Eideard

Photographs of variously mutated brown trout were relegated to an appendix of a scientific study commissioned by the J. R. Simplot Company, whose mining operations have polluted nearby creeks in southern Idaho. The trout were the offspring of local fish caught in the wild that had been spawned in the laboratory. Some had two heads; others had facial, fin and egg deformities.

Yet the company’s report concluded that it would be safe to allow selenium — a metal byproduct of mining that is toxic to fish and birds — to remain in area creeks at higher levels than are now permitted under regulatory guidelines. The company is seeking a judgment to that effect from the Environmental Protection Agency. After receiving a draft report that ran hundreds of pages, an E.P.A. review described the research as “comprehensive” and seemed open to its findings, which supported the selenium variance for Simplot’s Smoky Canyon mine.

But when other federal scientists and some environmentalists learned of the two-headed brown trout, they raised a ruckus, which resulted in further scientific review that found the company’s research wanting.

Now, several federal agencies, an array of environmental groups and one of the nation’s largest private companies are at odds over selenium contamination from the Idaho phosphate mine, the integrity of the company’s research, and what its effect will be on future regulatory policy.

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We’ve all said something this dumb one time or another:

I don’t think our extended family has a single Chevy pickup anymore. Most of the pickups are Dodges, preferably diesel. But, the commercial makes me chuckle everytime I see it.

An avalanche of more than 100 apples rained down over a main road in Keresley, Coventry on Monday night. The street was left littered with apples after they pelted car windscreens and bonnets just after rush-hour. The bizarre downpour may have been caused by a current of air that lifted the fruit from a garden or orchard, releasing it over the junction of Keresley Road and Kelmscote Road.

Woo-hoo!

From the GUARDIAN Eyewitness.

A new study by Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers finds a strong association between the consumption of red meat — particularly when the meat is processed — and an increased risk of type 2 diabetes.

The study also shows that replacing red meat with healthier proteins, such as low-fat dairy, nuts, or whole grains, can significantly lower the risk…

…Researchers found a daily 100-gram serving of unprocessed red meat (about the size of a deck of cards) was associated with a 19 percent increased risk of type 2 diabetes.

They also found that one daily serving of half that quantity of processed meat — 50 grams (for example, one hot dog or sausage or two slices of bacon) — was associated with a 51 percent increased risk.

“Clearly, the results from this study have huge public health implications given the rising type 2 diabetes epidemic and increasing consumption of red meats worldwide,” said Frank Hu. “The good news is that such troubling risk factors can be offset by swapping red meat for a healthier protein.”

The researchers found that, for an individual who eats one daily serving of red meat, substituting a serving of nuts per day resulted in a 21 percent lower risk of type 2 diabetes; substituting low-fat dairy, a 17 percent lower risk; and substituting whole grains, a 23 percent lower risk…

Red meat, they add, should be replaced with healthier choices, such as nuts, whole grains, low-fat dairy products, fish or beans.

Mind you – I’m talking about balance not complete replacement.

Did I mention I love beans?

A North-Sea wind farm has hardly any negative effects on fauna. At most, a few bird species will avoid such a wind farm. It turns out that a wind farm also provides a new natural habitat for organisms living on the sea bed such as mussels, anemones, and crabs, thereby contributing to increased biodiversity. For fish and marine mammals, it provides an oasis of calm in a relatively busy coastal area, according to researcher Prof. Han Lindeboom at IMARES…and several of his colleagues and fellow scientists at Bureau Waardenburg and Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ)…

The research carried out within the OWEZ wind farm revealed little effect during the first few years on the benthic organisms in the sandy areas between the wind turbines. New species establish themselves, and communities of animals arise on the wind turbine piles and the rocks piled around the columns, leading to a local increase in biodiversity. The fish fauna turns out to be very variable, and some minor positive effects have been observed so far. For example, the wind farm seems to provide shelter to cod. Porpoises were also heard more often inside the wind farm than outside it. A striking feature is that various bird species, including the gannet, avoid the wind farm, whereas others, such as seagulls, do not seem to be bothered by the wind turbines. Cormorants were even observed in greater numbers. The number of birds that collided with the turbines was not determined but was estimated to be quite low on the basis of observations and model calculations…

Overall, the OWEZ wind farm functions as a new type of habitat with more species of benthic organisms and a possibly increased use of the area by fish, marine mammals and some bird species, whereas the presence of other bird species is reduced…

In the busy Dutch coastal zone, the wind farm seems to offer a relative oasis of calm, according to the researchers. In the Anthropocene era, the present era during which humans have an impact on almost everything on earth, the effects of intensive fishing, pollution, gas oil and sand extraction, and intensive shipping have already resulted in changes to the ecosystem. Against such a background, a wind farm can contribute to a more diverse habitat and even help nature to recover. However, the rotating blades can also have a significant disruptive effect on some species of birds. The researchers therefore suggest that, for the purpose of generating energy, special areas be designated in the sea for wind farms. Unavoidable effects, such as a local reduction in the numbers of some bird species would then have to be accepted, but by choosing the location appropriately, these effects can be minimised.

I don’t agree with the need for specificity. I worry more about bats than birds around wind generators – a problem virtually non-existent for sea-based wind farms. I worry more about bats because their darting flight after food seems to be less aware of those big slow-moving blades than are birds.

The rest of the positive results shouldn’t surprise anyone who’s investigated the aftereffects of offshore oil production platforms. Some of the best subsistence and sport fishing you’ll ever find. The same kind of questions were being asked when I worked in offshore construction decades ago and beaucoup studies came through with answers as positive as these about offshore structures.

Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, probably ate fare similar to today’s pricey health foods such as cereal, fish and seaweed, according to a researcher who has studied the country’s 5th century diet.

Food historian Regina Sexton said records kept by monks showed that Patrick, who is credited with ridding Ireland of snakes and spreading the Christian message, most likely drew his sustenance from cereals and dairy produce such as sour milk, flavored curd mixtures and a variety of soft and hard cheeses.

“It is safe to say that obesity was not a problem in those days, and that the fare was seasonal, wholesome and modest by today’s standards,” said Sexton of University College Cork.

A corresponding factor in reduced obesity had to be the hard work. Field hands back then often ate 2 lbs. of cheese per day. But, they used up more than four thousand calories at work.

Having arrived in Ireland as a slave after what was probably a cold and hungry journey from Britain, the future saint most likely snacked on wet preparations like porridge, gruel and meal pastes.

Other culinary delights he could choose from included hen and goose eggs, honey, curds, seaweeds and apples, which he could garnish with a dash of wild garlic or watercress.

Fish like salmon, trout and eel or meats like hand-cured pork were also on 5th century Irish menus, while flat breads made from oats, barley, a little rye and some of the altogether more exclusive wheat, added some bulk.

“Ironically, much of the food available then is what we call ‘health food’ now, which comes of course, at a premium price,” Sexton said.

I’ll forgive him converting Ireland to Christianity.

As for the “health food” comparison – a great deal of what the article discusses is Ireland’s answer to a Mediterannean Diet. The only goodies that get expensive are some of the seafood if you live in the Southern Rockies as I do. Otherwise, I grew up with most of the same foodstuffs in New England. Maybe a bit more white bread and beef – my family back in the Outer Hebrides were cattle drovers for centuries. No doubt they got a bit of beef, once in a while.

Around one in four Montrealers take some kind of anti-depressant, and according to new research, the drugs are passing into the waterways and affecting fish. The findings are internationally significant as the city’s sewage treatment system is similar to that in use in other major cities, and moreover, it is reputed to be the third largest treatment system in the world. Lead by Dr. Sébastien Sauvé…the research team found that the drugs accumulate in fish tissues and are affecting the fish’s brain activity.

The Saint Lawrence is a major international waterway that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, and it surrounds the island of Montreal. Sauvé has been looking at the chemical pollution of the water system for years. “Montreal has a very basic sewage system – the city basically only removes solids, there’s no disinfecting of the water,” he explained. “In any case, the chemical structure of anti-depressants makes them extremely difficult to remove from sewage, even with the most sophisticated systems available…”

Sauvé was quick to point out that there is no immediate danger to humans. “The amount of anti-depressants being released into our river works out to roughly the equivalent of a grain of salt in an Olympic-size swimming pool,” he said. “That’s not enough to affect people, should they be brave enough to go fishing out there – I’d be more worried about the trace metals! Nevertheless, we are seeing an impact on the river’s ecosystem, which should concern cities everywhere.”

There will be more research. I wonder how much impact is required before energy and dollars are allotted to reverse the process.

Two enterprising Polish poachers used a home-made, radio controlled submarine to trawl for fish in a frozen lake.

Police in the small town of Zbaszyn in western Poland said they caught the two red handed with the submarine, although another man managed to escape when the officers approached the “three suspicious characters with nets on the lake”.

A search of the suspects revealed a hand-held GPS device, which took the police the next day to a 40-kilogram stash of fish, and five 200-metre nets.

“They drilled a hole in the ice and then dropped the submarine in on a tether,” said Romuald Piecuch, a local police spokesman. “They then manoeuvred it around under the ice with the net before bringing it back to the hole with the anything they had caught.” Despite their prowess at harvesting fish in a manner that won them the grudging respect of the police, the spokesman added that the value of the torpedo-like submarine probably exceeded the value of the fish.

I’ve said it before. I’ll say it again. It doesn’t take a boatload of brains to be a crook.

Click on photo for video

Conventional submarine robots are powered by propellers that are heavy, inefficient and can get tangled in weeds.

In contrast ‘Gymnobot’, created by researchers from the Ocean Technologies Lab in the University’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, is powered by a fin that runs the length of the underside of its rigid body; this undulates to make a wave in the water which propels the robot forwards.

The design, inspired by the Amazonian knifefish, is thought to be more energy efficient than conventional propellers and allows the robot to navigate shallow water near the sea shore.

Gymnobot could be used to film and study the diverse marine life near the seashore, where conventional submersible robots would have difficulty manoeuvring due to the shallow water with its complex rocky environment and plants that can tangle a propeller.

The lab was recently awarded a grant to work with six other European institutions to create a similar robot that reacts to water flow and is able to swim against currents.

Interesting – but, their video server may be overloaded.