Almost every developed nation (except the United States) has ratified the Kyoto agreement; 39 of those countries have passed national, legally-binding emissions- reduction targets. Recently the world’s two largest developing nations, China and India, have begun designing their own domestic programs to curb carbon output. Twenty five American states have enacted laws to reduce their carbon footprint and, with new leadership in Washington, we Americans may soon join the rest of the developed world in a sustained effort to reduce and offset our very large carbon footprint. There are numerous ways to reduce and offset carbon and it is likely that plants will play a significant role. Continue reading →

Chances are, you have never thought of your garden – indeed, of all of the space on your property – as a wildlife preserve that represents the last chance we have for sustaining plants and animals that were once common throughout the U.S. But that is exactly the role our suburban landscapes are now playing and will play even more in the near future. If this is news to you, it’s not your fault. We were taught from childhood that gardens are for beauty; they are a chance to express our artistic talents, to have fun with and relax in. And, whether we like it or not, the way we landscape our properties is taken by our neighbors as a statement of our wealth and social status. But no one has taught us that we have forced the plants and animals that evolved in North America (our nation’s biodiversity) to depend more and more on human-dominated landscapes for their continued existence. We have always thought that biodiversity was happy somewhere out there “in nature;” in our local woodlot, or perhaps our state and national parks. We have heard nothing about the rate at which species are disappearing from our neighborhoods, towns, counties, and states. Even worse, we have never been taught how vital biodiversity is for our own well-being. Continue reading →

Bringing Nature Home is a recent book by Dr. Douglas Tallamy, a Professor and Chair of the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware. One of his major research goals is to better understand the many ways insects interact with plants and how such interactions determine the diversity of animal communities. He has published over 72 research articles on related topics.

This is a well-written, inspiring book that describes the various roles of insects in ecological systems, mostly focusing on their conversion of solar energy, by eating plants, into the protein source that is the basis of all terrestrial food webs. The roles of insects in pollinating our food crops, as well as native plants, has been receiving substantial press lately; add to that pest predation and we start to realize how under appreciated are our six-legged friends. Continue reading →