Category Archives: environment

Puffy, Feathered Sticking Point of a $612 Billion House Bill

The attempt to circumvent protections for the sage grouse, as well as those for the lesser prairie chicken, is part of a push by House Republicans to roll back environmental regulations.mf.gif

via Puffy, Feathered Sticking Point of a $612 Billion House Bill.

Ebola cases rise, expand in Guinea, Sierra Leone (Cr@p!)

Lisa Schnirring | Staff Writer | CIDRAP News
May 20, 2015

Cases jumped from 9 last week to 35 this week, spurred by unsafe burials.

via Ebola cases rise, expand in Guinea, Sierra Leone.

A third of Europe’s birds under threat, says most comprehensive study yet | Environment | The Guardian

Turtle dove populations have plunged by 90% or more since 1980 and could soon be placed on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) ‘red list’ of threatened species. Numbers of skylark and ortolan bunting, a songbird illegally hunted and eaten whole in France, have fallen by around half.

via A third of Europe’s birds under threat, says most comprehensive study yet | Environment | The Guardian.

Measles may compromise immune systems for three years | Vaccine News Daily

“We already knew that measles attacks immune memory, and that it was immunosuppressive for a short amount of time. But this paper suggests that immune suppression lasts much longer than previously suspected,” C. Jessica Metcalf, co-author and assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and public affairs at Princeton, said. “In other words, if you get measles, three years down the road, you could die from something that you would not die from had you not been infected with measles.”

via Measles may compromise immune systems for three years | Vaccine News Daily.

Australia PM adviser says climate change is ‘UN-led ruse to establish new world order’ – Telegraph

 Climate change is a hoax developed as part of a secret plot by the United Nations to undermine democracies and takeover the world, a top adviser to Tony Abbott, Australia’s prime minister, has warned.

Maurice Newman, the chief business adviser to the prime minister, said the science showing links between human activity and the warming climate was wrong but was being used as a “hook” by the UN to expand its global control.

“This is not about facts or logic. It’s about a new world order under the control of the UN,” he wrote in The Australian.

“It is opposed to capitalism and freedom and has made environmental catastrophism a household topic to achieve its objective.” Born in Ilford, England, and educated in Australia, Mr Newman, a staunch conservative and former chairman of the Australian Stock Exchange, has long been an outspoken critic of climate change science.

via Australia PM adviser says climate change is ‘UN-led ruse to establish new world order’ – Telegraph.

After Nearly Claiming His Life, Ebola Lurked in a Doctor’s Eye – NYTimes.com

After Nearly Claiming His Life, Ebola Lurked in a Doctor’s Eye – NYTimes.com.

“I think the cure was Ian’s own immune system,” Dr. Varkey said, explaining that he suspected the treatments had reduced Dr. Crozier’s symptoms and helped preserve his sight long enough for his immune system to kick in and clear out the virus — just as supportive care during the worst phase of his initial illness had kept him alive until his natural defenses could take over.

Human pneumonic plague outbreak has multiple transmission routes | Vaccine News Daily

Specimens taken from the dog and the three ill people showed acute Yersinia pestis. Experts state that one of the cases of pneumonia could have been transmitted from the dog owner to the individual. This is the first U.S. transmission of the plague since 1924.

Experts state this is an opportunity for health professionals to consider diagnosing the plague in animals, as well as potential to study relatively mild plague illnesses among patients who already take antimicrobial agents.

An automated system located in the hospital lab previously misdiagnosed the bacterium as Pseudomonas luteola. This outbreak shows that there are limits to current diagnostic systems when they test for rare bacteria, like Yersinia pestis, and they are always in need of improvement.

via Human pneumonic plague outbreak has multiple transmission routes | Vaccine News Daily.

Fracking Chemicals Detected in Pennsylvania Drinking Water – NYTimes.com

An analysis of drinking water sampled from three homes in Bradford County, Pa., revealed traces of a compound commonly found in Marcellus Shale drilling fluids, according to a study published on Monday.

The paper, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, addresses a longstanding question about potential risks to underground drinking water from the drilling technique known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. The authors suggested a chain of events by which the drilling chemical ended up in a homeowner’s water supply.

“This is the first case published with a complete story showing organic compounds attributed to shale gas development found in a homeowner’s well,” said Susan Brantley, one of the study’s authors and a geoscientist from Pennsylvania State University.

via Fracking Chemicals Detected in Pennsylvania Drinking Water – NYTimes.com.

Avian Flu Diary: Nepal Struck By A 7.9 Quake – Major Damage Reported (Updated)

UPDATED 0700 hrs EST:   The USGS has downgraded this quake to M7.8, but has revised their damage/fatality estimates upwards, with as many as 10,000 deaths possible.   This is a rapidly evolving situation, and we are only now starting to get reports from the ground.

via Avian Flu Diary: Nepal Struck By A 7.9 Quake – Major Damage Reported (Updated).