Chernobyl, Burger King spark online buzz
Chernobyl, Burger King spark online buzz, Chernobyl, Cage-Free Fast Foods, Rare Leopard: What’s Spiking (Thursday), A nuclear disaster is remembered, while a hamburger chain makes a major pledge. An anniversary of a nuclear plant meltdown brought countries together to help rebuild its shelter, but a coincident act of nature panicked citizens distrustful of the government that tried to hide the disaster. In animal news, a fast-food eatery may change the way we eat, or at least treat our food source, by pledging a more humane take-out. And a glimmer of hope is sparked by photos of a rare feline.
Below, what readers have been tracking online.
Chernobyl: Countries commemorated the 26th anniversary of the world's worst nuclear disaster. Ukraine at last began building a new shelter, which will weigh 20,000 tons and be finished in 2015, to replace the decaying "sarcophagus" that housed the nuclear power plant. President Viktor Yanukovych thanked countries who donated to the Chernobyl Shelter Fund.
Meanwhile, in a case of unfortunate timing, a massive cloud of birch pollen hovered over Moscow—600 miles from the plant—and led Russian citizens to fear and tweet that another nuclear mishap had occurred. Government officials tried to assuage fears, but since the Soviet government had hid the news of the first blast, some were not convinced, including a blogger who declared, "Pollen is just an excuse. It might as well be the beginning of the apocalypse!"
Cage-Free Promise: Burger King may only be the second-biggest fast food chain, but it'll be the first major one to pledge that its pigs and chickens would be from cage-free environments. The Associated Press reported that living standards for chickens were so-called battery cages, "roughly the same space as a sheet of standard notebook paper," while sows are housed in crates when they're pregnant. The shift would be complete by 2017. As of now, 9 percent of its eggs and 20 percent of pork are cage-free. The chain follows the move of eateries like Chipotle, which took advantage of a Grammy spot to announce its focus on humane treatment of food source.
Rare Amur Leopard: Its population was thought to be around 30, but recently cameras set up from the Hunchun Amur Tiger National Nature Reserve snapped photographs of these felines, as well as the Amur tigers, also known as Siberian tigers. Leopards in general aren't found in cold or high-elevation climates. The World Wildlife Federations describes the mammals—which have also been called Far East leopard, the Manchurian leopard, or the Korean leopard—as nocturnal and solitary, although reportedly the males do stay with females after mating and help raise their young.
Source: Yahoo
