| Bang Goes the Theory | Gilbert And Sullivan: A Motley Pair | Time Shift: The North On A Plate | Mad Men | Derren Brown Live | Words Of The Blitz | Tonight's TV highlights Bang Goes the Theory | Gilbert And Sullivan: A Motley Pair | Time Shift: The North On A Plate | Mad Men | Derren Brown Live | Words Of The BlitzBang Goes the Theory7.30pm, BBC1What's that WSSSSSHH sound? It's the collective sound of popular science fans drawing breath at the return of BGTT. In this first episode, the team explore the repercussions of the BP oil spill and entertain the general public with science experiments involving Russian dolls and weighing scales. The best bit comes when presenter Dallas Campbell, who is travelling to New Zealand with an atomic clock (the most accurate timepiece available) to illustrate the theory of relativity, declares: "It's worse than travelling with a small child!"Gilbert And Sullivan: A Motley Pair8pm, Sky Arts 2A great opening to a five-part series about Britain's greatest librettist/composer duo. Veteran G&S player Simon Butteriss presents with an appropriate level of whimsy and theatrics as he delves into the origins of WS and Arthur's topsy-turvy partnership. Subtle points of satire are acted out by professionals and amateurs (like Cambridge University's G&S Society) and their role in the development of musical theatre is explained by talking heads Michael Ball and Germaine Greer. Time Shift: The North On A Plate9pm, BBC4Andrew Hussey is a cultural history professor who lives in Paris. Originally from Liverpool, he wants to see if he can translate the French concept of terroirs, which denotes the geography and local conditions that defines distinct regional foods, to the north of England. And it's not so difficult. In Liverpool he instantly identifies lobscouse, a stew originally eaten by Baltic sailors and eponymous with the city, while he uncovers the historical link between Wigan and pies. His examples may not seem as glamorous as Bordeaux wine or camembert, but potatoes, fish and chips, tripe are all contenders for terroirs status.Mad Men10pm, BBC4"Who is Don Draper?" asks a reporter from Advertising Age in the first line of this fourth series, set in 1964. It's a knowing wink to an audience well aware of Don's dual life, but it presents a real problem for the ad man – as the public face of a new firm, Draper is now being asked questions about his background. And stonewalling them won't help a business so short of cash that it can't afford a conference table. Meanwhile Betty – who never had to worry about mother-in-law issues – is struggling under Henry's mother's scrutiny at Thanksgiving dinner.Derren Brown Live10pm, Channel 4Last time round, Derren Brown didn't just mess with the minds of a studio audience, he actually came after the viewer at home: in a moment that was as satirical as it was magical, he left members of the public unable to move from their sofas. Details about this new illusion (Stunt? Experience? Trick?) are of course under lock and key ("A member of the public goes on a life-changing journey"), but Brown's genius is in the pre-sale. Never mind what you actually see, Brown tells you that what you're going to experience is going to be pretty incredible. Words Of The Blitz10.35pm, ITV1More blitz commemorations, this time as told through the diaries and letters of those who witnessed the bombing of London firsthand. There's a mixture of class, age, sex: men and women, teenagers, fire fighters, nurses and government officials reveal their experiences and personal thoughts. There's fear and horror, of course, but also boredom and excitement; some are direct and descriptive, others poetic and elegiac. Actors, including Dominic West, Romola Garai, Sheila Hancock and Steven Berkoff, provide the readings. MSPreviews by Megan Clarke, Will Dean and John RobinsonTelevisionMartin SkeggWill DeanJohn Robinsonguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Fibbing With Numbers A science writer examines the many ways of fudging figures and statistics. feeds.nytimes.com |
Remote Hawaii atoll corals suffer some bleaching By AUDREY McAVOY 2010-09-30T05:03:23ZHONOLULU (AP) -- Corals at remote atolls northwest of the main Hawaiian islands suffered some bleaching this summer as ocean temperatures rose to higher-than-normal levels for a couple of weeks, but they were spared the large-scale mass bleaching observed this year in Indonesia and other parts of Southeast Asia, scientists said Wednesday.... hosted.ap.org |
Mystery Bird: Dark-eyed junco, Junco hyemalis This lovely little mystery bird is caught up in the middle of a much larger scientific controversyLeucistic dark-eyed junco of the "Oregon" form, Junco hyemalis var. Oregonus, also sometimes known as snow birds or snow sparrows because they suddenly appear in the eastern, central and southern portions of the United States in the winter. Photographed in Fall City, Washington, USA. Image: Jamie Samans, 10 September 2010 [with binoculars].Nikon D50 w/ an 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6D ED VR lens.Question: This migratory bird has a large range throughout North America, Mexico, Europe and it even occupies a number of islands. It has a correspondingly large number of subspecies and "morphs" that vary on a regional basis. Can you tell me which one this might be? Response: Among the 15 described races of Dark-eyed Juncos, six forms are easily recognizable in the field, five of which were considered separate species until the 1980s. This individual is a leucistic dark-eyed junco of the "Oregon" form, Junco hyemalis var. Oregonus, a group that comprises seven very similarly marked subspecies: Junco hyemalis montanus, Junco hyemalis oreganus, Junco hyemalis pinosus, Junco hyemalis pontilis, Junco hyemalis shufeldti, Junco hyemalis thurberi and Junco hyemalis townsendi. According to at least a few experts, the Oregon juncos should be treated as a separate species complex from dark-eyed juncos, which makes this bird especially interesting as a test case for the age-old question: what is a species?Embedded below is a 2 minute radio programme about the dark-eyed junco, thanks to my friends at BirdNote Radio:If you have bird images, video or mp3 files that you'd like to share with a large and appreciate audience, feel free to email them to me for consideration.GrrlScientistguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Europe should increase aid to improve agriculture in Africa | Lindiwe Majele Sibanda A new EU-Africa partnership report recommends making agriculture a priority to fight malnutrition, hunger and poverty affecting millions of people in sub-Saharan AfricaHere's a quick quiz to test your knowledge of farming and food production in sub-Saharan Africa. Which scenario best reflects the state of farming in Africa today?• convoys of food trucks besieged by starving masses in Niger• millions of smallholder farmers struggling to subsist without access to the tools and technologies they need• fields in Uganda plump with orange fleshed sweet potatoes rich in vitamin A growing so fast farmers can cultivate two plantings a year• solar powered weather stations in northern Kenya that automatically send insurance payments to farmers over mobile phones when they detect evidence of a droughtThe correct answer is all of the above. Each of these situations in their own way reflects the contemporary reality in Africa. In many areas, food production remains incredibly fragile, and the result is visual and heart-wrenching in the malnutrition of millions of children. In other areas, dramatic progress is the overriding feature of the day. These situations taken together show that African agriculture represents a huge opportunity for wealthy governments in Europe, who last year joined partners in North America at the L'Aquila G8 summit in pledging $22.5bn to fight hunger around the world. After a generation of neglect of agriculture development, they agreed to do this chiefly through agricultural development and, given the overwhelming need, largely in sub-Saharan Africa. We recently served on a panel of agriculture development experts from Europe and Africa with decades of experience in this area. All of us are eager to see Europe take more decisive and coordinated action to boost agriculture production in Africa. We emerged from our discussions concerned that a dangerous gap is opening up between the big promise of assistance we heard last year and a new flow of investments targeting specific challenges on the ground in Africa. We understand the difficulty in crafting a coherent, regional approach to boosting food production, particularly when the needs vary so dramatically.But Europe can move forward quickly and effectively with a large increase in agriculture development assistance for Africa. European leaders also need to recognise that further delay is risky for Africa - and Europe. Europe risks ceding influence to emerging global powerhouses like China and Brazil, which are rapidly ramping up agriculture investments in the region.A key problem today in sub-Saharan Africa is that deficiencies in agriculture are directly tied to long-entrenched high rates of malnutrition, especially among mothers, children, and infants. The statistics are staggering: 200 million Africans are chronically malnourished; 5 million die of hunger annually; 126 million children are underweight; and half of all children are stunted.Think about that: every other child in Africa is stunted.But the situation is far from hopeless, in large part because of the emergence of new, African-led national and regional efforts offering the potential for a homegrown remedy to these nutrition challenges. For example, African governments understand well that most of their citizens are dependent on farming for food and income. Thus, the only way to make progress in nutrition improvement and poverty reduction is by making agricultural development a priority. Twenty-two countries have signed on to the Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Program (CAADP), which commits signatories to investing 10% of national budgets for improving agricultural productivity. Already, countries are moving rapidly toward this goal, including Rwanda, where 7% of its total spending was in agriculture in 2010, up from 3% in 2005. Also, in only a few years of operation, the new Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) has steadily pursued efforts focused on tangible accomplishments, like better access to improved seeds and fertilisers in high potential "breadbasket" regions. Maize productivity in western Kenya alone increased 115% last year. In Tanzania, better access to seeds and fertilizers has allowed farmers to produce a surplus even in the midst of drought. But threats large and small could ruin the exciting potential of these nascent movements. The status quo is not enough because climate change is threatening yields, soil fertility is decreasing, and many fear another rapid rise in food prices. The sudden spike in commodities prices that roiled world markets in 2007 and 2008 added millions more Africans to the ranks of the chronically hungry. Our report urges European governments to use their influence and deep understanding of agriculture markets to create a system of grain reserves, some of which could be established in African countries, to protect against price volatility. These reserves would not be intended for price stabilisation but as an emergency mechanism that could counter a price spike before it quite literally kills people.We also believe European leaders could scale up effective initiatives, such as those implemented by AGRA, already underway in Africa. Ultimately, the overall situation today provides considerable reason for optimism. Europe and its G8 partners are offering unprecedented levels of support. African nations are better prepared to make use of agriculture investments than ever before. We need a sense of urgency now to seize the moment before it slips away.• The Montpellier Panel Report is published today. It provides an overview of the state of European investment in African agriculture as well as a set of recommendations for improving food security and strengthening EU-Africa partnerships in the sector.MalnutritionAgricultureFarmingEuropean UnionLindiwe Majele SibandaSir Gordon Conwayguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |