• woodrow wilson center
  • ecsp

New Security Beat

Subscribe:
  • mail-to
  • Who We Are
  • Topics
    • Population
    • Environment
    • Security
    • Health
    • Development
  • Columns
    • China Environment Forum
    • Choke Point
    • Dot-Mom
    • Navigating the Poles
    • New Security Broadcast
    • Reading Radar
  • Multimedia
    • Water Stories (Podcast Series)
    • Backdraft (Podcast Series)
    • Tracking the Energy Titans (Interactive)
  • Films
    • Water, Conflict, and Peacebuilding (Animated Short)
    • Paving the Way (Ethiopia)
    • Broken Landscape (India)
    • Scaling the Mountain (Nepal)
    • Healthy People, Healthy Environment (Tanzania)
  • Publications
  • Events
  • Contact Us

NewSecurityBeat

The blog of the Wilson Center's Environmental Change and Security Program
Showing posts by Karen Mancl.
  • Biodegradable Plastic in Chinese and U.S. Agriculture: Hero or Villain?

    ›
    China Environment Forum  //  July 28, 2022  //  By Karen Mancl

    Agriculture,,Field,,Mulch,Film,Biodegradable,Plastic

    Biodegradable plastic mulch seems like a dream come true for organic farming. Its use eliminates the need for herbicides and pesticides, conserves water, extends the growing season, and allows for the harvesting of clean fruits and vegetables. This mulch also lightens the load of farmers. Rather than assuming the expense and labor to gather up and haul plastic mulch to a landfill, farmers can till biodegradable mulch safely back into the soil. Yet these benefits will only be realized if biodegradable mulch films are 100 percent degradable by microbes in nature, and if they break down to carbon dioxide, water, and minerals without damaging the soil. 

    MORE
  • Microplastics in Soil – Small Size Big Impact on U.S. and Chinese Agriculture

    ›
    China Environment Forum  //  Guest Contributor  //  April 28, 2022  //  By Karen Mancl
    farmers are planting sweet potato seeds in the fields in Hebei Province, China

    Collecting plastic fragments was a game he played while helping his parents farm when growing up in rural Shandong Province, says Dr. Zhao Kaiguang, who is now an associate professor of Environment and Natural Resources at The Ohio State University: “I wanted to collect the most, but did not realize the serious negative implications of leaving plastic in the soil.”

    MORE
  • The Dirt on Agricultural Plastic Pollution of the Soil in the U.S. and China

    ›
    China Environment Forum  //  Guest Contributor  //  March 10, 2022  //  By Karen Mancl
    Cultivation of strawberry

    Farmers in the United States and China who grow strawberries, melons, and other fruits and vegetables often face the same arduous challenge—after harvesting they must gather up and dispose of the plastic mulch used to increase production. After months in the hot sun, the plastic sheeting starts to shred and break apart, leaving fragments behind in the soil. 

    MORE
  • U.S. and Chinese Aquaculture Taps into a Carbon-Free Geothermal Energy Source

    ›
    China Environment Forum  //  October 28, 2021  //  By Karen Mancl
    Water,Vapor,Rising,From,A,Hot,Spring,Under,Jangbaek,Falls

    From Friday night fish fries to shrimp cocktails, people sheltering in place have learned how to cook their favorite dishes at home. As a result U.S. seafood sales have doubled during the pandemic. Globally, the United States ranks fifth in seafood consumption and China—where hunger for seafood has skyrocketed with rising incomes—is number one. While wild fisheries are on the decline, aquaculture is expanding to increase the global food supply.

    MORE
  • China and U.S. Aquaculture Open Doors to Invaders

    ›
    China Environment Forum  //  Guest Contributor  //  August 26, 2021  //  By Karen Mancl
    Flying,Asian,Carp,Massively,Jump,Out,Of,The,Water

    “Gui Jie” in Beijing, meaning Ghost Street, is dedicated to crayfish and is filled with towering bright red crayfish statues. While it might just seem like a show for tourists, the Chinese are responsible for 90 percent of the world’s crayfish consumption and crayfish is on menus throughout the country. Between 2006 and 2016, crayfish production more than tripled to 850,000 tons. Surprisingly, crayfish is not native to China but the Chinese began raising them when aquaculture began expanding in the 1980s. 

    MORE
  • Aquaculture Fish Feed – Can China and the U.S Break the Ocean Connection?

    ›
    China Environment Forum  //  July 1, 2021  //  By Karen Mancl
    Big Fish to Little Fish

    Fish is brain food. This is a lesson we learned from our mothers and grandmothers. They were right—the Omega-3 fatty acids in fish are good for our health. Omega-3 is an essential fat, but our bodies cannot make it, so it must come from the food we eat, and fish is the best source. Fish, like people, cannot make Omega-3, so they too get it from their food.

    MORE
  • A Tale of Two Snails: Biodiversity Threats of Invasive Species in the United States and China

    ›
    China Environment Forum  //  May 27, 2021  //  By Karen Mancl
    shutterstock_1680331087-1

    Spring is the best time to eat snails, when they are their plumpest, sweet and rich in protein. Snails have been slurped in China for centuries and are an inexpensive treat for a holiday celebration. In contrast to French escargot, which is served with butter and garlic, the Chinese eat snails in stir-fry, braised or boiled and eaten right from the shell. Not all snails are a treat, however, and unfortunately some are extremely damaging to crops and natural ecosystems when they are introduced into a non-native environment. 

    MORE
  • Aquaculture is Fishing to Gut Plastic Waste—In The United States and China

    ›
    China Environment Forum  //  April 22, 2021  //  By Karen Mancl

    Fishmonger selling fish

    In May 2009, I was traveling with researchers from the Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences to learn about rural water pollution. One of them realized it was Mother’s Day and decided to treat the 3 mothers in the group to a fishing trip. We soon pulled into a farm with rows of large concrete ponds filled with fish. This was my first introduction to the world’s largest aquaculture industry, where fish are farmed in ponds, reservoirs, and even rice paddies. China produces 50 million tons of seafood annually, far eclipsing the 0.5 million tons farmed in the United States.

    MORE
  Older Posts
View full site

Join the Conversation

  • RSS
  • subscribe
  • facebook
  • G+
  • twitter
  • iTunes
  • podomatic
  • youtube
Tweets by NewSecurityBeat

Trending Stories

  • unfccclogo1
  • Pop at COP: Population and Family Planning at the UN Climate Negotiations

Featured Media

Backdraft Podcast

play Backdraft
Podcasts

More »

What You're Saying

  • World Population Day Shines a Spotlight on Inequities
    george Denniston: When I was born in 1934, there were only 2 Billion people on earth. As I grew up, I watched it...
  • AGU_1959_photo1 Melting Ice Threatens to Expose Former U.S. Nuclear Base in Greenland
    Charles Diemont: And who is responsible for the cleanup of this debacle.? Ler the Americans clean up their own mess....
  • World Population Day Shines a Spotlight on Inequities
    Sam Sellers: Kathleen is quite right that World Population Day presents an important opportunity to reflect on...

What We’re Reading

More »
  • woodrow
  • ecsp
  • RSS Feed
  • YouTube
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Home
  • Who We Are
  • Publications
  • Events
  • Wilson Center
  • Contact Us
  • Print Friendly Page

© Copyright 2007-2022. Environmental Change and Security Program.

Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. All rights reserved.

Developed by Vico Rock Media

Environmental Change and Security Program

Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center

  • One Woodrow Wilson Plaza
  • 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
  • Washington, DC 20004-3027

T 202-691-4000