Gleanings of the Week Ending June 12, 2021

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Water treatment: Removing hormones with sunlight -- ScienceDaily – Research to find and remove micropollutants. Micropollutants have become more concerning over the past few years as research has shown the potential for health impacts.

Which processed foods are better than natural? - BBC Future – Processed foods are not all unhealthy. Some are better than fresh (for example, canned tomatoes, pasteurized milk). But watch out for ultra-processed foods – ones derived from foods and additives; they can alter gut bacteria, cause inflammation….and many people have a tendence to overeat ultra-processed food.

Top 25 birds of the week: endemic birds – Birds found only in a small area of the world…and no where else. My favorite is the Bee Hummingbird – smallest hummingbird in the world and only found in the Cuban archipelago.

Dietary cocoa improves health of obese mice; likely has implications for humans -- ScienceDaily – Hmmm…maybe my 2 squares of dark chocolate for 1st breakfast is not a bad thing at all…even though I am not obese.

Chipmunk Quest – We have had chipmunks around our house periodically. They are fun to watch. They seem to taunt our cat through the window!

Why Bald Eagle Populations Soared in the Last Decade | Smart News | Smithsonian Magazine – A good news story of species recovery.

Europe’s Drive to Slash Plastic Waste Moves into High Gear – Hope similar efforts are made in the US. As an individual, it is hard to avoid single-use plastic although I have made an effort to avoid plastic shopping bags and buy products in paper/metal rather than plastic when that is an alternative.

Move Over, Cicadas: 5 Other Great North American Wildlife Hatchings (and Emergences) – The Brood X cicada emergence is beginning to wane in our area….it was interesting to think about other emergence type events. Maybe one of the events mentioned in this article will motivate a road trip in the next year or so.

Tropical species are moving northward in U.S. as winters warm: Insects, reptiles, fish and plants migrating north as winter freezes in South become less frequent -- ScienceDaily – Shifts already observable…others projected.

Report exposes power gap at US universities – Only one in ten top-earning faculty members is a woman.