Mink - the inside story

Have you ever wondered what happens to a mink once it's fur has gone to make something fashionable?

This job posting (May 11, 2007 - the link may expire) for an "Environmental Researcher" may give you a clue:

"Spec Environmental Solutions Inc. (SPEC) belongs to the Spectacle Lake group of companies located in Concession, Digby Co., NS. SPEC operates a commercial composting site serving the local mink farming industry by processing organic waste by-products from approx. 1,000,000 mink per year."

Three things strike me about this. First is the huge number of animals. Second is the fact that Spectacle Lake seem to make no mention of this side of their business on their website. Third, they use their construction company to 'hide' the trucking of the carcases:

"Spectacle Lake Concrete & Excavating Limited does all the trucking and marketing for the composting facility."

I guess it's not something they are not proud of?


technorati tags: animal rights, fur, fur farming, Nova Scotia

Our Earth as Art

When Google Maps created their new feature, My Maps, I wonder if they were expecting the creativity people would have in finding applications for it. One good example is Our Earth as Art, a selection of satellite photographs of our planet. Each one is beautiful in its own right, often in a very abstract sense, and is accompanied by text explaining what we are seeing. In many cases it tells a horror story of the suffering we are causing our planet.