Last night, Disaster Dan warned us of the risk of invasion by a gigantic spider from the planet Mercury. No, not David Bowie’s spiders from Mars. Think warmer.
There’s a more serious problem with Mercury here on Earth. There’s more of it in the fish we eat than we have been led to believe.
An independent study conducted by Oceana has found that levels of mercury in fish sold to be eaten by humans in the United States exceeds what has been reported by the Food and Drug Administration, often exceeding the “action level” that would enable the FDA to remove certain species of fish from grocery stores as a health hazard.
Combine this news with the ecological crisis of crashing fish populations in the world’s oceans, and there’s good reason to avoid eating seafood altogether. Another disturbing report on marine ecology this week tells of a sudden collapse in Chinook salmon populations on the Pacific Coast. The sparse salmon runs will lead orcas and other salmon predators elsewhere, leading to drops in the populations of other fish as well.
