European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 14, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse Science amp the world frogs falling numbers have experts jump Dick Stanley Cox news service next year there will be a census of a different kind. Alarmed by continuing reports that some common species of frogs Are croaking their final croaks baffled scientists will Survey the worlds Frog population. A something is going on and we need to find out what it is a said Steve Hammock an official of the fort Worth zoo in Texas. At an International meeting this summer scientists concluded that Many of the worlds common species Arentt merely declining they have become extinct in Large parts of Europe Canada the Western United states Mexico and Central and South America. Hammock and other biologists Are devising Standard Survey forms for distribution to professional scientists and Amateur naturalists who will be asked to Monitor local Frog populations. The Survey project grew out of the meeting of More than 400 scientists in new Orleans. Organized by John Wright curator of herpetology at National geographic a tree Frog in Costa Rica dwindling population is bad news for the whole world. The natural history museum in los Angeles it was one of several meetings called by worried scientists since the mystery was first discussed by biologists in great Britain in the fall of 1989. A we know that amphibians Are among the better biological indicators of environmental degradation Quot Wright said. A their disappearance tells us the world could be in serious frogs and other amphibians Are environmental barometers for several reasons. They Are High in the food Chain and integral to Many ecosystems. Their total numbers often Are huge and throughout their life cycles their skin remains permeable to water and whatever affects it. Among suspected causes of the extinctions depletion of the atmospheres Ozone shield against deadly ultraviolet radiation from the Sun toxic heavy metals from acid rain worldwide proliferation of pesticides and other environmental pollutants. The new Orleans meeting including participants from the 2,000-member society for the study of amphibians and reptiles and the 1,100-member herpetologists league concluded that the extinctions Are not occurring in polluted developed areas but in Pristine National Parks private preserves and wilderness areas Many of them in mountainous regions. A the higher elevations Are where there Are severe declines if not outright disappearances a said William Brown president of the society for the study of amphibians and reptiles and a professor of biology at Skidmore College in Sarasota Springs . A it looks like almost anything at High Elevation is in trouble and those Are the species we know the least about. Some of our colleagues Are pretty convinced its related to increased ultraviolet radiation at higher scientists admit they know too Little about the vanishing species to be sure whether their loss is part of a natural Cycle or the results of environmental damage. But no one is arguing for complacency. A i tend to think its not natural a Wright said. A because its not natural for populations to go to Zero. They re not being replaced by something that a out competing besides the surveys which Are expected to take several years to Complete plans Call for common species of frogs to be corralled for detailed study by members of the american association of zoological Parks and aquariums. At a glance Switzerland size 15,941 Square Miles size of Massachusetts Connecticut and Rhode Island combined population 6,485,000 1989 estimate main languages German French italian and romansh currency franc $1 = 1.27 travel restrictions none overview the Alps and Jura mountains cover most of Switzerland with the majority of the population living on a plateau that extends across the country Between these two ranges. Bern the capital and Zurich the largest City Are both on this plateau. The Page 18 to plus sunday Swiss have a Long history of neutrality that goes Back nearly 500 years. This has helped it become a Host for International agencies and a Center for banking. Despite its limited natural resources Switzerland has become a thriving nation by making Good use of imported materials its own Dairy products and its natural Beauty to attract tourists. Its a fact the Swiss Constitution provides for three official languages a German French and italian a and a fourth romansh is also spoken in pockets. October 14,1990any questions a q do germs cling to plastic food bags after the bags have been washed for reuse a a in Many cases yes. Donna Scott a food scientist and member of the department of food science at Cornell University in Ithaca ., says bacteria Are Able to imbed themselves in surfaces even stainless steel that have microscopic pits. Some bacteria including disease causing ones like Salmonella Are hard to Wash off even with soap and water. Scott said she did not recommend reusing plastic bags especially those that held raw meat and milk products because of the danger of food poisoning. A Consumers Arentt saving that much in Landfill problems by saving plastic bags and might be doing themselves a lot of harm a she said. New York times q a is there a Plant substance called radix Pedis diabolic that produces deadly smoke when burned As described in the Sherlock Holmes Story a the adventure of the devils foot a sir Arthur Conan Doyle author of the Sherlock Holmes series wrote of the Plant a it has not yet found its Way either into the pharmacopoeia or the literature of topology a and botanical experts say that is still True. The devils foot was supposed to be a West african Plant with a Root shaped like a foot half human half Goa like. Burning a Reddish Brown snuff like powder from its Root was said to cause madness and death. However neither Victoria John of the Brooklyn botanic Garden nor Lothian Lynas of the new York botanical Garden could find any published reference to such a Plant. A the closest name in the literature would be devils shoestrings a Plant used to expel intestinal worm a Lynas said. A but there is nothing that would cause madness and
