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What A Week It Was: Apocadocuments from

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Species Collapse:	(7)
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This Week's Top Ten Very Scary Tags:
water issues ~ anthropogenic change ~ contamination ~ ecosystem interrelationships ~ global warming ~ stupid humans ~ smart policy ~ pandemic ~ technical cleverness ~ hunting to extinction ~ soil issues

ApocaDocuments (42) gathered this week:
Mon, Jan 26, 2009 from New Scientist: US prepares to block influx of GM food After a decade of exporting its genetically modified crops all over the world, the US is preparing to block foreign GM foods from entering the country -- if they are deemed to threaten its agriculture, environment or citizens' health, that is. The warning was given to the US Department of Agriculture, which polices agricultural imports, by its own auditor, the Office of Inspector General (OIG): "Unless international developments in transgenic plants and animals are closely monitored, USDA could be unaware of potential threats that particular new transgenic plants or animals might pose to the nation's food supply." ...	Is this a "Protect Monsanto" policy carried over from the last eight years, or is it a smarter policy of wariness from a new Administration? ApocaDoc permalink
Sun, Jan 25, 2009 from Calgary Herald (Canada): More plastic than plankton in Pacific Ocean At least 80 per cent of the plastic in the ocean originated from the land. Thousands of cargo containers fall overboard in stormy seas each year. In 2002, 33,000 blue-and-white Nike basketball shoes were spilled off the coast of Washington. Plastic in the ocean acts like sponges attracting neuro-toxins like mercury and pyrethroids, insecticides, carcinogens such as PCBs, DDT and PBDE (the backbone of flame retardants), and man-made hormones like progesterone and estrogen that at high levels induce both male and female reproductive parts on a single animal. Japanese scientists found [plastic nuggets] with concentrations of poisons listed above as high as one million times their concentrations in the water as free-floating substances. Each year, a million sea birds and 100,000 sharks, turtles, dolphins and whales die from eating plastic.... Currently, there is six times more plastic than plankton floating in the middle of the Pacific. ...	Twice as much I could handle, even three times, but gosh, six times as much plastic as plankton? Maybe I should start getting worried? ApocaDoc permalink
Sun, Jan 25, 2009 from University of Copenhagen, via EurekAlert: Dramatic expansion of dead zones in the oceans Dead zones are low-oxygen areas in the ocean where higher life forms such as fish, crabs and clams are not able to live. In shallow coastal regions, these zones can be caused by runoff of excess fertilizers from farming. A team of Danish researchers have now shown that unchecked global warming would lead to a dramatic expansion of low-oxygen areas zones in the global ocean by a factor of 10 or more. Whereas some coastal dead zones could be recovered by control of fertilizer usage, expanded low-oxygen areas caused by global warming will remain for thousands of years to come, adversely affecting fisheries and ocean ecosystems far into the future. ...	It ain't the heat, it's the anoxia! ApocaDoc permalink
Sun, Jan 25, 2009 from London Guardian: Living on thin ice ...Based on occasional submarine journeys and more recently satellite data, charts of the total area of Arctic sea ice have shown a gradual decline over the past 40 years. Then, in 2007, the line on the chart appeared to drop off a cliff, plunging below 5,000,000 sq km a full three decades ahead of forecasts. The dramatic events of two summers ago, when a Russian submarine rushed to plant a flag under the pole and Canadian and European governments tersely laid rival claims to sovereignty, led many scientists to warn that the Arctic sea ice could disappear entirely during the summer months much sooner than had been feared. Most experts agree on the impact this will have on 5m Arctic inhabitants and the rest of the world - from the loss of the unique habitat that exists under the ice to rising global sea levels and possible changes to the ocean circulation and the weather patterns of the whole planet. Yet forecasts for when this will happen range from just four years to the end of the century. The reason is that very little is understood about the depth and density of the sea ice, and therefore the total volume of water frozen at the top of the world. This is what Hadow's Catlin Arctic Survey - appropriately sponsored by an insurance company - hopes to put right by providing the much-needed data about how much ice is left, and so help work out how much time we have to prepare for what is probably the most immediate, truly global threat of climate change. ...	Of all the climate tipping points, the Arctic melt may be the tippiest point of all. ApocaDoc permalink
Sun, Jan 25, 2009 from New York Times: Green-Light Specials, Now at Wal-Mart ...Today, the roughly 200 million customers who pass through Wal-Mart's doors each year buy fluorescent light bulbs that use up to 75 percent less electricity than incandescent bulbs, concentrated laundry detergent that uses 50 percent less water and prescription drugs that contain 50 percent less packaging. "If all this sustainability stuff is just for the well-to-do, it's not going to make a difference," said Jib Ellison, the founder of Blu Skye, a sustainability consultant who has worked with Wal-Mart. As the saying goes, Wal-Mart has also done well by doing good. Along with the McDonald's Corporation, it was one of only two companies in the Dow Jones industrial average whose share price rose last year. ...	:) ApocaDoc permalink
Sun, Jan 25, 2009 from Associated Press: Tasmanian devils threatened by contagious cancer CANBERRA, Australia-- Tasmania is trying to save the devil. The Tasmanian devil, a ferocious, snarling fox-sized marsupial, is in danger of going extinct because of a contagious facial cancer. In the meantime, its biggest rival -- the European fox -- is thriving, and may become so dominant that the devil never comes back. Scientists now want to build a double fence standing more than three feet tall to stop the cancer's relentless spread toward the rugged northwest of the island, home to disease-free devils and World Heritage-listed rain forest. Devils spread the cancer when they bite each other during mating or squabble over food. But for any chance of success, the fences would have to be completed within two years, said Hamish McCallum, the senior scientist in the devil rescue program. He predicts the devil will go extinct in the wild within 20 years. ...	These devils need an advocate. ApocaDoc permalink
Sun, Jan 25, 2009 from Associated Press: China dams reveal flaws in climate-change weapon XIAOXI, China-- The hydroelectric dam, a low wall of concrete slicing across an old farming valley, is supposed to help a power company in distant Germany contribute to saving the climate -- while putting lucrative "carbon credits" into the pockets of Chinese developers. But in the end the new Xiaoxi dam may do nothing to lower global-warming emissions as advertised. And many of the 7,500 people displaced by the project still seethe over losing their homes and farmland. "Nobody asked if we wanted to move," said a 38-year-old man whose family lost a small brick house. "The government just posted a notice that said, 'Your home will be demolished.'" The dam will shortchange German consumers, Chinese villagers and the climate itself, if critics are right. And Xiaoxi is not alone. ...	Dam it! ApocaDoc permalink
Sat, Jan 24, 2009 from Sunbury Daily Item (PA): Disease shows up in area bat colony LEWISBURG, PA -- A week before Christmas, DeeAnn Reeder and her colleague Greg Turner made a discovery in a cave in Mifflin County. A handful of bats hibernating for winter had the tell-tale sign of white-nose syndrome, a mysterious condition killing off colonies in the northeast. The discovery of the white fungus confirmed what state, federal and academic researchers have suspected would happen: White-nose syndrome has arrived in Pennsylvania after being detected in New York and Vermont.... About 600 bats in Pennsylvania, New York, Michigan, Vermont, Kentucky and possibly New Hampshire and West Virginia were tagged with transmitters that collect body temperature readings during hibernation. Data collection is ongoing, with results due in several months. Preliminary results show the bats are warming up, or temporarily coming out of hibernation, more frequently than normal. "It looks like before they die, they are warming up even more frequently, and some are dying as they warm up," she said. ...	The horizon doesn't look any better this winter. ApocaDoc permalink
Sat, Jan 24, 2009 from Scientific American: A New Strain of Drug-Resistant Staph Infection Found in U.S. Pigs A strain of drug-resistant staph identified in pigs in the Netherlands five years ago, which accounts for nearly one third of all staph in humans there, has been found in the U.S. for the first time, according to a new study. Seventy percent of 209 pigs and nine of 14 workers on seven linked farms in Iowa and Illinois were found to be carrying the ST398 strain of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)... If it turns out to cause disease in humans in the U.S., ST398 could further complicate the general struggle against MRSA, which is already being fought on two fronts: against a hospital-acquired strain that began attacking U.S. patients in the late 1960s, and a community strain that began sickening healthy people (who had not been hospitalized) in the 1990s. The staph strains are related, but have different genetic profiles and different resistance patterns. The hospital strain contaminates wounds and causes overwhelming bacterial infections, whereas the community strain causes a range of symptoms from mild infections to rapidly fatal pneumonias. Both can be deadly: In 2007 the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated that in 2005 94,360 Americans contracted invasive infections and 18,650 of them died; 85 percent of the deaths, it said, were caused by the health care strain. ...	Humans are just guinea pigs for pigs! ApocaDoc permalink
Sat, Jan 24, 2009 from Associated Press: TVA memo spins environmental impact of coal ash disaster The massive coal ash spill at a Tennessee Valley Authority power plant last month wasn't so much "catastrophic" as it was a "sudden, accidental release." That's according to a memo obtained by The Associated Press that was prepared by TVA's 50-member public relations staff for briefing news media the day after the disaster at the Kingston Fossil Plant, about 40 miles west of Knoxville. The nation's largest public utility has been accused by environmentalists and affected residents of soft-pedaling the seriousness of the flood of toxin-laden ash that filled inlets of the Emory River and swept away or damaged lakeside homes. ...	Sounds like somebody peed their pants! ApocaDoc permalink
Sat, Jan 24, 2009 from The Sacramento Bee: Federal raid heightens concerns about fake organic fertilizer Federal agents this week searched a major producer of fertilizer for California's organic farmers, widening concern about the use of synthetic chemicals in the industry. The raid Thursday targeted Port Organic Products Ltd. of Bakersfield. Industry sources estimate the company produced up to half of the liquid fertilizer used on the state's organic farms in recent years. The Bee reported in December on a state investigation that caught another large organic fertilizer maker spiking its product with synthetic nitrogen, which is cheap, difficult to detect � and banned from organic farms. Since then, the organic industry and state officials have taken several steps to catch violators in California, which produces nearly 60 percent of the U.S. harvest of organic fruits, nuts and vegetables... As Thursday's raid indicates, work remains to improve a patchwork regulatory system that presumes manufacturers tell the truth about their products. On Thursday at the Eco-Farm Conference in Monterey, frustrated farmers and fertilizer makers alike called for stronger oversight. ...	Fake fertilizer is full of shit! ApocaDoc permalink
Sat, Jan 24, 2009 from Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: EPA a failure on chemicals, audit finds The Environmental Protection Agency's ability to assess toxic chemicals is as broken as the nation's financial markets and needs a total overhaul, a congressional audit has found. The Government Accountability Office has released a report saying the EPA lacks even basic information to say whether chemicals pose substantial health risks to the public. It says actions are needed to streamline and increase the transparency of the EPA's registry of chemicals. And it calls for measures to enhance the agency's ability to obtain health and safety information from the chemical industry...."This just shows that the EPA is not any better able to protect Americans from risky chemicals than FEMA was to save New Orleans or the SEC was to cope with the financial collapse," said John Peterson Myers, a scientist and author who has been writing about chemical risks to human health for more than three decades. For the EPA to be compared to the collapsed financial markets dramatically underscores the need for a complete overhaul of the regulation of toxic chemicals, said Richard Wiles, executive director of Environmental Working Group, a health watchdog organization based in Washington, D.C. "The EPA joins the hall of shame of failed government programs," Wiles said. ...	Yeah, I know things are bad, but don't be hatin'! ApocaDoc permalink
Fri, Jan 23, 2009 from SciDev.net: Investigating Pigs for Ebola Veterinary experts are investigating how a form of the Ebola virus found in primates has been transmitted to pigs in the Philippines. Twenty-two international health and veterinary experts travelled to the island of Luzon in the Philippines last week (13 January) to investigate an outbreak of the Ebola Reston virus in pigs that occurred in 2008. It was the first time the virus had been seen outside primates, and its appearance in domestic livestock is unexpected and worrying, according to Pierre Rollin, an Ebola expert from the US Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. ...	Good thing we're already pre-dosing our pigs with antibiotics! Why, I bet they're nearly immune! 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 23, 2009 from Mongabay: 97 percent of climatologists say global warming is occurring and caused by humans The survey, conducted among researchers listed in the American Geological Institute's Directory of Geoscience Departments, "found that climatologists who are active in research showed the strongest consensus on the causes of global warming, with 97 percent agreeing humans play a role". The biggest doubters were petroleum geologists (47 percent) and meteorologists (64 percent). A recent poll suggests that 58 percent of Americans believe that human activity contributes to climate change.... "So I guess the take-home message is, the more you know about the field of climate science, the more you're likely to believe in global warming and humankind's contribution to it." ...	Hey, the jury's still out until the fat canary stops singing! ApocaDoc permalink
Fri, Jan 23, 2009 from New York Times (US): Environmental Issues Slide in Poll of Public's Concerns A new poll suggests that Americans, preoccupied with the economy, are less worried about rising global temperatures than they were a year ago but remain concerned with solving the nation's energy problems.... In the poll, released Thursday by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center, global warming came in last among 20 voter concerns; it trailed issues like addressing moral decline and decreasing the influence of lobbyists. Only 30 percent of the voters deemed global warming to be "a top priority," compared with 35 percent in 2008. "Protecting the environment," which had surged in the rankings from 2006 to 2008, dropped even more precipitously in the poll: only 41 percent of voters called it a top priority, compared with 56 percent last year. ...	Clearly, we are not getting the message across. ApocaDoc permalink
Fri, Jan 23, 2009 from BBC (UK): Climate shift 'killing US trees' Old growth trees in western parts of the US are probably being killed as a result of regional changes to the climate, a study has suggested. Analysis of undisturbed forests showed that the trees' mortality rate had doubled since 1955, researchers said. They warned that the loss of old growth trees could have implications for the areas' ecology and for the amount of carbon that the forests could store.... "Because mortality increased in small trees, the overall increase in mortality rates cannot be attributed to ageing of large trees," they added.... "We may only be talking about an annual tree mortality rate changing from 1 percent a year to 2 percent, but over time a lot of small numbers add up," said co-author Professor Mark Harmon from Oregon State University. He feared that the die-back was the first sign of a "feedback loop" developing.... Another member of the team, Dr Nate Stephenson, said increasing tree deaths could indicate a forest that was vulnerable to sudden, widespread die-back. ...	I so was hoping it was just the Baby Boomers dying off. ApocaDoc permalink
Fri, Jan 23, 2009 from Guardian (UK): World's biggest wind turbine-maker says global downturn slashing demand The world's biggest wind turbine manufacturer Vestas says the current economic downturn has left it with 15 percent excess manufacturing capacity as demand for the technology falls short of projections. The news came as company works to restore its reputation following the discovery of fraud in its Spanish subsidiary.... "Six months ago everyone (in the investment community) said we were not doing enough to meet demand growing at an expected 40 percent this year. Now people are saying 'Why have you put in place plans for a 40 percent increase in capacity when growth levels are only going to be 25 percent?'," he explained. ...	The investment community's time horizon is that short and their perceptions that wrong? These are the Masters of the Universe? ApocaDoc permalink
Fri, Jan 23, 2009 from Reuters: Scotch Whisky Goes "Green" LONDON - Scotch drinkers who care for the climate will soon relish their tipple in the knowledge it is providing clean renewable power in the home of whisky. Scottish authorities have given planning permission for a consortium of distillers to build a biomass-fueled combined heat and power plant near the heart of the whisky industry in Speyside. Helius Energy Plc said on Wednesday it and the Combination of Rothes Distillers Ltd would build the plant, which would use distillery by-products and wood chips to generate 7.2 megawatts of electricity, enough for about 9,000 homes, and heat. "Not only will it generate renewable heat and power, but it secures additional markets for our distillery co-products," Frank Burns, general manager of the Combination of Rothes, said. ...	I'll drink to that! ApocaDoc permalink
Fri, Jan 23, 2009 from Toronto Globe and Mail: Seasons come and go ... and they're doing so nearly two days earlier than they used to In the depths of winter, it may provide some comfort to think that summer will be here earlier than usual. But so will next winter. In fact, the arrivals of all seasons have been sped up by nearly two days, according to new research, part of a worldwide trend that scientists say is tied to climate change. Not only are temperatures rising, but the hottest and coldest days of the year are falling ever earlier in the calendar, a trend that accelerates from the late 1970s onward. The research, conducted by scientists from the University of California at Berkeley and Harvard University, is published in the latest edition of the scientific journal Nature. ...	Next year, I will read this story two days earlier! ApocaDoc permalink
Fri, Jan 23, 2009 from London Times: Ecologists warn the planet is running short of water A swelling global population, changing diets and mankind's expanding "water footprint" could be bringing an end to the era of cheap water. The warnings, in an annual report by the Pacific Institute in California, come as ecologists have begun adopting the term "peak ecological water"-- the point where, like the concept of "peak oil", the world has to confront a natural limit on something once considered virtually infinite. The world is in danger of running out of "sustainably managed water", according to Peter Gleick, the president of the Pacific Institute and a leading authority on global freshwater resources.... A glass of orange juice, for example, needs 850 litres of fresh water to produce, according to the Pacific Institute and the Water Footprint Network, while the manufacture of a kilogram of microchips -- requiring constant cleaning to remove chemicals -- needs about 16,000 litres. A hamburger comes in at 2,400 litres of fresh water, depending on the origin and type of meat used. ...	Reading this article, I used 34 litres of fresh water! ApocaDoc permalink
Thu, Jan 22, 2009 from Tucson Citizen: UA lab to check for emerging contaminants such as Prozac, estrogen The Arizona Laboratory for Emerging Contaminants, known as ALEC, uses super-sensitive instruments to test water, soil and tissue for minute amounts of substances such as uranium, heavy metals and organic compounds, including pharmaceuticals, said Jon Chorover, co-director of the lab.... Emerging contaminants are substances -- including Viagra, estrogen and Prozac that are raising alarms as potential hazards when found in water or foods containing or grown with contaminated water. These contaminants are a growing concern in Arizona, where water is a precious resource. ...	But what happens if they find these contaminants? Is there a market for recycled Viagra? ApocaDoc permalink
Thu, Jan 22, 2009 from Guardian (UK): New research on common chemical raises concerns More doubts have been raised over the safety of a common chemical found in hard plastic food containers and bottles, and metal cans. High levels of the chemical, called bisphenol A, appear to be linked to heart problems and type 2 diabetes, a new study has found.... Researchers have now done a study looking at 1,455 American adults, to see whether high levels of BPA in people's bodies could be linked to health problems.... The results showed that people with higher concentrations of BPA in their urine were also more likely to have heart problems or type 2 diabetes. They also had a higher chance of having chemical changes in their body, which suggested their livers might not be working as well as they should. ...	It wasn't my youthful indiscretions? It was the plastic I grew up with? ApocaDoc permalink
Thu, Jan 22, 2009 from SciDev.net: Peruvian region outlaws biopiracy LIMA, Peru -- A region of Peru is claiming to be the first in the world to enact a law outlawing biopiracy and protecting indigenous knowledge at a regional level. Cusco -- in the Peruvian Andes, once the capital of the Inca Empire -- has outlawed the plundering of native species for commercial gain, including patenting resources or the genes they contain. Corporations or scientists must now seek permission from, and potentially share benefits with, the local people whose traditions have protected the species for centuries. Indigenous communities can now implement ways to protect local resources, including creating registers of biodiversity and protocols for granting access to it. ...	One small step for humankind, one giant leap for the rights of nature. ApocaDoc permalink
Thu, Jan 22, 2009 from University of Leeds, via EurekAlert: Industrialization of China increases fragility of global food supply Global grain markets are facing [a] breaking point according to new research by the University of Leeds into the agricultural stability of China. Experts predict that if China's recent urbanisation trends continue, and the country imports just 5 percent more of its grain, the entire world's grain export would be swallowed whole. The knock-on effect on the food supply -- and on prices -- to developing nations could be huge. ...	So once again, the invisible hand would price the poor into starvation. ApocaDoc permalink
Thu, Jan 22, 2009 from UC Irvine, via EurekAlert: Termite insecticide a potent greenhouse gas An insecticide used to fumigate termite-infested buildings is a strong greenhouse gas that lives in the atmosphere nearly 10 times longer than previously thought, UC Irvine research has found. Sulfuryl fluoride, UCI chemists discovered, stays in the atmosphere at least 30-40 years and perhaps as long as 100 years. Prior studies estimated its atmospheric lifetime at as low as five years, grossly underestimating the global warming potential.... Kilogram for kilogram, sulfuryl fluoride is about 4,000 times more efficient than carbon dioxide at trapping heat, though much less of it exists in the atmosphere.... Sulfuryl fluoride blocks a wavelength of heat that otherwise could easily escape the Earth, the scientists said. Carbon dioxide blocks a different wavelength, trapping heat near the surface. "The only place where the planet is able to emit heat that escapes the atmosphere is in the region that sulfuryl fluoride blocks," said Blake, chemistry professor. "If we put something with this blocking effect in that area, then we're in trouble -- and we are putting something in there." ...	So I'm supposed to what, just let my house collapse around me? psst... that's what the human race is doing every day... ApocaDoc permalink
Wed, Jan 21, 2009 from New Scientist: Mountain gorillas in dire straits, DNA reveals Mountain gorillas are in more trouble than we thought. Fewer of them are living in Uganda's Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (BINP) than previous estimates suggest. This is one of only two places worldwide where the gorillas survive in the wild.... It might also mean that the gorilla population in the park is not growing after all -- a census in 1997 found 300 gorillas, while one in 2003 found 320 individuals, but these figures may also be inaccurate. "Now we don't really know what is happening with this population," says Guschanski. "Probably the safest thing is to assume that the population is stable, but we will need to wait for another four to five years to assess how it is changing." ...	Four or five years is a lifetime in gorilla-years.... 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 21, 2009 from Guardian (UK): Scientists solve enigma of Antarctic 'cooling' Scientists have solved the enigma of the Antarctic apparently getting cooler, while the rest of the world heats up. New research shows that while some parts of the frozen continent have been getting slightly colder over the last few decades, the average temperature across the continent has been rising for at least the last 50 years. In the remote and inaccessible West Antarctic region the new research, based on ground measurements and satellite data, show that the region has warmed rapidly, by 0.17C each decade since 1957. "We had no idea what was happening there," said Professor Eric Steig, at the University of Washington, Seattle, and who led the research published in Nature. This outweighs the cooling seen in East Antarctica, so that, overall, the continent has warmed by 0.12C each decade over the same period. This matches the warming of the southern hemisphere as a whole and removes the apparent contradiction. ...	Take that, skeptics!! Uh, wait, maybe this isn't such good news... ApocaDoc permalink
Wed, Jan 21, 2009 from New Scientist: Biofuel from the oceans Now a group at the Korea Institute of Technology in South Korea has developed a way to use marine algae, or seaweed, to produce bioethanol and avoid taking up land altogether. The group says seaweed has a number of advantages over land-based biomass. It grows much faster, allowing up to six harvests per year; unlike trees and plants, it does not contain lignin and so requires no pre-treatment before it can be turned into fuel; and it absorbs up to seven times as much carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as wood. The group's patent suggests treating all sizes of algae -- from large kelp to single-celled spirulina -- with an enzyme to break them into simple sugars, which can then be fermented into ethanol. The resulting seaweed biofuel is cheaper and simpler to produce than crop or wood-based fuels, and will have no effect on the price of food, says the group. ...	Can we use the algae blooming in our dead zones? Now that would be a win-win! ApocaDoc permalink
Wed, Jan 21, 2009 from WWF, via Science Daily (US): Power Emissions Limits To Save Most Carbon At Least Cost, Study Suggests The least cost way to reduce power related carbon emissions in Europe would be to supplement the EU's Emissions Trading System (ETS) with the introduction of Emissions Performance Standards for energy, according to a new study.... Such a system, successfully used in some US States where it has helped put renewable energy on a more equal footing with traditional energy sources, could cut the EU power sector's greenhouse gas emissions in 2020 by more than two-thirds � more than 800 million tonnes per year.... "The current EU Emissions Trading Scheme unfortunately does not prevent high polluting coal-fired power stations from being built," said Stephan Singer, Director of WWF's Global Energy Programme. "We need new emissions limits to ensure Europe invests only in renewable energy, energy efficiency, and CO2 capture and storage facilities for coal-fired power stations. Otherwise, Europe will fail to deliver its contribution to keeping global warming below 2 degrees Celsius." ...	Anything that prevents coal-fired plants from being built is a good thing. Post-sequestered carbon is plainly stupid. ApocaDoc permalink
Wed, Jan 21, 2009 from New Scientist: Appetite for frogs' legs harming wild populations ... [C]onservationists are warning that frogs could be going the same way as the cod. Gastronomic demand, they report, is depleting regional populations to the point of no return.... Bickford estimates that between 180 million to over a billion frogs are harvested each year. "That is based on both sound data and an estimate of local consumption for just Indonesia and China," he says. "The actual number I suspect is quite a bit larger and my 180 million bare minimum is almost laughably conservative." ...	I think this scientist may be leaping to conclusions. ApocaDoc permalink
Wed, Jan 21, 2009 from New York Times: Growing Taste for Reef Fish Sends Their Numbers Sinking KOTA KINABALU, Malaysia -- ... The fierce appetite for live reef fish across Southeast Asia � and increasingly in mainland China � is devastating populations in the Coral Triangle, a protected marine region home to the world�s richest ocean diversity, according to a recent report in the scientific journal Conservation Biology. Spawning of reef fish in this area, which supports 75 percent of all known coral species in the world, has declined 79 percent over the past 5 to 20 years, depending on location, according to the report.... She added, "From a very practical perspective, loss of the aggregations ultimately means loss of the associated fishery, so it makes good practical sense to change our attitude." ...	The money to be made only increases as the reef fish rarity increases. This is the "invisible hand" of the free market throttling Mother Nature. ApocaDoc permalink
Wed, Jan 21, 2009 from CNN: Surveyed scientists agree global warming is real Human-induced global warming is real, according to a recent U.S. survey based on the opinions of 3,146 scientists... Two questions were key: Have mean global temperatures risen compared to pre-1800s levels, and has human activity been a significant factor in changing mean global temperatures? About 90 percent of the scientists agreed with the first question and 82 percent the second. The strongest consensus on the causes of global warming came from climatologists who are active in climate research, with 97 percent agreeing humans play a role. Petroleum geologists and meteorologists were among the biggest doubters, with only 47 percent and 64 percent, respectively, believing in human involvement...."The debate on the authenticity of global warming and the role played by human activity is largely nonexistent among those who understand the nuances and scientific basis of long-term climate processes," said [one of the study's authors]. ...	Sounds like folks believe whatever provides them the best job security! ApocaDoc permalink
Wed, Jan 21, 2009 from Bloomberg News: Japan to Launch Satellite to Measure Global Warming The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency plans to launch a satellite in two days to measure greenhouse gases in the earth�s atmosphere as nations seek better data on the evolution of global warming. The Greenhouse-Gases Observing Satellite, or Gosat, will be lofted from the Tanegashima Space Center in southwestern Japan shortly after noon local time on Jan. 22, the agency said today in a statement on its Web site... The Japanese project will measure the density of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere at 56,000 points around the globe, Yukiko Kaji, spokeswoman for the agency, said by telephone from Tokyo. Development costs for the satellite, dubbed �Ibuki,� the Japanese word for �breath,� totaled 18.3 billion yen ($202 million), she said. ...	Ibuki ... Japanese word for "you can emit, but you cannot hide"! ApocaDoc permalink
Tue, Jan 20, 2009 from Los Angeles Times: A new MRSA threat: children's ear, nose and neck infections The community strain of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus behind an explosion in nasty skin infections across the country is now causing ear and sinus infections and neck abscesses in children nationwide, a new study has found. Of 21,000 pediatric staphylococcus infections from 2001 to 2006, 22 percent were the aggressive community MRSA strain known to scientists as USA300. Moreover, the six-year review of data from more than 300 hospitals revealed an "alarming nationwide increase" in these infections, from just under 12 percent of in 2001 to 28 percent in 2006, according to the study published Monday in Archives of Otolaryngology -- Head and Neck Surgery.... As long as staph stays where it's supposed to stay --on the outside -- it does little harm. But when it becomes invasive, slipping into a part of the body where it shouldn't be, any strain can cause severe infections of bones, joints, blood and lungs. And USA300 is particularly virulent, or capable of causing disease. ...	I can just hear the little urchins snufflin' and sneezin'. ApocaDoc permalink
Tue, Jan 20, 2009 from BBC: Sex smell lures 'vampire' to doom A synthetic "chemical sex smell" could help rid North America's Great Lakes of a devastating pest, scientists say. US researchers deployed a laboratory version of a male sea lamprey pheromone to trick ovulating females into swimming upstream into traps. The sea lamprey, sometimes dubbed the "vampire fish", has parasitised native species of the Great Lakes since its accidental introduction in the 1800s.... This is thought to be the first time that pheromones have been shown to be the basis of a possible way of controlling animal pests other than insects. ...	I fail to see what is so new about this. ApocaDoc permalink
Tue, Jan 20, 2009 from Union Democrat: Sierra Pacific defends use of forest chemicals Sierra Pacific Industries is defending its use of chemicals on forested land after a report from the San Francisco-based environmental group ForestEthics claimed their use is affecting wildlife and drinking water. The report said SPI, which owns about 1.7 million acres in the state, has used more than 770,000 pounds of pesticides from 1995 to 2007 on its land -- which SPI doesn't deny. Those chemicals are affecting wildlife adversely, like the sexual development and immune systems of male frogs, said Tyrone Hayes, a professor in the department of integrative biology at the University of California, Berkeley. "It's causing male frogs to grow ovaries," said Josh Buswell, the Sierra campaigner with ForestEthics. "That seems a little questionable." One of the chemicals used by SPI is atrazine, which is the second most detected pesticide in drinking water wells, according to an U.S. Environmental Protection Agency national survey. Another is imazapyr, which has been shown to increase brain and thyroid cancers in male rats. ...	Just so the ovaries can still grow frogs! ApocaDoc permalink
Tue, Jan 20, 2009 from Business Mirror: Dumping of banned toys from US feared A waste and pollution watchdog on Monday called on the government, particularly the Bureau of Customs, to prevent the entry of banned toys from the United States which may be dumped into the country. At the same time, the group urged lawmakers to enact a law, and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), to come up with ways to guarantee consumer safety in the country, particularly against toxic contamination in various local and imported products. EcoWaste Coalition made the call saying the impending implementation of far-reaching safety regulations for toys and other children�s products in the US might result in the massive recall of proscribed items that could find their way to the Philippines, which has less stringent requirements. ...	I've heard of the Island of Misfit Toys, but the Country of Banned Toys is something different! ApocaDoc permalink
Tue, Jan 20, 2009 from Sydney Morning Herald: Endangered list grows as slow and steady lose race AFTER surviving for more than 100 million years, the world's largest sea turtle has been placed on the national threatened species. Leatherback turtles, which are found in waters off NSW as well as south Queensland and Western Australia, can grow up to 1.6 metres in length and 700 kilograms. The Environment Minister, Peter Garrett, said yesterday that the turtles, which had previously been classified as vulnerable, were now considered an endangered species. "The uplisting is mainly due to the ongoing threat the turtle faces from unsustainable harvesting of egg and meat, and pressures from commercial fishing outside Australian waters," he said. ...	Hare today; gone tomorrow. ApocaDoc permalink
Mon, Jan 19, 2009 from Associated Press: Palm oil frenzy threatens to wipe out orangutans ...the red apes ... in Indonesia are on the verge of extinction because forests are being clear-cut and burned to make way for lucrative palm oil plantations... The demand for palm oil is rising in the U.S. and Europe because it is touted as a "clean" alternative to fuel. Indonesia is the world�s top producer of palm oil, and prices have jumped by almost 70 percent in the last year. But palm oil plantations devastate the forest and create a monoculture on the land, in which orangutans cannot survive.... There are only an estimated 50,000 to 60,000 orangutans left in the wild, 90 percent of them in Indonesia, said Serge Wich, a scientist at the Great Ape Trust of Iowa. Most live in small, scattered populations that cannot take the onslaught on the forests much longer. ...	Sounds like the ORANGutans are on RED alert! ApocaDoc permalink
Mon, Jan 19, 2009 from London Independent: River pollutants linked to male infertility The rise in male infertility and the decline in human sperm counts could be linked with chemicals in the environment known as anti-androgens which block the action of the male sex-hormone testosterone, a study has found. Scientists have identified a group of river pollutants that are able to stop testosterone from working. These anti-androgens have been linked with the feminisation of fish in British rivers and could be affecting the development of male reproductive organs in humans, it found. The study has established a link between anti-androgens released into rivers from sewage outflows and abnormalities in wild fish where males develop female reproductive organs. It is the first time that anti-androgens and hermaphrodite fish have been linked in this way. ...	This kinda makes me... sort of... a little bit angry, ya know? ApocaDoc permalink
Mon, Jan 19, 2009 from Fast Company: Water Desalination: The Answer to the World's Thirst? A quick spin through recent headlines reveals just how badly -- and how soon -- we're going to need new supplies of freshwater: Over the past 18 months in the United States alone, the governor of Georgia declared a state of emergency due to water shortages; salmonella contaminated municipal water in Colorado; and eight states ratified the Great Lakes Basin Compact, an agreement designed to ensure that Great Lakes water, nearly 20 percent of the world's freshwater, won't be shipped beyond those basins -- not even to nearby Minneapolis or Pittsburgh. Worldwide, the picture is far bleaker. Global water consumption has roughly doubled since World War II, and yet, according to the United Nations, 1.1 billion people still have no access to a clean, reliable supply. Eighty percent of disease and deaths in developing countries -- more than 2.2 million people a year, including 3,900 children each day -- are caused by diseases associated with unsanitary water. The cost of waterborne diseases and associated lost productivity drains 2 percent of developing countries' GDP each year.... Saltwater already comprises 97.5 percent of the water resources on the planet, and 60 percent of the world's population lives within 65 miles of a seacoast. Why not desalinate seawater and slake the thirst of nations? ...	Well we sure better think of something! ApocaDoc permalink
Mon, Jan 19, 2009 from Reuters: China reports third bird flu case in three days Chinese health authorities said on Monday a 16-year-old boy in central Hunan province is badly ill after contracting the H5N1 birdflu virus, the third case reported in as many days as the Lunar New Year holiday looms. The Ministry of Health said on its website (www.moh.gov.cn) the teenage student entered hospital in Hunan on January 16 and the province disease control center confirmed he was infected with the H5N1 virus. He came from Guizhou province, next to Hunan.... China has warned of the risk of further human cases of bird flu in the run-up to the Lunar New Year holiday after reporting two new cases over the weekend.... The Spring Festival, or Lunar New Year holiday, starts next Monday, accompanied by a mass movement of people back to their home provinces for lavish celebratory meals. ...	Sometimes I think viruses created holidays! ApocaDoc permalink