> Utah wildlife officials were cleaning up thousands of dead and surviving
> migratory birds that crashed into a Wal-Mart parking lot, roads and other
> land after mistaking them for bodies of water.
In other news, beverages industry has been selling us flavoured fire retardant, but apparently humans mistakenly though those bottles were for drinking...
http://gizmodo.com/5868012/theres-flame-retardent-in-mountain-dew
---- The flame retardant, BVO, is currently listed as an ingredient in various citrus soft drinks such as: Mountain Dew, Squirt, Fanta Orange, Sunkist Pineapple, Gatorade Thirst Quencher Orange, Powerade Strawberry Lemonade and Fresca Original Citrus.
But why and what for? According to the Environmental Health News, BVO contains "bromine atoms which weigh down the citrus flavoring so it mixes with sugar water" instead of floating to the top. Basically, BVO gives soda more consistent flavoring. That sounds good! But BVO is also added to polystyrene foam cushions in furniture and plastics in electronics because BVO can slow down the chemical reactions that cause a fire. Yuck. Is that what we want to be drinking?
So how the hell if BVO is banned in foods in Europe and Japan, does BVO still exist here? Well, back in 1977, the FDA set what they thought was a "safe" limit for BVO in sodas and soda companies have been allowed to use BVO ever since. Seriously! That's the only reason! Scientists believe that the data the FDA looked at in the 1970s is outdated (ya think?) and that BVO needs a closer look. ---
Happy drinking! FC