For most animals, their colouring is not an aesthetic choice, but a matter of life and death. How an animal looks may send a message to its kin and its predators. But though some critters look good enough to eat, they can kill you with a single touch. These are the famous poison arrow frogs of South and Central America.
Continue reading...Friday, June 5, 2009
Its tongue flickers snakishly from a mouth filled with toxic potential but its body boasts the bulk of a crocodile's. Armed with the lethal weapons of our most feared reptilian counterparts, the Komodo dragon is best left alone. There's just one snag: the Komodo dragon wouldn't necessarily want to leave you alone, and you might not even know about it if it were on your tail. What's more, it now seems that the largest lizard on the planet is deadlier than anyone previously thought.
Continue reading...Friday, May 23, 2008
Mmmm, lead! Image from taiyofjs A California company was punished with what might have been the highest settlement in state history after selling 100,000 lunchboxes to children that were tainted with lead.
Continue reading...Thursday, May 15, 2008
image from eurleif It’s always been an environmental hazard to toss out an old computer: there’s arsenic and mercury, and a host of other nasty things in the circuit boards that the technology depends on. Think of all that waste trickling into a landfill – not a terribly [...]
Continue reading...Monday, March 31, 2008
Last Wednesday in St. Petersburg, at least 75 swimmers were poisoned by chlorine in the city’s largest aqua park: Waterville. Image by Eupator 162 people sought medical attention after they felt burning in their eyes and throats.
Continue reading...Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Apparently the Germans are still sore about that whole “losing to Russia in World War II” thing, and they’re getting back at them with a unique Trojan horse type solution. A train carrying nuclear waste in Bristol, England. Image by Chris McKenna A German train loaded with nuclear waste [...]
Continue reading...Thursday, February 28, 2008
The national parks of the American west have a well-deserved reputation as places of stunning natural beauty, an abundance of untamed wildlife, and now high levels of airborne pollutants. A hazy Mt. McKinley in Alaska’s Denali National Park I’m guessing you knew about the first two, but the last [...]
Continue reading...Tuesday, February 26, 2008
In today’s world, the environment can be an extremely divisive issue. There are constant political battles between those who believe in global warming effects and those who deny global warming is happening. Industry clashes with activist groups over everything from animal testing to pollution.
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Monday, June 22, 2009
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