NFL

I heard on NPR yesterday that there's someone who is in charge of reducing the carbon footprint of the superbowl this year. They calculated that the event alone (not including flights and hotels for spectators), 500 tonnes of CO2 is released. They're trying to reduce this amount by reusing a lot of the administrative materials and the decorations by giving them to charities, which I think is pretty cool.

This article is also interesting: "Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), chemicals used as fire retardants, can be found in numerous items in the home, such as the television, computer, toaster and the sofa. Now, they are being found in alarming concentrations, in human blood and breast milk - a potentially major concern for human health. In addition, these industrial chemicals have been associated with cases of feline hyperthyroidism, a potentially fatal condition in cats... In the United States, 80-90 percent of industrial chemicals destined for use in commercial products are sold without any legally required premarket testing." (from http://www.enn.com/top_stories/article/28141)

And although people tend to dislike carnivores, a recent paper published states that "large carnivores frequently shape the number, distribution and behaviour of their prey. Large herbivores function as ecological engineers by changing the structure and species composition of surrounding vegetation. " So both herbivores and carnivores are important in maintaining an ecosystem's balance, and a decrease in carnivores can mess up the system. The paper found the numbers of large mammals have been decreased on almost 80% of the Earth.