BREAKING NEWS! The Yankees just DROPPED THE HAMMER in free agency! Cody Bellinger's $162.5 MILLION deal is a POWER MOVE that'll shake the AL East! This ain't just a signing, it's a DECLARATION OF WAR on the rest of the league! Bronx Bombers are building a MURDERERS' ROW for the modern era! Watch out MLB - there's a new DYNASTY in the making!

https://thetruthperspective.org/node/7141

#MLB #Yankees #FreeAgency #Bellinger

Golf course neighbours are more at risk of Parkinson's Disease
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https://www.scimex.org/newsfeed/golf-course-neighbours-are-more-at-risk-of-parkinsons-disease
#pesticides #lawn #turf #golf #GreenSpaces #Bellinger #water #contamination #NeurodegenerativeDisease #NDD #ConcreteFunnels

Image: Bellingen Golf Club with new impervious surface pavement. Surrounded by puddles and small lakes now. The new bench is facing the very busy Waterfall Way road.

NSW platypuses are accumulating the “forever chemical” perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) in very high concentrations.

"The platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) is a semi-aquatic monotreme that occupies a high trophic position in the freshwater ecosystems of eastern mainland Australia and Tasmania. Platypuses are continuously exposed to anthropogenic contaminants including perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS). This study examined PFOS concentrations in the livers of deceased platypuses (eight wild; one captive) that were opportunistically collected across NSW over a two- and a half-year period. There was a large variation in PFOS concentrations, ranging from < 1 µg/kg to 1200 µg/kg. This study presents the first report of PFOS contamination in platypuses, revealing their PFOS levels are broadly similar to those found in river otters (Lutra canadensis) and lower than those in American mink (Mustela vison), both which occupy similar ecological niches in freshwater systems. This study raises concerns about the impact of PFOS on platypus health."

"Platypuses are vulnerable to many impacts associated with human activity including hydrological changes, decline in water quality, increase in litter and discarded fishing line, illegal opera house nets (yabby traps) and water contamination...There are no guidelines on what constitutes safe concentrations of PFOS in wildlife."

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Warwick, K.G., Wright, I.A., Whinfield, J. et al. First report of accumulation of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) in platypuses (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) in New South Wales, Australia. Environ Sci Pollut Res 31, 51037–51042 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-024-34704-w
#pollution #water #rivers #contamination #NSW #Wildlife #platypus #platypuses #penguins #PFOS #PFAS #ForeverChemicals #Gleniffer #bellingen #NeverNever #bellinger #catchment #AquaticInvertebrates #DrinkingWater #FoodChain #SyntheticChemicals

One man’s pilgrimage navigating on foot along the Brisbane River
Everything is Water by Simon Cleary

"The shadow a city can cast upon its river before it is no longer a river”.

"He asks whether our urges to categorise and organise might be “unhelpful” and “prevent us from other ways of seeing”."

"It’s something deeper; a bodily recognition and lament at how swiftly white settlement has desecrated and altered a landscape which Indigenous people have cared for so intimately. One of Cleary’s refrains is that what used to be “kangaroo and emu country” is now considered “cattle country”."
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https://www.theguardian.com/books/article/2024/jun/06/everything-is-water-by-simon-cleary-review-one-mans-pilgrimage-along-brisbane-river
#rivers #FootTraffic #walking #Australia #Brisbane #Bellingen #SettlerSociety #livestock #Bellinger #water #cattle #Biodiversity #wildlife #platypus

Bellinger River snapping turtles backup

"Conservationists release largest group of zoo-bred Bellinger River snapping turtles after virus wipe-out. The snapping turtles occupy a 60km stretch of the Bellinger River."

"Nearly 100 captive-bred Bellinger River snapping turtles have been released into the wild, the biggest number yet for the breeding program after a virus nearly wiped them out in 2015."

"Nearly 90 per cent of the population was wiped out in 2015 due to a mysterious virus... Monitoring remains crucial to prevent the virus from spreading through the species again.Nearly a decade after a virus nearly wiped out a population of turtles unique to northern New South Wales, researchers say its origins remain a mystery as a project to repopulate the species hits a major milestone."

"Before the disease outbreak, there were estimated to be up to 4,500 of the freshwater turtles living in Bellinger catchment and today about 200 remain — largely as a result of release efforts."

"It's one of the rarest freshwater turtle species in Australia...Turtles have a really important role in our ecosystem as food scavengers."
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https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-09/bellinger-river-snapping-turtle-conservation-release-zoo-bred/103681974
#BellingerRiverSnappingTurtle #turtles #bellinger #pollution #mystery #Bellingen #CaptiveBreeding #biodiversity #habitat #CitizenScience #cattle

Pets, pesticides and polluted rivers

"Fipronil and imidacloprid are widely used in flea treatments, which are typically applied to the back of the pet’s neck once a month.These two chemicals are extremely potent neurotoxic insecticides and it is deeply concerning that they are routinely found on the hands of dog owners through ongoing contact with their pet. Pet owners will also be upset to learn that they are accidentally polluting our rivers by using these products.”

"The insecticides used in the flea products flow down household drains when pet owners wash their hands after applying the treatment. Wastewater from sewage treatment works is a leading source of fipronil and imidacloprid pollution in rivers, with concentrations exceeding safe limits for wildlife."
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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/feb/01/vets-pesticide-flea-treatments-river-pollution-pet-owners-toxic-insecticides-hands
#pesticide #pets #dogs #cats #wildlife #rivers #pollution #OneHealth #neonicotinoids #neurotoxins #fipronil #Bellinger #platypus #BellingerRiverSnappingTurtle

A huge subset of #Cubs fans is furious the Cubs didn't spend more this offseason, but I'm not one of them.

They tried for Ohtani, but he was dead-set on the Dodgers. They were in on Yamamoto but a) same issue & b) wowza contract.

After that, who would they break the bank for? #Bellinger ? His swing data wasn't great even in his comeback year. I can't see giving him $200MM+ when they have so much talent coming up in CF and 1B.

Snell? No #MLB team wants to give #BlakeSnell the money he's asking for either. Same for #JordanMontgomery. The risk/reward of their asks is not good. #MattChapman maybe? With #MattShaw nearly ready?

I'd rather the Cubs roll with what they have and save the bullets for #JuanSoto or #AlexBregman or #CorbinBurnes . Save the money for a clear upgrade, not a marginal one.

Two of the most consistent postseason teams in #baseball are the #Astros and the #Atlanta team. Each rarely signs top FAs but makes up for it with their farm. I'm OK if they're the model.

Macroinvertebrate monitoring citizen science program in Belllingen

"Twice a year, community members and scientists come together to test for waterbugs at six sites along the Bellinger and Kalang catchments. Macroinvertebratese include juvenile stages of many insects like dragonflies, damselflies, mayflies, caddisflies, water beetles, and more."

"Our macro program was requested by the scientists supporting the recovery of the critically endangered Bellinger River Snapping Turtle."

"The ongoing recovery of the Bellinger River Snapping Turtle in the Bellinger Catchment is linked directly to the aquatic macroinvertebrate communities of the catchment’s rivers. Not only are aquatic macroinvertebrates an important component of the Bellinger River Snapping Turtle diet, the macroinvertebrate communities are sensitive to changes in water quality and will, therefore, be an important indicator of river health into the future.”

https://www.ozgreen.org/macromuster
#macroinvertebrate #waterbugs #water #pollution #monitoring #Bellinger #Kalang #BellingerRiverSnappingTurtle #RiverHealth

The biggest likely source of microplastics in California coastal waters? Our car tires
Driving is not just an air pollution and climate change problem — turns out, it just might be the largest contributor of microplastics in California coastal waters.

“No one had looked at all the water rushing off the streets during rainfall events to see whether that had plastics in it...That makes all that driving we do something to think about, not just in the Bay Area, but any setting where there are cars.”

“...It’s about individual behavior change, it’s about more corporate responsibility. Together, we can make a big change.”

https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2019-10-02/california-microplastics-ocean-study
#runoff #tyres #cars #roads #traffic #pollution #plastic #Bellingen #TheDrive #parking #Bellinger #rivers #NeverNeverRiver #water #catchment #ocean #biodiversity