Sep 5, 2006
Experts warn of deadly obesity pandemic
Associated Press: An obesity pandemic threatens to overwhelm health systems around the globe with illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease, experts at an international conference warned Sunday. "This insidious, creeping pandemic of obesity is now engulfing the entire world," Paul Zimmet, chairman of the meeting of more than 2,500 experts and health officials, said in a speech opening the weeklong International Congress on Obesity. "It's as big a threat as global warming and bird flu." The ...Link
China Shuts Factory, Detains Seven for Chemical Spill
Reuters: Chinese authorities have closed a factory and detained a manager and seven others following a chemical spill on a tributary to the Songhua River, which was poisoned by a huge benzene spill late last year. The Changbai Jingxi Chemical Company dumped about 10 cubic metres of chemicals into the Mangniu River in northeast China's Jilin province on Aug. 21, the chief of China's State Environmental Protection Administration, Zhou Shengxian, said in a report in the China Environment News on ...Link
China: Time to blow fresh wind into renewable energy
Standard: The emissions trading scheme offers hope that, finally, it might be possible to tackle the worsening air quality in Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta. Or does it? Is Hong Kong too small to embrace other forms of renewable energy? Chester Yung and Albert Wong report in the final of our five-part environment series. With only 815 square kilometers of open space, more than half of which is protected as country parks, Hong Kong's inherent topographical constraints have meant its ...Link
United States: Global warming threatens Delta islands, water supply
Sacramento Bee: On New Year's weekend, Barbara Flores went three days without sleep, and not because she was partying. Flores and other anxious residents of Sherman Island, on the western edge of the Delta, spent the opening days of 2006 battling one of the biggest floods they'd ever seen. Waters rose to the crest of the island's levees. Wind-whipped spray from crashing waves blew over the levee in a stinging fusillade, threatening to flood the island. "We came close. Real ...
Sharp Sees Solar Power Costs Halving By 2010
Reuters: Japan's Sharp Corp., the world's biggest maker of solar cells, expects the cost of generating solar power to halve by 2010 and to be comparable with that of nuclear power by 2030, Sharp's president said. "By the year 2010 we'll be able to halve generation costs," Katsuhiko Machida told Reuters in an interview on Thursday. "By 2020 we expect a further reduction -- half of 2010 -- and by 2030 we expect half the 2020 level. "By 2030 the cost will be comparable ... Link
Australia: Water price to double
| Courier Mail: THE cost of water in southeast Queensland could be expected to double in two to five years, leading scientists said yesterday. Professor Paul Greenfield of the University of Queensland said the impact of a ballooning population, coupled with climate change, had made water shortages particularly severe. Speaking outside the 9th International River symposium, Professor Greenfield said every resident had to cut water use and pricing was a way of achieving that. "Pricing has . Link |
Wireless Controlled Solar LED Lighting
The basic product for airfields has been a hardened, fully integrated solar module encapsulated in molded plastic with an LED array and rechargeable battery, and incorporating smart battery management technology. The key innovations are around the battery management, and brightness /range capabilities of the product. The product enables an airfield to light its runways and service ways without the cost of wiring and wiring conduits, or the cost of powering those lights. The product is currently working through FAA approval for runway lighting based on a system in use at the Truckee Airport, and the company is a major supplier to military and remote airfields around the world.
Green Leaves Inspire Solar Cell Development
Thanks for posting this, I tried posting it as an article to slashdot but it was rejected, probably because I am not one of the 'in crowd'. The figures are very interesting.
"A leaf is about 30-40% efficient at converting light to electricity and this compares with just a 12% efficiency for conventional silicon-based solar cells."
They should be throwing a lot of money at this technology, the best bit is, it does not produce pollution.
More info link
Most Polluted Site In America: Errors, Costs Stall Nuclear Waste Project
The effort to avoid a future environmental calamity here, at the most polluted site in North America, is a priority of the Energy Dept. but has foundered because of engineering mistakes and runaway costs. 53 million gallons of radioactive sludge, most of it the texture of ketchup, is stored in scores of underground tanks some of which has leaked.
More Ethanol - Path of destruction
In other biofuel plant news, Panda Ethanol Inc. announced last week it will build a 100 mgpy ethanol facility in Sherman County, Texas. The plant will use about 40 million bushels of corn and milo a year and will generate the steam it needs to make the ethanol by gasifying more than one billion pounds of cattle manure a year.
SSOE, an architecture and engineering firm in Toledo, announced Friday it will build three new biofuel plants in Iowa, Ohio and Mississippi. Mason City, Iowa and Burnsville, Mississippi get 30 million gallon per year (mgpy) biodiesel plants that will use soybeans as biomass, and Lima, Ohio will get a 20-mgpy corn ethanol plant. SSOE Senior Project Manager Mark Hoffman said the biofuel plants are environmentally and often readily accepted by local communities.
[Source: SSOE, Inc., Panda Ethanol Inc.]
SSOE, an architecture and engineering firm in Toledo, announced Friday it will build three new biofuel plants in Iowa, Ohio and Mississippi. Mason City, Iowa and Burnsville, Mississippi get 30 million gallon per year (mgpy) biodiesel plants that will use soybeans as biomass, and Lima, Ohio will get a 20-mgpy corn ethanol plant. SSOE Senior Project Manager Mark Hoffman said the biofuel plants are environmentally and often readily accepted by local communities.
[Source: SSOE, Inc., Panda Ethanol Inc.]
Rerun of Willie Nelson interview on Fresh Air today
Fresh Air folks are replaying this show, since Willie's relaxed speaking style is always cool to listen to. If you want to stream the program through your computer, you can find it here.
China moves to become major ethanol exporter
The Chinese government is playing a large role in building ethanol plants in China, since there were only four until 2005. One Beijing-based international house trader said there are a few thousand ethanol producers in China today. The government is also encouraging producers to use non-grain crops like cassava as a feedstock. One company, China Songyuan Ji'an Biochemical Sales Co. Ltd., told Reuters it would export all of its ethanol output - 300,000 tons - this year
Study Details Nutritional Value Of Salad
A new UCLA/Louisiana State University study of dietary data on more than 17,500 men and women finds consumption of salad and raw vegetables correlates with higher concentrations of folic acid, vitamins C and E, lycopene and alpha and beta carotene in the bloodstream.
Low Vitamin E Intake During Pregnancy Can Lead To Childhood Asthma
Children whose mothers had a low intake of vitamin E during pregnancy are more likely to develop wheezing and asthma by age five.
'Portion Distortion' May Contribute To Expanding Waistlines, Study Reports
New research shows that people's perceptions of normal portion sizes have changed in the past 20 years. A study out of Rutgers published in the September issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association reports that Portion Distortion may be the cause. This phenomenon occurs when consumers perceive large portion sizes as appropriate amounts to eat at a single eating occasion.
Older Fathers More Likely To Have Autistic Children
Children of men age 40 and older have a significantly increased risk of having autism spectrum disorders compared with those whose fathers are younger than 30 years, according to an article in the September issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Chemical-scarred site, forsaken and feared, awaits a new purpose
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (subscription) - Little Rock,AR,USA
... A cleanup could cost millions, and environmental officials hope a successful suit will ... turn around a sagging local economy by bringing much needed jobs to the ...
... A cleanup could cost millions, and environmental officials hope a successful suit will ... turn around a sagging local economy by bringing much needed jobs to the ...
Perils darken a shadow economy
Chicago Tribune - United States
Much of the responsibility for protecting the nation's workers rests with the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration. OSHA officials
in Washington .. Full read here >
Much of the responsibility for protecting the nation's workers rests with the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration. OSHA officials
in Washington .. Full read here >
Doctored safety records paint false picture
The Argus - Fremont,CA,USA
... vetoed a $1.5 million increase in the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) budget to hire 15 new safety inspectors, which the ...
... vetoed a $1.5 million increase in the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) budget to hire 15 new safety inspectors, which the ...
NIEHS Awards $3.6 Million to Outstanding New Environmental
Kansas City infoZine - Kansas City,MO,USA
Grants for $3.6 million will be awarded to exceptionally talented and creative new scientists who are pursuing careers in environmental health research
Grants for $3.6 million will be awarded to exceptionally talented and creative new scientists who are pursuing careers in environmental health research
Environmental champs receive recognition
Environment Bay of Plenty's annual Environmental Awards are said to be an opportunity to acknowledge unsung heroes. The awards celebrate ...
Mature Muscle Fibers Can Revert To Become Cancerous, Researchers Find
Mature muscle fibers, rather than their less-developed neighbors, are the tissues that turn malignant in a soft-tissue cancer that strikes children and teens, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center and Children's Medical Center Dallas have found.
Union Wants Emergency Standard for Popcorn Flavoring in California
Occupational Hazards - Cleveland,OH,USA
... top officials from OSHA, EPA and the Department of Health and Human Services, who agreed there is more than enough evidence for OSHA to issue regulations. ...
... top officials from OSHA, EPA and the Department of Health and Human Services, who agreed there is more than enough evidence for OSHA to issue regulations. ...
Sep 4, 2006
Dahhh! News From MSNBC.... sorry ;[
Dahhh! In MSN News (new for the misinformed)
Sorry ahead for the MSN ref... but people do stumble on this blog who are new to the "EHS" world. MSN may over dumb it down and greenwash, but it is still "most watch" & I gotta observe that (not respect it)... Chris
Sorry ahead for the MSN ref... but people do stumble on this blog who are new to the "EHS" world. MSN may over dumb it down and greenwash, but it is still "most watch" & I gotta observe that (not respect it)... Chris
Wind farms trigger strong emotions
Drilling green light in Alaska oil reserve
Cities try 'shade crusade’ to fight warming
Sacramento, Calif., believes an answer for global warming is growing on trees.
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