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.

“Puppy mill” pet store closed down, adoption store opening up - Chronicle-Telegram (3/14/09)
”A Midway Mall storefront that was the target of animal rights activists before shutting down earlier this year will reopen soon under new ownership — as a pet supply store that also adopts out rescued dogs and cats.”

”Probable carcinogens found in baby toiletries” – Washington Post (3/13/09)
”The chemicals, which the Environmental Protection Agency has characterized as probable carcinogens, are not intentionally added to the products and are not listed among ingredients on labels. Instead, they appear to be byproducts of the manufacturing process. Formaldehyde is created when other chemicals in the product break down over time, while 1,4-dioxane is formed when foaming agents are combined with ethylene oxide or similar petrochemicals.”
Thanks, Common Dreams, for the heads up.

Most of Amazonian rainforest at risk of destruction due to global warming – Times (UK) (3/12/09)
”The Amazonian rainforest is likely to suffer catastrophic damage, even with the lowest temperature rises forecast under climate change, researchers have decided. The damage will be so severe that it will cause irreversible changes to the world’s weather patterns, which is expected to bring more storms, floods and heat waves to Britain.”
Thanks, Common Dreams, for the heads up.

South Africa seeing tide of “corrective rape” against lesbians – The Guardian (UK) (3/12/09)
"’When asking why lesbian women are being targeted you have to look at why all women are being raped and murdered in such high numbers in South Africa,’ said Carrie Shelver, of women's rights group Powa, a South African NGO. ‘So you have to look at the increasingly macho culture, which seeks to oppress women and sees them as merely sexual beings. So when there is a lesbian woman she is an absolute affront to this kind of masculinity.’"
Thanks, Feministing, for the heads up.

More Americans think threat of global warming is “exaggerated” - Gallup (3/11/09)
”Notably, all of the past year's uptick in cynicism about the seriousness of global warming coverage occurred among Americans 30 and older. The views of 18- to 29-year-olds, the age group generally most concerned about global warming and most likely to say the problem is underestimated, didn't change.”

UK Survey reveals 1 in 7 condone violence against women in some circumstances – Times (UK) (3/9/09)
”One in seven people believe it is acceptable in some circumstances for a man to hit his wife or girlfriend if she is dressed in ‘sexy or revealing clothes in public,’ according to the findings of a survey released today. A similar number believed that it was all right for a man to slap his wife or girlfriend if she is ‘nagging or constantly moaning at him.’ The findings of the poll, conducted for the Home Office, also disclosed about a quarter of people believe that wearing sexy or revealing clothing should lead to a woman being held partly responsible for being raped or sexually assaulted.”

U.S. public transit use hits 52 year high in ’08 – Bloomberg (3/9/09)
”U.S. public transit ridership was the highest in 52 years in 2008 as Americans flocked to buses, subways and trains because of surging gasoline prices, a trade group said. Americans took 10.7 billion trips on public transportation last year, a 4 percent increase over 2007 and the highest level since 1956, the American Public Transportation Association said.”

Number of homeless kids on the rise – MSNBC (3/2/09)
“’Homeless children are confronted daily by extremely stressful and traumatic experiences that have profound effects on their cognitive development and ability to learn,’ said Ellen Bassuk, a Harvard Medical School psychiatry professor and president of the nonprofit National Center on Family Homelessness. ‘They tend to have high rates of developmental delays, learning difficulties and emotional problems as a product of precarious living situations and extreme poverty.’”