Dr. Lowman’s latest Nature’s Secrets column in newsobserver.com:
As a nerdy scientist, I was never a Super Bowl fan. This year when Anquan Boldin – who shares my passion for building stone walls in Ethiopia – made the first touchdown of the winning Baltimore Ravens, I became one. Science and sports appear worlds apart, but both are dedicated to aiding a country that faces drought, poverty, deforestation and disease.
Northern Ethiopia has a serious problem with its forest resources. The last remaining forests exist as small fragments called “church forests.”
They surround virtually all the Ethiopian Orthodox churches. Thanks to Google Earth, the shrinkage of these forests in recent decades can be documented. At current rates, these precious green islands are rapidly disappearing.
