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Study finds insect shows promise as a good, sustainable food source:
With global food demands rising at an alarming rate, a study led by IUPUI [( Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis)] scientists has found new evidence that a previously overlooked insect shows promise as alternative protein source: the yellow mealworm.
The research is based upon a new analysis of the genome of the mealworm species Tenebrio molitor led by Christine Picard, associate professor of biology and director in Forensic and Investigative Sciences program at the School of Science at IUPUI.
[...] "Human populations are continuing to increase and the stress on protein production is increasing at an unsustainable rate, not even considering climate change," said Picard, whose lab focuses on the use of insects to address global food demand.
The research, conducted in partnership with Beta Hatch Inc., has found the yellow mealworm—historically a pest—can provide benefit in a wide range of agriculture applications. Not only can it can be used as an alternative source of protein for animals including fish, but its waste is also ideal as organic fertilizer.
[...] "Mealworms, being insects, are a part of the natural diet of many organisms," said Picard. "Fish enjoy mealworms, for example. They could also be really useful in the pet food industry as an alternative protein source. Chickens like insects—and maybe one day humans will, too, because it's an alternative source of protein."
Journal Reference:
T. Eriksson, et al. The yellow mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) genome: a resource for the emerging insects as food and feed industry [open], Journal of Insects as Food and Feed (DOI: 10.3920/jiff2019.0057)
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Tuesday September 01 2020, @09:53PM (8 children)
That doesn't make sense. If average temperatures are higher, more water will evaporate and form clouds (assuming the water covering 2/3rd's of the Earth's surface doesn't leave Earth). More rain means more erosion and increased availability of needed minerals.
But we don't have to guess about that. Average temperatures during the time of the dinosaurs, the Cretaceous, were 4 degrees higher than now and yet it was humid and abundant in plant life. Many species of dinosaur grew to large sizes, so if hotter climate means less nutrition in the biome then they ought to have been smaller than species now. None of us know what tomorrow will be like, but the fossil record contradicts the premise that "a warmer planet tends to be a dryer planet."
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Mykl on Wednesday September 02 2020, @02:31AM (6 children)
All of this fails to address the real problem of climate change. Yes, the Earth has been hotter (and colder) in the past. Yes, life continued and will definitely continue post-climate change.
What is different is that we have never had billions of people living on coastlines that will soon be underwater if we continue along our current path, growing all of our food through farms that rely on the current climate in their current locations. It is simply impractical to suggest that we all pick up and move 50 kilometres inland, and that we move all of our grain production (for example) up to where we used to grow bananas and pineapples.
Humanity will survive climate change, but our current way of living will change dramatically for the worse and billions may die in the process. That is what we are trying to avoid.
(Score: 2) by deimtee on Wednesday September 02 2020, @04:25AM (1 child)
Depends on your definition of "soon". Moving a couple of meters up the shoreline every century isn't going to collapse society. We might lose some iconic buildings but normal redevelopment can take care of most of rebuilding on slightly higher ground.
What we should be doing, if you really believe sea level rise is a threat, is passing a law that says there will be no government compensation for ocean flooding for any building built from this point forward. You want to risk building where it might flood, that's your problem, you don't get to unload it on society.
If you cough while drinking cheap red wine it really cleans out your sinuses.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 02 2020, @12:13PM
Years ago, the government did something similar with redefining where the flood planes were. But, that was something that happened during the Obama administration, so immediately all the racists that inhabit the Republican party objected. Technicually people could still build in the flood plain, it's just that their hopes for being compensated in case of floods were greatly diminished. Given the amount of flooding now versus 30 years ago, it was a move that should have already happened.
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Wednesday September 02 2020, @12:12PM (2 children)
Humans are highly adaptible, highly mobile, and highly interconnected. Do you starve if there's a local drought? No, you probably don't even notice, because the supermarket sources the food from Chile or Canada or some other place. If climate change means the container ships start moving less in this direction and more in that, well, we'll deal with it. With only today's technological capabilities, we can handle it. With tomorrow's, we'll do even better.
There's also the question of rate of change. If sea level jumps 50 feet everywhere tomorrow, then you are correct that "billions may die in the process," but that's a florid scenario. What's much more likely to be the case is that it will creep up over generations. Short, by a geologist's or climatologist's standards, but long by a normal human's.
We definitely should live lighter on the Earth. We should stop burning fossil fuels, and we should consume less as individuals for a whole host of reasons. But let's refrain from panic. Life will be fine. The Earth will be fine. Humanity will be fine.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 02 2020, @12:18PM (1 child)
That's a rather dangerous attitude to have here. We may figure out how to deal with it or we may not. You're assuming that we will get it figured out quickly enough, but the reality is that at some point we may cause a problem that is so significant and/or fast that we can't solve it in time. And even if we do manage to solve it, there's no guarantee that there won't be mass starvation in the meantime while trying to implement it.
At some point, we may well find that things are shifting so quickly that we can't move the infrastructure fast enough to keep up. A local drought is one thing, we can just grow food elsewhere, but when it's huge swathes of the planet becoming inhospitable it may turn permanently unusable for agriculture the way that the Sahara did.
This is one of the reasons why it's so foolish to rely on technology to solve the climate crisis without doing what we can to reduce emissions as much as practical. We can pretty much always cut emissions by simply powering down most of the equipment that's emitting carbon dioxide, but making things more efficient is a much harder task to accomplish.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday September 03 2020, @03:01PM
Evidence for this "reality"? I'll point out that we have plenty of evidence that we can adapt to a lot of problems pretty quickly.
What makes you think we're not already doing that? There's an awful lot of poor people who can't eat reduced emissions, for example.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday September 03 2020, @04:35AM
Over the course of a couple of centuries or more. Come on.
(Score: 2) by HiThere on Wednesday September 02 2020, @03:35AM
There were, indeed, places where plants were abundant. But the deserts were HUGE!!
Still, the time of the dinosaurs wouldn't be a good example, even if it backed you up. (It doesn't.) The distribution of land masses was very different, and also, partially because of that, the ocean currents. There's a lot more green areas now than there was at the time of the dinosaurs. You're thinking of the equivalent of the jungles of Africa, and ignoring the veldt and the Sahara (and the Kalahari). Yes, those places exist. But they aren't most of the planet.
Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.