Wine Worry
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Glyphosate Toxin Turns Up in Wines
Monsanto’s toxic Roundup herbicide glyphosate has been found in all 10 California vintages tested, including organic wines. While glyphosate isn’t sprayed directly onto grapes because it would kill the vines, it’s often used to spray the ground in the vineyard to be absorbed via the roots. Sometimes, glyphosate drifts from conventional vineyards into nearby organic and biodynamic vineyards. Other times, the toxin remains in the soil after a conventional farm has been converted to organic; the chemical may persist onsite for more than 20 years. Glyphosate is patented as an antibiotic. Designed to kill bacteria, it harms both soils and human health, and has been cited as a human carcinogen by the World Health Organization. For glyphosate-related consumer information, search Actions at MomsAcrossAmerica.com.
Renewables Hit High Mark in UK In a major marker of renewable growth, sources of energy that includes wind, solar, hydro and wood pellet burning briefly generated more electricity—50.7 percent—than coal and gas in Great Britain for the first time on June 7. When nuclear sources are added, the number increased to 72.1 percent. Records for wind power are also being set across Northern Europe.
Faster Rescues
Artificial Intelligence Helps Locate People and Wildlife
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Sweden Dumps its Dumps Landfills generate environmental problems such as the greenhouse gas methane that warms the atmosphere and toxic chemicals from household cleaning products that pollute soil and groundwater. Installations are smelly, noisy and can breed disease-transmitting vermin, as well as harm wildlife. Recycling helps cut the volume of waste, but the bulk of all trash continues to fill these dumps. Sweden produces about the same amount of waste as other European nations, but less than 1 percent of its household refuse ends up in landfills. Thirty-two waste-to-energy (WTE) plants that have been operating across the country for years incinerate more than 2 million tons of trash annually—almost 50 percent of all waste. The country still recycles, but anything else normally ends up in the WTE incinerators, creating steam to generate electricity distributed on the grid. This system heats close to a million homes and powers more than a quarter-million, thus reducing Sweden’s reliance on fossil fuels. Sweden also helps to clean up other countries in the European Union by importing their trash and burning it. Because specific products contain materials that cannot be recycled or incinerated, some landfills are still necessary. 24
Sarasota/Manatee Edition
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News and resources to inspire concerned citizens to work together in building a healthier, stronger society that benefits all.
Getting Greener
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globalbriefs
Artificial intelligence (AI) is helping doctors and scientists worldwide do their jobs better. In wildlife preservation, many researchers want to know how many animals there are and where they live, but Tanya Berger-Wolf, a professor of computer science at the University of Illinois at Chicago, states, “Scientists do not have the capacity to do this, and there are not enough GPS collars or satellite tracks in the world.” At AI-driven Wildbook.org, photos are uploaded by experts and the public and analyzed for species, age and even gender. One massive Kenyan study in 2015 prompted officials to alter their lion management program. Also, the locations of stranded victims of floods, earthquakes or other disasters can be determined via computer programmers writing basic algorithms that examine extensive footage. In flooded areas, AI technology can also find debris that harbors trapped people. AI techniques can even monitor social media sites to find out more about missing people and disasters.