Oil companies convinced us that unleaded petrol is safer for our health and the environment than leaded petrol. By their failure to disclose ALL the facts, we seem to have been seriously conned – yet again!
One of the most familiar birds on earth, it is common with an immense natural range that stretches from thewest coast of Ireland to the east coast of Siberia, north to the arctic Circle and South to North Africa, the middle East, India and Sri Lanka. It has also been introduced to North and South America, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, one of the most widespread of all birds. The house Sparrows are believed to have become associated with humans around 10,000 years ago.
❝ It would be an irony if the introduction of lead-free petrol were behind the disappearance from cities of the world of the house sparrow, the world’s most familiar bird… ❞ – In Most Countries The House Sparrow Is Not Protected –
“UNLEADED PETROL DID NOT DO THE TRICK”
Some researchers question whether leaded petrol really was the principal source of lead poisoning, the reason given for the move to unleaded petrol.
♦ Research in Frankfurt found that reducing the lead content of leaded petrol by two thirds for five years made no difference to lead levels in the blood
♦ Australia‘s National Energy Advisory Committee reported that “no single case of clinical lead poisoning has ever been demonstrated to be due to automobile emissions of airborne lead”
♦ Professor Lowthur of the University of London pointed out that the lead in car emissions settled as a very heavy dust at the edge of roads. It doesn’t get absorbed through the lungs and doesn’t even get dissolved in the diluted hydrochloric acid of the stomach
♦ Professor Roger Perry of Imperial College, London explained that lead levels in blood were not related just to leaded petrol, but also to lead in paint, water, dust, and solder. He held that lead in our water and in the solder used to make tin cans was the major cause. He also stated that lead levels in the blood fell consistently since 1935, at the same time as the use of leaded petrol was increasing…
April 1993 – Chemical Research & Licensing Company Warning: The Lc50 Values Hereunder Are Estimated On The Basis Of A 4-Hour Exposure. Acute Oral Toxicity (LD50): 4000 mg/kg [Rat]. Acute toxicity of the vapor (LC50): 23576 ppm 4 hour(s) [Rat]. Chronic Effects on Humans: The substance is toxic to lungs, the nervous system, mucous membranes…
Benzene is a colourless and highly flammable liquid with a sweet smell. It is mainly used as a precursor to heavy chemicals, such as ethylbenzene and cumene, which are produced on a billion kilogram scale. Because it has a high octane number, it is an important component of gasoline, composing a few percent of its mass. Most non-industrial applications have been limited by benzene’s carcinogenicity. (benzene, toluene, xylene, ect.)
Special Remarks on Chronic Effects on Humans: passes the placental barrier, detected in maternal milk. May cause adverse reproductive effects (female fertility, Embryotoxic and/or foetotoxic in animal) and birth defects. May affect genetic material (mutagenic). May cause cancer (tumorigenic, leukemia))
3)Olefines-organic compounds which have double bonds. After combustion, one critical by-product is 1,3-butadiene.
A) Fipronil (fluoride) is a broadspectrum insecticide that disrupts the insect central nervous system by blocking the passage of chloride ions through the GABA receptor and glutamate receptor. Seeds treated with Fipronil produce flowers toxic to a bee’s brain — They get lost going home !
B) Neonicotinoid Following the publication of several studies that showneonicotinoid pesticides have a negative impact on dwindling honey bee populations.
C) Anvil Insecticide – Resmethrin and sumithrin, synthetic pyrethroid insecticides, are registered with the Environmental Protection Agency for use in mosquito control. While some experts claim they are not toxic to humans, they are considered particularly extremely toxic to fish and will not be sprayed in lakes, ponds or other areas where live fish may be exposed.
In some people, allergic responses to pyrethroids have been reported. There are also indications that pyrethroids as a class may interfere with the immune and endocrine systems. Other adverse chronic effects, including effects on the liver and thyroid, have been reported in toxicology testing.
We humans may now be too efficient at killing insects – The sparrows may be poisoned, hungry, or homeless:
– …to achieve high octane ratings without adding lead. However HF is one of the most corrosive chemicals in existence, capable of eating away at glass and dissolving most metals. Dr. Jag Cook, from Britain’s National Chemical Emergency Group which is responsible for mopping up any major toxic spills in the UK said:
↑ Lead is still in aviation gasoline ! See above ↑
Sparrows spend a lot of time at low elevations – on pavements and in grasses, may be these chemicals are more concentrated near the ground? Swallows, which feed on insects and stay on the wing longer and higher, are showing no sign of decline in our city, but I seldom see a sparrow now, (Brisbane, Queensland). However recently March/April 2014 I observed them at Kota Kinabalu, Shanghai and Hong Kong, – also sightings in Bali – Jan. 2015 and Melbourne Oct. 2015. and more recently Bundaberg Queensland. – Let us hope this is a sign of recovery.
Calling Sparrows Back To Our Courtyards
The issue of house sparrows (Passer domesticus) disappearing from big cities, including Delhi, has been a cause of concern for environmentalist and wildlife lovers for quite a while now.Though there is no official data on the number of sparrows left in India, the population of the small birds has declined the world over. As part of a campaign to save the common house sparrow, the Delhi government recently declared it the State Bird.
Recognising the decline in the number of sparrows in the City, the Delhi Government accorded this status to common bird along with launching a campaign ‘Rise for the Sparrows’ to connect people from all walks of life to save this humble, unassuming species. The founder of Nature Forever Society, Mohammed Dilawar, who has been working specifically on this campaign for over a year and around seven years for increasing their numbers in general, says declaring house sparrow as the state bird will send out a significant message among both – the special and the common man. It was high time we did it. Generally, some rare bird is given this status but by declaring a common bird a State Bird will attract everybody’s attention towards the issue,” he says.
Source: Deccan Herald, 15 September 2012
House Sparrows (Passer domesticus) were introduced to North America after 1850.
They increased and spread up to 1920, and stabilized or decreased thereafter until 1960. In the Maritimes (and perhaps some other areas), a further decline set in after 1970, continuing to the present. Now the species is rare to absent in much of the Maritimes, except around farms with livestock. Decline here since 1970 probably approaches 90 per cent in most other areas of human settlement except south of 45°N
URGENT RESEARCH IS NEEDED
Cities of the world have thousands of vehicles using unleaded fuels: motor cycles, tut tuts, mowers chain saws, and old cars that DO NOT HAVE CATALYTIC CONVERTERS – or modern cars that the converters have failed.
Who ever takes on this research needs to be big enough to take on the oil companies. – May be as big as China? Universities can no longer be trusted, they are too dependant on private and corporate funding, as is evidenced by their history on fluoride pollution to date.
Although we will not run out of oil (it is NOT a fossil fuel), may be electric cars will soon take over.
‘Silent Spring’ is an environmental science book written by Rachel Carson
and published in 1962. The book documented the detrimental effects
on the environment—particularly on birds—of the indiscriminate
use of pesticides. Carson accused the chemical industry of spreading disinformation and public officials of
acceptingindustry claims unquestioningly.
The book sparked major controversy, selling 65,000 copies in less than two weeks. Every newspaper in the nation reviewed it. The commotion reached the nation’s capital, with President John F. Kennedy agreeing to look into the side effects of DDT.
The MIDWAY media project is a powerful visual journey into the heart of an astonishingly symbolic environmental tragedy. On one of the remotest islands on our planet, tens of thousands of baby albatrosses lie dead on the ground, their bodies filled with PLASTIC from the ‘Pacific Garbage Patch’.
The House Sparrow – Passer domesticus
