Thursday, July 9, 2009

Plastic bottles : Next terrorist
Manufacturing plastic is resource-intensive and yields various nasty emissions that contribute to global warming and degradation of water quality. It's made from non-renewable resources, and for all intents and purposes, it never biodegrades (although some specialized variations have been made specifically to do so). Yes, we'll run out of oil eventually, but we'll always have our plastic garbage. Add to this the growing suspicion that plastic use may lead to serious health problems.

3 comments:

  1. Hey Good one, Keep posting more stuff like this...!!!

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  2. Quote of the Week
    In the long history of humankind (and animalkind, too), those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed. — Charles Darwin

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  3. Polarized light pollution: a new type of photopollution induced by polarizing artificial surfaces attracting polarotactic aquatic insects::

    Polarised light pollution (PLP) is a new kind of ecological photo-pollution; it is global and novel in an evolutionary sense. This talk reviews the sources of PLP and will provide evidence for the effects of PLP on polarotactic insects, such as (i) trapping of aquatic insects by dark oil surfaces; (ii) dehydration of polarotactic insects attracted to black plastic sheets used in agriculture; (iii) egg-laying of polarotactic mayflies onto dry asphalt roads; (iv) attraction of aquatic insects to black, red or dark-coloured car paintwork; (v) deception of polarotactic dragonflies by shiny, black gravestones; (vi) attraction of mass-swarming polarotactic caddis flies to glass surfaces. Insect mortality associated with PLP threatens populations of endangered aquatic species. Whether and how predators (spiders, birds, bats) feeding on insects trapped by PPL benefit from PLP will be discussed. PLP is mainly a byproduct of human architectural, building, industrial and agricultural technology, and how to reconcile human needs with the instinctive behavioural reactions of insects is one of the challenges for the future.
    Further Info Prof. Dr. Dr. V. Benno Meyer-Rochow
    b.meyer-rochow@jacobs-university.de

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