As the Earth Turns

Fri, 20 Jun 2003 00:36:09 GMT

And on the brighter side of things... • Scientists have found a new population of red siskins in South America. These lovely birds are considered to be on the brink of extinction. • And in other news of rare animal populations, more kittens of the endangered lynx have been found in Colorado. Although there are strong populations of lynx in Alaska, they've been nearly driven out of their former homes in the lower 48 states.

Fri, 20 Jun 2003 00:24:47 GMT

Bush Administration once again puts politics first As is being widely reported, the administration forced edits in an EPA document on climate change, removing sections that suggested connections between global warming and human carbon inputs. From the Independent UK: Bush accused of censorship over global warming risk From MSNBC: EPA, White House clash on climate

Tue, 17 Jun 2003 00:31:56 GMT

Interesting Items from the BBC North Sea cod at crisis point More fish stocks in danger. Scientists advise that populations may recover if there is no cod fishing for several years. African wildlife parks to be privatized At least the guy planning to do this is a wealthy conservationist. The plan has wide backing from both individuals and governmental organizations. International Whaling Commission endorses more conservation measures Unfortunately Japan disagrees, and may leave the commission in protest.

Thu, 29 May 2003 02:07:58 GMT

About this weblog More than I even expected, these stories are hard to keep reviewing at this time. The environmental news is very bad these days, and looking at it is hard. But I'm going to give it another try. No guarantees, though.

Sun, 18 Aug 2002 14:32:29 GMT

More gene-swapping than expected! Back in 2001, I read an article in the NYTimes, which discussed the fact that genetically modified crops are now so widespread that it's nearly impossible to find large supplies of unmodified crops. (The link goes to the abstract as the article is now in the for-pay archives there.) The article contains this interesting tidbit:

"We have found traces in corn that has been grown organically for 10 to 15 years," said Arran Stephens, president of Nature's Path Foods, an organic producer of breads and cereals based in Delta, British Columbia. "There's no wall high enough to keep that stuff contained." Some critics of biotechnology see a sinister plot at work, with the industry ignoring the implications of widespread pollen flow and perhaps even encouraging a black market in biotech crops. "They're hoping there's enough contamination so that it's a fait accompli," said Jeremy Rifkin, a longtime critic of biotechnology.

That article kept me up late thinking about the future for several nights in a row, and I've thought about it many times since. When I saw this article in the Guardian last week, which states that scientists are shocked by how fast genetically modified crops are exchanging genes with wild plants, it was a continuation of the theme for me. It seems that by swapping genes, the wild forms of plants such as sunflowers and sugar beets are getting stronger, and the GM (genetically modified) forms are getting weaker. A fait accompli indeed. The cat's definitely out of the bag on this one.

Sat, 17 Aug 2002 14:02:39 GMT

Misc News of the Day • Over at that Maryland pond, Sunday is the day set for poisoning the pond, in an attempt to kill off the Northern Snakehead that were dumped there and have since started to breed. • Greenpeace is calling for action to reduce a thick brown haze that covers several square kilometers of South Asia. The United Nations Environmental Programme has issued a report on the cloud, its causes and effects, for use at the upcoming World Summit on Sustainable Development. President Bush does not plan to attend the summit, and will send Colin Powell instead. • The big news this week was West Nile Virus, which just reached Colorado, where it has affected some horses but taken no human victims yet. • And in yet more news about the weather, there are floods in Europe, more floods in China, while the the droughts in India have been relieved somewhat by local rains. In the United States, wildfires continue to flourish.

Fri, 16 Aug 2002 22:12:04 GMT

About this weblog You know, it's hard keeping up with these things when real life takes over. I suspect I'm not the only person whose ability to pay attention to environmental issues varies according to what other stresses they're enduring at the moment.

Fri, 02 Aug 2002 15:08:48 GMT

Misc News of the Day • New York City plans to ship more garbage out of town, but unfortunately has no where to send it. • The Norwegian Cruise Lines are under investigation for illegally dumping oil and other chemicals in the water off Alaska. • U.S. Senate looks into easing rules on forest thinning in the wake of this year's terrible fire season. Environmentalists charge that this is an attempt to increase logging. • Two teams of hikers set out Wednesday, one from Canada and one from Mexico, to walk across the United States entirely on public lands.