PLANET IN PERIL

Science Magazine Cruise ships often burn bunker fuel, the very kind warned about in this story. A Wikimedia image. A few years ago, scientists funded by the Wellcome Trust, one of the world's wealthiest private philanthropies, published sobering findings about the deadly effects of air pollution. In a long-term study of elderly residents of Hong Kong, China, those exposed to higher levels of smog—especially tiny particles of soot produced by burning fossil fuels—were more likely to die of cancer than people who breathed cleaner air. Details here. RELATED: Please read my blog-story,  "How Ethical Are Ethical Funds? Conscientious investments and the tar sands connection"   l.p. by Larry Powell

The Guardian Move shocks delegates at UN conference as ministers fly in for final week of climate talks.  More here

Science Today -  University of Maine Mt. Jarvis, Alaska. Photo by R. McGimsey, U.S. Geological Survey Children in Alaska whose diet includes a lot of fish from rivers fed by the Eastern Alaska Mountain Range may have a long-term elevated risk for cancer because of insecticides -- including DDT -- in the meltwater. Story here. RELATED: " Research Suggests Our Past, Prolific Use Of The Insecticide DDT May Still Be Contributing To A Scourge Of Modern-Day Diseases Related To Obesity.  -  Is a world-wide ban now the only ethical thing to do?"

PHY ORG An aerial shot of mountains in Greenland. 2006. Photo by  Túrelio . Surface melting across Greenland's mile-thick ice sheet began increasing in the mid-19th century and then ramped up dramatically during the 20th and early 21st centuries, showing no signs of abating, according to… More here.

More details here.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B An Oxfam photo. Humans have dramatically altered the planet over the course of a century, from the acidity of our oceans to the fragmentation of our landscapes and the temperature of our climate. More here.

ScienceNews Hoar frost coats trees of the boreal forest in Manitoba, Canada.  A PinP photo. Researchers conducting a 5-year-long study examining snow cover in a northern hardwood forest region found that projected changes in climate could lead to a 95 percent reduction of deep-insulating snowpack in forest areas across the northeastern United States by the end of the 21st century. The loss of snowpack would likely result in a steep reduction of forests' ability to store climate-changing carbon dioxide and filter pollutants from the air and water. Story here.

Laurier Canada’s race to meet biodiversity conservation targets could jeopardize the very goal it is trying to achieve.  More here. Aerial view of the Bunsby marine park. West coast of Vancouver Island. Bc. Photo by  Kiwican