Sign up for this free environmental newsletter from Planet Waves. Dear Friend and Reader: After decades of decline, most sharply during the 1970s and 1980s, the population of great white sharks is finally rebounding off North America's eastern seaboard, the Associated Press reported Friday.
The authors of the study note the "iconic status" of white sharks -- presumably resulting from the blockbuster 1975 movie Jaws -- and highly valued fins and jaws as trophies as factors in their decline. Additionally, white sharks "may have naturally low abundance and possess general life history traits that make them vulnerable to exploitation," write the study's authors. Numbers of white sharks are not known, but some scientists estimate the population to be only 3,000-5,000, according to the AP story. Contrary to the bad reputation (and collective fear bordering on hysteria) fostered by Jaws, white sharks rarely attack humans. In fact, the study, which compiled historical data meeting certain criteria with new research, only lists 649 verified white shark records from the Northwest Atlantic area from 1800 to 2010. The majority of those encounters involved white sharks intentionally or inadvertently getting caught by fishing gear. According to data provided by the University of Florida, there have only been 106 unprovoked white shark attacks in U.S. waters since 1916. Only 13 of those have been fatal.
"We need these sharks in our waters," commented James Sulikowski, professor of marine science at the University of New England in Portland, Maine, who was not involved in the study. What we don't need is another Jaws movie. Closing In On the Sea Star Wasting Cause Further down the marine food chain, man-made toxins and warmer waters look like probable factors in the sea star die-off along North America's coasts, according to PBS. Cornell marine epidemiologist Drew Harvell and other researchers have correlated the mysterious pandemic with warmer waters due to global warming. A separate study conducted by the University of California Santa Barbara Aquarium has established a correspondence with what sea stars eat. According to Dr. Stephanie Seneff, "The animals that ate frozen squid stayed healthy, while the sea stars that ate wild-harvested mussels contracted the syndrome." The experiment implies that toxins in the mussels (possibly including herbicidal runoff, as well as naturally occurring pathogens such as bacteria or viruses) may be accumulating in sea stars and inhibiting the maintenance of a healthy exoskeleton. Warmer sea temperatures, in turn, foster the growth of those microbes. I (Heart) NY Fracking Moratorium With an eye to protecting groundwater, New York's general assembly passed a three-year moratorium on fracking on June 16, according to an Associated Press report.
In a prepared statement assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver urged prudent research: "Before hydrofracking can be authorized, we need the best scientific information available to help us make informed decisions that will not compromise the safety of our drinking water, public health, and environment." New York state's current moratorium is set to expire in May 2015. Grocery Manufacturers Sue Vermont Meanwhile in neighboring Vermont, four national trade organizations, including the Grocery Manufacturers Association, followed through on their promise to sue the state of Vermont over its new law requiring labels on products made with genetically modified ingredients, The Burlington Free Press reported last week. The lawsuit, filed in Rutland's District Court on June 12, claims that, "the state is compelling manufacturers to convey messages they do not want to convey." The mandatory labeling law, signed in May so citizens can avoid eating food they do not want to eat, is set to take effect in July 2016. U.S. Taxpayers to Foot Fukushima Bill? U.S. taxpayers may be financially responsible for the cleanup of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster thanks to a liability agreement backed by General Electric Co., Bloomberg Businessweek reported June 13.
"Capping the amount of liability that either the nuclear operator or the state would be responsible for fundamentally limits the amount that victims can be compensated for," said Kendra Ulrich, an energy campaigner with Greenpeace International. View to a Kill: Seeing Inside Fukushima's Melted Reactors Exactly what degree of damage anyone might be paying for remains to be seen, and not just in terms of human and marine health: scientists are adapting a kind of technology using subatomic particles to ‘see' inside the melted Fukushima reactor cores for the first time, The New York Times reported June 17. The particles, called muons, are like electrons but about 200 times heavier, and can pass hundreds of feet through solid material. "Muon tomography" -- like X-rays but with different physics -- has been used by Virginia company Decision Sciences to screen shipping containers for uranium and plutonium; in the 1960s, it was used to ‘see' inside Egyptian pyramids. Applied to the melted Fukushima reactor cores, for which there is not even enough data to run a computer model, scientists can "expect to be able to distinguish fairly readily between what would be described as random results from the meltdown, versus engineered structural components," said Stanton D. Sloane, the chief executive of Decision Sciences. We'll be watching to see what the muons have to say. Yours & truly,  Amanda Painter and the ECO editorial team Sign up for this free environmental newsletter from Planet Waves. Planet Waves Monsanto Watch (ISSN 1933-9135) is published each Tuesday evening in Kingston, New York by Planet Waves, Inc. Editor and Publisher: Eric Francis Coppolino. Business Manager: Chelsea Bottinelli. Web Developer: Anatoly Ryzhenko. Research, Writing and Editing: Planet Waves Monsanto Watch is produced by a team consisting of Elizabeth Michaud, Amanda Moreno, Amanda Painter, Amy Elliot, Carol van Strum, Len Wallick and Chad Woodward.  We are now offering the All-Access Pass at half-price for a six-month term. This is the "you can have it all" level of service to Planet Waves. This includes a subscription to our twice-weekly astrology service (or an extension if you are already subscribed), plus all birthday readings (and access to the archives), all publications and special reports, text message updates, daily emails and all 12 signs of the 2014 annual (The Mars Effect), or the upcoming 2015 annual edition. I've been amazed how popular this product is; at how relevant the birthday readings are as astrology standing on its own -- not just to people who were born under any particular sign. In addition to being excellent solar return readings -- as good as most you will get from a private astrologer for many times the cost -- these are a fantastic overview of the current astrological climate, with much included about how to think as an astrologer. This level includes everything offered under Core Community Membership -- a level I'll tell you more about when Mercury is direct. You may upgrade online or ask any questions (and upgrade by phone) by calling Chelsea at (877) 453-8265 or at (206) 567-4455. To unsubscribe, click here e Wiki | Friends | Editors | Contact Us Copyright © 2013 by Planet Waves, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Other copyrights may apply. Some images used under Fair Use or Share Alike attribution. |
