Thoughtocracy » Mass Extinction

Polluted Waters

thinker — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 07:46:30 +0000

Ongoing Oil Spills in Africa

thinker — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 18:43:40 +0000

The media’s eye is on the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, but there has been ongoing leakage in Nigeria for 50 years as much as 546 million gallons of oil by some estimates. The crabs and shrimp are all gone, and life expectancy is the lowest in Nigeria, and people struggle to make a living as their environment dies.

Little attention is paid to this impoverished area, and attempts to publicize the plight are squelched. The spokeswoman for Shell Oil in Lagos, said, “We don’t discuss individual spills,” and witnesses have reported that soldiers guarding an Exxon Mobil site beat women who were demonstrating last month.

The environmental damage to the Niger delta may provide good clues for what type of damage Americans can expect to see in the Gulf of Mexico.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/17/world/africa/17nigeria.html

Reach of Oil Spill

thinker — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 17:45:42 +0000

Satellite Images

More images can be viewed here:

http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/oilspill/

http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?project=gulfofmexico

Projections

Albatross Chicks Dying

thinker — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 21:11:36 +0000

Tens of thousands of albatross chicks are killed each year when they are mistakenly fed trash. The albatross is only one of the many species that is highly vulnerable to human trash, and the outlook is not good when our oceans are swimming with detritus: see the previous article on the Plastic Killing Fields

Dead Albatross Chick

See more photos at http://www.chrisjordan.com/current_set2.php?id=11

Honeybees and Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD)

thinker — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 23:10:20 +0000

The humble honeybee pollenates approximately one third of our food supply. Since 2006, reports of vanishing honeybee colonies began pouring in, and so far there have been no verified explanations that account for the bees disappearance. Other pollenators have also been declining in numbers 75% of all plants on the planet rely on animal pollenation. A mass extinction of pollenators would trigger many others: the pollenating plants would soon die out, and in turn, their death would trigger the collapse of other ecosystems.

The laboratory analysis of the bees shows not a single source, but an array of bacteria, fungus, pesticides, and pathogens in their gut, and some of it indicates that the bees’ immune system may have failed, similar to how the AIDS virus affects humans. The results suggest that the death of bees might be a complex one.

In China, some areas have already resorted to human pollenation (armed with chicken feathers), after industrial and agricultural pollution killed off all the insect pollenators.

PBS has a full length video available on-line:
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/silence-of-the-bees/video-full-episode/251/

Extinction: the Price of Ignorance

thinker — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 03:29:06 +0000

The Chinese consider shark-fin soup a delicacy that’s supposedly good for one’s health; it’s not. Even if most Chinese citizens only eat this soup on special occasions, their eating habit is aiding the mass destruction of the shark population. It’s made easier with the help of corrupt governments willing to turn a blind eye to illegal fishing.

Water Polluters Run Rampant in USA

thinker — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 02:41:38 +0000

The following is a summary of a New York Times article:
Clean Water Laws Are Neglected, at a Cost in Sufferring: September 12th, 2009

Also see the series: Toxic Waters

Video: Toxic Waters: Coal in the Water

In some places it’s as bad as any third world country. According to a study published last year Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, “an Estimated 19.5 million Americans fall ill each year from drinking water contaminated with parasites, bacteria or viruses,” but that figure does not include illnesses caused by other chemicals and toxins. Some industries have so badly ignored clean water standards that nearby residents are losing teeth, and possibly even dying as a result from the contaminants. The sources of many illnesses are difficult to trace, but there’s no question that high levels of heavy metals and other pollutants is linked to cancer, birth defects and neurological disorders. The Environmental Protection Agency has declined to intervene in more than 97% of these cases due to what it calls “inadequate funds”; the inaction is baffling when the agency could stand to bring in billions of dollars in fines. One EPA worker who wished to remain anonymous for fear of being fired said that the agency is outmanned and overwhelmed, and that’s exactly how the industry wants it. The comparisons to a third world country are validated with these descriptions of corporate corruption and lack of worker rights. Another EPA official (also wishing to remain anonymous for fear of retribution) said that during the eight years of President Bush, his hands have been tied. “Everyone knew polluters were getting away with murder,” he is quoted as saying, “but these polluters are some of the biggest campaign contributors in town, so no one really cared if they were dumping poisons into streams.” Perhaps more telling of the corporate agenda being President Bush’s castration of the EPA is the fact none of the administrators from the last eight years — Christine Todd Whitman, Michael O. Leavitt and Stephen L. Johnson — were willing to comment.

The New York Times has put together a comprehensive database compiled from documents obtained from the Freedom of Information Act. You can now search for infractions of the Clean Water Act by zip code.

Sometimes the concentrations of toxins were exceeded legal limits by as much as 1,000 percent. Most of the large industries involved, e.g. Remington Coal, declined to comment or stated that the practices were “normal.” The industries involved can exert enormous pressure on lawyers, politicians, and EPA testers. After one spill in West Virginia, Matthew Crum, a 43-year-old lawyer with the EPA, talked about meeting one of their inspectors at the spill site, and Mr. Crum advocated shutting down the mine until the spill could be cleaned up. The inspector agreed, but he was scared of getting demoted or transferred to the middle of nowhere. Apparently, everyone was terrified of doing their job. Mr. Crum’s eagerness to do his job brought the ire of the industry and their powerful connections in politics. One of West Virginia’s most powerful state lawmakers, Eustace Frederick, was said to be confirmed only upon the condition that she agreed to fire Mr. Crum. She was given the job and soon fired Mr. Crum.

Whether or not anything will change remains to be seen. The proof is in the water.

The End of the Green Revolution

thinker — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 13:19:20 +0000

NPR just aired a story about the end of the Green Revolution in India. The quick summary is that India’s farmers used to live in much the same way as their ancestors, eking out a living from the soil; starvation was a looming problem for India’s growing population, and the “American” farming methods promised a solution. It required the use of genetically modified seeds, the application of pesticides, and the use of motorized farm equipment. The results were that some of the yields exploded, but there was a catch: the genetically modified crops required more water. The promise of the Green Revolution has turned out to be something of a Faustian Deal or a Trojan Horse. It may have taken 40 years for this to become obvious, but the dropping water table in India should be a testament to how the “modern” farming methods are not sustainable; not only are they not sustainable, they may have permanently damaged the land. The collapse of India’s breadbasket should be seen as the canary in the coal mine: if our modern system of agriculture has destroyed India’s ability to feed itself, then certainly other areas are close behind. Read more at NPR’s site:
‘Green Revolution’ Trapping India’s Farmers In Debt

Asian Longhorned Beetle Attacks Northeastern United States

thinker — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 17:56:04 +0000

The Asian Longhorned Beetle has been discovered in Worcester, Massachusetts and threatens to destroy boxelder, maple, chestnut, willows, and elms. These types of infestations are hastened by human activity (the beetle originally came to the United States in the wood of pallets). The threat to American forests could be severe — the larvae destroy the trees from the inside out. I’d like to see more information about how the beetles’ original habitat regulates its population (e.g. natural predators, climate).

The biggest problem in spreading these pests is people moving firewood; the pieces of wood may contain larvae.

Food Costs Continue to Rise: Money for Food Research Dwindles

thinker — Mon, 19 May 2008 00:23:42 +0000

There were two articles in today’s New York Times addressing the issue of rising food prices. At the crux of the matter is that the Green Revolution was not the end-all solution that many thought it was. Certainly, we are now able to produce far more food with less effort than ever before, but our food chain is not something that can be simply taken for granted.

The Food and Energy Research Gaps: By ANDREW C. REVKIN May 18, 2008

World’s Poor Pay Price as Crop Research Is Cut: By KEITH BRADSHER and ANDREW MARTIN
Published: May 18, 2008