurrence dates back to the 1970s, when high-profile publications and reports were published (Rome Club Report 1972; Petroleum Institute Report 1968; ExxonMobil Report 1977) proving that the development of the industrial economy will inevitably lead to to over-exploit resources and is a threat to biodiversity and climate stability. - Neighbors ride together
Our planet does not necessarily become too small to produce food, clothes, a computer, an apartment, a house with a garden and, of course, a car for each of us. Once, I did some simple calculations with my students to answer the question of how long would Earth's oxygen last if nature had not photosynthesized what consumed the unbridled civilization of primates. We used the statistics of the global consumption of fossil fuels (gas, oil, coal), we calculated the molar masses of the simple chemical reaction C + O2 => CO2, and then the volume of the atmosphere and the mass of all oxygen accumulated in it. - For the sake of the environment
The 2015 Paris Agreement signed under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Change - UNFCCC), was to obtain a commitment and universal consent to limit global warming to a level not exceeding 2 ° C. In addition, further actions are to be introduced by all countries of the world. The agreement was agreed and signed by 195 signatories.
AURA Ochrona Środowiska (AURA Environmental Protection) - the whole list