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What A Week It Was: Apocadocuments from

View By Scenario:
Species Collapse:	(6)
Plague/Virus:	(2)
Climate Chaos:	(5)
Resource Depletion:	(8)
Biology Breach:	(11)
Recovery:	(8)

This Week's Top Ten Very Scary Tags:
contamination ~ technical cleverness ~ heavy metals ~ smart policy ~ stupid humans ~ technological innovation ~ toxic sludge ~ bad policy ~ marine mammals ~ global warming ~ GMOs

ApocaDocuments (40) gathered this week:
Sun, Jan 11, 2009 from Canadian Press: Scientists track climate change through whale teeth WINNIPEG -- Researchers are hoping the huge tusks of the walrus and choppers of the beluga whale will help track the increasing impact of global warming on Canadian Arctic mammals and the Inuit communities that depend on the creatures for food. Scientists with Fisheries and Oceans Canada in Winnipeg are preparing to study the teeth of mammals killed during Inuit hunts to look for any signs that greenhouse gases are taking a toll. Although scientists have studied the teeth — which have annular rings similar to those of a tree trunk — for many years, this is the first time they are being used to unlock the impact climate change is having in the North. Experts expect to find a growing number of contaminants like mercury and PCBs in the teeth, as well as evidence of a thinning diet — all attributable to the increase of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. ...	How charming that scientists are now using belugamancy -- divination via whale's teeth! ApocaDoc permalink
Sun, Jan 11, 2009 from Contra Costa Times: Food crisis due to warming world trumps all other worries, say scientists Many of today's toddlers face the grim prospect of coping with chronic food shortages in their old age if agricultural science doesn't adapt to a warming world, concluded scientists in a study published Friday in the journal Science. The stark report, from scientists at Stanford University and the University of Washington, makes melting polar ice caps and rising sea levels from global warming appear minor compared with the prospect of hundreds of millions of people, including those living in Europe and the United States, anxiously seeking stable food supplies. ... By the end of the century, the worst of the heat waves in recent times will become the normal average summertime temperatures, the researchers reported. They based their conclusions on 23 climate models in a 2007 report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, as well as data from severe heat waves dating several decades. ...	I can't believe we ate up the whoooooole thing. ApocaDoc permalink
Sun, Jan 11, 2009 from Reuters: Obese Americans now outweigh the merely overweight WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of obese American adults outweighs the number of those who are merely overweight, according to the latest statistics from the federal government. Numbers posted by the National Center for Health Statistics show that more than 34 percent of Americans are obese, compared to 32.7 percent who are overweight. It said just under 6 percent are "extremely" obese. "More than one-third of adults, or over 72 million people, were obese in 2005-2006, the NCHS said in its report. ...	It's over for America. The Fat Lady has sung. ApocaDoc permalink
Sun, Jan 11, 2009 from Associated Press: Salmonella prompts peanut butter recall in Ohio COLUMBUS, Ohio – An Ohio distributor says it has recalled two brands of its peanut butter after an open container tested positive for salmonella bacteria. There was no immediate indication whether the brands were linked to a national salmonella outbreak. King Nut Companies said in a statement issued Saturday that it has asked customers to stop distributing all peanut butter under its King Nut and Parnell's Pride brands with a lot code that begins with the numeral "8." The brands are distributed only through food service providers and are not sold directly to consumers. Preliminary laboratory testing found salmonella bacteria in a 5-pound container of King Nut brand creamy peanut butter, the Minnesota Department of Health said Friday. The Minnesota tests had not linked it to the type of salmonella in the outbreak that has sickened almost 400 people in 42 states, but the department said additional results are expected early next week. ...	Just don't you mess with my jelly! ApocaDoc permalink
Sun, Jan 11, 2009 from Associated Press: Nation's largest utility grapples with 2 spills STEVENSON, Ala. (AP) — Standing on a porch near the Widows Creek power plant Saturday, Charlie Cookston took a drag off a cigarette and ticked off the reasons he distrusts the Tennessee Valley Authority. Dead mussels in the mighty, meandering Tennessee River. Dwindling numbers of fish. Big, black piles of coal ash that seem to get larger every day. As nearby residents await lab tests on the safety of drinking water, tempers are unsettled. Electric rates at the nation's largest utility have soared. A dike burst in Tennessee destroyed several homes, and on Friday, as much as 10,000 gallons of waste spilled into Widows Creek in northwestern Alabama. The nation's largest utility, once was viewed as a savior to the region, bringing lights, thousands of jobs and progress since its creation as a New Deal program in 1933, has had a rocky few months. ...	When it rains it pours, and when it spills it floods! ApocaDoc permalink
Sun, Jan 11, 2009 from Guardian (UK): 20 big green ideas as Emma Howard Boyd, head of socially responsible investing at Jupiter Asset Management – sponsors of the Big Idea award, makes clear: "The urgency of what is required to combat issues such as climate change has not diminished as a result of the current financial crisis. We need big ideas -- and it is at times like these, when there is widespread disruption, that we see innovation and new thinking." Big ideas need not necessarily be a whistle-and-bells hi-tech response. At least one of our Big 20 can be described as an "ancient technique" on loan from the Aztecs. The modern genius lies in its rediscovery and deployment because, while it would be foolish to believe blindly in a silver bullet for all environmental problems, now is absolutely the time for faith in contemporary ingenuity. ...	This story makes me feel like, y'know, Yes We Can. ApocaDoc permalink
Sun, Jan 11, 2009 from Telegraph.co.uk: Two Google searches 'produce same CO2 as boiling a kettle' A typical search through the online giant's website is thought to generate about 7g of carbon dioxide. Boiling a kettle produces about 15g. The emissions are caused both by the electricity required to power a user's computer and send their request to servers around the world. The discovery comes amid increasing warnings about the little-known environmental impact of computer and internet use. According to Gartner, an American research firm, IT now causes about two per cent of global CO2 emissions and its carbon footprint exceeded that of the world's aviation industry for the first time in 2007. ...	Guess I'll have to slow down on the English Breakfast, wot? ApocaDoc permalink
Sat, Jan 10, 2009 from Guardian (UK): Exxon chief backs carbon tax In a significant shift in stance, Exxon's chief executive, Rex Tillerson, told an audience in Washington that he considered a tax to be a fairer route to curbing emissions than a cap-and-trade system of pollution allocations. "As a businessman it is hard to speak favourably about any new tax," said Tillerson. "But a carbon tax strikes me as a more direct, a more transparent and a more effective approach." Until recently, Exxon was reluctant even to concede that greenhouse gas emissions were responsible for global warming. The company has faced mounting pressure over its environmental policies, culminating in a shareholder rebellion at its annual meeting last year led by members of the oil-rich Rockefeller family.... "A carbon tax is also the most efficient means of reflecting the cost of carbon in all economic decisions - from investments made by companies to fuel their requirements to the product choices made by consumers," he said. ...	Holy cow! On second thought, is this a shot across the bow of the coal industry? ApocaDoc permalink
Sat, Jan 10, 2009 from New Scientist: 'Climate fix' ship sets sail with plan to dump iron The ambitious geoengineering expedition has caused a stir among some campaigning groups, but has the scientific backing of the UK, German, and Indian governments, as well as the International Maritime Organisation. Within weeks, the ship's crew hope to dump 20 tonnes of ferrous sulphate into the Southern Ocean. Plankton need iron to grow, and the aim of the expedition is to trigger a plankton bloom and boost the amount of carbon that is sucked out of the air and locked up at the bottom of the ocean.... "Twenty tonnes of iron particles in the vast ocean is very much drop in the bucket and is unlikely to have a lasting effect," says Ken Caldeira of Stanford University. "The rational concern is that experiments will lead down some slippery slope -- that small experiments could be scaled up without any regulation." ...	We have no doubts about humankind's ability to do such geoengineering. Nor about their eventual success in having unintended consequences. ApocaDoc permalink
Sat, Jan 10, 2009 from New Scientist: Medicinal plants on verge of extinction THE health of millions could be at risk because medicinal plants used to make traditional remedies, including drugs to combat cancer and malaria, are being overexploited. "The loss of medicinal plant diversity is a quiet disaster," says Sara Oldfield, secretary general of the NGO Botanic Gardens Conservation International. Most people worldwide, including 80 per cent of all Africans, rely on herbal medicines obtained mostly from wild plants. But some 15,000 of 50,000 medicinal species are under threat of extinction, according to a report this week from international conservation group Plantlife. Shortages have been reported in China, India, Kenya, Nepal, Tanzania and Uganda. Commercial over-harvesting does the most harm, though pollution, competition from invasive species and habitat destruction all contribute. "Commercial collectors generally harvest medicinal plants with little care for sustainability," the Plantlife report says. "This can be partly through ignorance, but [happens] mainly because such collection is unorganised and competitive." ...	Thank goodness for pharmaceuticals! ApocaDoc permalink
Sat, Jan 10, 2009 from National Assessment of Adult Literacy: State and County Literacy Estimates In response to a demand for estimates of the percentage of adults with low literacy in individual states and counties, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) has produced estimates of the percentage of adults lacking Basic Prose Literacy Skills (BPLS) for all states and counties in the United States in 2003 and 1992. These estimates were developed using statistical models that related estimated percentages of adults lacking BPLS in counties sampled for the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) and the 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS) to county characteristics, such as levels of educational attainment and race/ethnicity distributions. Based on the results of these models, NCES derived BPLS literacy estimates for all states and counties in the United States and produced user-friendly tables to compare literacy estimates across states or counties and across years. ...	I guess we'll just have to save the planet without words! ApocaDoc permalink
Sat, Jan 10, 2009 from Telegraph.co.uk: Destructive alien species being transported around the world by sea [T]he cargo ships are unwittingly transporting larvae and tiny organisms that could cause damage to other species. This is because cargo ships take up water for ballast once they have discharged their load. When they arrive at the new destination the water is dumped -- along with any living stowaways on board. Over the years ships have transported comb jellyfish from the US to the Black Sea, where they have decimated fish stocks. The European green crab has caused problems in the US and Australia and Asian kelp has caused havoc in New Zealand, Europe and Argentina. In the UK the Chinese mitten crab and European zebra mussel are just some of the invasive maritime species transported by sea threatening native species. It is estimated that up to 10 billion tonnes of ballast water is transferred globally each year. ...	A billion tonnes here, a billion tonnes there, and pretty soon you're talking real problems. ApocaDoc permalink
Sat, Jan 10, 2009 from Environmental News Network: California Scientists Create E.Coli-based Fuel That's Much More Efficient Than Ethanol U.S. scientists say they can turn E.coli, a strain of bacteria present in the human digestive tract, into a fuel that is twice or three times more efficient than ethanol. The scientists, attached to theUniversity of California in Los Angeles (UCLA) managed to create a strain for the first time that generates alcohol with five carbon atoms per molecule instead of the regular two or three. That's important because the larger, longer chain molecules contain more energy, something of a "holy grail" for the fuel industry.... E.coli, which is mostly found in dangerous quantities on polluted beaches, can be altered so that each cell can generate "long-chain alcohol". The bacteria that result from this process excrete a type of fuel that can be used in the airline industry. Gas and other petroleum products also stand to benefit from the excretion process. ...	Sometimes scientists seem like the modern Knights Templar... 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, Jan 9, 2009 from The Tennessean: Second TVA spill reported in Alabama TVA is investigating a leak from a gypsum pond at its Widows Creek coal-burning power plant in northeastern Alabama, a spokesman said at about 10:45 a.m. Central Time. The leak, discovered before 6 a.m. has been stopped, according to John Moulton, with the Tennessee Valley Authority. "Some materials flowed into Widows Creek, although most of the leakage remained in the settling pond," he said. ...	Don't bad things tend to come in threes? ApocaDoc permalink
Fri, Jan 9, 2009 from Cheboygan News: Biologist on the case of dipping smelt population For years now, the spring smelt runs have been shadows of their former selves. Gone are the days when rivers and streams would run black, teaming with billions of migrating smelt. With only a few dips of the net, garbage cans could be filled with the tasty, bite-sized fish. Runs like those haven't been experienced in years.... From predatory demand to the introduction of zebra and quagga muscles to climate change, each theory has merit but needs some explaining.... "Based on my field observations, I can say this situation will not change any time soon," said Schaeffer. "We recorded very few smelt and the ones we did get were very small, too small for anglers to keep." ...	Based on our field observations, many situations will not change any time soon. ApocaDoc permalink
Fri, Jan 9, 2009 from Guardian (UK): US recycling: 'I don't even think we have an industry' "Across the street we would process 600 customers on a weekday, 1,000 at the weekend," he says. "The whole spectrum -- the homeowner who has stockpiled aluminium cans, the bar down the street that has a load of beer bottles, the liquor store with used cardboard. Now it's probably half that number." Young is on the frontline of a crash in commodity prices that has seen the global market for recycled paper, cardboard, plastic, metals and glass all but disappear. In three weeks in October, the price of paper went from $200 to $20 a ton, corrugated cardboard dropped from $250 a ton in August to $100 in December. It is the worst he has seen since founding the company in 1963. ...	Looks like littering is back in style again. Heck, Nature can just swallow it all, right? ApocaDoc permalink
Fri, Jan 9, 2009 from Yahoo/AP: Tangerine growers tell beekeepers to buzz off Is it trespassing when bees do what bees do in California's tangerine groves? That is the question being weighed by state agriculture officials caught between beekeepers who prize orange blossom honey and citrus growers who blame the bees for causing otherwise seedless mandarin oranges to develop pips.... Beekeepers say that, with development in the state's agricultural regions, there already are a limited number of places to take the bees for feeding. "Our winter losses are increasing (because of colony collapse), and part of the problem is finding places to put bees where they have access to natural food, and citrus is part of that," said Gene Brandi, a Los Banos beekeeper and legislative liaison for the California State Beekeepers Association. [thanks, Janet!] ...	This is somehow like that orange-burning scene in "The Pips of Wrath." ApocaDoc permalink
Thu, Jan 8, 2009 from Reuters: Monsanto seeks FDA approval for drought-tolerant corn KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Reuters) - Monsanto Co said Wednesday it filed for U.S. regulatory approval for what could be the world's first drought-tolerant corn, a product that agricultural companies around the globe are racing to roll out amid fears of global warming and the needs of a growing population. Monsanto said it submitted its product to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for regulatory clearance. It is working with German-based BASF on the project. The two companies are jointly contributing $1.5 billion to a venture aimed at developing higher-yielding crops and crops more tolerant to adverse environmental conditions, such as drought, which has eroded production in countries around the world in recent years. "It's been everybody's dream to have a drought-tolerant crop," said Iowa State University agronomist Roger Elmore, though he pointed out advantages would vary widely depending on geography. ...	I know that's been my dream all along... ApocaDoc permalink
Thu, Jan 8, 2009 from Associated Press: TVA ratepayers may be stuck with ash cleanup bill KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- The tab for a toxin-laden ash flood at a coal-fired power plant in Tennessee could reach hundreds of millions of dollars, and ratepayers for the nation's largest public utility will probably be stuck with the bill. The total cost of cleaning up last month's accident isn't yet clear, but the bill will be staggering. Extra workers, overtime, heavy machinery, housing and supplies for families chased from their homes and lawsuits are among the costs that are piling up. And with few other places for the Tennessee Valley Authority to turn to cover the costs, the utility's 9 million customers in Tennessee and six surrounding states will bear the brunt in higher electricity rate hikes in the future, TVA Chairman Bill Sansom told The Associated Press on Wednesday. "This is going to get into (electric) rates sooner or later," Sansom said. "We haven't even thought about going to Washington for it." When a dike broke Dec. 22 at the Kingston Fossil Plant, some 1.1 billion gallons of sludge was released from a 40-acre settlement pond, blanketing nearly 300 acres in a rural neighborhood up to 9 feet deep in grayish muck and spilling into the Emory River threatening drinking water. ...	So... I see ... we get crapped on twice. ApocaDoc permalink
Thu, Jan 8, 2009 from Christian Science Monitor: As beetle invasion rages, a debate over logs Tromping through a snowy thicket of lodgepole pine, forester Tim Love identifies the telltale signs that the trees are, in his words, "dead already but don't know it."... These are the visible scars of massive beetle destruction that now stretches from Colorado to British Columbia. Soon, wind will likely finish off the pockmarked lodgepoles, sending them crashing to the forest floor, says Mr. Love, a district ranger in the Lolo National Forest in Montana. That's a fire hazard headache for the forest service -- and, some say, a missed opportunity.... An estimated 2.4 million acres across five northern US states show visible signs of trees killed by the beetles, according to data from Gregg DeNitto with the US Forest Service in Missoula. ...	Monster fires are on the horizon... ApocaDoc permalink
Thu, Jan 8, 2009 from News10.net: What's killing California pelicans? The calls started coming in to the International Bird Rescue Research Center just after Christmas. Something strange was going on with pelicans up and down the coast of California. "We started getting calls of pelicans acting a little weird," said IBRRC Director Jay Holcomb. "They were landing in weird spots, on highways on runways, in people's yards." Holcomb said they have received more than 150 calls and 75 of the sick birds have been brought in to the centers in Cordelia and San Pedro. "As we looked at them they seemed to be disoriented like they didn't know where they were. They were confused," Holcomb said. The aquatic bird specialists at the IBRRC are baffled by the sick pelicans. "We don't know what's going on," said Holcomb. "It could be some kind of viral thing, some kind of toxin in the environment that they're eating." ... "We've had calls from people in Baja (Mexico) that have seen the same thing and have actually literally seen hundreds of pelicans dying on the beaches," said Holcomb. ...	Maybe it's "white beak syndrome." ApocaDoc permalink
Thu, Jan 8, 2009 from Reuters: Global whale 'hot spot' discovered off East Timor One of the world's highest concentrations of dolphins and whales -- many of them protected species -- has been discovered off the coast of East Timor, local and Australian researchers said on Wednesday. A "hot spot" of marine cetaceans migrating through deep channels off the Timor coast, including blue and beaked whales, short-finned pilot whales, melon headed whales and six dolphin species was uncovered in a study for the Timor government.... In just one day, more than 1,000 individuals and possibly as many as 2,000 whales in eight separate pods -- each one containing up to 400 mammals -- were spotted over a 50-kilometre (31-mile) stretch of coast, Edyvane said. Concentrations were similar to those near Antarctica, where Japan's whaling fleet is currently carrying out its yearly five-month research hunt, chased by anti-whaling activists. ...	Will the Japanese go where the waters are warmer for their "research"? ApocaDoc permalink
Thu, Jan 8, 2009 from Bennington Banner: Bats with White Nose Syndrome appearing in area Dorset and Strafford area residents have reported bat sightings in recent weeks, when the nocturnal flyers are supposed to be hibernating. The unusual behavior is being caused by White Nose Syndrome, a mysterious affliction that is devastating bat populations in the Northeast, according to Scott Darling, a bat biologist with the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department.... Darling said this year could be worst than last. "It's pretty discouraging," he said. "The bats came into winter in pretty bad shape." ...	We were hoping we could put these bat stories to bed all winter. ApocaDoc permalink
Thu, Jan 8, 2009 from Telegraph.co.uk: Wind turbine destroyed after 'octopus UFO' seen in sky Dozens of residents claimed to have seen bright flashing spheres is the skies near Louth, Lincolnshire, where a 290ft turbine was mangled in a mystery collision. One woman said she saw the an object fly towards the wind farm, while others described the lights as being linked by "tentacles", leading locals to dub it the octopus UFO.... Later on Sunday night, one of a turbine's 65ft blades was ripped off and another severely damaged. The Health and Safety Executive described the damage as a "unique incident", and the energy firm Ecotricity which owns the 20-turbine site say it has no explanation. ...	Now even the flying spaghetti monster is against us? ApocaDoc permalink
Thu, Jan 8, 2009 from UC Boulder, via ScienceDaily: Avian Flu Becoming More Resistant To Antiviral Drugs A new University of Colorado at Boulder study shows the resistance of the avian flu virus to a major class of antiviral drugs is increasing through positive evolutionary selection, with researchers documenting the trend in more than 30 percent of the samples tested. The avian flu, an Influenza A subtype dubbed H5N1, is evolving a resistance to a group of antiviral drugs known as adamantanes, one of two classes of antiviral drugs used to prevent and treat flu symptoms, said CU-Boulder doctoral student Andrew Hill, lead study author. The rise of resistance to adamantanes -- which include the nonprescription drugs amantadine and rimantadane -- appears to be linked to Chinese farmers adding the drugs to chicken feed as a flu preventative, according to a 2008 paper by researchers from China Agricultural University, said Hill. ...	We've seen the results of "preventative antibiotics" -- remember when good ol' penicillin worked? Neither do we. ApocaDoc permalink
Thu, Jan 8, 2009 from Guardian (UK): Daily Mail turns incandescent with lightbulb rage As of just now the Daily Mail's hotline, giving away 5,000 sets of traditional incandescent no-nonsense lightbulbs is all out of its daily allocation of gas guzzling bulbs. The Mail is kindly dispensing them as a rebellion against the phasing out of 75w and 100w lightbulbs by 2012.... But deep down I know they've gone to people who take the right to install gas guzzling bulbs as the right to bear arms and whine on about how (traditional) incandescent lightbulbs heat the house with all that excess heat -- about efficient as using a hairdryer as your primary source of space heating... ...	How cute. Next, they'll be providing Right Whale steaks, since there's fewer than 400 of them alive today. 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, Jan 7, 2009 from New Scientist: Rise of the garage genome hackers The competition is part of a do-it-yourself movement that hopes to spark a revolution in biotechnology. It is based on the emerging field of synthetic biology, which uses genes and other cell components as the building blocks for new organisms or devices. The movement is trying to open up this field to anyone with a passion for tweaking DNA in their spare time -- from biologists to software engineers to people who just like it as a hobby. The hope is that encouraging a wider mix of people to take part could lead to advances that would not happen otherwise, just as tinkering by the Homebrew Computer Club hackers of the 1970s spawned the first personal computers. "Biology is becoming less of a science and more of a technology," says Mackenzie Cowell, co-founder of the group DIYbio, which aims to be an "Institution for the Amateur", providing scientists with resources akin to those found in academia or industry. "There will be more opportunity for people who didn't spend up to seven years getting a PhD in the field," he says. ...	Oh boy! Soon we'll all be able to engineer Roundup-ready crops! And, as a bonus, a more slow-cycling Ebola virus! ApocaDoc permalink
Wed, Jan 7, 2009 from The Peninsula Gateway: Keeping an eye on feathered friends "The information gathered is public domain for scientists," Hands said. "One of the most important things is to look for trends. If something is unusual, they would have wondered what’s going on in the water. The birds are the canary in the coal mine. There is a certain standard number of birds we expect to see. If there's an increase or decrease, there could be something important going on, and this is our first notification. "The last two years, we have been having a problem in declines with water birds.".... "They are a great indicator for the whole ecosystem," bird counter Charlie Wright said. "It's a really good way to monitor the health of the water." Wright said sea birds are important indicators because they follow the fish populations. "They follow the herring and other small fish," he said. "We don't know how they do it, they just do." ...	We don't know how Nature does it either -- it just does. Or, at least, once did. ApocaDoc permalink
Wed, Jan 7, 2009 from Meriden Record-Journal: New polluters must give neighbors notice Is someone planning a 50-megawatt power plant in your backyard? If you live in Meriden or certain parts of Southington or Wallingford, there's a better chance you'll hear about it now that a new law creating Environmental Justice Communities has taken effect. The regulation, which took effect Jan. 1, designates a number of cities and portions of suburban towns as Environmental Justice Communities. The entire city of Meriden has been so designated, as have neighborhoods in Wallingford and Southington. ...	"Environmental Justice Communities" ... I sure like the sound of that! How do we ALL get one of those? ApocaDoc permalink
Wed, Jan 7, 2009 from ProPublica: Agencies Move to Restrict FOIA Access in Last-Minute Regs As one of the most secretive presidential administrations in history gets ready to close up shop, it's closing a few more things -- records. Over the past few months, some federal agencies have issued rules that would eliminate public disclosure of information -- or, in some cases, make it more difficult for requesters to get information. While the federal Freedom of Information Act regulates what government information may be withheld from the public, internal rules determine how that law is carried out at the agency level. Those rules also may restrict access to information. On Dec. 9, the Department of Energy [2] proposed a rule that would eliminate the agency's "public interest balancing test" in determining whether to release information to the public. ...	What we don't know ... can only poison us! ApocaDoc permalink
Wed, Jan 7, 2009 from New York Times: Hundreds of Coal Ash Dumps Lack Regulation The coal ash pond that ruptured and sent a billion gallons of toxic sludge across 300 acres of East Tennessee last month was only one of more than 1,300 similar dumps across the United States — most of them unregulated and unmonitored — that contain billions more gallons of fly ash and other byproducts of burning coal. Like the one in Tennessee, most of these dumps, which reach up to 1,500 acres, contain heavy metals like arsenic, lead, mercury and selenium, which are considered by the Environmental Protection Agency to be a threat to water supplies and human health. Yet they are not subject to any federal regulation, which experts say could have prevented the spill, and there is little monitoring of their effects on the surrounding environment. ...	Maybe Obama better appoint an Ash Czar! ApocaDoc permalink
Tue, Jan 6, 2009 from CNNMoney: Your house can make you sick (Money Magazine) -- You're sniffling and wheezing your way through another winter. A run of bad luck with germs? Sure, but it also may be the result of something more insidious: toxins. Chemicals found in common home furnishings can cause asthma and flu-like symptoms, and your basement or bathroom may be harboring allergy-inducing mold. You could even be experiencing a reaction to a more dangerous substance that could cause kidney damage or cancer.... Banishing toxins from your home isn't an exciting improvement, but it's a crucial one, since many states counsel home buyers to do environmental checks before closing on a home. Below you'll find five of the most dangerous and common toxins to watch for, along with the most wallet-friendly ways to nip them in the bud. ...	Of course, you could live outside .... oh wait. That's bad for you, too! ApocaDoc permalink
Tue, Jan 6, 2009 from Wildlife Conservation Society via ScienceDaily: New Park Protects Penguins And Other Marine Life In Argentina The Bronx Zoo-based Wildlife Conservation Society has just announced that its efforts to protect a wildlife-rich coastal region in South America have paid off in the form of a new coastal marine park recently signed into law by the Government of Argentina. The park, which became official in early December protects half a million penguins along with several species of rare seabirds and the region’s only population of South American fur seals. It is the first protected area in Argentina specifically designed to safeguard not only onshore breeding colonies but also areas of ocean where wildlife feed at sea. ...	Great idea! Let's just make earth one giant park! ApocaDoc permalink
Tue, Jan 6, 2009 from Environmental Health News: Mercury-laden whale meat may foster heart disease Eating mercury contaminated seafood increases the risk of heart disease in men, reports this unique study that examined Faroese whalers. The risk of heart disease increases in men who eat mercury contaminated seafood -- in this case whale meat. The results support previous findings with other human populations that show higher exposures to methylmercury can promote heart disease. Methylmercury is an environmental pollutant found in fish and seafood. It is at particularly high levels in some top level predators that eat smaller prey, such as tuna and other large fish and marine mammals. People who eat enough mercury-laden food to increase their body levels may suffer from well known and adverse health effects, including reproductive and neurological problems and an increased risk of death from heart attacks. This unique study looked at a group of 42 Faroese whalingmen aged 30-70 years old. More than half (26 (or 63 percent of the men) ate "3 or more whale meals per month." The researchers investigated if long-term exposure to mercury by eating pilot whale meat led to adverse heart related health effects, such as heart attacks....The researchers found a clearly significant correlation of increased blood pressure and arterial thickness with higher mercury levels found in their bodies. ...	Sounds like nothing but a bunch of blubber to me! ApocaDoc permalink
Tue, Jan 6, 2009 from Inter Press Service: PERU: Open-Pit Mine Continues to Swallow City CERRO DE PASCO, Peru, Jan 5 (IPS) - An immense open-pit mine located 4380 metres above sea level is swallowing up the centre of the city of Cerro de Pasco in Peru's central highlands, while the damages, in the form of toxic waste, spread to nearby villages. The government just signed a new law to relocate part of the local population, who for decades have suffered from the lead dust, dynamite explosions and toxic gases generated by the mining of zinc, lead and silver. The open-pit mine now operated by Volcan, a Peruvian company, in this city of 70,000 -- which is the capital of the province of Pasco -- is now 1.8 kilometres long. Neighbourhoods stretch all around its edges. The shabby houses located a few metres from the edge show cracks from the detonations, and children with blood lead levels far above the acceptable limits play next to vast heaps of slag. And in villages near the city, local peasant farmers watch their livestock die because of a lack of water, and contaminated grass. ...	Sounds like a fate ... that awaits ... us all. ApocaDoc permalink
Tue, Jan 6, 2009 from Environmental Health News: Crops absorb livestock antibiotics, new science shows For half a century, meat producers have fed antibiotics to farm animals to increase their growth and stave off infections. Now scientists have discovered that those drugs are sprouting up in unexpected places. Vegetables such as corn, potatoes and lettuce absorb antibiotics when grown in soil fertilized with livestock manure, according to tests conducted at the University of Minnesota. Today, close to 70 percent of all antibiotics and related drugs used in the United States are routinely fed to cattle, pigs and poultry, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists. Although this practice sustains a growing demand for meat, it also generates public health fears associated with the expanding presence of antibiotics in the food chain. ...	Don't tell me: there are probably antibiotics in the livestock's farts as well. ApocaDoc permalink
Mon, Jan 5, 2009 from London Daily Mail: Orange drinks with 300 times more pesticide than tap water Fizzy drinks sold by Coca-Cola in Britain have been found to contain pesticides at up to 300 times the level allowed in tap or bottled water. A worldwide study found pesticide levels in orange and lemon drinks sold under the Fanta brand, which is popular with children, were at their highest in the UK. The research team called on the Government, the industry and the company to act to remove the chemicals and called for new safety standards to regulate the soft drinks market. The industry denies children are at risk and insists that the levels found by researchers based at the University of Jaen in southern Spain are not harmful... The chemicals detected included carbendazim, thiabendazole, imazalil, prochloraz, malathion and iprodione. ...	Things go better.... with imazalil! ApocaDoc permalink
Mon, Jan 5, 2009 from via ScienceDaily: Biofuel Development Shifting From Soil To Sea, Specifically To Marine Algae ...Today, the most fervent attention in biofuel development has shifted from soil to the sea, and specifically to marine algae. Scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego, along with researchers at UCSD’s Division of Biological Sciences, are part of an emerging algal biofuel consortium that includes academic collaborators, CleanTECH San Diego, regional industry representatives, and public and private partners. Scripps scientists see algae as a “green bullet,” science and society’s best hope for a clean bioenergy source that will help loosen broad dependence on fossil fuel, counteract climate warming, and power the vehicles of the future. ...	I've got an even better idea: Let's grow crops on top of that giant floating island of plastic! ApocaDoc permalink
Mon, Jan 5, 2009 from London Daily Telegraph: Satellite will show how the earth 'breathes' The Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite (GOSAT) has been created in Japan to monitor emissions from around the planet from space and it is hoped the data it provides will help in the fight against global warming. The orbiting satellite will track the emission of carbon dioxide and methane, gases that contribute heavily to the greenhouse effect. Dubbed Ibuki - Japanese for "breath" - the satellite will record greenhouse gas emissions in 56,000 locations across the globe while orbiting the planet once every three days at an altitude of 666km. While there are currently around 280 observations points around the world monitoring greenhouse gas emissions, the new satellite will offer scientists a non-terrestrial perspective of global emissions for the first time. ...	We can play the blame game! ApocaDoc permalink
Mon, Jan 5, 2009 from Agence France-Presse: 1 in 5 mulling leaving HK HONG KONG - ONE in five Hong Kong residents is considering leaving the city because of its dire air quality, a survey released on Monday has found, raising fears over the financial hub's competitiveness. The findings equate to 1.4 million residents thinking about moving away, including 500,000 who are 'seriously considering or already planning to move', according to the survey by the think tank Civic Exchange. The groups most seriously thinking about fleeing the city include top earners and highly educated workers, raising fears over the southern Chinese city's ability to attract and retain top talent, the report's authors found. ...	Hopefully, they won't emit any carbons on the way out! ApocaDoc permalink