Articles by Sarah K. Burkhalter

People, animals at risk of famine.

In case you weren't aware ...

Drought is causing crisis conditions in East Africa, leaving millions hungry in Kenya, Somalia, and bordering countries. Sudanese herders have driven livestock into a Ugandan wildlife reserve in an effort to find water. The drought is affecting animals too: Elephants are leaving sanctuaries to find food and hippos are dying as water levels are depleted.

You know when you feel totally helpless ... ?

A surprisingly short post, considering the ground to be covered.

When one sees a headline that says "Environmental hazard: space junk," one might assume the article will be about the environmental hazards of space junk. One would be mistaken, as the article is about the potential danger of spacecraft being hit by space junk. An issue in some circles, surely, but "environmental hazard"? Might I suggest to the Boston Globe headline writer that "Junk in the trunk" might have been better?

Luckily, a reader feeling disgruntled over having been eco-misled can link from the space junk article to the the highly adorable "Hamster, snake best friends at Tokyo zoo." Aochan the snake was given Gohan the hamster (whose name means "meal") as a tasty treat, but elected to make her his buddy instead. They live together in a cardboard box and sometimes snuggle up to take naps.

Yay! Cute animal stories make me happy. Plus you can link from snake-hearts-hamster to fun human-interest story "Man trapped in toilet when lock freezes." The world is a terribly interesting place.

Global warming could wipe out the bottom of the food chain.

When you woke up this morning, did you thank [God, your lucky stars, the Big Bang] for plankton? If you didn't, consider adding it to your daily routine. Sure plankton are teeny-tiny and look like scary aliens, but they're also moderately important, in that sustaining-life sort of way.

Sadly, global warming could kill them off. The Independent wins my nomination for "Most Sinister Opening Paragraph o' the Day":

The microscopic plants that underpin all life in the oceans are likely to be destroyed by global warming, a study has found.

The article goes on to tell how this has "catastrophic implications" and is "potentially devastating," not just because the little critters are chow for bigger critters, but also because they absorb carbon dioxide in their wee bodies and take it with them when they die and sink to the ocean floor. Thanks for taking one for the team, plankton.

Of course this was entirely expected and scientists have been taking steps to resolve this imminent disaster, right? Uh, no.

Scientists had believed phytoplankton, which survives best at depths of about 100 metres, is largely stable and immune from the impact of global warming.

Whoops!

Without phytoplankton, the oceans would soon because marine deserts.

This is depressing, so I'm going to end this post with an exciting contest! Fun, fun! First person to name the band and song title of the following lyric wins a virtual high five from me!

"The ocean is a desert with its life underground, and a perfect disguise above."

Good luck!

And unfashionable.

Getting cancer from chemicals is so last month. Get cancer from being green instead!

Your hybrid, though reducing greenhouse-gas emissions, could be the source of a cancer-causing electromagnetic field! Your tofu, presumably a substitute for overconsumption of meat, could give you thyroid cancer -- deforestation aside! Reading Grist, your indispensable source of environmental enlightenment, could give you cancer! My, you can't take a breath these days without finding out that breathing gives you cancer!

What's a paranoid enviro to do?

The answer to this and many, many, many other questions: Wear silver underwear!

<Segue smoothly into long, profound, philosophical commentary on the detrimental effects of paranoia. End with Hallmark-worthy reflection on living life to the fullest. Accept imminent comments on life-changing nature of post with enviable humility.>