Full scale of plastic pollution in the world’s oceans revealed for first time – More than five trillion pieces weighing 269,000 tons are floating in our oceans

By Oliver Milman10 December 2014 (The Guardian) – More than five trillion pieces of plastic, collectively weighing nearly 269,000 tonnes, are floating in the world’s oceans, causing damage throughout the food chain, new research has found. Data collected by scientists from the US, France, Chile, Australia and New Zealand suggests a minimum of 5.25tn plastic […]

How girls are developing earlier in an age of ‘New Puberty’ – ‘This is kind of a canary in a coal mine, a barometer for other things that we’re all being exposed to in our environments’

[Greenspan and Deardorff also research how obesity affects the onset of puberty, e.g., “Onset of Breast Development in a Longitudinal Cohort”, 2013. –Des] 2 December 2014 (NPR) – Many girls are beginning puberty at an early age, developing breasts sooner than girls of previous generations. But the physical changes don’t mean the modern girls’ emotional […]

TOXIC: Garbage Island, Part 1 – Oh, this is great, humans have finally ruined the ocean

By Thomas MortonPhotos by Jake Burghart (VICE) – I’m not one of those guys who corners folks at parties to rant at them about biodiesel or calls people “fucking idiots” for being skeptical about global warming. But I should also point out that I’m not one of those Andrew Dice Clay “Fuck the whales” types […]

Scientists find toxic flame retardants in Americans – ‘When you sit on your couch, you want to relax, not get exposed to chemicals that may cause cancer’

By Robert Preidt12 November 2014 (HealthDay News) – Scientists report that they found evidence of six kinds of toxic flame retardants in Americans. The researchers tested urine samples from California residents and found detectable levels of a rarely studied group of flame retardants known as phosphates, and one — tris-(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP) — has never […]

Pollution is the greatest threat facing whales today: whale researcher Dr. Roger Payne

4 November 2014 (SSCS) – For more than four decades, environmentalist, Dr. Roger Payne, famous in the scientific world for discovering that humpback whales sing and communicate across the world’s oceans, has known a thing or two about the plight of the great whales and the oceans. He contends that while it is crucial to […]

Scottish otters dying early because of poisoned seas – ‘Our otters are not living long enough to significantly expand the population further’

By Mike Merritt and Tristan Stewart-Robertson13 October 2014 (The Scotsman) – Scottish otters are only living a third of the lifespan of those on mainland Europe because of poisoned seas, a leading expert on the species has warned. Zoologist Dr Paul Yoxon said chemicals in everyday products are accumulating in fish and shellfish on which […]

Choking the oceans with plastic

By Charles J. Moore25 August 2014 LOS ANGELES (The New York Times) – The world is awash in plastic. It’s in our cars and our carpets, we wrap it around the food we eat and virtually every other product we consume; it has become a key lubricant of globalization — but it’s choking our future […]

Ancestors’ exposure to DDT may contribute to obesity, study says

By Tony Barboza23 October 2013 (Los Angeles Times) – Exposure to the pesticide DDT could be playing a role in high rates of obesity three generations later, a new study says. Scientists injected pregnant rats with DDT and found no change in their levels of obesity or their offspring. But by the third generation, more […]

Only half of prescription drugs removed by sewage treatment – Drugs found in Lake Michigan, miles from sewage outfalls

By Brian Bienkowski and Environmental Health News22 Novenber 2013 Only about half of the prescription drugs and other newly emerging contaminants in sewage are removed by treatment plants. That’s the finding of a new report by the International Joint Commission, a consortium of officials from the United States and Canada who study the Great Lakes. […]

More U.S. girls developing breasts before age 9 – ‘It is a warning that something is influencing our child population’

By Genevra Pittman 4 November 2013 (Reuters) – Heavier girls tend to hit puberty at younger ages, according to a new study. Rising obesity rates seem to be a ‘prime driver’ behind breast development starting earlier. Girls are developing breasts at younger and younger ages, a new study confirms. And upward trends in childhood obesity […]

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