Plastic Bottles Leach Estrogen – ‘Healthy’ Mineral Water Contaminated by Plastic

26/03/200903/05/2009 Stephen Food, Health, Pollution and Toxics estrogen, plastic

An analysis of commercially available mineral waters in Germany reveals estrogenic compounds leaching out of the plastic packaging into the water. What’s worse these chemicals are potent and affected the development of invertebrate embryos. Estrogen contamination was found in 78% of waters in plastic bottles and waters bottled in composite packaging.

“We must have identified just the tip of the iceberg in that plastic packaging may be a major source of xenohormone* contamination of many other edibles. Our findings provide an insight into the potential exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals due to unexpected sources of contamination.” — write the study authors in the journal of Environmental Science and Pollution Research.

*man-made substance that has a hormone-like effect

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Acid Oceans and Seas Without Fish – Hot New Doc

26/03/200903/04/2009 Stephen Biodiversity, CLIMATE CHANGE/GLOBAL WARMING, OCEAN ocean acidification, sea change

Lots of buzz about a hot, new documentary film A Sea Change which is about ocean acidification and its potential to empty the oceans of fish. I haven’t seen the film although I had a chance to at a seafood conference in San Diego last month but couldn’t face a visual version of a topic I’ve written about since 2006. I have enough trouble sleeping as it is…

Turns out the filmmakers got the idea to make the film by ‘googling’ “ocean acidification” in Nov 2006 and found very few entries. I guess my 2006 articles were among the first-ever articles published about ocean acidification and how climate change is a major threat to the global oceans. — Stephen

July 5 2006

Ailing Reefs Face New Threat of Acidity
By Stephen Leahy

Climate change is making the world’s oceans more acidic, seriously endangering marine ecosystems, including coral reefs.

Carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of fossil fuels have already made the oceans 30 percent more acidic than they have been in millions of years, according to a new report by leading scientists. And the rate of acidification is accelerating as the oceans absorb more than two billion tonnes of carbon each year from the atmosphere.

“This is a dramatic change in the world’s oceans, a change that marine organisms have never dealt with before,” said Joan Kleypas, the report’s lead author and a scientist at the National Centre for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colorado.

“The oceans have changed and they are becoming more acidic. There is no debate about this,” Kleypas told IPS. Continue reading →

Earth Hour, Mar 28. The world’s first global election.

26/03/200926/03/2009 Stephen CLIMATE CHANGE/GLOBAL WARMING earth hour

The WWF is using the annual Earth Hour as a way to get folks thinking about climate change and to send a message to policy makers that the people of the planet are deeply worried. Damn right we are — Stephen

From Earth Hour: Vote Earth – The world’s first global election:

THIS IS THE WORLD’S FIRST GLOBAL ELECTION, BETWEEN EARTH AND GLOBAL WARMING.

On March 28 you can VOTE EARTH by switching off your lights for one hour.

IN 2009, EARTH HOUR IS BEING TAKEN TO THE NEXT LEVEL, with the goal of 1 billion people switching off their lights as part of a global vote. Unlike any election in history, it is not about what country you’re from, but instead, what planet you’re from. VOTE EARTH is a global call to action for every individual, every business, and every community. A call to stand up and take control over the future of our planet.

Over 74 countries and territories have pledged their support to VOTE EARTH during Earth Hour 2009, and this number is growing everyday.

“Earth Hour is a way for the citizens of the world to send a clear message. They want action on climate change.”

— UN Secretary-General Ban.

“Earth Hour 2009 will be even bigger because the threats posed by unchecked climate change are escalating, along with people’s concern. We need every individual, government and business to play a part. Earth Hour provides a constructive platform for engaging these stakeholders and demonstrates the impact we can have when we act together.
— Julia Marton-Lefèvre Director General, IUCN

The results of the election are being presented at the Global Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen 2009. We want one billion votes for Earth, to tell world leaders that we have to take action against global warming.