Birds, Bees, & Bugs
The week of June 23, 2019 - We explore the solutions helping our environment's most productive and important little creatures.
This device keeps birds from flying into wind turbines
Each year, wind turbines kill around 350,000 birds annually in the US. That’s why researchers have built an innovative device called the Acoustic Lighthouse that alerts birds in danger of crashing into a wind turbine. Birds, which have eyes on the sides of their heads, look down and to the side Read More...
Drones deliver sterile insects to tackle disease in Ethiopia
In a region of Ethiopia where disease-ridden tsetse flies run rampant, drones are being administered to lower the fly population and ultimately save lives. The autonomous drones can fly for up to two hours at a cruise speed of 20 meters per second and have temperature controlled pods under each Read More...
Insects can contribute to food security
Insects are going to have a major contribution to food and feed security says Priyadarsanan Dharma Rajan, senior fellow at Bengaluru based Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE). Insects comprise at least 85% of biodiversity and play the most important roles in the Read More...
Attaching bird houses to sign posts will make the city friendlier to birds
Birds have come to avoid cities. They crash into skyscrapers or get lost because of the bright lights at night. But there's something we can do to make them feel more at ease: put up bird houses to sign posts. Nest Project, based in London, aims to help out the birds while making urbanites aware Read More...
Planes help track—and save—endangered animals and insects
Tracking the migratory patterns of birds, butterflies and other small species has been notoriously difficult, until now. A partnership between the Smithsonian Institute and United Airlines, called The Partners in the Sky Initiative, affixes small radio antennae to the bottom of aircraft so they Read More...