Treating toxic waste is very expensive. So, some less than savoury companies hire ships to carry their waste and then… the ship mysteriously sinks! Who could imagine? To bring light to this issue, a new mash-up of shipping data exposes some questionable losses. “In Fondo Al Mar“, or At the Bottom of the Sea, illustrates the ships, their contents and their location of sinking. Ships contained marble (which is used to hide nuclear waste), toxic sludge and various mining ores – great fish food.

Not only do fish die, but there are numerous reports of hazardous waste leading to civil strife. There are numerous reports (and another) that nuclear waste was dumped off the coast of Somalia, leading to a die off of fish. The fisherman, having little other choice, turned to piracy.

From Al Jazeera News,

Nick Nuttall, a UNEP spokesman, told Al Jazeera that when the barrels were smashed open by the force of the waves, the containers exposed a “frightening activity” that has been going on for more than decade.

“Somalia has been used as a dumping ground for hazardous waste starting in the early 1990s, and continuing through the civil war there,” he said.

“European companies found it to be very cheap to get rid of the waste, costing as little as $2.50 a tonne, where waste disposal costs in Europe are something like $1000 a tonne.

Not only does hazardous waste kill marine life and ecosystems, it can destroy human societies as well.

We deal with a lot of companies who are certified ISO 14001 – a popular environmental management system. But who knew there was an ISO standard for tea making. Among other things, the standard outlines the ideal tea pot dimensions. Make sure to follow closely for ideal tea quality. See some interesting comments on the standard and details of brewing tea.

Carl Zimmer reports on a new study on sea acidification and worries that we may be headed inexorably towards a massive wave of marine extinctions:

The acidification of the ocean today is bigger and faster than anything geologists can find in the fossil record over the past 65 million years. Indeed, its speed and strength — Ridgwell estimate that current ocean acidification is taking place at ten times the rate that preceded the mass extinction 55 million years ago — may spell doom for many marine species, particularly ones that live in the deep ocean.

Who thought this could happen, Bill Gates gives a stunning presentation on climate change. Famous for his cluttered slides and disorganized presentations, Gates has seriously improved his game. Soon, he might be toting an iPhone and wearing black turtlenecks.

Here is a rundown of the presentation by design gurus at Duarte. But just look at some of these slides, gorgeous.

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UPDATE (16/02/2010 10:30AM): The site is back up and running normally, we apologize for any inconvenience this might have caused.