The U.S. State Department has stated a poaition to the United Nations Environmental Programme on global mercury:
http://www.state.gov/g/oes/rls/remarks/2009/117504.htm
This position is very well stated. It focuses on addressing mercury only and separately from other pollutants. It directs attention to solving the largest problems first.
I hope that this effort continues with success and encourage all to suport it.
The […]
This article about severe crop loss in Liberia shows what can happen in the absence of pesticides:
http://americandaily.com/index.php/article/546
The battle against pests has been fought since man first tilled the soil. Our technology has slowly improved as we recovered from our mistakes. Without pesticides, our food supply is subject to massive disruption, and the introduction of pesticide […]
That is a the title of an interesting article in the Jacarta Post:
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/02/09/delay-pops-ratification-threatens-people039s-lives.html
Civil groups and activists are challenging the Indonesian government to initiate the ban on POPs. DDT use is still rampant and PCBs and HCH are mentioned.
As in America, the activists totally miss toxaphene and chlordane, the major detriments to health. These chemicals have […]
A study of DNA damage associated with cancer correlates POPs blood levels with DNA methylation :
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/newscience/pops-change-inuit-dna/
The study measured POPs such as chlordane, toxaphene, PCBs,and DDT with reduced DNA methylation in Greenlandic Inuit.PCBs, the industrial chemical banned since 1978 in North America, and the pesticedes that were banned in the 1970s and 1980s now travel use […]
The referenced article focuses on coal as the source of irth defect causing pollutants:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-china-birth-defects2-2009feb02,0,3417123.story
Quoting from the story;
“According to the government, the most common birth defects are cleft palate, neural tube defects, extra fingers or toes, and congenital heart disease. Researchers have said the sharp increase in birth defects is partially due to […]
