New Study: Being Exposed to Lead Can Make You Turn to Violent Crime

It used to be that gasoline, household paint and other consumer products contained lead. When researchers discovered that exposure to lead, especially in young children, can cause serious health problems, lead was banned in the US and other countries.

Unfortunately, there’s still lead in a lot of apartment and other buildings, especially buildings lived in by low-income people. Now researchers have confirmed earlier studies showing that exposure to lead increases the chances of a person committing a violent crime as an adult.

The study was done in the US but the results have worldwide implications. Not every country has yet banned lead in gasoline. And there are an untold number of buildings with lead paint. The worst possible situation is when the lead paint is chipping and young children put the chips in their mouths.

To learn more, read this stroy from Austrailian Briadcasting.

Russian Eco-Activist honored for Challenging Forest Destruction

Konstantin Koutsyllo/Reuters

Ever heard the term civil disobedience? 

In layman’s language, civil disobedience is when you intentionally break a law in order to bring attention to a situation you consider unfair. People who engage in civil disobedience try to do so peacefully, often in what’s called a sit-in. They know they’re going to be arrested. In fact, they want to be arrested in order to raise public awareness on the situation they consider unjust.

An eco-activist from Russia was just honored for her civil disobedience. Yevgenia Chirikova was a winner of the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize for protesting against a planned highway that would destroy an old-growth forest near her home.

While Russian authorities obviously would disagree, the Goldman foundation said Ms. Chirikova did what few Russians dared to stand up for the what’s right.

Her battle, it should be noted, is far from over.

To learn more, check out this Christian Science Monitor story.

Law Enforcement Officials Using Unmanned Drones to Catch Eco-Criminals

If you’ve heard of unmanned drones, most likely it’s in connection with their use as a weapon against terrorism. Unmanned drones are a little like model airplanes, only with sophisticated technology and, often, small powerful explosives attached.

More and more, unmanned drones also are being used by law enforcement officials as a kind of “eye in the sky.” In Brazil, for example, officials are now using drones to locate environmental criminals who operate in rural areas.

In Brazil the mission of the drones and their specially-trained operators is to find people engaged in deforestation and illegal fishing. The drones take the place of manned aircraft, which are more expensive and more difficult to use in rugged areas.

To learn more, read this article from In Sight.

After the Police Break Up a Meth Lab, Environmental Experts Must Clean Up

Guess how many companies there are just in the state of Indiana whose business includes cleaning up after the police catch criminals making methamphetamine?

‘Meth labs,” as they are commonly called, are multiplying across America, helping fuel an epidemic of illegal drugs.

In Indiana, they’re “everywhere, from a high-dollar house in downtown Indianapolis to . . . rural counties,” according to the head of one of 22 companies in Indiana that are certified to clean up the potentially-deadly mess that’s left behind when police arrest the alleged perpetrators.

The head of this company told a reporter that her company has so far cleaned up 25 meth sites in Indiana in just three months time!

What makes a meth lab dangerous? Often chemicals are thrown into a giant pot, producing a soupy mix that can easily explode.

To learn more, check out this USA Today article.

Be on the Lookout for the ‘Serial’ Litter Bug (Seriously)

Anyone in the vicinity of Calf Hall Lane in the English community of Barnoldswick should be on the lookout for what police are describing as a “serial” litter bug.

According to the local environmental crime team, someone is deliberately cutting up old newspapers and magazines and sprinkling the pieces along the lane. The pieces are all identical, measuring two inches by two inches.

“This is a peculiar offense,” a local officer was quoted as saying.

You think?

To learn more, read this article from the Craven Heraold Pioneer.