The world is a mask that hides the real world.
Thatâs what everybody suspects, though the world we see wonât let us dwell on it long.
The world has ways - more masks - of getting our attention.
The suspicion sneaks in now and again, between the cracks of everyday existenceâ¦the bird song dips, rises, dips, trails off into blue sky silence before the note that would reveal the shape of a melody that, somehow, would tie everything together, on the verge of unmasking the hidden armature that frames this sky, this tree, this bird, this quivering green leaf, jewels in a crown.â¦
As the song dies, the secret withdraws.
The tree is a mask.
The sky is a mask.
The quivering green leaf is a mask.
The song is a mask.
The singing bird is a mask.
Monday, December 12, 2005
sad orca discovery
Arctic orcas highly contaminated
By Paddy Clark, BBC News, 12 December 2005
Killer whales have become the most contaminated mammals in the Arctic, new research indicates.
Norwegian scientists have found that killer whales - or orcas, as they are sometimes known - have overtaken polar bears at the head of the toxic table.
No other arctic mammals have ingested such a high concentration of hazardous man-made chemicals.
The Norwegian Polar Institute tested blubber samples taken from creatures in Tysfjord in the Norwegian Arctic.
The chemicals they found included pesticides, flame retardants and PCBs - which used to be used in many industrial processes.
Chemical sink
Animals at the top of the food chain are particularly affected, and whales - like polar bears - can reflect the health of the marine environment.
The researchers are particularly worried about the flame retardants, because unlike many other harmful chemicals, some are still legal.
The international environmental group, WWF, says the Arctic has become a chemical sink.
It says the findings dramatically underline the need for European Union ministers to decide on strong legislation when they meet this week.
However, WWF says it fears pressure from the chemicals industry could lead to any new laws being so watered down that they will protect neither the environment nor human health.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/science/nature/4520104.stm
Published: 2005/12/12 02:19:05 GMT
© BBC MMV
