Green Videos & Green News: Environment Videos // Current

^#1

Maldives Asks Most Vulnerable Countries to Take Lead In Reducing Global Warming

http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-11-09-voa46.cfm The Maldivian President is asking nations most vulnerable to climate change... more

Vierotchka
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Extraterrestrial rafting: Hunting off-world sea life

IF LIFE is to be found beyond our home planet, then our closest encounters with it may come in the dark abyss of some... more

retro_Syl
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Bluefin Tuna On The Edge Of Extinction Due To Overfishing

Overfishing of bluefin tuna, in conjunction with an inept agency commissioned to protect them, is rapidly driving the species... more

theauthor
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Wooden Block Sticky Notes

At first glance this note pad from Japan appears to be a simple block of wood. Upon further inspection, it gives itself away as... more

whitespacecarpet
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Say "Goodbye" to Bluefin Tuna

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091105/sc_afp/environmentanimalfish_20091105180943 As the insistent beat of unregulated mass... more

Progresshiv
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Genetically modified organisms: Where is the science?

http://www.gmwatch.org/latest-listing/1-news-items/11655-where-is-the-science
What has been of particular interest in this and past debates on the subject is the way in which those who oppose GM crops are painted as being against science (see for instance, the editorial in The Hindu on 21 October, 2009 or Starved for Science by R Paarlberg). There is a blatant attempt by GM promoters to polarise the discussion and manufacture a science-vs.-antiscience debate. All those who oppose GM crops are neither anti-science nor luddites. Indeed, many scientists have been, and still are, critical of GM for a number of good reasons. Scientists and scientific academies, including the National Research Council of the US National Academy of Sciences, have expressed serious concerns regarding the scientific rigour of experiments and the impacts of GM crops, especially on biodiversity.

Those who support GM crops generally believe that science and technology can solve most problems, and see crops as requiring tinkering to improve agriculture. It is such short-term and piecemeal thinking that led to the excesses of the Green Revolution causing damage to soils, depletion of ground water and other harms to ecosystems. There are other supporters of GM who continue to believe that private production of goods and services is inherently superior to public ones, even as governments have been bailing out the private sector in the last year! And then there are those who have financial gains to make if the GM industry prospers.

Let me compare the GM debate with the other major scientific debate - global warming. While scientists who work on climate change and global warming rightly embrace the precautionary principle, many who work in the area of GM plant technologies abandon it altogether. A charitable explanation is that this may have to do with differing perceptions of risk in each case. Perhaps global warming is seen as a serious threat to the entire world, and GM crops may not be understood in the same way. Moreover, some benefits have been attributed to these crops by promoters, making it harder for people to reject them.

But while the naysayers of climate change have now been marginalised through more research and data, those who are concerned about GM crops have been silenced through smear campaigns launched against them. Some of the scientists, like Arpad Pusztai, who raised questions regarding the health effects of GM crops, have had their careers turned upside down. In order to learn about the tentacles and might of agribusiness, one must ask Ignacio Chapela from UC Berkeley about his gut-wrenching tenure battle, which followed his publication in Nature on the contamination of wild strains of Mexican maize by GM maize

The mere use of technology does not make an approach scientific, but this is a common fallacy even among scientists. Good science is characterised by transparency and falsifiability. These do not figure in GM. Instead, faith, the antithesis of science, features in a big way. There are few peer-reviewed journal articles on GM crops. When companies make claims about various positive contributions from their engineered crops, their statements cannot be verified or tested independently. Policymakers and even other scientists who work in the same area have to accept the results on faith.

Earlier this year, an anonymous public statement was signed and submitted to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) by 26 leading scientists, entomologists who work with insects that infect corn. It stated that scientists are unable to conduct independent research on GM crops as patents prevent full access to research materials and the ability to grow and study these plants. As a consequence, the scientists state, the data that the Scientific Advisory Panel of the EPA has available to it is unduly limited. This means the claims of GM proponents cannot be verified independently or indeed be falsified.

There is general agreement among scientists and academics on the adverse effects on biodiversity as a result of cross-pollination from engineered to non-engineered crops. Still, field trials for GM crops in unmarked areas blow caution and engineered pollen to the winds in closely cultivated fields in India.

The potential damage to human health from GM crops has been shown quite clearly in a few animal systems, but perhaps needs further study. There is good peer-reviewed published evidence to show that Bt toxins are both immunogens (a substance that provokes an immune response) and immunoadjuvants (a substance that enhances immune response) for mammals. Moreover, studies have shown that Bt toxins bind to the mammalian small intestine and have effects on its proper functioning. The concerns raised by the use of viral promoters, which are hotspots for genetic recombination, the use of antibiotic resistance genes, and strong gene promoters (sequences that facilitate the transcription of a gene) to ensure that the foreign genes are expressed, have already been highlighted by many scientists.

end of excerpt.http://www.gmwatch.org/latest-listing/1-news-items/11655-where-is-the-science What has been of particular interest in this and... more

JanforGore
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5 comments

23 hours ago

^#7

Can the old Animal Forest Park and Funland in York Beach, Maine follow a new sustainable path?

It would make my heart sing to be allowed, by the forces that be, to be able to help develop and renovate my father and his... more

CarolynGillis
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4 comments

8 hours ago

^#8

Sustainability, localism, community and the dignity of work: In praise of Wendell Berry

http://www.scholarsandrogues.com/2009/11/09/in-praise-of-wendell-berry/

hoosierdaddy
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1 comment

5 hours ago

^#9

"From Trees to T-issues: Raising Awareness on Our Beloved Trees" Picture

Excerpt: "By using a tissue box made from 100% recycled paper and the graphic of a tree, Koh is making an effort to help... more

lookatmypix
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0 comments

2 hours ago

^#10

Black Bag FAIL?

This is SO not a fail, sure the bag is green because its reusable... http://www.shipmentoffail.com/fails/2009/11/black-bag/

smurph25
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1 comment

12 hours ago

^#11

redesign the city: a look at urban permaculture

"If we speak of a healthy community, we cannot be speaking of a community that is merely human. We are talking about a... more

common_sense_allowed
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0 comments

22 hours ago

^#12

Stunning Pictures of Jellyfishes– Medusas

http://myamazingfact.blogspot.com/2009/11/stunning-pictures-of-jellyfishes.html

poojam
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1 comment

20 hours ago

^#13

10 Places to Help Find a Home for Your Writing

A number of websites and magazines have dedicated their time, money, and server space to help writers work through the publication... more

eva2
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0 comments

12 hours ago

^#14

Color blindness with the examples

http://www.coolcrack.com/2009/11/color-blindness-with-examples.html

chandu
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1 comment

21 hours ago

^#15

String of Genius - documentary rushes/sample footage

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9tjyAk78tU sample footage of our Documentary 'String of Genius' on luthier Pete... more

GlobalPunditOrg
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1 comment

17 hours ago

^#16

Melting glaciers jolt smokestack China

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article6907919.ece#cid=OTC-RSS&attr=797093 AS an expedition from Chinese... more

JanforGore
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6 comments

1 day ago

^#17

Giggle at china wall in hawaii

this speaks for itself :)

leahl
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0 comments

19 minutes ago

^#18

ANDREA Air Filter’s ‘Cleverness’ Highlights Human Stupidity And Excessiveness

The ANDREA air filter is designed to remove air pollutants naturally, but given the process by which it works may go down in... more

theauthor
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0 comments

6 hours ago

^#19

Pro-Animal Cruelty Activists and their Million Dollar Campaigns of Misinformation

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Due to a drop in support for heinous cruelty and slavery of our animal comrades suffering in laboratories, biomedical industry front group "The Foundation for Biomedical Research" has started a campaign to spread lies about the significance of the torture of nonhumans to humans.

Aside from the fact that these millions of dollars could be going to actual human based methods that could save lives- the campaign itself doesn't even have a shred of realism in it. Part of it involves putting up bill boards that say:

"Ever had leprosy? Thanks to animal research, you won’t."

Here's a little bit on how treatments for leprosy were developed. The first leprosy wonder-drug that worked in other animals quickly became useless in humans due to a resistance to its effectiveness. Another, clofazimine, found successes in vitro, so nonhuman animal suffering was not needed (even though they used them anyways). Rifamycin also showed promise in in vitro studies aside from it beig used in other animals. The need for nonhuman animals in the discovery of these drugs is completely fabricated.

Let's not forget that vivisection only ever came about due to the rule of the Catholic church and their insistence on making human cadaver dissection and other methods illegal. Oh so scientific!

Also keep in mind that the majority of animal testing is not done to cure diseases. It involves force feeding puppies household cleaning products or opening the heads of monkeys to record from brain cells. Animal testing is done to make money, to protect corporations from chemical and product toxicity suits, and to fulfill research interests of real life mad scientists will to learn what they wish to learn at any cost to human or nonhuman animal life.

On the bright side, the animal research medical-industrial complex is terrified. They're losing support every day and people are waking up to the reality of the cruel nature of nonhuman animal research as well as the detrimental effects it has on humans and the ecosystem. We must remain strong during this time as many of us do not have millions of dollars for bill boards. But, we do have the truth, solidarity, and compassion on our side. Keep it out there. Don't stop.

Other entries or news stories on this (see original link for links):

Please write about this as well. Feel free to add your link to the comments section and I will edit this entry to post it here.

http://arphilosophia.blogspot.com/2009/11/pro-animal-cruelty-activists-and-their.html... Due to a drop in support for heinous cruelty and slavery of our animal comrades suffering in laboratories, biomedical... more