Tag Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies
Landscape found to influence spread of malaria in Amazon
The spread of malaria, one of the world's most prevalent insect-borne diseases and a leading killer of children, may have more to do with landscape than precipitation as the world warms, according to a new study.
Hurricanes not likely to disrupt ocean carbon balance
Hurricanes are well known for the trail of damage and debris they can leave on land, but less known for the invisible trail left over the ocean by their gale-force winds - a trail of carbon dioxide.
Research uncovers surprising lion stronghold in war-torn central Africa
Times are tough for wildlife living at the frontier between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Armies are reportedly encamped in a national park and wildlife preserve on the Congolese side, while displaced herders and their cattle have settled in an adjoining Ugandan park.
Common soil mineral degrades the nearly indestructible prion
In the rogues' gallery of microscopic infectious agents, the prion is the toughest hombre in town.
Nations that sow food crops for biofuels may reap less than previously thought
Global yields of most biofuels crops, including corn, rapeseed and wheat, have been overestimated by 100 to 150 percent or more, suggesting many countries need to reset their expectations of agricultural biofuels to a more realistic level.
Study: Did early climate impact divert a new glacial age?
The common wisdom is that the invention of the steam engine and the advent of the coal-fueled industrial age marked the beginning of human influence on global climate.
History of Wisconsin’s wolf policy filled with compromise, meddling
To some, last month's federal decision that put the gray wolf back on the endangered species list in the Great Lakes region was an unmitigated triumph. Siding with the Humane Society of the United States and other groups, the court ruling placed the wolf once again under federal protection after it was removed from the list last March.
Restoring order: UW Arboretum runoff solutions combine ecology and engineering
In spring 2008, a class of undergraduate and graduate engineering students studied a section of Wingra Marsh to learn more about the hydroecologic effects of the massive stormwater inflow. "Stormwater management infrastructure throughout the Arboretum is failing due to age and increased flows of runoff from the surrounding watershed," says David Liebl, a UW–Madison engineering professional development faculty associate who chairs the Arboretum stormwater committee.
Waterborne disease risk upped in Great Lakes
An anticipated increased incidence of climate-related extreme rainfall events in the Great Lakes region may raise the public health risk for the 40 million people who depend on the lakes for their drinking water, according to a new study.
A ‘red flag’ for expanding biofuels in the tropics
Biofuels, by recycling atmospheric carbon, are a potential boon to the world's ailing climate. But efforts in the tropics to significantly expand biofuel production by replacing tropical forests with oil palm, sugarcane and other agricultural biofuels could, in fact, accelerate climate change, according to a new study published this week (July 9).
Web tool puts wildlife diseases on the map
A new online map makes it possible, for the first time, to track news of disease outbreaks around the world that threaten the health of wildlife, domestic animals, and people.