As if the swirling winds, avalanches, tough terrain and bitter cold weren’t enough to contend with, it seems trekkers on Mt. Everest are having to contend with a new danger: the slopes are becoming littered with poo. On March 3rd, the head of Nepal’s mountaineering association warned that human waste from the roughly 700 climbers who scale the mountain each year poses a serious health issue. He urged his government to institute guidelines requiring climbers to dispose of their waste responsibly.  (March 5, 2015)