Urban Coyotes

Are coyotes losing their fear of humans?

Recent sightings of coyotes encroaching on suburban neighborhoods, and a few recent reported attacks have alerted many folks of an increasing problem. Though the occurrences of coyotes attacks on humans are rare, the recent report from White Plains, NY about two little girls being attacked have left some people wondering. Is this a new problem that humans should be worried about?

Due to the expanding suburban culture Coyotes have lost a lot of land which they once hunted on. Which has left the scavengers looking for some tasty morsels to gobble up. The unsettling co-existence between animal and human is caused by interactions that the animal views as positive. Such as the intentional, or unintentional, leaving of pet food out at night or the few scraps of food in garbage available for the animal to rummage food. "The animals then start to think people are going to be a source of food. That's when they start to lose their fear and become a problem," stated James Eyring, the assistant director of Pace University's Environmental Center in Pleasantville.

These recent threats are just newly developed, the encroaching of coyotes in suburban neighborhoods, that is. In the 1960s and 70s such sightings were nearly unheard of the real problem is as the world continues to expand animals are losing their homes and start to rely on their new surroundings for survival. Meaning that the can of cat food you left out for the neighborhood cat, could be enticing some much unwanted visitors to your backyard for a free bite of food.

Urban environments are very resource-rich for coyotes, they provide less work then hunting and once a pattern is formed a quick dash to the trash can is easy. Not only is it more rich in resources, it also proves to be quite fatal for a lot of unknowing coyotes who get hit by cars, or consume something poisonous. Research has shown that with the increasing prowlers who eat from trash, the death from consuming poison has skyrocketed. Simply because they are eating rats or mice that have been murdered with an over the counter rat poison.

Departments of Wildlife have recommended people to stop feeding coyotes, or any other wild animal. That providing them with food, either with good intentions or not, is making them dependent on humans for survival making them more likely to have less fear of human beings. Keep your pet food and garbage cans secure, Coyotes will take advantage of any meal they can sink their teeth into such as unsecured containers or the pets food that was left outside uneaten.

Hurricane Alex; first of the season.

Hurricane Alex, the first hurricane of the 2010 season, has come and gone, hitting at night on June 30th and dissipating over Mexico. The maximum sustained winds for Hurricane Alex were 100 mph, making it a Category Two hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale. It was moving west at 10 mph, a movement that was expected to continue for the next day or so. The minimum central pressure was 947 millibars or 27.96 inches. Hurricane-force winds extended up to 35 miles from the center, and tropical storm-force winds extend up to 205 miles.



Unfortunately six-foot waves from Alex have damaged a new, $4.6 million system meant to prevent oil from flowing into Perdido Bay.

The structure is composed of more than 3,000 feet of steel piping that is strung together in Perdido Pass between dozens of pilings in Orange Beach to guard against the oil spill. Though they said Thursday that about 800 feet of the protective system began coming apart when thick bolts started shearing off in heavy seas. Workers took apart other sections to prevent further damage to the system, which wasn't yet finished. It was said the steel booms should be back in place with thicker bolts by Saturday. He said not much additional oil entered the bay because of the failure.

Flooding and overflowing of rivers killed two men in Mexico on Thursday, July 01, before Alex finally made it's leave over Mexico's borders.

Texas' Strikes Out on Air Quality Permits

The Environmental Protection Agency has officially struck down air quality permits the state of Texas issued to industrial plants because they violate the federal environmental safety standards, the agency said. (read more here )

On december 9th, 2009 the commission had proposed changes to the public notice/public participation rules for the air quality permits. TAC, Title 30, Capter 39, Public Notice, proposed rule making revises the public notice procedures for the air quality permits. However now the Texas Commission on Enviromental Quality has issued flexible permits that set emission caps for all plants incorporated into the permit ruling.

The goals of putting forth such stipulations is hoping to reduce the highly reactive volatile organic (carbon-based) compounds (HRVOCs) and reducing the NOx, including improving the control over the large about of emissions being put into our atmosphere. Hopefully enabling them to improve the monitoring of specific sources to our ozone layer. The air quality has been a problem, especially centered around the Houston area.

Since 1999, Huston had been battling it out with Los Angeles to claim the title of "most polluted air in the United States" which is defined by the number of days each city violates federal smog standards. To better define what an emission, or smog, standard is we dive a little deeper. Emission standards are requirements that set specific limits to the amount of pollutants that can be released into the environment. The United States emission standards are set forth and maintained by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and both state and local governments play a subsidiary role.

"EPA has determined that the "Texas' Air Quality Permits" do not meet the several national Clean Air Act requirements that assures the protection of health and environment," the EPA said when asked about striking down the quality permits. The Clean Air Act is the law that defines the EPA's responsibilities for protecting and improving our nations air quality and the stratospheric ozone layer. It is just one of a number of pieces of legislation relating to the reduction of smog and air pollution in general. The use of such legislation to enforce clean air standards has helped increase the human health overall as well as increase the lifespan.

This decision made by the EPA will not be closing down any plants in the Texas area, but stricter guidelines will be put in place which will have to be followed in the future.

Not So PetSmart After All

Thinking about buying from Petsmart lately? Think again.

An investigation done by PETA has turned up the cold-hearted truth about Petsmart. Undercover investigators put in a documented report on their 2006 investigation. Though little of this reached the general public, which to me is both sad and disappointing.

PetSmart had assured PETA for quite awhile that those poor innocent animals were receiving proper treatment for their sicknesses and injuries. However the recent dive into the truths about the stores have left us with a bad taste in our mouth. Not only are these poor animals left to suffer, but it appears the general knowledge of the stores employees are extremely lacking.

Small animals cost the multibillion-dollar company next to nothing in costs and they make up a minute percentage of the company's total sales. So why do they continue to buy these poor creatures, produced in the thousands, only to leave them to die from diseases and injuries? The sad truth is, we as consumers can't deny the cute fuzzy faces staring back at us, or the feathery friend who is just singing his heart out. Believe me folks those supplies vs. demands build up, and profits become well worth the torment of those animals that we can't resist having.

The better question is, where do these adorable little fuzzy and feathery beings come from? Well the answer might make you feel a little queasy. They are bred in horrid conditions in warehouses, much like that of a puppy mill. They are massed produced, thousands upon thousands of these creatures kept in unlivable conditions with no vet care or even so much as a monitoring breeder to keep an eye on their well-being. They are shipped in trucks to their desired location, many don't make it.

The dying, or dead, creatures are stacked on top of one another in cramped quarters. Many others are sick, or injured 100s upon thousands of these little animals never even make it to the floor. PETA has documented more then 100 small animals, including but not limited to hamsters, domestic rats, lizards, chinchillas, and birds who were deprived of the proper veterinary care. Petsmart cares so little about the animals in their care, their focus is simply on making a quick buck at the suspense of animals.

Why don't you see these horrid conditions, and dying animals? Because Petsmart takes great care to make sure they never leave the hidden back rooms, out of your sight as a consumer. If that isn't bad enough the same pet store that sells small animals also admitted to using GLUE TRAPS. That's right, these horrid contraptions trap the animal, ripping patches of skin, fur, and feathers off when they struggle to escape. Sometimes the animal is so desperate for freedom they even chew off their own limbs.

So, for a store that prides itself on lying to you with its "outstanding pet care teams," and "exceptional pet care record," it doesn't even take the time to make sure suffering animals get taken care of. Please rethink before buying anything from your Petsmart store, who knows what poor animals life you've just ended by buying one of their cute little fuzzy, or feathery animals.

Go Green!

Everyone has heard of the motto "Go Green," but what exactly does it mean? Going green means being environmentally friendly and doing things that are good for our earth. There are plenty of ways of "Going Green," and it doesn't just consist of recycling all your used cans either. Some good ways to help our ecosystem is by volunteering around your community, plant a herb garden and grow your own veggies and fruits - not only is this super tasty it is also very good for our environment. Switch out all those florescent lights with some CFLs, if you cannot switch them all out try changing out a few. Try to make some homemade compost bins, they are cheap and efficient and it makes some awesome organic materials that you can use later to help the earth.

How about turning off those electronics for a little while? Take your kids outside, shut off those video games and go toss the ball around for a bit. Not only is this awesome exercise it also saves on electricity, you'll be helping the environment and saving yourself some extra green as well. Stop using those disposable bags you get at the grocery store, you can either make your own or you can buy one that you can use multiple times. It's one less bag that'll make it to the dump. Stop buying bottled water, it really isn't all that "fancy" try getting a reusable bottle instead and filling it with tap water and tossing it in the fridge so it is ready when you need it. Not only will this cut down on the plastic build up at the dump, but you'll have some cool water to take out when you're ready.

Don't leave the lights on in the house, if you're going out turn them off. If you're done in the room, flip the switch - it is always a good habit to get your kids into and it'll save on your bills as well. Turn off your computer completely at night, it is good on your computer and helps save the environment! I bet your computer would thank you later if it could. Reuse scrap paper, don't just throw it out print on both sides and save some trees! You never know what you can jot down on the back of that old receipt anyways. Before buying anything new you should check out your local Craigslist or Freecycle, you never know what you might find! There are hundreds of more ways you can help the environment, listed above are just a few helpful ways you can get started. Let's help save the planet, GO GREEN!

Mooortifiying Baby Murder

Never allowed to walk, forced to small confined spaces so their poor young bodies cannot develop properly. Separated from birth these young malnourished calves are not allowed to live life. Confined to keep their bodies from developing any reddish muscular tissue, these tiny crates just measure two feet wide. They are not allowed to turn around, or stretch their limbs or even lie down in comfort. They are kept this way for sixteen weeks until slaughter. Every year approximately one million calves are confined to crates. They are chained by the neck as to constrict any form of movement, and this disgusting confinement makes that meat the veal consumers eat so "tender" since the animals muscles are never allowed to develop.

These poor innocent calves are fed an improper diet that consist of powdered milk replacer, water, vitamin, sulfa drugs, mold inhibitors and antibiotics. So when diners are looking at the menu and think they're ordering that "milk-fed" baby, who was so kindly fed it's mothers milk… they are being misled and lied to. There is research to indicate that the calves that are forced to be confined in such horrid conditions experience "chronic stress" and require five times more medication to keep them alive. This means that the veal meat used from these calves are more likely to contain illegal drug residues.

Aside from the "chronic stress," that the calves suffer they also experience swelling in their joints from being force to lay on barren slate floors which impairs any ability to walk. The reason these floors are kept free of any straw or hay is so it has no chance of munching on the straw to try and get the iron it lacks in its diet. These calves have no chance to develop its four stomachs, and due to the horrid diet they are forced to live upon they develop stomach ulcers and suffer from extreme chronic diarrhea.

Because it has no place to relieve itself other then the barren floor it is forced to lay upon it often is kept in its own feces, and must breath the ammonia gas which causes labored breathing and in desperate attempts to ingest iron a calf may lick his urine off the ground just to try and get the measly iron content it holds. These calves are forced to live in torment, they are then butchered to feed the veal consumers. These poor calves never get to feel the fresh air on their face, or romp in a field of daises. They die without ever getting to walk, or prance around.

A million calves a year suffer through this horrid nightmare, spread the word and let people know what these poor innocents have to endure. Maybe we can start taking a step in the right direction.

Blood Sport Alert: Horse Fighting

Brutal and bloody, a fight to the death is what spectators would like to see most.

Animal rights groups have been fighting it for the longest time, the barbaric practice of placing horse against horse. The cause for such a display of brutality amongst normally calm, and majestic creatures? A mare. In a tournament of blood, this blood sport has being going on for about 500-years. Is it right? No. You may be asking yourself, how do the horses fight? Simple. Bite, kick, strike out, and trample each other in a blur of blood and sweat. Condemned by the animal welfare community the Korean and Chinese cultures are far from ready to give up their festivities.

These fights can turn out thousands of spectators to view, bringing round the gamblers who like to jeer and prod at the battling animals. Serious injuries erupt from such a spectacle including gouges, gashes, broken limbs and death. These events normally happen during festivals and are considered a true "sport" in some cultures. The bloody battle is nothing but sheer display of dominance, normally portrayed by two stallions when confronted with a mare "in season." While the Republic Act 8485, also known as the Animal Welfare Act, outlawed all horse fighting in 1998 with costly fines ranging from 1000 pesos to a maximum of 5000 pesos, the horse fighters rarely pay much attention to the laws.

Despite the passing of the act in 1998 not one person has been prosecuted for the outrageous act of placing horse against horse in a fighting ring. Small attempts have been made by the national government's Animal Welfare Division, but no prominent progression in stopping the heinous crime has been installed. How does horse fighting work? The two stallions are put before a mare in season, flaunted before them to get them riled up and soon after removed. The two stallions go at it, attempting to prove their worth the first horse to fall, run away or die is declared the loser. These continues until two champions have been decided, and then a final battle proceeds to which the winner goes the spoils.

Sometimes to satisfy a bloodthirsty crowd, a previously injured horse is intentionally placed against a stronger opponent simply to watch more gruesome injuries to incur. These horrid bloodsports are just as bad as dog fighting, and cock fighting. These animals are sustaining horrid injuries for the jollies of heartless humans, it is sad and people need to be aware that this is happening and it is VERY real.

Beecause of Cellphones?

Is our need for technological advancement killing our planet?

Is our honey bee population in decline because of cell phones? They have been on what seems to be a steady decline, and it would appear some research done by Landau University, in England, has linked the cause to our cell phones.

CNN reported that the study has suggested that cell phone radiation may be contributing to declines in bee populations in some parts of the world. It would appear that Landau has been doing a limited study, and has found that when cell phones are placed near the hives and turned on the bees will abandon their hives.

The term "Colony collapse disorder" has been use to describe a phenomenon in which worker bees in beehives abruptly disappear. The reason a name has been placed to such behavior recently is because of the steady and drastic rise in the numbers of disappearances that become highly noted in late 2006. According to the British Bee Association, yes such a thing exist, the populations in the UK alone dropped 17 percent and nearly 30 percent in the US last year.

Other biotic factors have also been put into play which might explain the steady decline in our colonies and bees overall. Such things as Varrora mites, and insect diseases, environmental stress and malnutrition have also been placed up to bat for the blame. Why should we be so concerned about the decline in our be population? Loss of our bees would mean the end for some fruits and vegetables which would be devastating to farmers relying on their products for a living. It has been estimated that the produce that bees pollinate is worth around $12 billion dollars annually and a loss like that would mean farmers would be taking a huge hit.

England is not the only one doing research on the effect of cell-phones on our bee populations. A university in northern India, Panjab University, fitted cell phones to a hive and powered them up for two fifteen-minute periods each day. After three months, they found that the bees had stopped producing honey, and egg production by the queen had been halved and the size of the hives they were doing the research on were dramatically reduced. Which brings us back to CCD, or Colony collapse disorder.

Perhaps a little more background is in order, from 1972 to 2006 there was a rapid decline in the number of feral honey bees in the United States. ("Pollination worries rise as honey bees decline." Science, vol. 265, pg 1170.) Though the declines were originally thought to be because of urbanization other causes later arose (see above.) Though there is other documentation of occurrences resembling CCD, as early as 1869 the actual set of symptoms described for CCD didn't actually get its name until recently. In 2009 the United States reported that over one third of the bees did not survive the winter, and in the US at least 24 different states have reported cases of CCD which has lead to more fears of a "biological disaster."

Moving on, now that you know a bit more about CCD let's continue with what we rely on honeybees for. Over 90 some cultivated flowering crops rely mostly on the honey bees. Not that people are willing to give up their cell phones just to save an insect, though an insect they rely heavily on, but it is some food for thought. And while the theory might sound far fetched, scientist are continuing to do research to explain the mass epidemic of bee losses.

BPs Motto "progressive, responsible, innovative and performance driven" all lies.

I have heard a lot about the Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico, but I didn't understand all the details until I dived a little deeper into the actual going ons.

I have heard a lot of people talk about BP's spill simply being an accident, that they didn't mean to allow it to happen. I am here to tell you that this was far from an accident, and simply proof that men hunger for greed more then proper safety measures that require a little bit extra funding.

Where is the proof that this is greed, and not an accident?

Let's see…

BP decided to use a cheaper method of casting steel tubes in the well, a method so unsafe that one of BP's own engineers described it as a "nightmare well" in an e-mail. But instead of addressing the concern and taking the proper measures to ensure that it would be fixed, in general concern for the well being of our environment, they decided to simply ignore it and respond with "It's done, end of story."

"The original rig drilling at the well site for BP had been damaged by Hurricane Ida last November, and the Deepwater Horizon had been brought in to resume the operations. However, by the day well exploded, April 20, the replacement rig was more then 40 days overdue for the next booked drilling - BP was footing a daily overdue fee for the Deepwater Horizon rig of at least $500,000" (read more Here )

That's one reason the rig exploding was not an accident. If you've listened to the news you've heard countless other reasons. Some small snippets of info include how BP committed 96% of all egregious and willful violations (as in they did knowing it's illegal for the sake of money). BP made 58 billion dollars in pure profit last year, but they only spent 29 million on research for safer drilling methods and guess what! They spent $0 on research efforts to improve the response time in case something like the oil spill did occur. That's why they are still using the same floating booms as 30-years ago. (read more Here )

And now their oil spill has become the largest ever in the Gulf of Mexico. The ominous record that underscores the oil giant's dire need to halt the gusher. The oil that's been spewing out for two and a half months from a blown-out well a mile under the sea hit the 140.6 million gallon mar, eclipsing the pervious record setter! How sad is that? (read more Here)

BP also lied about the amounts spilling. On April 24th, they said only 1000 barrels were leaking per day, now we know it's well over 60,000 barrels per day. Maybe they didn't know about the numbers, and didn't mean to lie? Wrong. They knew, and they lied about it. They knew that up to 100,000 could be spilled but they refused to let independent scientist (as in people not working for BP itself) to have access to the data and images to allow them to get a real estimate on the amount being spilled. Those scientist instead had to work with low quality video and images that the government forced them to release, but guess what BP had a HD video all the while and just refused to release it.

Their lies (a difference of 60 times the amount they claimed) not only messed up the cleaning efforts but also the attempts to stop the leak itself. I mean a cap or dome designed for 1000 barrels is not going to work on something that is 60 times the amount. That is why all the efforts and attempts at fixing and cleaning up the mess have failed. And, as far as a I know BP isn't even attempting to stop the leak now. They're simply waiting until the relief well is drilled, but that won't be until a later date 2011 at the latest. That's right, 60,000 barrels (2,500,000 gallons) to 100,000 barrels leaking everyday since April to August, or perhaps even until next year!

Now let's move on to the clean up efforts that are going on. Fishermen out of jobs due to the spill became the BP "cleanup workers" since they have no other choice. But wait, the oil is toxic and statistics from the Exxon Valdes spill showed that the oil fumes can cause serious health issues and can lower one's lifespan by 30 years. It wouldn't be a problem, but despite those statistics and facts, BP refuses to provide the proper safety measurements such as masks and goggles. When questioned as to why the workers were vomiting or complaining of headaches they claimed it was because of food poisoning NOT because they were working over toxic fumes. Well why not just bring their own masks? Well you see, they can't or they will be fired. It's all part of the contract. Well if the workers were to wear mask, it might actually show the public how toxic and dangers the oil really is. So instead of letting the public know the truth, BP would rather risk the lives of their employees. Great! (read moreHere)

Ok now all that aside, BP is also burning LIVE sea turtles on purpose. Not only will they cover the poor wildlife in oil, they'll also burn them alive to save their own hide! It's funny how BP has spent over $50,000,000 on TV ads alone to lie to you about their "environmental responsibility" yet here they are trying to save their ass by burning the evidence. Not to mention when volunteers tried to rescue the turtles they were run off. They have absolutely no interest in saving innocent animals that THEY have endangered.

How sorry is BP for this mess? Well BP CEO Tony Hayward said "I'd like my life back."You know who else would like their life back? The 11 men that died in the explosion, the hundreds of thousands of dead birds, turtles, fish, and dolphins, and all the people in Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida who lost their jobs and way of life. Well once he got flamed for saying such things, he apologized. But, how sorry is he? Well he's sorry enough to be enjoying a Yacht Race off the southern coast of England. (read more Here)

“What is undoubtedly true is that we did not have the tools you would want in your tool-kit,” – Tony Hayward, Bp CEO

Well there you have it folks, the truth behind the BP Oil Spill. BP deserves all the blame for everything that has gone, and the fact they refuse to face the facts and admit they made a mistake is why I will never be buying from BP again.