Gas that triggers ozone destruction revealed

Gas that triggers ozone destruction revealed

Jan. 13, 2013 — Scientists at the Universities of York and Leeds have made a significant discovery about the cause of the destruction of ozone over oceans.

They have established that the majority of ozone-depleting iodine oxide observed over the remote ocean comes from a previously unknown marine source.
The research team found that the principal source of iodine oxide can be explained by emissions of hypoiodous acid (HOI) – a gas not yet considered as being released from the ocean – along with a contribution from molecular iodine (I₂).

Since the 1970s when methyl iodide (CH₃I) was discovered as ubiquitous in the ocean, the presence of iodine in the atmosphere has been understood to arise mainly from emissions of organic compounds from phytoplankton -- microscopic marine plants.

This new research, which is published in Nature Geoscience, builds on an earlier study which showed that reactive iodine, along with bromine, in the atmosphere is responsible for the destruction of vast amounts of ozone – around 50 per cent more than predicted by the world’s most advanced climate models – in the lower atmosphere over the tropical Atlantic Ocean.

The scientists quantified gaseous emissions of inorganic iodine following the reaction of iodide with ozone in a series of laboratory experiments. They showed that the reaction of iodide with ozone leads to the formation of both molecular iodine and hypoiodous acid. Using laboratory models, they show that the reaction of ozone with iodide on the sea surface could account for around 75 per cent of observed iodine oxide levels over the tropical Atlantic Ocean.

Professor Lucy Carpenter, of the Department of Chemistry at York, said: “Our laboratory and modelling studies show that these gases are produced from the reaction of atmospheric ozone with iodide on the sea surface interfacial layer, at a rate which is highly significant for the chemistry of the marine atmosphere.

“Our research reveals an important negative feedback for ozone – a sort of self-destruct mechanism. The more ozone there is, the more gaseous halogens are created which destroy it. The research also has implications for the way that radionucleides of iodine in seawater, released into the ocean mainly from nuclear reprocessing facilities, can be re-emitted into the atmosphere.”

Professor John Plane, from the University of Leeds’ School of Chemistry, said: “This mechanism of iodine release into the atmosphere appears to be particularly important over tropical oceans, where measurements show that there is more iodide in seawater available to react with ozone. The rate of the process also appears to be faster in warmer water. The negative feedback for ozone should therefore be particularly important for removing ozone in the outflows of pollution from major cities in the coastal tropics.”

The research was funded by the UK Natural Environment Research Council SOLAS (Surface Ocean Lower Atmosphere) programme.

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

---

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of York, via AlphaGalileo.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

Global warming has increased monthly heat records worldwide by a factor of five, study finds

Global warming has increased monthly heat records worldwide by a factor of five, study finds

Jan. 14, 2013 — Monthly temperature extremes have become much more frequent, as measurements from around the world indicate. On average, there are now five times as many record-breaking hot months worldwide than could be expected without long-term global warming, shows a study now published in Climatic Change. In parts of Europe, Africa and southern Asia the number of monthly records has increased even by a factor of ten. 80 percent of observed monthly records would not have occurred without human influence on climate, concludes the authors-team of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and the Complutense University of Madrid.

"The last decade brought unprecedented heat waves; for instance in the US in 2012, in Russia in 2010, in Australia in 2009, and in Europe in 2003," lead-author Dim Coumou says. "Heat extremes are causing many deaths, major forest fires, and harvest losses -- societies and ecosystems are not adapted to ever new record-breaking temperatures." The new study relies on 131 years of monthly temperature data for more than 12,000 grid points around the world, provided by NASA. Comprehensive analysis reveals the increase in records.

The researchers developed a robust statistical model that explains the surge in the number of records to be a consequence of the long-term global warming trend. That surge has been particularly steep over the last 40 years, due to a steep global-warming trend over this period. Superimposed on this long-term rise, the data show the effect of natural variability, with especially high numbers of heat records during years with El Niño events. This natural variability, however, does not explain the overall development of record events, found the researchers.

Natural variability does not explain the overall development of record events
If global warming continues, the study projects that the number of new monthly records will be 12 times as high in 30 years as it would be without climate change. "Now this doesn't mean there will be 12 times more hot summers in Europe than today -- it actually is worse," Coumou points out. For the new records set in the 2040s will not just be hot by today's standards. "To count as new records, they actually have to beat heat records set in the 2020s and 2030s, which will already be hotter than anything we have experienced to date," explains Coumou. "And this is just the global average -- in some continental regions, the increase in new records will be even greater."

"Statistics alone cannot tell us what the cause of any single heat wave is, but they show a large and systematic increase in the number of heat records due to global warming," says Stefan Rahmstorf, a co-author of the study and co-chair of PIK's research domain Earth System Analysis. "Today, this increase is already so large that by far most monthly heat records are due to climate change. The science is clear that only a small fraction would have occurred naturally."

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

---

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK).
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

 

 

---

 

 

 

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

---

 

Amazon deforestation brings loss of microbial communities

Amazon deforestation brings loss of microbial communities

Dec. 24, 2012 — An international team of microbiologists led by Klaus Nüsslein of the University of Massachusetts Amherst has found that a troubling net loss in diversity among the microbial organisms responsible for a functioning ecosystem is accompanying deforestation in the Amazon rainforest.

Nüsslein, an expert in tropical rain forest microbial soil communities, says, "We found that after rainforest conversion to agricultural pastures, bacterial communities were significantly different from those of forest soils. Not only did the pasture soils show increased species numbers, these species were also less related to one another than in rainforest soil. This is important because the combination of lost forest species and the homogenization of pasture communities together signal that this ecosystem is now a lot less capable of dealing with additional outside stress."

He and colleagues studied a large farm site over the past four years at the frontier where farmers drive agriculture into pristine rainforest in Rondonia, Brazil, to convert rainforest to agricultural use. Findings in part validated previous research showing that bacteria in the soil became more diverse after conversion to pasture. However, in its fourth year, their study overcame limitations of earlier investigations to show that changes in microbial diversity occurred over larger geographic scales. Results appear in the current issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

In addition to Nüsslein at UMass Amherst, the research group includes first author Jorge Rodrigues at the University of Texas at Arlington with Brendan Bohannan at the University of Oregon, James Tiedje at Michigan State University, and others at the University of Sao Paulo. Lead investigators Nüsslein and Rodrigues emphasize that the study is an equal collaboration among the four research groups.

Findings do not support earlier study conclusions, instead they show that the loss of restricted ranges for different bacteria communities results in a biotic homogenization and net loss of diversity overall. Scientists worry that the loss of genetic variation in bacteria across a converted forest could reduce ecosystem resilience. The researchers hope their work will provide valuable data to those making decisions about the future of the Amazon rainforest.

Biologist and first author Jorge Rodrigues of the University of Texas at Arlington adds, "We have known for a long time that conversion of rainforest land in the Amazon for agriculture results in a loss of biodiversity in plants and animals. Now we know that microbial communities which are so important to the ecosystem also suffer significant losses."

As Nüsslein and colleagues point out, the Amazon represents half of the world's rainforest and is home to one-third of Earth's species, yet the Amazon has one of the highest rates of deforestation. Agriculture is one of the largest and most dynamic parts of Brazil's economy, so dealing with standing rainforests in the tropics will be tricky, but nevertheless, it is vital that the issue is tackled."

Rodrigues says he and colleagues are currently compiling findings about the potential for recovery of the microbial diversity after pastureland is abandoned and returned to "secondary forest." At the same time, Nüsslein and colleagues are leading an effort to investigate how the redundancy of functions provided by soil microbes provides resilience to the effects of agricultural land use change to support a stressed ecosystem to recover stability.

"Whether bacterial diversity will completely recover from ecosystem conversion will depend in part on whether the taxa lost due to conversion are truly locally extinct or whether they are present in the pasture sites but of such low abundance that they are undetectable in our study," the authors write.
This work was supported by grants from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture and the Research Support Foundation of the State of São Paulo.

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above

Tigers roar back: Great news for big cats in key areas

Tigers roar back: Great news for big cats in key areas

Dec. 26, 2012 — The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has announced significant progress for tigers in three key landscapes across the big cat's range due to better law enforcement, protection of additional habitat, and strong government partnerships.

The successes are much-needed good news as tiger numbers worldwide continue to hover at all-time lows due to the combined threat of poaching, loss of prey, and habitat destruction. WCS estimates that only 3,200 tigers exist in the wild.

The news begins in southwestern India where WCS research and conservation efforts that began 25 years ago now show a major rebound of tigers in the Western Ghats region of Karnataka State. Over 600 individuals have been identified to date from camera trap photos during the last decade in this mountainous landscape. In Nagarahole and Bandipur National Parks, tigers have actually reached saturation levels, with surplus young tigers spilling out into forest-reserves and dispersing using secured forest corridors through a landscape that holds over a million human beings. The combination of strict government-led anti-poaching patrols, voluntary relocation of villages away from tiger habitats, and the vigilant local presence of WCS conservation partners watching over tigers has led to the rebound of big-cat populations and their prey. In newer tiger reserves including Bhadra and Kudremukh, numbers have increased by as much as 50 percent after years of neglect and chronic poaching were tackled.

In Thailand, WCS conservationists report a tiger comeback in Huai Kha Khaeng (HKK) Wildlife Sanctuary -- a 2,700 square kilometer (1,042 square mile) protected area in the vast Western Forest Complex. WCS has worked closely with Thai authorities to beef up enforcement and anti-poaching patrols in the region. Last year, a notorious poaching ring was busted, and this year the gang leaders were given prison sentences of up to five years -- the most severe punishments for wildlife poaching in Thailand's history. Since their capture, there have been no known tiger or elephant poaching incidents in the park. Tiger numbers have been rising steadily in the park since 2007, with a record 50-plus tigers counted last year.

Meanwhile in Russia, government officials are drafting a new law that will make transport, sales, and possession of endangered animals a criminal offense rather than just a civil crime. This will close a loophole that currently allows poachers to claim they found endangered species like tigers already dead and thus avoid stiffer criminal penalties for poaching.

Russia is making progress in creating additional protected areas for tigers, too, declaring a new corridor called Central Ussuri Wildlife Refuge on October 18. The new refuge acts as a linkage between the Sikhote-Alin tiger population in Russia, which is the main population of Amur tigers, and some of the best tiger habitat in China's Heilongjiang Province in the Wandashan Mountains. The creation of the new refuge ensures that tigers have the capacity to move across the international border between Russian and China in this region. WCS first identified this key corridor in 1999 after conducting joint wildlife surveys with Chinese and Russian scientists there. WCS President and CEO Cristián Samper said: "Tigers are clearly fighting for their very existence, but it's important to know that there is hope. Victories like these give us the resolve to continue to battle for these magnificent big cats. While the news about tigers has been bleak, these recent developments clearly show how smart strategies and strong partnerships are ensuring tigers are saved for centuries to come."

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

---

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Wildlife Conservation Society.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

Under the weather, literally: More rainfall and bigger storms may lead to more stomach upsets

Under the weather, literally: More rainfall and bigger storms may lead to more stomach upsets

Jan. 4, 2013 — We can blame all sorts of things on the weather. But a stomach bug? It seems unlikely. Yet, scientists say greater quantities of rainfall and bigger storms will lead to more stomach upsets in parts of Europe.

"Increases in precipitation in some countries, due to climate change, will affect waterborne outbreaks of disease," Apostolos Vantarakis of the University of Patros, Greece, said.

Storms and persistent rainfall can lead to sewage overflows, which releases water with bacteria and viruses into our waterways. Ingesting this water while swimming or engaging in other water sports can make people sick. People may think bacteria are the cause of such illnesses, but viruses are the more likely culprits. "In my opinion most of the outbreaks [of stomach bug] are caused by viruses," Vantarakis says. "Yet we don't know a lot about these viruses."

Vantarakis is involved in an EU funded project, called Viroclime. It aims at upgrading tools for tracking harmful viruses from human sewage in Europe's waters and help weight up health risks. The project has been monitoring virus levels in five environmentally sensitive sites in Spain, Hungary, Greece, Sweden and Brazil.

Two families of viruses are used as alarm signals of increased risk of waterborne diseases. The first, whose most infamous representative is the winter vomiting bug, belongs to the noroviruses family. The second type belongs to the adenoviruses family. "The evidence of waterborne disease from adenovirus is a little less clear, but we suspect they cause infection and disease," remarks Mark Sobsey, a virologist from the University of North Carolina, USA, a leading expert in the field, who is not connected to the project.

Until now, experts have often been in the dark about sickness caused by waterborne viruses. Unlike automobile accidents and their health consequences, we have very poor surveillance for waterborne viral disease from recreational exposure, notes Sobsey. "If we had better data, which EU project Viroclime can gather, and we analyse the data using a health risk-based approach, we could get better estimated disease burdens from recreational water exposures," Sobsey adds. However, he says: "virus testing is still difficult, expensive and time consuming and is not widely done by public or private industry," in drinking water, let along recreational water.

Documenting the level of harmful viruses in water also has implications in a wider context. It could help assess the impact of various climate change scenarios and contribute to health protection measures. "If we have certain virus levels under current conditions, we will be able to say what those levels will be under new climate change conditions," explains Peter Wyn-Jones, lead scientist of the project at Aberystwyth University in Wales, UK. Health services can then prepare to address potential health threats. Spotting contaminated water sooner will, for example, allow authorities to close beaches and prevent stomach bugs in water lovers.

Such approach could also pinpoint where exactly greater level of stomach illnesses are likely to occur by exploiting the link with rain levels. "It is increasingly becoming clear that climate change will also impact on human health more indirectly," concurs climatologist Clare Goodess, of the University of East Anglia, in the UK, "such indirect impacts include possible increases in viral waterborne pathogens in regions of increasing precipitation." Indeed, "for health-related impacts, changes in extremes may be more important than changes in average conditions," she adds, "so it is of concern that increases in the intensity of heavy precipitation are projected across Europe, with the strongest signals in Northern Europe particularly in winter."

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

---

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by youris.com, via AlphaGalileo.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

 

Toward reducing the greenhouse gas emissions of the Internet and telecommunications

Toward reducing the greenhouse gas emissions of the Internet and telecommunications

Jan. 2, 2013 — Amid growing concern over the surprisingly large amount of greenhouse gas produced by the Internet and other telecommunications activities, researchers are reporting new models of emissions and energy consumption that could help reduce their carbon footprint.

Their report appears in ACS' journal Environmental Science & Technology.

Researchers from the Centre for Energy-Efficient Telecommunications (CEET) and Bell Labs explain that the information communications and technology (ICT) industry, which delivers Internet, video, voice and other cloud services, produces more than 830 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO₂), the main greenhouse gas, annually. That's about 2 percent of global CO₂ emissions -- the same proportion as the aviation industry produces. Projections suggest that ICT sector's share is expected to double by 2020. The team notes that controlling those emissions requires more accurate but still feasible models, which take into account the data traffic, energy use and CO₂ production in networks and other elements of the ICT industry. Existing assessment models are inaccurate, so they set out to develop new approaches that better account for variations in equipment and other factors in the ICT industry.

They describe development and testing of two new models that better estimate the energy consumption and CO₂ emissions of Internet and telecommunications services. They tested the models on a simulated network and on a deployed network that serves the majority of schools in California. Both models delivered better estimates than the current "top-down" models. The researchers suggest, based on their models, that more efficient power usage of facilities, more efficient use of energy-efficient equipment and renewable energy sources are three keys to reducing ICT emissions of CO₂.

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by American Chemical Society.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

---

Journal Reference:

1. Chien A. Chan, André F. Gygax, Elaine Wong, Christopher A. Leckie, Ampalavanapillai Nirmalathas, Daniel C. Kilper. Methodologies for Assessing the Use-Phase Power Consumption and Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Telecommunications Network Services. Environmental Science & Technology, 2013; 47 (1): 485 DOI: 10.1021/es303384y

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

開洞插管取膽汁‧血腥不衛生‧熊膽未必是寶

亞洲動物基金會於今年初，在中國發起“治療無傷害”計劃，遊說中醫師及中藥行停止出售熊膽製品，從需求層面打擊養熊業。

到目前為止，已經有超過1千350名中醫師承諾不再開出含熊膽的藥方，140家藥材店也將含熊膽成份的產品下架。

 馬來西亞中醫師暨針灸聯合總會（醫總）總會長黃保國說，“熊膽能清熱排毒”是華人根深蒂固的概念，但大馬的中醫師已經不使用動物藥材，大部份都以草藥來治病。 

熊膽並非唯一的藥療選擇，不值得為了小病痛折磨黑熊。

感谢亚洲动物基金会，感谢所有参与的医师们！


 感谢星洲日报资料来源：http://news.sinchew.com.my/node/272057

（吉隆坡17日訊）熊膽，在中醫裡有清熱、明目及平肝的療效，是十分昂貴的藥材；但提取熊膽的過程十分血腥殘忍，長期被抽取膽汁的黑熊，傷口往往受到細菌感染，最後引起細胞病變和死於癌症，使到膽汁也受污染，對食用者的健康有害而無利。

膽汁是從活生生的黑熊身上，開洞插管引流出來。目前只有在中國，活熊取膽是合法的，該交易也盛行於亞洲市場。雖然在大馬買賣受保護動物是犯法，卻因執法不力，使熊膽悄悄從黑市流入國內。

“第九屆世界中醫藥大會”上個月在古晉舉辦，來自香港的亞洲動物基金會（AAF）趁各地中醫專家齊聚一堂，呼吁中醫師棄用熊膽產品，並推廣採用更有療效草藥作代替品，希望藉減低需求量打擊熊膽工業。

一輩子囚禁鐵籠每天忍受戳腹煎熬

一頭健康的亞洲黑熊能活大約30年，若不幸被人捕獵，送進養熊場抽取膽汁，繼而患上肝癌、敗血病、肝膿腫或膽道系統疾病，黑熊的壽命只有10餘年，甚至更少。

這些黑熊被囚禁在與自己身軀大小相若的鐵籠裡，一輩子只能俯臥在惡劣的環境，每天忍受腹部被管子戳穿的煎熬。為了減低黑熊的攻擊性，業者還會把它們的牙齒和爪子拔掉。

“取膽”顧名思義，就是要在黑熊腹部開一個長期不癒合的傷口。這傷口深入腹腔，直達膽囊，然後一日數次被插入引流管抽取膽汁。傷口將內臟曝露在外，導致細菌感染，最後引起細胞病變，最後死於癌症。

據中國媒體報導，一頭黑熊每年可生產3公斤膽汁，每公斤叫價4千人民幣（約2千令吉）。但養熊成本極高，要經營至少10年才能回本，所以業者會販賣熊掌和熊隻賺取額外利潤。

1980年從朝鮮流入亞洲僅中國養熊場合法

“活熊取膽”於1980年從朝鮮流入中國，如今在亞洲，也只有中國把行業合法化。

根據中國官方數據，中國有68家合法養熊場，養了7千至1萬頭黑熊。但該亞洲動物基金會掌握的數據指有100家，遇害的黑熊遠遠超過以上數字。

該基金會外部事物總監張小海接受星洲日報專訪時說，中國有11個省份參與養熊業。由於坊間相信熊膽能解酒護肝，所以養熊業活躍於嗜酒地區。如南方的四川、雲南和福建，及鄰近韓國的北部省份——黑龍江、吉林和遼寧。

養熊業者聲稱，活熊取膽有助於保護野生黑熊免遭捕捉和盜獵，但該基金會反駁，指這是沒有科學根據的說法。因為，養熊場的黑熊活不久，繁殖能力差，業者為了保住生產量，甚至偷買捕獵回來的野生小熊，導致黑熊數量日益減少。

經營養熊場的國家還包括寮國、韓國和越南。

根據《瀕危野生動植物種國際貿易公約》（CITES），熊膽是不允許出口到其他國家。簽署公約的包括中國大馬、越南、韓國、寮國等178個國家，但成員國都對它視而不見，業者大肆非法出口熊膽粉至亞洲國家。

西馬77%藥材店出售熊膽製品客源多是韓台遊客

國際野生物貿易研究委員會（TRAFFIC）兩年前曾對大馬的傳統藥房進行調查，發現西馬有77%藥材店出售熊膽製品如膽囊、藥丸、薄片及藥膏，而客源大部份是韓國及台灣遊客。

報告指出，當中有28%的產品出處來自國內。過去10年裡，我國檢控了11宗黑熊非法交易案件，涉及至少33頭黑熊。因此，在熊膽交易中，大馬的供應量預計會越來越多，藏著國內黑熊捕獵活動隱憂。

馬來西亞中醫師暨針灸聯合總會（醫總）總會長黃保國說，“熊膽能清熱排毒”是華人根深蒂固的概念，但大馬的中醫師已經不使用動物藥材，大部份都以草藥來治病。

“現在已經很難買到真的熊膽了，有的話也非常昂貴。況且取代熊膽的草藥普遍又廉宜，根本沒必要使用熊膽。”

他說，基於衛生和宗教考量，中醫多數避免使用動物藥材如豪豬棗和熊膽。

“其實，市面上看到的熊膽產品並非真含有熊膽成份。有的只是取其名，裡面真正是草藥成份，但療效和熊膽一樣。這樣人們會比較容易明白。”

他坦言，不是每個人都知道這件事，所以得依賴藥材店向消費者解釋。此外，聲稱藥物有“熊膽”成份也能讓賣家把價錢標得高一些。

“《2010年野生動物保育法令》闡明，黑熊是受保護動物，買賣熊膽是犯法的。所以不排除有熊膽透過黑市流進我國。”

不斷製造假需求業者吹噓療效刺激銷量

張小海指出，中國目前有194家藥廠提供熊膽製品，有的養熊場本身也是製藥商，業者為牟取暴利，就不斷製造假需求，刺激銷量。

“東方國家都相信熊膽是珍貴的藥材，但需求量並沒有很高。但養熊業者成功開拓了禮品和保健品市場，推高熊膽的需求量。”

這些產品包括舒喉藥、止血藥、痔瘡藥、鎮痛藥。但其實在中醫裡，熊膽以其苦、寒的特性用於治療熱病，如痙攣、眼疾、肝病以及驅除腸道寄生蟲。但無良業者卻把熊膽被吹噓成可以輕鬆治療癌症、愛滋病，對頭痛和醉酒亦是仙丹。

“解酒、護肝等功效均沒有傳統醫書的支持。而獲得國家批准的熊膽功效非常有限，僅為清熱、平肝、明目。”

此外，膽汁產量過剩也驅使製藥商推出不必要的熊膽保健飲料如熊膽茶、熊膽酒及熊膽咖啡。

死於肝癌黑熊達38%人類吃膽汁或惹病

張小海提醒公眾人士，熊膽雖有療效，但抽取膽汁的手法極為不衛生，人類吃下膽汁品時身體沒有變得健康，反而可能惹得一身病。

他說，中國病理學專家抽取一批取膽黑熊的肝臟和膽囊作觀察，發現它們患有肝膽系統疾病，死於肝癌的黑熊則高達38%。

“所以可想而知，患病黑熊生產的膽汁也含有大量的炎性細胞、細菌、毒素、膿血、粘液、壞死組織碎塊等等，喝了怎可能會醫好癌症？更何況收集膽汁時，相信業界都把它們倒在一起，好壞摻雜，最後所有膽汁都被污染了。”

“此外，黑熊腹部的傷口經常引起細菌，而養熊業者為了預防炎症，便為它們注射大量的抗生素，最後殘留在膽汁裡，間接危害消費者的健康。”

非唯一藥療選擇草藥可替代熊膽療效

根據研究顯示，熊膽的療效其實可被許多草藥替代，例如常春藤、刺黃連、芙蓉業、金銀花、蛇倒退、蒲公英、蓮翹等共54種藥材，既便宜又有效。

此外，熊膽中的有效成份——熊脫氧膽酸（UDCA），是一種可輕易在實驗室裡合成的物質，製造成本也頗低。臨床試驗也顯示它們有治療丙肝及肝癌的用處。

因此，熊膽並非唯一的藥療選擇，更不值得為了小病痛折磨黑熊。

亞洲動物基金會於今年初，在中國發起“治療無傷害”計劃，遊說中醫師及中藥行停止出售熊膽製品，從需求層面打擊養熊業。

到目前為止，已經有超過1千350名中醫師承諾不再開出含熊膽的藥方，140家藥材店也將含熊膽成份的產品下架。

張小海說：“這次來馬參與世界中醫藥大會，希望向更多海外中醫從業者宣傳活熊取膽背後的血腥，從而透過中醫師教育大眾。”

（星洲日報）