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| OBAMA ATTEMPTS IMAGE MAKEOVER FOR USA The new US president threw a few hints on his administration's environmental outlook. Excerpts The ways we use energy strengethen our adversaries and threaten our planet...to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it. Vulnerable nations will be watching. |
Kenya has asked for US $406 million in international aid to buy emergency food for a third of the country's population. Ten million Kenyans do not have enough to eat. The UN World Food Programme increased its coverage of people caught in the Gaza conflict by bringing in more ready-to-eat foods. Swarms of army worms, or moth caterpillars, have destroyed crops in central Liberia, forcing the government to declare a state of emergency in the area. The caterpillars have also contaminated water sources with their faeces. Weight-loss drug fenfluramine hydrochloride has been banned in China. The drug could cause heart disease and pulmonary hypertension.It is banned in the US and Europe. Nepal has reported its first outbreak of bird flu in eastern Jhapa district bordering India. The area has been quarantined. Iran and China have signed a US $1.76 billion deal to develop Iran's North Azadegan oil field. China will double the output to 150,000 barrels per day. Sri Lanka has decided to subsidize fertilizers for small tea estates hit hard by drop in prices caused by the reduced demand for tea worldwide. China has warned of rising bird flu risk as two persons died of the disease in less than a month. Preliminary investigations show both were bird-to-human transmissions. Around four per cent people in the Indian subcontinent carry a gene mutation which increases the risk of heart disease sevenfold, Nature Genetics reported. Flash floods and landslides triggered by heavy rains in the Philippines have killed at least 28 persons and displaced about 200,000. Russia and Ukraine signed a 10-year gas supply deal on January 19 to clear the way for the resumption of supplies to a freezing Europe, cut off for nearly two weeks because of a dispute between the ex-Soviet states. The Irish government has signed a law to check water wastage. The legislation aims at preventing leakages from poorly maintained water systems and pipes, enforce hosepipe bans and other drought regulations. European parliament has banned 22 chemicals, including a few pesticides. Farmers fear the decision could affect winter harvests and push up food prices.| HEAT EXCHANGE | |
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About 400,000 air passengers in Spain opted for the new high-speed trains over airlines in 2008. The government said the shift has helped the country control its carbon emissions. To check the alarming growth of obesity, the UK's food standard agency has asked all eating outlets to display calorie counts on their menu from March. Maternal mortality in Turkey has dropped from 28.4 per 100,000 live births in 2005 to 21.3 in 2007, a Unicef report said.
Child mortality has also dropped by one-third since 1990. A Shell petrochemical company in Puerto Rico has agreed to pay a penalty of US $1,025,000 for discharging pollutants into a creek that joins the Caribbean Sea. The US authorized the Navy to harm or kill whales and dolphine during sonar training exercises around the Hawaiian Islands. Green groups say sonar sounds affect the marine mammals' behaviour and cause temporary loss of hearing. US health authorities urged consumers to avoid peanut butter and its products as salmonella food poisoning left at least six people dead and 470 sick. Australia has uplisted the leatherback, the world's largest sea turtle, from vulnerable to endangered. The turtle is threatened by over fishing and unsustainable harvesting of eggs. Energy Watch group has accused International Energy Agency of consistently underestimating the potential of wind, solar and water energy and promoting oil, coal and nuclear as irreplaceable technologies. The environment friendly Formula AE car will use wind energy to accelerate from 0 to 96.5 km per hour in less than four seconds. The car is expected to cost around US $147,310. NASA researchers have detected large quantities of methane, the main component of natural gas on Earth, in the atmosphere of Mars. This indicates that the Red Planet is biologically or geologically active. We are a voice to you; you have been a support to us. Together we build journalism that is independent, credible and fearless. You can further help us by making a donation. This will mean a lot for our ability to bring you news, perspectives and analysis from the ground so that we can make change together.
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