Consumers confused about 'green' plastics
07/09/2007 - UK consumers have a confused understanding about "green" plastics and how to dispose of them, according to a survey by the Waste and Resource Action Programme (Wrap).The confusion indicates that recent efforts by processors to increase their use of recyclable and compostable packaging may not be paying off in the way they hoped."New 'green' biopolymer plastics need to be introduced with care if potential environmental benefits are to be maximised," Wrap stated yesterday in releasing the survey results.The research found that most consumers are confused about the wide range of new materials emerging with "biodegradable", "home compostable", "compostable" and "degradable" labels.
Friday, September 7, 2007
Sorry Charlie!
Firm awarded 'eco-label' for tuna fishing method
Consumers in the U.K. will soon be able to eat "environmentally friendly" tuna after an American company today became the world's first tuna fishery to be awarded the Marine Stewardship Council's eco-label. The American Albacore Fishing Association (AAFA) is only the 23rd fishery in the world to be given the MSC's independent accolade for sustainable fishing. The fishermen in the association use a "pole and line" technique which catches individual tuna and involves virtually no "by-catch"—other marine animals that get inadvertently caught in other methods used to catch the fish.
Consumers in the U.K. will soon be able to eat "environmentally friendly" tuna after an American company today became the world's first tuna fishery to be awarded the Marine Stewardship Council's eco-label. The American Albacore Fishing Association (AAFA) is only the 23rd fishery in the world to be given the MSC's independent accolade for sustainable fishing. The fishermen in the association use a "pole and line" technique which catches individual tuna and involves virtually no "by-catch"—other marine animals that get inadvertently caught in other methods used to catch the fish.
Heart Rendering Heat
http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=tt4rjecab.0.kucvkecab.yeyjtrbab.13781&ts=S0278&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wtop.com%2F%3Fnid%3D106%26sid%3D1239743
Global warming may be melting glaciers and forcing polar bears onto land, but doctors warn it could also affect your heart. "If it really is a few degrees warmer in the next 50 years, we could definitely have more cardiovascular disease," said Dr. Karin Schenck- Gustafsson, of the department of cardiology at Sweden's Karolinska Institute. On the sidelines of the European Society of Cardiology's annual meeting in Vienna this week, some experts said the issue deserves more attention. It's well-known that people have more heart problems when it's hot. During the European heat wave in 2003, there were an estimated 35,000 deaths above expected levels in the first two weeks of August. In France alone, nearly 15,000 extra people died when temperatures soared. Experts say much of that was due to heart problems in the elderly worsened by the extreme heat. The hardening of the heart's arteries is like rust developing on a car, said Dr. Gordon Tomaselli, chief of cardiology at Johns Hopkins University. "Rust develops much more quickly at warm temperatures and so does atherosclerosis," said Tomaselli, who is program chair at the American Heart Association. In higher temperatures, we sweat to get rid of heat. During that process, blood is sent to the skin where temperatures are cooler, which opens up the blood vessels. In turn, the heart rate rises and blood pressure drops. That combination can be dangerous for older people and those with weakened cardiovascular systems.
Global warming may be melting glaciers and forcing polar bears onto land, but doctors warn it could also affect your heart. "If it really is a few degrees warmer in the next 50 years, we could definitely have more cardiovascular disease," said Dr. Karin Schenck- Gustafsson, of the department of cardiology at Sweden's Karolinska Institute. On the sidelines of the European Society of Cardiology's annual meeting in Vienna this week, some experts said the issue deserves more attention. It's well-known that people have more heart problems when it's hot. During the European heat wave in 2003, there were an estimated 35,000 deaths above expected levels in the first two weeks of August. In France alone, nearly 15,000 extra people died when temperatures soared. Experts say much of that was due to heart problems in the elderly worsened by the extreme heat. The hardening of the heart's arteries is like rust developing on a car, said Dr. Gordon Tomaselli, chief of cardiology at Johns Hopkins University. "Rust develops much more quickly at warm temperatures and so does atherosclerosis," said Tomaselli, who is program chair at the American Heart Association. In higher temperatures, we sweat to get rid of heat. During that process, blood is sent to the skin where temperatures are cooler, which opens up the blood vessels. In turn, the heart rate rises and blood pressure drops. That combination can be dangerous for older people and those with weakened cardiovascular systems.
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Butter-side Down
Butter flavor possible cause of lung disease Source of Article: http://www.ift.org/news_bin/news/news_home.shtml 9/04/2007-According to an AP report, a doctor at Denver's National Jewish Medical and Research Center has written to federal regulators that they may have the first case of a consumer who developed lung disease from the fumes of microwaving popcorn several times a day for years. It was just one case and the doctor cautioned that they cannot be sure that the patient's exposure to butter-flavored microwave popcorn from daily heavy preparation has caused his lung disease. However, there is currently no other plausible explanation, according to the doctor. The lung disease was first noticed in workers who make flavorings or use them to produce microwave popcorn. Production workers employed by flavoring manufacturers (or those who use flavorings in the production process) often handle a large number of chemicals, many of which can be highly irritating to breathe in high concentrations. Diacetyl has been used as a butter flavor ingredient for several years and is approved for this use by the Food and Drug Administration. It has been the subject of lawsuits by workers at food factories exposed to the flavoring. Butter flavors used in microwave popcorn generally contain significantly more diacetyl than other types of flavors because of consumer preference, and microwave popcorn manufacturing and preparation processes. The Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association issued a statement Tuesday recommending that its members reduce "to the extent possible" the amount of diacetyl in butter flavorings they make. See also CDC Information on the topic.: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/flavorings/
Thursday, August 30, 2007
The plot behind killing electric cars
Who really killed the electric car?
You did. You and the periodic table of the elements, with a little help from physics. Don't feel bad. Any individual responsibility seems to be spread pretty thin, but I figured it was about time to speak on the issue.
In the past few years, a theory has developed hinging on the notion that oil producers, in cahoots with auto manufacturers, conspired with each other in the mid-'90s to throttle the electric car in its crib. As a result, we've all been consigned to environmental doom.
The doom part actually seems to be on track, but the rest of the theory doesn't hold up that well upon closer inspection. Don't get me wrong: I think electric transportation (along with clean diesel) will become more prevalent over the next 20 years. And automakers have worked to keep emissions standards low. But here are some reasons why we're not witnessing a modern-day version of the Knights Templar:
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Empty Shelves, Empty Hope...
Office Depot cuts carbon emissions in North America by 10.1%
Office Depot said it has reduced the carbon dioxide emissions from natural gas and electricity consumed in its North American retail stores, warehouses and offices by 10.1%. The company made the reductions while expanding its footprint in North America by 1.7 million square feet.
Office Depot said it has reduced the carbon dioxide emissions from natural gas and electricity consumed in its North American retail stores, warehouses and offices by 10.1%. The company made the reductions while expanding its footprint in North America by 1.7 million square feet.
Saturday, August 25, 2007
A Hole in the Heart of Space-Time...
Huge Hole Found in the Universe
The universe has a huge hole in it that dwarfs anything else of its kind. The discovery caught astronomers by surprise. The hole is nearly a billion light-years across. It is not a black hole, which is a small sphere of densely packed matter. Rather, this one is mostly devoid of stars, gas and other normal matter, and it's also strangely empty of the mysterious "dark matter" that permeates the cosmos. Other space voids have been found before, but nothing on this scale.
Astronomers don't know why the hole is there.
The universe has a huge hole in it that dwarfs anything else of its kind. The discovery caught astronomers by surprise. The hole is nearly a billion light-years across. It is not a black hole, which is a small sphere of densely packed matter. Rather, this one is mostly devoid of stars, gas and other normal matter, and it's also strangely empty of the mysterious "dark matter" that permeates the cosmos. Other space voids have been found before, but nothing on this scale.
Astronomers don't know why the hole is there.
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