Environmental Sciences Bulletin Board - 3 April 2017

Why have scientists abandoned the scientific method? 

·        https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2017/03/29/j-scott-armstrong-fraction-1-papers-scientific-journals-follow-scientific-method/ 

“Baby box” is not only simple, but is also effective measure to reduce SIDS

·        https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/finnish-baby-box-is-becoming-popular-around-world-180962723/

Small creatures are often overlooked but are very important to conservation

·        https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/small-animals-are-huge-conservation-180962740/

Sightings reported so hunt is on for Tasmanian tigers, thought to have become extinct in 1936

·        https://www.treehugger.com/animals/after-sightings-search-extinct-thylacine.html

A burgeoning water crisis: will water remain affordable?

·        https://www.cbsnews.com/news/are-you-prepared-for-unaffordable-water-bills/

·        Paper: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0169488

Customs & Border Protection launches new website making public data on apprehensions, admissibility, recidivism & arrests of criminal aliens at our border; seizure data to be added soon

·        https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/national-media-release/cbp-launches-border-enforcement-statistics-webpage

·        Webpage: https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/cbp-enforcement-statistics

11 percent of groundwater is used for irrigating food crops that are internationally traded

·        https://phys.org/news/2017-03-percent-groundwater-internationally-food.html

Call the authorities to help save an abandoned bear cub – don’t try this yourself

·        https://gma.yahoo.com/oregon-hiker-could-face-charges-bringing-malnourished-bear-171004324--abc-news-topstories.html

Potential cuts in federal funding to sanctuary cities to force compliance with immigration laws

·        https://www.yahoo.com/news/u-attorney-general-says-sanctuary-cities-may-see-175705163.html

Children should grow up with puppies and/dogs & they will be healthier!

·        https://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v543/n7647_supp/full/543S48a.html

Soil – farmers learning to work with the land

·        https://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/news/2017/march/is-soil-the-great-new-integrator

San Joaquin Valley, California, soils are too salty to produce good crops, now produce solar power

·        https://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/news/2017/march/in-california-salt-taints-soil-threatening-food-security

Exotic fish dumped from aquariums or escaped from fish farms have invaded the Everglades

·        https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/environment/article140670663.html

Not a list you want to be on: the most obese cities in the US

·        https://wallethub.com/edu/fattest-cities-in-america/10532/

·        https://www.yahoo.com/beauty/here-are-americas-fattest-cities-ranked-164319719.html

California sourdough bread really does taste different and better dating to the 1849 Gold Rush

·        https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/gold-miners-kept-their-sourdough-starters-alive-cuddling-them-180962689/

Celebrate National Park Week from 15 – 23 April 2017

·        https://www.npca.org/articles/347-5-ways-to-celebrate-national-park-week#sm.0013rmkjd12q9eu1t431e48ig9nrf

·        https://www.nationalparks.org/our-work/campaigns-initiatives/national-park-week

Millennials are most reckless drivers and pose most risk to others

·        https://www.yahoo.com/style/its-official-millennial-drivers-are-the-most-reckless-behind-the-wheel-110004959.html

California wants more dams to meet growing demand for water

·        https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060052113

Updates on e-waste – the problem continues to get worse

·        https://www.sci-tech-today.com/story.xhtml?story_id=120006QBR0XC

·        https://www.sci-tech-today.com/news/EWaste+Mountain+Is+Rising+in+Asia/story.xhtml?story_id=120006QBPXUO

Rule requires manufacturers to notify EPA of chemicals manufactured & processed in past ten years to provide info to update Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) inventory

·        https://www.natlawreview.com/article/toxic-substances-control-act-tsca-amendment-upcoming-inventory-rule

Mapping refugees in the US

·        https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/by-numbers-united-states-refugees-180962487/

Study shows population age groups affect disease outbreak impacts

·        https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-03/uoe-soa032417.php

Study says two-thirds of mutations that cause some types of cancer are unavoidable and random

·        https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/nearly-two-thirds-cancer-causing-mutations-are-unavoidable-study-claims-180962673/

US EPA denies petition to ban chlorpyrifos pesticide – maintains “no-spray” buffer & ban on home use

·        https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/epa-denies-petition-ban-pesticide-crops-46457167

·        https://www.natlawreview.com/article/epa-denies-petition-to-ban-chlorpyrifos

Transparent Glass Frogs have intimate and ancient mating ritual (video)

·        https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/category/science/fascinating-how-transparent-glass-frogs-mate/

When it comes to reproduction, humans might seem a little boring compared to these species

·        https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/here-are-eight-species-bending-rules-reproduction-180962676/

How much humans eat & what is in their diet has direct impact on resource use and the environment

·        https://www.treehugger.com/climate-change/solving-global-dietary-problems-bigger-challenge-climate-change-scientist-says.html

Meat industry often cuts corners when trying to meet public demand and can put lives at risk while factory farms create significant environmental impacts

·        https://civileats.com/2017/03/29/the-global-dangers-of-industrial-meat/

Water users in the Colorado River Basin may need to change their mind set

·        https://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/Inhabit/2017/0327/For-water-users-on-Colorado-River-a-mind-set-of-shared-sacrifice

Dust plays a prominent role in providing nutrients to alpine forests

·        https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-03/uow-rdd032817.php

·        https://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=191381&org=GEO&from=news

4 new bills in Illinois would tighten environmental protections for local residents against hog confinements

·        https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/watchdog/pork/ct-pork-legislation-met-20170328-story.html

Chinese demand for global resources is have unprecedented environmental impact on the planet

·        https://e360.yale.edu/features/the-dark-legacy-of-chinas-drive-for-global-resources

US EPA delaying effective date of revised Clean Air Act rule governing Risk Management Plans

·        https://www.natlawreview.com/article/epa-risk-management-plan-rule-delayed

Turning spinach into human heart cells – what about the ethical issues?

·        https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/03/spinach-leaf-transforms-into-sheet-of-beating-human-heart-cells/

?National Academies of Sciences endorses human subject air pollution tests

·        https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060052203

·        Report: https://www.nap.edu/catalog/24618/controlled-human-inhalation-exposure-studies-at-epa

PBDEs and other poly-halogenated compounds are produced by humans and are also naturally occurring

·        https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/03/sponges-produce-a-toxic-chemical-weve-been-using-as-a-flame-retardant/

South Carolina watching what happens with Texas effort to poison feral hogs

·        https://www.wyff4.com/article/south-carolina-considers-controversial-cure-for-huge-wild-hog-problem/9202347

Severe storms brought down power lines that electrocuted two boys in East Fort Worth, Texas

·        https://gma.yahoo.com/two-boys-11-12-electrocuted-death-texas-storms-060833023--abc-news-topstories.html

Federal Court ruling says arsenic seeping from Virginia coal ash ponds violates CWA, but does not warrant civil penalty

·        https://www.natlawreview.com/article/virginia-ash-pond-seeps-violate-cwa-do-not-warrant-civil-penalty