Tag Archives: environment

COMMENT OF THE DAY: Giving drug smuggling a whole new meaning…

Posted by gruesomegreg on

From: http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2020969103_potcarbonxml.html

Now here’s a problem I wish we had.  Washington, one of two states to legalize marijuana, is now concerned about the carbon footprint created by indoor grow-ops.  Apparently, for the amount of energy used to produce just one joint, you could have 18 pints of beer instead.  But I’d still hope the government-grown weed might be slightly cheaper than 8.5 litres of booze…

On the other hand, certain Seattle city councilors are concerned about pot-trucks being hijacked somewhere outside of Tacoma:

cotd513

Hmm, I wonder if the Washington justice department has considered what penalty it might impose on the theft of legal weed.  Now that would surely make a judge’s head spin!

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I couldn’t believe it’s not tuna—until I oiled myself…

Posted by gruesomegreg on

Although inspectors have yet to find any horsemeat in the seafood aisle, it turns out a whole lotta fish isn’t what you think it is, according to a recent study by the Biodiversity Institute of Ontario.  As the CBC reports, “DNA analysis shows 33 per cent of fish sold in grocery stores, restaurants and sushi venues in the U.S. is mislabelled,” following a 2011 study that found an even greater percentage (41 per cent) of Canadian fish suffer a similar identity crisis after being filleted.

As it turns out, it’s most often a case of lesser fish being substituted for more premium products.  According to the CBC, “pangasius is often sold as grouper, sole and cod; tilapia as red snapper; and Atlantic farmed salmon as wild or king salmon.”  Worst of all, the report found that “84 per cent of white tuna samples were actually escolar, which can cause digestive issues for some people.”  Eighty-four per cent!?  That’s like playing Russian Roulette with five bullets in the chamber, if by bullets, you mean a fish that’s banned in Italy and Japan, and by chamber, we’re talking about “yellowish-orange drops of oil instead of liquid bowel movements.”  Ewww, remind me not to buy tuna at No Frills!

Better stay away from the red snapper, too.  As per the CBC, “Only seven of the 120 red snapper samples tested correctly.”  That’s a whopping 5.83 per cent, or, in a Rogers-sponsored Toronto Blue Jays reference, even worse than J.P. Arencibia’s batting average at the start of last season.  Remember when he was only hitting .058, then he had to go on the Disabled List?  Wait, he hadn’t consumed a bad batch of escolar, had he!?  That might explain why he kept leaking oil at the plate…

For the record, Arencibia is hitting .348 to start the 2013 season—which is roughly twice the probably of you actually getting tuna at the grocery store, as per the Biodiversity Institute.  Aaaand next thing you know, those weren’t actually Miami Marlins we acquired back in January, either, but Bridgeport Bluefish.  Maybe that’s why the Jays are 2-4!

Maaaan, the fish are getting high, man!

Posted by gruesomegreg on

A study by Sweden’s Umea University has found that chemicals from drugs such as antidepressants and contraceptives are affecting the native fish population.  As the BBC reports, “The Umea University-led investigation exposed laboratory perch to the drug Oxazepam at levels equivalent to the residues found in rivers and streams.”  Hmm, who needs a prescription when you can just drink the water, eh?

Then again, the drugs do come with side-effects.  The study notes that “fish were found to eat faster, to be less social and to be bolder than animals that were not dosed.”  And contraceptive pills posed other problems—such as a certain obstacle that will arise when testing outside the lab.  The BBC reports that “unlike the oestrogenic residues from contraceptive pills that have been shown to produce physical changes in male fish, documenting the altered patterns of free-swimming animals will be much harder.”  Especially once the Viagra kicks in!

The study’s author suggests that in order to prevent the prevalence of perky perch, “trials might be able to identify those drugs that had least ecological impact.”  He hopes that “The medical profession could then be encouraged to preferentially prescribe these products when appropriate.”  Of course, it’s gonna take a whole lotta money to counteract the influence of Big Pharma on the medical profession.  Hey, if several unethical medical practitioners can be paid off to prescribe drugs that kill people, it’ll take an awful lot of convincing *wink, wink* to make them as concerned about the perch population.

Maaaan, this State of Washington job offer makes me wanna apply for my Green Card, ASAP!

Posted by gruesomegreg on

Do you have extensive knowledge as to “how Marijuana should be packaged, labeled, transported, and sold at retail level?”  “At least five (5) years of experience with Cannabis testing to determine THC/CBD levels and ratios?”  “Expertise to estimate Product usage and consumption levels by geographic areas in Washington State?”  If so, the state of Washington wants you for a new government position!

The Seahawk State, which recently passed Initiative 502, allowing it “to regulate and tax Marijuana for persons twenty-one (21) years of age and older,” is now seeking a so-called pot consultant to help it implement its new policy.  As CNN reports, “The job requirements are uniquely challenging: At least five years ‘working experience’ doing everything that would land you in federal prison.”

This is one of the few positions where drug dealers and pot growers actually need apply, though it might help if you also had a BA in chemistry.  (Which doesn’t mean a successful grow-op manager is not necessarily a certified chemist.)  As Billy Corben, maker of such fine documentary films as Cocaine Cowboys and The Godfathers of Ganja suggests, “If you go in for a job interview and you’re exceptionally qualified but you’re a felon or convicted of a marijuana misdemeanor, they will have to chuckle that off.”

Mind you, it would help the successful applicant to not have fried his/her brain on drugs.  CNN notes that this is not a job posting, but rather a Request for Proposals (RFP), which requires “several two-page essays proving proficiency in all the skills listed above.”  Seems like an awful lot of effort for your average stoner, but as the request itself states, “The WSLCB understands that potential Proposers may have limited experience in providing the expertise required in all Categories described above,” which doesn’t exclude experienced contractors, senior public servants or experts in the world of academia from submitting a proposal.

Note that nowhere does it specify narcs need not apply, either. ;)

FRENCH WORD OF THE DAY: Homologue

Posted by gruesomegreg on

Homologue: Someone who occupies the same or equivalent role, ie counterpart.

As seen in: « La première ministre Pauline Marois et son homologue albertaine, Alison Redford, ont annoncé lors d’un point de presse conjoint leur intention de mettre sur pied un comité d’évaluation sur le projet d’oléoduc qui permettrait au pétrole issu des sables bitumineux albertains d’être acheminé au Québec. »

(Translation: “Premier Pauline Marois and her Albertan counterpart, Alison Redford, announced during a joint press conference their intention to initiate an evaluative committee on the pipeline project that would permit oil from the Alberta tar sands to flow through to Quebec.”)

http://www.journalexpress.ca/Actualites/Actualites-regionales-et-nationales/2012-11-23/article-3126289/Le-petrole-albertain-pourrait-passer-par-le-Quebec/1

COMMENT OF THE DAY: So, eating shit is good for sea creatures, then?

Posted by gruesomegreg on

From: http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/07/27/not-a-national-energy-strategy-if-i-dont-sign-on-clark/

Now, I may not be a marine biologist, but I’m not sure that dumping any quantity of sewage into the ocean is a good thing.  Then again, on the internet, everyone’s an expert…

(Serial comma aside, what’s the difference between nitrates and nitrites anyways?)

COMMENT OF THE DAY: Stephen Harper Kills Whales–coming soon to a TV near you!?

Posted by gruesomegreg on

From: http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2012/04/09/killer-whale-military-investigation.html

If a whale dies off the coast of Washington, is it Stephen Harper’s fault?  It is to a certain sect of CBC commentors.  Picture this attack ad, if you will:

 

In short, Harper not only kills whales, he’ll guarantee that we’ll get the next Exxon Valdiz (sic) and prevent us from finally finding the solution to the glaciers retreating!?  Dayum, whatever happened to fighting the politics of fear?