Day: December 8, 2019

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EPA rejects ban on poison bombs against cattle predators – ABC News

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EPA rejects ban on poison bombs against cattle predators – ABC News

The agency's assistant administrator, Alexandra Dunn, said in a statement that the EPA had worked with the Agriculture Department “to ensure there are safe and effective tools for farmers and ranchers to protect livestock.”

I think concerns are overblown. Potassium cyanide has a short half-life when it's exposed to oxygen. It's unlikely to be passed from one animal to another. It's been used for nearly a century in one form or another, with a good safety record.

It's a good tool for predator management and healthy ecosystems when foothold traps are not a practical alternative in very remote country, where it's not practical to check a trap line every 24-48 hours. Where used, potassium cyanide trap-lines are checked at least once a week. Dogs and other domestic pets should not be allowed to run off-leash. They do enormous damage to ecosystems.

How to combat people’s racial bias, according to the research – Vox

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How to combat people’s racial bias, according to the research – Vox

In 2016, researchers stumbled on a radical tactic for reducing another person’s bigotry: a frank, brief conversation.

The study, authored by David Broockman at Stanford University and Joshua Kalla at the University of California Berkeley, looked at how simple conversations can help combat anti-transgender attitudes. In the research, people canvassed the homes of more than 500 voters in South Florida. The canvassers, who could be trans or not, asked the voters to simply put themselves in the shoes of trans people — to understand their problems — through a 10-minute, nonconfrontational conversation. The hope was that the brief discussion could lead people to reevaluate their biases.

Caricatures from Der Stuermer

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Caricatures from Der Stuermer

I am always fascinated by political cartoons and propaganda materials, as they often shape for good and bad how we look at the world and the people around us. Hatred is a terrible thing but it seems so common in politics today that are driven by the widely varying culture across our country. But before you condemn an out group, you should try to look at the world through their perspective and understand their concerns. 

NPR

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In A Warming Greenland, A Farming Family Adapts To Drought — And New Opportunities : NPR

The Nielsen family has owned and run Kangerluarsorujuk since 1972. The farm sits on a plateau at one end of a fjord. The barns for the sheep and two small, sturdy houses for the Nielsens are built to withstand Greenland's winter cold. Sign Up For The NPR Daily Newsletter

Kanuk has spent his entire life on this sheep farm. He says the summers are longer now than when he was a child — lasting from May to October — and drought has become a problem.

Bromism – Wikipedia

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Bromism – Wikipedia

High levels of bromide chronically impair the membrane of neurons, which progressively impairs neuronal transmission, leading to toxicity, known as bromism. Bromide has an elimination half-life of 9 to 12 days, which can lead to excessive accumulation. Doses of 0.5 to 1 gram per day of bromide can lead to bromism. Historically, the therapeutic dose of bromide is about 3 to 5 grams of bromide, thus explaining why chronic toxicity (bromism) was once so common. While significant and sometimes serious disturbances occur to neurologic, psychiatric, dermatological, and gastrointestinal functions, death is rare from bromism.

Bromism is caused by a neurotoxic effect on the brain which results in somnolence, psychosis, seizures and delirium. Bromism has also been caused by excessive soda consumption, due to the presence of brominated vegetable oil, leading to headache, fatigue, ataxia, memory loss, and eventually inability to walk in one case.