It’s been a busy week in the green world. Science has taken the concepts of aerosols to a whole new level, European bicycle thieves mess with green transportation, and soft drinks continue to kill us all. Take a look at all the serious and weird and wacky news circling the planet!

People treat the ocean like it is their personal dumping ground and backyard garden. Well, it looks like jellyfish are sick of it! In Japan, a 10-ton Diasan Shinsho-maru fishing boat went down while hauling in a net containing dozens of Nomura’s jellyfish. Apparently, the gelatinous beings were was so heavy that they sunk the trawler, throwing the three-man crew into the sea. Despite clear skies and calm seas. As MNN reports, “another trawler rescued the flailing crew.”
Article Source: http://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/pets-animals/stories/giant-jellyfish-sink-10-ton-japanese-ship Photo Credit: Neil Barman/Flickr

In a great example of why a Plan B is not always a good idea…Scientists are seriously thinking about lobbing aerosols into the atmosphere. Notably, via military jets and at a cost of several billion dollars a year. Sure, we’d have a cooler Earth, which would include reduced or reversed melting of ice sheets over the Arctic sea and increased plant productivity. But scientists predict that this could mean more droughts in Africa and Asia, more acidification in the oceans, more ozone holes in the Arctic, and reduced solar energy production. Oh, and a haze all over the planet that destroys all our blue skies.
Article Source: http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/climate-change/stories/scientists-propose-a-plan-b-to-cool-the-planet-through         Photo Credit: Michael/Flickr

In what is being called “a tragedy of commons,” the Parisian bike-sharing program Vélib is running into some problems. About 80% of the original 20,600 bicycles have been damaged or stolen. Treehugger reports that there is even a black market for stolen Vélib bikes in Eastern Europe and Africa. Luckily, Vélib has had 63 million rentals since mid-2007 and surveys show that Vélib users are still happy with their experience.
Article Source: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/11/velib-bike-sharing-thieves-vandals.php

We’ve all heard that soda is the drink of the devil. But a new article outlines exactly what it does to your body. Carbonated drinks contain phosphoric acid, which can severely deplete the blood calcium levels. Caffeine also depletes calcium in the body. The sugar in regular soda raises insulin levels, and artificial sweeteners are worse. Aspartame breaks down into “aspartic acid, phenylalanine, and methanol at a temperature of 86 degrees.” Remember that the next time you put aspartame in your 98 degree-heated body!
Article Source: http://health.yahoo.com/experts/drmao/20270/what-soft-drinks-are-doing-to-your-body/  Photo Credit: Woody_1778a/Flickr