Tiger Family Tree, Monitoring Human Rights Violations

This week: I’m podcasting from India this week! So listen for an audio snapshot of my hometown in eastern India. Then, we have new findings about the tiger’s genetic relationship to other big cats. You’ll also hear about an effort to track the environmental footprints of consumer products. And how satellite imagery is helping researchers document human rights violations.  THANKS to everyone who participated in our online survey! Your feedback is important to us.

Tracking Environmental Footprints: If you’re like most Americans, the shirt you’re wearing probably has a label stating it was made in a far-off land like Indonesia or South Africa.  And a label on your computer probably tells you that it was made in China.  But those country-of-origin labels don’t say much about how the product was made, or about its environmental impact.  New web-based technologies are changing that. They’re helping track the origins and environmental footprints of consumer goods.
Report by: Murray Carpenter.
Transcript of the Story.
Patagonia.
Sourcemap.
CERES.

Elsa’s Favorite Stories: :

• Big Cat Family Tree: Members of the genus Panthera – tigers, lions, jaguars, leopards, and snow leopards — are all closely related. They can even interbreed (although it doesn’t happen often in the wild). But which species are most closely related to which others? It’s a question that has vexed biologists for decades. A recent study piles together a lot of data and finally produces a convincing answer. (Oh, and nothing sciencey there, but do check out the hilarious video of a Japanese zoo’s runaway tiger drill. The link to the video is in the list below.)
  The study.
  The World Wildlife Fund’s Year of the Tiger site.
  Sundaland clouded leopard video.
  The BBC’s collection of tiger videos.
  Japan’s Ueno Zoo runaway tiger drill.

• Questioning Homeopathy: The U.K. House of Commons Science and Technology Committee has called for the National Health Service to stop funding homeopathy. The weight of some 200 clinical trials indicates that homeopathic treatments don’t provide benefits beyond the placebo effect. But the government may not follow the committee’s recommendation.
  The committee report.
  The Science and Technology Committee site.
  BBC video that covers both sides of the homeopathy debate.

Monitoring Human Rights Violations from Space: Documenting human rights violations can be challenging, especially in regions or countries inaccessible to independent outside observers. But thanks to satellite images, that task is becoming easier. When attacks on populations cause visible changes to vegetation and infrastructure, satellites can document those events. Researchers are already using satellite images to monitor large-scale violations of human rights in countries such as Sudan, Burma, and Sri Lanka.
AAAS Science and Human Rights Program.
Eyes on Darfur.
Eyes on Pakistan.

Music in Science Segment: Sorry, everyone! This segment returns when I return to Boston.

Tags: environmental footprints, homeopathy, human rights, jaguar, leopard, lion, satellite images, satellites, tigers