It's getting hard to keep track of all the different ways humanity is trying to drive itself to extinction:

Chemicals in plastics alter the brains of baby boys, making them "more feminine," say US researchers. Males exposed to high doses in the womb went on to be less likely to play with boys' toys like cars or to join in rough and tumble games, they found. The University of Rochester team's latest work adds to concerns about the safety of phthalates, found in vinyl flooring and PVC shower curtains.... Phthalates have the ability to disrupt hormones, and have been banned in toys in the EU for some years. However, they are still widely used in many different household items, including plastic furniture and packaging. There are many different types and some mimic the female hormone estrogen.

The same researchers have already shown that this can mean boys are born with genital abnormalities.
Now they say certain phthalates also impact on the developing brain, by knocking out the action of the male hormone testosterone

It's bad news in the long run for the survival of the species, I suppose, but it's good news in short run for gay guys who like sissies—we're out there—and girls who like sensitive straight boys.

Good news for the Republicans comes from the usually hostile world of science:

ScienceDaily (Nov. 11, 2009) — New data show that the balance between the airborne and the absorbed fraction of carbon dioxide has stayed approximately constant since 1850, despite emissions of carbon dioxide having risen from about 2 billion tons a year in 1850 to 35 billion tons a year now.

This suggests that terrestrial ecosystems and the oceans have a much greater capacity to absorb CO2 than had been previously expected.

The results run contrary to a significant body of recent research which expects that the capacity of terrestrial ecosystems and the oceans to absorb CO2 should start to diminish as CO2 emissions increase, letting greenhouse gas levels skyrocket.

After two decades of having disastrous neoliberal policies (ESAP) stuffed down its throat, and all of its woes blamed on dictators, government incompetence, and corruption, Africa is finally challenging the advanced capitalist world on the ground of its own corruption, mismanagement, and environmental abuses:

African countries are boycotting international talks on greenhouse gas emissions held in Barcelona this week, in protest at what they say is a failure of industrial countries to make adequate cuts.

They claim the wealthy countries are not taking the meeting seriously, deliberately stalling, and refusing to set concrete targets to cut their CO2 emissions.

The protest is headed by Algeria, Ethiopia and Gambia. The head of the European delegation, Artur Runge-Metzer, says he understands the African concerns to a degree, but says nothing will be achieved by a boycott.

The Barcelona talks come prior to the climate summit in Copenhagen later this year, aimed at drawing up a treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol.

As for these dictators that the critics of Africa can't get enough of:

A French appeals court has halted an inquiry into luxury homes and cars owned in France by the presidents of three oil-producing African countries.

The inquiry was prompted by the anti-corruption group Transparency International which wants the justice system to question how the leaders of Gabon, Congo Republic and Equatorial Guinea and their families could afford assets worth tens of millions of dollars.

The appeals court ruled that the organisation's members could not legitimately act as plaintiffs against the foreign heads of state and that the investigation should not proceed.

William Bourdon, a lawyer for Transparency, said: "Those in France and Africa who organise and take advantage of the looting of African public money will be celebrating with champagne."

Kill your dog.

The ambiguity in all of this?

A $400bn (£240bn) plan to provide Europe with solar power from the Sahara moved a step closer to reality today with the formation of a consortium of 12 companies to carry out the work.

The Desertec Industrial Initiative (DII) aims to provide 15% of Europe's electricity by 2050 or earlier via power lines stretching across the desert and Mediterranean sea.

The German-led consortium was brought together by Munich Re, the world's biggest reinsurer, and consists of some of country's biggest engineering and power companies, including Siemens, E.ON, ABB and Deutsche Bank.

It now believes the DII can deliver solar power to Europe as early as 2015.

The good news:

Global warming in the next century could cause a significant increase in the productivity of high-elevation forests of the Pacific Northwest, a new study suggests.

The bad news:

However, forests at lower elevations — which in recent years have accounted for more than 80 percent of the region’s timber harvest — could face a decline in growth.

A barn and silo in Enumclaw destroyed by what the homeowners says was a massive black cloud that came at them like a freight train.

The image is by Sarboo.

The Population Reference Bureau has forecast that the world's population will hit 7 billion in 2011. The most frightening part: The increase from 6 billion to 7 billion took only 12 years. The human population is growing so quickly, I have no idea how we will be able to provide food, water, and energy for all these people without killing the planet and driving every other species into extinction.

Seattle—less green than LA and Mexico City!

Mexico City's thousands of stores went green Wednesday, as amended ordinances on solid waste now outlaw businesses from giving out thin plastic bags that are not biodegradable. The law affects all stores, production facilities and service providers within the Federal District, which encompasses the city limits. Nearly 9 million people live inside the district and another 10 million reside in surrounding communities that make up greater Mexico City.

Mexico City becomes the second large metropolitan area in the Western Hemisphere to outlaw the bags. San Francisco in March 2007 enacted an ordinance that gave supermarkets six months and large chain pharmacies about a year to phase out the bags. Los Angeles is set to impose a ban if the state of California does not enact a statewide 25-cent fee per bag by July.

Good work, Seattle!

Scientists have identified a new source of chemical pollution released by the huge amounts of plastic rubbish found floating in the oceans of the world. A study has found that as plastics break down in the sea they release potentially toxic substances not found in nature and which could affect the growth and development of marine organisms.

Until now it was thought that plastic rubbish is relatively stable chemically and, apart from being unsightly, its principle threat to living creatures came from its ability to choke or strangle any animals that either got caught in it or ingested it thinking it was food.

But the latest research suggests that plastic is also a source of dissolved substances that can easily become widely dispersed in the marine environment. Many of these chemicals are believed to toxic to humans and animals.... The scientists found that when plastics decompose in the ocean they release a range of chemicals, such as bisphenol A and substances known as polystyrene-based (PS) oligomers, which are not found naturally. Bisphenol A has been implicated in disrupting the hormonal system of animals.

BBC reports:

The oldest known wild golden eagle in Britain has been found dead on the isle of Jura, it has been confirmed.

The bird, ringed on Mull in 1987 when it was still a chick and too young to be sexed, was 22 years old.

Its body was found on North Jura earlier this year by a member of the public who reported it to the RSPB.

The RSPB Scotland said it believed the bird had died of natural causes having lived its life in "relative peace". The previous oldest wild eagle was 16. Live free, die young; live without freedom, die old.

In captivity golden eagles have been known to live for more than 40 years.

2) In nature, life is short (22 years). In captivity, meaning, in human nature (which is a less intense form of nature), the time on earth is doubled (40 years). Born free, die young; born within the human limits/realm, live long. Freedom in nature (absolute freedom) is very different from freedom in human nature.

Image of the soaring Golden Eagle by Steve Voght.

Arizona Daily Star reports:

A Tucson man was sentenced this morning to one year of unsupervised probation for leaving out water jugs for illegal immigrants crossing through the desert.
Walt Staton, 27, was convicted June 3 in U.S. District Court of knowingly littering on a national wildlife refuge following a two-day jury trial. He was cited last December when U.S. Border Patrol agents spotted him placing unopened gallon containers of water in the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge southwest of Tucson.
He must also also complete 300 hours of trash removal on public lands and is banned from the refuge during his yearlong probation.

These satellite photos are truly horrifying—all that dark water, no ice.