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What A Week It Was: Apocadocuments from

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Species Collapse:	(7)
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ecosystem interrelationships ~ contamination ~ global warming ~ capitalist greed ~ climate impacts ~ carbon emissions ~ stupid humans ~ anthropogenic change ~ toxic buildup ~ rising sea level ~ governmental corruption

ApocaDocuments (42) gathered this week:
Sun, Jan 24, 2010 from Sydney Morning Herald, via DesdemonaDespair: Koala forest to be logged for wood chips LOGGING is set to start within weeks in a forest that supports the last known koala colony on the NSW far south coast. The NSW Government is yet to release data from a comprehensive survey of koala habitat and population in Mumbulla and Murrah state forests, near Tathra, even though some trees have been marked for removal.... One source described a map of the area that had been drawn and redrawn in search of a compromise between felling trees and maintaining enough forest to allow the koalas to survive.... The logging operation, due to begin in early March, would involve taking some high-quality timber and some timber for woodchips. Most of the timber from felled trees in the region goes to a mill in Eden, which exports woodchips to Japan. ...	With these chips, the koalas are forced to go "all in." Holding a pair of threes. ApocaDoc permalink
Sun, Jan 24, 2010 from MIT: Levitating magnet may yield new approach to clean fusion energy A new experiment that reproduces the magnetic fields of the Earth and other planets has yielded its first significant results. The findings confirm that its unique approach has some potential to be developed as a new way of creating a power-producing plant based on nuclear fusion -- the process that generates the sun's prodigious output of energy.... Called the Levitated Dipole Experiment, or LDX, a joint project of MIT and Columbia University, it uses a half-ton donut-shaped magnet about the size and shape of a large truck tire, made of superconducting wire coiled inside a stainless steel vessel. This magnet is suspended by a powerful electromagnetic field, and is used to control the motion of the 10-million-degree-hot electrically charged gas, or plasma, contained within its 16-foot-diameter outer chamber.... Kesner cautions that the kind of fuel cycle planned for other types of fusion reactors such as tokamaks, which use a mixture of two forms of "heavy" hydrogen called deuterium and tritium, should be easier to achieve and will likely be the first to go into operation. The deuterium-deuterium fusion planned for devices based on the LDX design, if they ever become practical, would likely make this "a second-generation approach," he says. ...	Alas, "second generation" means "just around the corner after next." ApocaDoc permalink
Sun, Jan 24, 2010 from London Guardian: Fears over use of chemicals to castrate pigs Meat from pigs that have been "chemically castrated" could soon be on sale in Britain, with no label to warn shoppers that it contains a controversial drug. An injection to prevent puberty in male pigs was licensed for use in Britain and most of Europe last year, and has gone on sale to farmers who produce pork. Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer developed the drug, Improvac, to allow farmers to grow pigs bigger before slaughter but without them releasing the hormones that cause boar taint, a taste many consumers dislike. In much of Europe, young males are physically castrated, but in the UK the practice is rarely carried out. ...	I'd rather not know and I'll bet the pigs agree! ApocaDoc permalink
Sun, Jan 24, 2010 from Agence France-Presse: Indians keep faith with Ganges despite pollution For India's devout Hindus, the sacred River Ganges is always clean and always pure -- even if its waters are a toxic stew of human sewage, discarded garbage and factory waste. The belief that the Ganges washes away sin entices millions of Hindus into the river each year, and huge crowds of pilgrims are currently passing through the town of Haridwar for the three-month Kumbh Mela bathing festival. But concern over pollution along the length of the 2,500 kilometre (1,500 mile) river is growing, and the city of Kanpur -- 800 kilometres downstream of Haridwar -- is the site of one of the worst stretches of all... Worshippers like Ram Sharma, who regularly wades in the water for an early morning bath with only a cloth tied around his waist, are proof that for many Indians faith outweighs science. "How can you call this water dirty?" asked Sharma incredulously. "For us it is holy water," he said as he dipped his cupped hands in the river and took a slurp. ...	Just like me in Indiana, breathing its sacred, coal-plant polluted air... every day. ApocaDoc permalink
Sun, Jan 24, 2010 from San Francisco Chronicle: Despite downpour, drought still with us It might seem odd to talk about a drought after a weeklong series of thundering storms drenched the Bay Area and heaped snow on the Sierra, but California's water lords know the state's lingering thirst cannot be quenched by one showy display of wet weather. The recent downpours have temporarily brought the state back from the dusty brink, but officials with the California Department of Water Resources claim much more rain and snow will have to fall if the Golden State is going to pull out of its drought... Regardless of how things go this winter, water districts across Central and Northern California will not be resting easy. If not the vagaries of the weather or climate change, they have to worry about crumbling infrastructure and environmental disputes limiting water pumping through the critical Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. ...	Downpours are the new drought. ApocaDoc permalink
Sat, Jan 23, 2010 from Lake County Record-Bee: Growing concerns: Advisory board broaches the issue of pot on public land The unregulated land use practice of marijuana grows on public property creates a host of environmental problems. Greg Guisti, Lake County Fish and Wildlife Advisory Committee chair compares the task of tackling the subject with "wrestling an octopus." Lake County is one of the leading counties in the state in regard to illegal growing of marijuana on public lands. That was brought home to approximately 30 area citizens who attended a meeting of the Lake County Fish and Wildlife Advisory meeting on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. Guisti said that these are the first public meetings he has heard that address the growing of cannabis on public lands. U.S. Forest Service Chief Ranger Lee Johnson told the crowd that illegal marijuana gardens in the Mendocino National Forest are a major problem because they decimate fish, wildlife and the environment. ...	Like "wrestling an octopus"? He musta been high when he thought of that. ApocaDoc permalink
Sat, Jan 23, 2010 from Durango Herald: Spruce beetle outbreak keeps growing Beetles killed 70,000 acres of spruce trees last year, mostly in southern Colorado's high-altitude forests. Meanwhile, the mysterious die-off of aspen trees appears to have stabilized, according to a yearly survey of forest health that the Forest Service released Friday. Forest scientists now believe the aspen die-off was caused by last decade's drought. Aspen decline peaked in 2008 and increased very little last year, according to the annual aerial survey of Colorado forests. The spruce beetle epidemic, however, is growing with no signs of abatement. "There's really nothing to stop it," said Susan Gray of the U.S. Forest Service. "The winter temperatures continue to be very mild compared to a decade ago." ...	"Spruce things up" now means, apparently, "there's no hope." ApocaDoc permalink
Sat, Jan 23, 2010 from Inter Press Service: Plastic Bags: Convenience Costing the Earth When Nairobi was founded in 1899, it took its name from what the Maasai called the place: Ewassi Nyirobi, "cool waters." A century later, the river has something stuck in its throat: millions of plastic bags threaten to choke it. According to Robert Orina, chief enforcement officer at Kenya's National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), only about 25 percent of the 1,500 tonnes of solid waste generated in Nairobi each day is collected. In slum areas, where 60 percent of Nairobi residents live, there is no formal garbage collection. "The result is there is garbage strewn all over the place and most of this is stuffed into plastic bags which remain in the environment for many years," Orina says. "The situation in Nairobi is not unique but rather is replicated across the country." ...	Replicated... just like plastic itself! ApocaDoc permalink
Sat, Jan 23, 2010 from ABC News: Lead Found in Women's Handbags A landmark agreement involving two big retail chains establishes, for the first time, limits on lead in women's handbags and wallets. The Center for Environmental Health went to 100 of the nation's top retailers -- including Target, Macy's, Wal-Mart and Kohl's -- and bought purses. The group had the bags tested for lead at an independent lab. Two separate tests were conducted. Some bags were wiped to see how much, if any, lead would simply rub off the material. The bags also were tested for the total lead content of the products. The tests came back showing disturbingly high levels of lead, the Center for Environmental Health said. ...	So THAT'S why it's so heavy! ApocaDoc permalink
Sat, Jan 23, 2010 from BBC (UK): Governments 'must tackle' roots of nature crisis Governments must tackle the underlying causes of biodiversity loss if they are to stem the rate at which ecosystems and species are disappearing. That was one of the conclusions of an inter-governmental workshop in London held in preparation for October's UN biodiversity summit in Nagoya, Japan. Delegates agreed that protecting nature would bring economic benefits to nations and their citizens.... "We have a chance of a much tougher target for 2020 than we had for 2010, which would be about having no net biodiversity loss," he said. "I think the key thing is whether we'll see over the next few years concerted action on the drivers of biodiversity loss -- if we don't see that in the next few years, then we certainly won't see good results by 2020." ...	I think we call those "Noneday drivers." ApocaDoc permalink
Sat, Jan 23, 2010 from Fast Company: Walmart's Sustainability Consortium Developing Green Label for Electronics Last year, Walmart announced that it was developing a Sustainability Index for every product on its shelves. At the same time, the retailer revealed that it was providing seed funding to the Sustainability Consortium, a group of NGOs, government organizations, retailers, and suppliers to help develop the lifecycle database for its products. And now the consortium has embarked on its first big project: a green standard for electronics. Greenpeace's Guide to Greener Electronics, Energy Star, and the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) label are all decent starting points for determining the sustainability of different gadgets, but the consortium wants to make an all-encompassing green label that takes into account everything from labor conditions to end-of-life disposal. The label will also take into account criteria used by other standards, including EPEAT and Energy Star. The Sustainability Consortium is working quickly with partners including Best Buy, HP, Walmart, and Dell to research and publish lifecycle assessments for all types of electronics, starting with computers and monitors. Data from the first round of research will be released later this year. ...	If the label could only say how quickly obsolete this crap will be. ApocaDoc permalink
Fri, Jan 22, 2010 from Chambersburg PublicOpinion: Bats dying from white nose syndrome; means trouble for farmers Biologist Jim Hart said a devastated bat population will cost farmers and impact water quality. Bats sometimes eat their own weight in insects in a single day. That's about 2,000 mosquito-sized bugs. "They are worth their weight in gold," said Hart, a mammalogist with the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy. "They take an enormous toll on agricultural pests. If they all disappear, that's going to be a pretty bad scenario." Birds won't immediately eat all of the extra bugs, according to Hart. Populations of farm pests will increase quickly and farmers will respond by applying more pesticides, some of which will find their way to streams.... Wildlife biologists estimate that the disorder has killed 750,000 bats in the Northeast since it was first discovered in 2006 in New York. An estimated one million bats overwinter in hundreds of hibernacula across Pennsylvania. Science is ill-prepared for the crisis. "In general, we don't know enough about normal bats to know what's different in sick bats," Reeder said.... "The loss of one species is a big deal," Hart said. "The loss of a whole suite of species is a catastrophe. It scares biologists." They joke about taking up a career that has a future, like computer science. ...	Time for me to get a BugDeth™ distributorship! ApocaDoc permalink
Fri, Jan 22, 2010 from New Scientist: Engineered maize toxicity claims and counterclaims Monsanto, the giant of genetically modified crops, has for the first time been forced to release raw data from toxicology studies it carried out on three strains of its modified maize. An external analysis of the data claims it shows that eating the maize could result in damage to the liver and kidneys, but this has been dismissed as unsupportable by a government agency and independent toxicologists.... With each of the three strains of maize, researchers say they found unusual concentrations of hormones and other compounds in the blood and urine of the tested rats, suggesting each strain impaired kidney and liver function. By the end of the trials, the female rats that were fed MON 863 had elevated blood-sugar levels and raised concentrations of fatty substances called triglycerides. Both are potential precursors of diabetes, according to Seralini. And there were further signs that the kidneys of rats fed NK 603 were impaired, he says. "What we've shown is clearly not proof of toxicity, but signs of toxicity," says Seralini. "I'm sure there's no acute toxicity, but who's to say there are no chronic effects?" He wants longer studies on more species to check for such effects. ...	I don't mind rats getting liver problems. 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 22, 2010 from New York Times: Senators Want to Bar E.P.A. Greenhouse Gas Limits In a direct challenge to the Environmental Protection Agency's authority, Senator Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska, introduced a resolution on Thursday to prevent the agency from taking any action to regulate carbon dioxide and other climate-altering gases. Ms. Murkowski, joined by 35 Republicans and three conservative Democrats, proposed to use the Congressional Review Act to strip the agency of the power to limit emissions of greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act. The Supreme Court gave the agency legal authority to regulate such emissions in a landmark 2007 ruling. "Make no mistake," Ms. Murkowski said in a floor statement, "if Congress allows this to happen there will be severe consequences." She said businesses would be forced to close or move overseas, domestic energy production would be curtailed, housing would become more expensive and agricultural costs would rise. ...	As opposed to the no-consequence future of severe climate change.... ApocaDoc permalink
Fri, Jan 22, 2010 from Oregon State University, via EurekAlert: Findings challenge a century of assumptions about soil hydrology A new study by scientists from Oregon State University and the Environmental Protection Agency showed -- much to the surprise of the researchers -- that soil clings tenaciously to the first precipitation after a dry summer, and holds it so tightly that it almost never mixes with other water. The finding is so significant, researchers said, that they aren't even sure yet what it may mean. But it could affect our understanding of how pollutants move through soils, how nutrients get transported from soils to streams, how streams function and even how vegetation might respond to climate change.... "We used to believe that when new precipitation entered the soil, it mixed well with other water and eventually moved to streams. We just found out that isn't true." "This could have enormous implications for our understanding of watershed function," he said. "It challenges about 100 years of conventional thinking."... The study found in one test, for instance, that after the first large rainstorm in October, only 4 percent of the precipitation entering the soil ended up in the stream -- 96 percent was taken up and held tightly by soil around plants to recharge soil moisture. A month later when soil moisture was fully recharged, 55 percent of precipitation went directly into streams. And as winter rains continue to pour moisture into the ground, almost all of the water that originally recharged the soil around plants remains held tightly in the soil � it never moves or mixes. ...	If you don't know what it means, it means a lot. ApocaDoc permalink
Fri, Jan 22, 2010 from UVA, via ScienceBlog: UVa engineers find significant environmental impacts with algae-based biofuel [R]esearchers from the University of Virginia's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering have found there are significant environmental hurdles to overcome before fuel production ramps up. They propose using wastewater as a solution to some of these challenges. These findings come after ExxonMobil invested $600 million last summer and the U.S. Department of Energy announced last week that it is awarding $78 million in stimulus money for research and development of the biofuel. The U.Va. research, just published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, demonstrates that algae production consumes more energy, has higher greenhouse gas emissions and uses more water than other biofuel sources, such as switchgrass, canola and corn.... "Before we make major investments in algae production, we should really know the environmental impact of this technology," Clarens said. "If we do decide to move forward with algae as a fuel source, it's important we understand the ways we can produce it with the least impact, and that's where combining production with wastewater treatment operations comes in." ...	Waitaminnit: we have to think about what we're doing? ApocaDoc permalink
Fri, Jan 22, 2010 from NASA: NASA: Last decade was warmest on record, 2009 one of warmest years A new analysis of global surface temperatures by NASA scientists finds the past year was tied for the second warmest since 1880. In the Southern Hemisphere, 2009 was the warmest year on record. Although 2008 was the coolest year of the decade because of a strong La Nina that cooled the tropical Pacific Ocean, 2009 saw a return to a near-record global temperatures as the La Nina diminished, according to the new analysis by NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York. The past year was a small fraction of a degree cooler than 2005, the warmest on record, putting 2009 in a virtual tie with a cluster of other years --1998, 2002, 2003, 2006, and 2007 -- for the second warmest on record. "There's always interest in the annual temperature numbers and a given year's ranking, but the ranking often misses the point," said James Hansen, GISS director. "There's substantial year-to-year variability of global temperature caused by the tropical El Nino-La Nina cycle. When we average temperature over five or ten years to minimize that variability, we find global warming is continuing unabated."... In total, average global temperatures have increased by about 1.5 degrees F (0.8 degrees C) since 1880. "That's the important number to keep in mind," said GISS climatologist Gavin Schmidt. "The difference between the second and sixth warmest years is trivial because the known uncertainty in the temperature measurement is larger than some of the differences between the warmest years." ...	Can't I insist on its being trivial? ApocaDoc permalink
Thu, Jan 21, 2010 from Desdemona Despair: Most of UAE to be underwater with sea level rise Focusing on UAE only, three of the most threatening outcomes of climate change have been studied in the report -- rise in sea level, water resources and dry land ecosystems. The results say that 85 per cent of UAE's population living on the coast and more than 90 per cent of the infrastructure also lying along the seashores, the country's economy and general well-being is at risk even from a one-metre rise in sea level. Two plausible sea level rise scenarios for the years 2050 and 2100 were studied in the report. In the first case (year 2050), the sea levels may rise between one and three metres, depending on the speed of polar ice melting, while in the second, the predictions are between two and nine metres. ...	I dunno... tragic, or poetic? ApocaDoc permalink
Thu, Jan 21, 2010 from Seattle Times: Pacific's rising acid levels threatening marine life The most extensive survey of pH levels in the Pacific Ocean confirms what spot measurements have suggested: From Hawaii to Alaska, the upper reaches of the sea are becoming more acidic in concert with rising carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. "If you see these changes across an entire ocean basin, you can be assured it's happening on a global scale in other ocean basins around the world," said Robert Byrne, a marine chemist at the University of South Florida and lead author of an upcoming paper in Geophysical Research Letters. Ocean acidification is a threat to shelled creatures and other marine life, and is a leading suspect in the ongoing crash of Pacific oyster populations in Washington.... As expected, the researchers found acidification was strongest in the top layer of water, closest to the atmosphere. Normal seawater is slightly alkaline, with a pH value of about 8. Over the past 15 years, average pH levels in the top 300 feet of the ocean dropped 0.026 pH units. That sounds tiny, but is equivalent to a 6 percent jump in acidity, Byrne said. ...	Nothing some Arm'n'Hammer won't fix! ApocaDoc permalink
Thu, Jan 21, 2010 from Peninsula College, via EurekAlert: Stain repellent chemical linked to thyroid disease in adults A study by the University of Exeter and the Peninsula Medical School for the first time links thyroid disease with human exposure to perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). PFOA is a persistent organic chemical used in industrial and consumer goods including nonstick cookware and stain- and water-resistant coatings for carpets and fabrics.... PFOA is a very stable man-made chemical that excels at repelling heat, water, grease, and stains. It is used during the process of making common household and industrial items including nonstick pots and pans, flame-resistant and waterproof clothing, wire coatings, and chemical-resistant tubing. PFOA can also be formed by the break-down of certain other highly fluorinated chemicals used in oil and grease-resistant coatings on fast-food containers and wrappers and in stain-resistant carpets, fabrics, and paints. ...	That accusation will just slide right off the industry. ApocaDoc permalink
Thu, Jan 21, 2010 from New York Times: U.N. Official Says Climate Deal Is at Risk Just a month after world leaders fashioned a tentative and nonbinding agreement at the climate change summit meeting in Copenhagen, the deal already appears at risk of coming undone, the top United Nations climate official warned on Wednesday.... Fewer than two dozen countries have even submitted letters saying they agree to the terms of the three-page accord. And there has been virtually no progress on spelling out the terms of nearly $30 billion in short-term financial assistance promised to those countries expected to be hardest hit by climate change. Still unresolved are such basic questions as who will donate how much, where the money will go and who will oversee the spending. ...	Tentative, nonbinding, dithering, and nonexistent -- just the way we like it! ApocaDoc permalink
Thu, Jan 21, 2010 from Chicago Tribune: Asian carp DNA found in Lake Michigan The DNA of Asian carp has been found in Lake Michigan for the first time, researchers said Tuesday, igniting a new round of calls for urgent action and renewed criticism of Illinois and the federal government for allowing the voracious carp to migrate up the state's waterways. The alarming find came just hours after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to address the carp issue, rejecting Michigan's request for an injunction to force Illinois to stop its waterways from flowing into Lake Michigan. That left the issue in the hands of federal and state officials in Illinois....the discovery may bring the region a step closer to a scenario in which the carp devastate the Great Lakes' fragile ecology and commercial fishing interests. ...	Don't they get these carp are also a metaphor?!? ApocaDoc permalink
Thu, Jan 21, 2010 from Reuters: Massachusetts vote hurts US climate bill Republican Scott Brown's upset victory on Tuesday in the special U.S. Senate race has dealt a further blow to Democrats' drive to pass a climate control bill in 2010. Last June, the House of Representatives narrowly passed a cap and trade bill that would require reductions in industrial emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases over the next four decades. It also would allow pollution permits to be traded in a new regulated market. But the global warming bill has languished in the Senate, where some members have been trying to find a compromise. Once Brown takes office, Democrats will hold 59 of the 100 votes in the Senate and the Republicans 41. The bill needs 60 votes to overcome procedural hurdles that could block passage. ...	What the hell... we have all the time in the world. ApocaDoc permalink
Thu, Jan 21, 2010 from Bloomberg News: Exxon Hid Radiation Risk to Workers, Witness Says Exxon Mobil Corp., the largest U.S. energy company, "knew or should have known" that drilling pipes it sent to a Louisiana pipe yard were contaminated with dangerous radioactive material, a trial witness testified. Paul Templet, a former secretary of Louisiana's Department of Environmental Quality, told jurors yesterday in a lawsuit trial in state court in Gretna, Louisiana, that internal Exxon memos showed the company had information beginning in the 1930s about cancer-causing radium in the residue, or "scale," that built up inside its pipes. Templet was the first witness for 19 former pipe workers who are suing Exxon, claiming they were exposed to radiation and now fear they may get cancer. He said Exxon failed to report the contamination to his former agency until as late as 1988, endangering workers who cleaned the pipes at a Louisiana site. ...	Those double "x"s in Exxon always seemed suspicious to me. ApocaDoc permalink
Wed, Jan 20, 2010 from Times Online (UK): Roof-mounted wind turbines 'no help in reducing carbon' Roof-mounted wind turbines and solar panels are "eco-bling" that allow their owners to flaunt their green credentials but contribute very little towards meeting Britain's carbon reduction targets, according to the Royal Academy of Engineering.... Field trials carried out last year by the government-funded Energy Saving Trust found that the most productive building-mounted wind turbines in urban or suburban areas generated only £26 of electricity a year. Many of these turbines, which cost about £1,500, were net consumers of electricity because their controls drew power from the grid when the wind was low.... Professor King said that for wind turbines on urban homes to be effective, they would have to be so big that their vibration would damage the building. He said that installing microgeneration devices could cost £10,000 to £12,000 per home and reduce its emissions by only a few per cent. He proposed an alternative policy under which developers would offset the entire emissions of new homes by contributing £3,000 per dwelling towards a wind farm on a hilltop. ...	Eco-bling? I gotta wear shades for the sparkle. ApocaDoc permalink
Wed, Jan 20, 2010 from CBC News (Canada): Triffid seed threatens flax industry Canadian flax seed has been shut out of its largest market after traces of Triffid -- a genetically modified form of the crop ordered destroyed 10 years ago -- was found in shipments. The European Union, which buys 70 per cent of Canada's flax, has a zero-tolerance policy regarding genetically modified organisms and has been turning away shipments. Officials say Canada's entire $320-million industry is threatened. But efforts to correct the situation are being thwarted because it's not clear where the genetically modified flax is coming from. An industry-wide scramble has been on to weed out the offending seed since the problem was discovered in September.... The flax was genetically engineered to contain genes from a weed added to it, allowing it to grow in soil contaminated by herbicides. ...	What's next, Midwich Cuckoos? 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 20, 2010 from Mongabay: Cheerios maker linked to rainforest destruction An activist group linked General Mills to destruction of rainforests in Southeast Asia in dramatic fashion on Tuesday, when it unfurled a giant banner, reading "Warning: General Mills Destroys Rainforests", outside the company's Minneapolis headquarters building. The stunt was executed by the Rainforest Action Network (RAN), an activist group campaigning to highlight the role that palm oil consumption has in deforestation in Indonesia, Malaysia and Papua New Guinea. Expansion of oil palm plantations over the past twenty years has emerged as one of the biggest threats to the Southeast Asia's rainforests, which house such endangered species as the orangutan, the pygmy elephant of Borneo, and the Sumatran rhino. Palm oil production has also become a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions, which result from deforestation, degradation and conversion of peatlands, and fires set for plantation establishment. ...	Cheeri-oh-oh! ApocaDoc permalink
Wed, Jan 20, 2010 from Times Online (UK): Car giants giving false hope of emission-free future, report says Car companies are raising false hopes of emission-free motoring in order to continue profiting from large, fuel-hungry vehicles, according to a study. Cars powered by hydrogen fuel cells are not expected to be available widely until after 2050 because of the high cost of the platinum in their catalysts. Battery-powered vehicles will also remain a niche product because of their limited battery life. It urges the Government to impose higher taxes on drivers of large, inefficient vehicles and to reinvest the proceeds in better public transport and measures to encourage walking and cycling. The authors accuse car manufacturers of exaggerating the potential for switching to hydrogen or battery-powered vehicles in the next decade. ...	That's how it's done these days: being just green enough to seem green. ApocaDoc permalink
Wed, Jan 20, 2010 from Telegraph.co.uk: Bee numbers in England fell by more than half over the last 20 years The University of Reading research found there was a 54 per cent decline in managed honey bee populations in England between 1985 and 2005 compared to an average of 20 per cent across Europe. It comes as separate research in France suggested the reason bee numbers are falling is because of intensive agriculture that has led to a fall in the number of wild flowers and plants.... Dr Potts, who will be speaking on the subject in front of MPs this week, blamed the increased use of pesticides, bee disease such as the varroa mite and intensive agriculture. Meanwhile, in a separate study, the National Institute of Agronomic Research in Avignon proved for the first time that a more diverse diet of different kinds of pollen can boost bee immunity. This suggests that the monoculture used in today's intensive farming techniques may be contributing to the decline of the honey bee. ...	I know! Let's spray bee-vitamins to boost their bee-immune systems! ApocaDoc permalink
Tue, Jan 19, 2010 from Columbia University, via EurekAlert: Prenatal exposure to flame-retardant compounds affects neurodevelopment of young children PBDEs are endocrine-disrupting chemicals and widely used flame-retardant compounds that are applied to a broad array of textiles and consumer products, including mattresses, upholstery, building materials, and electronic equipment. Because the compounds are additives rather than chemically bound to consumer products, they can be released into the environment. Human exposure may occur through dietary ingestion or through inhalation of dust containing PBDEs. The researchers found that children with higher concentrations of PBDEs in their umbilical cord blood at birth scored lower on tests of mental and physical development between the ages of one and six. Developmental effects were particularly evident at four years of age, when verbal and full IQ scores were reduced 5.5 to 8.0 points for those with the highest prenatal exposures.... "The findings are consistent with effects observed in animal studies and, if replicated in other North American populations, they could have important public health implications." ...	No burning mattresses, just a generation of stupid children. ApocaDoc permalink
Tue, Jan 19, 2010 from Toronto National Post: Climate change and its toll on mental health ...Climate change could have "significant negative effects on global mental health," according to a new scientific report in the journal Psychological Medicine. It predicts that many of these negative effects will be felt not by those who are already mentally ill (although they will likely bear the brunt), but also by otherwise healthy people... who will suffer "psychological distress, anxiety and traumatic stress." The author, U.K. psychiatrist Lisa Page, cites "altered patterns of infectious disease, injuries from severe weather events, food and water scarcity, and population displacement" as mechanisms by which global warming could cause "an increase in the overall burden of mental disorder worldwide." Dr. Page cites "preliminary evidence" of more extreme possibilities: that suicide increases above a certain temperature threshold; that schizophrenia increases as populations become more urban; and that "impulsivity and aggression could be triggered during periods of hot weather." ...	This place is going to be a madhouse! ApocaDoc permalink
Tue, Jan 19, 2010 from Associated Press: What's in a cigarette? US to study ingredients The Food and Drug Administration is working to lift the smokescreen clouding the ingredients used in cigarettes and other tobacco products. In June, tobacco companies must tell the FDA their formulas for the first time, just as drugmakers have for decades. Manufacturers also will have to turn over any studies they've done on the effects of the ingredients... Companies have long acknowledged using cocoa, coffee, menthol and other additives to make tobacco taste better. The new information will help the FDA determine which ingredients might also make tobacco more harmful or addictive. It will also use the data to develop standards for tobacco products and could ban some ingredients or combinations. ...	We've waited this long... can't we be ignorant a little while longer? ApocaDoc permalink
Tue, Jan 19, 2010 from Detroit Free Press: Court won't close shipping locks to stop Asian carp The U.S. Supreme Court issued a one-sentence denial today of Michigan's request for a preliminary injunction to close Chicago-area locks to keep out Asian carp.... The court hasn't decided whether to take that case, which sought to reopen a 1922 case arguing against the diversion of the Chicago River to create a shipping canal linking the Mississippi River to the Great Lakes. Asian carp DNA has been found within a mile of Lake Michigan at a pumping station north of Chicago. The carp are considered dangerous because of their size and voracious eating habits. Gov. Jennifer Granholm called the court ruling "extremely disappointing."... "We cannot allow carp into the Great Lakes," Granholm said. "It will destroy our Great Lakes fisheries, our fisheries, the economy. It has to be stopped and it is urgent." ...	Too bad science is independent of justice, while implementation is dependent on law. ApocaDoc permalink
Tue, Jan 19, 2010 from DC Bureau: Dirty Waters: Cashing in on Ocean Pollution ...The cruise line industry relies on pristine oceans, beautiful coral reefs and marine life to draw millions of travelers on cruise vacations each year. But the same ships that advertise excursions to untouched ocean scenery are threatening these very same natural resources with their standard practice of flushing harmful toxins, mostly as sewage and food waste, into the ocean.... The average cruise ship serves between 10,000 and 12,000 meals per day. On a ship of 5,000 people eating four to five meals a day, the total is closer to 25,000 meals. Food waste is then ground up, put into a holding tank and discharged as food slurry. The putrefying food waste creates acid. In the ocean, it lowers oxygen and increases nutrients in the water, based on an EPA report in 2008 on cruise ship pollution discharge. ...	I'll just bet the giant jellyfish LOVE cruise ships. ApocaDoc permalink
Tue, Jan 19, 2010 from IRIN News (UN): Bangladesh: Pesticide poisoning takes its toll An annual government survey of Bangladesh�s health situation has found that pesticide-related poisoning is a leading cause of death, underscoring a major health concern. The 2009 Health Bulletin, which compiles health statistics from 2008, recorded 7,438 pesticide-related poisoning deaths at more than 400 hospitals nationwide amongst men and women aged 15-49.... "Farmers apply pesticides on their crops without taking proper protective measures. They expose themselves to highly poisonous pesticides. They inhale substantial amounts of the pesticides they spray to kill insects in their crops," Faiz told IRIN.... According to the most recent government figures available, 37,712 tons of pesticide were sold in the country in 2007, an increase of 145.3 percent on the amount sold in 2001.... Illiterate farmers are also persuaded by unscrupulous traders and various incentive schemes to buy unregistered pesticide formulations that promise to protect crops against pest attacks and disease. ...	"We call our formulation BESTicide." ApocaDoc permalink
Tue, Jan 19, 2010 from New York Times: Therapists Report Increase in Green Disputes As awareness of environmental concerns has grown, therapists say they are seeing a rise in bickering between couples and family members over the extent to which they should change their lives to save the planet. In households across the country, green lines are being drawn between those who insist on wild salmon and those who buy farmed, those who calculate their carbon footprint and those who remain indifferent to greenhouse gases. "As the focus on climate increases in the public�s mind, it can't help but be a part of people�s planning about the future," said Thomas Joseph Doherty, a clinical psychologist in Portland, Ore., who has a practice that focuses on environmental issues. "It touches every part of how they live: what they eat, whether they want to fly, what kind of vacation they want." ...	You say eco... I say echo... ApocaDoc permalink
Tue, Jan 19, 2010 from via ScienceDaily: Tipping Point? West Antarctic Ice Sheet Could Become Unstable as World Warms A new study examines how ice sheets, such as the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, could become unstable as the world warms. The team from Oxford University and Cambridge University developed a model to explore how changes in the 'grounding line' -- where an ice sheet floats free from its base of rock or sediment -- could lead to the disintegration of ice sheets and result in a significant rise in global sea level... At the moment the model -- that uniquely takes into account the three dimensional shape of ice sheets -- is still fairly simple, but the researchers hope to eventually include more detail on how ice sheets interact with their base slopes and show the behaviour of individual ice streams. ...	Once the ice sheets go, at least we'll have this fun model to play with! ApocaDoc permalink
Mon, Jan 18, 2010 from The Herald Scotland: Tofu is bad for the environment, finds food study Vegetarians have claimed for years that their meat-shy ways are helping save the world but a new study has found that tofu may actually be worse for the environment than beef. In a stark report on the environmental impact of the global food industry, WWF has warned that replacing meat with "highly refined" substitutes such as Quorn could increase the area of farmland needed to feed the UK. Instead, the charity has said, a wide range of measures will be required to bring harmful emissions from agriculture down to a safe level. In the new report, released today, researchers said: "A broad-based switch to plant-based products through increasing the intake of cereals and vegetables is more sustainable." ...	Tofu worse than beef? Let's ask the cows! ApocaDoc permalink
Mon, Jan 18, 2010 from London Guardian: Shell faces shareholder revolt over Canadian tar sands project Shell chief executive Peter Voser will be forced to defend the company's controversial investment in Canada's tar sands at his first annual general meeting, after calls from shareholders that the project be put under further scrutiny. A coalition of institutional investors has forced a resolution onto the agenda calling for the Anglo-Dutch group's audit committee to undertake a special review of the risks attached to the carbon-heavy oil production at Athabasca in Alberta. Co-operative Asset Management and 141 other institutional and individual shareholders raise "concerns for the long-term success of the company arising from the risks associated with oil sands." ...	Sounds like these shareholders are goin' rogue! ApocaDoc permalink
Mon, Jan 18, 2010 from BBC (UK): Biodiversity nears 'point of no return' Much greater concerted effort is needed to stop the plunder of our ecosystems.... Overfishing has reduced blue fin tuna numbers to 18 percent of what they were in the mid-1970s. The burning of Indonesia's peat lands and forests for palm oil plantations generates 1.8bn tonnes of greenhouse gases a year, and demand is predicted to double by 2020 compared to 2000. More than seven million hectares are lost worldwide to deforestation every single year. The restoration of our ecosystems must be seen as a sensible and cost-effective investment in this planet's economic survival and growth. ...	Come on -- how many species do we really need, anyway? ApocaDoc permalink
Mon, Jan 18, 2010 from Climate Dynamics, via EPOCA: Reversible and irreversible impacts of greenhouse gas emissions in multi-century projections with the NCAR global coupled carbon cycle-climate model The reversibility and irreversibility of impacts is quantified by comparing anthropogenically-forced regional changes with internal, unforced climate variability. We show that the influence of historical emissions and of non-CO2 agents is largely reversible on the regional scale. Forced changes in surface temperature and precipitation become smaller than internal variability for most land and ocean grid cells in the absence of future carbon emissions. In contrast, continued carbon emissions over the 21st century cause irreversible climate change on centennial to millennial timescales in most regions and impacts related to ocean acidification and sea level rise continue to aggravate for centuries even if emissions are stopped in year 2100. Undersaturation of the Arctic surface ocean with respect to aragonite, a mineral form of calcium carbonate secreted by marine organisms, is imminent and remains widespread. The volume of supersaturated water providing habitat to calcifying organisms is reduced from preindustrial 40 to 25 percent in 2100 and to 10 percent in 2300 for the high emission case. We conclude that emission trading schemes, related to the Kyoto Process, should not permit trading between emissions of relatively short-lived agents and CO2 given the irreversible impacts of anthropogenic carbon emissions. ...	Those scientists and their imaginary futures. I'm going back to playing "Halo 3." ApocaDoc permalink
Mon, Jan 18, 2010 from UCSD, via EurekAlert: Wilder weather exerts a stronger influence on biodiversity than steadily changing conditions Climate scientists predict more frequent storms, droughts, floods and heat waves as the Earth warms. Although extreme weather would seem to challenge ecosystems, the effect of fluctuating conditions on biodiversity actually could go either way. Species able to tolerate only a narrow range of temperatures, for example, may be eliminated, but instability in the environment can also prevent dominant species from squeezing out competitors.... "It may depend on the predictability of the environment. If you have a lot of violent changes through time, species may not be able to program their life cycles to be active when conditions are right. They need the ability to read the cues, to hatch out at the right time," Shurin said. "If the environment is very unpredictable, that may be bad for diversity, because many species just won't be able to match their lifecycles to that." ...	Can't they just evolve for predictable unpredictability? ApocaDoc permalink