From: 5min.com on AOL on Mon, Dec 06 2010 10:38 AM

Learn about George Eliot and her autobiographical depictions in her books.

From: 5min.com on AOL on Mon, Dec 06 2010 10:38 AM

Learn about George Eliot’s Most Renown books and also learn of how she died.

From: 5min.com on AOL on Mon, Dec 06 2010 10:38 AM

Learn about George Eliot’s Marital Statues and her first writing jobs.

From: 5min.com on AOL on Mon, Dec 06 2010 10:38 AM

Learn about the experiences Jane Austen had encountered while living in the city of Bath.

From: 5min.com on AOL on Mon, Dec 06 2010 10:38 AM

Learn about the birth place of Jane Austen and see where she had received many of her writing inspirations.

From: 5min.com on AOL on Mon, Dec 06 2010 10:38 AM

Learn about Thomas Hardy’s birthplace and where he got his early education.

From: 5min.com on AOL on Mon, Dec 06 2010 10:38 AM

Learn about Jane Austen’s last novels and her dying days.

From: 5min.com on AOL on Mon, Dec 06 2010 10:38 AM

Learn how Thomas Hardy and his wife were having great difficulties in their relationship which had depressed Thomas greatly.

From: 5min.com on AOL on Mon, Dec 06 2010 10:38 AM

Learn how Thomas Hardy had taken great offense to some of the criticism of his books and had decided to never write a Novel again.

From: 5min.com on AOL on Fri, Dec 03 2010 3:25 AM

Poverty-stricken Lesotho lacks the gold, diamonds and fertile farmland of its neighbor South Africa. But in return, it possesses a resource that prosperous South Africa badly needs - water.

From: 5min.com on AOL on Fri, Dec 03 2010 3:25 AM

The degradation of mountain environments has a profound effect on other ecosystems, such as the coral reefs.

From: 5min.com on AOL on Fri, Dec 03 2010 3:25 AM

The Maasai used to see land as a common resource, but the new type of ranching is based on the privatization of land. A group of Maasai from Kenya moved to Lake Magadini in Tanzania to water their herds. But the lake is getting smaller.

From: 5min.com on AOL on Fri, Dec 03 2010 3:25 AM

In Suktel Valley, India, a new dam project is planned which will submerge one of the few remaining forest areas in Orissa. The local people harvest wild tobacco leaves, which form a key to their income. Should the dam be built, they will lose everything.

From: 5min.com on AOL on Fri, Dec 03 2010 3:25 AM

For many people, the Italian Alps are intimately connected with winter sports. But the rich woodlands of the Fiemme Valley have another resource: the wood of the region’s conifer trees has been used for musical instruments.

From: 5min.com on AOL on Mon, Nov 22 2010 8:44 AM

Cacti are very adaptable to infertile soils and can play an important ecological role in combating desertification as well as producing fruits and vegetables for human consumption, forage or fodder for livestock, and biomass for energy purposes.

From: 5min.com on AOL on Sun, Nov 21 2010 6:39 AM

By analyzing the genetic material of the flower buds, Alejandro Casas came to the conclusion that many cacti species had been cultivated only in a very primitive way: species which produce fruits frequently had been taken and planted in gardens.

From: 5min.com on AOL on Sun, Nov 21 2010 6:39 AM

Nopal is successful not only because of its fruits, but also because other parts of the plant can be eaten by humans. But Israel faces huge competition from nopal producers in other countries.

From: 5min.com on AOL on Sun, Nov 21 2010 6:39 AM

The first and only commercial plantation of this cactus, selling under the name 'koubo' on the market, can be found in Israel. Koubo is fast-growing and its fruits can be harvested all year round, which makes it particularly valuable.

From: 5min.com on AOL on Sun, Nov 21 2010 6:39 AM

Growing crops in extreme conditions is key to sustainable development as water shortages are becoming an unavoidable reality. Another advantage of desert crops is that they won’t need pesticides since the pests can't survive under such extreme conditions.

From: 5min.com on AOL on Sun, Nov 21 2010 6:39 AM

Fish is a huge part of the staple diet in the Philippines, but it’s disappearing fast. Due to destructive fishing methods like illegal dynamite and cyanide fishing, the marine environment has become seriously endangered.