Green Options

This post consists of a few lines and a link to what’s happened since some of my recent posts where there has been significant action. Each item is identified and linked by the date and title of the original post.

July 2009 - Sable Antelope - One Sold for $ 385 000 and Giant Species Rediscovered in Angola.

Three more Giant Sable Antelopes, have been sighted in Angola. This brings to six the number of this rare species, which was feared to have become extinct, that have been sited in the last few weeks.

July 2009 - Mauling of Baboon by “Fighting Dogs”, Reopens the Cape Peninsular Baboon Debate

Two men were attacked by Pit Bulls in Ocean View ,the same Township in Ocean View this week, prompting a warning from welfare group TEARS.

A two-year-old Minnesota biomonitoring program has now confirmed that residents of suburbs east of the Twin Cities have perfluorochemicals (PFCs) in their blood, although government agencies stress that the levels are only slightly higher than those in the general population. Several landfill sites where 3M formerly dumped CFC wastes leaked the chemicals into groundwater including some drinking water wells. Meanwhile, a federal agency is proposing to study chemicals in urine and blood of Great Lakes residents to determine whether a massive proposed federal cleanup is delivering results.

The Minnesota Department of Health says 3M workers exposed to PFCs during manufacturing show no apparent impact on their health. Studies on animals have shown effects on the liver, thyroid, and pancreas.

Both economic theory and experimental data concur–increasing the distance traveled to find food incurs “negative fitness consequences”, by decreasing total energy for maintenance, repair and reproduction. Yet, most animals must travel to find food. Individual, small groups, and large herds of eutherian (placental) mammals–like wild buffalo, gazelles, lions, and elephants–often travel great distances to find food. This expenditure of energy, at the apparent risk of biological fitness, has puzzled zoologists for some time.

The Endocrine Society, a medical group representing the research of hormones, issued an intake warning at their annual meeting earlier this month.

The group is concerned over bisphenol-A and similar hormone-disrupting chemicals, found in plastics, pesticides, and other products. It said in a statement that bisphenol-A is a

’significant concern for public health’ and that it’s important for consumers to take a ‘precautionary approach’ to limit their exposure.

This follows on the heels of a few more studies regarding BPA. First–and most worrisome–is the recent study that showed that human exposure to BPA is likely much higher than previously thought and much higher than deemed “safe” by the FDA. That study’s author, Dr. Frederick vom Saal, who presented his study’s findings at the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting, said of the chemical:

BPA is now known to be a potent estrogen.

Human and animal studies indicate it could be related to diabetes, heart disease, liver abnormalities, miscarriage and other reproductive abnormalities, as well as prostate and breast cancer

Other recent studies should have us all cutting out the polycarbonate plastic.

Think a romantic meal of beef tenderloin with a side of potatoes sounds delicious? Maybe with a nice Bordeaux?  Perhaps it does (especially if it’s grass-fed beef!), but it may decrease your chances of conception.

A new study shows that men who want to be fathers should increase their intake of fruits and veggies and decrease their consumption of fatty foods like red meat and creamy dishes.

Men who ate healthy diets not only had faster sperm, they had more sperm in their semen. It was both a quality and quantity effect.

Dr. Jaime Mendiola of the University of Murcia, Spain said of his research:

In this study, we have found that people who consume more fruits and vegetables are ingesting more anti-oxidants and this is the important point.

We saw that, among the couples with fertility problems coming to the clinic, the men with good semen quality ate more vegetables and fruit than those men with low seminal quality.

There are obviously many factors that influence fertility, and this is only one.

Three different news items highlight the vast differences in viewpoint and the continuing uncertainty around the farming of Jatropha by small scale farmers as a feedstock for Europe’s refineries moving towards meeting the EU’s renewable liquid fuel goals.

Clarity on What Jatropha Can Deliver

At the recent Africa Biofuels Conference in Midrand South Africa, Vincent Volckaert the Regional Manager for Africa of D1 Oils Plant Science presented a paper titled “Jatropha curcas: beyond the myth of the miracle crop”.

Besides making it clear that Jatropha is not a miracle plant and like any other it needs water and fertiliser to produce biomass, he noted it was particularly sensitive to pests and disease when not grown as an intercrop. Volckaert stated that D1 Oil expected to release new seed in 2010 or 2011, that would have a yield of 2 tons of oil per hectare on well managed estates at maturity.

A 66-year-old UK woman has undergone IVF treatment in the Ukraine and is 8 months pregnant with what is thought to be her first child.

Elizabeth Adeney had gone through a difficult divorce but always wanted to be a mother. Her friends say the the wealthy future single mom is still working and is perfectly healthy.

A friend told the Daily Mail:

She was desperate for a child. She was over the moon when she learned last year that she was pregnant and has been quite open about it - it’s not the sort of thing she can hide. Elizabeth has had a pretty good pregnancy. She has been very well, considering her age - I’m amazed how she keeps going.

On the heels of Nadia Suleman, this older mama is already reigniting the fertility debate. When she gives birth, she’ll be the oldest woman in Britain to do so.