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What A Week It Was: Apocadocuments from

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Species Collapse:	(7)
Plague/Virus:	(1)
Climate Chaos:	(8)
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This Week's Top Ten Very Scary Tags:
climate impacts ~ health impacts ~ drought ~ global warming ~ arctic meltdown ~ toxic buildup ~ melting glaciers ~ lived experience ~ marine mammals ~ oil issues ~ massive die-off

ApocaDocuments (20) gathered this week:
Mon, Apr 4, 2011 from San Jose Mercury News: Native bee populations on the decline, report says The National Academy of Sciences recently released a report confirming that some native bee populations -- the ones agriculture has depended on for centuries for pollination, until the advent of the honeybee -- are in decline. And one of the major culprits is no surprise: habitat loss. The scientists, led by Sydney A. Cameron of the University of Illinois at Urbana, found that the relative abundances of four species have declined by up to 96 percent over the last few decades. In addition, their surveyed geographic ranges have contracted by alarmingly -- as much as 87 percent, and even at the lowest level, 23 percent. The bumble bees also are being hit with higher infection levels of a pathogen known as Nosema bombi. And -- the triple whammy -- they have lower genetic diversity than other populations of non-declining species. "Pollinator decline has become a worldwide issue, raising increasing concerns over impacts on global food production, stability of pollination services, and disruption of plant-pollinator networks," Cameron wrote. Native bee populations matter hugely, given the decline of honeybees. Researchers in this area have been studying them, with the idea of determining if they could take up the slack -- regain their agricultural prominence -- if honeybee populations should collapse altogether. ...	To a rose, a pollinator is a pollinator is a pollinator. Until it isn't. ApocaDoc permalink
Sun, Apr 3, 2011 from The Independent: Glaciers melting at fastest rate in 350 years, study finds Some mountain glaciers are melting up to 100 times faster than at any time in the past 350 years. The findings, based on a new ice loss calculation technique developed by studying the glaciers of Patagonia in South America, have worrying implications for crop irrigation and water supplies around the world. The quantity of ice lost from Patagonia is equivalent to a fifth more than the contents of Lake Erie, one of the Great Lakes of North America. Scientists behind the discovery claim their findings show that the rate of melting at the start of the 20th century was much slower than previously calculated, but that over the past 30 years it has been significantly faster than suspected.... The figures show the contribution to sea level rise is increasing, though still at a low level, but what alarmed the team most was that the rate of loss has sped up rapidly since 1980. "The glaciers have lost a lot less ice up until 30 years ago than had been thought. The real killer is that the rate of loss has gone up 100 times above the long-term average. It's scary," said Professor Glasser, who carried out the study with the University of Exeter and Stockholm University. ...	I thought Patagonia was just an outdoor clothing line. ApocaDoc permalink
Sun, Apr 3, 2011 from Yale360: Birds Delay Spring Migration As Tropical Rainfall Declines, Study Says Declining rainfall in tropical regions can cause migratory birds to delay their departure from wintering grounds back to their northern breeding areas, according to a new study. In a five-year study of American redstarts, a species of warbler, scientists at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute found that individual birds delayed their spring migration from Jamaica to North America when low rainfall produced a scarcity of insects, the birds' primary food supply; the redstarts apparently delayed migration because of insufficient nutritional reserves. Over the last 16 years, increasingly severe and unpredictable dry seasons in Jamaica have resulted in an 11-percent decrease in rainfall. "Our results support the idea that environmental conditions on tropical non-breeding areas can influence the departure time for spring migration," said Colin Studds.... While it is unclear whether the delayed migration will have an adverse impact on the birds, the study said a delayed departure could ultimately affect the arrival time to breeding territory, and thus yield less time to reproduce. ...	I can think of a few other reasons to hang out in Jamaica. ApocaDoc permalink
Sun, Apr 3, 2011 from The Independent: Britain's March was the driest in 40 years The past month has been the driest March for around 40 years, forecasters said today. Provisional recordings show that the UK has also seen 25 percent more sunshine than usual over the last four weeks as temperatures climbed and Britons enjoyed their first taste of spring. But there was bad news for those hoping for an early start to summer - April showers are on their way as usual. According to provisional Met Office figures, the average rainfall between March 1 and 29 stands at only 39.1mm (1.5in). This is expected to rise very slightly when the showers of the past two days are factored in. However, it is still expected to be well below the 95.9mm (3.8in) norm for March. ...	So March came in like a lion, and left as a... camel. ApocaDoc permalink
Sun, Apr 3, 2011 from CBC: Quebec hunters kill 12 times more polar bears this winter Hunters in Quebec have killed 12 times the usual number of polar bears they harvest in southern Hudson Bay this winter, leading a Canadian polar bear researcher to wonder if soaring prices for polar bear hides are to blame. Hunters in Nunavik, a predominantly Inuit region in northern Quebec, harvested 47 polar bears in southern Hudson Bay in the last seven months, according to numbers obtained by CBC News. On average, fewer than four polar bears were hunted every year for the last five years, according to the figures. Ian Stirling, a longtime polar bear researcher at the University of Alberta, said he fears the recently soaring price of polar bear hides is driving the hunt. "It's an effort for a quick buck, and it's certainly not sustainable," Stirling told CBC News. Stirling said the polar bear population in southern Hudson Bay is estimated at about 900 to 1,000 bears. That population is already being hit hard by poor sea ice conditions, he added.... Lucassie Arragutainaq, chairman of Sanikiluaq's hunters and trappers organization, said people in his community have heard even more polar bears may have been hunted in Nunavik. "People talk and we've been hearing about 60-plus. This is a lot of more bears as far as we're concerned, but it's the same population that we're hunting," he said. ...	Curiously, the laws of supply and demand lead to extinctions. ApocaDoc permalink
Sat, Apr 2, 2011 from DesdemonaDespair: Climate change causing millions of migrating salmon to die from heart failure Climate change is causing migrating salmon to die from heart failure in their millions as they stretch every sinew to reach their spawning grounds. Overheating is such a problem for the sockeye salmon that as they head for their traditional spawning grounds in the Fraser River network in Canada their hearts stop.... "Their hearts just can't cope with the temperatures," said Erika Eliason, of the University of British Columbia in Canada.... It is the combination of exertion and warmer conditions that is proving fatal to the fish, scientists found. Since the 1950s the water temperature has risen by almost 2C and the sockeyes have been in steep decline for the last 20 years, which include several of the hottest years on record. ...	But hey, the ol' swimming hole's just great! ApocaDoc permalink
Sat, Apr 2, 2011 from Scientific American: Antibiotic Resistance Is Taking Out 'Last-Resort' Drugs Used to Combat Worrisome Category of Germs There are so many news stories about antibiotic resistance these days that you may be tempted to ignore them all just to preserve your sanity. But there is a kind of hierarchy of danger when it comes to figuring out which stories are most deserving of your attention. Anytime you hear that a particular bacterium has become resistant to a "drug of last resort," that is bad. Drugs of last resort--such as vancomycin for Staphylococcus infections--are usually the last line of safe, dependable defense for certain kinds of infections. Drug companies can try to come up with new medications to replace the outpaced meds, but that takes time and does not bring in a lot of money, so we are fast running out of drugs of last resort.... As Maryn McKenna explains in "The Enemy Within," antibiotic resistance in the gram-negative bacteria is particularly worrisome because Gram-negative germs are more likely than Gram-positive ones to share the genes responsible for drug resistance across species. Her story is doubly alarming because it provides a detailed look at how resistance has developed in the U.S. against drugs of last resort (really bad) in Gram-negative bacteria (really, really bad). As if that were not bad enough, clinicians are now starting to see drug resistance in whole new categories of pathogens--such as fungi. Perhaps the worst news of all, however, is that even if antibiotics are used correctly, they may be contributing to the drug-resistance problem. Because even proper use of antibiotics creates an environment in which microbes with resistance genes are favored to survive. ...	Can't we just define germs as "asymmetric terrorists" and declare a war? ApocaDoc permalink
Fri, Apr 1, 2011 from Reuters: Aircraft contrails stoke warming, cloud formation Aircraft condensation trails criss-crossing the sky may be warming the planet on a normal day more than the carbon dioxide emitted by all planes since the Wright Brothers' first flight in 1903, a study said on Tuesday. It indicated that contrails -- white lines of Vapor left by jet engines -- also have big knock-on effects by adding to the formation of high-altitude, heat-trapping cirrus clouds as the lines break up. The findings may help governments fix penalties on planes' greenhouse gas emissions in a U.N.-led assault on climate change. Or new engines might be designed to limit Vapor and instead spit out water drops or ice that fall from the sky.... The main climate effect of white lines and related cirrus clouds is to trap heat radiating back from the Earth's surface. They also have a smaller, counter-effect by slightly dimming sunlight and so slowing warming. Contrails are especially dense over parts of Europe and eastern United States. ...	The writing's on the sky. ApocaDoc permalink
Fri, Apr 1, 2011 from Science, via ScienceDaily: Economic Importance of Bats in the 'Billions a Year' Range Bats in North America are under a two-pronged attack but they are not the only victim -- so is the U.S. economy. Gary McCracken, head of the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, analyzed the economic impact of the loss of bats in North America in agriculture and found it to be in the $3.7 to $53 billion a year range.... Since 2006, more than a million bats have died due to a fungal disease called White-Nose Syndrome (WNS). At the same time, several migratory tree-dwelling species are being killed in unprecedented numbers by wind turbines. This hurts the economy because bats' diet of pest insects reduces the damage the insects cause to crops and decreases the need for pesticides. In fact, the researchers estimate the value of bats to the agricultural industry is roughly $22.9 billion a year, with the extremes ranging as low as $3.7 and $53 billion a year.... "These estimates include the reduced costs of pesticide applications that are not needed to suppress the insects consumed by bats. However, they do not include the downstream impacts of pesticides on humans, domestic and wild animals and our environment," said McCracken. "Without bats, crop yields are affected. Pesticide applications go up. Even if our estimates were quartered, they clearly show how bats have enormous potential to influence the economics of agriculture and forestry." ...	That's why bat researchers are finding funding so easily. ApocaDoc permalink
Fri, Apr 1, 2011 from PhysOrg: Human-powered drill for clean water in developing nations built by student engineers Other water-drilling alternatives in the region either can't dig deep enough or cost too much, sometimes upwards of $15,000. But the team's device has the potential to drill a 150- to 250-foot-deep hole in a matter of days--all for about $2,000. The drill was created for a year-long engineering capstone project that has students solving real engineering problems with real clients. The team created the drill for WHOLives.org, a nonprofit dedicated to providing clean water, better health and more opportunities to people living in impoverished communities. The organization is currently focusing its drilling efforts on Tanzania, but it has plans to expand its operations to other countries.... The BYU team also had to operate within a number of strict parameters set by WHOlives.org so that the final product can be easily built and maintained in developing countries. The drill uses no gears or customized parts, and it can easily be taken apart, transported in the bed of a truck and reassembled within an hour. The drill can be operated by four people. Three spin the wheel that turns the bit, and the fourth lifts the bit up and down when necessary to punch through tough spots. A water pump system removes the dirt from the six-inch-wide hole. ...	Don't they realize that capitalism wants to treat clean water as a commodity?? ApocaDoc permalink
Fri, Apr 1, 2011 from Reuters, via WHNT, from DesdemonaDespair: Government tightens lid on dolphin death probe The U.S. government is keeping a tight lid on its probe into scores of unexplained dolphin deaths along the Gulf Coast, possibly connected to last year's BP oil spill, causing tension with some independent marine scientists. Wildlife biologists contracted by the National Marine Fisheries Service to document spikes in dolphin mortality and to collect specimens and tissue samples for the agency were quietly ordered late last month to keep their findings confidential. The gag order was contained in an agency letter informing outside scientists that its review of the dolphin die-off, classified as an "unusual mortality event (UME)," had been folded into a federal criminal investigation launched last summer into the oil spill. "Because of the seriousness of the legal case, no data or findings may be released, presented or discussed outside the UME investigative team without prior approval," the letter, obtained by Reuters, stated. A number of scientists said they have been personally rebuked by federal officials for "speaking out of turn" to the media about efforts to determine the cause of some 200 dolphin deaths this year, and about 90 others last year, in the Gulf. ...	When they try to gag scientists, it's usually because bad news is coming back up. ApocaDoc permalink
Thu, Mar 31, 2011 from NRDC: Disease Clusters Spotlight the Need to Protect People from Toxic Chemicals An unusually large number of people sickened by a disease in a certain place and time is known as a 'disease cluster'. Clusters of cancer, birth defects, and other chronic illnesses have sometimes been linked to chemicals or other toxic pollutants in local communities, although these links can be controversial. There is a need for better documentation and investigation of disease clusters to identify and address possible causes. Meanwhile, toxic chemicals should be identified and controlled through reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), so these chemicals don't pollute communities and sicken people. Due to a lack of resources, the limited statistical power in doing investigations of small communities or rare diseases, and a lack of knowledge about exposures, it has been difficult for state and federal agencies to shed light on most disease clusters and their causes. There is a need for better documentation and investigation of disease clusters and their causes.... Thirteen states -- Texas, California, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Florida, Ohio, Delaware, Louisiana, Montana, Tennessee, Missouri, and Arkansas -- were chosen for analysis based on the occurrence of known clusters in the state, geographic diversity, or community concerns about a disease cluster in their area. ...	I just trust industry self-regulation, since they have more lawyers than I do. ApocaDoc permalink
Thu, Mar 31, 2011 from PNAS, via Mongabay: 'Huge reduction' of water from plants due to higher CO2 levels As if ocean acidification and a warming world weren't enough, researchers have outlined another way in which carbon emissions are impacting the planet. A new study shows that higher carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere have taken a toll on how much water vapor plants release, potentially impacting the rainfall and groundwater sources. A study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) has found that carbon dioxide levels over the past 150 years has reduced plants' spores, called stomata, by over one third (34 percent). This is important because stomata take in oxygen and carbon dioxide and release water vapor in a process dubbed 'transpiration'. Less stomata means less water driven into the atmosphere. "The increase in carbon dioxide by about 100 parts per million has had a profound effect on the number of stomata and, to a lesser extent, the size of the stomata," explains co-authors David Dilcher of Indiana University Bloomington in a press release. "Our analysis of that structural change shows there's been a huge reduction in the release of water to the atmosphere."... "The carbon cycle is important, but so is the water cycle. If transpiration decreases, there may be more moisture in the ground at first, but if there's less rainfall that may mean there's less moisture in ground eventually," Dilcher says, adding that, "this is part of the hyrdrogeologic cycle. Land plants are a crucially important part of it." ...	But the glass was half-full so recently! ApocaDoc permalink
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Thu, Mar 31, 2011 from American Chemical Society, via EurekAlert: US troops exposed to polluted air in Iraq, researchers report Military personnel and contractors stationed in Iraq risk not only enemy gunfire, suicide bombers, and roadside bombs, but the very air they breathe often is polluted with dust and other particles of a size and composition that could pose immediate and long-term health threats, scientists reported today at the 241st National Meeting of the American Chemical Society.... "Our preliminary results show that the fine particulate matter concentrations frequently exceed military exposure guidelines and those individual constituents, such as lead, exceed U.S. ambient air quality standards designed to protect human health," said Jennifer M. Bell, a member of the research team. In some instances, military personnel breathe in fine particulates at levels almost 10 times higher than the desirable levels in U.S. National Ambient Air Quality Standards.... "We are especially concerned about fine airborne particles that originate from motor vehicles, factories, open burning of trash in pits, and other sources," Bell said. Iraq does not enforce air pollution controls, and domestic motor vehicles burn the leaded gasoline was phased out in the United States in the mid-1990s. Those particulates contain potentially toxic heavy metals like lead, arsenic, mercury, and cadmium, she noted. ...	I love the smell of heavy metals in the morning. ApocaDoc permalink
Thu, Mar 31, 2011 from Healthfinder.gov: Two Pesticides Linked to Parkinson's Disease, in Study People who use the pesticides rotenone and paraquat have a 2.5 times increased risk of developing Parkinson's disease, a new study finds. U.S. researchers compared 110 people with Parkinson's disease and 358 people without the nervous system disorder. All of the participants were enrolled in the Farming and Movement Evaluation Study involving licensed pesticide applicators and their spouses. "Rotenone directly inhibits the function of the mitochondria, the structure responsible for making energy in the cell," study co-author Freya Kamel, a researcher at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, said in an institute news release.... "These findings help us to understand the biologic changes underlying Parkinson's disease. This may have important implications for the treatment and ultimately the prevention of Parkinson's disease...". "Paraquat increases production of certain oxygen derivatives that may harm cellular structures," she added. "People who used these pesticides or others with a similar mechanism of action were more likely to develop Parkinson's disease." ...	Are you implying that there might be a cost for blemish-free produce? ApocaDoc permalink
Wed, Mar 30, 2011 from Life Science News, via EurekAlert: Whale and dolphin death toll during Deepwater disaster may have been greatly underestimated The team focused their research on 14 species of cetacean, an order of mammals including whales and dolphins. While the number of recovered carcasses has been assumed to equal the number of deaths, the team argues that marine conditions and the fact that many deaths will have occurred far from shore mean recovered carcasses will only account for a small proportion of deaths.... The team's analysis suggests that only 2 percent of cetacean carcasses were ever historically recovered after their [natural] deaths in this region, meaning that the true death toll from the Deepwater Horizon disaster could be 50 times higher than the number of deaths currently estimated.... "While we did not conduct a study to estimate the actual number of deaths from the oil spill, our research reveals that the accepted figures are a grave underestimation," concluded Dr. Williams. "We now urge methodological development to develop appropriate multipliers so that we discover the true cost of this tragedy." ...	If you'll forgive the expression. ApocaDoc permalink
Tue, Mar 29, 2011 from Associated Press: S. Carolina lawmakers take dim view of new light bulbs South Carolina lawmakers are taking a stand in favor of states' lights. With incandescent bulbs being phased out under federal law in favor of energy-efficient compact fluorescents, legislators want to exempt South Carolina from the measure, saying Washington has no business telling the state how to light its closets and countertops. The proposed state law, called the Incandescent Light Bulb Freedom Act, "allows South Carolina to say to the federal government we are going to exercise our rights," said Republican state Rep. Bill Sandifer, a co-sponsor. ...	The Freedom to Ruin the Earth Edict (FREE) ApocaDoc permalink
Tue, Mar 29, 2011 from Our Amazing Planet: Oceans May Be Speeding Melt of Greenland's Glaciers Dynamic layers of warm Atlantic and cold Arctic Ocean waters around Greenland may be speeding the melt of the country's glaciers, researchers find. "Over the last 15 years or so, the Greenland Ice Sheet has been putting a lot more ice into the ocean," said Fiammetta Straneo of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, in Massachusetts, who has spent years studying the ice-coated country that is currently responsible for about a quarter of worldwide sea level rise. "We're trying to understand why, as we thought ice sheets changed on much longer timescales, like thousands of years," she told OurAmazingPlanet. Researchers know that warm air over Greenland melts surface snow and ice, but this process doesn't do enough melting to explain the extent of the glaciers' rapid retreat. ...	Maybe the glaciers are simply recoiling from the horror! ApocaDoc permalink
Tue, Mar 29, 2011 from Science News: Big Fishing Yields Small Fish Sharks, billfish, cod, tuna and other fish-eating fish -- the sea's equivalents to lions on the Serengeti -- dominated the marine world as recently as four decades ago. They culled sick, lame and old animals and kept populations of marine herbivores in check, preventing marine analogs of antelopes from overgrazing their environment. But the reign of large predators now appears over -- probably forever. ...	There's plenty of (small) fish in the sea. ApocaDoc permalink
Tue, Mar 29, 2011 from The Daily Climate: Shift in boreal forest has wide impact Vegetation change underway in northern forests as a result of climate change creates feedback loop that prompts more warming, scientists say. Boreal forests across the Northern hemisphere are undergoing rapid, transformative shifts as a result of a warming climate that, in some cases, is triggering feedback loops producing even more regional warming, according to several new studies. Russia's boreal forest - the largest continuous expanse of forest in the world - has seen a transformation in recent years from larch to conifer trees, according to new research by University of Virginia researchers.... "The climate has shifted. It's done, it's clear, and the climate has become unsuitable for the growth of the boreal forest across most of the area that it currently occupies," said Glenn Juday, a forestry professor at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. ...	I wish that durn scientist wouldn't beat around bush. ApocaDoc permalink