ApocaDocuments (15) for the "Biology Breach" scenario from this week
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Sun, Sep 21, 2008
from London Independent:
Mobile phone use 'raises children's risk of brain cancer fivefold'
Children and teenagers are five times more likely to get brain cancer if they use mobile phones, startling new research indicates.
The study, experts say, raises fears that today's young people may suffer an "epidemic" of the disease in later life. At least nine out of 10 British 16-year-olds have their own handset, as do more than 40 per cent of primary schoolchildren. ...
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Maybe if they just text they'll only get thumb cancer.
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Sun, Sep 21, 2008
from Charleston Post and Courier:
Depleted striper stock sends rumors swirling
As the prized striped bass mysteriously disappeared from the Marion-Moultrie lakes, a rumor whispered from fisherman to fisherman: tributyltin.
A disastrous spill of the chemical in 2000 from a tin plant near Lexington killed all the animals and plants nearby in a creek that feeds the Congaree River in Columbia. Later that same year, the same chemical was spilled from another plant into the river upstream. Within two years, state biologists were confronting the depletion of the catch in the lakes downstream. ...
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The fishermen must whisper it because it's too dangerous to say outloud.
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Sat, Sep 20, 2008
from AP News:
Scientists monitor growing Lake Erie algae bloom
Giant floating fields of algae are back in strength this year on Lake Erie and scientists are trying to figure out why.
The blooms of the pea-soup colored algae -- so big they've been showing on satellite photos -- are toxic to fish and small animals and irritating to humans. The lake once notorious for its pollution is cleaner than ever, yet the algae continues to thrive.... "It's now blooming in the proportions that it was in the bad old days of the 1960s and early '70s," Bridgeman said. "There's a mystery to it because the lake seemed to be getting cleaner, but now the algal blooms are worse." ...
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Someday, someday Lake Erie will really be clean. It may be, however, long after we're all dead.
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Sat, Sep 20, 2008
from Toronto Globe and Mail:
Humanity at risk: Are the males going first?
Something is happening to today's boys and men: Fewer are being born compared with girls, they're having more trouble in school, virility and fertility are down and testicular cancer rates are up. Now, scientists say these 'fragile males' may be more vulnerable than females to pollutants, affecting their development as early as the womb. If so, writes Martin Mittelstaedt, it could be a bigger threat to our future than global warming... ...
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Since population reduction is key to recovery, is this such a bad thing?
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Fri, Sep 19, 2008
from National Research Council, via EurekAlert:
Marine debris will likely worsen in the 21st century
Current measures to prevent and reduce marine debris are inadequate, and the problem will likely worsen, says a new congressionally mandated report from the National Research Council. The United States and the international maritime community should adopt a goal of "zero discharge" of waste into the marine environment, and a system to assess the effectiveness of existing and future marine debris prevention and reduction actions should be implemented. In addition, better leadership, coordination, and integration of mandates and resources are needed, as responsibilities for preventing and mitigating marine debris are scattered across federal organizations and management regimes. ...
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Maybe "zero discharge" would slow the growth of that Pacific Gyre of trash....
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Fri, Sep 19, 2008
from Purdue University, via EurekAlert:
'Buckyballs' have high potential to accumulate in living tissue
Research at Purdue University suggests synthetic carbon molecules called fullerenes, or buckyballs, have a high potential of being accumulated in animal tissue, but the molecules also appear to break down in sunlight, perhaps reducing their possible environmental dangers.... Findings indicated buckyballs have a greater chance of partitioning into fatty tissues than the banned pesticide DDT. However, while DDT is toxic to wildlife, buckyballs currently have no documented toxic effects, Jafvert said. ...
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There's only a nanochance of toxic effects!
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Thu, Sep 18, 2008
from American Society of Agronomy:
Nitrate Concentrations of Ground Water Increasing in Many Areas of the United States
Nitrate is the most common chemical contaminant in the world's ground water, including in aquifers used for drinking-water supply. Nitrate in drinking water of the United States is regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) because of concerns related to infant health and possible cancer risks. Use of man-made synthetic fertilizers has steadily increased since World War II, raising the potential for increased nitrate contamination of the nation's ground water, despite efforts in recent decades to improve land-management practices. ...
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Wait -- you mean we put it there?
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Thu, Sep 18, 2008
from Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research:
Significant increase in alien plants in Europe
The number of alien plant species has more than tripled over the last 25 years. This is the finding of a study by European scientists who evaluated the data from 48 European countries and regions. 5789 plant species were classified as alien. 2843 originating outside of Europe, according to the researchers and their publication in the journal Preslia. By contrast, in 1980 only 1568 alien species were registered. Of these, 580 had come from outside Europe.... New species that bring about long-term changes to ecosystems by e.g. competing with native species, are regarded as one of the greatest threats to biodiversity. ...
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Is it a melting pot, or just a new kind of stew?
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Thu, Sep 18, 2008
from Marketwatch:
Nationwide Consumer Class Action Lawsuit Filed in Georgia Against Baby Bottle Manufacturers
On September 12, 2008, Rights For America attorneys... filed a consumer class action complaint on behalf of four Georgia families against the top four polycarbonate plastic baby bottle manufacturers for their use of the synthetic hormone known as Bisphenol-A (BPA) as a chemical component in their plastic baby bottles and toddler training cups. Bisphenol-A, also referred to as "BPA" was developed in the 1930s as a synthetic estrogen, but instead gained wide usage beginning in the 1950s for its rigid and shatterproof qualities in scores of plastic products, including baby bottles and children's training cups. Unfortunately, over 150 independent peer reviewed studies by the world's leading scientists and researchers in this area have repeated shown that BPA can activate estrogen receptors that lead to the same effects as the body's own estrogens. ...
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We need tort reform. Those babies should be able to sue for themselves.
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Thu, Sep 18, 2008
from Australian Broadcasting Corporation:
Contaminated milk crisis worsens in China
The contaminated milk powder crisis in China continues to worsen and drag New Zealand's dairy company Fonterra into the scandal.
More than 6000 babies are sick, three have died and 150 have serious kidney failure after drinking milk powder that had been deliberately contaminated with melamine, a toxic substance used in plastics.
The Chinese Government has admitted its dairy market is "chaotic" and has ordered a national testing program. ...
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Plasticizing our infants' insides?
Just hardening them for the vicissitudes of life.
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Tue, Sep 16, 2008
from US News and World Report:
Heart Disease, Diabetes Linked to Chemical in Plastics
It turns out, though, that adults may be at risk, too. A landmark study of more than 1,400 people ages 18 to 74, published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that those with the largest amount of BPA in their urine had nearly three times the risk of heart disease and more than twice the risk of diabetes as those who had the lowest levels. "Even those with the highest BPA levels still had levels way below the currently established 'safe' level," says David Melzer, an epidemiologist at the University of Exeter in England and coauthor of the study. Other researchers say there's enough evidence from previous animal studies to suggest that BPA is harmful to adults. ...
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The future: plastics.
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Tue, Sep 16, 2008
from Engineer Live:
Studies confirm challenges of man-made pollutants in the environment
New evidence that chemical contaminants are finding their way into the deep-sea food web has been found in deep-sea squids and octopods, including the strange-looking 'vampire squid'. These species are food for deep-diving toothed whales and other predators. "It was surprising to find measurable and sometimes high amounts of toxic pollutants in such a deep and remote environment," Vecchione said. Among the chemicals detected were tributyltin (TBT), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), brominated diphenyl ethers (BDEs), and dichlorodiphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT). They are known as persistent organic pollutants (POPs) because they don't degrade and persist in the environment for a very long time. ...
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That's a whale of a problem, POP.
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Mon, Sep 15, 2008
from Associated Press:
Health facilities flush estimated 250M pounds of drugs a year
U.S. hospitals and long-term care facilities annually flush millions of pounds of unused pharmaceuticals down the drain, pumping contaminants into America's drinking water... These discarded medications are expired, spoiled, over-prescribed or unneeded... Few of the country's 5,700 hospitals and 45,000 long-term care homes keep data on the pharmaceutical waste they generate. Based on a small sample, though, the AP was able to project an annual national estimate of at least 250 million pounds of pharmaceuticals and contaminated packaging, with no way to separate out the drug volume. ...
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As long as there's plenty of Prozac in there... who's to worry?
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Want more context?
Try reading our book FREE online:
Humoring the Horror of the Converging Emergencies!
More fun than a barrel of jellyfish!
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Mon, Sep 15, 2008
from Connecticut Post:
What's killing off our salt marshes?
Up and down the Eastern Seaboard, the coastal wetlands are dying, and no one knows for sure why this is happening.
First observed in the Florida panhandle in 1990, the shoreline degradation, called sudden wetland dieback, has been observed in hundreds of locations from Louisiana to Maine. Scientists say that while it's normal for coastal marsh vegetation to have its bad years, they have never seen marsh grass die and not recover, until now.... Researchers agree that solving the marsh dieback puzzle is important -- not only for the Sound, but for the Earth as well.
"The salt marsh is the second most productive ecosystem on the planet -- only the tropical rainforest will produce more biomass per square kilometer," Elmer said. "It also serves as a home for many organisms. ...
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I think the answer is simple:
we are.
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Mon, Sep 15, 2008
from NewsInferno:
Even More Americans Affected by Pharmaceuticals in Water Than First Believed
After a five-month-long inquiry conducted by the AP earlier this year, it found many communities do not test for drugs in drinking water and those that do often fail to tell customers they have found medications, including antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers, and sex hormones. At that time, medications were found in drinking water supplies in 24 major metropolitan areas. Water providers are not required to test for pharmaceuticals and the EPA's budget for the testing of endocrine disruptors in America's waterways was cut by 35 percent. ...
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Love that dirty water.
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