ApocaDocuments (45) gathered this week:
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Sun, Jun 1, 2008
from RedOrbit:
Species Disappearance Puzzles Scientists
U.S. scientists say they are baffled by the disappearance of Diporeia, a shrimplike major food source for fish in the Great Lakes.
The declining populations of the energy-dense creature are threatening lake whitefish and many prey fish upon which salmon, trout and walleye rely... Collaborating researcher Tom Nalepa ... said the Diporeia are already gone from many large areas of lakes Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario, with nearly no Diporeia found in Lake Michigan at depths shallower than 90 meters. Just 15 years ago, their density often exceeded 10,000 animals per square meter at such depths. ...
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But now we can swim without that nasty Diporeia buildup.
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Sun, Jun 1, 2008
from Vancouver Sun:
Everyone knows acid rain, but what about black water?
In other words, when it comes to sorting the "clean energy" from the "smart energy," most of us don't know what we're talking about.
According to EcoAlign, an eco-marketing group, the green gap isn't just about misusing words. Our lack of understanding contributes to a "growing misalignment" between our intention to become more green and our ability to do so. Unless we get to know the new vocabulary, we run the risk of committing the kinds of eco-errors that could lead to ecocide -- or, worse, an entirely avoidable ecopolypse. ...
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Language defines cognition, said Chomsky -- so let's start talking, since it's clear our cognition needs a boost.
(and really, ecopolypse? who do they think they are, making up words?)
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Sun, Jun 1, 2008
from CNET News:
Plant power to fight toxic tech
Most Americans live and work in buildings awash in chemicals blamed for asthma, lung cancer, and a host of other maladies.
The best way to clean the air could be with a green thumb, according to Bill Wolverton, a former NASA environmental scientist who has spent more than 30 years studying how plants purify the air. The results of his research could come to market this fall as a household air filter that looks like a potted plant.... Based upon chemicals in common consumer products, for instance, a peace lily might be ideal for a laundry room, and a new couch could be flanked by bamboo palms. Among the plants researchers found to have potent air-purifying qualities are the Eureka palm, lady palm, peace lily, and rubber plant. ...
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How sweet to use a peace lily to filter out toxins!
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Sun, Jun 1, 2008
from Daily Mail:
Chlorine in tap water 'nearly doubles the risk of birth defects'
"Pregnant women living in areas where tap water is heavily disinfected with chlorine nearly double their risk of having children with heart problems, a cleft palate or major brain defects, a new study has found. Scientists say expectant mothers can expose themselves to the higher risk by drinking the water, taking a bath or shower, or even by standing close to a boiling kettle." ...
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Ceasing any of those activities is bound to make an irritable pregnant woman downright apoplectic!
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Sun, Jun 1, 2008
from The Poultry Site:
New Quarantine Regulations for Exotic Newcastle Disease
WASHINGTON, US - The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) today issued a final rule that changes the exotic Newcastle disease (END) domestic quarantine regulations.... Exotic Newcastle disease is a highly contagious and fatal viral disease that affects all species of birds. END is not avian influenza and poses no risk to human health. However, it is another highly contagious disease of poultry and birds. It affects the respiratory, nervous and digestive systems of birds, and many birds die before demonstrating any clinical signs of the disease.
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This disease's acronym (END) sounds somewhat more serious than the euphonious H5N1B.
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Sun, Jun 1, 2008
from Discover:
Everything You Know About Water Conservation Is Wrong
"...It takes about 155 gallons of water on average to grow a pound of wheat. So the virtual water of this pound of wheat is 155 gallons. For a pound of meat, the virtual water is 5 to 10 times higher. There’s a virtual water count for everything. The virtual water footprint of a cup of coffee is 37 gallons; an apple, 19 gallons; a banana, 27; a slice of bread, 10; a sheet of paper, 3; and a pair of leather shoes, 4,400, according to Waterfootprint.org, a Unesco-run Web site providing a calculator for individual and national water use." ...
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I guess when we really start running out of water, we can always eat paper.
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Sun, Jun 1, 2008
from Associated Press:
China kicks off drive to kick plastic bag habit
"China on Sunday became the latest country to declare war on plastic bags in a drive to save energy and protect the environment." ...
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Now if we could get China's population of over 1.3 billion people to stop farting we'd really be making climate progress!
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Sun, Jun 1, 2008
from In These Times, in AlterNet:
Will the Toxic Sludge Industry Be Held Accountable for Human Health Risks?
"... and we have precocious puberty, little girls developing breasts at 5 or 6 years old, little boys developing armpit hair. And that is something that people don't want to talk about," Holt says. "They will talk about their thyroid glands, their cancers, but they will not talk about early puberty. We are on a true toxic tilt."
For the first time since she became involved in the sludge issue, Holt is guardedly hopeful that her concerns will finally be addressed, and that the sulphurous alliance between the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), municipal sewer authorities and Synagro Technologies (the nation's largest sludge disposal firm, which was recently bought by the Carlyle Group) -- will be exposed for the blight it is.
In April, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), chair of the Environment and Public Works Committee, announced that her committee will hold hearings on the issue this summer. The catalyst is a confluence of recent news reports about sludge-related scandals. ...
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Who'd have thought that laying a bunch of toxic shit down would have consequences?
Note: the Carlyle Group is Poppy Bush's investment tribe.
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Sat, May 31, 2008
from Toronto Star:
The Frozen Ark: Toward Jurassic Park
Since 2004, the little-known Frozen Ark project in Nottingham, England has been quietly gathering, storing and preserving genetic "backups" of species for whom conservation efforts have come too late – or not at all. Priority is being given to 40 animals that are extinct in the wild but still living in zoos. Next in line are 10,000 or so species whose populations have fallen as human numbers inexorably rose. The Frozen Ark is a "doomsday animal vault." Small tissue samples of endangered species are being frozen and preserved in liquid nitrogen. ...
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Let's see -- can we freeze the ecosystems needed to support the critters?
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Sat, May 31, 2008
from MIT newsoffice:
MIT develops a 'paper towel' for oil spills
The scientists say they have created a membrane that can absorb up to 20 times its weight in oil, and can be recycled many times for future use. The oil itself can also be recovered. Some 200,000 tons of oil have already been spilled at sea since the start of the decade.
"What we found is that we can make 'paper' from an interwoven mesh of nanowires that is able to selectively absorb hydrophobic liquids--oil-like liquids--from water," said Francesco Stellacci, an associate professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and leader of the work. ...
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If only the Exxon Valdez had had a few rolls of those towels in their cupboard.
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Sat, May 31, 2008
from San Diego Union-Tribune:
Wave of Cliff Swallow deaths sparks mystery
The recent deaths of nearly 100 cliff swallows near the public dock at Lower Otay Lake ... appear to have started about a week ago, when the reek of decaying birds at the Lower Otay dock and boathouse caught the attention of the city's lake manager. Swallow deaths have continued for several days, prompting reservoir employees to knock down nests that have dead swallows.
"There are a few that are surviving, but most of the birds... and the babies are dying," said Nelson Manville, supervisor of the lakes program for San Diego. "They have had a horrendous smell." ...
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This is hard to, um, swallow.
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Sat, May 31, 2008
from Washington Post (US):
Safety Studies on Nanoparticles Lag Behind Technology
One issue is that the explosion of products using nanomaterials has outpaced the research into what happens when the particles escape into the environment or the human body. "Safety studies are dribbling in, but new consumer products are pouring in... The system is backwards"... Silver, one of the most widely used nanomaterials, has potent antibacterial properties, "which can be a good thing or a bad thing"... When nanosilver and ionic silver reach wastewater treatment plants, they could kill beneficial bacteria used to remove impurities; if the particles get back into waterways, they could also harm fish and algae. Leftover sewage sludge is also used as agricultural fertilizer; nanosilver remaining there could damage soil used to grow food. ...
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Heck, no problem. We'll just do what we always do: test it in the field, and then apologize, saying we didn't know.
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Sat, May 31, 2008
from The Telegraph (India):
Viral deaths under wraps
New Delhi: The government has refused to investigate thousands of suspected deaths from chikungunya while repeatedly asserting in Parliament that no one has died from this viral infection, public health experts say.
The disease had broken out in many places in 2006, and at least one city recorded an extraordinarily high mortality. Ahmedabad registered 2,944 deaths over its average during a four-month period when the outbreak had peaked, municipal records show.... During the 2006 outbreak, more than 1.4 million people were suspected to have been infected by chikungunya, a viral disease spread by mosquitoes. ...
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The only thing we have to fear... is panic. What we don't know, can't keep us from re-election.
ApocaDoc
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Want more context?
Try reading our book FREE online:
Humoring the Horror of the Converging Emergencies!
More fun than a barrel of jellyfish!
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Sat, May 31, 2008
from Telegraph.co.uk:
New insect repellent last three times longer
To identify the new repellents, the team conducted a rigorous search of a library of compounds known as N-acylpiperidines (related to the active ingredient in pepper), using a brain like computer, called an artificial neural network, to link chemical structure to repellent qualities.
They used the neural net to find better versions of DEET, which is able to block the insects' sense of smell. Insects also find DEET unappealing to bite through, and at higher concentrations they tend to avoid contact with DEET.
The researchers then tested the 34 best candidates in the laboratory on human volunteers. ...
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Given the tragic die-off of the bats, the folks in the northeast US will be very interested. Let's test the health effects of this stuff first, though, ok?
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Sat, May 31, 2008
from Newcastle University, via ScienceDaily:
Organic Free Grazing Cows Are Cream Of The Crop
A new study by Newcastle University proves that organic farmers who let their cows graze as nature intended are producing better quality milk. The Nafferton Ecological Farming Group study found that grazing cows on organic farms in the UK produce milk which contains significantly higher beneficial fatty acids, antioxidants and vitamins than their conventional 'high input' counterparts. ...
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Who'da thunk it?
Happy cows make happier milk.
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Sat, May 31, 2008
from Yale University, via ScienceDaily:
Apparent Problem With Global Warming Climate Models Resolved
By measuring changes in winds, rather than relying upon problematic temperature measurements, Robert J. Allen and Steven C. Sherwood of the Department of Geology and Geophysics at Yale estimated the atmospheric temperatures near 10 km in the Tropics rose about 0.65 degrees Celsius per decade since 1970 -- probably the fastest warming rate anywhere in Earth's atmosphere. The temperature increase is in line with predictions of global warming models.
"I think this puts to rest any lingering doubts that the atmosphere really has been warming up more or less as we expect, due mainly to the greenhouse effect of increasing gases like carbon dioxide," Sherwood said. ...
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Rats! I was rooting for it all to be a clever ruse by the environmentalists.
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Sat, May 31, 2008
from NOAA Marine Fisheries, via ScienceDaily:
Healthy Parents Provide Clues To Survival Of Young Haddock On Georges Bank
In 2003, haddock on Georges Bank experienced the largest baby boom ever documented for the stock, with an estimated 800 million new young fish entering the population. With typical annual averages of 50 to 100 million new fish in the last few decades, fisheries biologists have been puzzled by the huge increase and its ramifications for stock management. They have been looking for answers and may have found one -- healthy adults.... "Simply put, having more food to eat gives adult haddock a chance to get into better physical shape to reproduce healthy offspring with a higher chance of survival." ...
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Phytoplankton: a mouthful for us to say, or a mouthful of nutrition for the haddock.
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Fri, May 30, 2008
from DailyTech:
Buckyballs Versus Cell Membranes
The group, from the University of Calgary, used the computing power of WestGrid to run their simulations, which involved buckyball clusters interacting with lipid cell membranes. Their simulations found that the molecules were able to dissolve into the cell membrane, passing through it without causing mechanical damage, and reform in the cell's interior. Once inside the cell, the buckyballs could cause damage to the cells.
Peter Tieleman, one of the study's leaders, explains "buckyballs are already being made on a commercial scale for use in coatings and materials but we have not determined their toxicity. There are studies showing that they can cross the blood-brain barrier and alter cell functions, which raises a lot of questions about their toxicity and what impact they may have if released into the environment." ...
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"Good-ness, Grac-ious,
small balls of fi-ire!"
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Fri, May 30, 2008
from Washington Post (US):
Lead Exposure in Childhood Linked to Criminal Behavior Later
A study in the May 27 issue of PLoS Medicine is the first empirical evidence that elevated blood lead levels, both in the pregnant mother and in the child, are associated with criminal behavior in young adulthood.
"I never would have thought that we would be seeing these effects into the later 20s," said study co-author Kim Dietrich, a professor of environmental health at the University of Cincinnati. "I'm actually quite astounded and quite worried about this. Although lead levels have been going down in this country, a large proportion of the population now in their 20s and 30s had blood levels in this neurotoxic range." ...
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I wonder what other heavy metals might do -- mercury, cadmium, and the like.
Y'know, the stuff we spew out of coal-fired power plants all day long.
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Fri, May 30, 2008
from CIDRAP:
Some avian flu H7 viruses growing more human-like
The investigators determined that several recent North American H7 viruses have an increased ability to bind to a type of receptor molecule that is abundant on human tracheal cells and is less common in birds. Their results were published this week by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The finding -- which comes as the deadly Eurasian H5N1 virus continues to be seen as the likeliest candidate to spark a pandemic -- "underscores the necessity for continued surveillance and study of these [North American H7] viruses as they continue to resemble viruses with pandemic potential," says the report.... "The most important message we can take from this is that there will be another pandemic strain that will emerge -- tomorrow, next week, next year, whenever, but it's going to occur." ...
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Not if, but when. Not whether, but how. Not could, but which.
Got stockpiles?
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Fri, May 30, 2008
from Guardian (UK):
Ecosystem destruction costing hundreds of billions a year
The steeply accelerating decline of the natural world is already costing hundreds of billions of pounds a year, say leading economists, in a review of the costs and benefits of forests, rivers and marine life. The losses will increase dramatically over the next generation unless urgent remedial action is taken, they say.... The economists warn that on current trends, 11 percent of the world's untouched forests and 60 percent of its coral reefs could be lost by 2030. About 60 percent of the Earth's ecosystem, examined by the researchers, has been degraded in the past 50 years. Population growth, changing land use and global climate change will lead to further declines. ...
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Whoa! There's money involved in nature?
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Fri, May 30, 2008
from BlueRidgeNow (Times-News):
Unknown toxin kills fish in Davidson River
PISGAH FOREST - State officials on Thursday were investigating the cause of a mile-long fish kill on the lower Davidson River, while Transylvania County officials urged residents to avoid contact with the water in the Davidson and downstream on the French Broad River.... a preliminary report with the DWQ office in Black Mountain listed as a possible source a 22,000 gallon tank of "black liquor," a concentration of organic byproducts of the paper-making process.... The Davidson is famous for its trout fishing, both along the private section downstream of U.S. 64/276 and through Pisgah National Forest upstream.
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"Black liquor" even sounds toxic.
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Fri, May 30, 2008
from Angewandte, via Ars Technica:
Nanotechnology used to build artificial virus
The Lee research group at Yonsei University in Seoul, Korea found an alternate strategy, one that used pre-organized supramolecular nanostructures to construct, for the first time, a filament-shaped artificial virus.... The virus' simultaneous ability to deliver genetic materials and hydrophobic therapeutic reagents are particularly useful, and the researchers' approach is flexible and allows for a variety of structural changes to the virus. Until we study the toxicology of these artificial viruses, however, we cannot judge their full potential for treating diseases. ...
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Yes, please, do study the toxicology. Oh, and while you're at it, whether this technique might be used for nontherapeutic purposes.
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Fri, May 30, 2008
from Tehelka (India):
India's lone DDT manufacturing facility shows no signs of shutting down
The nauseating smell of DDT assaults the senses as one nears this industrial belt built around the once small villages of Eloor and Edayar. There are about 200-odd factories in the region but it is the DDT factory of the Hindustan Insecticides Limited (HIL), manufacturing DDT and Endosulfan since 1956, which has many of the area's 40,000 residents up in arms. There is by now sufficient evidence to show that water in the village’s wells has become unfit for drinking and that large tracts of land are turning uncultivable by the season.... A signatory to the Convention, India has banned the use of DDT in agriculture. HIL's DDT production is thus fully export-oriented: its client list has eight African countries, including Namibia, Zimbabwe and Botswana. ...
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Silent spring. And summer, and fall. Winter can't be far behind.
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Fri, May 30, 2008
from New York Times:
Peru Guards Its Guano as Demand Soars Again
The worldwide boom in commodities has come to this: Even guano, the bird dung that was the focus of an imperialist scramble on the high seas in the 19th century, is in strong demand once again.... "We are recovering some of the last guano remaining in Peru," said Victor Ropon, 66, a supervisor from Ancash Province whose leathery skin reflects his years working on the guano islands since he was 17.
"There might be 10 years of supplies left, or perhaps 20, and then it will be completely exhausted," said Mr. Ropon, referring to fears that the seabird population could be poised to fall sharply in the years ahead. ...
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Good grief.
We're even running out of old bird shit.
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Fri, May 30, 2008
from EuroNews:
Toxic fish scare in France sparks national enquiry
There is new concern over a pollution scare in France. People living along the Rhone river, and regular eaters of fish caught in it, have tested positive for dangerously high levels of a carcinogenic chemical in their blood. Some exhibited four to five times the so-called 'safe' level of PCBs, or polychlorobiphenyles.... Despite being banned from sale for industrial use in France for more than 20 years, PCB was used in glues, paints and even paper.
The startling results of this limited study have now prompted a two year national enquiry to find out just how dangerous France's rivers are. ...
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"O Seine and Rhone, I long to see you
waaayhaaay, you toxic rivers...."
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You're still reading! Good for you!
You really should read our short, funny, frightening book FREE online (or buy a print copy):
Humoring the Horror of the Converging Emergencies!
We've been quipping this stuff for more than 30 months! Every day!
Which might explain why we don't get invited to parties anymore.
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Fri, May 30, 2008
from University of California - Riverside via ScienceDaily:
Large Methane Release Could Cause Abrupt Climate Change As Happened 635 Million Years Ago
An abrupt release of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, about 635 million years ago from ice sheets that then extended to Earth's low latitudes caused a dramatic shift in climate, triggering a series of events that resulted in global warming and effectively ended the last "snowball" ice age, a UC Riverside-led study reports.... The researchers posit that the methane was released gradually at first and then in abundance from clathrates -- methane ice that forms and stabilizes beneath ice sheets under specific temperatures and pressures. When the ice sheets became unstable, they collapsed, releasing pressure on the clathrates which began to degas.
"Our findings document an abrupt and catastrophic means of global warming that abruptly led from a very cold, seemingly stable climate state to a very warm also stable climate state with no pause in between," said Martin Kennedy, a professor of geology in the Department of Earth Sciences, who led the research team. ...
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Then we won't have a snowball's chance on earth.
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Fri, May 30, 2008
from Nature:
You emit what you eat
"...a new study by Christopher Weber and Scott Matthews of Carnegie Mellon University in Washington, DC, suggests that a dietary shift may be more effective in reducing your emissions than eating local produce. They conducted a life-cycle analysis of all greenhouse gas emissions, not just carbon dioxide, associated with the production of food consumed in the United States, compared against those associated with long-distance distribution." ...
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Unless of course we move out of the cities and live on the farms and feast off the land and the creatures. All 6.6 billion of us.
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Thu, May 29, 2008
from Associated Press:
White House issues climate report 4 years late
"Under a court order and four years late, the White House Thursday produced what it called a science-based "one-stop shop" of specific threats to the United States from man-made global warming... White House associate science director Sharon Hays, in a teleconference with reporters, declined to characterize the findings as bad, but said it is an issue the administration takes seriously." ...
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That's why it's four years late; the White House wanted to get the report just right.
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Thu, May 29, 2008
from Institut de Recherche Pour le Développement, via EurekAlert:
Reforestation using exotic plants can disturb the fertility of tropical soils
In Burkina Faso, controlled experiments showed that the development of E. camaldulensis, the eucalyptus species most often planted in the world, outside its area of origin, significantly reduced the diversity of the mycorrhizal fungi communities essential for the healthy functioning of the ecosystem.
... also found in the soil of a Senegalese plantation ... where, scarcely a few months after its introduction, the soil’s microbial characteristics had completely changed. ... The soil sampled from areas surrounding the A. holosericea plantation had a balanced distribution of mycorrhizal fungi species, whereas [inside showed] a strong imbalance in the composition of the mycorrhizal fungi community... there is a risk that the Australian acacia might create a new ecosystem whose physical, chemical and biological characteristics will not necessarily be favourable to a recolonization of the habitat by native species. ...
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Gollygosh. Again with these stories that imply that evolution is smarter than we are.
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Thu, May 29, 2008
from Strategic Management Journal:
Green Firms Rewarded By Financial Markets
Using data on 267 U.S. firms, Mark Sharfman and Chitru S. Fernando of the University of Oklahoma analyzed whether firms that had improved their environmental risk management also experienced a reduction in their total cost of capital, and found evidence supporting their hypothesis.
Financial markets seem to perceive greener firms as safer investments because of a reduced likelihood of litigation, government penalties, and/or catastrophic accidents. The financial markets reward this lower level of risk by charging the firm less for its capital, thus allowing the firm to carry more debt. ...
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Go green, and give great customer service, and you are golden!
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Thu, May 29, 2008
from TIME:
Eating bugs
The very qualities that make bugs so hard to get rid of could also make them an environmentally friendly food. "Nature is very good at making insects," says David Gracer, one of the chefs at the Richmond festival and the founder of future bug purveyor Sunrise Land Shrimp. Insects require little room and few resources to grow. For instance, it takes far less water to raise a third of a pound (150 g) of grasshoppers than the staggering 869 gal. (3,290 L) needed to produce the same amount of beef. Since bugs are cold-blooded invertebrates, more of what they consume goes to building edible body parts, whereas pigs and other warm-blooded vertebrates need to consume a lot of calories just to keep their body temperature steady. ...
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Mealworm Cheet-os. Red Ant Energy Drink. Mosquito Coast nutrition bar. Sugar Beetle pie. MmmmMM!
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Wed, May 28, 2008
from The New York Times via Associated Press:
Scientists warn of rising Pacific Coast acidity
"A panel of marine scientists are warning that the Pacific Coast's increasing acidity could disrupt food chains and threaten the Pacific Northwest's shellfish industry... The data indicates acidic water is appearing along the Pacific Coast decades earlier than expected. The acidified water does not pose a threat to humans, but it could dissolve the shells of clams, oysters and other shellfish." ...
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Whoa, dude. Not a threat to humans? WE ARE ALL CONNECTED.
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Wed, May 28, 2008
from Seattle Post-Intelligencer:
Get used to high food costs, water shortages
"Shocked by rising food prices? Get used to it -- and be ready for water shortages, too, says a sweeping new scientific report rounding up likely effects of climate change on the United States' land, water and farms over the next half-century." ...
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So. Have you taken the PASAT yet?
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Wed, May 28, 2008
from Imperial College London via ScienceDaily:
Parts Of UK Could Be Too Hot For Wine-making By 2080, Research Suggests
"...Emeritus Professor Richard Selley from Imperial College London, claims that if average summer temperatures in the UK continue to rise as predicted, the Thames Valley, parts of Hampshire and the Severn valley, which currently contain many vineyards, will be too hot to support wine production within the next 75 years." ...
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Something tells me that by 2080, we'll be needing a lot harder stuff than wine.
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Wed, May 28, 2008
from American Chemical Society via ScienceDaily:
Melting Glaciers May Release DDT And Contaminate Antarctic Environment
"In an unexpected consequence of climate change, scientists are raising the possibility that glacial melting is releasing large amounts of the banned pesticide DDT, which is contaminating the environment in Antarctica." ...
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Sounds like someday we'll all be eating DDT for breakfast.
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Tue, May 27, 2008
from London Daily Telegraph:
Scientists warn of bird flu epidemic
"Researchers who analysed samples of recent avian flu viruses found that a strain of the virus called H7N2 had adapted slightly better to living in mammals. Tests on ferrets proved the strain could be passed between animals but scientists said the evidence suggested that bird flu could be transmitted between humans." ...
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Ferrets are the new canaries in the coalmine of global-scale plague.
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Tue, May 27, 2008
from Toronto Star:
How we waste food
"It is one of the most perverse ironies of our age: Amid soaring prices and global shortages we are throwing out more food than ever. A new study offers the most comprehensive look yet at the depth of our collective profligacy... Try to imagine 35,000 hulking African elephants barrelling down Yonge St., and you'll come close to picturing the quantity of food we throw out each year in Toronto alone." ...
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That image of 35,000 hulking African elephants ... is making me powerfully hungry!
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Tue, May 27, 2008
from London Daily Telegraph:
Oil crisis triggers fevered scramble for the world's seabed
"A fevered scramble for control of the world's seabed is going on - mostly in secret - at a little known office of the United Nations in New York. Bemused officials are watching with a mixture of awe and suspicion as Britain and France stake out legal claims to oil and mineral wealth as far as 350 nautical miles around each of their scattered islands across the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans... Not to be left out, Australia and New Zealand are carving up the Antarctic seas." ...
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You made your bed ... now drown in it.
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Tue, May 27, 2008
from Chicago Tribune:
Midwest's message: Hands off our lakes
"Piece by piece, a 5,500-mile wall around the Great Lakes is going up. You can't see it, but construction is progressing nicely, along with an implied neon sign that flashes, "Hands off—it's our water." The legal pilings for a 1,000-mile segment of the wall are scheduled to be sunk Tuesday when Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle finalizes his state's approval of the so-called Great Lakes Compact, a multistate agreement designed to protect and restrict access to nearly 20 percent of the world's supply of fresh water, contained in the five Great Lakes."
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From now on, the Great Lakes will be referred to as MyGreat Lakes.
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Mon, May 26, 2008
from London Independent:
Mosquito invasion brings disease risk to UK
"An Asian mosquito species is poised to arrive in Britain, bringing with it the risk of a potentially lethal disease that the insect can pass from one person to another. The Asian tiger mosquito has already established itself in northern Italy where it has transmitted chikungunya fever to scores of people." ...
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Apparently, Customs has no power over this little traveler.
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Mon, May 26, 2008
from Chemical & Engineering News:
Nanotube Inflammation
"RIGID MULTIWALLED carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) longer than 20 µm elicit the same toxic response in mice that asbestos does, according to two new studies. The results suggest that in humans nanotubes could lead to mesothelioma, the hallmark cancer of asbestos exposure, if sufficient quantities of the material are able to reach the lungs by inhalation." ...
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Maybe nanobots can cure the cancer that nanotubes cause!
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Mon, May 26, 2008
from The Australian:
Tasmanian devils now on endangered list
"The decision to upgrade the Tasmanian devil's status from vulnerable to endangered at the state level follows the failure to stem the spread of the deadly facial tumour disease.
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"Vulnerable" just didn't seem macho enough for the little devils.
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Mon, May 26, 2008
from The Japan Times:
G8 meet sidesteps midterm gas cuts
"KOBE — Environment ministers from the Group of Eight countries meeting Sunday in Kobe apparently sidestepped the major issue of setting midterm greenhouse-gas reduction targets for 2020 due to a divide between developing and industrialized countries over specific targets." ...
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Yeah, we call that dance The G8 Sidestep.
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Mon, May 26, 2008
from London Guardian:
Billions wasted on UN climate programme
"Billions of pounds are being wasted in paying industries in developing countries to reduce climate change emissions, according to two analyses of the UN's carbon offsetting programme. Leading academics and watchdog groups allege that the UN's main offset fund is being routinely abused by chemical, wind, gas and hydro companies who are claiming emission reduction credits for projects that should not qualify. The result is that no genuine pollution cuts are being made..." ...
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Gee, I thought wasting a lot of money was how a developing nation earned "developed nation" status.
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