Pretty Autumn leaves wallpaper, Poachers bring black rhino project to a halt, Low levels of lead can decrease IQ

Pretty Autumn Leaves wallpaper 

Shootings threaten black rhino project 

Efforts to save the black rhino from extinction have been dealt a blow by the killing of three adults who were part of a breeding programme in Zimbabwe.

The apparently gratuitous act has stopped the programme in its tracks, writes the BBC’s John Kay.

Charles Hamilton has tears in his eyes as he clicks through the images on his laptop.

It’s hardly surprising. The pictures show all three of his family’s adult black rhinos lying dead on the dusty floor. You can see the bullet-holes in their thick hides.

“It’s just totally unbelievable,” sighs Charles.

He has just returned to the UK from Zimbabwe, where his family runs the Imire Safari park, 100km (60 miles) southeast of Harare. The park is home to one of the only breeding centres for black rhinos, one of the most endangered mammals on Earth.

Even Very Low Levels Of Lead Cause Brain Damage In Children

Even very small amounts of lead in children’s blood — amounts well below the current federal standard — are associated with reduced IQ scores, finds a new, six-year Cornell study.

Loss of some IQ points is awful enough just because some manufacturuers cut corners and the government regulatory agencies that have been  undermined by years of a  conservative Congress and president, but enough lead and IQ points are the least of your problems. It is well established that lead poisoning can cause death.

There are many different health effects associated with elevated blood lead levels. Young children under the age of six are especially vulnerable to lead’s harmful health effects, because their brains and central nervous system are still being formed. For them, even very low levels of exposure can result in reduced IQ, learning disabilities, attention deficit disorders, behavioral problems, stunted growth, impaired hearing, and kidney damage. At high levels of exposure, a child may become mentally retarded, fall into a coma, and even die from lead poisoning.

* California Sues Toy Companies for Lead 

The state of California is suing 20 companies for manufacturing or selling toys with “unlawful quantities of lead.”

Companies named in the lawsuit include some of the world’s largest toy manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers.

The defendant companies are: Mattel, Fisher-Price, Michaels Stores, Toys R Us, Wal-Mart, Target, Sears, KB Toys, Costco Wholesale, A&A Global Industries, RC2 Corporation, Eveready Battery Company, Kids II, Kmart, Marvel Entertainment, and Toy Investments