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What A Week It Was: Apocadocuments from

View By Scenario:
Species Collapse:	(4)
Plague/Virus:	(4)
Climate Chaos:	(12)
Resource Depletion:	(6)
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Recovery:	(8)

This Week's Top Ten Very Scary Tags:
climate impacts ~ death spiral ~ carbon emissions ~ stupid humans ~ antibiotic resistance ~ bad policy ~ contamination ~ overfishing ~ global warming ~ alternative energy ~ arctic meltdown

ApocaDocuments (40) gathered this week:
Sun, Sep 13, 2009 from CleanTechnica: US Must Socialize Grid to Add Renewable Energy, Study Finds We need to build a supergrid like the national highway system we built in the 1930's. But a new study finds that this might be almost impossible to do in this country. A historical legacy of Balkanized ownership of multiple tiny grids and ineffective regulatory structure has hindered upgrades to and expansion of the U.S. transmission network. In these political times of political hysteria against any kind of national common good, it will be hard to overcome a legacy that grew out of our rugged individualism. By contrast, China and Europe have easily added more renewable power, by socializing the grid. ...	You're not putting socialist "death panels" in my fusebox!! ApocaDoc permalink
Sun, Sep 13, 2009 from Desdemona Despair: Temperature Anomalies for 113 Arctic Stations, 1880-2009 Several things are abundantly clear: * The "sudden recent warming" is right there. For every grid. Just open your eyes. * For every grid the last decade is the warmest. * Over the last 3 decades, 108 out of 113 individual stations indicate warming, 48 of 113 are significant at 95 percent confidence, none show significant cooling. * Oft-repeated claims that "it was warmer in the 1930s" or "it was warmer in the 1940s" are wrong. For every grid. * The idea that present arctic temperatures are about equal to their 1958 values is "not even wrong." For every grid. ...	This only proves warming if you believe in facts. ApocaDoc permalink
Sun, Sep 13, 2009 from New Scientist: Better world: Tax carbon and give the money to the people A universal carbon tax could be far simpler. NASA climatologist James Hansen is a vocal proponent, favouring a variant in which fossil fuels are taxed at source or at a country's port of entry. The most polluting fuels in terms of carbon emissions, such as coal or tar-sand-derived oil, could be taxed more heavily than others. Consumers would not pay the tax directly, but its effect would permeate through to everything from the price of gas to the price of food: the more carbon-intensive goods or services are, the more heavily they will be hit. That doesn't mean that consumers need be out of pocket. As Hansen envisages the scheme, the proceeds of the tax should not be kept by the government, but instead distributed equally among all citizens in the form of payments into their bank accounts. Those who make greener choices -- flying less, insulating their home, running a more energy-efficient car -- will make a net profit from the tax.... "A carbon tax is honest. It takes one page rather than 1400," [Hansen] says. "That doesn't go down too well in Washington." ...	Simple and sensible leaves too little room for opportunism. ApocaDoc permalink
Sun, Sep 13, 2009 from Minneapolis Star Tribune, Karen Youso: Plastic elastic and other confessions of a plastic sinner who tried, for a few days, to go without. In the middle of the Pacific Ocean floats a mass of plastic waste twice the size of Texas. Acres of bobbing bottles, bags and Barbie shoes, it's where plastic trash comes to rest in the ocean. Actually, it doesn't rest. Despite what we've heard -- that plastic lasts a thousand years -- it doesn't. A recent study reveals that plastic breaks down a lot faster than that, but into toxic elements. To what end, nobody yet knows. Long before it's trash, however, plastic leaches toxins into our bodies (a premise strongly objected to by the FDA and the plastics industry), and nobody knows the long-term consequences of that, either.... I think I hate plastic. I'm going to forgo plastic for six days, a plastic mini-Lent, it might be called, and learn a new way of living. Split with plastic, and worries about the health effects, recycling and pollution all go away. ...	Six days without plastic is like a month without sunshine. ApocaDoc permalink
Sat, Sep 12, 2009 from AP, via NYT: Dangerous Staph Germs Found at West Coast Beaches Dangerous staph bacteria have been found in sand and water for the first time at five public beaches along the coast of Washington, and scientists think the state is not the only one with this problem. The germ is MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus -- a hard-to-treat bug once rarely seen outside of hospitals but that increasingly is spreading in ordinary community settings such as schools, locker rooms and gyms. The germ causes nasty skin infections as well as pneumonia and other life-threatening problems. It spreads mostly through human contact. Little is known about environmental sources that also may harbor the germ.... In the new study, researchers tested 10 beaches in Washington along the West Coast and in Puget Sound from February to September 2008. Staph bacteria were found at nine of them, including five with MRSA. The strains resembled the highly resistant ones usually seen in hospitals, rather than the milder strains acquired in community settings, Roberts said.... "Make sure you get all the sand off," and cover any open cuts or scrapes before playing in the sand, Roberts added. ...	We all know how easy getting beach sand off is! ApocaDoc permalink
Sat, Sep 12, 2009 from Reuters: U.S. campers developed drug-resistant flu: report Two girls given antiviral drugs in an effort to protect children at a summer camp from the new pandemic swine flu developed resistant virus, U.S. health officials reported on Thursday.... Flu viruses are mutation-prone and experts are not surprised that they would evolve resistance, just as bacteria develop resistance to antibiotics. But the CDC would like to preserve the benefits of Tamiflu and Relenza for as long as possible. Tamiflu and Relenza not only fight flu. They can prevent infection if given soon enough. And a doctor at a North Carolina summer camp decided to protect 600 campers and staff there with so-called prophylactic doses of Tamiflu. Two girls developed flu anyway. As they were cabin-mates, it is possible one infected the other, the CDC and North Carolina health investigators said. Checks showed they were both infected with viruses that had mutations giving them resistance to Tamiflu. ...	That just shows how adaptable life is! ApocaDoc permalink
Sat, Sep 12, 2009 from Huffington Post: No Impact Man: The Movie Everyone Is Talking About Colin Beavan decides to completely eliminate his personal impact on the environment for the next year. It means eating vegetarian, buying only local food, and turning off the refrigerator. It also means no elevators, no television, no cars, buses, or airplanes, no toxic cleaning products, no electricity, no material consumption, and no garbage. No problem -- at least for Colin -- but he and his family live in Manhattan. So when his espresso-guzzling, retail-worshipping wife Michelle and their two-year-old daughter are dragged into the fray, the No Impact Project has an unforeseen impact of its own. ...	How can the economy recover without impact? ApocaDoc permalink
Sat, Sep 12, 2009 from Mauna Loa observatory data, via co2now.org: August CO2 at 385.92 That's 35.92 ppm more than we can allow. And still rising. ...	I'm steaming mad. Hot under the collar. Sweating from fear. ApocaDoc permalink
Sat, Sep 12, 2009 from Huffington Post: New Dr. Strangeloves and the Prospect of Geo-Engineered Climate 'Adaptation' He said, "We may have to do the impossible and the unforgivable to address the unavoidable."... I let those words percolate. And then I pondered... Even more problematically, geo-engineering approaches and theory enshrine a false sense of control over the uncontrollable, while simultaneously institutionalizing desperate measures. They play into the agendas of business-as-usual proponents, holding out a mechanistic hope that science and engineering schemes to cool the planet would extend the shelf life of entrenched economic, political, and corporate structures.... Nourished by hubris, enthralled by a cold rationality, geo-engineering advocates live comfortably in flats in London, Stockholm, or Palo Alto. They work at Royal Dutch Shell or the Royal Swedish Academy of Science or the Royal Society, or some equally reputable academic, corporate, or scientific institution. They think they're qualified to talk about love and hope, when their real experience centers on attempting to influence business outcomes via scenario planning or, even more implausibly, planetary and civilization outcomes via the climate system's non-existent thermostat. ...	Gimme an H! a U! a B-R-I-and-S! Hu-bris, Hu-bris, that's what we love best! ApocaDoc permalink
Sat, Sep 12, 2009 from Telegraph.co.uk: 'Unprecedented' level of Portuguese-Man-of-War seen around Britain MCS said it was the third consecutive year that large numbers of the species have been recorded late in the year on the west coast of the UK. Large swarms of mauve stingers can have economic consequences, the MCS said, killing caged fish in fish farms and making the sea hazardous for bathing, affecting the tourism industry. Peter Richardson, MCS Biodiversity programme manager, said: "Between 2003 and 2006 the MCS jellyfish survey received less than 10 reports of Portuguese-Man-of-War, but in the summers of 2007 and 2008 they started stranding on beaches in the South West in greater numbers. This summer we have received over 60 reports involving hundreds of Portuguese-Man-of-War from Devon, Cornwall and Wales, many more than in previous years, with individuals this year being reported as far north as the Isle of Man." ...	These Portuguese Gangs-of-War are expanding their territory. ApocaDoc permalink
Fri, Sep 11, 2009 from IRIN News (UN): MALAWI: Mayi Chambo, 'We have destroyed a lot in a short period' Degradation of the environment is reaching alarming levels in Nkaya in southern Malawi, where people have to walk ever greater distances to collect firewood and water. Mayi Chambo, a village head in Nkaya, blamed charcoal makers for the deforestation. This is her story. "In the 1980s we had lush forests here. The rains used to come in time, the soil was fertile and water was not a problem. It was after 1994 when we started experiencing problems that have to do with the environment. People from other areas began settling here in search for fertile soil and products from our forests. "Soon the trees started to disappear -- people wanted rafters for their newly built houses. Even the demand for fuel wood increased because the population had also increased. People began to clear forests for new fields.... "They are lured by the money they generate from selling charcoal in the cities, especially in Blantyre [Malawi's second city]. But should we let these people destroy everything because of a bag of charcoal that costs K500 (US$3.57) only? That is not acceptable.... "If we continue to destroy our forests at the pace we are going, we will soon have a desert here. The signs are already showing. We do not get the rains in good time, and when we have the rains they are always associated with flooding. The soil needs a lot of fertilizer for the crops to produce, but how many families can afford fertilizer here? Most of us are poor. "We have destroyed a lot in a short period of time and we are paying heavily for that." ...	Microcosms within microcosms... ApocaDoc permalink
Fri, Sep 11, 2009 from ARC Center, in Science, via EurekAlert: Man-made crises 'outrunning our ability to deal with them,' scientists warn The world faces a compounding series of crises driven by human activity, which existing governments and institutions are increasingly powerless to cope with, a group of eminent environmental scientists and economists has warned.... "Energy, food and water crises, climate disruption, declining fisheries, ocean acidification, emerging diseases and increasing antibiotic resistance are examples of serious, intertwined global-scale challenges spawned by the accelerating scale of human activity," say the researchers, who come from Australia, Sweden, the United States, India, Greece and The Netherlands.... The scientists acknowledge that the main challenge is getting countries to agree to take part in global institutions designed to prevent destructive human practices. "Plainly, agreements must be designed such that countries are better off participating than not participating," they say. ...	I hate it when scientists agree with us. ApocaDoc permalink
Fri, Sep 11, 2009 from OzarksFirst.com: Many Can't Afford Sick Days with Flu Health officials are already bracing for flu season and now doctors worry the tight economy will only make matters worse. "You can't afford to be sick because if you are sick and it doesn't work out to where the company accepts your excuse, you could lose more time off and result in disciplinary action," says Don Marshall of Kansas City, one of the millions of Americans who don't get sick pay. Doctors worry employees who don't get sick pay may go to work despite having the flu. This could mean the virus will spread to more people, faster than expected. ...	No, boss, I'm coming in. Got the kids' school clothes on layaway. 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, Sep 11, 2009 from New York Times: Filet-O-verfished The world's insatiable appetite for fish, with its disastrous effects on populations of favorites like red snapper, monkfish and tuna, has driven commercial fleets to deeper waters in search of creatures unlikely to star on the Food Network. One of the most popular is the hoki, or whiptail, a bug-eyed specimen found far down in the waters around New Zealand and transformed into a major export. McDonald's alone at one time used roughly 15 million pounds of it each year.... Without formally acknowledging that hoki are being overfished, New Zealand has slashed the allowable catch in steps, from about 275,000 tons in 2000 and 2001 to about 100,000 tons in 2007 and 2008 -- a decline of nearly two-thirds.... Scientists say its fate represents a cautionary tale much like that of its heavily harvested forerunner, orange roughy. That deepwater fish reproduces slowly and lives more than 100 years. Around New Zealand, catches fell steeply in the early 1990s under the pressures of industrial fishing, in which factory trawlers work around the clock hauling in huge nets with big winches. ...	I thought it was... y'know... fish. Not, like, a species. ApocaDoc permalink
Thu, Sep 10, 2009 from Environmental Health News: Unprecedented levels of antibiotics pollute India's water. Levels of antibiotics measured in streams, lakes and well water near pharmaceutical factories in India are 100,000 to 1,000,000 times higher than levels measured in waters that receive sewage effluent in the US or China. Much of the world's supply of generic antibiotics is produced in the study area.... These levels of contamination are alarming for two reasons. First, they may adversely affect human health following exposure to contaminated water. The health effects of ongoing exposure to high concentrations of mixtures of pharmaceutical mixtures are largely unknown. This is especially true for a developing fetus, baby or child. Second, they generate conditions that may foster development of antibiotic resistant strains of pathogens. ...	Ground zero for all kinds of patient zeros! ApocaDoc permalink
Thu, Sep 10, 2009 from Associated Press: Effects of Arctic warming seen as widespread Arctic warming is affecting plants, birds, animals and insects as ice melts and the growing season changes, scientists report in a new review of the many impacts climate change is having on the far north. As the global climate changes, the Arctic Circle has been warming faster than other regions and scientists have documented a series of affects on wildlife in the region... "The Arctic as we know it may soon be a thing of the past," Eric Post, an associate professor of biology at Penn State University, said in a statement. ...	Arctic... tock...tic...tock... ApocaDoc permalink
Thu, Sep 10, 2009 from NUVO Newsweekly: Downwind of the big dairy farm ...On a warm August day at the Stickdorn's farm, Eric Stickdorn reaches down, tears off a few blades of grass from the back lawn of their farmhouse, and tosses them in the air. A light breeze blows the grass at an angle toward the neighboring dairy. "That's pretty much south, maybe a little southeast," Stickdorn says. It's a good day. "That's why we're not smelling anything," he explains... Within a month after the odor from Samuel Lantz' cattle began to permeate the Stickdorn's house in October 2003, both Eric and Lisa Stickdorn developed some new and disturbing symptoms. "We began to experience a lot of coughing and had fluid in our lungs," Eric says. "We started having mysterious joint and tendon pains. We had [earaches] and headaches. We had really bad shortness of breath." A fatigue crept over Lisa. She'd been exercising hard on top of her farm work. "I thought I just overdid it. I quit exercising and still felt really, really tired. I couldn't figure it out." ...	Glad the closest I get to a dairy farm is a glass of milk! ApocaDoc permalink
Thu, Sep 10, 2009 from Oxford University Press, David W. Orr: Book -- Down to the Wire: Confronting Climate Collapse ...the hardest tests for our Constitution and democracy are just ahead and have to do with the relationship between governance, politics, and the dramatic changes in Earth systems now under way. Human actions have set in motion a radical disruption of the biophysical systems of the planet that will undermine the human prospect, perhaps for centuries. The crucial issues will be decided by how and how well we conduct the public business in the decades and centuries ahead, and now on a planetary scale. Of the hard realities of governance ahead, five stand out.... ...	Right... like we're going to confront it. We'll just keep on confirming the theory. ApocaDoc permalink
Thu, Sep 10, 2009 from Odisha Today (India): Industrialisation, Agriculture and depleting Ground Water in Orissa Due to deviation in the pattern of rainfall, the flow of river in Orissa has been reduced drastically and around 8 months in a year, rivers are lying dry. This has been forcing all to depend upon ground water to meet all short of water requirements. At the same time, due to deviation in the pattern of rainfall, neither during heavy rainfall nor during scanty rainfall, water percolating to the ground water table.... Around 80 percent of rural population in Orissa depends upon ground water for drinking and domestic purposes. At the same time, due to change in the pattern of rainfall, people have started shifting from rain fed agriculture to seasonal irrigated hi-yielding agriculture. This is again increasing the consumption of ground water like anything. ...	They're becoming the rivers of no recharge. ApocaDoc permalink
Thu, Sep 10, 2009 from BBC (UK): EU proposes billions annually for poor nations' climate protection The European Commission says the EU should provide $2-15bn each year to help poor countries protect themselves against impacts of climate change. The UN estimates that poor nations will need about $100bn per year for climate adaptation, with much of that coming from levies on carbon trading. The commission hopes its proposal will stimulate negotiations leading up to December's UN summit in Copenhagen.... The commission sees about 40 percent of the $100bn coming from the global carbon market that is supposed to emerge from the Copenhagen treaty.... "The EU is trying to get away with leaving a tip, rather than paying its share of the bill to protect the planet's climate," said Joris den Blanken, climate and energy policy director of Greenpeace-EU. ...	A tip of the hat, at least. ApocaDoc permalink
Wed, Sep 9, 2009 from Washington Post: Coalition Launches Campaign to Pass Climate Bill A coalition of environmental, labor, veterans and religious groups formally launched a national lobbying campaign Tuesday aimed at mobilizing grass-roots support for passage of a Senate climate bill this fall. The group -- dubbed Clean Energy Works -- marks perhaps the most ambitious effort yet to enact legislation that would cap greenhouse gas emissions linked to global warming. The coalition has enlisted organizers in 28 key states to help build support for a cap-and-trade bill, and is scheduled to launch paid television ads this week. It also plans to bring 100 veterans to Washington this week to lobby, and has held town halls and rallies in several states. ...	If only we could remove the word "coal" from coalition. ApocaDoc permalink
Wed, Sep 9, 2009 from Daily Mail, via Slashdot: Teenager invents [$38] solar panel that could be solution to developing world's energy needs ... made from human hair A new type of solar panel using human hair could provide the world with cheap, green electricity, believes its teenage inventor. Milan Karki, 18, who comes from a village in rural Nepal, believes he has found the solution to the developing world's energy needs. The young inventor says hair is easy to use as a conductor in solar panels and could revolutionise renewable energy. The hair replaces silicon, a pricey component typically used in solar panels, and means the panels can be produced at a low cost for those with no access to power, he explained.... Melanin, a pigment that gives hair its colour, is light sensitive and also acts as a type of conductor. Because hair is far cheaper than silicon the appliance is less costly.... The solar panel can charge a mobile phone or a pack of batteries capable of providing light all evening. ...	So maybe those hippies were right! ApocaDoc permalink
Wed, Sep 9, 2009 from Los Angeles Times: Cellphones and brain tumors: Report revives nagging questions People have been asking for years whether cellphones can give you a brain tumor. And for years, the wireless industry has been telling us not to worry our pretty heads. So that's settled, right? Maybe not. A group called the International EMF Collaborative issued a report the other day warning that cellphones may be more dangerous than users have been led to believe by health authorities. The report, titled "Cellphones and Brain Tumors: 15 Reasons for Concern," says the latest research indicates that regular use of cellphones can result in a "significant" risk of brain tumors. It also says kids are at greater risk than adults because their still-developing brain cells are more vulnerable to electromagnetic radiation. ...	Call me later so we can talk this over. ApocaDoc permalink
Wed, Sep 9, 2009 from EcoWorldly: Japanese Dolphin Slaughter to Continue Despite Current Suspension "It has been an exciting morning and the people here are very hostile, but as long as this goes on and we keep the pressure on, they cannot hunt the dolphins." Sadly, O'Barry admits solemnly, this is only temporary. O'Barry keeping a watchful eye on the dolphin fishermen, has managed to disrupt the first two days of the annual dolphin hunt in the Japanese town of Taiji, but accepts that as soon as he leaves the fishermen will resume the killing.... According to the Japan Fisheries Agency, around 20,000 dolphins will be killed all around Japan this season. The documentary revealed that dolphin meat is often sold illegally to the Japanese school system, and that school children often have no idea that what they are eating is dolphin meat. Dolphin meat has been shown to have high levels of mercury, which can be a huge problem for developing children. ...	Some stories you just can't get out of your head. ApocaDoc permalink
Wed, Sep 9, 2009 from Telegraph.co.uk: North Sea cod 'doomed by climate change' Species of plankton, on which cod larvae feed, have moved away in search of cooler waters. The decline in cod stocks has led to an explosion in the populations of crabs and jellyfish, on which the adult fish feed. The shortage of predators at the top of the food chain has had a knock-on effect on flat fish, such as plaice and sole, whose offspring are eaten by crabs.... The researchers studied the distribution of surface-dwelling copepod plankton on which young cod feed. Copepod's numbers have declined by more than 60 per cent as the sea has warmed over the last four decades. Dr Kirkby said: "The plankton that young cod usually eat during March, April and May, a species of copepod that is the size of a grain of rice, prefer cold water and so they have become much less frequent as the North Sea has warmed.... "As top predators such as cod are declining, this appears to have had a cascading effect on the whole ecosystem." ...	What's that? You don't like crab 'n' chips? ApocaDoc permalink
Wed, Sep 9, 2009 from Telegraph.co.uk: Pesticides blamed for killing bees In recent years bee populations around the world have plummeted, with British bee keepers losing a fifth of hives over last winter. But the cause of the sudden decline has not been identified. Now a new study by the insect research charity Buglife and the Soil Association has claimed the decline was caused in part by a group of pesticides called neonicotinoids. The "systemic" chemical, that kills unwanted insects by getting into the cell of the plant, is widely used on farms in Britain for crops like oilseed rape and the production of pot plants.... The new study brought together a number of peer-reviewed pieces of research. It concluded that neonicotinoid pesticide damages the health and life cycle of bees over the long term by affecting the nervous system. "[Neonicotinoids] may be a significant factor contributing to current bee declines and could also contribute to declines in other non-target invertebrate species," the report read. ...	Hooray! It's not cell phones! 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, Sep 9, 2009 from Reuters: As hybrid cars gobble rare metals, shortage looms The Prius hybrid automobile is popular for its fuel efficiency, but its electric motor and battery guzzle rare earth metals, a little-known class of elements found in a wide range of gadgets and consumer goods. That makes Toyota's market-leading gasoline-electric hybrid car and other similar vehicles vulnerable to a supply crunch predicted by experts as China, the world's dominant rare earths producer, limits exports while global demand swells. Worldwide demand for rare earths, covering 15 entries on the periodic table of elements, is expected to exceed supply by some 40,000 tonnes annually in several years unless major new production sources are developed. One promising U.S. source is a rare earths mine slated to reopen in California by 2012. Among the rare earths that would be most affected in a shortage is neodymium, the key component of an alloy used to make the high-power, lightweight magnets for electric motors of hybrid cars, such as the Prius, Honda Insight and Ford Focus, as well as in generators for wind turbines.... Each electric Prius motor requires 1 kilogram (2.2 lb) of neodymium, and each battery uses 10 to 15 kg (22-33 lb) of lanthanum. That number will nearly double under Toyota's plans to boost the car's fuel economy, he said. ...	Are you implying that the world has limits? ApocaDoc permalink
Wed, Sep 9, 2009 from Lexington Herald-Leader: Massey CEO blasts climate bill at rally The chief executive of coal mining giant Massey Energy blasted supporters of climate-change legislation and other environmental issues affecting the coal industry at a free Labor Day concert and rally in southern West Virginia. CEO Don Blankenship said he wanted to show people at the event how government regulation is hurting the coal industry, driving up energy prices and making the country less competitive.... Headlining the event were Fox News personality Sean Hannity and [Hank] Williams, [Jr.], while rocker Ted Nugent served as master of ceremonies and played briefly. "Today's the day when the American worker takes back this country," Nugent said. Hannity blasted President Barack Obama on several topics, including energy policy. "Barack Obama hates the coal industry. Barack Obama hates the oil industry," Hannity said. "If they shut down the coal industry, we lose America as we know it." ...	I hear Obama wants coal-loving people to go before death panels. ApocaDoc permalink
Tue, Sep 8, 2009 from The Vancouver Sun: Forest fires caused by lightning nearly double British Columbia is being hit with an explosive growth in wildfires caused by lightning, with 2,161 lightning-fuelled fires ignited since April 1. The number represents an 84-per-cent jump over the entire 2008 fire season, and is far higher than 2004, which recorded the second-highest number of wildfires caused by lightning in the last 10 years. Between April 1 and September 7, B.C. has had 3,002 wildfires. Of those, 72 per cent were caused by lightning, according to the B.C. Wildfire Management branch.... ...	Sounds like Thor is mighty disquieted. ApocaDoc permalink
Tue, Sep 8, 2009 from Environmental Health News: Dust, not food, main source of lesser known flame retardants ...These results suggest that house dust is a significant contributor to human exposure to HBCDs. The use of HBCD-treated products, rather than industrial pollution, may thus contribute more importantly to human exposure. In addition, infants and toddlers may be at greatest risk of exposure because they crawl on floors and may increase their exposure due to hand-to-mouth behavior. While exposure to other persistent organic pollutants appear to occur primarily through food, this result is consistent with studies of other flame retardants, such as PBDEs, which suggest that the main exposure sources are located in homes and other indoor environments. ...	Does that mean the "three second rule" no longer applies? ApocaDoc permalink
Tue, Sep 8, 2009 from BBC (UK): Climate deal is 'in the balance' Prospects for reaching a new global deal on climate change are "in the balance", according to UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband. There is a "real chance" that December's UN summit in Copenhagen will not reach agreement, he said. Mr Miliband was briefing reporters prior to a whirlwind tour of European capitals aimed at stepping up EU diplomacy on the Copenhagen process.... Developing countries say that as the industrialised west grew rich through intensive fossil fuel use, emitting carbon dioxide in the process, western countries bear historical responsibility for climate change and must take the lead in cutting emissions. So far, the scale of cuts pledged by western leaders has not met the expectations of the developing world. ...	"Trust us! We have your best interests at heart! Do as we say, not as we do. Really, we know best." ApocaDoc permalink
Tue, Sep 8, 2009 from New Scientist: Barcodes will (eventually) stop bushmeat from being swiped Science is gradually making the work of illegal bushmeat traders more difficult. The DNA "ID tags" of African red river hog and 13 other species of illegally traded bushmeat animals have been added to an online database, making it more straightforward for conservationists to check the provenance of meat at markets. The Barcode of Life database already contains the barcodes of thousands of species, but the biologists hope the new additions � which also include the spectacled caiman and the slender-snouted crocodile -- will start a "bushmeat chapter" in the database.... "Legally, if you want to take someone to court and prosecute them for selling bushmeat, you have to have genetic evidence to back you up so having a library of barcodes for illegally killed animals is an essential first step," says Mark Stoeckle, a DNA barcoding expert at the Rockefeller University in New York. "That said, sequencing DNA takes time and money and you need a lab to do it, so we're still a long way off from instant species identification." ...	I suspect that instant DNA analysis is unlikely in the remote village markets. ApocaDoc permalink
Tue, Sep 8, 2009 from CBC News (Canada): Fungus threatens P.E.I. frogs A fungus that's potentially deadly for frogs has been found in ponds on [Prince Edward Island]. Chytrid is an infection that is causing problems for frog populations around the world. The fungus, which lives in the skin of the frog, is causing 200 species of frogs to decline severely or go extinct. This summer, a team of researchers swabbed 114 frogs at 18 ponds across the Island. More than half those ponds showed cases of chytrid. "Some of the frogs actually go into spasms, sort of like having a seizure," Maria Forzan, a wildlife pathologist with the Canadian Co-operative Wildlife Health Centre, told CBC News last week. "They lose weight very quickly and within three or four days, basically they're dead." ...	There are frogs in Canada? Oh yeah, it's got that part-French thing going on, doesn't it. ApocaDoc permalink
Tue, Sep 8, 2009 from EcoWorldly: Vultures sold as roasted chicken Apparently, one [Nigerian] vulture-roasting vendor's plan was disrupted last weekend by market officials when it was discovered he had stuffed ten live vultures in a large "Ghana-Must-Go (GMG) bag" -- and was planning to prepare them for roasting.... in India, the devastating decrease in vulture numbers has resulted in feral dog population explosion -- which in turn, has been linked to the spread of rabies in humans. According to recent articles in two Nigerian sources, The News and The PM News, the incident started when the vultures, suffering from the heat inside the bag, tore open a hole and attempted to escape. This unusual activity attracted the attention of a large curious crowd -- that soon became angry. Eyewitnesses were upset that vulture meat was being sold -- and eaten -- as chicken, noting that vulture meat is considered taboo by the people in the area. ...	I thought it tasted like... turkey. ApocaDoc permalink
Tue, Sep 8, 2009 from SciDev.net: Air pollution cutting China's 'vital' rain China's increasing air pollution has cut the light rainfall essential to the country's agriculture over the last 50 years, new research suggests. The research, published in the Journal of Geophysical Research last month, is based on rainfall data collected from weather stations across China. The number of light rain days -- those with precipitation of less than ten millimetres -- in northeast and southeast China has been cut by 7 and 8 days respectively per decade for the past five decades, researchers have found.... The authors say that increased levels of aerosols -- particles of pollution in the air above China -- are caused by increasing fossil fuel consumption, particularly in big cities like Beijing. ...	Economic growth as a WMD? Is this a trap we laid? ApocaDoc permalink
Tue, Sep 8, 2009 from PNAS, via EurekAlert: Half of the fish consumed globally is now raised on farms, study finds Aquaculture, once a fledgling industry, now accounts for 50 percent of the fish consumed globally, according to a new report by an international team of researchers. And while the industry is more efficient than ever, it is also putting a significant strain on marine resources by consuming large amounts of feed made from wild fish harvested from the sea, the authors conclude.... To maximize growth and enhance flavor, aquaculture farms use large quantities of fishmeal and fish oil made from less valuable wild-caught species, including anchoveta and sardine. "With the production of farmed fish eclipsing that of wild fish, another major transition is also underway: Aquaculture's share of global fishmeal and fish oil consumption more than doubled over the past decade to 68 percent and 88 percent, respectively," the authors wrote. ...	See? We don't even need Nature. Uh -- wait, they're fed fishmeal? ApocaDoc permalink
Mon, Sep 7, 2009 from PNAS, via NCSU: U.S. Crop Yields Could Wilt in Heat Yields of three of the most important crops produced in the United States -- corn, soybeans and cotton -- are predicted to fall off a cliff if temperatures rise due to climate change.... [They] predict that U.S. crop yields could decrease by 30 to 46 percent over the next century under slow global warming scenarios, and by a devastating 63 to 82 percent under the most rapid global warming scenarios.... The study shows that crop yields tick up gradually between roughly 10 and 30 degrees Celsius, or about 50 to 86 degrees Fahrenheit. But when temperature levels go over 29 degrees Celsius (84.2 degrees Fahrenheit) for corn, 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) for soybeans and 32 degrees Celsius (89.6 degrees Fahrenheit) for cotton, yields fall steeply. ...	How will I get my morning Post Toasties? ApocaDoc permalink
Mon, Sep 7, 2009 from BusinessGreen: Solar panel maker to create 4,000 green jobs US solar specialist Solyndra has begun construction of a second fabrication plant, which it claims could result in 3,000 temporary jobs and 1,000 or more long-term positions in the new plant.... The company said that the new site will allow it to address its $2bn order backlog and could create enough solar panels, along with the existing facility, to cut more than 350 million metric tons of C02 or 850 million barrels of oil.... Solyndra, which gets its name from its cylindrical solar modules, also announced that it has become the first company to receive a loan -- of around $535m -- guaranteed by the US Department of Energy under Title XVII of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. ...	Leeeeet the sun shine, leeeet the sun shine in! ApocaDoc permalink
Mon, Sep 7, 2009 from Telegraph.co.uk: Iceland kills 93 fin whales, according to conservationists The conservation group said at least 93 endangered fin whales were killed this summer, more than at any time since an international ban on commercial whaling was brought in more than 20 years ago. In addition 63 minke whales were killed making it the largest commercial whale hunt in North Atlantic waters for decades. The meat and blubber from the whales may yield a staggering two million kilograms of edible products, the charity said. "There is simply no way that so much whale meat and blubber can be consumed domestically, and the whalers are deluding themselves if they think they can make any money exporting whale meat to Japan," she said. "Sales of whale products in Japan have made financial losses for much of the last 20 years, and market demand there has dropped. Iceland�s whaling policy seems as ill-founded as its economic policies have been." ...	No data yet on the heavy metals, PCBs, and other yummy spices embedded in that murdered flesh. ApocaDoc permalink
Mon, Sep 7, 2009 from COP15: G-20 talks on climate 'not satisfactory' Finance ministers from the Group of Twenty meeting in London on Saturday were unable to find common ground on how to finance climate change. Differences between rich and developing countries were too big, Reuters reports. British Finance Minister Alistair Darling said there had been "very substantial" discussion on the topic, but no specific measures were agreed. "I am also a little disappointed by the lack of positive commitment today," European Union Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said. Swedish Finance Minister Anders Borg, representing the European Union, agreed the outcome was "not satisfactory." ...	Maybe that's because the rich countries want to keep what they have, and not pay for it? ApocaDoc permalink