Humane Issues in the News...

Each week we post links to news about humane education & humane living, and items connected to humane issues, from human rights to environmental preservation, to animal protection, to media, consumerism and culture.


Environmental groups making efforts to become more racially inclusive – New York Times (3/9/09)
“’If you go to a Sierra Club meeting, the people are mostly white, largely over 40, almost all college-educated, whose style is to argue with each other,’ Mr. Pope said. ‘That may not be a welcoming environment.’”

Zoo chimpanzee shows future planning in collecting rocks to throw at gawkers - BBC (3/9/09)
"Crucial to the current study is the fact that Santino, a chimpanzee at the zoo in the city north of Stockholm, collected the stones in a calm state, prior to the zoo opening in the morning. The launching of the stones occurred hours later - during dominance displays to zoo visitors - with Santino in an 'agitated' state."

The business of sharing cars (but don’t call it sharing) - New York Times (3/8/09)
”Zipcar’s predicate is that sharing is to ownership what the iPod is to the eight-track, what the solar panel is to the coal mine. Sharing is clean, crisp, urbane, postmodern; owning is dull, selfish, timid, backward. In Zipcar’s view, sharing is big business too — bigger, potentially, than anyone can fathom. Its claim is that the winners in the new economy will be those who crack the puzzle posed by scarce resources.”

Gray Wolf removed from federal protection in several states - New York Times (3/7/09)
”The delisting allows Montana and Idaho to assume complete management of the animal, which will include a hunting season in both states. The move also delists wolves in the western Great Lakes and parts of Oregon, Utah and Washington.”

Tests show Bisphenol A in sodas, energy drinks - Globe and Mail (3/5/09)
"’We are constantly getting exposed to this chemical,’ said Frederick vom Saal, a biologist at the University of Missouri and an authority on BPA. ‘People drink a lot of soda and this needs to be looked at as one of a very large number of sources of exposure to this chemical.’ BPA is also used in dental sealants, plastic water pipes and even carbonless cash-register receipts.”

Former employees claim terrible treatment of primates in lab - ABC News (3/4/09)
”The New Iberia Research Center is a public facility, and its research includes contract work for pharmaceutical companies and hepatitis studies. The lab receives millions in public funding but limited public scrutiny. ‘Facilities are very secretive in general,’ said the investigator, who asked to remain anonymous because of the investigation. ‘It's hard to get a lot of good information out of what really goes on. You rarely see images other than what is kind of posted on the Web sites. Going undercover in a place is the only way you'll see what's the truth.’”

Poll shows more teens volunteering that working part-time - MSNBC (2/24/09)
”[The poll] found that more teens volunteer to support a charitable cause — 56 percent — than have a part-time job — 39 percent. Parents and guardians said 82 percent of the teens in their lives do something to support charitable causes, including volunteering, recruiting others to a cause, wearing a button or T-shirt or donating money.”
Thanks, Ode, for the heads up.