It’s work, work, work for these elephants

There is no TGIF for the 700 captive elephants of Kerala, India. If it isn’t yet another political campaign parade, it’s a trade fair. If not that, then another temple festival. They walk with fireworks blasting, drunkards reeling. They travel in open-air vehicles and stand in the scorching sun.

Yosemite’s snow; Yosemite’s woe

The great news in California’s High Sierra this January is that its fabled snowpack, for years underfed by an apparently vengeful Skadi, is almost back to normal after a week of roiling storms left some measuring stations over 100 percent of what is normal for an average April. That means come the spring, the waterfalls tumbling into Yosemite Valley ought to be spectacular — awesome perhaps. That might not be so good for the park.

E-Wasted!

Like “The Island of Misfit Toys,” many old electronics this holiday season were shipped off to distant places after they are replaced. However, unlike the popular Christmas movie, most of this electronic garbage, or e-waste, won’t find a happy home in the end.

The truth is, most used electronics, which can contain high levels of toxins, will end up in landfills at home or abroad.
A study by the Environmental Protection Agency found that of 2.25 million tons of televisions, mobile phones and computers tossed in 2007, only 18 percent were recycled; the rest were thrown away, mainly in landfills.