“Yes, it’s a little bit dangerous. Normally, people avoid the monsoon clouds.”
J. R. Kulkarni of the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, which has begun an experiment to seed storm clouds with rain-inducing chemicals to try to control the timing of the annual monsoon. Its late arrival is causing havoc this year (The Times, London, 30 June)
“If you want to have a baby, our advice is to do it often.”
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David Greening of Sydney IVF, a private fertility clinic, on his study of 118 men that found sperm damage was 12 per cent lower in men who had sex daily. He presented the results at a fertility meeting in Amsterdam (Associated Press, 30 June)
“Light bulbs may not seem sexy but this simple action holds enormous promise.”
US President Barack Obama announcing new, tougher energy efficiency requirements for certain types of fluorescent and incandescent lighting, scheduled to take effect in 2012. The measures should cut the electricity used by these lights by 15 to 25 per cent and save up to $4 billion (The New York Times, 29 June)
“It’s a big and voracious predator, it will eat lots of different insects, soft fruit and all kinds of things.”
Helen Roy of the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology warning that an anticipated warm summer would provide the perfect conditions for the Asian harlequin ladybird to breed, creating ecological havoc for hundreds of native species (The Guardian, London, 30 June)
“Fish do very well in the seas without eating cows.”
Robert Friedland at the University of Louisville in Kentucky, who is concerned about the possibility of people contracting Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease from eating farmed fish that are fed by-products rendered from cows (Reuters, 26 June)
