Green Options

Bisphenol-A (BPA) has already been linked to loads of problems, but now scientists ask, is it making our kids mean, too? The latest research links BPA exposure during early pregnancy with behavior changes in two-year-old girls and boys.

According to the study published in the October issue of Environmental Health Perspectives, the higher a mother’s BPA levels were during the first 16 weeks of pregnancy, the more likely kids were to exhibit the behavior changes. Girls were more aggressive and hyperactive than the norm while boys were more anxious and withdrawn.

The study also examined the effects of a mom’s exposure to lead and cigarettes, oddly enough neither one was linked to toddler behavior changes.

Paul Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft, is funding conservationists who are developing a bio-barier based on chemicals identified in the urine of the African Wild Dog. The barrier would be used to manage the movement of dog packs and possibly become a model for similar systems for other endangered species.

In the middle of the 20th Century, the African Wild Dog (Lycaon pictus) was common throughout sub saharan Africa. There were estimated to be 500,000 dogs in 39 countries, and packs of 100 or more were not uncommon. Today there are only 3,000-5,500 in fewer than 25 countries, primarily in eastern and southern Africa.

Male chimpanzees are able to exchange meat for sex with females, a recent study of wild chimps in Côte d’Ivoire found.

Notorious B.I.G.’s “more money more problems” way of thinking may not be true for male chimpanzees looking to mate. It turns out that male chimps who bring home the bacon–so to speak–have twice as much sex over the long term. This, despite meat making up only 1.4% of the diets of wild chimps.

A 3-year study focusing on 35,000 children, parents and professionals, claims British children are less happy than those in almost any other developed country.

The aggressive pursuit of individual success by adults today is the greatest threat to our children….There is unease about the unprecedented speed with which children’s lives are changing; the commercial pressures they face; the violence they are exposed to; the rising stresses of school; the increased emotional distress they feel.

© Emilia Stasiak | Dreamstime.com

A while back, I pondered the mystery of why mice won’t eat the outer shell of a peanut M&M. Perhaps mice know something we don’t? You may agree after reading about an elementary school experiment with mice and junk food.

Each year, Sister Luigi Frigo’s second grade class in Cudahy, Wisconsin feeds two sets of mice a different diet for four days. One set eats highly processed foods that are typical of school cafeterias, 80 percent of which still sell fast food or junk food items. The other mice where fed a diet based on whole foods.

More than 90% of Americans are recycling — but fewer than 5% have taken recommended green actions such as driving less or reducing their utility use, according to a new Harris Poll on green living released today.

The poll — for which The Nature Conservancy provided input and advice — found that 53% of those surveyed have taken steps to green their lives.

But it also found a substantial lack of knowledge about how to go green — and skepticism about

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Long-tailed macaques eat mostly fruit — but when resources are scarce, they’ve been known to get creative with their cuisine. When living near humans, they raid gardens and learn to beg for food. Sometimes they even steal food from inside houses.

Now, for the first time, scientists have observed long-tailed macaques fishing with their bare hands.

We often ask someone we trust for advice or referrals, but when it comes to making environmentally friendly choices many people go it alone. Whether it is friends or family, chances are they’ll listen to you about your green experiences and will maybe even try incorporating a few themselves.

Bring it up in conversation. Find opportunities to drop your green success stories. If your friends are complaining about gas prices, tell

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