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What A Week It Was: Apocadocuments from
View By Scenario:
Species Collapse:(2)
Plague/Virus:(2)
Climate Chaos:(9)
Resource Depletion: (2)
Biology Breach:(11)
Recovery:(5)
This Week's Top Ten Very Scary Tags:
ecosystem interrelationships  ~ contamination  ~ global warming  ~ anthropogenic change  ~ carbon emissions  ~ health impacts  ~ economic myopia  ~ stupid humans  ~ deniers  ~ corporate malfeasance  ~ airborne pollutants  



ApocaDocuments (11) for the "Biology Breach" scenario from this week
[see full week] ~ [see full Biology Breach scenario and stories]
Sun, Oct 10, 2010
from National Science Foundation via ScienceDaily:
Too Much of a Good Thing: Human Activities Overload Ecosystems With Nitrogen
Humans are overloading ecosystems with nitrogen through the burning of fossil fuels and an increase in nitrogen-producing industrial and agricultural activities, according to a new study. While nitrogen is an element that is essential to life, it is an environmental scourge at high levels. According to the study, excess nitrogen that is contributed by human activities pollutes fresh waters and coastal zones, and may contribute to climate change... Nitrogen oxide is a greenhouse gas that has 300 times (per molecule) the warming potential of carbon dioxide. In addition, nitrogen oxide destroys stratospheric ozone, which protects the earth from harmful ultraviolet (UV-B) radiation. ...


It is the dawning of the Age of Nitrogen.

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Sat, Oct 9, 2010
from Washington Post:
Hungary sludge reservoir at risk of collapse
The cracking wall of an industrial plant reservoir could collapse at any moment and send a new wave of caustic red sludge into towns devastated by a deluge this week, Hungary's prime minister said Saturday. A crack in the concrete wall widened by 2.76 inches (7 centimeters) overnight, Prime Minister Viktor Orban told reporters gathered at a fire station near the alumina plant that dumped up to 184 million gallons (700,000 cubic meters) of highly polluted water and mud onto three villages in about an hour Monday, burning people and animals. At least seven people were killed and hundreds injured. ...


Another slow motion ecological disaster ... for your viewing pleasure.

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Fri, Oct 8, 2010
from Reuters:
Prenatal arsenic exposure quintuples infant death risk
Babies born to mothers with high levels of arsenic exposure are five times more likely to die before their first birthday than infants whose mothers had the least exposure to the toxic mineral, new research shows. "We observed clear evidence of an association between arsenic exposure and infant mortality," Dr. Anisur Rahman of Uppsala University Hospital in Sweden and colleagues state in the November issue of Epidemiology. And the fact that death risk increased as exposure rose, they add, "is supportive of a causal relationship."... To address these issues, the researchers followed 2,924 pregnant women who provided urine samples for arsenic testing, all when they were eight weeks pregnant, and some later in pregnancy. ...


This takes stalking to a whole new level.

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Fri, Oct 8, 2010
from Louisville Courier-Journal:
Environmentalists claim Kentucky coal mines faked water data
Robert Kennedy Jr. and other environmentalists claim three surface coal mining operations in Eastern Kentucky falsified pollution data, failed to submit reports or exceeded permit limits on more than 20,000 occasions in the last two years. The groups have taken the first step towards filing suit under the Clean Water Act regarding operations of ICG Knott County, ICG Hazard, and Frasure Creek Mining in seven Kentucky counties: Leslie, Perry, Knott, Breathitt, Floyd, Pike and Magoffin. The groups want the companies to be fined as much as $740 million and criminal prosecution of anyone who might have falsified the reports. International Coal Group called the allegations "scurrilous," while officials identified in public records as representing Frasure Creek Mining did not return phone calls. ...


I'll bet all that pollution is hard on the poor scurrils.

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Thu, Oct 7, 2010
from Associated Press:
Hungary: Toxic red sludge has reached the Danube
The toxic red sludge that burst out of a Hungarian factory's reservoir reached the mighty Danube on Thursday after wreaking havoc on smaller rivers and creeks, and downstream nations rushed to test their waters. The European Union and environmental officials fear an environmental catastrophe affecting half a dozen nations if the red sludge, a waste product of making aluminum, contaminates the Danube, Europe's second-longest river. ...


I just lost my appetite.

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Thu, Oct 7, 2010
from Science News:
Pesticide in womb may promote obesity, study finds
One-quarter of babies born to women who had relatively high concentrations of a DDT-breakdown product in their blood grew unusually fast for at least the first year of life, a study finds. Not only is this prevalence of accelerated growth unusually high, but it's also a worrisome trend since such rapid growth during early infancy has -- in other studies -- put children on track to become obese. Affected babies in the new study weighed no more than normal at birth, so growth in the womb was unaffected. Their moms were also normal weight -- which is significant because babies born to overweight and obese women sometimes undergo rapid growth. ...


They may be obese, but at least they're pest-free.

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Wed, Oct 6, 2010
from AP, via HuffingtonPost:
Hungary Flood Of Toxic Sludge An 'Ecological Disaster'
Hungary declared a state of emergency in three counties Tuesday after a flood of toxic red sludge from an alumina plant engulfed several towns and burned people through their clothes. One official called it "an ecological disaster" that may threaten the Danube and other key rivers.... Several hundred tons of plaster were being poured into the Marcal River to bind the toxic sludge and prevent it from flowing on, the National Disaster Management Directorate said. So far, about 35.3 million cubic feet (1 million cubic meters) of sludge has leaked from the reservoir, affecting an estimated 15.4 square miles (40 square kilometers), Environmental Affairs State Secretary Zoltan Illes told the state news wire MTI.... The sludge, a waste product in aluminum production, contains heavy metals and is toxic if ingested. Many of the injured sustained burns as the sludge seeped through their clothes, and two faced life-threatening conditions.... The company also denied that it should have taken more precautions to shore up the reservoir. "According to the current evaluation, company management could not have noticed the signs of the natural catastrophe nor done anything to prevent it even while carefully respecting technological procedures," MAL said in a statement. ...


35 million cubic feet of toxic sludge: natural variation.

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Wed, Oct 6, 2010
from Environmental Health News:
BPA found in atmosphere, around the world
A global study finds bisphenol A is in the air, showing yet another possible way people are exposed to the notorious endocrine disruptor. Add air to the growing list of places where bisphenol A (BPA) is found, say a pair of Japanese researchers who have measured and reported levels of the chemical in the world's atmosphere. They discovered BPA in air samples from all over the world at widely varied levels - from almost nothing in remote areas near the poles to 10,000 times more than that in India and other heavily populated regions of Asia.... Researchers believe that BPA enters the air when plastics, electronics and other waste are burned, since the highest concentrations were measured near populated areas and coincided with high levels of other chemicals that are associated with burning plastics. BPA is a common ingredient in these types of products, and incineration is a popular way to dispose of this waste in certain parts of the world. Manufacturing processes for plastics and other consumer products containing BPA are also thought to be a major source of BPA in the air. ...


Living in the man-made material world.

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Tue, Oct 5, 2010
from Huffington Post:
Biodegradable Packaging Criticized For Being Too Noisy, so Frito-Lay Returns to Plastic
Frito-Lay hopes to quiet complaints about its noisy SunChips bags by switching out the biodegradable bags for the old packaging on most flavors. The company is switching back to original packaging, which is made of a type of plastic, for five of the six varieties of the chips. It will keep the biodegradable and recyclable bags for its sixth variety, its original plain flavor.... Spokeswoman Aurora Gonzalez said the company received complaints about the noise from the bags, although it also received thanks from customers who liked being able to recycle them. So the decision was made to remove the bulk of the biodegradable line. "We need to listen to our consumers," she said. "We clearly heard their feedback." ...


Can I slap those stupid customers for being too noisy?

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Tue, Oct 5, 2010
from Associated Press:
Oil industry has yet to adopt lessons of BP spill
Oil industry and government officials could get caught flat-footed again by another deep-water blowout in the coming months because they have yet to incorporate many of the lessons learned during the BP disaster, experts inside and outside the business tell The Associated Press. For one thing, it could be another year before a bigger, better cap-and-siphon containment system is developed to choke off leaks many thousands of feet below the surface. Also, existing skimmers still don't have the capacity to quickly suck up millions of gallons of oil flowing at once.... And despite an overhaul of the federal agency that regulates the industry, there are lingering doubts about whether the government can effectively police Big Oil at the same time it relies on the industry for revenue. ...


Why should they learn their lessons... people are still driving their cars around like there's no tomorrow!

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Mon, Oct 4, 2010
from Business Ethics:
Controversial Chemical Poses Disclosure Challenge for Colgate-Palmolive
The current squeeze on Colgate stems from a U.S. Food and Drug Administration decision this year to train its microscopes more closely on triclosan, a chemical with antibacterial properties that in recent decades has been added to scores of products, but now is under new scrutiny because of studies that suggest it may harm both human health and the environment. And while the FDA conducts its review - and critics of triclosan mount their arguments to curtail its use by consumers - Colgate and other product manufacturers have to decide what they can and should say to the marketplace, not to mention when and how to convey it. The hurdle the company faces is clear: a core ingredient of its top-selling Colgate Total toothpaste is suddenly the heart of a public health tempest, but regulators have neither banned the chemical nor deemed it unsafe. There is no well-tested playbook for the scenario, says David Nash, partner at McMahon DeGulis, an environmental law firm based in Cleveland. "The dilemma becomes, what kind of legal, moral, or socially responsible duty do they have to stakeholders to go beyond where the regulatory agency has already gone?" he asks. "In this fast-moving field, I would be hard-pressed to say [there is a] consensus on best practices."... The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported several years ago that it found triclosan in the urine of three-quarters of participants in a 2,500-person health survey. ...


The worst "best practice": secrecy.

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