We begin with consequences of an Indian outbreak, via the Guardian:
Swine flu fears cause Indian city of Ahmedabad to ban public gatherings
City of 3.5m will not allow more than four people to meet in public in an attempt to stop spread of potentially deadly virus
A west Indian city has banned most public gatherings in an attempt to halt the spread of swine flu, which has claimed at least 926 lives nationwide in 11 weeks.
Officials prohibited gatherings of five or more people in Ahmedabad, the capital of Gujarat state with a population of more than 3.5m.
Marriages and funerals are exempt from the ban, but participants will need to wear protective masks, officials said.
From the Guardian, toxic fowl:
Three-quarters of supermarket chickens carry food poisoning bug
Nearly one in five samples highly contaminated and none of major supermarkets met targets for reducing campylobacter
Three-quarters of fresh chickens on sale in supermarkets and butchers are contaminated with the potentially lethal food poisoning bug campylobacter, according to the latest results of food safety tests by the Food Standards Agency.
The worst contamination rates were found in Asda, where eight in 10 birds tested positive for the bug and nearly a third of fresh whole chickens were heavily contaminated.
But none of the major supermarkets met targets for reducing campylobacter and Tesco, where 68% of chickens tested positive, was the only retailer with results for heavy contamination below the industry average at 12%.
Another diseased fowl story from Environmental News Service:
Ticks Carrying Lyme Disease Discovered on California Birds
Ticks bearing the bacterium that causes Lyme disease are populating Northern California’s birds that then fly them into suburban areas, finds new research from the University of California, Berkeley.
Lyme disease is spread to humans through the bite of infected ticks. The black-legged deer tick, Ixodes scapularis, transmits the bacterium B. burgdorferi in the eastern and north-central regions of the United States, while the western black-legged tick, Ixodes pacificus, spreads the bacteria in the West.
Ticks usually infest animals such as white-footed mice, voles, other small rodents and deer. The UC Berkeley study reveals birds as an important newly-found reservoir in the western United States for the corkscrew-shaped bacterium.
“The role of birds in the maintenance of Lyme disease bacteria in California is poorly understood,” said the study’s lead author Erica Newman, a UC Berkeley PhD student in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management.
From Newswise, another deadly processed food problem:
Widely Used Food Additive Promotes Colitis, Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome, Research Shows
Emulsifiers, which are added to most processed foods to aid texture and extend shelf life, can alter the gut microbiota composition and localization to induce intestinal inflammation that promotes the development of inflammatory bowel disease and metabolic syndrome, new research shows.
The research, published Feb. 25 in Nature, was led by Georgia State University Institute for Biomedical Sciences’ researchers Drs. Benoit Chassaing and Andrew T. Gewirtz, and included contributions from Emory University, Cornell University and Bar-Ilan University in Israel.
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which includes Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, afflicts millions of people and is often severe and debilitating. Metabolic syndrome is a group of very common obesity-related disorders that can lead to type-2 diabetes, cardiovascular and/or liver diseases. Incidence of IBD and metabolic syndrome has been markedly increasing since the mid-20th century.
The term “gut microbiota” refers to the diverse population of 100 trillion bacteria that inhabit the intestinal tract. Gut microbiota are disturbed in IBD and metabolic syndrome. Chassaing and Gewirtz’s findings suggest emulsifiers might be partially responsible for this disturbance and the increased incidence of these diseases.
“A key feature of these modern plagues is alteration of the gut microbiota in a manner that promotes inflammation,” says Gewirtz.
“The dramatic increase in these diseases has occurred despite consistent human genetics, suggesting a pivotal role for an environmental factor,” says Chassaing. “Food interacts intimately with the microbiota so we considered what modern additions to the food supply might possibly make gut bacteria more pro-inflammatory.”
From the National Geographic, the problem with plastics. . .all plastics:
Chemical in BPA-Free Products Linked to Irregular Heartbeats
New ingredient in plastic bottles, receipts has same effect on lab animals as the old chemical does
Many consumers avoid products that contain bisphenol-A (BPA) because the estrogen-imitating chemical has been linked to an array of health effects in people and animals. But new research published Thursday suggests that an ingredient that has replaced BPA in many items may have a similar effect on the heart.
BPA-free labels have been popping up on many plastic bottles, cash register receipts, food packaging, and other products.
Although the label implies a sense of safety, “our research suggests that BPS and potentially other BPA substitutes aren’t necessarily free of health problems,” said Hong-Sheng Wang, a professor of pharmacology at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.
Exposure to BPS, or bisphenol-S, caused irregular heartbeats in female lab rats, according to the study by Wang and colleagues published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives. The findings were “remarkably similar—if not identical to—what we find in BPA,” Wang said.
From Newswise, some of the costs incurred from all those plastics and similar toxins:
Exposure to Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals Costs EU Billions Annually
Simulcast press conference highlights economic burden of exposure to EDCs
Human exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) likely contributes to a number of diseases and health conditions in the EU, with costs estimated between €150-260 billion per year (1.2-2.0% of Gross Domestic Product), according to a new series of studies to be published in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.
EDCs are chemicals that interfere with hormone action and are commonly found in food and food containers, plastic products, furniture, toys, carpeting, building materials and cosmetics. EDCs include chemicals such as bisphenol A (water bottles, can linings), certain phthalates (various plastic products and cosmetics), and pesticides such as chlorpyrifos (used on a wide variety of food crops). They are often released from the products that contain them and enter the bodies of humans and wildlife through dust or through the food chain.
In these studies, researchers used available epidemiologic and toxicologic evidence to assess the economic burden of potential outcomes to EDC exposure, including: infertility and male reproductive dysfunctions, birth defects, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and neurobehavioral and learning disorders.
From the New York Times, waist watchers:
Food Waste Is Becoming Serious Economic and Environmental Issue, Report Says
With millions of households across the country struggling to have enough to eat, and millions of tons of food being tossed in the garbage, food waste is increasingly being seen as a serious environmental and economic issue.
A report released Wednesday shows that about 60 million metric tons of food is wasted a year in the United States, with an estimated value of $162 billion. About 32 million metric tons of it end up in municipal landfills, at a cost of about $1.5 billion a year to local governments.
The problem is not limited to the United States.
The report estimates that a third of all the food produced in the world is never consumed, and the total cost of that food waste could be as high as $400 billion a year. Reducing food waste from 20 to 50 percent globally could save $120 billion to $300 billion a year by 2030, the report found.
The Sacramento Bee covers killer air in the heart of the Golden State:
Exposure to small particle pollution linked to heart-disease death
Data from about 8,000 women living in the Sacramento metropolitan area were used in a major study – released Wednesday – that linked death from heart disease to exposure to soot found in car exhaust, cooking smoke and diesel pollution.
The study, one of the most comprehensive to date, used data from the tracking of 100,000 middle-aged women in California between 2000 and 2007.
The study was conducted by the state’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, as well as UC Davis and other institutions. It found an association between areas where there are high levels of fine particle pollution, and shorter life spans and a risk of heart disease death.
From BBC News, a spreading amphibian disaster:
Killer frog disease: Chytrid fungus hits Madagascar
A devastating disease that has wiped out amphibians around the world has been discovered in Madagascar, scientists report.
A survey has found that the chytrid fungus is present in numerous sites, although it is not clear whether it is infecting frogs yet. The island is home to 500 frog species, and researchers fear they could be at significant risk.
The findings are published in the journal Scientific Reports. One of the authors, Goncalo Rosa, from the Zoological Society of London, said he was worried about the impact that the fungus could have.
“It is heartbreaking, especially when you have an idea of what is happening elsewhere in other tropical areas – you see the frogs are gone,” he told BBC News.
After the jump, GMO advocates launch a push in the U.K., toxic algae spread in freshwater lakes, China enacts a temporary [sadly] ivory ban, a new rhino protection patrol begins in South Africa, a fracking ban push abandoned in the Centennial State, dangerous methane craters erupting in the Arctic, then on to Fukushimapocalypse Now!, starting with a cynical leak apology, full approval for a temporary radioactive waste dump, nuclear power protesters hit with massive fines, radioactive disaster evacuation advice revised, and the tragic costs of mining reactor fuel. . .
From the Guardian, another GMO push in Old Blighty:
UK should be given power to regulate GM crops, MPs say
Science and technology committee damns EU rules on authorisations for genentically-modified crops as politicised and unscientific
The UK should be handed the regulatory power to green light genetically-modified crops because the EU’s GM rules are politicised and unscientific, an influential committee of MPs have said.
A new report from the committee is damning of regulatory delays caused by the EU’s consideration of GM under a ‘precautionary principle’ which obliges caution where scientific evidence is insufficient, inconclusive or uncertain.
“Opposition to genetically modified crops in many European countries is based on values and politics, not science,” said Andrew Miller, the chair of the science and technology committee. “The scientific evidence is clear that crops developed using genetic modification pose no more risk to humans, animals or the environment than equivalent crops developed using more ‘conventional’ techniques.”
From Newswise, toxic algae spread in freshwater lakes:
‘Blue-Green Algae’ Proliferating in Lakes
Global study shows increase in potentially toxic algae accelerating since mid-1900s
The organisms commonly known as blue-green algae have proliferated much more rapidly than other algae in lakes across North America and Europe over the past two centuries – and in many cases the rate of increase has sharply accelerated since the mid-20th century, according to an international team of researchers led by scientists at McGill University.
Their study, published today in the journal Ecology Letters, represents the first continental-scale examination of historical changes in levels of cyanobacteria, the scientific term for the photosynthetic bacteria that form blue-green scum on the surface of ponds and lakes during hot summer months. Cyanobacteria blooms pose a serious threat to drinking-water sources, because certain species contain toxins harmful to the liver or nervous system.
“We found that cyanobacterial populations have expanded really strongly in many lakes since the advent of industrial fertilizers and rapid urban growth,” says Zofia Taranu, who led the study as a PhD candidate in McGill’s Department of Biology. “While we already knew that cyanobacteria prefer warm and nutrient-rich conditions, our study is also the first to show that the effect of nutrients, such as phosphorus and nitrogen, overwhelm those of global warming.”
Drought triggers protests in São Paulo, via Fox News Latino:
Drought sends protesters into streets of Brazil’s largest city
Thousands of people took to the streets of Brazil’s largest city on Thursday to say “enough” to the government’s water rationing policy, a measure put in place several months ago due to the severe drought affecting the southeastern part of the country.
The protest focused on the people living in Sao Paulo’s periphery who, as the protesters complained, are suffering the worst effects of the government’s “bad management” of water.
“The water crisis is punishing the poorest, those who are suffering most are the ones living in precarious conditions,” said Guilherme Bolos, the coordinator of the Homeless Workers Movement, one of the organizations leading the protest, which – according to the Militarized Police – attracted 8,000 demonstrators.
From BBC News, China enacts a temporary [sadly] ivory ban:
China imposes one-year ban on ivory imports
China has imposed a one-year ban on the import of ivory, amid criticism that demand among Chinese consumers is fuelling poaching in Africa.
The announcement was made by the State Forestry Administration, with officials saying they hoped it would be a first step towards protecting wild elephants.
Conservationists have warned the animal could be wiped out in parts of Africa in the next few years.
China is the world’s largest importer of smuggled tusks.
And a new rhino protection patrol begins in South Africa, via the Guardian:
World’s first all-female patrol protecting South Africa’s rhinos
Unarmed Black Mambas recruited from local communities are guarding nature reserve inside the Greater Kruger national park
The battle against the poaching that kills a rhino every seven hours in South Africa has acquired a new weapon: women.
The Black Mambas are all young women from local communities, and they patrol inside the Greater Kruger national park unarmed. Billed as the first all-female unit of its kind in the world, they are not just challenging poachers, but the status quo.
The Mambas are the brainchild of Craig Spencer, ecologist and head warden of Balule nature reserve, a private reserve within Kruger that borders hundreds of thousands of impoverished people.
The private reserve’s scientists and managers have had to become warriors, employing teams of game guards to protect not only the precious rhinos but lions, giraffes, and many other species targeted by poaching syndicates. The Mambas are their eyes and ears on the ground.
A fracking ban push abandoned in the Centennial State, via the Associated Press:
Group backs off plan to put fracking ban on Colorado ballot
An activist group on Thursday backed off its earlier announcement that it would to try to get a statewide ban on hydraulic fracturing on the Colorado ballot and said it would instead try to persuade Gov. John Hickenlooper to halt the practice.
Karen Dike of Coloradans Against Fracking said the group has not ruled out a campaign to put a ban on the 2016 ballot if the governor doesn’t act.
“He should do the right thing and protect Colorado citizens, but if he doesn’t, we’ll look at other ways to achieve our goal, and our goal is to ban fracking in the state of Colorado,” she said.
Dike previously said Coloradans Against Fracking planned to launch a petition drive to get a ban on the ballot after it became clear that a task force convened by Hickenlooper would not include a ban among its recommendations to ease conflicts caused by drilling. On Thursday, Dike said she had misspoken.
The Washington Post covers dangerous methane craters erupting in the Arctic:
The Siberian crater saga is more widespread — and scarier — than anyone thought
Russian scientists have now spotted a total of seven craters, five of which are in the Yamal Peninsula. Two of those holes have since turned into lakes. And one giant crater is rimmed by a ring of at least 20 mini-craters, the Siberian Times reported. Dozens more Siberian craters are likely still out there, said Moscow scientist Vasily Bogoyavlensky of the Oil and Gas Research Institute, calling for an “urgent” investigation.
He fears that if temperatures continue to rise — and they were five degrees higher than average in 2012 and 2013 — more craters will emerge in an area awash in gas fields vital to the national economy. “It is important not to scare people, but to understand that it is a very serious problem and we must research this,” he told the Siberian Times. “… We must research this phenomenon urgently, to prevent possible disasters.”
Russian scientists have now spotted a total of seven craters, five of which are in the Yamal Peninsula. Two of those holes have since turned into lakes. And one giant crater is rimmed by a ring of at least 20 mini-craters, the Siberian Times reported. Dozens more Siberian craters are likely still out there, said Moscow scientist Vasily Bogoyavlensky of the Oil and Gas Research Institute, calling for an “urgent” investigation.
He fears that if temperatures continue to rise — and they were five degrees higher than average in 2012 and 2013 — more craters will emerge in an area awash in gas fields vital to the national economy. “It is important not to scare people, but to understand that it is a very serious problem and we must research this,” he told the Siberian Times. “… We must research this phenomenon urgently, to prevent possible disasters.”
On to Fukushimapocalypse Now!, starting with a cynical leak apology via the Japan Times:
Tepco sorry for failing to disclose latest radioactive water leak
Tokyo Electric Power Co. admitted Thursday that its latest problem with radioactive water has shattered the trust it was building in Fukushima, especially among fishermen, and that the decommissioning of the Fukushima No. 1 plant might be delayed.
“To make progress with the decommissioning effort and solve the tainted-water issue, the trust of the people in Fukushima is the most important thing. We’ve been working with that in mind, but unfortunately, we have damaged that trust this time,” said Naohiro Masuda, president of Fukushima Daiichi Decontamination & Decommissioning Engineering Co., the internal unit in charge of scrapping the meltdown-hit plant.
“Due to the damaged trust, all of the schedules for the decommissioning tasks could be delayed, but we’d like to rebuild trust as soon as possible,” so Tepco can improve the plant’s condition faster, said Masuda, who peppered the news conference with repeated apologies.
Full approval for a temporary radioactive waste dump, via the Asahi Shimbun:
Trio of approvals in Fukushima seals deal for radioactive soil dump
Ending a prolonged and often contentious process, Fukushima Prefecture and two town governments agreed to host an interim storage facility for contaminated debris from the 2011 nuclear crisis.
Fukushima Governor Masao Uchibori and the mayors of Okuma and Futaba met Feb. 25 with Environment Minister Yoshio Mochizuki and Wataru Takeshita, the reconstruction minister, to sign safety agreements, an important hurdle in the process.
Under the deal, the facility will store tainted soil generated from decontamination work for a maximum of 30 years.
Despite the agreement, the mayors said the decision was not easy.
Nuclear power protesters hit with massive fines, from NHK WORLD:
Anti-nuke group ordered to pay for occupation
A court has ordered a group of anti-nuclear activists to remove their tents from the premises of the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry and to pay for using the site.
Six months after the March 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident, the group set up tents at a corner of the ministry’s premises in Kasumigaseki, Tokyo. The ministry oversees the country’s nuclear power industry.
The group has used the tents as a base for their anti-nuclear campaigns, with its members staying there around the clock.
The government filed a suit with the Tokyo District Court, demanding that leaders of the group remove the tents, which they said are illegally occupying state-owned property.
The government also demanded that the leaders pay more than 20,000 yen, or about 177 dollars, a day for the period from the day the tents were pitched until their removal is complete. The amount is estimated to be 28.9 million yen, or about 240,000 dollars, at present.
From NHK WORLD, radioactive disaster evacuation advice revised:
NRA deciding on measures outside 30km radius
Japanese nuclear regulators are working on advice for people living more than 30 kilometers from a power plant in the event of an accident.
They are likely to instruct people to stay inside buildings if there is any possibility of radioactive material reaching their area.
The government has been focusing on evacuation and other plans for locations within 30 kilometers of a nuclear plant. Local governments are being asked to draw up the plans.
During 2011’s Fukushima Daiichi crisis, radioactive material was carried beyond that distance and contaminated land there.
And from StarAfrica, the tragic costs of mining reactor fuel:
Malawi’s uranium miners exposed to radiation – report
Workers and the community around Kayerekera Uranium Mine in Karonga, Malawi are exposed to radiation which puts them at risk of cancer, a report seen by APA on Thursday.
The report titled “The impact of the Kayerekera Uranium Mine Malawi” dated February 12, 2015 follows an assessment which was carried out in 2012 following a public outcry from the community around the mine that the extractive industry was impacting negatively on their lives.
The report was released by Bruno Chareyron, a French physicist heading the Commission Recherche et d’ Information Independantes sur la Radioactive (CRIIRAD).
It said it is important to note that the effective amount limit of 20 milli-Sievert (mSv) per year for workers corresponds to a high level of risk.
