Batters Up

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BITS AND PIECES

YET ANOTHER "LOWLY" GROUP OF creatures maligned in folklore but in fact harmless and beneficial are the bats. Bats disperse seeds, pollinate plants and are extraordinarily efficient insect predators. A single gray bat (an endangered species) can eat up to 3,000 insects in one night. But because of their undeserved bad reputation and the superstition that surrounds them, many bats are killed just "to get rid of them," and the destruction of bat habitat is given little thought. Now a Texas-based, nonprofit organization, Bat Conservation International, has been formed to change the situation. To help, or for information on bats, why they should be saved and how you can peacefully coexist with the fly-by-night mammals, contact Bat Conservation International, P.O. Box 162603, Austin, TX 78716.

Fleeing to the Sea

In overcrowded Tokyo, commercial office space is full up—and astronomically pricey. To help solve the problem, a Japanese firm is planning to build and float 35,000-ton "office arks" in Tokyo Bay. The elaborate islands of commerce would include not only office space for hundreds of people but also hotels, restaurants and shops. Workers would commute by helicopter and ferry "buses." Some say that in the near future entire floating cities will sprout off the shores of Japan and other overcrowded nations.

Smart Streetlights

Energy-saving solar streetlights are becoming commonplace in many parts of the world, but Israel has come up with an even more efficient twist: In that country, at intersections where soldiers frequently hitchhike, the government has installed solar streetlights that detect human presence. When no one is standing nearby, the lights are off; when someone approaches, they switch on.

Biotech Meets Chemotech

Advocates of biotechnology have long expressed optimism that food crops can be genetically engineered to be naturally insectand disease-resistant, reducing humankind's dependence on synthetic chemical controls. Indeed, just such developments are taking place. A Madison, Wisconsin, biotechnology firm recently announced it will begin field trials of two plants engineered to be resistant to crop-damaging caterpillars and viruses. But not all biotechnologists are thinking organic. The Monsanto Company reports that its scientists are testing a strain of rapeseed they've genetically engineered to be resistant to Roundup, the chemical company's own broad-spectrum herbicide. Because Roundup tends to kill not only weeds but crops too, developing a new family of Roundup-resistant food plants could allow more widespread use of the herbicide. Roundup breaks down rapidly and is considered relatively safe, but environmentalists worry that a trend toward engineering chemical-resistant plants will encourage increased applications of even stronger synthetics.