You are here

Global

US Rice Imports Contain Harmful Levels of Lead

      

The researchers found the highest levels of lead in rice from China and Taiwan

submitted by Lloyd Helferty

bbc.co.uk - by Jason Palmer - April 10, 2013

Analysis of commercially available rice imported into the US has revealed it contains levels of lead far higher than regulations suggest are safe.

Some samples exceeded the "provisional total tolerable intake" (PTTI) set by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by a factor of 120.

The report at the American Chemical Society Meeting adds to the already well-known issue of arsenic in rice.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

Journal of Environmental Science and Health (Part B)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22099990

Country / Region Tags: 
General Topic Tags: 
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 

H7N9 Map


View H7N9 map in a larger map

Click on each balloon for more information on individual patients infected with the avian flu virus: blue, patients infected with the H7N9 virus under treatment; red, those infected with H7N9 who have died; and pink, those infect with the H1N1 avian flu virus.

http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1208847/hong-kong-standby-new-bird-flu-cases-revealed-shanghai
Country / Region Tags: 
General Topic Tags: 
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 

Is This a Pandemic Being Born?

      

foreignpolicy.com - by Laurie Garrett - April 1, 2013

China's mysterious pig, duck, and people deaths could be connected. And that should worry us.

Here's how it would happen. Children playing along an urban river bank would spot hundreds of grotesque, bloated pig carcasses bobbing downstream. Hundreds of miles away, angry citizens would protest the rising stench from piles of dead ducks and swans, their rotting bodies collecting by the thousands along river banks. And three unrelated individuals would stagger into three different hospitals, gasping for air. . .

. . . the facts delineated are all true, and have transpired over the last six weeks in China.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

Country / Region Tags: 
General Topic Tags: 
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 

More and More Voices Speaking Out Against Brazil’s Belo Monte Dam

Brazil’s Belo Monte Dam to Displace Thousands in Amazon    www.abcnews.go.com - June 18, 2012 - Tiffany Hagler-Geard

Belo Monte Dam will be the world’s third-largest hydroelectric project and will displace up to 20,000 people while diverting the Xingu River and flooding as much as 230 square miles of rainforest in Brazil. The Brazilian government says residents forced to relocate will be compensated and that most will benefit from the relocation. Opponents of the dam are skeptical of this claim.

While environmentalists and indigenous groups oppose the dam, many Brazilians support the project. The Brazilian Amazon, home to 60 percent of the world’s largest forest and 20 percent of the Earth’s oxygen, remains threatened by the rapid development of the country. The area is currently populated by over 20 million people and is challenged by deforestation, agriculture, mining, a governmental dam-building spree, illegal land speculation including the occupation of forest reserves and indigenous land and other issues.

Country / Region Tags: 
General Topic Tags: 
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 

UN - World Food Programme - Hunger Map

                                           (TO ENLARGE MAP - CLICK ON MAP IMAGE BELOW)

      

The map shows the prevalence of undernourishment in the total population as of 2010 - 2012. The indicator is an estimate of the percentage of the population having access to an amount of energy from food insufficient to maintain a healthy life.

http://www.wfp.org/hunger/downloadmap

Country / Region Tags: 
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 

19-Year-Old Develops Ocean Cleanup Array That Could Remove 7,250,000 Tons Of Plastic From the World's Oceans

inhabitat.com - March 26, 2013 - Timon Singh

The Ocean Cleanup Foundation, Ocean Cleanup Array, Boyan Slat, pacific garbage patch, garbage patch, plastic fibres, plastic foodchain, plastic recycling, TED, gyres

 

19-year-old Boyan Slat has unveiled plans to create an Ocean Cleanup Array that could remove 7,250,000 tons of plastic waste from the world’s oceans. The device consists of an anchored network of floating booms and processing platforms that could be dispatched to garbage patches around the world. Instead of moving through the ocean, the array would span the radius of a garbage patch, acting as a giant funnel. The angle of the booms would force plastic in the direction of the platforms, where it would be separated from plankton, filtered and stored for recycling.

Read entire article

Country / Region Tags: 
General Topic Tags: 
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 

OCHA - Humanitarian Kiosk

       

The Humanitarian Kiosk (H.Kiosk) application provides a range of up-to-the-minute humanitarian related information from emergencies around the world.

OCHA now offers a Humanitarian Kiosk app for Apple devices (iOS5+).

unocha.org - March 21, 2013

What is Humanitarian Kiosk?

One of the challenges faced by humanitarian workers is access to timely, relevant and accurate information.   New technology provides an opportunity for humanitarian workers to develop better ways to access and share this information, and get aid to those who need it more quickly and effectively.  OCHA has developed the Humanitarian Kiosk to address the diverse information needs of humanitarian agencies and workers.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

You can install the app on any of your Apple devices (iOS5+) through this link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/humanitarian-kiosk/id546482411

Country / Region Tags: 
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 

National Climate Assessment Series

      

submitted by Stella Tarnay

securityandsustainabilityforum.org - by Kristina Byrne - January 31, 2013

Country / Region Tags: 
General Topic Tags: 
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 

Dow Chemical to Offset Olympics CO2

submitted by Albert Gomez

environmentalleader.com - March 15, 2012

Dow Chemical, which was named the Official Carbon Partner of the XXII Olympic Winter Games, plans to mitigate the carbon footprint of the Sochi 2014 Games using its energy-efficient technologies.

Dow will apply its technology to target areas, such as building infrastructure, industry and agriculture within Russia. Improvements may include adding Dow’s air-sealing technologies to buildings and insulation materials for energy efficient and affordable housing, the company said.

(VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE)

Country / Region Tags: 
General Topic Tags: 
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 

Pages

Subscribe to Global
howdy folks
Page loaded in 1.309 seconds.