After reading this post, and you’ll be even more in love with animals than you already are.
1. Clams Are Complicated
They can change gender once during their lifetime, right after their juvenile stage, but only from male to female. Many other mollusks are either hermaphroditic or have the ability to change sex.
2. Jewel Wasps Should Consider Starring in a Horror Movie
Jewel wasp. Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons
Jewel wasps (or emerald cockroach wasps) employ a creepy procedure to lay their eggs. They first inject a venomous cocktail into the brains of cockroaches, manipulating their decision-making process and rendering them zombies. The cockroaches become unable to move on their own and will follow the wasps’ “orders.” The wasps then lay an egg on the cockroaches’ legs, and after the eggs hatch, the larvae feed on the roaches’ internal organs for several days.
3. Whales Trap Prey by Blowing Bubbles
Humpback whales engage in “bubble net feeding” by forming a circle and blowing bubbles beneath a school of prey fish. They gradually make the circle tighter, while a second group goes below the prey to push them to the surface and a third group makes a sound that is intended to concentrate the fish. Now that’s what I call teamwork.
4. Ants Are Skilled Farmers
Evidence suggests that ants developed agriculture as early as 70 million years ago in the early Tertiary Period. They grow mushrooms to feed their colonies, which require a sophisticated system of 2,000 chambers, vents and tunnels to control humidity and temperature, and they secrete chemicals with antibiotic properties in order to inhibit mold growth.
5. Little Brown Bats Know How to “Chill”
While hibernating, little brown bats can reduce their heart rate from 200 to 20 beats per minute and can even stop breathing for approximately 45 minutes. This state of torpor, or regulated hypothermia, allows the bats to survive through periods of food scarcity and can last from a few hours to a few months.
6. Squirrels Are Deceptive
Grey squirrel. Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons
When squirrels know that they are being watched by potential thieves, they will pretend to bury an acorn while, in fact, concealing it in their mouth. Squirrel expert Dr. Michael A. Steele explains, “Deceptive caching involves some pretty serious decision making. It meets the criteria of tactical deception, which previously was thought to only occur in primates.”
7. Crocodiles Can Potentially Live Forever
“Senescence” is a term used to describe the gradual deterioration of the body because of aging. It occurs in humans but not in crocodiles. Crocs die only from disease, accidents, starvation or predation. Sea urchins, lobsters, clams, tortoises, turtles and alligators also do not age biologically. As crocodiles age, they continue to become bigger and require more food. When that amount of food is unavailable, they will often die from starvation.
8. Manta Rays Can Weigh up to 3,000 lbs
That’s more than a Prius!
Georgia Aquarium’s manta ray. Photo credit: Tim Lindenbaum /Creative Commons
9. The Migration of Monarch Butterflies Takes Longer Than Their Life Spans
These astonishing creatures migrate up to hundreds or even thousands of miles every year from Canada to Mexico, but individual monarch butterflies do not make the entire round trip because of their short life spans. Even so, the swarms of butterflies always reach their destination! Scientists think they use the sun’s pathway to navigate.
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World's Richest One Percent Are Producing More Than Double the Carbon Emissions as the Bottom 50 Percent
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Climate
A new report from Oxfam found that the wealthiest one percent of the world produced a carbon footprint that was more than double that of the bottom 50 percent of the world. PickPik
A new report from Oxfam found that the wealthiest one percent of the world produced a carbon footprint that was more than double that of the bottom 50 percent of the world, The Guardian reported. The study examined 25 years of carbon dioxide emissions and wealth inequality from 1990 to 2015.
<p>The findings, <a href="https://oxfamilibrary.openrepository.com/bitstream/handle/10546/621052/mb-confronting-carbon-inequality-210920-en.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y" target="_blank">Confronting Carbon Inequality: Putting climate justice at the heart of the COVID-19 recovery</a>, reveal how current economic systems have created extreme carbon inequity and brought the planet to the brink of ecological collapse. It also provides a roadmap for governments around the world to create fairer, more sustainable economies.</p><p>"Our current economic model has been an enabler of catastrophic climate change and equally catastrophic inequality," former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in the report.</p><p>The brief found that the roughly 630 million people who make up the world's wealthiest 10 percent were responsible for 52 percent of the world's carbons emissions from 1990-2015. They alone depleted the world's "carbon budget" by 31 percent. Carbon budgets define the total amount of carbon emissions allowed within a set period. By contrast, the world's poorest 50 percent, consisting of nearly 3.1 billion people, were responsible for just seven percent of global emissions and four percent of the available carbon budget.</p><p>The analysis further examined how wealth correlates to carbon emissions. It found that the richest one percent, about 63 million people, were responsible for 15 percent of carbon emissions. The wealthiest five percent were responsible for more than a third of carbon emissions growth over the 25-year time frame. The growth emissions from the top one percent amounted to three times the growth in emissions compared to the bottom 50 percent.</p>
<p>"The over-consumption of a wealthy minority is fueling the climate crisis yet it is poor communities and young people who are paying the price," Tim Gore, Head of Climate Policy at Oxfam and author of the report said in a <a href="https://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/carbon-emissions-richest-1-percent-more-double-emissions-poorest-half-humanity" target="_blank">press release</a>. "Such extreme carbon inequality is a direct consequence of our governments decades long pursuit of grossly unequal and carbon intensive economic growth."</p><p><a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/climatechange-emissions-wealth/in-suvs-and-on-planes-richest-1-drive-climate-heating-emissions-idUSL8N2GF31C" target="_blank">Reuters</a> reported that consumption from the world's wealthiest people had depleted the carbon budget to the point where there isn't much room for poorer countries to grow without worsening the climate crisis.</p><p>In order to keep the planet from warming more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial times, poorer countries will need to develop renewable energy sources while the wealthiest people and nations will need to limit over-consumption, reported Reuters.</p><p>"The global carbon budget has been squandered to expand the consumption of the already rich, rather than to improve humanity," Gore told the Guardian. "A finite amount of carbon can be added to the atmosphere if we want to avoid the worst impacts of the climate crisis. We need to ensure that carbon is used for the best."</p>
<p>The report noted that if emissions continue to go unchecked, the wealthy will use up the world's available carbon budget by 2030, even if the rest of the world slashed its emissions to zero today.</p><p>Oxfam reported that transportation contributed about a quarter of current global emissions, citing SUVs as the second biggest contributing factor.</p><p>"Simply rebooting our outdated, unfair, and polluting pre-Covid economies is no longer a viable option," Gore said in the Oxfam release.</p><p>"Governments must curb the emissions of the wealthy through taxes and bans on luxury carbon such as SUVs and frequent flights. Revenues should be invested in public services and low carbon sectors to create jobs, and help end poverty," Gore added.</p>
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The label of one of the recalled thyroid medications. FDA
If you are taking medication for an underactive thyroid, check your prescription.
<p>Acella Pharmaceuticals, LLC is recalling some of its NP Thyroid® tablets because they are not strong enough to work properly, according to an announcement published by the <a href="https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/acella-pharmaceuticals-llc-issues-voluntary-nationwide-recall-two-lots-np-thyroidr-thyroid-tablets" target="_blank">Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Thursday</a>. Patients with underactive thyroids, technically known as hypothyroidism, who take weaker medicine may experience symptoms of the condition. These include fatigue, dry skin, low heart rate, depression and unexpected weight loss or gain.</p><p>"To date, Acella has received four reports of adverse events for these lot numbers possibly related to this recall," the company said.</p>
<p>The recall marks the second time this month that a thyroid drug was pulled for being too weak, or subpotent, <a href="https://www.miamiherald.com/news/health-care/article245872655.html" target="_blank">the Miami Herald pointed out</a>. RLC Labs, Inc. <a href="https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/rlc-labs-inc-issues-voluntary-nationwide-recall-all-lots-nature-throidr-and-wp-thyroidr-current" target="_blank">recalled</a> nearly 500 lots of Nature-Throid® and WP Thyroid® for the same reason Sept. 3. Weeks before that, several lots of thyroid medication were recalled for being too strong, <a href="https://www.slashgear.com/popular-thyroid-drugs-recalled-because-theyre-weaker-than-expected-05636932/" target="_blank">SlashGear reported</a>.</p><p>The most recent recall concerns one lot of Acella's 15-mg NP Thyroid® and one lot of its 120-mg NP Thyroid®. The recall comes because testing revealed the lots to be subpotent. They may contain as little as 87 percent of the amount of levothyroxine, or T4, indicated on the label.</p><p>"Acella is proactively notifying its wholesalers by email and phone to discontinue distribution of the two above referenced lots being recalled and is arranging for return of all recalled products," the company said in the recall announcement. "Patients who are currently taking NP Thyroid® from the lots being recalled should not discontinue use without contacting their healthcare provider for further guidance and/or a replacement prescription."</p>
<p>Pregnant or elderly patients with hypothyroidism face additional risks if they take subpotent medication. For pregnant people, the weakened drug could cause early miscarriage or damage to the fetus such as impairment of skeletal or brain development or the onset of fetal hyperthyroidism. In elderly patients or patients with preexisting heart conditions, taking the weakened drugs could lead to palpitations, heart pain or cardiac arrhythmia.</p><p>The recalled products were packed in 100-count bottles and had expiration dates of Oct. and Nov. 2020. Their lot numbers were M327E19-1 and M328F19-3.</p><p>"[C]onsumers may be able to determine that their product is not impacted by the recall if the 'use by,' 'discard after,' or 'expiration date' on their prescription bottle is on or after December 2020," the recall notice said.</p><p>If patients experience any harmful side effects from taking the medication, they should contact their healthcare providers. They can also report the adverse reaction to the FDA's MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program <a href="https://www.fda.gov/safety/medwatch-fda-safety-information-and-adverse-event-reporting-program/reporting-serious-problems-fda" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a>.</p><p>Anyone with questions about the recall can contact Acella Pharmaceuticals at recall@acellapharma.com or 1-888-280-2044.</p>
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The Metronome, a famous art installation in Union Square that used to display the time of day, has been repurposed into a "Climate Clock" for Climate Week NYC. Zack Winestine
By Jessica Corbett
This story was originally published on Common Dreams on September 19, 2020.
Some advocates kicked off next week's Climate Week NYC early Saturday by repurposing the Metronome, a famous art installation in Union Square that used to display the time of day, as a massive "Climate Clock" in an effort to pressure governments worldwide to take swift, bold action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and rein in human-caused global heating.
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<p>"The clock is a way to speak science to power," project co-founder Andrew Boyd said in a statement. "The clock is telling us we must reduce our emissions as much as we can as fast as we can. The technology is there. We can do this—and in the process, create a healthier, more just world for all of us. Our planet has a deadline. But we can turn it into a lifeline."</p><p>Launched as people across the country are facing the deadly, devastating <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/09/18/climate-floods-climate-droughts-climate-fires-interactive-map-illustrates-how" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">impacts of climate change</a>—from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/09/11/fires-ravaging-us-west-bellwether-future-says-oregon-governor-half-million-residents" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">historic wildfires</a> in western states to <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/09/17/bolstering-calls-climate-action-mutant-sloth-hurricane-sally-leaves-major-mess-gulf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">slow-moving hurricanes</a> and the resulting floods on the Gulf Coast—the clock in New York City on Saturday warned that the international community only has seven years and 102 days to "undertake bold transformation of our energy system and economy" in hopes of keeping global temperature rise under 1.5 degrees Celsius.</p><p>"Climate Change is already here. This clock is not an alarm clock saying, in seven years it will ring and we need to wake up! It's more like a stopwatch already running that we have to keep pace with," explained Gan Golan, the project originator. "We need to take action today, tomorrow, and the day after that. Let's get moving. Every second counts. We need to act in time."</p>
<div id="0bde7" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="002ce26d8d0c627f76d752e14d234d6e"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1307397838884741121" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">LIVE: #ClimateClock about to go live at Union square replacing the atronomical clock, with a carbon countdown!… https://t.co/5OzxwUwWDf</div> — Greg Schwedock🌹(⧖) (@Greg Schwedock🌹(⧖))<a href="https://twitter.com/GregSchwedock/statuses/1307397838884741121">1600542909.0</a></blockquote></div><p>A mobile climate clock that Swedish youth activist Greta Thunberg "now carries with her, as well as the larger Climate Clock project, was assembled by a team of artists, makers, scientists, and activists based in New York, and is part of the Beautiful Trouble community of projects," according to <a href="https://climateclock.world/" target="_blank">Climateclock.world</a>, which details the science behind the numbers displayed and how to install clocks in other cities.</p>
<div id="5160f" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="75ffdd348e9e589c32b324c77f650b1b"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1204581474218807296" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">LIVE: Greta Thunberg's worldwide #ClimateClock launches https://t.co/sglWCLwdsG</div> — act.tv (@act.tv)<a href="https://twitter.com/actdottv/statuses/1204581474218807296">1576029578.0</a></blockquote></div><p>"In an accompanying app, the artists include more detail about solutions," <em>Fast Company</em> <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/90552230/manhattans-classic-digital-clock-is-now-counting-down-to-climate-disaster" target="_blank">reported</a> Saturday. "Another number tracks the current percentage of renewable energy in the world. An interactive tool shows how to 'flatten the climate curve' and how much difference it makes to invest more now, and to move more quickly. A DIY maker kit explains how to make a countdown clock of your own."</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/09/19/massive-climate-clock-urging-governments-actintime-unveiled-metronome-new-york-city" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Ruth Bader Ginsburg speaks onstage at the event Fourth Annual Berggruen Prize Gala Celebrates 2019 Laureate Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in New York City on Dec. 16, 2019. Ilya S. Savenok / Getty Images for Berggruen Institute
The passing of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg means the nation's highest court has lost a staunch advocate for women's rights and civil rights. Ginsburg was a tireless worker, who continued to serve on the bench through multiple bouts of cancer. She also leaves behind a complicated environmental legacy, as Environment and Energy News (E&E News) reported.
<p>While it was often assumed that Ginsburg would decide in favor of environmental advocates in cases argued before the Supreme Court, the truth is that she often decided based on the nuances of the law rather than the decision that was best for the planet, according to E&E News.</p><p>She sided with the majority in the 5-4 decision of <em><a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/ruth-bader-ginsburg-leaves-a-nuanced-legacy-on-environmental-issues/" target="_blank">Massachusetts v. EPA</a></em>. That case, argued before the court in 2006 and decided in 2007, found that the Clean Air Act gave the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (<a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/epa" target="_self">EPA</a>) the authority to regulate greenhouse gases that are spewed from the tailpipes of cars, according to <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/19/ginsburgs-long-environmental-legacy-418324" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">POLITICO</a>.</p><p>That decision was instrumental in the Obama administration raising the tailpipe emissions standard to make new cars 5 percent more efficient annually until 2026. That rule was then rolled back by the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/trump-watch/" target="_self">Trump</a> administration to make them just 1.5 percent more efficient, according to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-autos-emissions/trump-finalizes-rollback-of-obama-era-vehicle-fuel-efficiency-standards-idUSKBN21I25S" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Reuters</a>.</p>
<p>And yet, Ginsburg also wrote the opinion of the court in the 2011 decision of <em><a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/10pdf/10-174.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">American Electric Power Company v. Connecticut</a></em>. That decision stripped the authority of the states and private companies to sue power companies for their contribution to the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-crisis">climate crisis</a> in federal court under a public nuisance law, as E&E news reported.</p><p>Ginsburg, in that decision, emphasized the EPA's authority to regulate greenhouse gases, as POLITICO reported. That authority paved the way for the Obama administration to issue new rules for power plants that drastically reduced how much pollution they could spew into the air and waterways.</p><p>The decision, which on its face seemed to limit the rights of people and states to hold polluters accountable for their actions, actually empowered state attorneys general to sue in state court. This authority has been upheld, despite repeated attempts by the fossil fuel industry to move the cases to the federal courts, according to POLITICO.</p>
<p>Ginsburg did look to expand the authority of regulatory agencies to rein in polluters. She joined the dissent in two notable cases, <em>Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County v. Army Corps of Engineers</em> and <em>Rapanos v. United States</em>, both of which would have expanded the definition of the Clean Water Act, according to E&E News.</p><p>In 2014, Ginsburg wrote the majority opinion in a case that allowed the EPA to regulate coal plants where their emissions blew across state lines and affected the air quality of states that were downwind, according to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/court-upholds-epa-rule-on-cross-state-pollution/2014/04/29/7978fd14-cfce-11e3-b812-0c92213941f4_story.html" target="_blank">The Washington Post</a>. That case is credited with putting an end to some of the country's filthiest power plants, according to POLITICO.</p><p>Gina McCarthy, the EPA administrator under Obama and now the president and CEO of the National Resources Defense Council, said in 2014 that the decision was "a resounding victory for public health and a key component" of the agency's attempts to "make sure all Americans have clean air to breathe," as The Washington Post reported.</p>
<p>In an NRDC <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/media/2020/200918" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">statement</a> on Friday, McCarthy praised Ginsburg's life work. "From her pathbreaking advocacy for gender equality to her relentless defense of democracy itself, Justice Ginsburg widened our vision of who we are, enlarged in law the values we share and raised, forever, the possibility of what we might become."</p><p>Other environmental advocates issued statements praising the late justice as well.</p><p>"Justice Ginsburg was a pioneer for gender equality, civil rights, and the right of citizens to sue to protect their environment. The legal community lost a champion for the underdog and the nation as a whole," said Trent Dougherty, general counsel for the Ohio Environmental Council, in a <a href="https://theoec.org/press-releases/rbg0920/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">statement</a>.</p><p>Michael Brune, Sierra Club executive director said in a <a href="https://www.sierraclub.org/press-releases/2020/09/sierra-club-statement-passing-justice-ruth-bader-ginsburg" target="_blank">statement</a>, "As we mourn the loss of Justice Ginsburg, we should reflect on her words that 'Real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time. Those of us who strive to make change for good in this world — whether it be fighting for racial justice, reproductive rights, or for a livable future — must continue the fight in her honor."<span></span></p>
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Project goal: To create an environmentally friendly and sustainable alternative to leather, in this case using fungi.
<p>Project partner: Indonesian startup <a href="https://mycl.bio/about" target="_blank">Mycotech</a> is supported through universities, research institutions and the DBS Foundation. In 2019/2020, the company also received from funding from the SEED Initiative (Supporting Entrepreneurs for Environment and Development) and the German Environment Ministry's <a href="https://www.international-climate-initiative.com/en/details/project/financing-and-capacity-building-for-micro-and-small-climatesmart-enterprises-filling-the-gap-of-the-missing-middle-13_I+_041-328?iki_lang=en" target="_blank">International Climate Initiative</a>.</p><p>Project budget: Mycotech has received $500,000 in funding since 2017.</p><p>Humankind has been using animal skin to produce leather for thousands of years. It's a textile with a long tradition, but critics say making it causes animal suffering, consumes a lot of water and pollutes the environment with chemicals and CO2.</p>
<p>Adi Reza Nugroho wants to change that with his startup Mycotech based in Bandung, Indonesia. Nugroho comes from a family of mushroom farmers and is using fungi to make a <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/vegan">vegan</a>, leather-like alternative to the animal-based textile.</p><p>According to the company founded in 2012, the material is breathable, robust and grows using agricultural waste such as sawdust. The waste is mixed with fungi spores, which form mycelium — a fine branching mass of threadlike structures. After a few days, it can be harvested from the waste blocks, tanned and further processed.</p><p>Scientists around the world are <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/5-sustainable-alternatives-to-plastics/a-53338938" target="_blank">researching mycelium properties</a>, believing it could provide the basis for new materials. Some fashion businesses are already using "mushroom leather" to make products like shoes and bags.</p>
<p><em>A film by Nicole Ris und A.B. Rodhial Falah.</em><br/></p><p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/sustainable-fashion-eco/a-54867671?maca=en-VAM_volltext_ecowatch-28485-html-copypaste" target="_blank">DW</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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