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World's Largest Trash Heap Lies in the Ocean
The Great Pacific Garbage Dump Stretches From California to China
By DARCY BONFILS and IMAEYEN IBANGA
Aug. 6, 2008
The world's largest trash dump doesn't sit on some barren field outside an urban center. It resides thousands of miles from any land — in the Pacific Ocean.
Known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, the "dump" is composed mainly of plastic, which isn't biodegradable.
Instead, the plastic breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces in the patch that extends thousands of miles, from California's coast to China.
A series of currents in the Pacific Ocean create a circular effect that pulls debris from North America, Asia and the Hawaiian Islands into a toxic stew. Then it shoots it into a graveyard of 3.5 million tons of trash that's 80 percent plastic.
Moore said he has noticed an alarming trend. The quantities have increased dramatically — more than doubling in five years. And Moore said there is no reason to believe the trend will slow.
And the plastic isn't just floating around in the ocean; new evidence suggests it is making its way into wildlife.
"I found 26 pieces of plastic, all different colors inside one stomach," said marine researcher Christiana Boerger.
Birds also are making a meal of the plastic, and large quantities have been found in their stomachs.
But the biggest debate surrounding the patch isn't its existence or its environmental impact, but rather how to clean it up.
"The experts say there is no silver bullet. We are going to keep looking, but at the moment it is not clear what the best course of action would be to deal with the materials that are already there," said Steve Russell of the American Chemical Council.
Moore, the patch's discoverer, said it's virtually impossible to clean it up. He said that stopping it from growing may be the best approach, which also may prevent other ocean dumps from forming.
Beach cleanups and improved recycling could help.
"The planet is a closed system. So everything that happens on Earth stays on Earth," said Steve Fleischl, president of the Waterkeeper Alliance . "What we need to do is to accept responsibility at the local level and rescue the amount of plastic that comes down our waterways and into our ocean."
Check out the links below for more information on the garbage patch and ocean conservation.
http://www.algalita.org/
http://www.oceanconservancy.org/site/PageServer?pagenam...
http://www.waterkeeper.org/ The Great Pacific Garbage Dump Stretches From California to China By DARCY BONFILS and IMAEYEN IBANGA Aug. 6, 2008 ... more -
How Monsanto really makes GMOs
GMO's are made by manipulation of extremely deadly viruses & bacteria that have been engineered to be IMMUNE TO ANTIBIOTICS, such as E. coli (Pause video at 8:08). Monsanto spends millions of dollars each month to "sugar" coat and hide the truth of what they are doing or what is really behind how GMO's are made.
This video straight-forwardly explains the scientific facts how Monsanto manufactures their GMO's (Genetically Modified Organisms) by removing all the corporate propaganda, the "smoke & mirrors" if you will.
**Please be warned, the once the mask is removed from what you are eating & feeding your children each day, it will outrage you and shock you to the core.
Monsanto's greed combined with their quest to totally monopolize all aspects of food on the planet, has knowingly allowed the proverbial Reaper free upon the world.
GMO's are now acting much like the deadly virus and pre-cancer cells they are made from... by infecting other organisms that were once pure and healthy.
The people of the world should be demanding Monsanto be held for crimes against humanity for the atrocities they have committed and what can be reasonably seen as the start of the end to all life as we know it.
The Bee's disappearance is in perfect unison with the time line of Monsanto's release of GMO's; this can not be argued but due to Monsanto's influence of corruption in governments across the globe, any scientist that tries to inform the public and raise the alarm about the Bee's & GMO's is destroyed financially, as well as their careers'.
Monsanto is the MOST ruthless corporation in the world, which basically controls many governments due to their near limitless resources, money and their "campaign contributions".
They buy WHO they need and crush those that try to stand in their way.
Now that you know, what will you do?
Will YOU decided to fight, right now, this very day or will you put it off for some other time?
After watching these videos, will you also knowingly look the other way and FEED your family GM foods; even though you now know you could be killing or permanently harming your child/family??? If so, call Monsanto for a job, for you have disgraced and shamed yourself for knowingly poisoning the people you claim to love and PROTECT!
....BUT
If you are OUTRAGED at Monsanto's poisoning our food, milk (see my other video on milk!) and health; Please do the following actions, do them once a week... make a difference:
1) Call and WRITE (pen & paper) you're Legislators
(Emails are the very last thing you should do; most are scanned by software and are blocked/deleted when they contain certain key words. This is a fact.)
Demand:
2) That they FULLY endorse: "H.R. 6636 GENETICALLY ENGINEERED FOOD RIGHT TO KNOW ACT"
3) An immediate moratorium on all GMO's and their Byproducts!
4) FDA change their findings on GMO's being "Generally Recognized As Safe"! This was done with ZERO testing by the FDA!
5) Demand a full investigation into the criminal conflicts of interest as it pertains to the head personal of Monsanto and the FDA being one in the same.
6) Demand congress pass a "whistle blowers protection" for all professional scientists so that Corporations, Universities and Colleges can no longer manipulate their research.
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This is the description of the video written by the member who uploaded it. I concur with it. We need to wake up. Now. GMO's are made by manipulation of extremely deadly viruses & bacteria that have been engineered to be IMMUNE TO ANTIBIOTICS, ... more -
Monsanto and Michael Pollan talk about creating a world that can feed itself
This is like 36 minutes long, but it's definitely worth watching...
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Just When You Thought It was Safe to Feed Your Dog
The ASPCA just posted a list of dog foods that are tainted or dangerous. Check to be sure none of these dog foods are in your pup's pantry! The ASPCA just posted a list of dog foods that are tainted or dangerous. Check to be sure none of these dog foods are in your pup... more
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World leaders recommit to poverty goals
World leaders recommitted themselves to reducing global poverty, pledging an estimated $16 billion in aid, but France said rich countries were strapped by a spreading crisis in financial markets.
While some of the money had been previously announced, there were new commitments for malaria and education, including $168 million by Microsoft founder Bill Gates for research to develop malaria vaccines.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said if verified, the $16 billion figure "would be all the more remarkable because it comes against the backdrop of financial crisis."
The meeting of governments, the private sector and development agencies sought to assess progress of universally agreed Millennium Development Goals to halve global poverty by 2015 and identify next steps.
"The last few days have re-injected momentum which must sweep on, collecting more support as it swells," activist and rock star Bono told Reuters. "Even in these tough times, this historic promise has never been more important to keep."
As the financial turmoil weighed on the meeting, Ban said a partnership between governments, the private sector and charitable groups "is the way of the future."
Ban said the global food crisis was far from over. He said updated figures show 75 million more people now faced hunger, lifting the total figure to well above 900 million.
Earlier, he pressed countries to be generous.
"The current financial crisis threatens the well-being of billions of people, none more so than the poorest of the poor," Ban said. "This compounds the damage being caused by much higher prices for food and fuel."
But French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said it was "sort of unfair" to talk about poverty goals when Western countries were battling a credit crisis.
Asked if France would announce new funding commitments for countries to reach the poverty goals, Kouchner told reporters: "No, for the time being we are really restricted.
"That's why this is so difficult to face at the same time this crisis, with the so limited growth, and promising to the people to get more money for development. This is not true," he said. "We are lying."
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, however, appealed to rich countries not to use the financial crisis as an excuse for not helping the poor.
"This would be the worst time to turn back," he said.
SPREADING FINANCIAL CRISIS
While there has been progress in developing countries in Asia and Latin America, the United Nations has said not a single African country is on track to reach all of the targets set out in the Millennium Development Goals.
Ban said this week the fight against poverty can be won if rich countries provide some $72 billion a year.
World Bank President Robert Zoellick said he worried the financial crisis could quickly spread to developing nations, already reeling from higher food and fuel prices.
Developing country leaders expressed concern that the anti-poverty goals were beyond their reach, and urged wealthy nations to act firmly to ensure the crisis did not spread.
"We believe that the world's leading countries should act more responsibly in order to mitigate the consequences of the global financial, food and energy crises," Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon told the U.N. General Assembly.
Still, Ban said success in reducing malaria in Africa showed that with well-targeted funding efforts could pay off.
"We are close to containing this scourge," Ban said. "What we are doing with malaria, we should do with education, maternal health, climate and agriculture." (Additional reporting by Claudia Parsons and Patrick Worsnip, Editing by Doina Chiacu) World leaders recommitted themselves to reducing global poverty, pledging an estimated $16 billion in aid, but France said rich countr... more -
Zimbabwe children eating toxic roots, rats, says aid agency
Children in Zimbabwe are eating rats and inedible roots riddled with toxic parasites to stave off hunger because of chronic food shortages, an aid agency said on Thursday.
Save the Children said the most vulnerable faced starvation unless they get food aid in the next couple of weeks.
"The rising malnutrition and the rise in diseases are going to mean that children will die and we have to act very fast," said Sarah Jacobs, a spokeswoman for the relief group.
The United Nations had said previously that more than 5 million people in Zimbabwe would need food aid by early next year after a poor harvest compounded by economic turmoil.
Jacobs said many people in the Zambezi Valley, the poorest and driest area, were now surviving on a vile-tasting, fibrous root called makuri.
"It's got no nutritional value whatsoever. It tastes disgusting and it also has a parasite which attaches to it which is toxic," said Jacobs, who has just returned from the region.
"This is all they have to eat. You see babies eating it and toddlers eating it, and it's not digestible. It creates terrible stomach pains."
People were eating anything to survive, she said. She had come across one child who had died after eating a poisonous root and young children eating tiny rats they caught in their huts.
Save the Children and other agencies are resuming work after Zimbabwe's government lifted a ban on their operations at the end of August.
President Robert Mugabe imposed the ban before a run-off presidential election in June, accusing the agencies of supporting the opposition. But Save the Children said in reality many agencies had not been able to work in the field since the first election round in March.
The agency, which has launched a 5 million pound ($9.2 million) appeal for emergency operations in Zimbabwe, said the situation had got much worse in the past few months and that rampant inflation meant even people with jobs would need food aid.
"People's ways of coping have been completely exhausted. People are saying they're scared they're going to die within weeks if food doesn't come," Jacobs said.
"We really are playing catch up. It's a huge humanitarian job now and there has to be much more money than there has ever been before."
AIDS/HIV
Jacobs said many children had diarrhoea after eating makuri, which was particularly dangerous in a situation where there was no proper clean water or sanitation.
The lack of nutrition had also weakened people's immune systems and left them vulnerable to illness just before the rainy season when cases of malaria and cholera increase.
There have already been suspected cases of cholera even though the disease does not usually appear until the rains arrive in October.
Save the Children said proper nutrition was particularly vital for those with HIV/AIDS, which effects one in five adults in Zimbabwe.
The food crisis has also caused many children to drop out of school either because they could not afford to go, needed to work or look for food, or because their teachers could not afford the journey to work. Children in Zimbabwe are eating rats and inedible roots riddled with toxic parasites to stave off hunger because of chronic food short... more -
Almond growers sue USDA to halt mandatory fumigation of raw almonds
After having their organic almond businesses devastated by the USDA's bizarre decision requiring mandatory chemical fumigation of almonds, the almond industry is fighting back. Fifteen American almond growers have filed a lawsuit against the USDA in an attempt to repeal the requirements that all almonds grown in California be fumigated or pasteurized. (Virtually all almonds sold in the United States are grown in California.)
Since the USDA's ruling in 2007, organic almond growers in California have been economically devastated by the mandatory fumigation of almonds. Because USDA rules don't apply to almonds being imported from other countries, however, the industry has seen a huge shift away from U.S. growers and towards almond growers in Spain and other countries. Some American almond farmers have even called the USDA's decision "a plan to destroy the U.S. almond industry and put small organic farmers out of business."
The USDA's plot to deceive consumers over "raw"
The mandatory almond fumigation requirement is seen by health-conscious consumers as not merely bizarre, but downright fraudulent. That's because the USDA's regulations allow fumigated and pasteurized almonds to be labeled "raw," thereby intentionally deceiving the consuming public and instantly destroying consumer trust in the labeling of all almonds.
By any honest measure, the people making these decisions at the USDA can only be described as either idiotic or criminal. To enforce regulations requiring the intentional mislabeling of raw food seems more like the actions of a criminal racket than a government agency. While online pharmacies selling mislabeled pharmaceuticals are routinely raided and shut down by U.S. authorities, when the government itself engages in similar deceptions, it declares itself above the law and immune to prosecution.
This lawsuit by U.S. almonds growers aims to overturn the USDA's deception. These fraudulent actions on the part of the USDA have generated an enormous amount of criticism from the raw food community, whose members depend on almonds to make raw almond milk, raw almond "burgers" and other raw foods preparations. As leaders of the raw foods movement rightly insist, fumigating or pasteurizing nuts destroys as much as 90 percent of their original nutritional value, altering proteins and destroying disease-fighting phytonutrients. The USDA, however, remains remarkably illiterate on this topic, have never made a single statement acknowledging any qualitative difference between cooked foods and raw foods.
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However, the USDA doesn't require this of almonds imported from other countries, only the almonds grown here, mostly from California. Why does the USDA seem to hate the American farmer so much? GM foods, irradiation, and now this. If I didn't know any better, I would say they were out to destroy the livelihoods of American farmers. And again, we have the deceptive description regarding pasteurized nuts as raw with a lack of scientific backup. Is there no end to it? After having their organic almond businesses devastated by the USDA's bizarre decision requiring mandatory chemical fumigation of... more -
What the Chemical Industry Doesn't Want You to Know about Everyday Products
The chemical industry has spent years trying to suppress information about a certain chemical. Will Congress help the public know the true dangers?
It takes a lot of nerve to go up against the $3 trillion-a-year global chemical industry.
Ask University of Missouri-Columbia scientists Frederick Vom Saal and Wade Welshons. They've been in the industry's crosshairs for more than a decade, since their experiments turned up the first hard evidence that miniscule amounts of bisphenol A (BPA), an artificial sex hormone and integral component of a vast array of plastic products, caused irreversible changes in the prostates of fetal mice.
Their findings touched off a steady drumbeat that has led to a ban on BPA-laden baby bottles in Canada, mounting support for a similar ban in the U.S., major retailers pulling plastic products off their shelves, a consumer run on glass baby bottles and a blizzard of scientific reports raising increasingly disturbing questions about the chemical's dangers at the trace levels to which people are routinely exposed.
But back in early 1997, when the Missouri team produced its pioneering research on low-dose BPA, challenging the chemical-industrial complex seemed quixotic, even risky. Soon after the report appeared, a scientist from Dow Chemical Company, a major BPA manufacturer, showed up at the Missouri lab, disputed the data and declared, as Vom Saal recalls, "We want you to know how distressed we are by your research."
"It was not a subtle threat," Vom Saal says. "It was really, really clear, and we ended up saying, threatening us is really not a good idea."
The Missouri scientists redoubled their investigations of BPA and churned out more evidence of low-dose BPA toxicity to the reproductive systems of test animals. Industry officials and scientist allies fired back, sometimes in nose-to-nose debates at scientific gatherings, sometimes more insidiously.
"I heard [chemical industry officials] were making blatantly false statements about our research," says Welshons. "They were skilled at creating doubt when none existed."
On at least one occasion, the industry tried to mute Vom Saal's increasingly insistent voice. In 2001, according to three knowledgeable sources, a representative of the American Chemistry Council, the industry trade group, called an official at the Washington-based Society for Women's Health Research (SWHR) to urge that Vom Saal be barred from the dais at an upcoming convocation at Stanford University. Society scientific director Sherry Martz says the industry spokesman objected to Vom Saal's appearance at the prestigious event on grounds that his work was "very controversial, and not everybody believes what he's saying."
"Our response," says Martz, "was no."
By that time, Vom Saal, Welshons and their Missouri colleagues realized that they had a tiger by the tail. The financial stakes were mind-boggling. The global chemical industry produces about 6 billion pounds of BPA annually, generating at least $6 billion in annual sales. The value of BPA-based manufactured goods, from cell phones and computers to epoxy coatings and dental bindings, is probably incalculable. Though scientists have known since the 1930s that BPA mimics estrogen in the body, for unrelated reasons, the chemical serves as an essential building block of hard, clear polycarbonate plastics and tough epoxy resins, ubiquitous materials in the modern world.
"It's probably the largest volume endocrine-disrupting chemical in commerce," says Vom Saal. "This stuff is in everything." Because plastics made with BPA break down easily when heated, microwaved, washed with strong detergents or wrapped around acidic foods like tomatoes, trace amounts of the potent hormone leach into food from epoxy lacquer can linings, polycarbonate bottles and other plastic food packaging.
Environmental Working Group studies have found BPA in more than half the canned foods **********CONTINUES************ The chemical industry has spent years trying to suppress information about a certain chemical. Will Congress help the public know the ... more -
Nonstick cookware chemicals found in human breast milk
Toxic chemicals used in nonstick coatings and stain-resistant fabrics were found in the breast milk of every woman tested in a recent study conducted by researchers from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
Researchers tested the milk from 45 different nursing mothers for two different varieties of perflourinated compounds (PFCs): perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), also known as C8. PFOA is used in nonstick coatings such as Teflon, while PFOS is an ingredient in stain-resistant fabric.
PFCs were found in the milk of every woman tested, at an average concentration of 131 billionths of a gram of PFOS and 44 billionths of a gram of PFOA per liter.
The researchers said that this concentration would expose infants to PFC levels below the maximum set by the British Food Standards Agency Committee, but noted that infants may also be exposed to PFCs from other sources.
"Breast milk should be considered as an additional source of PFCs when determining a child's [total] exposure," researcher Kathleen Arcaro said.
She urged parents to keep in mind that breastfeeding still provides important nutritional and immune system benefits to infants.
The researchers also found that concentrations of PFCs in the milk of women who were nursing for the first time actually increased during the first six months of nursing.
"This may be related to increased food intake to meet the energy demands of nursing, and changes in food consumption patterns," said Arcaro. "In a Canadian study, diet was shown to contribute 61 percent of a person's total daily [PFC] intake." Toxic chemicals used in nonstick coatings and stain-resistant fabrics were found in the breast milk of every woman tested in a recent ... more -
Chinese baby milk scare 'severe'
The number of Chinese babies known to have fallen ill with kidney stones as a result of contaminated milk powder has risen to 432, officials have announced.
"This is a severe food safety accident," health ministry official Gao Qiang, said. Those responsible would be "severely" punished, he added.
Later, it was announced that 19 people had been arrested.
Tests showed the milk powder contained the industrial chemical melamine. One infant has died.
The new scare revived memories of a fake baby milk formula scandal four years ago in which at least 13 babies died.
Vow to punish
"As of 12 September, there are 432 cases of kidney stones in the urinary systems of infants according to reports from health departments nationwide," Gao Qiang said.
"None of the milk powder was exported to other countries or regions," Mr Gao said.
"Only a fraction of the milk powder was sold to Taiwan for food processing," he added.
Gao Qiang said the Sanlu Group had been ordered to halt production after its products were found to be responsible.
"We will severely punish and discipline those people and workers who have acted illegally," Mr Gao said.
Melamine is a toxic chemical used in plastics, fertilisers and cleaning products.
New Zealand-based dairy product company Fonterra Cooperative Group Ltd, a part-owner of Sanlu, ordered a recall of about 700 tonnes of powder contaminated with melamine believed to be in circulation.
Melamine has been used by Chinese suppliers of animal feed components to make them appear to have more protein.
It was linked to the formation of kidney stones and kidney failure in pets in the United States last year, leading to thousands of deaths and illnesses.
A fake milk powder scandal in 2004 killed at least 13 babies in the eastern province of Anhui.
Investigators found that the milk given to these babies had no nutritional value, and the resulting scandal triggered widespread investigations into food safety. The number of Chinese babies known to have fallen ill with kidney stones as a result of contaminated milk powder has risen to 432, off... more -
Scarce water in Argentina threatened by Barrick gold mine
Tearing mountains apart, destroying indigenous lands, polluting scarce water sources, for what? A few pieces of shiny metal excavated in a greedy material world where the metal means more than the lives and environment ruined by it.
From the article:
For nearly a year and a half, local residents in the northwestern Argentine province of La Rioja have been blocking the road that climbs up to the Nevados de Famatina mountain to protest a gold mining project that they say will pollute the water in the country’s driest district.
"The mountain is our only source of water, and it regulates the region’s climate," said Marcela Crabbé, a shopkeeper in Chilecito, a city of 45,000 located 30 km from Nevados de Famatina. "One hundred years ago this was a mining zone, but that left the area neither gold nor progress, just a huge environmental debt," she told IPS.
Chilecito and Famatina -- a town of less than 8,000 people located 20 km from the mountain it takes its name from -- are in the northern part of La Rioja, in the foothills of the Andes mountains, some 1,200 km northwest of Buenos Aires.
More than 2,000 people took part in the latest protest against the mine, earlier this month.
Criss-crossed by dry river beds, and with virtually no surface water, La Rioja is Argentina’s most arid province. It obtains its water from wells more than 200 metres deep, and from mountains like the 6,250-metre Nevados de Famatina, which provide water during the thaw period. If this melt water is polluted, the very survival of the two nearby towns would be in danger.
La Rioja Governor Luis Beder Herrera himself acknowledged this month that the province’s biggest problem is the lack of water: "We are the only province which practically has no rivers; water means everything for us." Nevertheless, his administration has promoted mining activity.
"I don't understand people who say we are going to pollute," said the governor. "I don't know of a single case of people who have died of this famous pollution. They are trying to scare people, but we aren't going to bring this to a halt."
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Their only source of water. Tearing mountains apart, destroying indigenous lands, polluting scarce water sources, for what? A few pieces of shiny metal excavated ... more -
Don't believe the GMO apologists
Avarice and greed in the name of exploiting a food crisis brought on not by food shortages, but high prices of oil and feed and political corruption propagated by the very governments and agencies like the World Bank that are now pushing GM foods that are untested. Notice a pattern here?
From the article:
Arguments about genetic modification, often wrongly characterised as science versus irrational nature-worshippers, have lost none of their passion. On one side are those who yearn for simple, high-tech solutions to complex problems. Against GM, there are ecological realities and scientific evidence. There is overwhelming evidence that farming took a wrong turn after the last war, with widespread use of artificial nitrogen fertilisers and sprays.
In Britain, we lost up to 95 per cent of our ancient woodlands, flower meadows, hedges and wildlife and saw massive losses of farms and farm workers' jobs. Farming became more oil-dependent. Our food lost vitamins, taste and diversity and our diet became unhealthy.
As the environmental and human cost of industrial farming became harder to deny, along came a new miracle cure ; genetic engineering. Twenty years ago, GM promised unbelievable wonders ; fruit that would never freeze, crops needing no fertiliser or sprays and food with vitamins and medicines engineered in. All food would soon be GM. Geneticists would engineer anything we wanted, taking a gene from a fish here, a pig there, adding a bacteria gene and maybe a bit of a virus.
The greatest coup by the GM companies, and their greatest scientific fraud, was to ensure no GM food had to be tested for safety. In America, they established the concept of "substantial equivalence" which means that if a GM crop looks like its non-GM equivalent and grows like it, then it is it no safety testing is needed before people eat it. GM maize could have added virus and antibiotic resistance genes, and a gene that makes it express an insecticide in every leaf, stem and root but to the US government it looks and grows like maize, so it is safe to eat.
GM crops face mounting scientific evidence of uncertainty, risk and danger. But now, because of rising food prices, the GM industry's claim that GM is needed to feed the world is suddenly newsworthy again. However, a key reason for soaring food prices higher oil costs leading to higher fertiliser prices also presents a massive threat to GM crops. All current and planned GM crops depend on artificial, oil-based fertiliser to grow, and all need to be treated with pesticides to survive.
In 2006, the pro-GM US Department of Agriculture observed that "currently available GM crops do not increase yield potential" a point already made by a 2004 UN Food and Agriculture Organisation report which acknowledged that "GM crops can have reduced yields". The recently published UN IAASTD report, the work of more than 400 international scientists, about the future of global food production under the challenges of climate change and population pressure, concluded that GM crops do not have much to offer.
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GM foods: 'un'natural selection. Avarice and greed in the name of exploiting a food crisis brought on not by food shortages, but high prices of oil and feed and politi... more -
Ever wondered where your old tv's and computers go?
Containers full of e-waste arrive by ship from Europe, North America and Japan and find their way onto dumps such as this one in Agbogbloshie market in Ghana's capital Accra.
"Many of the chemicals released are highly toxic, some may affect children's developing reproductive systems, while other can affect brain development and the nervous system," said Dr Kevin Brigden of Greenpeace International. Containers full of e-waste arrive by ship from Europe, North America and Japan and find their way onto dumps such as this one in Agbog... more -
Plastics suspect in lobster illness
The search for what causes a debilitating shell disease affecting lobsters from Long Island Sound to Maine has led one Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) visiting scientist to suspect environmental alkyphenols, formed primarily by the breakdown of hard transparent plastics.
Preliminary evidence from the lab of Hans Laufer suggests that certain concentrations of alkyphenols may be interfering with the ability of lobsters to develop tough shells. Instead, the shells are weakened, leaving affected lobsters susceptible to the microbial invasions characteristic of the illness.
"Lobsters 'know' when their shell is damaged, and that's probably the reason when they have shell disease, why they molt more quickly," says Laufer, a visiting investigator at the MBL for over 20 years and professor emeritus of molecular and cell biology at the University of Connecticut. "But ultimately, they still come down with the disease. And we think the presence of alkyphenols contributes to that."
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Yet, how many plastic bottles and other plastic items will wind up in our waterways today alone? Our convenience and apathy are poisoning the Earth and those species who live on it, including ourselves. Not very bright. The search for what causes a debilitating shell disease affecting lobsters from Long Island Sound to Maine has led one Marine Biologic... more -
Toxic teddy bears: Harrods recalls hundreds of toys
Harrods is recalling hundreds of teddy bears that contain potentially harmful levels of formaldehyde.
Apparently, the 2008 Christmas teddy bears' foot pads contain too much of the chemical that has been linked to cancer, can cause skin irritations, headaches and other health problems. Toddlers with sensitive skin and asthma are particularly at risk.
Harrods sent a letter to customers who bought the bears last month and recalled the 8 in Michael bear and the 13 in Elliott bear, which cost between £15 and £25.
Trading standards officers spotted the problem after 800 of the soft toys, which are collectors items, had been sold. Harrods is recalling hundreds of teddy bears that contain potentially harmful levels of formaldehyde. ... more -
GMO containment?
The CBC's national news takes a look at how GM crops are being monitored in Canada.
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Elixir of the Toxic Frog
Current's Mariana van Zeller heads to the Brazilian Amazon to search for the fabled Kambo frog, one of many organisms that could hold secrets for modern medicine. But are other potential cures being lost before they can be discovered? Current's Mariana van Zeller heads to the Brazilian Amazon to search for the fabled Kambo frog, one of many organisms that could ... more
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Cow gas curdling climate? :: PostStar.com
CHICAGO - Burgeoning efforts to curb global-warming pollution are taking aim at an unlikely new target: the placid, cud-chewing cow.
Scientists have long known that cattle and other livestock are a major contributor to climate change worldwide, and although researchers, regulators and activists have devoted most of their attention to other culprits -- such as cars and coal-fired power plants -- that is starting to change.
As dairy and beef cows chew and rechew their feed, their belches and other, er, gastric eruptions produce enormous quantities of methane, a greenhouse gas 23 times more potent than carbon dioxide.
All that cow flatulence is bad enough, but clearing forests for pastures and the manufacturing of fertilizers to grow cattle feed produce even more greenhouse gases. When those sources are considered, the United Nations estimates that the world's livestock system is a bigger part of the problem than transportation.
The impact is great enough that researchers are stepping up efforts to limit bovine burps by tinkering with cattle feed. Some large dairies, including three in Illinois, are pumping the millions of gallons of manure they produce into bacteria-filled tanks that capture methane and use it to generate electricity.
Changes are quietly taking place at supermarkets and dinner tables, too. Bon Appetit Management Co., which operates 400 cafes at universities, museums and corporate offices in the U.S., is pushing to cut the firm's greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent, in part by limiting the amount of beef and cheese served.
[more at the link] CHICAGO - Burgeoning efforts to curb global-warming pollution are taking aim at an unlikely new target: the placid, cud-chewing cow. ... more -
Martian soil may contain detrimental substance
LOS ANGELES - NASA's Phoenix spacecraft has detected the presence of a chemically reactive salt in the Martian soil, a finding that if confirmed could make it less friendly to potential life than once believed.
Scientists previously reported that the soil near Mars' north pole was similar to backyard gardens on Earth where plants such as asparagus, green beans and turnips could grow. But preliminary results from a second lab test found perchlorate, a highly oxidizing salt, that would create a harsh environment.
The first test "suggested Earth-like soil. Further analysis has revealed un-Earthlike aspects of the soil chemistry," chief scientist Peter Smith of the University of Arizona in Tucson said in a statement Monday.
On Earth, perchlorate is a natural and manmade contaminant sometimes found in soil and groundwater. It is the main ingredient in solid rocket fuel and can be found in fireworks, pyrotechnics and other explosives.
It's unclear how perchlorate forms on Mars or how much there is of it. NASA is investigating whether the substance could have gotten there by contamination before launch. Phoenix used another fuel, hydrazine, to power its thrusters and land on the red planet on May 25.
Phoenix detected the salt through a chemistry experiment. The lander mixed soil with water brought from Earth into a teacup-size beaker and stirred it. Two dozen sensors inside the beaker detect the soil's pH and probe for traces of mineral nutrients.
The first test determined the soil was slightly alkaline and contained nutrients such as magnesium, sodium, potassium and chloride necessary for living things. The second test found the highly reactive perchlorate.
Scientists want to confirm their results because another Phoenix instrument that bakes and sniffs soil samples found no evidence of perchlorate during a run on Sunday.
Brown University geologist John Mustard, who has no role in the mission, said judgment about the soil's potential to support life should be reserved until all the data are in.
But at first glance, "it is a reactive compound. It's not usually considered an ingredient for life," Mustard said.
The latest soil finding comes less than a week after NASA extended Phoenix's three-month mission by another five weeks through the end of September.
Since arriving at Mars, the three-legged lander has impressed scientists by confirming that ice exists in the Martian arctic plains. Its main task is to study whether the landing site could be a habitable zone for primitive life forms to emerge. LOS ANGELES - NASA's Phoenix spacecraft has detected the presence of a chemically reactive salt in the Martian soil, a finding th... more -
Burning joss sticks causes cancer just like smoking, study shows
Burning joss sticks fills the air with cancer-causing toxins that are every bit as deadly as traffic fumes and cigarette smoke, according to a study in Thailand.
Dr Manoon Leechawengwong, who has just completed a two-year study of temple workers tasked with clearing the smouldering sticks, found the cocktail of chemicals in the smoke put them at risk of leukaemia, lung, blood and bladder cancers.
“One joss stick creates the same amount of cancer-causing chemicals at one cigarette,” said Dr Manoon, who led the research. “I knew there would be some carcinogens, but I was surprised by the levels.”
Joss sticks are a type of incense used in worship in many Asian countries. In Buddhism they are believed to aid spiritual communication and serve as an offering.
Dr Manoon’s study was conducted among 40 workers in three temples at Ayutthaya, Chachoengsao and Samut Prakan, sites chosen deliberately far from Bangkok’s traffic pollution. The findings were compared with another 25 people living in a joss-stick free environment.
Temple workers were exposed to high levels of benzene, also known as petroleum ether, related to leukaemia; butadiene involved in blood cancer; and benzo[a]pyrene that can cause lung, bladder and skin cancers.
The level of benzene in the temple workers was four times higher than normal, butadiene was 260 times higher, and benzo[a]pyrene - the most dangerous carcinogen - 63 times greater.
Analysis of the temple workers blood and urine samples discovered damage to their DNA, with a correspondingly lower capacity of their bodies to repair that damage.
“We know from our study that there’s DNA damage,” said Dr Manoon. “But what we don’t know is if they will develop cancer. Certainly they have a greater risk. It’s like smoking. Not all smokers get cancer, it’s about 20% .”
Should incense sticks carry a health warning just like cigarettes? Has your valiant attempt to quit smoking been thwarted by the ill effects of your hippy joss stick habit? Burning joss sticks fills the air with cancer-causing toxins that are every bit as deadly as traffic fumes and cigarette smoke, accord... more
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