globalbriefs
News and resources to inspire concerned citizens to work together in building a healthier, stronger society that benefits all.
Preventing Extinction Buying Time for Threatened Species
How long does it take a species to disappear forever? It turns out that habitat destruction drives species to extinction more slowly than previously thought, accord- ing to a new model described in the journal Nature. The pace at which plants and animals are vanishing from the planet as their habitats shrink may be overstated by as much as 160 percent or more. An approach widely used to estimate extinctions from habitat loss is conceptually flawed, says a study in the publication. Researchers say that their new method more accurately reflects the inter- play of shrinking habitats and the populations that rely on them. The new study is one of at least two that highlight scientists’ efforts to sharpen the tools needed to track the scope of the species-extinction problem and to design better approaches for dealing with it. The development of a new tool for estimating extinctions, “... is welcome news, in the
sense that we have bought a little time for saving species,” says Stephen Hubbell, an ecologist at the University of California, Los Angeles, and one of two scientists who performed the analysis. “But it’s [also] unwelcome news,” he adds, “because we have to redo a whole bunch of research performed using the previous method.”
Source: The Christian Science Monitor
Inappropriate Eats Fish Consume Plastic from Human Trash
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, as dubbed by scientists, is a region of float- ing trash in the ocean that is twice the size of Texas. It comprises plastic debris that includes toys, cups, wrappers and bottles that slowly degrade from the sun’s rays and wave action into ever-smaller fragments until fish often mistake them for food. This finding, from a new study by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, could have serious implications for the food chain.
Scientists examined 141 fish across 27 species and estimated that small fish were eating as much as 24,000 tons of plastic waste each year, mostly tidbits smaller than a fingernail, and that nearly one in 10 fish in the region had plastic in its stomach. Most fish in the study were lantern fish, which dwell at depths of 650 to 3,200 feet during the day, but then swim near the surface at night to feed on plankton, where they often gulp plastic by mistake. Small fragments of plastic could leach toxins into the fish, stunt their
growth, alter reproduction or even kill them. It is unclear what impact that small, plastic-affected fish have upon larger fish that eat them, and ultimately on hu- man fish-eaters.
10 Hartford County Edition
www.NAHRT.com
Appliance Awareness Home Electronics Getting Greener
Greenpeace has compiled their third annu- al survey of the “greenest” home electron- ics products from 18 companies in seven categories—desktops, laptops, netbooks, mobile phones, televisions, monitors and smart phones—based on their environmen- tal impact (
tinyurl.com/23pxpsc). Consid- erations included hazardous substances, power consumption, product lifecycle (recycling potential) and innovation in marketing (carbon footprint). The survey found a significant overall reduction in the use of hazardous chemi- cals since last year, with more products made without toxic polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and brominated fire retardant (BFR). The use of phthalates, beryllium and antimony (heavy metals) and their associ- ated compounds also went down in every category.
Almost all products submitted for
the survey met or exceeded the current Energy Star standards established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. However, one conclusion of the report is that companies seemed to put more effort into improving the overall energy efficiency of operating their products rather than reducing the embedded energy, or carbon footprint, involved in manufacturing them. Lifecycle management continues to be the weakest eco-link when it comes to electronics production. The researchers found little use of recycled plastic, take- back practices, and marketing efforts aimed to prevent rapid obsolescence.
Source: Greenpeace
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48