globalbriefs
News and resources to inspire concerned citizens to work together in building a healthier, stronger society that benefits all.
Danger Signs Monsanto Weed Killer Causes Animal Mutations
The world’s most popular weed killer, Mon- santo’s Roundup, a systemic, broad-spectrum herbicide, can induce morphological changes in vertebrate skeletal animals, say U.S. biolo- gists studying its effect on amphibians. A study by University of Pittsburgh researchers says the poison, tested in environmentally relevant con- centrations, caused the shapes of two species of amphibians to change. The study is the first to show these dangerous consequences. The presence of predators can cause tadpoles to change shape by altering their stress hormones, but similar shape changes seen after exposure to Roundup suggest the weed killer may interfere with the hormones of tadpoles, and potentially, many other animals. The development is important because amphibians not only serve as a barometer of an ecosystem’s
health, but also as an indicator of potential dangers to other species in the food chain, including humans.
Better Doggie
Bags Want Not, Waste Not
The New York Times estimates that 78 million dogs produce more than 10.6 million tons of dung annually. To tackle the growing problem of unhygienic doggie doo-doo, about which USA Today reports, “At some beaches, dogs help raise bacteria levels so high that visitors must stay out of the water,” operators of Allan H. Treman Marine State Park, in Ithaca, New York, started a project in 2009 to compost the waste in its dog park.
Plastic bags that don’t decom- pose easily end up in landfills, so park officials began placing corn- based, compostable bags in dis- pensers. A local company, Cayuga Compost, picks up the waste weekly for processing and deposits it into a pile mixed with yard and wood waste at a nearby composting site. In 18 months, the company composted 12 tons of dog waste from the park. Lab tests have shown that the compost is pathogen-free and has a high-nutrient profile that is perfect for flowers, shrubs and trees. Cayuga Program Manager Mark Whiting calls it a great example of upcycling—taking something that is otherwise considered worthless and turning it into a product with higher value.
Note:
ZeroWasteUSA.com and similar entities provide complete sustainable systems for pet waste disposal; biodegradable bags are widely available at retail.
24 Collier/Lee Counties
swfl.naturalawakeningsmag.com
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