Scientists have been able to successfully genetically modify plants, animals and micro organisms for a number of years. They do this by manipulating genes to produce genetic changes (which could in theory occur naturally). Supporters of genetic modification claim that the benefits, such as being able to produce crops that are resistant to disease, will help alleviate world food shortages. Many environmentalists believe that the accidental release of genetically modified organisms into the environment is genetic pollution and they fear that the uncontrolled interbreeding of modified organisms with those occurring naturally will contaminate the environment in unforeseen and possibly dangerous ways. They point out that experiments done by researchers to reassure the public about the safety of GM crops have been carried out under scientifically controlled conditions which are far removed from the actual working conditions of food producers

Predicting earthquakes using observable phenomena like phases of the moon, cloud formations, weather conditions or animal behaviour is a controversial and, some would say, impossible task. There is little or no verifiable evidence to link any of these phenomena to predictions of actual seismic activity. Early detection, as a means of advance warning, is far more reliable than future prediction and can be done by measuring primary waves (referred to as P-Waves). These non-destructive waves travel faster through the earth’s crust than the harmful and destructive secondary waves and so can provide a valuable, albeit short, advance warning. This effect of different speed waves can be likened to the relationship between light and sound; we see lightning before we hear the thunder. Some people believe that animals can detect P-Waves and that this is what causes them to start behaving strangely. Other theories advanced to explain their behaviour are that that the animals are reacting to change

A new government body is about to publish a number of scenarios hypothesising how our climate might change by the year 2100. The information provided will be used to help decide how to start adapting our society to changes resulting from global warming which will be particularly important when considering large infrastructure projects with a long lifespan. Whilst all agree that there is some degree of global warming, some scientists argue that we are overemphasising this long-term approach and should instead be focusing on shorter range natural variability which is not well understood and often difficult to predict. They claim that there is no way of knowing how accurate these long range hypotheses will be, and also question how useful the hypotheses will be for predicting the climate for the next 10 years. All existing long-term predictions suggest that within fifty years our summer will be drier and heat waves will be the norm, but what, if anything, does that tell us about the next