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What A Week It Was: Apocadocuments from
View By Scenario:
Species Collapse:(4)
Plague/Virus:(2)
Climate Chaos:(10)
Resource Depletion: (4)
Biology Breach:(7)
Recovery:(3)
This Week's Top Ten Very Scary Tags:
anthropogenic change  ~ deniers  ~ koyaanisqatsi  ~ efficiency increase  ~ oil issues  ~ ecosystem interrelationships  ~ economic myopia  ~ carbon emissions  ~ food crisis  ~ stupid humans  ~ short-term thinking  



ApocaDocuments (7) for the "Biology Breach" scenario from this week
[see full week] ~ [see full Biology Breach scenario and stories]
Sun, Nov 7, 2010
from Pittsburg KDKA TV:
Obesogens May Cause Weight Gain
If you try to lose weight and it just doesn't work, could chemicals in your food be to blame? Some people believe chemical compounds called obesogens could be a major factor in making people fat. "Obesogens are chemicals that occur in nature or artificially that mess with our metabolism and basically cause unnatural weight gain," said Stephen Perrine, author of "The New American Diet." Obesogens include agricultural pesticides, hormones used in the meat industry, and chemicals used in plastics. Perrine says regular fruits and vegetables are a problem because studies show a link between pesticide exposure and waist measurements. ...


If we start calling obesogens slimogens, would that help?

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Sat, Nov 6, 2010
from CBC:
Coral damage related to BP oil spill: scientists
U.S. scientists have found damage to deep sea coral and other marine life on the ocean floor several kilometres from the blown-out BP well in the Gulf of Mexico. The discovery made by a government-funded expedition is a strong indication that damage from the spill could be significantly greater than officials had previously acknowledged. Tests are needed to verify that the coral died from oil that spewed into the Gulf after BP's Deepwater Horizon rig exploded in April, but the chief scientist who led the expedition said Friday he was convinced it was related.... "There is an abundance of circumstantial data that suggests that what happened is related to the recent oil spill."... Fisher described the soft and hard coral they found 11 kilometres southwest of the well as an underwater graveyard. He said oil probably passed over the coral and killed it. The coral has "been dying for months," he said. "What we are looking at is a combination of dead gooey tissues and sediment. Gunk is a good word for what it is." Eric Cordes, a Temple University marine scientist on the expedition, said his colleagues have identified about 25 other sites in the vicinity of the well where similar damage may have occurred. An expedition is planned for next month to explore those sites. ...


The coral is being dispersed to the spirit world.

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Fri, Nov 5, 2010
from ProPublica, via DesdemonaDespair:
At least 148 BP oil pipelines in Alaska 'on the verge of collapse'
All eyes remain on BP's actions in the Gulf of Mexico in the wake of this year's oil disaster. But a new report suggests the oil giant might be contending with another catastrophe soon enough, as its network of Alaska pipelines appears to be on the brink of failure. According to ProPublica's Abrahm Lustgarten, a 4-week-old internal maintenance report obtained by the investigative news service reveals that at least 148 BP pipelines on Alaska's North Slope received an "F" grade on the company's own system of upkeep grading. Pipes receive an F when inspectors determine that at least 80 percent of their walls are corroded and at risk of rupture. These pipelines, in Lustgarten's telling, "carry toxic or flammable substances," and "many of the metal walls of the F-ranked pipes are worn to within a few thousandths of an inch of bursting," increasing the likelihood of future spills and/or explosions. BP inspectors have concluded that "the company's fire and gas-warning systems are unreliable, that the giant turbines that pump oil and gas through the system are aging, and that some oil and waste holding tanks are on the verge of collapse," Lustgarten reports. ...


BP better bring someone in who knows what they're doing. Like Haliburton.

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Wed, Nov 3, 2010
from Chicago Tribune:
Fragranced 'Green' Consumer Products Emit Hazardous Chemicals
Widely-used scented consumer products that claim to be "green," "organic" or "natural" emit just as many toxic chemicals as other fragranced products, new research shows. The study analyzed 25 scented products; about half carried green health claims. All the products emitted at least one chemical classified as toxic or hazardous. More than a third of the samples gave off one chemical classified as a probable carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, according to the research, published in the journal Environmental Impact Assessment Review. The EPA has set no safe exposure level for possible carcinogens. Overall, the products tested emitted more than 420 chemicals, but virtually none were disclosed to consumers, said the study's lead author, Anne Steinemann, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Washington. "Products with 'organic fragrance,' 'natural fragrance,' and 'essential oils' emitted just as many toxic chemicals," she said. "Basically, if it had any kind of fragrance or scent, it emitted toxic chemicals." A single "fragrance" in a product can be a mixture of up to several hundred ingredients. But since manufacturers are not required to disclose all ingredients in cosmetics, cleaning supplies, air fresheners or laundry products, the majority of the chemicals are not listed on the labels. ...


Don't make us disclose "trade secrets." It might open us up to litigation!

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Mon, Nov 1, 2010
from Cape Cod Times:
Report links mercury on Cape Cod to global pollution
Unlike many other states, Massachusetts significantly reduced mercury emissions coming from electric power plants and incinerators in recent years. According to a study by the Environmental Integrity Project, mercury emissions in the state dropped from 292 pounds in 2000 to 97 pounds in 2008. Now, Massachusetts is about to embark on a second phase to bring mercury emissions down by 95 percent from 1999 levels by 2012, but it could have little impact on the Cape and Islands. A combination of low-mercury coal, technological improvements that remove mercury from the smokestack and use of other fuels, has had an immediate effect lowering mercury levels in fish in the northeast portion of the state, said Michael Hutcheson, head of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection long-term mercury monitoring program. But there is evidence that the mercury affecting ponds here on the Cape could come from as far away as China, said John Colman, a water quality scientist with the United States Geological Survey in Northboro. ...


It's a small world after all!

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Mon, Nov 1, 2010
from ScienceDaily:
Scientists Prepare for Confined Field Trials of Life-Saving Drought-Tolerant Transgenic Maize
Crop specialists in Kenya and Uganda have laid the groundwork for confined field trials to commence later this year for new varieties of maize genetically modified to survive recurrent droughts that threaten over 300 million Africans for whom maize is life, according to a speech given Oct. 14 by the head of the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) at the World Food Prize Symposium, being held in Des Moines, Iowa.... Scientists working with AATF believe it's important to explore the potential of biotechnology to maintain and increase food production in Africa, given the large number of families dependent on maize, and warnings that maize yields could drop dramatically as climate change increases drought frequency and severity across the continent. There is preliminary evidence that the Water Efficient Maize for Africa (WEMA) varieties, which were developed through a public-private partnership, could provide yields 24-35 percent higher than what farmers are now growing.... The push to develop drought-tolerant varieties has been given added urgency by threats likely to come from climate change.... If the transgenic corn is found to be safe and successful, the new varieties will be made available to smallholder farmers royalty-free. Under its agreement with its partners, any approved varieties would be licensed to AATF, which would then distribute to farmers through local seed supplies at a price competitive with other types of maize seed. The project partners expect that pricing will not be influenced by the requirement to pay royalties, as none of the partners will receive any royalty payment from seed companies for the drought tolerant lines/transgenic trait incorporating their intellectual property protected technology. ...


Transgenics developed without a profit motive? Monsanto must be pissed.

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Mon, Nov 1, 2010
from BBC:
Jellyfish 'may benefit from ecosystem instability'
A team of researchers have been trying to identify how jellyfish may benefit from marine ecosystems destabilised by climate change and overfishing. There is concern that a rise in jellyfish numbers could prevent depleted commercially important fish stocks recovering to historical levels. However, a study by European scientists says more data is needed to understand what is happening beneath the waves.... In recent years, there have been a number of examples of sudden blooms of jellyfish in European waters - including the Irish, Mediterranean and Black seas - which have killed fish and closed beaches. In 2007, an invasion of mauve stingers (Pelagia noctiluca) wiped out Northern Ireland's only salmon farm, killing more than 100,000 fish.... "It is quite a complicated set of possible linkages that need to be drawn, which we really only have a vague insight at the moment. "For the recent period where we have good data, it appears as if sea surface temperature is the most important variable. "This does not necessarily prove it of course, but it does appear to be benefiting jellyfish." ...


I guess "more study" is not only needed, but will be experienced.

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