Horses Mysterioulsy Being Slaughtered, Horse Owners in Miami-Dade County on Edge

First we had a wayward teenager killing cats in Florida, now we have someone slaughtering horses in Miami-Dade county. What is going on? Police have said that since January, at least 17 horses have been butchered and their carcasses left on roadsides, or in stalls or rural pastures. The suspicion is that the meat is being sold on the black market to people from other countries where horse is a delicacy.

Miami-Dade Police Capt. Scott Andress, whose agency is among those investigating the horse slaughters, said the cases are tough to solve because they usually happen in rural areas where there are no eyewitnesses. He said his officers are working to confirm whether the horse meat is being sold to consumers.

Investigators have discovered animals with slit throats and slashed tendons. Some have been stabbed to the heart, and some might have been butchered alive. The meat is often harvested in unsanitary conditions - on the sides of roads, in dirty barns, with tools that might not be clean - but Couto says some people are still willing to pay $7 to $20 a pound.

Until a few years ago, as many as 100,000 horses were killed annually in the United States for meat for foreign markets. In Florida, it is legal for horse owners to kill and eat their own horses on their own land, but horses cannot be slaughtered and sold to others for human consumption.
A 2007 federal court ruling closed the nation's last horse-processing plant, though some groups are currently pushing to renew the slaughter of horses in the U.S. Horses that are sold for meat are now sent to processing plants in Mexico and Canada. News My Way

It's a shame and though it may be hard to catch the perpetrators, I hope with time the investigation will prove fruitful and lead to arrests.

NOAA's Coral Reef Watch Program Says Coral Bleaching Likely In Caribbean

Scientists from NOAA's Coral Reef Watch Program says conditions are favorable for significant coral bleaching and infectious coral disease outbreaks in the Caribbean, specifically in the Lesser Antilles. The forecast is based on the July NOAA Coral Reef Watch outlook, which expects continued high water temperatures through October 2009.

Scientists are concerned that bleaching may reach the same levels or exceed those recorded in 2005, the worst coral bleaching and disease year in Caribbean history. In parts of the eastern Caribbean, as much as 90 percent of corals bleached and over half of those died during that event."

“Just like any climate forecast, local conditions and weather events can influence actual temperatures. However, we are quite concerned that high temperatures may threaten the health of coral reefs in the Caribbean this year,” said C. Mark Eakin, Ph.D., coordinator of NOAA’s Coral Reef Watch. Prolonged coral bleaching of more than a week can lead to coral death and the subsequent loss of coral reef habitats for a range of marine life. It also affects local economies and tourism.

“By providing local officials with advance warning that a bleaching event is about to occur, some steps can be taken to protect the corals,” said Eakin. “Possible responses include mobilizing monitoring resources to measure extent and impact of bleaching, and establishing temporary restrictions on other reef uses like diving, boating and recreational fishing, to keep these activities from adding to the stress of higher sea temperatures already affecting the coral reefs.”

There is also potential for similar conditions in the central Gulf of Mexico and a region stretching from the Lesser Antilles to Puerto Rico, across to the southern coast of Hispaniola and the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua. Other areas of concern are the central Pacific region including the equatorial Line Islands and Kiribati. Some heat induced stress may also develop between the Northern Mariana Islands and Japan.

Coral bleaching is associated with a variety of factors, especially increased ocean temperatures. This causes the coral to expel symbiotic micro-algae living in their tissues – algae that provide sustenance for coral. The loss of algae leaves coral tissue devoid of color, making it appear bleached.

The bleaching risk may in fact be higher in certain regions than in this initial forecast as the model used for the outlook does not account for El Niño, something NOAA’s operational Climate Forecast System indicates is likely over the next year. If El Niño continues to strengthen, this could increase the bleaching risk in the central to eastern Pacific and Caribbean. NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center also reported that in June the world’s ocean surface temperature was the warmest on record. Source: Science Daily

Ancient Mayan Practiced Forest Conservation 3,000 Years Ago

Temple 1 was built second, in 682 to 734 A.D., 

possibly completed after Jasaw Chan K'awiil's death. 

(Credit: Image courtesy of University of Cincinnati)

The ancient Mayans were  much smarter than we have given them credit for. According to an article published in the Journal of Archaeological Science, paleoethnobotanist David Lentz of the University of Cincinnati has concluded that not only did the Maya people practice forest management, but when they abandoned their forest conservation practices it was to the detriment of the entire Mayan culture. We have much to thank the Mayans for and many of the relics they have left behind were amazingly ahead of their time.

“From our research we have learned that the Maya were deliberately conserving forest resources,” says David Lentz, a professor of biological sciences at the University of Cincinnati and executive director of the Cincinnati Center for Field Studies. “Their deliberate conservation practices can be observed in the wood they used for construction and this observation is reinforced by the pollen record.” Whoa, that's pretty impressive.

The UC team is the first North American team allowed to work at the Tikal site core in northern Guatemala in more than 40 years. The UC team is unique in other ways as well. Whereas previous archaeological excavations reflected an interest in culture history, particularly of the elites, researchers’ interests are different in the 21st century.

“Forty years ago the emphasis was on what king built what palace, who slew whom and who is portrayed on what stelae. It’s all about the rulers and their exploits,” says Lentz. “They didn’t look at the economy, agricultural practices, forest management or how the people and the culture functioned.”

And what the UC team has learned by studying these processes is that the Maya, at least initially, were practicing good forestry management. “They were not allowed to cut down what we’re calling the ‘sacred groves,’” says Lentz. “Then that changed during the Late Classic period with Jasaw Chan K’awiil — one of the greatest figures of prehistory. The Tikal Maya had been beaten up and had fallen to second-rate status prior to his ascendancy. Jasaw Chan K’awiil led an army to the heartland of a competing city, Calakmul, captured their ruler, bound him, brought him back and sacrificed him — and it totally reversed their fortunes in a very dramatic way.”

After that, the Maya rebuilt the city of Tikal in a way never seen before. They begin building huge temples that required considerable resources, especially large, straight trees whose wood could withstand the weight of tons of stone. Their choices were limited to two types of trees only. Source: Science Daily

In addition to using the trees as timber, the Mayans also burned the trees, adding carbon to the air in the form of carbon dioxide. Trees remove carbon dioxide from the air and return oxygen in its place, thus cleaning and purifying the air. This is very impressive and it would seem, that they were eons ahead of their time. We continue to learn from the Mayan way of life. I am always in awe of the Mayan architecture and the fact that many of those buildings are still standing today.

NRDC: New York City Electronics Recycling Program Under Attack

Lobby Groups for Electronics Manufacturers Fight Implementation of Long-Awaited Recycling Program

NEW YORK, N.Y. (July 24, 2009) – New York City’s electronics recycling law was challenged today by two electronics manufacturing trade associations – Consumer Electronics Association and Information Technology Industry Council.  The lawsuit seeks to prevent the city from implementing its new law, which requires electronics manufacturers to develop convenient plans for the collection and recycling of discarded electronic waste, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Electronics are the fastest growing portion of the municipal waste stream in the United States.  Millions of old computers and TVs containing toxins including lead, cadmium and mercury are tossed every year.  According to US EPA, at least 40 percent of the lead in landfills comes from discarded electronics.  The new law directs manufacturers to implement a convenient system for New York City residents to return their used electronics that would otherwise be landfilled or incinerated to the companies for safe disposal.   

A statement follows from Kate Sinding, Senior Attorney in the New York Urban Program at the Natural Resources Defense Council:

“This 11th hour move to obstruct a common-sense municipal recycling program similar to those in 19 states calls into question the environmental credentials these manufacturers actively promote.

“The City’s landmark recycling law would keep thousands of tons of spent electronics out of our landfills and incinerators every year.  It’s unfortunate that the nation’s leading manufacturers, hiding behind their trade associations, are trying to prevent this long overdue environmental program from taking effect.

“Recycling electronics is a sensible strategy to protect our water, air and health while providing a second life for the valuable materials these products contain.  “We will work with the New York City Council and the Bloomberg Administration to stave off this industry effort to upend this critical environmental legislation.”

NRDC: A Shopper's Guide to Home Tissue Products

According to the NRDC, forests are being destroyed to make toilet paper, facial tissues, paper towels and other disposable paper products. You can help stop this destruction by pressing manufacturers to use recycled content and clean manufacturing processes (click here to send a message to paper giant Kimberly-Clark), and by making smart shopping decisions.
This guide will help you choose products. You can use it three ways:

1. Read it Online (scroll down)
   
2. Print it (pdf)
   
3. Get detailed product info

---

Facial Tissue | Toilet Paper | Paper Towels | Napkins | Tips

Facial Tissue If every household in the United States replaced just one box of virgin fiber facial tissues (175 sheets) with 100% recycled ones, we could save 163,000 trees. SEE THE FULL LIST
365 (Whole Foods)		100	80	PCF
Fluff Out		100	40	PCF
Green Forest		100	90	PCF
Hankies		100	40	PCF
Marcal		100	40	PCF
Natural Value		100	80	PCF
Seventh Generation		100	80	PCF
Small Steps		100	30	PCF
Kleenex		0	0	ECF
Puffs		0	0	ECF

Toilet Paper If every household in the United States replaced just one roll of virgin fiber toilet paper (500 sheets) with 100% recycled ones, we could save 423,900 trees. SEE THE FULL LIST
365 (Whole Foods)		100	>80	PCF
Ambiance		100	80	PCF
April Soft		100	80	PCF
Best Value		100	<40	PCF
CVS Earth Essentials		100	60	PCF
Earth First		100	<80	PCF
Earth Friendly		100	80	PCF
Fiesta		100	80	PCF
Green Forest		100	90	PCF
Marcal		100	40	PCF
Natural Value		100	80	PCF
Natures Choice		100	<40	PCF
Pert		100	<40	PCF
Seventh Generation		100	80	PCF
Small Steps		100	30	PCF
Sofpac		100	40	PCF
Trader Joe's		100	80	PCF
Charmin		0	0	ECF
Cottonelle		0	0	ECF

Paper Towels If every household in the United States replaced just one roll of virgin fiber paper towels (70 sheets) with 100% recycled ones, we could save 544,000 trees. SEE THE FULL LIST
365 (Whole Foods)		100	>80	PCF
Atlantic		100	80	PCF
Best Value		100	<40	PCF
CVS Earth Essentials		100	60	PCF
Earth First		100	<80	PCF
Earth Friendly		100	80	PCF
Fiesta		100	80	PCF
Green Forest		100	90	PCF
Marcal		100	>60	PCF
Natural Value		100	80	PCF
Natures Choice		100	<40	PCF
Pert		100	<40	PCF
Seventh Generation		100	80	PCF
Small Steps		100	70	PCF
Trader Joe's		100	80	PCF
Bounty		0	0	ECF
Viva		0	0	ECF

Napkins If every household in the United States replaced just one package of virgin fiber napkins (250 count) with 100% recycled ones, we could save 1 million trees. SEE THE FULL LIST
365 (Whole Foods)		100	>80	PCF
Bella		100	40	PCF
CVS Earth Essentials		100	60	PCF
Earth First		100	<80	PCF
Green Forest		100	90	PCF
Marcal		100	>60	PCF
Natural Value		100	80	PCF
Seventh Generation		100	80	PCF
Small Steps		100	70	PCF
Bounty		0	0	ECF
Kleenex		0	0	ECF

Tips: Three Things You Can Do To Help Save Forests

1. Buy paper products with recycled content -- especially post-consumer fibers. Look for products that have a high recycled content, including high post-consumer content. Post-consumer fibers are recovered from paper that was previously used by consumers and would otherwise have been dumped into a landfill or an incinerator. 2. Buy paper products made with clean, safe processes. Paper products are bleached to make them whiter and brighter, but chlorine used in many bleaching processes contributes to the formation of harmful chemicals that wind up in our air and water and are highly toxic to people and fish. Look for products labeled totally chlorine-free (TCF) or processed chlorine-free (PCF). In some cases, elemental chlorine-free (ECF) may be acceptable. 3. Tell tissue manufacturers to stop using virgin wood for throwaway products. If a brand you buy for your home doesn't have any recycled content, contact the manufacturer (click here to send a message to paper giant Kimberly-Clark). Tell the company to use more recycled fibers, to avoid sourcing from ecologically valuable forests such as those in the Cumberland Plateau and Canadian boreal, and to ensure any virgin fibers used are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. Saving forests also helps reduce global warming pollution.

Note: NRDC provides this assessment of the environmental characteristics of tissue paper products to help consumers make informed choices. NRDC does not endorse any products.