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What A Week It Was: Apocadocuments from

View By Scenario:
Species Collapse:	(5)
Plague/Virus:	(2)
Climate Chaos:	(8)
Resource Depletion:	(9)
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This Week's Top Ten Very Scary Tags:
anthropogenic change ~ stupid humans ~ bad policy ~ faster than expected ~ ecosystem interrelationships ~ overfishing ~ airborne pollutants ~ governmental idiocy ~ climate impacts ~ smart policy ~ global warming

ApocaDocuments (45) gathered this week:
Sun, Dec 14, 2008 from Detroit News: Hey, Senator, check out the 43 mpg Ford Fusion hybrid ... When the [Ford] Fusion hybrid arrives next spring, it will become the first two-mode hybrid car created by an American-based company. Congress should note that it had no hand with the development of this vehicle -- it takes years of hard work, actual thinking and wrenching to produce a new model and this particular vehicle is the result of planning that took place in President Bush's first term. Since then, Ford has continued to improve its hybrid system, and the Fusion will offer more advanced technology than even the 2009 Ford Escape hybrid. ...	Me... I'm holding out for the Ford Cold Fusion. ApocaDoc permalink
Sun, Dec 14, 2008 from Indo-Asian News Service: Get ready for worse climate change impacts: expert Poznan (Poland), Dec 14 (IANS) An extra billion people will face water shortage, cereal production in developing countries will drop and coastal regions will face more damage from floods and storms because of delay in combating climate change, says a leading expert. The world should be prepared to face far worse effects of global warming than it is facing now, Martin Parry, a professor at the Imperial College in London, said in the backdrop of little substantial progress at the Dec 1-12 climate summit here. ...	Parry, from what I hear, teaches in the Duh!-partment of the Obvious. ApocaDoc permalink
Sun, Dec 14, 2008 from Chicago Tribune: Mercury-tainted fish on FDA menu In the waning days of the Bush presidency, the Food and Drug Administration is pushing to scuttle the government's advice about mercury-contaminated seafood, a dramatic policy change that would encourage women and children to eat more fish despite growing concerns about the toxic metal. The FDA's recommendations, sent recently to the White House Office of Management and Budget for approval, prompted a sharp rebuke from scientists at the Environmental Protection Agency who, in memos circulated earlier this month, described them as "scientifically flawed and inadequate." A joint advisory issued by the two agencies in 2004 cautions women of childbearing age, nursing mothers and young children to limit seafood consumption to 12 ounces a week. But in a draft version of the FDA's new report, the agency says its own modeling shows that children can benefit from eating more fish, not less. ...	More mercury will make it easier for mom to take her kid's temperature! ApocaDoc permalink
Sun, Dec 14, 2008 from Infection Control Today: Antibacterial Personal Hygiene Products May Not Be Worth Potential Risks A recent study by UC Davis researchers calls into question the widespread use of two active ingredients -- triclocarban and triclosan -- in personal hygiene products, including antibacterial bar and liquid soaps. Using human and animal cell lines, researchers found that triclocarban disrupts reproductive hormone activity and triclosan interferes with a type of cell signaling that occurs in brain, heart and other cells.... "We decided to take a look at triclocarban and triclosan because these compounds appeared to be building up in the environment," said Bruce Hammock, a Superfund Basic Research Program investigator and professor of entomology. The compounds are also increasingly being detected in human breast milk and urine, he said.... Because of feedback loops in the body, amplification of these hormones could have the effect of depressing natural estrogen and androgen production, potentially impacting fertility and other hormone-dependent processes. ...	You mean... I shouldn't be glad I used Dial?! ApocaDoc permalink
Sun, Dec 14, 2008 from Wired News: Toxin-Gobbling Bugs Could Clean Ocean Dead Zones Bacteria that break down toxic compounds may have tricked scientists into underestimating the threat posed by spreading oceanic dead zones. But there's a silver lining: the bacteria might help bring them back to life. In a 4,200-square-mile Atlantic ocean swath off the coast of Namibia, bacteria converted lethal sulphide into foul-smelling but otherwise harmless sulphur and sulphate. "This is the first time that large-scale detoxification of sulphidic waters by chemolithotrophs has been observed in an ocean-open system," write European microbiologists and geochemists in a paper published Wednesday in Nature. ...	Great! Now -- is there bug that can rejuvenate those formerly-rich ecosystems? ApocaDoc permalink
Sun, Dec 14, 2008 from Cafe Sendito: Mugabe Claims Cholera 'Erased,' World Leaders Express Outrage Robert Mugabe, whose critics charge he is illegally clinging to power after losing this year’s presidential vote, angered foreign governments and medical workers by claiming that his country had "erased" the cholera epidemic that has killed 800 since August. Mugabe claimed that Britain and the US were conspiring to invade his country using cholera as a pretext but that his government had "arrested" the spread of cholera and removed the pretext.... The World Health Organization reported this week that over 16,000 people are confirmed infected, and over 800 killed so far in the worst cholera epidemic the country has seen in decades. Hospitals in the north of South African say they can no longer handle the number of cases streaming across the border, though they are doing their best to treat those infected. ...	I think the term is "vanquished," Robert. Or maybe "mission accomplished." ApocaDoc permalink
Sat, Dec 13, 2008 from Telegraph.co.uk: Al Gore: World cares more about Paris Hilton than saving the planet In a rousing speech to hundreds of delegates at the UN Climate Change Conference in Poznan, the former US Presidential candidate echoed President-elect Barack Obama in calling for change. "It is wrong for this generation to destroy the habitability of the planet and ruin the prospects of every future generation. That realisation must carry us forward. Our children have a right to hold us to a high standard when the future of all human kind is hanging in the balance."... "The political systems of the developed world have become sclerotic. We have to overcome the paralysis that has prevented us from acting and focus clearly and unblinkingly on this crisis rather than spending so much time on OJ Simpson, Paris Hilton and Anna Nicole Smith." ...	Well... yeah. I wonder what Paris thinks about what Al said?? ApocaDoc permalink
Sat, Dec 13, 2008 from National Research Council: Federal Plan to Study Risks Posed by Nanomaterials Is Inadequate A new report from the National Research Council finds serious weaknesses in the government's plan for research on the potential health and environmental risks posed by nanomaterials, which are increasingly being used in consumer goods and industry. An effective national plan for identifying and managing potential risks is essential to the successful development and public acceptance of nanotechnology-enabled products, emphasized the committee that wrote the report.... [T]he plan fails to identify some important areas that should to be investigated; for example, "Nanomaterials and Human Health" should include a more comprehensive evaluation of how nanomaterials are absorbed and metabolized by the body and how toxic they are at realistic exposure levels. ...	This is a very, very, very small step in the right direction. ApocaDoc permalink
Sat, Dec 13, 2008 from NSF, via EurekAlert: New online report on massive jellyfish swarms released Massive swarms of stinging jellyfish and jellyfish-like animals are transforming many world-class fisheries and tourist destinations into veritable jellytoriums that are intermittently jammed with pulsating, gelatinous creatures. Areas that are currently particularly hard-hit by these squishy animals include Hawaii, the Gulf of Mexico, the east coast of the U.S., the Bering Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, Australia, the Black Sea and other European seas, the Sea of Japan, the North Sea and Namibia.... From large swarms of potentially deadly, peanut-sized jellyfish in Australia to swarms of hundreds of millions of refrigerator-sized jellyfish in the Sea of Japan, suspicion is growing that population explosions of jellyfish are being generated by human activities. ...	Refrigerator-sized jellyfish in the hundreds of millions? Is it possible they are now predator-free? ApocaDoc permalink
Fri, Dec 12, 2008 from Toronto Globe and Mail: Scientists predict seasonal ice-free Arctic by 2015 QUEBEC -- Ice in the Canadian Arctic is melting at such an alarming pace due to climate change that the North will be seasonally ice free in six years, according to a study released yesterday from a groundbreaking scientific expedition. The dawning of a seasonal ice-free Canadian Arctic is upon us, said David Barber, one of the leading scientists on the 15-month expedition, adding the consequences for Inuit communities, the wildlife and the entire northern ecosystem are unpredictable. And it is happening much faster than anyone anticipated, he said, noting that only two years ago a seasonal ice-free Arctic was predicted by 2030. "I now believe that the Arctic will be out of multiyear ice in the summertime as early as 2015; it is coming very quickly," Dr. Barber said. "The whole system is in a very rapid rate of change. ... The Arctic is telling us that climate change is coming quicker and stronger." ...	Quick! Someone distract me with a story about Amy Winehouse or Britney Spears. ApocaDoc permalink
Fri, Dec 12, 2008 from CNN: Drought parches much of the U.S., may get worse ...At least 36 states expect to face water shortages within the next five years, according to a report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office. According to the National Drought Mitigation Center, several regions in particular have been hit hard: the Southeast, Southwest and the West. Texas, Georgia and South Carolina have suffered the worst droughts this year, the agency said. Yet most people don't need a federal agency to tell them there's a water shortage. Plenty of cities have implemented water bans while state squabbles over water usage are common in some regions. What may surprise people, though, are the causes for the recent drought. It's not global warming, some climatologists say. The droughts are caused by rapid population growth and unwise agricultural choices. John R. Christy, a professor of atmospheric science at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, says the last three years have been drier than usual in many parts of the United States, but overall there's been no shortage of rainfall. He says the U.S. mainland experienced worse droughts in the 12th and 16th centuries. ...	It doesn't just make me thirsty -- it's everything around me! ApocaDoc permalink
Fri, Dec 12, 2008 from Climate Daily: Cleaning the air helps cool planet Local and state regulators have new ammunition in the fight to justify expensive air pollution rules: Cutting smog and soot has an immediate impact on climate change. A study published this week bolsters the link between air quality and climate, finding that across-the-board cuts in air pollution can spur "substantial, simultaneous" improvement in local air quality and near-term mitigation of climate change. Trimming smog and soot also represents an alternate and far more immediate global warming solution for regulators stymied by the complexities of other greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, said Drew Shindell, a climate scientist at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Sciences and the lead author of the study. Tackling air pollution can buy 20 to 30 years worth of mitigation, he said – time that will be needed, if ongoing debates in Poznan, Brussells and Washington D.C. offer any indication – to cut the political and economic knots associated with carbon dioxide. ...	Even if this isn't true.... let's pretend it is! ApocaDoc permalink
Fri, Dec 12, 2008 from Greenpeace, via Mongabay: Computer hackers are helping illegal loggers destroy the Amazon rainforest Computer hackers are helping illegal loggers destroy the Amazon rainforest by breaking into the Brazilian government's timber tracking system and altering the records so as to increase logging allocations, reports Greenpeace.... "By hacking into the permit system, these companies have made their timber shipments appear legal and compliant with the forest management plans. But in reality, they're trading illegal timber which is making the problem of deforestation worse, and a lack of control and policing in the areas they're logging means they think they can get away with it." ...	Something tells me a backdoor was left open on this system. ApocaDoc permalink
Want more context? Try reading our book FREE online: Humoring the Horror of the Converging Emergencies! More fun than a barrel of jellyfish!
Fri, Dec 12, 2008 from WWF: Another fisheries commission throws the science overboard The Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) today over-rode the advice of its science committee and rejected the recommendations of its chair in choosing only minor reductions in catch for bigeye and yellowfin tuna and watering down or deferring most measures for achieving reduced catches.... Measures adopted by the WCPFC will see a catch reduction of less than seven per cent for 2009 on WWF estimations, well down on a recommendation of a 30 percent cut which it was conceded would still not have eliminated overfishing. Among the discarded, delayed or reduced measures were high seas fishing closures, restrictions on gear types, and important initiatives to better record and verify catches and crack down on rampant illegal fishing. ...	Why use predictive information when business interests are involved? ApocaDoc permalink
Fri, Dec 12, 2008 from New York Times: Interior Department Rule Eases a Mandate Under a Law on Wildlife The Interior Department on Thursday announced a rule that has largely freed federal agencies from their obligation to consult independent wildlife biologists before they build dams or highways or permit construction of transmission towers, housing developments or other projects that might harm federally protected wildlife.... In announcing the rule, Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne said his main intention was to ensure that the 1972 law was not used as a "back door" means of regulating the emission of the gases that accelerate climate change.... Pat Parenteau, a professor at the Vermont Law School, disagreed, saying, "For all federal agencies, if this isn't a carte blanche, it's certainly a broad license to decide for yourself that you don't need to consult." ...	If only these guys could be haunted forever by the ghosts of all they have destroyed. ApocaDoc permalink
Thu, Dec 11, 2008 from Mongabay: Climate change will transform the chemical makeup of the ocean "The ocean's calcium cycle is closely linked to atmospheric carbon dioxide and the processes that control seawater's acidity," co-author of the paper, Ken Caldeira, adds. Already, increasing acidification of the ocean is decimating certain populations of coral. In past research Caldeira has pointed out that an increasingly acidic ocean will doom the world's fishing industry and degrade 98 percent of the world's coral reefs in less than fifty years.... "as CO2 increases and weather patterns shift, the chemical composition of our rivers will change, and this will affect the oceans. This will change the amount of calcium and other elements in ocean salts." "What we learned from this work is that the ocean system is much more sensitive to climate change than we have previously appreciated," Griffith adds. ...	At least nothing in the ocean depends on calcium! Whew! ApocaDoc permalink
Thu, Dec 11, 2008 from Guardian (UK): The Environmental Protection Agency's 'Most Wanted' list Importing autos that did not meet standards: 2. Pumping toxic waste secretly into Mississippi: 1. Dumping tonnes of oil-contaminated grain into ocean: 1. Dumping fuel into river: 1. Dumping hazmat and acidic chemwaste into sewer: 1. Importing 105 cylinders of ozone-killing contraband: 1. Illegal disposal of mercury-tainted soil: 1. Illegal discharge into ocean: 1. One count of illegal asbestos removal: 1. ...	THESE are the top ten? And they start off with car importers? (Hmm: is it possible the EPA has been a bit underconceptualized lately?) ApocaDoc permalink
Thu, Dec 11, 2008 from Guardian (UK): At Poznan, no one is listening to Peak Oil The community of nations have been talking for more than 18 years now about how to stop humanity's remorseless effort to cook its own home. These gabfests have largely been action-free zones. I have attended too many of them, but this year it was time to risk my blood-pressure on another.... One of my missions was an effort to raise the peak oil issue. I suspect that most of the 9,000-plus attendees -- diplomats, lobbyists and journalists -- may have little idea how strong the evidence is that a global energy crisis lurks just a few years in the future, and that it will have massive implications for climate change policymaking.... This year, for the first time, the IEA has conducted an oilfield-by-oilfield study of the world's existing oil reserves. It shows that the fields currently in production are running out alarmingly fast. The average depletion rate of 580 of the world's largest fields, all past their peak of production, is fully 6.7 percen per annum. ...	Lalalala. Thank God there's only one crisis to be considered. ApocaDoc permalink
Thu, Dec 11, 2008 from Wildlife Conservation Society, via EurekAlert: Missing: 2,000 elephants Elephants in Zakouma National Park, the last stronghold for the savanna elephants of Central Africa's Sahel region, now hover at about 1,000 animals, down from an estimated 3,000 in 2006. Ivory poachers using automatic weapons have decimated elephant populations -- particularly when herds venture seasonally outside of the park. Civil unrest in has made conservation exceedingly difficult in Chad. Several park guards have been shot and killed in recent years. However, safety conditions have recently improved somewhat and WCS is optimistic that it can increase on-the-ground elephant conservation work in and around Zakouma to protect the remaining population.... "Zakouma is a last stand for elephants in the Sahel," said Fay. "It's incredibly heartbreaking to stand before a dead elephant missing only its tusks. How can we stand idly by and watch this population continue to get slaughtered because of simple human greed?" ...	Some things should be replaced with artificial versions: like ivory! ApocaDoc permalink
Thu, Dec 11, 2008 from Newsweek: Out of Thin Air Remember those sweltering summer days when the air was so muggy you could practically drink it? A new home appliance is promising to make that possible by converting outdoor air into nearly 13 quarts of fresh water every day. Originally envisioned as an antidote to the shortage of clean drinking water in the world, the WaterMill has the look of a futuristic air conditioner and the ability to condense, filter and sterilize water for about 3 cents per quart. At $1,299, the 45-pound device doesn't come cheap, and it is neither the first nor the biggest machine to enter the fast-growing field of atmospheric water generators. But by targeting individual households with a self-cleaning, environmentally friendly alternative to bottled water, Kelowna, British Columbia-based Element Four is hoping its WaterMill will become the new must-have appliance of 2009. ...	In the future... we'll all be fish! ApocaDoc permalink
Thu, Dec 11, 2008 from BBC: Failing Zimbabwe: Reporter round-up A cholera epidemic is sweeping across Zimbabwe, causing further suffering to millions of people already struggling to survive in a country close to systemic collapse as food shortages and hyperinflation continue to take their toll.... It is a recipe for disaster, and a health scandal, according to a local priest. "Even now, there are many sick people inside, they are frail, they can't walk and relatives don't have money to send them to hospital, so they are left to suffer," said Majorie, a middle-aged woman carrying a child on her back. In the streets, piles of uncollected refuse are commonplace with flies feasting on the rubbish. In this chaos, vendors selling tomatoes, mangoes and vegetables rove around. Customers are still available. Some buy the produce and walk leisurely, eating mangoes, alongside streams of raw sewage to their hostels. There is nothing they can do about it. ...	Time for Mugabe to go Mugabye-bye. ApocaDoc permalink
Thu, Dec 11, 2008 from Reuters: China "cancer village" pays ultimate price for growth XIDITOU COUNTY, China (Reuters) - Once an isolated haven, the Chinese village of Liukuaizhuang is now a tainted hell, surrounded by scores of low-tech factories that are poisoning its water and air, and the health of many villagers. One in fifty people there and in a neighboring hamlet have been diagnosed with cancer over the last decade, local residents say, well over ten times the national rate given in a health ministry survey earlier this year. ...	Sounds like the canary city in the global coal mine. ApocaDoc permalink
Wed, Dec 10, 2008 from London Independent: Climate change: A battle for the planet Summing up what many scientists, environmentalists and politicians now think about the threat of climate change is simple: the world is drinking in the last chance saloon. Time is still available to tackle the warming of the atmosphere, which every government (including that of George Bush) today accepts is real, and being caused by human actions. But the window of opportunity is rapidly closing, and the last chance for the world to act in concert to bring the process under control is clearly visible: it is the UN Climate Conference in Copenhagen scheduled for December 2009. ...	Whew! We have one more year to enjoy denial! ApocaDoc permalink
Wed, Dec 10, 2008 from Philadelphia Inquirer: Politics choke clean-air efforts ...in June 2005, a panel of scientists appointed by the Environmental Protection Agency determined that the air was still too dirty.... The panel recommended tougher rules to limit long-term exposure, a move that EPA's own scientists said could prevent thousands of premature deaths annually. EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson rejected their advice. His decision took the panel by surprise, but before long, it would fit into a familiar pattern. Over the next three years, leading environmental scientists would denounce Johnson for substituting politics for science on key pollution issues - from not regulating greenhouse gases blamed for global warming to delaying the assessment of toxic chemicals. But it was in a succession of decisions on air quality that Johnson's uneven application of science had perhaps the most severe impacts on human health. ...	Environmental Protection -- my ass! ApocaDoc permalink
Wed, Dec 10, 2008 from Guardian (UK): Europe pledges strict emissions cut to tempt China and India into climate deal European officials have offered to make the continent virtually zero-carbon in an attempt to lure China and other developing countries into a new global climate deal to replace the Kyoto protocol. Stavros Dimas, European commissioner for the environment, told the Guardian that the EU could aim for a 80-95 percent reduction in greenhouse gas pollution by 2050 in exchange for greater efforts by developing nations to limit their emissions. Dimas said the pledge has "already been put on the table" and that he was awaiting responses. In return, Europe would ask developing countries to reduce their forecasted carbon pollution growth by 15-30 percent over the next decade. "We haven't got any reaction, so they're floating somewhere," he said. ...	Apart from how disconnected that is from our real needs (2050? Try 2015...), this is good news! ApocaDoc permalink
Wed, Dec 10, 2008 from Telegraph.co.uk: Fisherman land 30 per cent increase in North Sea cod quotas Scottish fishermen have won a 30 per cent increase in the amount of cod they are allowed to land next year in return for signing up to tough new regulations.... Previously any fish under a certain size had to be discarded in a bid to preserve stocks, but under the new deal it will be prohibited to throw back any fish that is "marketable". Bertie Armstrong, chief executive of the Scottish Fishermen's Federation, warned the new regulations could be burdensome, depending on the small print. ...	Talk to the Nova Scotians and Newfoundlanders about their former cod, you freakin' idiots -- and here's some small print for you: *YOU'RE FISHING UNSUSTAINABLY!* ApocaDoc permalink
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.
Wed, Dec 10, 2008 from New Scientist: Darfur crisis is stripping the environment Tree cover has become so sparse in some areas that Darfuris often have to travel more than 75 kilometres from their camps to find enough wood to sell or use for fuel, the report added. "We're now seeing extreme stress on the environment around many of the camps and the major towns in Darfur," said UNEP's Sudan country director Clive Bates in a statement. "We need to plant millions of trees and introduce new technologies for construction and energy as quickly as humanly possible."... Nyala's famous Kunduwa hardwood forest had been destroyed by extensive logging from 2005 to 2007 said the report, adding "its destruction is regarded by many as a tragedy that could have been avoided". The report called for development organisations to launch environmental awareness campaigns in the region, and to pilot the use of alternative fuel sources and building materials. ...	Please let this not be a harbinger of our own desperate future. ApocaDoc permalink
Wed, Dec 10, 2008 from AFP: Fifth of world's corals already dead, say experts Almost a fifth of the planet's coral reefs have died and carbon emissions are largely to blame, according to an NGO study released Wednesday. The report, released by the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network, warned that on current trends, growing levels of greenhouse gases will destroy many of the remaining reefs over the next 20 to 40 years. "If nothing is done to substantially cut emissions, we could effectively lose coral reefs as we know them, with major coral extinctions," said Clive Wilkinson, the organisation's coordinator. ...	Any way to turn back time, so we might learn from our mistakes? ApocaDoc permalink
Wed, Dec 10, 2008 from New York Times: Back at Junk Value, Recyclables Are Piling Up The economic downturn has decimated the market for recycled materials like cardboard, plastic, newspaper and metals. Across the country, this junk is accumulating by the ton in the yards and warehouses of recycling contractors, which are unable to find buyers or are unwilling to sell at rock-bottom prices. Ordinarily the material would be turned into products like car parts, book covers and boxes for electronics. But with the slump in the scrap market, a trickle is starting to head for landfills instead of a second life. "It's awful," said Briana Sternberg, education and outreach coordinator for Sedona Recycles, a nonprofit group in Arizona that recently stopped taking certain types of cardboard... "Either it goes to landfill or it begins to cost us money," Ms. Sternberg said. ...	There's a futures market here that is not paying attention. ApocaDoc permalink
Wed, Dec 10, 2008 from New Scientist: Crystals turn roads into power stations AN ENVIRONMENTALLY friendly road that positively welcomes heavy traffic may sound odd, but by placing piezoelectric crystals under the asphalt that convert vibration into electricity, Israeli engineers hope to harvest energy from passing vehicles. Developer Haim Abramovich at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa says the crystals can produce up to 400 kilowatts from a 1-kilometre stretch of four-lane highway. His spin-out company, Innowattech, also based in Haifa, will begin testing the system on a 100-metre stretch of road in northern Israel in January. ...	Let's see if we can harvest the vibrations in other natural events, shall we? ApocaDoc permalink
Wed, Dec 10, 2008 from Straight.com: Gwynne Dyer: Four harsh truths about climate change About 70 interviews, a dozen countries, and 18 months later, I have reached four conclusions that I didn’t even suspect when I began the process. The first is simply this: the scientists are really scared. Their observations over the past two or three years suggest that everything is happening a lot faster than climate models predicted. This creates a dilemma, because for the past decade they have been struggling against a well-funded campaign that cast doubt on climate change. Now, finally, people and even governments are listening. Even in the United States, the world headquarters of climate-change denial, 85 percent of the population now sees climate change as a major issue, and both major presidential candidates promised 80-percent cuts in American emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050. The scientists are understandably reluctant at this point to announce publicly that their predictions were wrong, that it's really much worse, and that the targets will have to be revised. Most of them are waiting for overwhelming proof that climate change really is moving faster, even though they are already privately convinced that it is. ...	When the scientists are afraid to admit they were underestimating -- well, it means they've been well-trained by the last eight years of ignorant "leadership." ApocaDoc permalink
Tue, Dec 9, 2008 from UC Davis, via EurekAlert: Baby fish in polluted San Francisco estuary waters are stunted and deformed Striped bass in the San Francisco Estuary are contaminated before birth with a toxic mix of pesticides, industrial chemicals and flame retardants that their mothers acquire from estuary waters and food sources and pass on to their eggs, say UC Davis researchers. Using new analytical techniques, the researchers found that offspring of estuary fish had underdeveloped brains, inadequate energy supplies and dysfunctional livers. They grew slower and were smaller than offspring of hatchery fish raised in clean water. "This is one of the first studies examining the effects of real-world contaminant mixtures on growth and development in wildlife," said study lead author David Ostrach, a research scientist at the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences. He said the findings have implications far beyond fish, because the estuary is the water source for two-thirds of the people and most of the farms in California. "If the fish living in this water are not healthy and are passing on contaminants to their young, what is happening to the people who use the water, are exposed to the same chemicals or eat the fish?" Ostrach said. ...	Hmm: what is happening to the people? I, for one, feel stunted, and I'm not even in California! ApocaDoc permalink
Tue, Dec 9, 2008 from London Guardian: Too late? Why scientists say we should expect the worst ... The cream of the UK climate science community sat in stunned silence as [climate scientist Kevin] Anderson pointed out that carbon emissions since 2000 have risen much faster than anyone thought possible, driven mainly by the coal-fuelled economic boom in the developing world. So much extra pollution is being pumped out, he said, that most of the climate targets debated by politicians and campaigners are fanciful at best, and "dangerously misguided" at worst. In the jargon used to count the steady accumulation of carbon dioxide in the Earth's thin layer of atmosphere, he said it was "improbable" that levels could now be restricted to 650 parts per million (ppm)....At 650ppm, the same fuzzy science says the world would face a catastrophic 4C average rise. ...	ApocaDoc permalink
Tue, Dec 9, 2008 from Reuters: U.N. says climate change may uproot 6 million annually POZNAN, Poland (Reuters) - The impact of climate change could uproot around six million people each year, half of them because of weather disasters like floods and storms, a top U.N. official said on Monday. The U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) was making plans based on conservative estimates that global warming would force between 200 million and 250 million people from their homes by mid-century, said L. Craig Johnstone, the U.N. Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees. "That means a displacement of something like six million people a year -- that's a staggering number," he told Reuters on the sidelines of the December 1-12 U.N. climate talks in Poland. ...	Time to start fixin' up my gay-raj! ApocaDoc permalink
Tue, Dec 9, 2008 from Scientific American: Chicago's Plans to Go Green ...In September, Chicago unveiled an action plan to reduce carbon dioxide emissions to one quarter below 1990 levels by 2020, followed by reductions through 2050 that would slash emissions by 80 percent. Up to 400,000 homes and 9,200 skyscrapers and factories would require energy-efficient retrofits in the next 12 years. All 21 coal-burning power plants throughout Illinois would need to be refurbished, too, requiring statewide cooperation. Another 450,000 riders would have to wedge themselves into elevated trains and buses every day—a 30 percent increase—rather than commute by car. “I don’t know of another municipal plan that is this ambitious or comprehensive,” says Rebecca Stanfield, a senior energy advocate for the Natural Resources Defense Council... ...	Now, if they could just produce a World Series winner... ApocaDoc permalink
Tue, Dec 9, 2008 from San Francisco Chronicle: Diesel truckers at cancer risk from exhaust Trucking company workers who have been regularly exposed to diesel exhaust from vehicles on highways, city streets and loading docks have a higher risk of lung cancer than other workers, according to a new national study. The study, based on 31,135 worker records, found that drivers who do short-haul pickups and deliveries, including loading and unloading containers at ports and working at freight-delivery companies, had the highest rate of deaths and disease. Dockworkers were also at a higher risk, according to the report by researchers at UC Berkeley and Harvard. California's Air Resources Board will consider the study's findings when it meets Friday to vote on a landmark regulation to reduce risk to the general public from 1 million diesel trucks in the state. ...	But what about diesel's effects on my hemorrhoids? ApocaDoc permalink
Tue, Dec 9, 2008 from Canwest News Service: Toxic chemicals found in three-quarters of soft plastic toys in Canada Despite a decade-old voluntary ban in North America, Health Canada tests found three-quarters of soft plastic toys and items for young children for sale in Canada contained toxic chemical additives known to cause reproductive harm in children. Phthalates, used to soften plastic toys, were present at elevated levels in the department's sampling of 54 of 72 products for children ages three and under made of the widely used plastic known as polyvinyl chloride. They included toys that are likely to be mouthed, like bath toys, and items designed for infants to help in feeding and sleeping. ...	Thufferin thuccotash -- those durn thPhthalates! ApocaDoc permalink
Mon, Dec 8, 2008 from Science Daily (US): California's Deep Sea Secrets: New Species Found, Human Impact Revealed Scientists from Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego returning from research expeditions in Mexico have captured unprecedented details of vibrant sea life and ecosystems in the Gulf of California, including documentations of new species and marine animals previously never seen alive. Yet the expeditions, which included surveys at unexplored depths, have revealed disturbing declines in sea-life populations and evidence that human impacts have stretched down deeply in the gulf.... Large schools of fish documented in earlier expeditions at locations such as El Bajo seamount have vanished.... "We have lots of evidence of ghost nets with trapped animals at many depths, along with pollution, including beer cans, in each deep location we studied." ...	Ghost nets drink beer and pollution? ApocaDoc permalink
Mon, Dec 8, 2008 from AP News: Native Hunters -- Climate is thinning caribou herds Chief Bill Erasmus of the Dene nation in northern Canada brought a stark warning about the climate crisis: The once abundant herds of caribou are dwindling, rivers are running lower and the ice is too thin to hunt on. Erasmus raised his concerns in recent days on the sidelines of a U.N. climate conference, seeking to ensure that North America's indigenous peoples are not left out in the cold when it comes to any global warming negotiations. Erasmus, the 54-year-old elected leader of 30,000 native Americans in Canada, and representatives of other indigenous peoples met with the U.N.'s top climate official, Yvo de Boer, and have lobbied national delegations to recognize them as an "expert group" that can participate in the talks like other nongovernment organizations. "We bring our traditional knowledge to the table that other people don't have," he said. ...	What, listen to those who have experience and ground-level knowledge? What planet is he from? ApocaDoc permalink
Mon, Dec 8, 2008 from Yale University, via EurekAlert: Nanotechnology 'culture war' possible, says Yale study Rather than infer that nanotechnology is safe, members of the public who learn about this novel science tend to become sharply polarized along cultural lines, according to a study conducted by the Cultural Cognition Project at Yale Law School in collaboration with the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies. The report is published online in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.... When shown balanced information about the risks and benefits of nanotechnology, study participants became highly divided on its safety compared to a group not shown such information. The determining factor in how people responded was their cultural values, according to Dan Kahan, the Elizabeth K. Dollard Professor at Yale Law School and lead author of the study. "People who had more individualistic, pro-commerce values, tended to infer that nanotechnology is safe," said Kahan, "while people who are more worried about economic inequality read the same information as implying that nanotechnology is likely to be dangerous." ...	So pro-commerce folks tend to trust commerce, while others question commerce's motives. Wonder which side is "right"? ApocaDoc permalink
Mon, Dec 8, 2008 from Cosmos: Seven wacky ways to battle global warming Some of the stranger schemes proposed to tackle global warming were knocked down by the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change when it met in Thailand, last year... Due to slow political progress, though, and panic about the pace and scale of warming now being reported, some of these quick fixes may soon be back in favour... Here, we share seven bold and unconventional solutions put forward to solve the climate change conundrum. ...	By golly, nothing's too wacky for us! ApocaDoc permalink
Mon, Dec 8, 2008 from USA Today: Health risks stack up for students near industrial plants ADDYSTON, Ohio — The growl of air-monitoring equipment has replaced the chatter of children at Meredith Hitchens Elementary School in this Cincinnati suburb along the Ohio River. School district officials pulled all students from Hitchens three years ago, after air samples outside the building showed high levels of chemicals coming from the plastics plant across the street. The levels were so dangerous that the Ohio EPA concluded the risk of getting cancer there was 50 times higher than what the state considers acceptable. The air outside 435 other schools — from Maine to California — appears to be even worse, and the threats to the health of students at those locations may be even greater. ...	Might as well bring these kids up right! ApocaDoc permalink
Mon, Dec 8, 2008 from New Scientist: Canadian tar plan threatens millions of birds A new report saying that millions of migratory birds are at risk adds to a mass of criticism of the damage caused by exploiting the oil sands. The thick tarry deposit in northern Alberta is the world's second-largest oil reserve after Saudi Arabia, but separating the useable oil from the gunk takes three times as much energy as pumping conventional oil. This alone makes it some of the "dirtiest" oil on the planet. This week, a report by the US Natural Resources Defense Council says that continued development of the area could kill 100 million migratory birds over the next 50 years, mainly by destroying their habitat. ...	Those birds ought to be able to vote. ApocaDoc permalink
Mon, Dec 8, 2008 from Cleantech Blog: EarthLED releases a new consumer LED light bulb The EarthLED ZetaLux is a 7 watt LED light bulb. With a standard medium base, the bulb is a replacement for any incandescent light bulb. EarthLED estimates that it will cost as little as $2.00 to run the bulb for 8 hours every day for a year.... The ZetaLux uses 1/10th the amount of energy and produces roughly the same amount of light as a 50-60 watt light bulb. It has a direct light path (which in some ways takes a little getting used to) but according to EarthLED, that means the bulb has a 95 percent luminary efficiency (the bulb does not direct any light toward the light fixture). ...	You can LED a consumer to reason, but you can't make him think it's great to pay $49.99 for a lightbulb. ApocaDoc permalink
Mon, Dec 8, 2008 from Telegraph.co.uk: Ban fishing in third of UK seas, says Marine Conservation Society For the past few decades fish stocks in the oceans around Britain have been depleting due to overfishing, causing a knock-on effect to other species. Once-common species are now facing extinction, including the common skate, angel shark, sturgeon and leatherback turtle which are all critically endangered. In order to protect the wildlife that is left, the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) want a third of UK waters to be designated as "no-take" nature reserves by 2020 as part of the Marine Bill currently going through Parliament.... In addition to the 30 per cent of the seas that should be protected as broad habitats, specialist areas such as sea grass beds and reefs should be safeguarded, he added. ...	Now we're talkin' -- a fish-free ocean just does not appeal to me. ApocaDoc permalink