Wednesday, 05 Apr 2006

Sure, you're convinced that global warming is a bad thing, but what about your friends who just want more beach days? It's hard to be the one who dampens their enthusiasm -- but advice maven Umbra Fisk says that is exactly what must be done. She suggests how to apply, and reapply, the message.

Waddle They Do Now?

Global warming also affects -- noooooooo! -- penguins

Need a new weapon in your arsenal against global-warming skeptics? Try baby penguin fuzzy-wuzziness. According to a new study, penguins and other Antarctic seabirds are nesting and laying eggs later than they did half a century ago, and scientists blame ... the usual culprit. In eastern Antarctica, overall sea ice has declined, while local cooling has extended more than a month longer into the spring (unlike in the Arctic, where it's melting earlier). This has contributed to a decline in the little marine organisms that serve as penguin food, which in turn has caused the birds' nesting date to move back, since -- as we all saw in March of the Penguins -- they need to build up food reserves for the heroic feat of egg-laying. So far the penguins seem to be chillin', so to speak, but scientists caution that failure to adapt to climate changes could mean bad news for the cutesy-wootsy little snuggums. Ahem.


Have we mentioned we're giving away a trip to Peru? We are! Check it out. But first check out a gorgeous collection of Peruvian photos by Gary Braasch, a globe-trotting, conservation-minded photog. Today he takes us to the Amazon, the Andes, Machu Picchu, and other places you could see ... if you win our sweepstakes! We're just saying.

Up the Arsenic

Chicken with arsenic a daily part of American diet

You may be getting a significant dose of poison with your Chick'n Stix. Arsenic is a U.S. government-sanctioned supplement to chicken feed -- it's used to kill parasites and promote growth -- despite being a known carcinogen and being implicated in other illnesses. Although the average American's chicken consumption has increased threefold since 1960, to about 87 pounds a year, the FDA-approved tolerance level of 500 parts per billion of arsenic in chicken has not been updated in decades. What's more, soils contaminated with arsenic from chicken manure fertilizer are used to grow other foods, and chicken litter containing arsenic is used as feed for other animals (ew!). Limit your exposure by buying organic or antibiotic-free chicken. Or, you know, stop eating meat.

A Cure for What Whales Ya

Five major food firms dump shares in whaling operator

The Gorton's fisherman is going cold turkey on whale meat. Five major food companies, including Japanese seafood giant Nissui -- the owner of Gorton's -- announced that they are ending support for Japanese whaling by dumping their one-third share in Kyodo Senpaku, the largest operator of whaling ships in Japan. Nissui says the divestment is just a reorganization of assets, but the move is coming in the wake of an intense anti-whaling campaign by Greenpeace, which included organizing thousands of protest emails to the companies, as well as confronting whalers at sea. "After only a few months of consumer protest, the fragile commercial interest in whaling has collapsed," exulted Greenpeace. The picture still seems dicey for the hunted cetaceans, however: apparently Japan's government-backed "scientific whaling" operator, the Institute of Cetacean Research, is buying up many of the shares and has vowed to keep up the kill.