Bumblebees Are Now An Endangered Species

The rusty patched bumblebee (Bombus affinis), once such a common site in North America, is now on the endangered species list. This bee species was once abundant and thriving in 28 states and the District of Columbia. They were common in the grasslands and prairies of the East and the Midwest. Now, the bees that are left are mostly confined to small areas within twelve states and the province of Ontario Canada.

We are thrilled to see one of North America’s most endangered species receive the protection it needs. Now that the Fish and Wildlife Service has listed the rusty-patched bumble bee as endangered, it stands a chance of surviving the many threats it faces — from the use of neonicotinoid pesticides to diseases.” – Xerces Society director of endangered species, Sarah Jepsen

The bee’s population is down almost 90 percent since the 1990s. But other pollinators may reap the benefits of protecting the bumblebee as well.

“While this listing clearly supports the rusty patched bumble bee, the entire suite of pollinators that share its habitat, and which are so critical to natural ecosystems and agriculture, will also benefit. This is a positive step towards the conservation of this species, and we now have to roll up our sleeves to begin the actual on-the-ground conservation that will help it move toward recovery.” – Rich Hatfield, Xerces Society senior conservation biologist

It wasn’t easy getting the bee listed, and there is a good chance the designation of bumble bees as an endangered species will face more resistance from several industries and corporations. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service finalized the bumblebee’s listing as an endangered species on January 11th, but it took longer than expected to put the bee on the list of endangered species. The National Cotton Council, the National Association of Home Builders, and the American Petroleum Institute pushed to postpone the decision and Trump’s administration delayed Obama-era regulations that hadn’t yet taken into effect, which delayed the rusty-patched bumblebee from being listed.

The Endangered Species Act was passed by Congress in 1973 and signed into law by President Nixon in December of the same year. The legislation is considered the most significant and powerful wildlife protection act in U.S. history. The Trump administration is interested in gutting or possibly ending the Endangered Species Act.

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Jellyfish Diapers? Not So Crazy…

An ocean filled with venomous jellyfish is hardly something to celebrate. However, for an innovative Israeli company, it’s a crucial part of their solution to combat the overabundance of diapers winding up in landfills every year.

Why Jellyfish?

Thanks to the triple threat of climate change, increasing ocean acidity, and overfishing, jellyfish are steadily taking over the world’s oceans. The decline of global fisheries means that jellyfish encounter fewer predators and competitors for food in their ocean habitat, and jellyfish populations have grown so quickly in recent years that many researchers believe the ocean will soon be dominated by them.

Not only is the rise of jellyfish a depressing threat to diversity in the ocean, they also pose a real problem in the modern world. Besides giving beachgoers painful stings, jellyfish are also capable of harming underwater infrastructure. In 2013, a cluster of jellyfish caused a Swedish nuclear reactor to shut down when they were sucked into the cooling pipe, and their threat is only growing worse. According to the National Science Foundation, colonies of jellyfish in the Gulf of Mexico already can stretch over 100 miles long,

Equally troubling is the increasing amount of diapers, sanitary pads and tampons winding up in landfills every year. These absorbent products are made from synthetic polymers that take hundreds of years to break down, and over 27 billion diapers are tossed in the trash in the United States every year, resulting in over 3.4 million tons of waste.

The Magic of Jellyfish Diapers

Hard as it may seem to see the connection between diapers and jellyfish, one company thinks that their combination can help solve the problems produced by both.

Cine’al Ltd., an Israeli nanotechnology company, has found a way to make biodegradable diapers from jellyfish. Inspired by research from Tel Aviv University about the potential of jellyfish for use as a durable, biodegradable fabric, these diapers are twice as absorbent as regular ones and decompose in less than a month, meaning that fewer diapers are left to rot in waste centers.

The key to the absorbency of these special diapers comes from a patented material called “hydromash”. By breaking down jellyfish flesh and infusing it with antibiotic nanoparticles that remove the sting, hydromash creates a strong, flexible material that’s completely biodegradable in a matter of weeks.

Now, Cine’al Ltd. is using hydromash to develop infant and adult diapers as well as sanitary pads and tampons. Because the global diaper market was worth an estimated $52 billion in 2015, these jellyfish diapers have tremendous potential to make a positive difference for the planet.

Long-Term Benefits of Jellyfish Diapers

While the degradation hitting the world’s oceans today is devastating to diversity, there might be a small silver lining if the increasing numbers of jellyfish can be converted into sustainable alternatives to synthetic plastics. If Cine’al diapers and sanitary products are a success, they might start a trend for using jellyfish in other ways that limit the impact of plastic pollution on the planet’s surface.

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Could Gigafactories Power the Whole World?

Elon Musk, the visionary billionaire CEO of Tesla and SolarCity, says that the revolutionary new “Gigafactory” now under construction can serve as a model for transitioning the world to sustainable energy. In an interview in the short film, Before the Flood, he states:

“We actually did the calculations to figure out what it would take to transition the whole world to sustainable energy… and you’d need 100 Giga factories.”

For utilities and grid operators, the technology is designed to enable remote-aggregated control of solar battery systems. I urge anyone reading this who is responsible for managing grid operations, and who is interested in procuring capacity, reactive power, or voltage management services deep in the distribution system to contact us.”

Tesla’s batteries also give energy users the ability to go completely off the grid using clean renewable energy.

With the goal of reducing dependence on fossil fuels and halting climate change, Musk’s company, SolarCity, has revolutionized the rooftop solar industry. It has become the largest supplier of solar power for homes and businesses in the United States. Just a month after Google invested $300 million in the company, SolarCity activated a fund that included an investment from Credit Suisse, which is expected to finance more than $1 billion in commercial solar energy projects.

Businesses and government organizations are able to access SolarCity’s DemandLogic energy storage system. That access enables them to reduce their energy costs by using stored electricity during times of peak demand. Remote communities that are vulnerable to frequent power outages that result in higher energy costs can also access the company’s GridLogic micro-grid service.

Musk is urging other large companies worldwide to invest in building Giga factories of their own. “If the big industrial companies in China, the U.S., and Europe…do this then collectively we can accelerate the transition to sustainable energy. And if the government sets the rules to favor sustainable energy, we can get there really quickly.”

There are a number of things about Tesla’s Gigafactory that are well worth emulating.

The Model

Located in Sparks, Nevada, on Electric Avenue, Tesla’s Gigafactory is one of the largest structures ever built. At approximately 6 million square feet, it covers 126 acres. Multiple levels could expand its square footage to up to 15 million square feet. Employees there call it the “alien dreadnaught.” Musk estimates that by 2020, the factory will house 6,500 employees.

The good news for those employees is that the heavy lifting and transport will be done by mobile robots called automated guided vehicles (AGVs). They navigate by following magnetic tape on the ground and are equipped with sensors and a laser guidance system. Much of the repetitive motion work of battery building will be assisted by robotic arms.

To reduce the environmental impact of excavation and building, the factory is diamond-shaped. It is also aligned with true north to allow daily operations to take full advantage of solar panels and GPS capabilities. The design allows it to be powered entirely by sustainable energy sources. For the first time, all the processes required to build batteries will be in a single factory. Rail cars will transport raw materials straight into one end of the factory, and finished batteries will emerge at the other end.

Musk estimates that by 2020, the factory will be able to produce more lithium-ion batteries than all of the worldwide battery makers combined were able to produce in 2013. Further, he estimates that the price of those batteries will be reduced by approximately 30%. In practical terms, that means that the cost of the eco-friendly Tesla Model 3 will be priced at just $35,000.

In an effort to further encourage the use of solar energy worldwide, in 2015, SolarCity purchased ILIOSS, a company in Mexico that specializes in solar installation for commercial and industrial projects. According to research data, demand for solar power by commercial and industrial interests in Mexico are expected to increase over 1000% by 2020. According to a company spokesperson, “Mexico’s combination of high electricity rates, favorable solar economics, and massive solar resources makes it one of the most promising solar markets in the world.”

South Australian companies have been promised governmental support in transforming the country’s energy infrastructure to include solar energy. Energy storage capability is essential for replacing aging coal and gas plants. Towards that end, Musk recently issued a promise of his own via Twitter, namely that he could build a battery storage farm there within 100 days – or it would be free.

Global Solar Expansion

While the world’s first Gigafactory will be in the United States, there are a number of other countries leading the way in making the transition to solar energy. In 2016, Portugal was the first country to be completely powered by sun, wind, and rain for 107 hours.  Coopérnico has already installed its seventh photovoltaic facility on Portugal’s southern coast.

Germany ranks first in renewable energy, leading the world in solar PV capacity. It has met as much as 78 percent of its daily demand for electricity from renewable energy sources.

China is also a world leader in renewable energy. In 2014, China had the highest installed wind energy capacity and the second highest installed solar PV capacity. These efforts demonstrate China’s commitment to reducing dependence on coal and improving air quality. Sun-drenched Morocco holds the title for the largest solar power plant in the world.

Critics of solar energy point to higher unemployment rates caused by the closure of coal plants. However, with a few economic adjustments, the global transition to sustainable energy, coupled with technological advances such as robotics, may well result in everyone being able to work less and enjoy life more.

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Horseshoe Crabs: The Blue Blood That’s Fueling the Medical Industry

Anyone who has ever benefited from an injection, a pacemaker, or a joint replacement, has the humble horseshoe crab to thank. In fact, all FDA approved vaccines, injectable drugs, and implanted medical devices owe their effectiveness to the blood of horseshoe crabs.

Why Horseshoe Crab Blood?

Horseshoe crabs are some of the oldest animals on the planet. At least 200 million years older than dinosaurs, these crustaceans have survived multiple mass extinctions that doomed millions of their companions. Yet, crabs today are experiencing an unprecedented threat to their existence- and your medical history is most likely contributing to the problem.

Four hundred and fifty million years of existence has led to a lot of evolutionary advantages for the horseshoe crab, specifically in their blood. This cerulean-hued substance is filled with antibacterial properties that make it incredibly valuable for medical procedures. The coloring comes from copper, which interacts with crab blood like iron does in ours. Rather than looking red, however, copper turns crab blood blue.

In many ways, the crab’s circulatory system has little in common with our own. When pathogens enter a crab’s body, their blue blood cells release a chemical called amoebocyte lysate (LAL) that thickens on contact with the invading substance and acts as a physical barrier against it, preventing it from spreading throughout the body.

While many animals have similar blood mechanisms for keeping out intruders, few do it as well as the horseshoe crab. Crab blood amebocytes can coagulate around as little as one part in a trillion of bacteria (the equivalent of a grain of sand in a pool), and the reaction takes less than an hour, in contrast to more than two days for mammal blood.

Must Read: How to Kill Fungal Infections

Crab Blood Use in Human Medicine

The unique properties of crab blood make it incredibly useful in medicine today. Pharmaceutical companies rely on LAL to test their equipment, medical implants, and more for any trace of invading toxins.

This means that crab blood is used in labs, as individual cells are burst to gain access to the coagulogen inside. Contamination can then be detected in any substance that comes into contact with this blood, and any dangerous bacteria that’s present will quickly become encapsulated in a highly obvious gel. If no gel is formed, then the likelihood of bacterial contamination is so low that the substance is considered safe for human use.

LAL tests are a quick, simple, and highly accurate way to seek out contamination in human medical supplies. Every drug certified by the FDA requires LAL testing, meaning that the demand for crab blood is sky-high. In short, everyone in the United States that has had a medical injection in some form has directly benefited from crab blood, and without crab blood, more people would die from preventable infections.

Rising Demand

As demand for crab blood continues to grow, so do the number of crabs caught every year. Roughly 200,000 crabs were harvested for their blood in the 1990s, and that number had risen to over 600,000 by 2012. At present, over three-quarters of a million crabs are harvested every year for medical use. These crabs are caught directly from the ocean, strapped into trays in mobile laboratories and bled for up to three days. Quart bottles are quickly filled with their highly-valued blood, which can sell for $60,000 a gallon. Each crab caught is expected to “donate” a full third of his blood for an industry that rakes in over $50 million a year.

Must Read: Heal Gum Disease and Cavities Naturally – Step by Step

The Costs for Crabs

The climbing demand for crab blood has a tremendous cost for horseshoe crab populations. After the bloodletting, crabs are returned to the ocean far away from where they were harvested in order to prevent them from getting picked up again. According to the industry, less than a quarter of bled crabs die from the procedure, but recent evidence is beginning to challenge those claims.

Studies have shown that removing a third of a crab’s blood leaves them disorientated and disabled once they get back into the ocean, which significantly impacts a female’s ability to breed. Making matters worse, most crabs are harvested in shallow water, which is the preferred place for females to lay their eggs. The impacts of bloodletting on nesting crabs is unknown, but it’s unlikely that females produce many viable offspring after the process.

No Quotas for the Medical Community

Strange as it may sound, regulations surrounding the harvesting of horseshoe crabs are surprisingly scant. While the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has harvest quotas in place for fishermen that catch horseshoe crabs to use as bait, laboratory companies are exempt from these quotas. Arguing that the value of their product should exempt them from regulation, the medical industry is instead required to follow voluntary, open-ended “best management” practices for crab harvesting.

A Critical Dip in Crab Populations

Today, scientists are starting to notice the impacts of the crab blood industry. Fewer crabs are spotted along the Atlantic coast each year, and concern is growing that the biomedical industry is critically endangering one of the oldest surviving species on earth. Smaller numbers of females are spawning each year, and the evidence is increasingly clear that blood harvesting is having a bigger impact on the overall population than previously believed. Post bleeding, crabs are lethargic, slow and less likely to look for food or a mate, which threatens their populations even when the procedure doesn’t immediately kill them.

There’s much that’s still unknown about the lives of horseshoe crabs, but the evidence is clear that the biomedical industry is taking a tremendous toll on their populations. Dwindling of this ancient species isn’t just a concern for conservationists, it’s an issue for everyone who relies on modern medical services.

Every one of us is connected to the horseshoe crab, but we are quickly losing the power to save it.

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Microplastics in Sea Salt – A Growing Concern

When it comes to long-term thinking for the health of the planet, humans often fall short of common sense. Plastic, one of the most durable products in the world, is consistently used for products no one actually wants to last forever, like single-use grocery bags and cheap children’s toys. The ever-increasing amounts of plastics glutting the planet today are leading to dire consequences for many natural spaces, especially the ocean. Worst of all, the overabundance of plastic particles is starting to make it into our diet in the unlikeliest of ways- sea salt.

Related: How to Detox From Plastics and Other Endocrine Disruptors

The Rise of Plastic in the Ocean

Every year, roughly 13 million metric tons of plastic finds its way into the ocean. A study from 2014 found that there are more than 5 trillion pieces of plastic in the ocean, and over 90 percent of them are less than a quarter inch long. Called microplastics, these tiny pieces tend to pose the biggest threat because they are often eaten by plankton and other small creatures and quickly make their way through the food chain to larger fish, birds, and other species.

Previous research on the levels of microplastics in the ocean has revealed that the quantities are unexpectedly high in seafood like fish and clams. However, recent research has discovered that microplastics are also detectable in sea salt.

Contamination in Sea Salt

A survey of 16 brands of sea salt from eight countries revealed to researchers that microplastics were present in all but one brand. Published in Scientific Reports, this research team found trace amounts of the plastic polymers polypropylene and polyethylene. In all, the research revealed that the tested salt contained about 1,200 plastic particles per pound. Most of these particles were found to be fragments of old plastic products, fibers, and paints that were broken down to their small size in the ocean, which ruled out the possibility that the sea salt packaging itself was to blame.

The Impacts for Human Health

In general, sea salt is considered a healthier alternative to regular table salt. Found to strengthen the immune system, improve heart health, and decrease the symptoms of asthma, many people believe that using sea salt is better for their bodies than other, refined varieties of salt. However, the prevalence of plastic in many sea salt brands might be a reason to be concerned.

Microplastics are a threat to organisms because their small size makes it easy for them to absorb organic pollutants and store them in the bodies of those that eat them. Yet there’s little reason for you to worry about the negative health effects of plastic- tainted sea salt, as the amounts of microplastics found in salt are so low that they are not considered a health risk. Researchers estimate that most people swallow fewer than 40 particles of plastic in sea salt every year, compared to the estimated 11,000 particles that shellfish lovers likely consume each year. Somewhat reassuringly, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) classifies polypropylene and polyethylene- based plastic polymers as safe for human consumption at these levels.

The Overall Damage for the Environment

In many ways, the danger of microplastics in sea salt doesn’t come from the risk for your body, but from what they mean for the rest of the planet. Plastic has become so prevalent in the world today that it’s hard to find places without it. From the ocean floor to the ice in Antarctica, microplastics are increasingly polluting natural spaces, and their long-term impacts on the world are still far from understood. If plastic particles can wind up in your salt shaker, there’s no telling where else it will soon be found.

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America’s Largest Organic Dairy Brand Is Not Organic, Study Suggests

Do you really know what’s in your organic milk? According to recent reports, the big organic dairies in the United States may be lying to you. An investigation by the Washington Post into High Plains Dairy in Colorado, owned by Aurora Organic Dairy, found that the farm isn’t complying with organic regulations.

Located in Greeley, Colorado, High Plains Dairy is home to over 15,000 cows, which dwarfs most organic dairy operations by a hundredfold. This dairy behemoth is a major organic milk supplier to national brands like Costco and Walmart, and millions of customers pay twice the price of conventional milk for their dairy products.

A closer look at the dairy farm’s practices has revealed that farm is not organic.

The Issue of Grazing

When it comes to organic milk certification, a key detail is pasture-based grazing. Rather than subsisting on feedlot corn like their conventional cousins, organic dairy cows are required to graze on pasture throughout the growing season. Not only is this more natural for the ruminant stomachs in cows, it changes the chemical composition of their milk to increase the Omega-3 fat content in ways that are more nutritious for humans.

The actual amount of grazing required, however, seems to be subjective. Last year, reporters from the Washington Post visited the High Plains dairy complex eight times and found little evidence of pasture-based grazing. Though the dairy claimed that their cows were constantly on pasture, reporters never saw more than a few hundred cows (less than 10 percent of the total herd) on pasture at any given time. In contrast, the majority of animals appeared to be in feedlots. In response to these observations, the dairy staff reported that their cows were likely elsewhere at the time of the visits, possibly being milked.

As further evidence against their grazing practices, testing done on milk samples by Virginia Tech found that the fat content in Aurora milk was a better match for conventionally-raised animals than organic ones.

Related: Stay Away From This Brand of Organic Dairy

The Costs for Consumers

When it comes to mislabeled milk, consumers are the ones that wind up paying the price. Organic milk usually costs at least double what conventional varieties go for, and skyrocketing sales have turned organics into a $40 billion industry in the United States. However, customers only pay this price because they believe they are getting a superior product in return, so unscrupulous labeling practices only work to discredit the entire organic industry.

The Problem with Big Organic

This kind of controversy for Aurora Organic Dairy is hardly new. The Cornucopia Institute, a strong campaigner for better organic practices, has created lawsuits against the company for close to a decade. In 2011, Aurora committed to improving its organic practices, though the evidence is scarce that many changes were made.

Recommended: Galactagogues Foods, Herbs, and other Ways to Increase Breastmilk Production

Aurora Organic Farms is already the leading organic dairy in America, and it’s only continuing to expand. The refusal of mega farms to fully comply with organic standards also has damaging effects on small organic farms that follow the rules. Because organically grazing dairy cattle costs more, small farms get pinched out of their market share when their competition doesn’t follow the rules. This means that the growth of mega-dairies that cut corners to produce cheaper “organic” milk is crushing smaller dairies and forcing them out of business.

The Takeaway for Consumers: Keeping Farms Accountable

If drinking organic milk is a priority for you, do the industry a favor and seek out the farms that truly follow the rules. As half of the organic milk sold in the United States comes from large factory farms, it’s more important than ever to seek out statistics about each farm to ensure they are living up to organic principles.

It’s time to demand greater regulation and better accountability from our farmers so that we can truly trust what we see on our food labels.

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NSAIDs Study Shows Side Effects are Worse Than Original Ailments

A systematic review of studies that involved nearly half a million people concluded that people who used nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are at increased risk of heart attacks. People who used a higher dose of NSAIDs were at greater risk. The duration of medication use didn’t matter, as researchers saw an increased likelihood of myocardial infarctions after a single day. While we already knew about the negative effects of NSAIDs on the cardiovascular system, this size of this study makes it even more clear how carefully we need to consider the medications we chose.

According to SpineHealth.com, the four most common NSAIDs are:

  • Aspirin: Bayer, Bufferin, and Ecotrin, St. Joseph
  • Ibuprofen: Advil, Motrin
  • Naproxen: Aleve, Anaprox DS, Naprosyn
  • Celecoxib: Celebrex

The Report Card Isn’t Promising

All of the NSAIDs looked at correlated to an increased chance of heart attack, and the percentage of increase ranged from 20 to 50 percent. Since the last use of the drug, risks decrease over time.

According to the lead author of the study, Michèle Bally, the absolute increase in risk is quite small. Which makes sense, as the risk of heart attack for most people is small. But this isn’t the only bodily system that NSAIDs don’t agree with.

High dosage or prolonged use of NSAIDs can result in chronic kidney diseases like chronic interstitial nephritis. While NSAIDs are not as likely as acetaminophen (Tylenol) to cause liver damage, they have been associated with ulcers or gastrointestinal bleeding in large doses. If you’re keeping track, that’s potential damage to three of the most important systems in the body, cardiovascular, urinary, and gastrointestinal.

Saving for a Rainy Day

People seem comfortable using NSAIDs for everyday aches like joint pain, headaches, swelling, and fevers. So is it worth it? Not with more sustainable and healthier options available, like the recommended reading below.

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