Good Food is First Food. It is not junk food. It is the food that connects nature and nutrition with livelihoods. This food is good for our health; it comes from the rich biodiversity of our regions; it provides employment to people. Most importantly, cooking and eating give us pleasure. …
Cited as the most significant trend of the 21st century, ageing population is expected to reach a two billion mark by 2050. A new International report has projected that ageing population will reach one billion in less than 10 years and double by 2050. According to the report — “Ageing …
Winter temperature inversions—layers of air in which temperature increases with altitude—trap air pollutants and lead to higher pollutant concentrations. Previous studies have evaluated associations between pollutants and emergency department (ED) visits for asthma, but none have considered inversions as independent risk factors for ED visits for asthma.
Exposure to ozone has been associated with adverse health effects, including premature mortality and cardiopulmonary and respiratory morbidity. In 2008, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) lowered the primary (health-based) National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for ozone to 75 ppb, expressed as the fourth-highest daily maximum 8-hr average over …
In adult populations, emerging evidence indicates that humans are exposed to arsenic by ingestion of contaminated foods such as rice, grains, and juice; yet little is known about arsenic exposure among children. The objective of the study was to determine whether rice consumption contributes to arsenic exposure in U.S. children.
Epigenetic modifications, such as DNA methylation, due to in utero exposures may play a critical role in early programming for childhood and adult illness. Maternal smoking is a major risk factor for multiple adverse health outcomes in children, but the underlying mechanisms are unclear. The researchers investigated epigenome-wide methylation in …
Although hyperthermia is a recognized animal teratogen and maternal fever has been associated with birth defects in humans, data on the relationship between high environmental temperatures and birth defects are limited. To determine whether pregnancies are potentially vulnerable to the weather extremes anticipated with climate change, the researchers evaluated the …
Grasslands are structured by climate and soils and are increasingly affected by anthropogenic changes, including rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations. CO2 enrichment can alter grassland ecosystem function both directly and through indirect, soil-specific effects on moisture, nitrogen availability and plant species composition, potentially leading to threshold change in ecosystem properties. Here …
Arid and semi-arid ecosystems cover ~40% of Earth’s terrestrial surface, but we know little about how climate change will affect these widespread landscapes. Like many drylands, the Colorado Plateau in southwestern United States is predicted to experience elevated temperatures and alterations to the timing and amount of annual precipitation. We …
New research provides the latest numbers behind ethanol’s toll on global food prices—$11.6 billion in higher prices for corn importing countries over a period of six years. More than half, $6.6 billion, of that was borne by developing nations, where a high percentage of household income is spent on food. …
The use of genetically modified crops has not led to any substantial increase in food production, Dr Hans Herren, the president of the Millenium Institute and a World Food Prize laureate said here on Thursday. Speaking at an international scientific conference in the city on ‘Can GM crops meet India’s …
India must modernise its cities or see them implode due to rising population pressure. As Union urban development minister Kamal Nath’s call this week for vertical development in New Delhi – to deal with growing population pressure – underscored, this is an urban century. By 2030, UN forecasts estimate that …
U.S. Internet company Google Inc on Wednesday agreed to buy 48 megawatts (MW) of wind energy for its Oklahoma data center from the Canadian Hills wind power project in Oklahoma, which is expected to enter service later this year. In a release, Google said it has been working with its …
A powerful earthquake rocked one of the few inhabited islands in Alaska's Aleutian chain on Wednesday, but no damage has been found, federal and local officials said. The magnitude 6.9 quake, centered 80 miles southwest of Adak, struck at 3:40 p.m. local time (7.40 p.m. EDT), the West Coast and …
More than 100 million people will die and global economic growth will be cut by 3.2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2030 if the world fails to tackle climate change, a report commissioned by 20 governments said on Wednesday. As global average temperatures rise due to greenhouse gas …
Imposing a $20 per metric ton carbon tax in the U.S. could reduce the country's budget deficit by 50 percent over the next 10 years, a report by the Congressional Research Service said on Tuesday. Such a tax would generate approximately $88 billion in 2012, rising to $144 billion by …
Salt marshes around the world's coasts will help slow climate change until about 2050 by soaking up greenhouse gases but then risk making the problem even worse as sea levels rise, a study showed on Wednesday. Plants such as grasses and shrubs - which thrive in salt marshes found from …
Global food experts have come out unanimously against GM crops declaring that there is no evidence to show that GM crops help enhance a nation’s security. Prof. Jack Heinemann from the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Christchurch, New Zealand, and a lead author of the prestigious International …
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has drawn up a ‘Perspective Plan 2030’ to invest Rs.11 lakh-crore over the next 18 years. Talking to newsmen here on Monday, Chairman and Managing Director Sudhir Vasudeva said the plan envisaged doubling of production over the next 18 years at 4-5 per cent. …
Shale gas has jolted traditional roles in the planet's climate drama, giving cleaner fuel to the United States, whose displaced coal has headed to Europe to pollute the old continent. It is an ironic twist for the European Union, whose energy policy is largely based on promoting renewables and a …
Major developing countries have dampened prospects for agreement on international carbon emissions reduction targets by insisting on distinguishing between the responsibilities of industrialised and emerging economies to act on climate change beyond 2020. At a meeting in Durban, South Africa, last December, ministers agreed to negotiate a deal, for implementation …
