"Canaries In a Coal Mine - We Are Harbingers of the Future!"

In other blogs, I provide some interesting biological reasons (listed below) why I may be a canary. Here, are a few facts about canaries, humans and birds.....I thought might be of interest.....I will keep adding to them as the mood strikes me..... 
 

• Two toxic gases that effect all birds are ammonia and carbon monoxide. To put in perspective where the phrase "Canary in a Coal Mine" came from. One author writes, Canaries are especially sensitive to methane and carbon monoxide, which made them ideal for detecting any dangerous gas build-ups. As long as the canary in a coal mine kept singing, the miners knew their air supply was safe. A dead canary in a coal mine signalled an immediate evacuation. (Wisegeek)
• Household and commercial products such as alcohol, antifreeze (ethylene glycol), old solvent cleaners that contain carbon tetrachloride, fertilizers, and mothballs (naphthalene), are highly toxic and most cause liver and/or kidney damage in all birds. (Theodore)
• Ammonia is a precursor of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), arguably the number-one environment-related public health threat facing the nation. (Shih)
• Three pollutants from a pig slurry methane, ammonia and nitrous oxide. (Sherlock)

For Further Reading: Nrf2, Ornithine Transferase, Autism and Maternal Age -- A Possible Link?
 
What Does it Mean to to Be a Canaries in a Coal Mine. WiseGeek. Retrieved on Febuary 11, 2010. http://www.wisegeek.com/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-canary-in-a-coal-mine.htm
Toxins by K.J. Theodore. Retrieved on February 11, 2010.
Shih, J.-S., Burtraw, D., Palmer, K., and Siikamäki, J. (2006). Air emissions of ammonia and methane from livestock operations: Valuation and policy options. http://www.citeulike.org/user/HEIRS/article/6712816
Sherlock, R. R., Sommer, S. G., Khan, R. Z., Wood, C. W., Guertal, E. A., Freney, J. R., Dawson, C. O., and Cameron, K. C. (2002). Ammonia, methane, and nitrous oxide emission from pig slurry applied to a pasture in new zealand. J Environ Qual, 31(5):1491-1501. http://www.citeulike.org/user/HEIRS/article/6713551