Tibetan Antelope: Facing extinction for fashion

Poachers kill 20,000 Tibetan antelope each year. With fewer than 75,000 left, the species is in extreme danger.

For the past 20 years, Tibetan antelope have been illegally slaughtered to supply a high fashion trade in "shahtoosh," the fine, soft shawls made from their wool. These shawls are sold in fashion outlets in New York, Paris, London, Hong Kong and other cities for thousands of dollars each by retailers who are often unaware they are selling an illegal product.

Tibetan Antelope: Facing extinction for fashion

Surprise: High Ozone Levels in Mountains of Tibet

In addition to thin air and sub-zero temperatures, climbers scaling Mount Everest face another challenge. Mountains in the Tibetan plateau where Everest is located contains levels of ozone as high as that of heavily polluted cities.

"Around the circumference of Tibet, there's a halo of very high levels of ozone," said Kent Moore, a physicist at the University of Toronto and lead author of a new report on the discovery.

Ozone is a colorless and highly corrosive molecule. It's made up of three oxygen atoms instead of the usual two that are crucial to breathable air.

Most of the Earth's ozone is found in the stratosphere, from about 8 to 30 miles above the planet's surface. Mount Everest is 5.5 miles high at its peak.

Ozone in the stratosphere helps protect the globe from the Sun's ultraviolet rays. But closer to the ground, where it is produced when auto emissions and other pollutants interact with sunlight, ozone is a major component of smog.

If inhaled, ozone can cause coughing, chest pain and damage to the lining in the lungs.

Surprise: High Ozone Levels in Mountains of Tibet

Human Gene Changes Color of Fish

Scientists have changed mutated, golden-colored zebrafish to a standard dark-striped, yellowish-white variety by inserting the genetic information for normal pigmentation into young fish.

In an interesting twist, they also found that inserting a similar human version of the pigment gene resulted in the same color change.

As with humans, zebrafish skin color is determined by pigment cells, which contain pigment granules called melanosomes. The number, size and darkness of melanosomes per pigment cell influence the color of skin.

Human Gene Changes Color of Fish

FAO Document Repository

Ecological and demographic changes resulting from the introduction of irrigation may create new or more favourable habitats for disease vectors. There are subtle differences in the ecological requirements of a range of disease vectors and there are intricate transmission patterns in different parts of the world. Local health authorities will have this information at hand. An interdisciplinary dialogue should guide planners in the incorporation of engineering and environmental management measures in the design, construction and rehabilitation of irrigation schemes. In general terms, two key determinants can be influenced: vector density (which is, up to a saturation point, linearly related to the transmission level) and vector longevity (the longer the lifespan of an individual mosquito, the greater the chance it transmits a disease to one or more humans).

FAO Document Repository

Recycling technique turns PVC into salt, fuel, and chemical inputs

RGS-90 (Denmark), a company that recycles contaminated products, has developed a method to recycle PVC chemically after consumption. The technique consists in converting it into salt and organic and inorganic compounds. The system was designed with the support of Vinyl 2010, a program formed by European companies aimed at developing PVC residue recycling techniques that contribute to maintaining or increasing the viability to use this resin.

Noticia

What causes hurricanes?

Hurricanes are intense low pressure areas that form over warm ocean waters in the summer and early fall. Their source of energy is water vapor which is evaporated from the ocean surface. Water vapor is the "fuel" for the hurricanes because it releases the "latent heat of condensation" when it condenses to form clouds and rain, warming the surrounding air. (This heat energy was absorbed by the water vapor when it was evaporated from the warm ocean surface, cooling the ocean in the process.)

What causes hurricanes?

Acid Rain

Acid rain is one of the most dangerous and widespread forms of pollution. Sometimes called "the unseen plague," acid rain can go undetected in an area for years. Technically, acid rain is rain that has a larger amount of acid in it than what is normal. The acidity of rain in parts of Europe and North America has dramatically increased over the past few decades. It is now common in many places for rain to be ten to seventy times more acid than unpolluted rain. Many living and non-living systems become harmed and damaged as a result of acid rain. This website gives an informational, in-depth look at acid rain--it's causes and effects; and solutions to the acid rain problem.

acid rain