Poisoned penguins join parade of cute global warming victims

It's tough being a penguin: It's cold, you have to wear the same outfit all the time, and the ice sheet you live on is melting out from underneath you. And to add insult to the injury of climate change, DDT is leaching out of that ice and into your lunch.

Researcher Heidi Geisz told Reuters that the Adelie penguins her team studies have shown stable levels of DDT -- a pesticide banned by most countries, including the U.S.,  more than 30 years ago -- for decades. Unable to detect DDT in the air, snow, or sea water, her team discovered the chemical in glacial meltwater in two separate locations in Antarctica, according to a release.

But so far, the Adelies seem to be handling DDT exposure better than peregrine falcons or California condors. The penguins haven't produced thin-shelled eggs, and they appear to be unharmed by the chemical, Geisz says.

Tough birds. Really, what's a little synthetic chemical in your fatty tissues when you're used to facing Antarctic weather?

Not so fast -- Geisz told Reuters that because of warming, more and more of the Adelies' eggs get wet, then freeze.

"It allows opportunities for people like me to study the eggs, but it's not necessarily ideal for the penguins," Geisz says.

That's certainly hard luck for the Adelies. But on the bright side, maybe one day Morgan Freeman will tell the world about their troubles in a record-breaking, Oscar-winning sequel documentary.

-- Jenn Fields

Pesticide DDT shows up in Antarctic penguins (Reuters)

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Monday, May 12, 2008 in: Environment & Green Living, Nature & Wildlife
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The Helmet King

Safe or Scary?

I’m not particularly gnarly, but I’ve sure got some gnarly friends. Most of them concentrate their adrenalin exploits on one or two sports, and then there’s Scott Simper.

Scott climbs, skis, kayaks, mountain bikes, scuba dives, surfs, kite skis, and works more than full-time as a globe trotting cameraman for Discovery, the History Channel, and National Geo. That means he also regularly scales old-growth monster trees, hangs in tree blinds for days, and rides snowmobiles, crab fishing boats, helicopters, careening dogsleds, and even whale research ships where he’s hung from the bow of to get up-close footage of dolphins as errant waves slam him against the bow. He’s your classic guinea pig cameraman, a time honored tradition among adventure documentaries where the motto is “In event of emergency, press record.”

I’d characterize Scott as a cautious guy (for a 5.12 rock climber, unshakeable ice leader, and someone who’s soloed hard new aid routes on the vertical mud of Fisher Towers anyway), but he’s had more than his share of scrapes, usually on the job. He’s been charged by gorillas, taken long ice falls onto shaky screws, and been pinned on logjams in Class IV whitewater. He’s been in two helicopter crashes, torn a shoulder while kayak hole-riding , torn an ACL jumping off a 20-foot cliff on tele skis, and been nearly crushed to death between two icebergs while filming off the northern tip of Baffin Island. He’s contracted more hard-to-diagnose tropical diseases than most lifelong African missionaries.

Scott also holds the record among all my friends and acquaintances for the most helmets owned. At last count he had 12 actively-used brain buckets. By contrast, I own a paltry five.

Now, two questions here for readers – one theoretical, the other a challenge:

A) Is owning so many helmets a sign of a safe approach, or an overtly risky lifestyle?  

B) Do you know anyone who owns more helmets? If so, nominate them and we’ll shower the winner in fame and symbolic glory as Backpacker’s Brain Bucket King or Queen.

Note: Only active sports helmets, personally owned and used, count toward the total. Motorsports helmets are eligible. Only one work hardhat per entrant, please. No rental outfits, NFL displays, war memorabilia or tinfoil.

The question is asked. The glove is thrown. Will the crown change hands? —Steve Howe

Photo: www.brassbinnacle.com

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Sunday, May 11, 2008 in: Survival, Wierd/Funny
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Barefoot = Injury Free*

Got chronic back pain or knee pain? Try losing your shoes

(*Going barefoot does increase odds of stepping on something sharp or stubbing toes)

 A former colleague of mine, Lou Schuler, who runs a strength-training blog, recently posted a great note about the emerging evidence that shoes are one of the worst ideas man has ever come up with. In his post, he cited a lengthy story published last month in New York Magazine, which talked about the detrimental effects that over-padded and over-supported shoes are having on our society. In it, the writer points out that shoes are often the source of many chronic back and knee problems, in addition to causing a litany of foot problems (think stiletto heels). But, my favorite part of the story involved the writer testing out a new range of minimalist shoes on the streets of Manhattan.

After wearing the (Vivo) Barefoots for a while, though, I found I really liked them, precisely because you can feel the ground -- you can tell if you're walking on cobblestones, asphalt, a manhole, or a subway grate. (Striding along that nubby yellow warning strip on the subway platform feels like a foot massage.) Of course, it's not often that you walk around New York, see something on the ground, and think, I wish I could feel that with my foot. But this kind of walking is a revelation. Not only does it change your step, but it changes your perceptions. As you stroll, your perception stops being so horizontal -- i.e., confined more or less to eye level -- and starts feeling vertical or, better yet, 360 degrees. You have a new sense of what's all around you, including underneath.

I’d always known about the health aspects of going barefoot (stronger toes, better load displacement, and of course less chance of athlete's foot) but this was the first time someone opened me up to the idea that a more visceral experience with the world is available to those going barefoot or wearing what are essentially moccasins. Never before had I come across someone putting the idea of going barefoot into such a positive light. All I’d ever heard was something along the lines of, “It hurts a lot at first, but then it just feels right.” And that was that.

I’d previously touched on the connection between healthy feet and a higher quality of life in old age, and this story definitely adds credence to my idea that trotting around the house in shoeless feet is worthwhile. It also makes me feel good about my decision to make a pair of Converse Chuck Taylors my choice for workout shoes. There’s as close to a non-cushioned, support-free shoe I can find that still offers some modicum of protection from bashing my toes into stuff.

After reading about the unbelievable “connection” to the world offered by a thin and flexible sole, I tracked down the pair of Vibram Five Fingers that were hiding in my closet and put them on to go walk my dogs. Yep, after a year of owning them, I was going to get over my fear of neighborly scorn and be seen in public with my feet shod in the Vibrams. But just before I got out the door, I heard my wife call out, “You’re not going to wear those things outside, are you?” Her tone implied that this was not a question, but a command.  And like a good spouse, I obeyed, much to my feet’s dismay.

UPDATE: My wife did go out of town for a day, so I broke out the Vibrams. They were great, although my feet got really cold over the course of a morning hike with the dogs. Interesting discovery: Instead of slipping down a steep and muddy pitch due to the Vibram's deck-shoe like tread, my toes spread wide and gripped the ground like a lizard. When you think about that makes sense. Our toes are natures original lug soles.

Grant Davis has spent the last decade writing and editing articles about health, fitness, and nutrition. He lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

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Sunday, May 11, 2008 in: Fitness, Health
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