The Blacksmith Institute
World’s Worst Polluted Places 2006
*Chernobyl, Ukraine
* Dzerzhinsk, Russia
* Haina, Dominican Republic
* Kabwe, Zambia
* La Oroya, Peru
* Linfen, China
* Maiuu Suu, Kyrgyzstan
* Norilsk, Russia
* Ranipet, India
* Rudnaya Pristan/Dalnegorsk, Russia
Fossilized Finds Prompt Rethinking of Natural History
The discovery of a group of half-billion-year-old fossilized embryos in China has given a glimpse of the very first animals to evolve on Earth, overturning the accepted picture of how life evolved.
We’ve completely characterized the embryos, and we see no features of any living animal group,” Philip Donoghue of the University of Bristol, one of the team, said. “In fact, we argue that these are embryos of a grade of animal evolution preceding all living groups. There is going to be a huge scrap over this.” “The really big deal is that we see no evidence of more complex animals, indicating that at 580 million years ago, they had not yet evolved.
Striking new bird discovered in South America | the Daily Mail
A brightly coloured bird has been discovered on a remote mountain range in South America. The previously unknown species, the Yariguies Brush Finch, has striking black, yellow and red plumage.
A British expert co-led the team which made the find during the first biological expedition to the Yariguies mountains in northern Colombia.
Click to Enlarge Picture
Conservation International – U.S. Supports Cessation of Destructive Fishing Practices
Oct. 4, 2006: Significant progress has been made in efforts to halt destructive fishing practices on the high seas, as the Bush administration announced October 3 the United States’ official support for their cessation. A moratorium is currently under consideration by the United Nations that will prohibit deep sea bottom trawling – the primary form of destructive fishing activity that is ravaging Earth’s rich and diverse marine ecosystems in the high seas.
The welcome shift in U.S. policy comes as the U.N. begins talks to negotiate protection for disappearing deep sea ecosystems. The talks will culminate in a general assembly vote between Nov. 17 and 22 on whether to implement an interim moratorium that will prohibit deep sea bottom trawling until effective high seas management and protection are in place.
Added pressure on the administration to strengthen its policy also came from Congress late last week when Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, introduced a Senate resolution supported by 21 of his peers stating that destructive fishing on the high seas should not be allowed.
Smoking No Longer Très Chic in France – New York Times
President Jacques Chirac, who at one time smoked up to three packs a day, declared a “war on tobacco” in 2003 and imposed steep tax increases on cigarettes. Today, nearly 80 percent of the French support the idea of a smoking ban in public places.
Still, about 12 million of the French — about 20 percent of the population — are smokers, according to official government figures, and more than 70,000 people die in France every year from smoking-related illnesses and secondhand smoke.
Smoking remains particularly prevalent and acceptable among young people. French public high schools routinely allow students to smoke during breaks.
Italy’s ban on smoking in public places last January was met with fierce public resistance, including a campaign for a national referendum to overturn it and the publication by newspapers of lists of smoker-friendly restaurants. One movie theater showed a Mexican film called “Nicotina” and offered free admission for customers who showed up with a pack of cigarettes.
Migrating birds take hundreds of powernaps – LiveScience – MSNBC.com
To help make up for sleep lost during marathon night flights, migratory birds take hundreds of powernaps during the day, each lasting only a few seconds, a new study suggests.
They found that during autumn and spring, when the birds are normally migrating, they reverse their typical sleep patterns, staying awake at night and resting during day.
But instead of sleeping for long stretches at a time, the birds took several naps a day, each one lasting only 9 seconds on average.
The thrushes also mixed up their shut-eye sessions with two other forms of sleep. In one, called unilateral eye closure, or UEC, the birds rested one eye and one half of their brains while their other eye and brain hemisphere remained open and active, keeping them semi-alert to danger.
The birds also occasionally slipped into another state, one that any college student who has ever been stuck in a boring lecture can relate to. Called drowsiness, this state is characterized by a partial shutting of both eyes that still allows for some visual processing.
Wired News: Making Water From Thin Air
A company that developed technology capable of creating water out of thin air nearly anywhere in the world is now under contract to nourish U.S. soldiers serving in Iraq.
The cost to transport water by C-17 cargo planes, then truck it to the troops, runs $30 a gallon. The cost, including the machines from Aqua Sciences, will be reduced to 30 cents a gallon, Roy said.
Several systems on the market can create water through condensation, but the process requires a high level of humidity.
Aqua Sciences’ machines only require 14 percent humidity, Roy said. “That’s why this technology is superior and why they are getting the contracts.”
BBC NEWS | Health | Breast milk ‘does not boost IQ’
Breastfed children do tend to score higher on intelligence tests, but they also tend to come from more advantaged backgrounds.”
The researchers analysed data from more than 5,000 children and 3,000 mothers in the USA.
They found that mothers who breastfeed tend to be more intelligent, and when this fact was taken into account, most of the relationship between breastfeeding and the child’s intelligence disappeared.
The rest was accounted for by other aspects of the family background.
Shark slaughter shock – life – 30 September 2006 – New Scientist
At least four times as many sharks are killed for their fins as are reported in official figures.
From inventories of shark-fin sales at auctions in Hong Kong, researchers from the University of Hawaii and elsewhere estimate that the numbers of sharks caught around the world are far higher than the figures published by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.
Peak Oil Debunked: 126. NUKE THE TAR SANDS 2
The only other option is to generate heat by burning the oil itself, and that would be a carbon emission nightmare. One thing is clear, however: the oil sands will be produced. It’s just a question of whether we’re going to do it the dirty way (and waste vast amounts of the oil in the process); or do it the clean way with nuclear. Environmentalists need to get their head around that. The option where we don’t produce the oil sands is a utopian dream. It’s not on the table.
From the recent article about the natural gas shortage that Calrton Palmer informed us about:
Oil sands producers are clearly concerned about natural gas prices and are experimenting with a range of alternatives that would reduce or eliminate the need for gas.
At its Whitesands in situ project, Petrobank and its partners are working on a plan to burn residual bitumen underground in order to loosen and recover the commercially available crude. That process would leave the carbon dioxide created from the burn trapped underground.
Several companies are also planning to burn asphalt-like bitumen to produce electricity and steam above ground.
