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Green food expo promises to be a real feast
MORE than 3,000 kinds of pollution-free food will be displayed at the China Green Food 2008 Shanghai Expo that opens on Friday, officials said today. The four-day expo will be hosted at the Shanghai Agriculture...
2008-12-00 00:00:00
WASHINGTON
INT28International/Environment/Health/SciencePollution could be turning you obeseWashington, Dec 2 IANS A pollutant might be triggering obesity by influencing gene activity, according to a new study.For example tributyltin, a chemical is used in antifouling paints for boats, as a wood and textile preservative, and as a pesticide on high-value food crops, among many other applications.Tributyltin affects sensitive receptors in animal cells, from water fleas to humans, at very low concentrations - a thousand times lower than pollutants that are known to interfere with sexual development of wildlife species.Tributyltin and its relatives are highly toxic to snails, causing female snails to develop male sexual characteristics, and it bioaccumulates in fish and shellfish.The harmful effects of the chemical on the liver and the nervous and immune systems in mammals are well known, but its powerful effects on the cellular components known as retinoid X receptors RXRs in a range of species are a recent discovery.When activated, RXRs can migrate into the nuclei of cells and switch on genes that cause the growth of fat storage cells and regulate whole body metabolism -- compounds that affect a related receptor often associated with RXRs are now used to treat diabetes.RXRs are normally activated by signalling molecules found throughout the body.Taisen Iguchi and Yoshinao Katsu of the Graduate University for Advanced Studies in Japan described how RXRs and related receptors are also strongly activated by tributyltin and similar chemicals.Tributyltin impairs reproduction in water fleas through its effects on a receptor similar to the RXR. In addition, tributyltin causes the growth of excess fatty tissue in newborn mice exposed to it in the womb. The effects of tributyltin on RXR-like nuclear receptors might therefore be widespread throughout the animal kingdom.The rise in obesity in humans over the past 40 years parallels the increased use of industrial chemicals over the same period.Iguchi and Katsu maintain that it is x93plausible and provocativex94 to associate the obesity epidemic to chemical triggers present in the modern environment.The study appeared in BioScience.--Indo-Asian News Service367 Words02121154
2008-12-02 03:00:00
Sound pollution
Speakers have never been louder than this time along the Mahatma Gandhi Marg, the 1 km-road stretch connecting the Bhubaneswar Railway Station and State Assembly. There seems to be no end to rallies and no restrictions on crowds. With a ...
2008-12-01 16:28:18
Air pollution can lead to lung cancer
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2008-12-01 05:46:24
Beijing claims early victory over air pollution AP
AP - Beijing said Monday it has already reached its target number of 256 "blue-sky days" this year, with the help of ambitious environmental measures the city imposed to cut emissions for the Olympic Games.
2008-12-01 05:00:00
Chandy visits Pallithura, offers help
Thiruvananthapuram: Leader of the Opposition Oommen Chandy has called on the State government to address the concerns raised by the local people over the health hazards caused by alleged pollution from the Ashapura Clay Factory inside the ...
2008-12-01 00:22:33
Nigeria: Pollution - Firm Gets 2 Bilge Tankers
A wholly Nigerian company, African Circle Pollution Management Limited, has taken delivery of two specialised vessels meant to take liquid waste, including sludge and bilge from ships calling in Nigerian seaports.
2008-11-29 03:41:16
Nigeria: Firm Acquires Two More Waste Collection Vessels
African Circle Pollution Management Limited,a wholly Nigerian company, has acquired two more brand new additional MARPOL waste collection vessels.
2008-11-28 03:34:13
BRUSSELS
INT59International/EconomyEU calls for $260 bn economic stimulus planBrussels, Nov 26 DPA The European Union Wednesday called on member states to help the bloc avoid a deep recession by mobilizing 200 billion euros $260 billion in extra spending and tax cuts. "Exceptional times call for exceptional measures," said the head of the EU's executive, European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso. According to Barroso, the bulk of the money - 170 billion euros - should come from national governments, with the remaining 30 billion being made available by the European Commission and the Luxembourg- based European Investment Bank EIB. By combining national initiatives and EU funds, the European Economic Recovery Plan should amount to about 1.5 percent of the bloc's gross domestic product. "The figure of 1.5 percent is a significant amount, but most will be distributed at the national level, and the question is how much will qualify as genuine stimulus and how much will be devoted to shoring up competitivity in key sectors," Simon Tilford, chief economist at the London-based Centre for European Reform told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa. The EU plan aims to boost demand, save jobs and help restore confidence in the aftermath of the global credit crunch, which analysts say has pushed the world's biggest economic bloc into a prolonged downturn, with unemployment predicted to rise by 2.7 million over the next two years. In its communication, the commission says governments should coordinate their responses in order to "swiftly stimulate demand and boost consumer confidence", safeguard the most vulnerable members of society and help transform the EU into a low-carbon economy. Because the envisaged extra spending and tax cuts will inevitably lead to higher budget deficits, officials in Brussels say the strict rules governing the EU's Stability and Growth Pact will be applied "judiciously". The guardian of the pact, Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Joaquin Almunia, explained that his office would apply "flexibility" when deciding whether to sanction countries that exceedthe three percent of GDP upper limit by only a few decimal points. At the same time, Barroso and Almunia rejected calls for the pact to be changed, saying any such move risked undermining confidence in the EU's common currency, the euro. According to the plan outlined on Wednesday, governments are encouraged to improve their countries' competitiveness by lowering labour taxes and boost private consumption through temporary cuts in value added tax VAT. This follows a move by the British government, which on Monday announced that it would cut the country's VAT on consumer goods from 17.5 percent to 15 percent until the end of 2009, as part of its own 20-billion-pound 30-billion-dollar fiscal stimulus package. However, the EU's two largest economies - Germany and France - have already indicated that they will not follow the British example. Meanwhile, the EIB is to mobilize 30 billion euros in loans for small- and medium-sized companies and the commission is to spend 5 billion euros on linking national energy grids and promoting broadband communication networks. The EIB will also provide 4 billion euros in cheap loans to help Europe's struggling carmakers produce cars that do less damage to the environment. The sum is only a tenth of what the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association had been asking for. Governments, for their part, should focus their investments on new infrastructure, on improving energy efficiency and on reducing pollution. The plan does not create a common EU recovery fund, meaning any money made available by member states will be spent domestically. And while Germany has already said it will do its share by mobilizing 32 billion euros, or 1.2 percent of its GDP, it remains unclear how some of the EU's less well-off nations will benefit. Latvia and Hungary, for instance, have both had to resort to outside help in dealing with the global credit crunch. The plan now has to be approved by EU leaders meeting for a summit in Brussels on December 11-12. --DPA718 Words26112306
2008-11-26 12:04:05
Marine life faces 'acid threat'
Man-made pollution is raising ocean acidity at least ten times faster than previously thought, a study says.
2008-11-25 02:03:07