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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:	(6)
Biology Breach:	(13)
Recovery:	(10)

This Week's Top Ten Very Scary Tags:
contamination ~ global warming ~ water issues ~ airborne pollutants ~ smart policy ~ stupid humans ~ melting glaciers ~ rising sea level ~ carbon emissions ~ heavy metals ~ bird collapse

ApocaDocuments (44) gathered this week:
Sun, Jan 18, 2009 from Canwest News Service: Climate warming 'highly unusual' says new study A major U.S. government report on Arctic climate, prepared with information from eight Canadian scientists, has concluded that the recent rapid warming of polar temperatures and shrinking of multi-year Arctic sea ice are "highly unusual compared to events from previous thousands of years." The findings, released Friday, counter suggestions from skeptics that such recent events as the opening of the Northwest Passage and collapse of ice shelves in the Canadian Arctic are predictable phenomena that can be explained as part of a natural climate cycle rather than being driven by elevated carbon emissions from human activity. A summary of the report -- described as "the first comprehensive analysis of the real data we have on past climate conditions in the Arctic," by U.S. Geological Survey director Mark Myers -- warns that "sustained warming of at least a few degrees" is probably enough "to cause the nearly complete, eventual disappearance of the Greenland ice sheet, which would raise sea level by several metres." ...	The CO2 emissions from skeptics straining to explain away global warming just went up a couple ppm. ApocaDoc permalink
Sun, Jan 18, 2009 from London Guardian: Stop scattering ashes, families are told So many people want to scatter the ashes of family and friends in beauty spots that the government has been forced to step in with anti-pollution rules. Last month, staff at the Jane Austen House Museum in Hampshire discovered piles of human ashes scattered around the novelist's home and gardens, and football grounds, rivers, parks, golf courses, lakes, rivers and mountain tops have all become favourite remembrance spots. Until 1960, only about one in three people in Britain chose cremation and it was uncommon for anyone to ask to have their ashes scattered. But, says the Cremation Society, there are now more than 420,000 cremations a year, 70 percent of all deaths. Most families want to sprinkle the ashes in places meaningful to the deceased. In the 1970s, about 12 percent of ashes were taken away from the crematorium - now it is nearer two-thirds. ...	What are we supposed to do with the ashes -- eat 'em? ApocaDoc permalink
Sun, Jan 18, 2009 from Dhaka Daily Star: Industrial pollution chokes people, crops alike Ammonia mixed toxic gas and urea dust emitted from Jamuna Fertiliser Factory (JFF) in Jamalpur have allegedly been wreaking havoc on the local environment and causing debilitating illnesses among the locals. The toxic gas of the largest urea producing factory, at Tarandani of Sarishabari upazila in Tangail, has also been harming crops, trees, livestock, poultry and fish resources for the last 17 years. Many trees around the factory do not have a single leaf....Since its inception the JFF has been producing 1,700 tonnes of urea per day, 5,60,000 tonnes a year. Urea is produced from ammonia and carbon dioxide gas. Chemical formaldehyde is also mixed with the urea to make it hard. Formaldehyde acts as a disinfectant and it kills most bacteria and fungi (including their spores). ...	This is a strange case of Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Formaldehyde. ApocaDoc permalink
Sun, Jan 18, 2009 from Kingston Daily Freeman: MERCURY RISING: Bald eagles in region face new threat AFTER BEING pushed by humans to the brink of extinction and then re-establishing habitats in the Hudson River Valley and Catskill Mountains, bald eagles are again facing a manmade threat to their existence. A Maine-based environmental organization has found an alarming accumulation of mercury in the blood and feathers of both juvenile and adult bald eagles in the Catskills. While environmentalists say there is not yet conclusive scientific data to indicate the eagles are being harmed by the mercury levels in their systems, the study has found mercury levels in Catskills eagles to be close to those associated with neurological and reproductive problems in the common loon in the Adirondack Mountains and in Maine. The study also seems to support the belief that the Catskill Mountains region is a likely “hot spot” for methylmercury. ...	Another bad rap for the raptors. ApocaDoc permalink
Sat, Jan 17, 2009 from University of Bristol via ScienceDaily: Cooling The Planet By Growing The Right Crops By carefully selecting which varieties of food crops to cultivate, much of Europe and North America could be cooled by up to 1°C during the summer growing season, say researchers from the University of Bristol, UK. This is equivalent to an annual global cooling of over 0.1°C, almost 20 percent of the total global temperature increase since the Industrial Revolution. The growing of crops already produces a cooling of the climate because they reflect more sunlight back into space, compared with natural vegetation. Different varieties of the same crop vary significantly in their solar reflectivity (called 'albedo'), so selecting varieties that are more reflective will enhance this cooling effect. Since arable agriculture is a global industry, such cooling could be extensive. ...	How 'bout growing more hemp! ApocaDoc permalink
Sat, Jan 17, 2009 from Wilmington News Journal: Report warns of impact on coast from warming More storm-related flooding, shoreline erosion, habitat loss and saltwater intrusion into potential drinking water supplies are expected in Delaware and other Mid-Atlantic states as the climate warms, according to a report issued Friday by the Environmental Protection Agency. Delaware officials said they plan to use the federal report as a stepping-off point to plan for adaptation as the sea level continues to rise. Most troubling for Dave Carter, program manager for Delaware Coastal Programs, is that sea-level rise, combined with a settling of land, already is causing problems in some low-lying areas along Delaware Bay. "These are the early signals," he said. Comparing the state's new elevation data with Federal Emergency Management Flood Plan Maps for some areas in Delaware shows places where potential evacuation routes -- especially along Delaware Bay -- will be flooded "long before residents realize their lives are in danger," he said. ...	I've GOT to start investing in the floaties manufacturing industry! ApocaDoc permalink
Sat, Jan 17, 2009 from Reuters: Tibetan glacial shrink to cut water supply by 2050 Nearly 2 billion people in Asia, from coastal city dwellers to yak-herding nomads, will begin suffering water shortages in coming decades as global warming shrinks glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau, experts said. The plateau has more than 45,000 glaciers that build up during the snowy season and then drain to the major rivers in Asia, including the Yangtze, Yellow, Brahmanputra and Mekong. Temperatures in the plateau, which some scientists call the "Third Pole" for its massive glacial ice sheets, are rising twice as fast as other parts of the world, said Lonnie Thompson, a glaciologist at Ohio State University, who has collected ice cores from glaciers around the world for decades. As glaciers melt at faster rates from the higher temperatures, a false sense of security about water supplies has developed across Asia, Thompson said on Friday. If melting continues at current levels, two-thirds of the plateau's glaciers will likely be gone by 2050, he said at a meeting on climate change at the Asia Society in Manhattan. ...	The Third Pole is trying awful hard to be Number One. ApocaDoc permalink
Sat, Jan 17, 2009 from Science News: Livestock manure stinks for infant health The manure generated by thousands of cows or pigs doesn’t just stink — it may seriously affect human health. New research examining two decades’ worth of livestock production data finds a positive relationship between increased production at industrial farms and infant death rates in the counties where the farms reside. The study reported in the February American Journal of Agricultural Economics implicates air pollution and suggests that Clean Air Act regulations need to be revamped to address livestock production of noxious gases. The new work is in line with several studies documenting the ill effects of megafarms, which typically have thousands of animals packed into small areas, comments Peter Thorne, director of the Environmental Health Sciences Research Center at the University of Iowa in Iowa City. Higher rates of lung disease have been found in workers at large poultry and swine operations and respiratory problems increase in communities when these large-scale farms move in, Thorne notes. “This study is a very important contribution,” says Thorne. “This is an industry we really need — it provides food and a lot of jobs — the answer isn’t for everyone to become vegetarians.” ...	Oink... quack quack... moooooooo Whaaaaaaaaaaa! ApocaDoc permalink
Sat, Jan 17, 2009 from Chicago Tribune: U.S. warns of Teflon chemical in water Less than a week before the Bush administration leaves office, federal environmental regulators are issuing a controversial health advisory on drinking water contaminated with a toxic chemical used to make Teflon and other non-stick coatings. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is advising people to reduce consumption of water containing more than 0.4 parts per billion of perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA -- a level critics say is not strict enough. Studies have shown the chemical, which is linked to cancer, liver damage and birth defects, has built up in human blood throughout the world. It is unclear how many cities might exceed the new limit because the EPA doesn't require water treatment plants to test for PFOA... Critics called the EPA's advisory a last-minute gift from the Bush administration to DuPont and a handful of other companies that make PFOA. Some scientists have proposed limits as low as 0.02 parts per billion. ...	If it doesn't stick, then what's the worry? ApocaDoc permalink
Fri, Jan 16, 2009 from TIME: E-Waste Not, E-Want Not Every day Americans throw out more than 350,000 cell phones and 130,000 computers, making electronic waste the fastest-growing part of the U.S. garbage stream. Improperly disposed of, the lead, mercury and other toxic materials inside e-waste can leak from landfills.... A lot of exported e-waste ends up in Guiyu, China, a recycling hub where peasants heat circuit boards over coal fires to recover lead, while others use acid to burn off bits of gold. According to reports from nearby Shantou University, Guiyu has the highest level of cancer-causing dioxins in the world and elevated rates of miscarriages. "You see women sitting by the fireplace burning laptop adapters, with rivers of ash pouring out of houses," says Jim Puckett, founder of Basel Action Network (BAN), an e-waste watchdog. "We're dumping on the rest of the world." ...	Money talks, e-waste walks. ApocaDoc permalink
Fri, Jan 16, 2009 from China.org.cn: Returning to 'normal' is no longer an option In the first half of the year, volatile commodity prices, especially for food and oil, hit the world's poorest people hard. In the second half was the global financial catastrophe. Yet, could the crises of food, fuel and finance that we experienced last year simply be three canaries in the coal mine? What if these are just the early warning signals that our current economic system is not sustainable at a much deeper level? ... Those of us in middle age today in richer countries are the third successive generation to benefit from the natural resource bubble that our first world economy has exploited since the mid-20th century. It is highly unlikely -- unless we make some deep, structural changes to how we manage our economy -- that our children and their children will experience the same sense of progress and wealth. ...	A "natural resource bubble"? How absurd! House prices will always go up! ApocaDoc permalink
Fri, Jan 16, 2009 from LA Times: Mercury levels higher in women in Northeast, coastal areas Health officials have warned consumers for several years to avoid consuming too much of any type of fish that tends to be high in mercury. High blood mercury levels can cause serious health problems and are particularly dangerous for pregnant women because the toxin may harm the fetus. ... Researchers used data from a large, national nutrition survey collected from 1999 to 2004 and found that women in the Northeast were the most likely to have blood mercury concentrations above 3.5 micrograms per liter. Almost 1 in 5 women in the Northeast had levels that are considered too high. More than 16 percent of women living in counties that bordered an ocean or the Gulf of Mexico had levels that are considered too high. Nationwide, about 10 percent of women had levels at or greater than 3.5 micrograms per liter. ...	Maybe fish will become so toxic that we'll let them survive. ApocaDoc permalink
Fri, Jan 16, 2009 from Telegraph.co.uk: Paint cities white to tackle global warming, scientist says Hashem Akbari believes that whitening 100 of the world's largest cities could wipe out the effect of the expected increase in emissions over the next decade. White buildings and surfaces reflect far more sunlight than dark ones. Reflected sunlight does not contribute to the greenhouse effect, unlike the heat energy emitted by dark surfaces heated by the sun. Dr Akbari, of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, California, also argues that if built-up areas were made white, less heat would accumulate within them, allowing residents and workers to reduce their use of air-conditioning units, which use a large amount of power. Dr Akbari has calculated that making 100 of the largest cities white would increase the amount of sunlight reflected by Earth by 0.03 per cent. He believes it would cancel out the warming caused by 44billion tonnes of carbon emissions. ...	The future is too bright! 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 16, 2009 from BBC (UK): Farms to take heat out of warming Farmers could help curb rising global temperatures by selecting crop varieties that reflect solar energy back into space, researchers say. Scientists at Bristol University calculate that switching crops in North America and Europe could reduce global temperatures by about 0.1C. Temperatures have risen by about 0.7C since the dawn of the industrial age.... "It could help marginally in certain places but it shouldn't cause anybody to think we can slow up our efforts to stop dumping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere." Another obvious question with the approach is how to persuade farmers to make crop choices that might impact on their income, if they were asked to adopt strains that fetched less at market. One way would be to allow farmers to gain carbon credits for making a reflective choice, although Professor Caldeira suggested "starting to price albedo could open up a whole can of worms". ...	A good start -- and worth having to swallow some worms. ApocaDoc permalink
Fri, Jan 16, 2009 from Taipei China Post: Indonesian officials ride bicycles to fight global warming JAKARTA -- City officials in South Jakarta must now cycle when performing their duties, in a move to help combat pollution and global warming, an official said Wednesday. They can own a car and drive to work, but they must cycle when travelling to do their work, South Jakarta city spokesman Ahmad Sotar said. "This is compulsory. Cycling will not only reduce pollution and global warming, but also promote good health," he added. "The officials can also get to know their residents better since now they can cycle through the narrow alleyways to reach their homes. They can't do so if they drive," Sotar said. ...	Leading by example! ApocaDoc permalink
Thu, Jan 15, 2009 from Seattle Times: Scientists find contaminated orca food The food supply of Puget Sound's endangered orcas is contaminated, a team of Canadian and Washington scientists has found. The scientists measured persistent organic pollution concentrations in chinook salmon in order to understand the orcas' exposure to contamination in their food supply. Orcas, or killer whales, are actually a type of dolphin, are among the most contaminated marine mammals in the world, and are at risk of extinction in Puget Sound. The so-called southern resident population of orcas that frequents Puget Sound was listed as an endangered species by the federal government in November 2005. Southern resident orca whales seem to prefer chinook salmon for their diet — fish that the scientists found were contaminated with PCBs, flame retardants and other persistent chemicals that are retained in body fat. ...	A new kind of food chain: the pollution chain! ApocaDoc permalink
Thu, Jan 15, 2009 from Cleantech Blog: Peak Phosphorus? First there was 'Peak Oil', then there was talk of 'Peak Water', but 'Peak Phosphorus' may trump them all as a sustainability issue without rival. Fact: Phosphorus is a non-renewable resource for which there is no substitute.... The timing for Peak phosphorus may be 50 years out, or a hundred and fifty years, but as with peak oil, it's not a question of if, but when. There has already been considerable volatility in Phosphorus markets in the past year, possibly related more to volatility in the energy market and this has trickled through into food prices. ...	So, what -- will we have phosphorus speculation soon? Phosphorus default swaps, anyone? ApocaDoc permalink
Thu, Jan 15, 2009 from London Daily Telegraph: Green I.T.: how many Google searches does it take to boil a kettle? ...a newspaper reported that just two Google searches generates the same amount of CO2 as boiling a kettle. That would mean the search giant might as well be flying 10 jumbo jets from London to New York every day, because approximately 242 million queries are processed over 24 hours. The story was quickly seized upon by the technology community, and set the internet alight. Amidst all the subsequent hot air, Alex Wissner-Gross, the Harvard academic upon whose forthcoming research the story was supposedly based, claimed that he didn’t recognise the figures put next to his name. Google, meanwhile, hit back, too, and said that the correct figure wasn’t 7g of CO2 per search – it was 0.2g. ...	This whole story -- including the argument over it -- has now generated 400.715g of CO2! No wait! 400.717! No wait! ApocaDoc permalink
Thu, Jan 15, 2009 from AFP: Indonesia to allow trawling despite overfishing fears Indonesia will allow trawling in selected areas for the first time in 30 years despite concerns about overfishing, an official said Thursday. Trawling, in which boats tow long nets that scoop up everything in their path, would be permitted this year off four areas of Borneo island's east Kalimantan province, maritime ministry official Bambang Sutejo said. He dismissed concerns about overfishing but acknowledged that illegal trawling was already rampant in the area. "There will not be overfishing this time as we're only allowing small boats to trawl, and it's not allowed in other parts of Indonesia," he said, adding that legalising trawling would help fight illegal trawlers. ...	Yeah -- let's burn that ecosystem to save it. ApocaDoc permalink
Thu, Jan 15, 2009 from University of Wisconsin, via EurekAlert: Nations that sow food crops for biofuels may reap less than previously thought Global yields of most biofuels crops, including corn, rapeseed and wheat, have been overestimated by 100 to 150 percent or more, suggesting many countries need to reset their expectations of agricultural biofuels to a more realistic level. That's according to a study led by Matt Johnston and Tracey Holloway of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies and Jon Foley of University of Minnesota, which drew on actual agricultural data from nearly 240 countries to calculate the potential yields of 20 different biofuels worldwide. ...	You mean we let all those people starve based on an overestimation? ApocaDoc permalink
Thu, Jan 15, 2009 from Yale, via EurekAlert: Yale survey: Americans eager to reduce their energy use Many Americans have already taken action to reduce their energy use and many others would do the same if they could afford to, according to a national survey conducted by Yale and George Mason universities. Roughly half of the 2,164 American adults surveyed last September and October said they had already taken important steps to make their homes more energy-efficient, and a substantial number -- between 10 and 20 percent -- said they planned to take action over the next year. Almost two-thirds of the respondents said that they would like to buy a fuel-efficient car, but over a third said they can't afford one. ...	Now, if we could only mobilize that eagerness! ApocaDoc permalink
Wed, Jan 14, 2009 from Los Angeles Times: Herbal medicine sales up in sour economy; consumers seek cheaper, but often unproven, options CHICAGO (AP)-- The choice between $75 prescription sleeping pills or a $5 herbal alternative is a no-brainer for Cathy and Bernard Birleffi, whose insurance costs have skyrocketed along with the nation's financial woes. The Calistoga, Calif., couple seem to reflect a trend. With many Americans putting off routine doctor visits and self-medicating to save money, use of alternative treatments is on the rise — even though evidence is often lacking on their safety and effectiveness. Climbing sales of herbal medicines have paralleled the tanking economy, according to an Associated Press review of recent data from market-watchers and retailers. ...	Even if these herbal remedies aren't as good at restoring health, they're not as harmful as pharmaceuticals when you piss them into the groundwater! ApocaDoc permalink
Wed, Jan 14, 2009 from ProPublica: Jackson to Be Asked About Regulating Perchlorate in Drinking Water In the latest volley of a years-long battle involving the Environmental Protection Agency, the military and the White House, the EPA announced last week that it will delay its decision [1] on whether to set a drinking water standard for perchlorate, a chemical in rocket fuel that has been found at harmful levels in drinking water across the country. The announcement that the EPA won't act until it receives advice from the National Academy of Sciences puts the contentious decision onto the already-heavy regulatory agenda awaiting Lisa Jackson, President-elect Barack Obama's pick to head the EPA. ...	I still fail to see what's wrong with a little rocket fuel in my drink! ApocaDoc permalink
Wed, Jan 14, 2009 from Macau Daily Times: Vietnam finds bird flu in chicken smuggled from China Vietnam has detected bird flu in chicken smuggled from China as the illegal trade picks up ahead of the lunar New Year later this month, state media reported yesterday. Eight out of 16 poultry samples tested by animal health officials in the northern border province of Lang Son were infected with the deadly H5N1 strain of avian influenza, said the Lao Dong (Labour) newspaper. The provincial people's committee has sent an urgent message to local authorities, asking them to crack down on poultry smuggling to prevent the spread of infected poultry, the state-controlled newspaper said. ...	I pray that those eight samples were the only birds smuggled with H5N1. Oh, and that I get a royal flush at next Saturday's poker game. ApocaDoc permalink
Wed, Jan 14, 2009 from Sydney Morning Herald: Zimbabwe cholera cases pass 40,000: WHO Zimbabwe's cholera epidemic, which has killed more than 2,000, has claimed 81 more lives and the total number of cases now stands at 40,448, the World Health Organisation said on Wednesday. The death toll has now reached 2,106 since August while 1,642 new cases were added on in a single day, it said. On Tuesday, WHO spokesman Paul Garwood told AFP: "The epidemic is still not under control," adding that the rainy season was aggravating the contagion since the disease is transmitted by contaminated water. ...	Zimbabwe may be a metaphoric microcosm. I hate it when metaphors kill people. ApocaDoc permalink
Wed, Jan 14, 2009 from Glouster Daily Times: NOAA: Six nations illegally caught bluefin The federal government yesterday identified six foreign countries it said engaged in illegal fishing during the last two years, including the illicit harvesting of valuable and endangered stocks of Atlantic bluefin tuna. The six nations named in a report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration -- France, Italy, Libya, Panama, China and Tunisia -- were the first the United States has ever specifically identified as violators of international fishing regulations. The six nations now face potential trade sanctions from the United States, including a possible ban on the sale of their seafood in this country.... The majority of violations identified in the NOAA report involved illegal or unregulated catches of bluefin tuna, a fish prized for its use as sushi and which has been severely depleted because of its popularity. ...	France!? Time for "freedom sushi." 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.
Tue, Jan 13, 2009 from Associated Press: Removing cats to protect birds backfires on island BANGKOK, Thailand -- It seemed like a good idea at the time: Remove all the feral cats from a famous Australian island to save the native seabirds. But the decision to eradicate the felines from Macquarie island allowed the rabbit population to explode and, in turn, destroy much of its fragile vegetation that birds depend on for cover, researchers said Tuesday. Removing the cats from Macquarie "caused environmental devastation" that will cost authorities 24 million Australian dollars ($16.2 million) to remedy, Dana Bergstrom of the Australian Antarctic Division and her colleagues wrote in the British Ecological Society's Journal of Applied Ecology. ...	With the toe bone connected to the foot bone... ApocaDoc permalink
Tue, Jan 13, 2009 from Agence France-Presse: The earth's magnetic field impacts climate: Danish study COPENHAGEN -- The earth's climate has been significantly affected by the planet's magnetic field, according to a Danish study published Monday that could challenge the notion that human emissions are responsible for global warming. "Our results show a strong correlation between the strength of the earth's magnetic field and the amount of precipitation in the tropics," one of the two Danish geophysicists behind the study, Mads Faurschou Knudsen of the geology department at Aarhus University in western Denmark, told the Videnskab journal.... The results of the study, which has also been published in US scientific journal Geology, lend support to a controversial theory published a decade ago by Danish astrophysicist Henrik Svensmark, who claimed the climate was highly influenced by galactic cosmic ray (GCR) particles penetrating the earth's atmosphere. ...	Then we CAN save the earth with refrigerator magnets! ApocaDoc permalink
Tue, Jan 13, 2009 from New York Times: Research Ties Human Acts to Harmful Rates of Species Evolution Human actions are increasing the rate of evolutionary change in plants and animals in ways that may hurt their long-term prospects for survival, scientists are reporting. Hunting, commercial fishing and some conservation regulations, like minimum size limits on fish, may all work against species health... Based on an analysis of earlier studies of 29 species — mostly fish, but also a few animals and plants like bighorn sheep and ginseng — researchers from several Canadian and American universities found that rates of evolutionary change were three times higher in species subject to “harvest selection” than in other species. Writing in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the researchers say the data they analyzed suggested that size at reproductive maturity in the species under pressure had shrunk in 30 years or so by 20 percent, and that organisms were reaching reproductive age about 25 percent sooner. ...	Whatever happened to 'if it don't kill ya it makes ya stronger'? ...wussy nature... ApocaDoc permalink
Tue, Jan 13, 2009 from Brisbane Courier-Mail: Two-headed fish larvae blamed on farm chemicals in Noosa River CHEMICAL contamination from farm runoff has been blamed after millions of fish larvae in the Noosa River were found to have grown two heads. The disfigured larvae are thought to have been affected by one of two popular farm chemicals, either the insecticide endosulphan or the fungicide carbendazim. Former NSW fisheries scientist and aquaculture veterinarian Matt Landos yesterday called on the Federal Government to ban the chemicals and urgently find replacements. Dr Landos said about 90 per cent of larvae spawned at the Sunland Fish Hatchery from bass taken from the river were deformed and all died within 48 hours. ...	I guess this is a case where two heads AREN'T better than one! ApocaDoc permalink
Tue, Jan 13, 2009 from Bloomberg News: Food Production Chaos Looms in Africa as Soil Quality Worsens African farmers and climate change are combining to damage soil at a rate that may plunge the continent, home to about 1 billion people, into chaos as food production declines. “The situation is very severe and soil fertility is declining rapidly,” Jeroen Huising, a scientist who studies soils at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture, or CIAT, said today in an interview. “Many countries like Kenya already don’t have enough food to feed their population and soil degradation is worsening an already critical situation.” Africa, where half the agricultural soil has lost nutrients necessary to grow plants, is hampered by a lack of information about soil conditions, Huising said. About 236 million people in sub-Saharan Africa, or one in three there, are chronically hungry, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. ...	Meanwhile, in America, I can't even finish my portion. ApocaDoc permalink
Tue, Jan 13, 2009 from The Olympian: Mysterious pelican deaths worry California biologists In a troubling wildlife mystery, sick and injured California brown pelicans are landing in suburban ponds, driveways and backyards -- far from their ocean home.... "Now they are appearing in really unusual places." ... Die-offs of young birds aren't uncommon along the coast this time of year. But bird rescuers knew something was amiss when many of the sick pelicans were adults, found far inland, bruised and starving. A social animal, it is rarely found alone.... "We are seeing a number of conditions that are not typical of domoic acid toxicity or a domoic acid event. Therefore, we are continuing to collect and test samples, keeping an open mind and considering all possibilities." Other theories have surfaced. Perhaps the birds are ingesting toxic fire retardants that washed to sea after recent fires. Maybe they're sick with a viral infection. Or perhaps the cold weather that hit the Pacific Northwest in December boosted their susceptibility to some yet-identified disease. Or there could be a confluence of factors. ...	Again with the danged factorial confluence. ApocaDoc permalink
Tue, Jan 13, 2009 from SciDev.net: Solar house promises greener heating for Tibetans Chinese engineers have designed a solar house for Tibetans that aims to reduce their dependency on cattle dung for warmth. A typical Tibetan family living in a remote mountainous village burns 300 sacks of dung -- around 2,000 kilograms -- each year, half of which it must purchase. But burning dung is inefficient and, in winter, temperatures plunge indoors.... Zeng Yan, chief architect of the Institute of Solar Building Technology, part of CNECHS, said that the experimental house, to be built in May, is supported by three core techniques: insulation, energy collection and energy storage. The 100 square-metre house has an embedded greenhouse that collects the sun's energy, which can be transferred to the surrounding bedrooms and living room by opening connecting windows and doors.... But Xie Yuan, head of the Department of Science and Technology of Qinghai Province said that the houses might be unaffordable for local Tibetans. The annual personal income in a typical village is less than 1,700 Chinese yuan (around US$249), but the new house costs nearly 40,000 yuan (around US$5,850). ...	I suspect this is a price point that would allow overnight shipping to the US. ApocaDoc permalink
Tue, Jan 13, 2009 from Telegraph.co.uk: Greenpeace buys Heathrow land earmarked for airport's third runway Campaigners opposed to a third runway at Heathrow have bought a parcel of the land earmarked for the airport's expansion and are preparing for a fierce legal battle to defend it. The Government is expected to approve the new runway this week, along with a sixth terminal -- although there was speculation last night that a decision could be delayed after Gordon Brown agreed to meet Labour backbenchers opposed to the project. The Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats both oppose the plans, as do dozens of environmental groups. Greenpeace has bought a field the size of a football pitch and plans to invite protesters to dig networks of tunnels across it, similar to those built in the ultimately unsuccessful campaign against the Newbury bypass in 1996. The group also plans to divide the field into thousands of tiny plots, each with a separate owner. BAA, the airport's owner, would be forced to negotiate with each owner, lengthening the compulsory purchase process. ...	Have you no respect for authority!? ApocaDoc permalink
Tue, Jan 13, 2009 from Soil Science Society of America, via EurekAlert: Forest Soil, Long After Most Acidic Rain, Remains Acidic Following the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1970 and 1990 acidic deposition in North America has declined significantly since its peak in 1973. Consequently, research has shifted from studying the effects of acidic deposition to the recovery of these aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems.... The researchers believe that the observed trend in soil acidification is likely to continue until acidic inputs decline to the point where soil base cation pools are sufficient to neutralize them. Warby concluded, "Until then we are likely to see the continued sluggish chemical recovery of surface waters and a continuing threat to the health of forests, with additional declines in base status likely to increase the number of sites exhibiting lower forest productivity and or vulnerability to winter injury." ...	This tortured language means until we get the acid rain reduced lots farther, the soil and water will remain acidic, with bad consequences. We think. ApocaDoc permalink
Tue, Jan 13, 2009 from USDA Forest Service: Top 5 invasive plants threatening Southern forests in 2009 U.S. Forest Service Southern Research Station (SRS) Ecologist Jim Miller, Ph.D., one of the foremost authorities on nonnative plants in the South, today identified the invasive plant species he believes pose the biggest threats to southern forest ecosystems in 2009. "Cogongrass, tallowtree, and Japanese climbing fern are among the fastest moving and most destructive nonnative plant species facing many southern landowners this year," said Miller. "Rounding out the top five invasive species that I'm very concerned about would be tree-of-heaven and nonnative privets. While our forests are besieged by numerous invasive plants, these and other nonnative species present serious financial and ecological threats to the South and its forests in 2009." ...	When the Tree of Heaven is an invasive species, you know life is out of balance. ApocaDoc permalink
Tue, Jan 13, 2009 from University of Houston, via EurekAlert: 'Refinery dust' reveals clues about local polluters, UH-led research team says Cloaked in the clouds of emissions and exhaust that hang over the city are clues that lead back to the polluting culprits, and a research team led by the University of Houston is hot on their trails.... "Fine particulate matter is tiny – about 30 times smaller in diameter than a human hair – but it carries in it a lot of information about where it came from," explains Chellam, a civil and environmental engineering professor at UH's Cullen College of Engineering.... "The fact that we can quantify very minute concentrations of the catalyst material in the ambient air, as well as many other metals, shows the strengths of the analytical procedures developed at UH," Fraser says. "This allows us to track emissions from a source to communities far downwind, where people may be unaware that they are being exposed to emissions from industrial refineries." Fraser said the team's goal is to advance the understanding of the science of air pollution so that more effective and efficient environmental regulations can be written. ...	With great knowledge, comes great responsibility. Oh, and great lawsuits. ApocaDoc permalink
Mon, Jan 12, 2009 from Ayn Rand Center: Pain of Recession Foretells Agony of Green Economy Washington, D.C.--For the first time in 25 years, global demand for oil is expected to decline two years in a row. The decline is an effect of the global economic recession, which has dramatically reduced production and trade worldwide. “This recession, with all its grim news of job loss and economic hardship, should be seen as a cautionary tale against coercive energy and climate policies,” said Keith Lockitch, fellow of the Ayn Rand Center for Individual Rights. “Energy is the motive power that fuels production and trade. When economic activity slows, so does energy demand. But it goes the other way too. Imposing restrictions on the use of energy--as would occur under a system of carbon regulation--would choke off the economy’s fuel and shut down productive activity. The economic pain we’re all feeling in this recession is nothing compared to the pain we would feel if we adopt green policies that cut off fossil fuel consumption ...	All we 'Docs can do is shrug at this fountainhead of stupidity. ApocaDoc permalink
Mon, Jan 12, 2009 from New Scientist: Patent: Tree-hugging wind turbine Sridhar Condoor at Saint Louis University in Missouri has designed a hollow, cylindrical wind turbine that has no central hub. Its tube-like form means the device could be placed around a pre-existing feature such as a chimney stack, cellphone mast or even a tree trunk. The outside of the turbine is a cylinder that is incised with inlets to catch the wind from any direction and toothed on the inside to drive a gear that powers a generator. A cylindrical frame within allows the main cylinder to rotate freely and can be mounted around another object -- either vertically or horizontally. That makes it possible to install without needing clear space, and could even provide a way to hide ugly features, the patent says. ...	Clever! And simple! It's like a wind condom! ApocaDoc permalink
Mon, Jan 12, 2009 from Bloomberg News: Greenland's Rapid Glacier Retreat May Stall, Scientists Say The rapid shrinking of glaciers in Greenland during recent years may stall, diminishing the Arctic island's potential contribution to rising sea levels blamed on global warming, a U.K.-led research team found. The study in the journal Nature Geoscience indicates the faster-than-normal ice loss observed in many of Greenland's glaciers in the early 2000s won't be sustained, said Andreas Vieli, a glaciologist at Durham University in northern England... While the researchers studied one glacier, they said their findings apply to glaciers in similar terrain that are grounded at their snout in a trough reaching below sea-level. ...	Seen one glacier ... seen 'em all. ApocaDoc permalink
Mon, Jan 12, 2009 from Chicago Tribune: Studies show SE. Ind. site high in mercury levels INDIANAPOLIS - Rain and snow that fall near a cluster of coal-burning power plants in southeastern Indiana are laced with some of the highest concentrations of atmospheric mercury in the nation, a new federal study has found. The U.S. Geological Survey research found the elevated levels of the toxic metal near Madison, Ind., adding to evidence that mercury spewed by power plants can end up in high concentrations in rain and snow that falls nearby. The findings, along with a study that found the most toxic form of the metal in more than 80 percent of samples taken from streams statewide, document the legacy of one pollutant from modern industry, the researchers say. "Everywhere we looked in Indiana we found mercury, and it's not the same everywhere, nor is it the same year to year or season to season," said Martin Risch, a USGS scientist who authored both papers. ...	Turns out it's not just yellow snow that's off limits for eating... ApocaDoc permalink
Mon, Jan 12, 2009 from The Desert Sun (CA): Protected species moves from valley Warmer, drier weather linked to global climate change has caused at least one native species to disappear from the Coachella Valley -- and ecologists warn more could be lost if the conditions persist. The Jerusalem cricket, an inch-long insect protected under the Coachella Valley Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan, used to live in the Thousand Palms area and near the Palm Springs International Airport. But after more than a decade of drought, the moisture-needing cricket has shifted completely to more humid areas west of the valley, past Windy Point near Cabazon, according to local ecologists. Its "dramatic" disappearance is "the canary in the coal mine telling us what's going on" regarding local effects of climate change, said Dr. Cameron Barrows, a research ecologist who's studied the Coachella Valley the past 23 years. ...	And likely no "new Jerusalem" here... ApocaDoc permalink
Mon, Jan 12, 2009 from Telegraph.co.uk: Climate change fears spiral as warmer seas 'absorbing less carbon dioxide' Warmer waters -- themselves said to be the result of the changing climate -- are believed to have caused the decline. Samples taken from the Sea of Japan last year were compared with analysis of water collected in the past. The findings suggest that it is absorbing only half as much carbon dioxide as during the 1990s. It could mean that governments would have to increase targets for cutting carbon emissions more sharply than previously thought. Scientists believe that a slight change in the temperature of the water appears to have reduced a process known as "ventilation" which helps reabsorb about a quarter of the carbon dioxide produced around the world. ...	The good news: less ocean acidification. The bad news: more global warming. ApocaDoc permalink
Mon, Jan 12, 2009 from DOE via EurekAlert: Dirty snow causes early runoff in Cascades, Rockies Soot from pollution causes winter snowpacks to warm, shrink and warm some more. This continuous cycle sends snowmelt streaming down mountains as much as a month early, a new study finds. How pollution affects a mountain range's natural water reservoirs is important for water resource managers in the western United States and Canada who plan for hydroelectricity generation, fisheries and farming. Scientists at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory conducted the first-ever study of soot on snow in the western states at a scale that predicted impacts along mountain ranges. They found that soot warms up the snow and the air above it by up to 1.2 degrees Fahrenheit, causing snow to melt. ...	Just another use for all that WhiteOut™ that nobody uses anymore. ApocaDoc permalink