Popular Insecticides a Threat to Bees?

Popular pesticides called neonicotinoids or neonics have been linked to massive bee-kills in the Midwest.  Neonics are used in a dust form and often buried with the seed. Yet the exhaust from the planters spreads the dust to nearby flowers, leading to the bee die-offs.  These die-offs are believed to occur both instantly and over-time depending on the type of exposure.  Bayer CropScience, the largest seller of the insecticide, is currently developing a waxy substitute that won’t spread as easily.

Green Walls Cut Pollution in Urban Areas.

Scientists in Germany have created a computer model based on a green wall located in a Western European City.  In addition to the other well-known benefits, the simulation revealed that green walls absorb large amounts of both Nitrogen Dioxide and particulate matter in what are called “street canyons”, or the space between two tall buildings.  This study could help governments make implementations to improve air quality especially in large urban hotspots in ways other than simply reducing emissions.

Scientists: Icy Spring linked to Dramatic Loss of Ice

Scientists have linked the exposure of large parts of the ocean to the extreme weather being experienced in Europe and North America.  According to the National Snow and Ice Data Centre (NSIDC) there has been a dramatic loss of Arctic sea ice, which fell to almost “the minimum recorded for this time of year”.  Thus the lack of existing ice enables the cold Arctic air to flow further south for longer periods of time.

Extinct Species Revival and the “New Hybrid”

Source: Report of the Smithsonian Institution. 1904

Synthetic Biologists and de-extinction scientists are blurring the defining lines “species”.  While evolution makes precise changes over time based on survival, humanity’s hand is far less refined.  Methods such as cloning and genetic engineering are utilized in an effort to improve or salvage a species for survival.  If species revival or de-extinction is to be successful other species will have to be integrated, whether physically or behaviorally, resulting in hybrid “species”.

Lead Based Paint found on the Shelves in Developing Nations

Lead was commonly utilized in paint to decrease drying time, while since banned in the U.S. and other Western Countries due to the toxic health effects, it was discovered on the shelves of many developing countries during a recent study.  In some cases levels of the heavy metal were determined to “exceed the US standard by 300 times or more.”  Additionally, one of the producers of the lead-based paint was found to be a subsidiary of the world’s “second largest” paint producer, headquartered in the U.S.

CITES Moves to Protect tree species, Prevent Black Market Timber
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) recently met at the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties in Bangkok, Thailand March 3rd through the 14th, 2013.  During this time it was decided that several species of rare Rosewood from Southeast Asia and South America as well as Ebony from Madagascar would now be protected under Appendix 2.  Thus both importers and exporters would require a valid permit or face strict international trade sanctions for violations.

Florida Manatee

Manatee Deaths caused by Red Tide at an all time High
181 Manatees have been killed by Red Tide Algae Blooms likely brought on early by Florida’s warmer than usual winter.  2013 already surpasses the record high of 151 deaths, which occurred in 1996.  Many additional casualties are expected in the coming months during what is more typically the Red Tide “season.” Toxins naturally occurring in Red Tide cause seizures and paralysis in the endangered species, often leading to fatal drowning.  Red Tide is both ingested by Manatees as they eat sea grasses and inhaled when they surface for air.

Reclaimed Farmland, Salt Marshes, and Carbon Sinks
Scientists in the United Kingdom (UK) have found that reclaimed farmland that has been transformed into a salt marsh functions as a Carbon Sink in the same way that natural salt marshes do.  Both the natural and reclaimed land were found to absorb up to 0.92 tonnes of carbon per hectare per year.  The UK’s Coastal Management Realignment Program sponsors the process of letting the land revert to its natural state.

Oregonian Experts Warn of Mega-quake and Tsunami
The Oregon Seismic Safety Policy Advisory Commission, a group of more than 150 volunteer experts, found that The Cascadia Subduction Zone, which lies just off the Northwest regional coastline, is past due for a monster quake and tsunami.  The area produced a mega-quake in the year 1700.  Another monster quake and tsunami are overdue.

Recycling means different things to different people. For some, it is second nature to separate every paper, glass, plastic, and aluminum item from regular trash. Others simply don’t bother. While many are familiar with the outcome of not recycling (haven’t we all seen images of the tortured waterbirds and sea turtles entangled in our waste?), how many of us really understand what actually happens with those materials we set aside to be recycled? Words like the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” are enough to make us think twice about throwing away plastics numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7. But are our efforts really worth the trouble? How much of the stuff in the recycling bin actually gets recycled?

Recycling in New York City.

Both of us unquestionably, to a fault, separate every last piece of paper, cardboard, plastic, glass and aluminum. Shannon lives in New York City where she finds sorting and saving to be quite the undertaking. Real estate is not cheap, so excessive space for storing recyclables is generally not abundant. And since recycling is only picked up once a week in NYC, it begins to take up a lot of said real estate in the tiny space that Shannon can afford. Carolyn lives in a less urban area and consequently has more space for storing recyclables between weekly pick-ups. However, she still wonders just how many contents of her recycling bin actually get repurposed.

After contemplating this issue, we realized how many gaps we had in our knowledge of something we so wholeheartedly take part in.  So we started to ask the “hard questions.”  What actually gets recycled? Does that recycling actually have a quantifiable impact? Since we didn’t know the answers to these questions, we wondered if there was a better way to disseminate this information to the public.  When Shannon tried to research the issues locally, the results were utterly overwhelming, and she’s an environmentalist – imagine how the average citizen must feel!

We intend to tackle the recycling questions mentioned above, among others, in an upcoming recycling series on the blog. What are some of your recycling questions and concerns? Are you familiar with the specifics to your area?  Hopefully these and many other perplexing questions will be answered.

Shannon and Carolyn are self-diagnosed recycling addicts and look forward to demystifying the process together.