The drama of April is taking a bow on nature’s center stage, a magic moment of transition as the world awakens. The floodlights of strong sunlight lift the curtain and the show has begun.

Warm nights are filled with the light of thousands of stars. Along our coast, lapping wavelets mingle with the voices of otters romping in the white sands of a moonlight beach. Their soft chirping barks and chuckles mingle with the sounds of sleepy birds working the night shift.

Morning’s warming beams illuminate the bottoms of the passing clouds with a brilliant glow. A flight of long-necked egrets, with downcast bills and full of grace, sweeps inland, white bellies gleaming bright in the morning sun. From every tree and bush comes a melody of birdsong – chirping, tweeting, whistles and cooing, joyful voices full of cheer. And bobbing along a grassy roadway, a rusty-breasted robin searches for unwary earthworms that failed to come in after last night’s rain. [Read more...]

Climate change is making the world “bluer,” according to new study that finds that weather and animal populations are fluctuating more rapidly than in years past.

The blue shift is not literal; rather, the color blue is used to represent rapid fluctuations in a system called “spectral color,” which ecologists use to describe environmental change. The increasing blueness of the environment may be altering species extinction risks, said study author Bernardo Garcia-Carreras, a graduate student at Imperial College London.

“From simple models, it appears that if the spectral color of the population becomes bluer, as our results seem to suggest, then extinction risk is reduced,” Garcia-Carreras told LiveScience. “It is good news in that sense.”

But there is a large caveat to the good news, Garcia-Carreras said. Environmental fluctuations are just one influence on species survival. Other factors — such as overall temperature change and habitat loss — put pressure on species that could offset any benefits from a bluer world. [Read: With Climate Change, Expect More Monster Winter Storms] [Read more...]

In an attempt to promote landscaping under the purview of environment-friendly concepts, Pune is all set to host the 5 th International Landscape and Gardening Expo-2010. And, for the first time, the landscape expo this year will include a new component – the ‘Stone art’, which will be the highlight of this three-day expo organised by Media Today Group.

“Stones play a very crucial role in the arena of landscaping. Stone art can enhance the appeal of landscaping. Moreover, landscape architecture can generate many jobs. But unfortunately, the capacity of stone art is not being utilised to its best. So this year, we are focusing on the idea of stone art, in order to create more jobs and better landscaping,” says S Jafar Naqvi, president of Indian Flowers and Ornamental Plants Welfare Association (IFLORA). [Read more...]