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Articles (Agriculture)

A Tale of Two Trees
(Science Fun Time: Stories and Activities)

If we lose forests, we lose the fight against climate change!

Global Warming… Danger at All Measures! (Part II)
(Earth Sciences)

What if we do not stop CO2 emissions in the atmosphere?

Extraterrestrial Farming
(Astronomy and Space Sciences)

With ongoing man-made and natural calamities hitting Earth, scientists are working on several projects that aim to find other planets suitable for life. 

Blue Gold
(Earth Sciences)

Can you imagine your life without water? Of course not, life without water is impossible; we need water to survive.

Moving Plants
(Microorganism, Animal and Plant Life)

When you read the title “Moving Plants”, you may ask yourself “Do plants move?” Guess what? They do.

Can You Really Become A Sugar Addict?
(Food, Mood, and Behavior)

People around the world are eating more sugar than ever before; that is because the food industry has been adding more of it to various products over the years. 

GMOs: Yay or Nay?
(Microorganism, Animal and Plant Life)

Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), give this term a spin anywhere and you will find many who have very strong opinions whether for or against. However, before we delve into the debate, let us have a look at what GMOs are.

The Doomsday Vault
(Microorganism, Animal and Plant Life)

In a place far, far away, where snow-covered ground is all one can see for miles and miles, in a climate that is one of the coldest on Earth, a vault has been built. Deep in the ground, its tunnels run until you reach a vault that houses one of humanity’s most precious treasures. It is not gold or diamonds that you will find carefully stored in this vault; instead, neatly nestled in individual envelopes, carefully labeled and marked, what this vault preserves are seeds. It is a place where all countries had a hand in filling it up, and where you may find countries that are now at conflict or are in discord have seeds stored there for safekeeping, peacefully next to each other.

Genetically Modified Food: Pros and Cons
(Food, Mood, and Behavior)

Have you ever read the term GMO-free on your cereal box or any other food product packages that you have bought recently? Have you ever heard about the cube-shaped watermelons or tomatoes, or the blue strawberries? What are GMOs and what is its impact our health?

Good Agricultural Practices
(Microorganism, Animal and Plant Life)

Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) are specific methods when applied to agriculture create food for consumers or further processing that is safe and wholesome. While there are numerous competing conceptions of what methods constitute good agricultural practices, there are several broadly accepted schemes that producers can adhere to. Several food and agricultural organizations and authorities, use good agricultural practices as a collection of principles to apply for on-farm production and post-production processes, resulting in safe and healthy food and non-food agricultural products, taking into consideration economic, social and environmental sustainability. These practices may be applied to a wide range of farming systems at different scales.

Agricutural Waste between Feeding Plants, Animals, and People
(Microorganism, Animal and Plant Life)

The food problem has become a disturbing global problem for people and organizations; the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has thus taken on the challenge of bringing famine to zero level. The freedom and dignity of people have been attached to this dilemma; communities have thus come to know and believe that “they who do not have power, do not own his freedom”.

Egyptian Food and Agriculture Statistics
(Microorganism, Animal and Plant Life)

Since the Pharaonic era, Egypt is an agricultural nation. The Nile River and the fertile soils on its banks have allowed Egyptians to build a splendid civilization based on agriculture. Nowadays, agriculture is one of the main pillars of the Egyptian economy; in 2012, agriculture contributed with 13.4% of the national gross domestic production and employed 27.1% of the total Egyptian workforce.

Shifting Cultivation
(Microorganism, Animal and Plant Life)

Shifting cultivation is an agricultural system, in which plots of land are cultivated temporarily then abandoned and allowed to revert to their natural vegetation, while the cultivator moves on to another plot. The period of cultivation is usually terminated when the soil shows signs of exhaustion or, more commonly, when the field is overrun by weeds. The length of time that a field is cultivated is usually shorter than the period over which the land is allowed to regenerate by lying fallow.

Green Walls
(Microorganism, Animal and Plant Life)

Living walls, or green walls, are self-sufficient vertical gardens that are attached to the exterior or interior of a building. They differ from green façades in that the plants roots are in a structural support fastened to the wall itself; the plants receive water and nutrients from within the vertical support instead of the ground. The vegetation can partially or completely cover the wall; these green walls may be indoors or outdoors, freestanding or attached to an existing wall, and come in a great variety of sizes.

Ten Reasons to Go Organic
(Food, Mood, and Behavior)

In our hurried lives nowadays, we tend to overlook one vital aspect, which is nutrition; we forget that the key to our well-being is to eat good and healthy. Generally, we should choose our foods free of pesticides and toxic chemicals, which are the main reason of many serious health problems.

Food Sharing Programs
(Education, Business, and Society)

Every Wednesday morning Mr. Günther, an old helpless man living in an outskirt of Berlin, wakes up in the morning, wears the nicest thing he has, carries his big basket, and heads to the weekly central food-sharing gathering in his area. After the gathering, Mr. Günther comes back home with a smile on his face and a basket full of fresh and delicious food enough for one week until the next gathering, all for free. I had the pleasure meeting Mr. Günther during my short stay in Berlin. As a person who lived in Egypt for a lifetime, I was quite impressed by the strictly systemized and regulated German food-sharing system. As we rode together on the train, Mr. Günther explained how the system works.

Eco-Villages
(Education, Business, and Society)

With the increasing evidence of human-initiated climate change, people throughout the world are coming together to try to reduce their carbon footprint. Groups are trying to move away from the dependence of fossil fuels and consumerist practices. There is a focus on producing and consuming locally, and living as sustainably as possible. Many initiatives are encouraged, such as reducing energy use, creating sustainable local businesses, localizing farming and creating environmentally minded communities known as “eco-villages”.

Future of Farming
(Microorganism, Animal and Plant Life)

The critical determinant of production is the quality of farm management that combines available resources to deliver products that meet demand.

Royal Jelly
(Food, Mood, and Behavior)

Queens always receive special treatment, and bees are no different. 

Agriculture and Civilization
(Earth Sciences)

Only with agriculture did humans really become humans. It is when Man lifted himself out of the savage life of foraging: living in caves, searching for food from dawn until dusk, chasing beasts or being chased by them, always hungry and worried where to find the next meal.

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SCIplanet is a bilingual edutainment science magazine published by the Bibliotheca Alexandrina Planetarium Science Center and developed by the Cultural Outreach Publications Unit ...
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