Spunky food

MEN with low sperm counts should insist on organic agricultural products. A Danish study of 41 male organic farmers showed they had a significantly higher sperm count than blue-collar workers. The average consumption of organic dairy products of 28 of these farmers was at least 50 per cent during the past year (The Lancet, Vol 343, No 8911).

Bridge over troubled waters

Wind for BHEL's sails

Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) has entered into a technical collaboration with Nordex A/S of Denmark in a major effort to expand its wind-powered electricity generation equipment. BHEL has its eye on the plans of the Union ministry of non-conventional energy resources to install 800 MW of wind-generated electricity in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu during the Eighth Plan (1991-97).

Evolving green strategies

The Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research (IGIDR) in Bombay is to undertake a pilot study to evolve an environmentally sound strategy for the development of Maharashtra's energy sector. The study will be carried out in collaboration with the UN Environment Programme Collaborating Centre on Energy and Environment (UNEP-CCEE) in Denmark. Two senior officials of the Danish centre, Gordon Mackenzie and Pramod Deo, recently visited IGIDR to discuss arrangements for the study.

Local ways of preservation

• Denmark's fourth-largest city, Alborg, has groundwater so pure it can be pumped directly into homes. But the supply from the Drastrup underground reserve is threatened by contamination and local officials are trying to solve this problem by encouraging users of the land to change their ways. Drastrup authorities did this by preparing a map in consultation with farmers detailing where extraction from the land is permitted and choice of crops, fertilisers and farming practices to prevent contamination.

Much heat generated over energy tax proposal

DENMARK is determined to use its position as president of the European Commission to push through the proposed energy tax because, as Danish energy minister Jann Sjurgen put it, "EC must shoulder its responsibility in trying to combat global warming."

Agony and ecstasy

IF YOU thought headaches were restricted to reluctant Mills and Boons heroines, think again. After a 14-year follow-up study of 26 patients, scientists John R Ostergaard and Morten Kraft from the University Hospital of Arhus and the Private Clinic of Neurology in Denmark report a number of men and women suffer from headaches associated with orgasm.

Investment on environment

EUROPEAN countries are making substantial investments in environmental protection. Amongst members of the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) -- the Paris-based club of affluent countries -- Austria spends the most on environmental protection, as a proportion of its GNP. West Germany is second and now that the two Germanys are united, the combined nation's environmental investment is likely to increase.