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What A Week It Was: Apocadocuments from

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Species Collapse:	(2)
Plague/Virus:	()
Climate Chaos:	(13)
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This Week's Top Ten Very Scary Tags:
climate impacts ~ global warming ~ contamination ~ economic myopia ~ airborne pollutants ~ stupid humans ~ toxic buildup ~ smart policy ~ efficiency increase ~ water issues ~ technical cleverness

ApocaDocuments (40) gathered this week:
Sun, Apr 12, 2009 from The Australian: When farm sprays go astray When fisheries veterinarian Matthew Landos got his first look at the double-headed fish embryos in a Queensland hatchery, he had no idea he would soon team up with a Tasmanian doctor worried that the widespread use of agricultural and forestry chemicals was making her patients sick. "In hindsight it makes perfect sense. If exposure to agricultural chemicals could cause deformed and dying fish, as the evidence suggests, of course the chemicals had the potential to trigger serious health problems with other animals, including people," says Landos, who runs a [fisheries] consulting practice... Late last year hatchery owner Gwen Gilson hired Landos to find out why -- after years of healthy hatchings -- embryos and fish fry were dying in huge numbers, while others showed bizarre physical or behavioural abnormalities. His investigation suggested the problem was the result of a cocktail of chemicals sprayed on a nearby macadamia plantation.... "The same company that makes atrazine (as a herbicide) spun out a new company that makes an anti-breast cancer medication that blocks its action," he says, noting that the company involved has complained formally to UC administrators about his public pronouncements on the subject. ...	In most of the world, that kind of thing is called a "protection racket." ApocaDoc permalink
Sun, Apr 12, 2009 from London Guardian: Eco-warrior sets sail to save oceans from 'plastic death' In a few weeks, the heir to one of the world's greatest fortunes, David de Rothschild, will set sail across the Pacific - in a boat, the Plastiki, made from plastic bottles and recycled waste. The aim of this extraordinary venture is simple: to focus attention on one of the world's strangest and most unpleasant environmental phenomena: the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a rubbish-covered region of ocean, several hundred miles in diameter.... The plastic - most of it swept from coastal cities in Asia and California - is trapped indefinitely in the region by the North Pacific Gyre, a vortex of currents that circulate clockwise around the ocean. Scientists estimate that there is six times more plastic than plankton by weight in the patch and that this is having disastrous ecological consequences. Fish and seabirds mistake plastic for food and choke to death. At the same time, plastics absorb pollutants including PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) and pesticides, bringing poisons into the food chain. ...	David is going up against the Goliath of pollution. ApocaDoc permalink
Sun, Apr 12, 2009 from National Geographic: Changing rains Warm air holds more water vapor -- itself a greenhouse gas -- so a hotter world is a world where the atmosphere contains more moisture. (For every degree Celsius that air temperatures increase, a given amount of air near the surface holds roughly 7 percent more water vapor.) This will not necessarily translate into more rain -- in fact, most scientists believe that total precipitation will increase only modestly -- but it is likely to translate into changes in where the rain falls. It will amplify the basic dynamics that govern rainfall: In certain parts of the world, moist air tends to rise, and in others, the moisture tends to drop out as rain and snow. ...	I bet it rains ... on our parade. ApocaDoc permalink
Sun, Apr 12, 2009 from Sydney Morning Herald: New sofas to blame for rash of allergies AN unexplained rash could be a sign that your couch is making you sick. A toxic fungicide in imported furniture is behind an outbreak of chronic dermatitis, skin burns, eye irritation and breathing difficulties across the world. Medical experts here are warning consumers to watch for symptoms. The international journal Allergy has confirmed what thousands of British and mainland European citizens have known for more than a year: new leather sofas imported from China are a hotbed of allergens. ...	What am I gonna sit on to watch my TV! ApocaDoc permalink
Sun, Apr 12, 2009 from Associated Press: New orangutan population found in Indonesia JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Conservationists have discovered a new population of orangutans in a remote, mountainous corner of Indonesia -- perhaps as many as 2,000 -- giving a rare boost to one of the world's most endangered great apes. A team surveying forests nestled between jagged, limestone cliffs on the eastern edge of Borneo island counted 219 orangutan nests, indicating a "substantial" number of the animals, said Erik Meijaard, a senior ecologist at the U.S.-based The Nature Conservancy. ...	Now if we just could manage to leave them alone... ApocaDoc permalink
Sun, Apr 12, 2009 from TIME Magazine: Cows With Gas: India's Contribution to Global Warming By burping, belching and excreting copious amounts of methane - a greenhouse gas that traps 20 times more heat than carbon dioxide - India's livestock of roughly 485 million (including sheep and goats) contribute more to global warming than the vehicles they obstruct. With new research suggesting that emission of methane by Indian livestock is higher than previously estimated, scientists are furiously working at designing diets to help bovines and other ruminants eat better, stay more energetic and secrete lesser amounts of the offensive gas. ...	Methane: the silent but deadly environmental killer... ApocaDoc permalink
Sat, Apr 11, 2009 from Telegraph.co.uk: Galaxy chocolate bars to be made with sustainably sourced cocoa by 2010 Around 160 million bars of the chocolate -- Mars' biggest seller in the UK -- will carry the Rainforest Alliance Certified trademark seal by next year, the company said. The move is part of a larger commitment by Mars to certify its entire cocoa supply as sustainably sourced by 2020.... In 2008, Mars Drinks achieved Rainforest Alliance certification for three Flavia coffee offerings. Howard-Yana Shapiro, global director of plant science and external research at Mars, said: "Rainforest Alliance certification will make a positive difference for everyone involved from cocoa farmer to chocolate bar. ...	By 2010? I guess there is hope after all! ApocaDoc permalink
Sat, Apr 11, 2009 from New York Times (US): Dissenter on Warming Expands His Campaign As a spokesman for Senator James M. Inhofe of Oklahoma, the ranking Republican on the Environment and Public Works Committee, Mr. Morano was for years a ceaseless purveyor of the dissenting view on climate change, sending out a blizzard of e-mail to journalists covering the issue. Now, with Congress debating legislation to curb carbon dioxide emissions, Mr. Morano is hoping to have an even greater impact. He has left his job with Mr. Inhofe to start his own Web site, ClimateDepot.com. The site, scheduled to debut this week, will be a "one-stop shop" for anyone following climate change, Mr. Morano says. He will post research he thinks the public should see, as well as reported video segments and ratings of environmental journalists. ...	Didn't see our "one-stop shop" of idiocy leave office in January? ApocaDoc permalink
Sat, Apr 11, 2009 from Guardian (UK): Organic farmers feel the squeeze At least two organic farmers a week are leaving the movement as consumer demand for premium food stagnates and costs rise. As evidence emerges that the organic revolution has stalled in the face of rising food prices and job uncertainty, the industry's two biggest certification bodies have told the Guardian that a total of at least eight members each month are quitting their schemes. In addition, the National Farmers' Union said, "a small number at breaking point" wanted to leave but could not, because they had converted less than five years ago and would have to pay back all the subsidies they had received. ...	I like cheap everything. It reminds me of back when we didn't know better. ApocaDoc permalink
Sat, Apr 11, 2009 from Louisville Courier-Journal: Ky., In. key contributors to 'dead zone' Louisville and the state's Bluegrass region are among the likely sources of pollution runoff that have marked Kentucky as one of the top contributors to the Gulf of Mexico's oxygen-depleted "dead zone," according to a new federal study. Building on work released last year that placed Kentucky and Indiana among nine states contributing 75 percent of excess nutrients into the Gulf, a new report by the U.S. Geological Survey identifies watersheds that are most likely to blame.... In the Gulf, an overabundance of nutrients has led to an oxygen-depleted area that has grown to the size of New Jersey. Fish and other aquatic life suffocate if they can't reach better water, threatening the valuable Gulf fishery that supplies many restaurants and kitchens. ...	Try my new product: Aqualungs for aquatic life! ApocaDoc permalink
Fri, Apr 10, 2009 from Science Daily: Climate Change Leads To Major Decrease In Carbon Dioxide Storage The North Atlantic Ocean is one of the Earth�s tools to offset natural carbon dioxide emissions. In fact, the �carbon sink� in the North Atlantic is the primary gate for carbon dioxide (CO2) entering the global ocean and stores it for about 1500 years. The oceans have removed nearly 30 per cent of anthropogenic (man-made) emissions over the last 250 years. However, several recent studies show a dramatic decline in the North Atlantic Ocean's carbon sink....They believe the decrease is a natural phenomenon as a result of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), which causes weather patterns to change. ...	Sounds like one of our major sinks... is sunk! ApocaDoc permalink
Fri, Apr 10, 2009 from Agence France-Presse: Algae genomes key to regulating carbon emissions Scientists have decoded genomes of two strains of green algae, highlighting genes that allow them to capture carbon emissions and maintain the oceans' chemical balance, a study said Thursday. The strains' productivity as a significant source of marine food and their ability to capture carbon means the algae can influence the carbon flux and have an impact on climate change, according to the study published in Friday's edition of the journal Science. An international team of researchers sampled two isolates of Microminas, one of the smallest known eukaryotic algae -- complex cellular structures containing a nucleus and enclosed within a membrane. ...	Algae is our PAL-gae! ApocaDoc permalink
Fri, Apr 10, 2009 from Yale Environment 360: Retreat of Andean Glaciers Foretells Global Water Woes Earlier this year, the World Bank released yet another in a seemingly endless stream of reports by global institutions and universities chronicling the melting of the world's cryosphere, or ice zone. This latest report concerned the glaciers in the Andes and revealed the following: Bolivia's famed Chacaltaya glacier has lost 80 percent of its surface area since 1982, and Peruvian glaciers have lost more than one-fifth of their mass in the past 35 years, reducing by 12 percent the water flow to the country's coastal region, home to 60 percent of Peru's population. And if warming trends continue, the study concluded, many of the Andes' tropical glaciers will disappear within 20 years, not only threatening the water supplies of 77 million people in the region, but also reducing hydropower production, which accounts for roughly half of the electricity generated in Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador. ...	The melting of the cryosphere just makes me weep! 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, Apr 10, 2009 from Toronto Globe and Mail: Dow to sue over Quebec pesticide ban Dow AgroSciences LLC has decided to sue the federal government over Quebec's ban on the residential use of pesticides. The U.S.-based company, maker of the herbicide 2,4-D, is claiming $2-million (U.S.) in damages, using controversial provisions in the North American Free Trade Agreement that allow businesses to sue governments over regulations that harm their interests.... The case has attracted wide interest because so-called cosmetic pesticide bans are becoming increasingly popular, with Ontario recently following Quebec's lead in introducing one and many retailers removing chemical bug and weed killers from their shelves. ...	Is there a pesticide for pests like Dow? ApocaDoc permalink
Fri, Apr 10, 2009 from London Guardian: Health risks of shipping pollution have been underestimated Britain and other European governments have been accused of underestimating the health risks from shipping pollution following research which shows that one giant container ship can emit almost the same amount of cancer and asthma-causing chemicals as 50 million cars. Confidential data from maritime industry insiders based on engine size and the quality of fuel typically used by ships and cars shows that just 15 of the world's biggest ships may now emit as much pollution as all the world's 760 million cars. Low-grade ship bunker fuel (or fuel oil) has up to 2,000 times the sulphur content of diesel fuel used in US and European automobiles....pollution from the world's 90,000 cargo ships leads to 60,000 deaths a year in the US alone and costs up to $330 billion per year in health costs from lung and heart diseases. ...	Looks to me like it's time to give these cargo ships das boot! ApocaDoc permalink
Fri, Apr 10, 2009 from BusinessGreen: Chrysler moves electric car plans up a gear US car maker Chrysler's electric vehicle range has moved a step closer to reality as the company inked a major partnership with US battery specialist A123Systems. Under the terms of the deal, A123Systems will provide Chrysler with battery systems for its planned ENVI range of electric vehicles. First showcased at the North American motorshow in Detroit this year, Chrysler's entry into the electric vehicle market includes the Dodge Circuit EV, Jeep(R) Wrangler EV, Jeep Patriot EV, Chrysler Town & Country EV and the Chrysler 200C EV concept car. The company is expecting its first all-electric model to go into production early next year. ...	Can I do some sweat equity? Send me the parts and we'll put 'em together! ApocaDoc permalink
Thu, Apr 9, 2009 from London Guardian: Obama climate adviser open to geo-engineering to tackle global warming The global warming situation has become so dire that Barack Obama's chief scientific adviser has raised with the president the possibility of massive-scale technological fixes to alter the climate known as 'geo-engineering'. John Holdren, who is a member of the president's cabinet, said today the drastic measures should not be "off the table" in discussions on how best to tackle climate change.... The suite of mega-technological fixes includes everything from placing mirrors in space that reflect sunlight from the Earth, to fertilising the oceans with iron to encourage the growth of algae that can soak up atmospheric carbon dioxide. Another option is to seed clouds which bounce the sun's rays back into space so they do not warm the Earth's surface. Such global-scale technological solutions to climate change may seem fantastical, but increasing numbers of scientists argue that the technologies should at least be investigated. ...	Let's not rule out asking the Justice League to help. ApocaDoc permalink
Thu, Apr 9, 2009 from Fort Myers WBBH TV: Toxic dolphins worry environmentalists Miami's iconic wild dolphins, especially those who live near downtown Miami, are chock full of toxins, according to a new government study. Scientists say they are so full of chemicals that they worry about their long-term survival, and also what the polluted water of Biscayne Bay may do to humans. Even the man of the sea himself, Jean-Michel Cousteau, son of the famous Jacques Cousteau, is doing a PBS special on the potential disastrous fate of the dolphins. A toxic chemical called flame retardant, which is used on everything from curtains to computer cables, was found in very high levels in dolphin blubber, according to scientists who inspected dolphins in the area. The closer the dolphins were found near downtown, the higher the toxin levels. The toxins could render the dolphins sterile or worse, scientists say. ...	Wonder what's worse than being sterile? ApocaDoc permalink
Thu, Apr 9, 2009 from BBC: Americas on alert for sea level rise Climate change experts in North and South America are increasingly worried by the potentially devastating implications of higher estimates for possible sea level rises. The Americas have until now been seen as less vulnerable than other parts of the world like low-lying Pacific islands, Vietnam or Bangladesh. But the increase in the ranges for anticipated sea level rises presented at a meeting of scientists in Copenhagen in March has alarmed observers in the region. Parts of the Caribbean, Mexico and Ecuador are seen as most at risk. New York City and southern parts of Florida are also thought to be particularly vulnerable. ...	Great news for the snorkeling business! ApocaDoc permalink
Thu, Apr 9, 2009 from Daily World (Washington): Chemical found in mussels on Twin Harbors Testing sites at the Westport jetty and at Nahcotta in Willapa Bay are among those that showed evidence of toxic chemicals used in fire retardants, according to a report issued by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. But the public does not have to be alarmed about the chemical entering the food supply, said Gunnar Lauenstein, a program manager for NOAA and one of the report's authors. The administration issued the nationwide report last week, which documented levels of Polybrominated diphenyl ethers -- a chemical present in many household products, including flame retardants.... Polybrominated diphenyl ethers are common in household products such as mattresses, computers and televisions. The chemical is thought to affect brain development and reproduction in humans and animals. The chemical accumulates in the fatty tissue of mussels, and scientists use the tissue to gauge how much of the chemical is in an area of coastal water.... Lauenstein added that although evidence of the chemical has been found, mussels are still safe for the public to eat. ...	I guess it's lucky that vertebrates don't have any fatty tissues! ApocaDoc permalink
Thu, Apr 9, 2009 from SciDev.net: Debate erupts over effects of climate change on disease The commonly-held view that climate change can only increase the burden of infectious diseases has been challenged -- provoking a debate that could ripple out to health professionals, conservationists and policymakers.... Lafferty's paper "looks set to spark another heated debate among ecologists" and further afield "because of the funding implications and political fallout that might be generated by questioning the association between climate change and infectious diseases," says Wilson. In his paper, Lafferty argues that temperature increases due to climate change are just one factor among many socioeconomic and environmental influences affecting diseases. Climate change is more likely to shift, than expand, the range of disease-causing bugs -- and some areas might experience a decrease in disease, he writes. ...	I can hear it now: "Many experts believe that infectious systems may appear that could actually improve the human condition!" ApocaDoc permalink
Thu, Apr 9, 2009 from Telegraph.co.uk: Litter on beaches in UK doubles in 14 years The 2008 annual survey recorded and removed some 385,659 items of rubbish including plastic bags, sanitary items, fishing nets, cigarette butts and cotton bud sticks from beaches across the UK. The average amount of rubbish found was 2,195 items per kilometre (0.6 miles) -- more than two pieces for every metre (3.3ft) of beach, and more than double the 1,045 items per kilometre picked up during the first annual survey in 1994.... More than a third of the rubbish was generated by the public followed by fishing litter, sewage-related rubbish and debris from shipping. The worse problem was plastic, which accounted for more than half of the litter found. It never breaks down and is a threat to wildlife. ...	It's clear the Great Plastic Continent is not doing its job effectively. ApocaDoc permalink
Thu, Apr 9, 2009 from SciDev.net: Charcoal plan for carbon storage under fire Campaigners have launched a protest against a proposed form of geoengineering that they say is gaining popularity despite being untested and fraught with potential social and environmental repercussions. Biochar, at its most ambitious, involves recruiting vast amounts of biomass -- for example, from dedicated plantations -- and converting the carbon captured in the plant matter into charcoal. The charcoal is then ploughed into soils where it is hoped it will remain forever, improving soil fertility in the process.... But a coalition of nearly 150 organisations launched their campaign against biochar this week (6 April) during the Bonn Climate Change Talks, held in the run-up to the Copenhagen meeting.... The group, made up of small-scale farmers associations, forest protection groups, international environmental networks and human rights advocates, called on governments to study biochar in greater depth because of what they say is serious scientific uncertainty about both its ability to remove carbon from the atmosphere and side effects of its use. ...	Come on -- unintended consequences? When did that ever happen? ApocaDoc permalink
Thu, Apr 9, 2009 from NASA, via EurekAlert: Aerosols may drive a significant portion of arctic warming Though greenhouse gases are invariably at the center of discussions about global climate change, new NASA research suggests that much of the atmospheric warming observed in the Arctic since 1976 may be due to changes in tiny airborne particles called aerosols.... Though there are several varieties of aerosols, previous research has shown that two types -- sulfates and black carbon -- play an especially critical role in regulating climate change. Both are products of human activity. Sulfates, which come primarily from the burning of coal and oil, scatter incoming solar radiation and have a net cooling effect on climate. Over the past three decades, the United States and European countries have passed a series of laws that have reduced sulfate emissions by 50 percent. While improving air quality and aiding public health, the result has been less atmospheric cooling from sulfates. At the same time, black carbon emissions have steadily risen, largely because of increasing emissions from Asia. Black carbon -- small, soot-like particles produced by industrial processes and the combustion of diesel and biofuels -- absorb incoming solar radiation and have a strong warming influence on the atmosphere. ...	We take with our black carbon hand, and give with our sulfate hand. Can't we just shake? ApocaDoc permalink
Wed, Apr 8, 2009 from Charlotte Observer: New beetle enlisted in fight to save Ky. forests An aphid-like insect no bigger than an ink pen dot has been turning picturesque hemlock forests from Maine to Georgia into grotesque collections of barren trunks and broken branches. Despite foresters' efforts to stop them, woolly adelgids have advanced south through the Appalachians like an invading army, plundering the majestic evergreens. Having seen the carnage in other states, foresters in Kentucky are taking a new defensive tack, enlisting a species of predatory beetles native to the Pacific Northwest to devour the invaders. Can the tiny beetles, barely larger than poppy seeds, save Kentucky's hemlocks? ...	And if that doesn't work, they call always bring in the cane toads! ApocaDoc permalink
Wed, Apr 8, 2009 from Edinburgh Scotsman: Wet summers taking a toll as butterflies suffer their worst year BUTTERFLIES have suffered their worst year for a quarter of a century, with populations of many species plunging by more than half due to a series of wet summers. In total 12 species -- the highest number ever recorded -- suffered their worst year since monitoring began in the mid 1970s. They include the pearl bordered fritillary, for which Scotland is a stronghold, which saw its numbers plummet by 56 per cent in 2008. The small tortoiseshell, common in Scotland, experienced a 45 per cent decline and is becoming rare in some areas. And the orange tip, easily recognisable in Scottish gardens due to the distinctive colourings on its wings, was down 26 per cent. A series of wet summers, as well as habitat loss, have been blamed for the decline. ...	A world without a pearl bordered fritillary is a world I don't want to live in! 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, Apr 8, 2009 from CNN: Report lists America's 10 most endangered rivers Rivers are the arteries of our infrastructure. Flowing from highlands to the sea, they breathe life into ecosystems and communities. But many rivers in the United States are in trouble. Rivers in Alaska, California and the South are among the 10 most endangered, according to a report released Tuesday by American Rivers, a leading river conservation group. The annual report uses data from thousands of rivers groups, local governments, environmental organizations and citizen watchdogs to identify waterways under imminent threat by dams, industry or development. ...	Is there a River Styx for rivers that die? ApocaDoc permalink
Wed, Apr 8, 2009 from New York Times: Oil Giants Loath to Follow Obama's Green Lead The Obama administration wants to reduce oil consumption, increase renewable energy supplies and cut carbon dioxide emissions in the most ambitious transformation of energy policy in a generation. But the world's oil giants are not convinced that it will work. Even as Washington goes into a frenzy over energy, many of the oil companies are staying on the sidelines, balking at investing in new technologies favored by the president, or even straying from commitments they had already made. ...	Obama might have to pull a "wagoner" on these oil companies, eh? ApocaDoc permalink
Wed, Apr 8, 2009 from Wall Street Journal: Pension Funds Fret as Chevron Faces Ecuador Ruling Big public pension funds are raising concerns about an impending court judgment that could hold Chevron Corp. liable for billions of dollars in alleged environmental damages in the Ecuadorian jungle. The funds, which together hold $1 billion in Chevron shares, are worried that the oil giant could face as much as $27 billion in damages in the 15-year-old class-action case, which was filed by a U.S. law firm on behalf of thousands of indigenous Ecuadorians. The lawsuit, being tried in the Amazonian town of Lago Agrio, alleges that Texaco polluted waterways and wells across a vast area of Ecuador by dumping billions of gallons of oil waste into leaky pits during 20 years of operations there. Chevron acquired Texaco in 2001 for about $30 billion. ...	Bought it for 30 billion bucks... settlement could be 27 billion bucks... they still come out ahead! ApocaDoc permalink
Tue, Apr 7, 2009 from Greenwire: Scientists try tapping 'ice that burns' Researchers may have found a way to extract large amounts of natural gas from methane hydrates -- ice-like structures that might contain more energy than all the world's coal, oil and conventional natural gas combined. Massive amounts of frozen natural gas are buried far below the ocean floor and Arctic permafrost, but the compounds are highly unstable when they experience changes in temperature or pressure. Until now, scientists have struggled to find how to economically extract usable fuel from them. But Columbia University researchers believe they may have discovered ideal conditions for separating gas from the ice, and they have developed an apparatus to help them do that. Methane hydrates, also known as "ice that burns," form when natural gas from microbial activity or organic decomposition gets trapped within water molecules at low temperature and high pressure. ...	Couple the 'ice that burns' with 'fire that chills' and now we're really talking! ApocaDoc permalink
Tue, Apr 7, 2009 from Minneapolis Star Tribune: Climate change in Lake Superior ice What started as a high school science fair project is the latest piece of evidence that global warming is affecting Lake Superior. Forrest Howk, now a freshman at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, studied 150 years of data in his hometown of Bayfield, Wis., and found that the harbor's frozen season has shrunk from about 120 days to 80 days. The findings, published in the latest issue of Journal of Great Lakes Research, are consistent with recent studies showing that maximum ice cover in the Great Lakes has decreased slowly but steadily over the years. ...	When it comes to ice, Lake Superior is more like Lake Mediocre. ApocaDoc permalink
Tue, Apr 7, 2009 from Wall Street Journal: Study Finds High Obesity Rates in U.S. 4-Year-Olds A striking new study says almost one in five American 4-year-olds is obese, and the rate is alarmingly higher among American Indian children, with nearly one-third of them obese. Researchers were surprised to see differences by race at so early an age. Overall, more than half a million 4-year-olds are obese, the study suggests. Obesity is more common in Hispanic and black youngsters, too, but the disparity is most startling in American Indians, whose rate is almost double that of whites. The lead author said that rate is worrisome among children so young, even in a population at higher risk for obesity because of other health problems and economic disadvantages. ...	Humans getting fatter... Arctic ice getting thinner... Is there a connection here? ApocaDoc permalink
Tue, Apr 7, 2009 from Boston Globe: Sick bats' PR problem could prove to be deadly To a public raised on vampire movies, bats are loathsome, frightening creatures - blind, flying rodents that all carry rabies, suck human blood, and get impossibly tangled in long hair. None of it is true. But scientists trying to drum up a public outcry - and government funding - to stop a mysterious illness ravaging bat populations from Vermont to Virginia believe these myths are thwarting their efforts. The researchers say they are learning a harsh truth about the public's desire to save animals: Cuteness rules. ...	Then it's time to lose the PSAs starring a blood-stained Dracula! ApocaDoc permalink
Tue, Apr 7, 2009 from San Francisco Chronicle: Arctic ice getting thinner, fading fast Ice in the ocean surrounding the Arctic is thinner than it's been in 30 years, and there's much less of it, say scientists who are monitoring the effects of climate change. At the same time, another team of climate scientists is predicting from earlier data that the Arctic's ice cover has been melting so rapidly over the past few years that much of it could be gone within another three decades. ...	Ice getting thinner... Humans getting fatter.... Is there a connection here? ApocaDoc permalink
Tue, Apr 7, 2009 from US News and World Report: Five Hot Spots in Congress's Upcoming Climate Change Debate When Rep. Henry Waxman of California and Rep. Ed Markey of Massachusetts released a draft of a much-anticipated global warming bill last week, it effectively marked the start of this year's debate over regulating greenhouse gas emissions . But even with a Democratic majority in Congress and a sympathetic Obama administration, it's going to be a long, tough fight. The debate centers on a proposal to create a cap-and-trade program, which, if passed, would set national limits on greenhouse gas emissions and require big polluters to get credits, or permits, for their emissions, which could then be traded between cleaner and dirtier companies. Among the questions that remain to be answered: how to design a cap-and-trade program that not only works but also protects average Americans from potentially higher energy costs and how to spend the hundreds of billions of dollars the program is expected to raise. ...	What's so complicated about trading caps? I'll wear whatever it takes! ApocaDoc permalink
Mon, Apr 6, 2009 from New Scientist: Bug eats electricity, farts biogas ...An intriguing new idea involves "feeding" surplus power to the microorganisms instead, which combine it with carbon dioxide to create methane. That could then be stored and burned when needed. The method is sustainable too, as the carbon is taken from the atmosphere, not released from long-term storage in oil or coal... The new method relies on a microorganism studied by Bruce Logan's team at Pennsylvania State University in University Park. When living on the cathode of an electrolytic cell, the organism can take in electrons and use their energy to convert carbon dioxide into methane... If the CO2 used to make the methane was captured from the flue pipes of power stations or even -- using more complex methods -- from the open air, the methane would become a carbon-neutral fuel. ...	These microorganisms are called "barking spiders." ApocaDoc permalink
Mon, Apr 6, 2009 from Agence France-Presse: Obama pledges US lead on climate change PRAGUE (AFP) -- President Barack Obama said Sunday the United States was ready to take the lead in tackling climate change, as EU leaders pushed him to follow their ambitious targets to combat global warming. "To protect our planet, now is the time to change the way that we use energy," Obama told a crowd gathered at Prague Castle for his only public speech during his maiden tour of Europe. "Together we must confront climate change by ending the world's dependency on fossil fuels by tapping the power from the sources of energy like the wind and the sun and calling upon all nations to do their part. "And I pledge to you that in this global effort the US is now ready to lead." ...	Sometimes... you just gotta pinch yourself to make sure you're awake! ApocaDoc permalink
Mon, Apr 6, 2009 from USA Today: Leaks, wasteful toilets cause cascading water loss The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that more than 1.25 trillion gallons of water -- equivalent to the annual water use of Los Angeles, Chicago and Miami combined -- leak from U.S. homes each year. According to the EPA, toilets account for nearly 30 percent of indoor water consumption in American homes. Old, inefficient toilets are responsible for the majority of the water wasted -- 200 gallons a day each in some cases. Often such leaks can be stopped by simply replacing the flapper, the piece of rubber that seals water into the tank and allows it to leave when you flush.... According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, 36 states anticipate water shortages over the next five years. ...	Can we put our heads together and solve this? -- yes we can! ApocaDoc permalink
Mon, Apr 6, 2009 from The Calcutta Telegraph: Foul air hits below the belt Calcutta's male population is losing the power to procreate with every breath of foul air, according to an Indo-American study of infertility patterns in the city over two decades. Toxic fumes belched out by vehicles are not only responsible for sore throats and damaged lungs and hearts but also "a significant decline" in male fertility since the 80s, says the report on the basis of laboratory studies of sperm samples collected more than 20 years apart. ...	Predictably, Vasectomies "R" Us is going out of business. ApocaDoc permalink
Mon, Apr 6, 2009 from New York Times: A List of the Most Wanted, by the E.P.A. ... The E.P.A.'s list, complete with mug shots of the fugitives, was established in December to try to draw attention to serious environmental crimes. "We take them seriously, and there are serious consequences," said Doug Parker, deputy director of the agency's criminal investigation division...The list includes two men charged with smuggling ozone-destroying coolants, who are believed to have fled to Syria; a man charged in Illinois with building a secret pipeline to funnel pollutants into a tributary of the Mississippi River; and a man, believed to be in Greece, indicted on charges of dumping contaminated grain into the ocean. ...	What about my neighbor, who drives a Hummer? ApocaDoc permalink