Category Archives: environment

UnderwaterTimes.com | Torpedo Shot From USS Iowa In 1899 Surface

The mid and tail sections of this rare torpedo, found by U.S. Navy dolphins off the coast of San Diego last March

via UnderwaterTimes.com | Torpedo Shot From USS Iowa In 1899 Surface.

Story is all about the torpedo but what is this? US Navy is using dolphins to search ocean for ordinance and what else?

Ecuador to begin Drilling Amazon Oil Field | Use Celsias.com – reduce global °Celsius

The national park that is nearly 10,000km2 is one of the most bio diverse places on the planet, holding a larger variety of species then the entirety of North America. The Yasuni National Park has been listed as UNESCO Biosphere reserve since 1989.

 

Mr. Correa was quick to point the figure at the global community stating, “It was not charity that we sought from the international community, but co-responsibility in the face of climate change.”

via Ecuador to begin Drilling Amazon Oil Field | Use Celsias.com – reduce global °Celsius.

Cilantro Distributed in Four Midwestern States Recalled for Possible Listeria Contamination | Food Safety News

Due to possible Listeria monocytogenes contamination, Buurma Farms, Inc., has recalled 465 boxes of fresh cilantro sold to Michigan distributors earlier this month and shipped to retail stores in Illinois, Michigan, Ohio and Indiana.

The company, based in Willard, OH, stated that the produce affected by the recall are in four-ounce bundles with Buurma Farms twist-ties. Consumers who may have purchased the product should return it or dispose of it.

via Cilantro Distributed in Four Midwestern States Recalled for Possible Listeria Contamination | Food Safety News.

Cambodia reports new human cases of H1N1 avian flu | Vaccine News Daily

The Kingdom of Cambodia’s Ministry of Health reported two new human cases of H5N1 avian influenza, the 15th and 16th cases of 2013, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday.

The 15th case was in a nine-year-old boy from the Damnak Dangkor Village in the Battambang province. The boy carried dead and sick chickens and ducks from a cage for food preparation before becoming sick. He developed fever, vomiting, abdominal pain and dyspnea, and is now in stable condition after hospitalization and treatment with Tamiflu.

The 16th case was in a five-year-old girl from Knong Prek Village in the Kandal province. There were recent deaths among poultry in her village which may have caused her infection.

The girl developed fever, abdominal pain, diarrhea and dyspnea. She was hospitalized and treated with Tamiflu, and is currently in critical condition.

via Cambodia reports new human cases of H1N1 avian flu | Vaccine News Daily.

Energy Bars of the Sea | Earthjustice

Packed with solar energy they absorbed from eating plankton, the forage fish are delicious to just about everything bigger than themselves. As Earthjustice attorney Andrea Treece describes, they are “wheaties for whales and powerbars for pinnipeds (seals and sea lions).”

They are the ocean’s larder and, says Treece, “Salmon, tuna, swordfish, halibut and even humpback whales need a fully stocked pantry to survive.”

Problem is, these same forage fish are being overfished to feed land-based creatures, bringing Earthjustice into the fight to keep the ocean well-stocked. To understand the role forage fish play, a little ocean ecology is helpful.

via Energy Bars of the Sea | Earthjustice.

Non-food crops lock up enough calories to feed 4 billion

Non-food crops lock up enough calories to feed 4 billion.

“Globally, 36 per cent of all calories are fed to animals. We found that decreasing grain-fed meat consumption by 50 per cent would be enough additional calories for two more billion people,” says Cassidy.

Reducing meat consumption, or shifting it away from beef to poultry and pork, has the potential to feed more people per hectare of cropland because beef is not energy efficient, Cassidy adds.

“When we feed 100 calories of average corn and soy to beef cattle we get only three per cent of these calories back, while the efficiency is better for pork and chickens,” she says.

Recalls, Market Withdrawals, & Safety Alerts > P&G Voluntarily Recalls Limited Quantity of Dry Pet Food Due to Possible Health Risk

The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) has voluntarily recalled specific lots of dry pet food because they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella. These lots were distributed in the United States and represent roughly one-tenth of one percent (0.1%) of annual production. No Salmonella-related illnesses have been reported to date in association with these product lots.

via Recalls, Market Withdrawals, & Safety Alerts > P&G Voluntarily Recalls Limited Quantity of Dry Pet Food Due to Possible Health Risk.

IAMS and Eukanuba dog foods see lists at link

H7N9 bird flu may be spread through human faeces, research suggests | South China Morning Post – “Spin”

More spin thanVirus is known to pass from bird to bird in feces, urine and sweat – so same for people – dun?

The H7N9 bird flu that emerged on the mainland in March may be spreading through human faeces, as university researchers found the virus in the stools of four out of six people killed by the bug in Zhejiang .

Theoretically, the virus could spread in the same way as severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) did during the 2003 outbreak in Amoy Gardens, Kowloon Bay – through sewage pipes – University of Hong Kong microbiologist Yuen Kwok-yung, a top researcher behind the cross-border study, told the South China Morning Post.

Microbiologist Yuen Kwok-yung. Photo: David Wong

“This has important implications on the infection control strategies for H7N9 virus infection, as the influenza virus in stools may contaminate the surrounding environment,” Yuen and his team reported.

via H7N9 bird flu may be spread through human faeces, research suggests | South China Morning Post.

Illegal dog meat trade raises moral questions | Asia | DW.DE | 15.08.2013

At up to 60 US dollars per animal, dog meat is considered to be an aphrodisiac in Vietnam, where it remains a popular dish. But what the Hanoi middle-classes don’t know as they tuck into the delicacy is where the meat has come from.

Over the past few years, an illegal dog meat trade has flourished across Asia worth millions of dollars, which experts say is unnecessarily cruel and carries a rising risk to public health.

It is estimated that hundreds of thousands of pet dogs and strays are being rounded up by criminal syndicates in neighboring Thailand every year. With only a small domestic demand for dog meat, it’s much more profitable to send them abroad, say animal rights groups.

via Illegal dog meat trade raises moral questions | Asia | DW.DE | 15.08.2013.

IPS – Study Finds Many “Bee-Friendly” Plants Laced with Pesticide | Inter Press Service

Researchers with Friends of the Earth U.S. and the Pesticide Research Institute say that more than half of the nursery plants studied contained residues of “neonicotinoid” pesticides, a substance increasingly thought to be contributing to mass die-offs of global honey bee populations.

via IPS – Study Finds Many “Bee-Friendly” Plants Laced with Pesticide | Inter Press Service.