Keep up to date with Eco Warriors News - Top Stories from around the world
Mutant mosquitoes may help combat malaria
Posted on June 23rd, 2008
After conventional measures to prevent the spread of malaria have failed, scientists are researching genetically altered mosquitoes and other high-tech initiatives.
Researchers at London’s Imperial College are breeding malaria-immune mosquitoes to release in the wild, hoping the new genes will spread throughout the mosquito population and reduce the rate of transmission for a disease that kills nearly 3 million people annually, most of them in sub-Saharan Africa.
“We don’t have things we can rely on,” said lead researcher Andrea Crisanti. “It’s time to try something else.”
Read More - http://www.earthportal.org
Int’l commission to rethink ban on commercial whaling
Posted on June 20th, 2008
The International Whaling Commission will weigh a partial lifting of a longstanding moratorium on commercial whale hunting when it meets next week in Santiago, Chile. The proposal is aimed at settling a dispute that pits three whaling nations — Japan, Iceland and Norway — against the United States, most of Europe and a South American bloc, which favor an indefinite expansion of the ban and tighter overall fisheries protection.
The pro-whaling nations are supported by developing countries that Japan has recruited into the commission and promised foreign aid in exchange for votes. But neither side is close to the three-quarters majority necessary to make major changes.
Read More - http://www.earthportal.org
Teeth fillings could be harmful to women & children
Posted on June 5th, 2008
Silver-colored metal fillings contain mercury, which could cause health problems in pregnant women, children and fetuses, according to the Food and Drug Administration.
The FDA’s announcement came yesterday after the agency settled a related lawsuit with consumer advocacy groups. The FDA agreed to alert consumers about the potential risks on its Web site and to issue a more specific rule about fillings containing mercury next year, according to FDA spokeswoman Peper Long.
The agency posted a notice on its Web site, saying: “Dental amalgams contain mercury, which may have neurotoxic effects on the nervous systems of developing children and fetuses.”
Read More - http://www.earthportal.org
U.N. urges effort to boost food production in developing world
Posted on June 3rd, 2008
UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations called on governments today to commit billions of dollars to boost agricultural production in the developing world as a three-day summit on the global food-price crisis began in Rome.
At the outset of Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) talks that are likely to feature acrimonious debate over biofuels, subsidies, export controls and other factors contributing to rising food prices and growing world hunger, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon pressed for increased food aid and greater investment in agriculture.
“The world’s population will reach 7.2 billion by 2015,” Ban said. “Today’s problems will only grow larger tomorrow unless we act now.”
Read More - http://www.earthportal.org
World Bank presents bleak picture of future food production
Posted on May 14th, 2008
In the midst of a global food security crisis brought on by rapidly rising commodity prices, yesterday the World Bank added to the chorus of alarms by issuing a warning that climate change will sharply cut the amount of food that the world can potentially produce in the future.
Without any adaptation measures, by 2080 global warming will probably reduce world agricultural productivity around 15 percent, the World Bank said. The alarming figure was highlighted at a launch of its annual report of global environmental statistics in New York.
“Looking at the potential impact on agricultural productivity in the year 2080, for the world as a whole we see negative numbers, depending on whether you count the fertilizing effect of CO2 in the air,” said Kirk Hamilton, World Bank environmental economist and the lead author of the assessment. “You could have a loss of up to 15 percent of world agricultural production.”
Read More - http://www.earthportal.org