Green Options » rats

“New” Rat Discovered in the Phillipines

Jake Richardson — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 22:51:12 +0000

The discovery of a species in nature often results in headlines such as “New Species Discovered”. However, what exactly is a new species?

A ‘new’ species would probably be only one that had evolved into something unique very recently, or zapped instantly into existence by the power of God, or created by genetic engineers in a laboratory. Therefore, it appears to be safe to say that there is no such thing as a ‘new’ rat. (Unless one includes politicians).

H20 Q&A: Thriller Novel Writer Karen Dionne Talks Water Crisis and Doom

Nayelli Gonzalez — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 20:48:55 +0000

Sometimes life imitates art. In Karen Dionne’s new thriller novel Freezing Point, melting icebergs are viewed as both the solution to the global water crisis and the source of man-made apocalyptic horror. In reality, giant melting icebergs raise global sea levels and unleash frozen methane gases into the Earth’s atmosphere.

According to recently discovered NASA satellite data, more than 2 trillion tons of land ice in Greenland, Antarctica and Alaska have melted since 2003 and have caused alarming global climate changes.

So melting icebergs are not just the stuff of fiction. Yet, one hopes that what transpires in Freezing Point (think toxic drinking water, corporate monopolies of icebergs and large-scale eco-terrorism) never becomes reality.

In our conversation, Karen Dionne, who wrote a Huffington Post column titled “Can a Novel Change the World?”, spoke with me about the power of the written word, killer rats, and environmental activism:

How did you become interested in the global water crisis?

My interest in water issues goes back pretty far. My husband and I were part of the “back to land” movement in the ‘70s. We wanted to not be so dependent on the system, so we lived in nature, grew our own food, got our water from nearby wells. I remember reading the book Silent Spring and one thing I took away from it is that there is no pristine place left on earth. I learned that DDT was showing up in bird eggs and that toxins were everywhere. For my generation, it was an awakening of how severe the problem was. So I’ve always been concerned about what man is doing to the environment.

Rats Prefer Organic Food, Shouldn’t You?

Jennifer Lance — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 16:23:26 +0000

40 lab rats were offered a choice between organic and conventional biscuits by Swiss and Austrian scientists. The rats preferred the organic biscuits, which makes you wonder if rats are smarter than humans. I guess next time you set a Havahart rat trap, you should place some organic food inside the cage.

Via: Mother Earth News

Image: asplosh on Flickr under a Creative Commons license