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. …
in a move that is likely to clear the air on the intentions of key signatories, Japan and all the 15 member-states of the European Union (eu) have ratified the Kyoto Protocol. The international treaty seeks to cut the emission of greenhouse gases. Both the groups have urged the us …
"don't consider this as a big disaster' said Emil Salim referring to the fourth preparatory committee (prepcom) for the World Summit on Sustainable Development (wssd), that was held in Bali from May 27 to June 7, 2002, of which the former Indonesian minister was the chair. This, the latest instalment …
This film, produced by Toxic Comedy Pictures, captures the directors and crew of this independent film travelling to America's vinyl manufacturing capital and beyond in search of answers to troubling questions about the nature of polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Armed with two environmentalists from Greenpeace, Helfand visits her parents' vinyl-sided home …
in a valiant attempt to reduce inequalities in healthcare between rich and poor nations, the World Health Organisation (who) has suggested a strategy to help developing countries benefit from new discoveries in genetic research. The suggestions were made in a recently released who report called Genomics and World Health. The …
Radiation from cellular phones is a well-known risk. Now there is another type of pollution from the wireless device which has raised a wave of worry. A study conducted by Inform, an environmental research organisation, says that within three years the us will discard about 130 million cellular telephones a …
in a completely divergent move from the us President's rejection of the Kyoto Protocol last year, the California state senate has passed a new bill on regulating greenhouse gas (ghg) emissions. The bill aims to regulate emissions of heat-trapping gases such as carbon dioxide from passenger cars and light-duty trucks. …
stephen Jay Gould, an evolutionary theorist at Harvard University, usa, whose pioneering work put paleontology back on the academic high ground, died on May 20, 2002, of cancer. He was 60. One of the most influential evolutionary biologists of the 20th century, his theory of punctuated equilibrium evoked as much …
It is a bad time for biotechnology firms. Since the start of 2002, biotech stocks have gone down and as a consequence, biotech funds have dipped too. The American Stock Exchange Biotechnology Index is being recorded at 415.90 points. It was at a high of 657.67 points last June. The …
scientists have accomplished a feat that could one day lead to better treatments for cancer. They have sequenced the genome of the bacterium, Streptomyces coelicolor. This feat is expected to aid the development of several new antibiotics as the bacterium S coelicolor and its relatives are sources of nearly two-thirds …
In one fell swoop the us has dealt a crippling blow to the Canadian lumber industry, slapping a 27 per cent duty on softwood timber imports from the country. The us salvo is the latest move in a protracted dispute spanning almost 20 years. Its significance for Canada can be …
There is disappointment down under over the us farm bill which has recently become a law. The us bill will provide new subsidies for domestic farmers over the next decade. It raises subsidy rates for soyabean, wheat, corn, cotton and barley. Australian trade minister Mark Vaile says that a dithering …
On July 1, Denmark will take over chairpersonship of the European Union. Then it will be the responsibility of the newly elected right-wing Danish prime minister, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, to help define and promote the global role of the only group of nations in a position to challenge the dominance …
We are not starting from scratch. Our institutions have been substantially weakened. But they still exist,' says Hedayat Amin-Arsala, minister of finance of Afghanistan Interim Authority. Hidayat's statement has more meaning now when the interim government is struggling hard to convene the Loya Jirga and to chart out his country's …
life ravaged by war and drought has one hope: resilience of a people. "A good monsoon and a bit of peace will bring Afghan's life to normal,' says J Gabriel Campbell of icimod. Take Kohistan district of Kapisa province for example. Just after usa bombarded and damaged water channels in …
After 20 years If the bombs didn't kill, the land will. Afghanistan's natural resources are all but dead survival is an impossible dream in Afghanistan. Last December, as Afghans looked up to the deceptively beautiful sky for rain, bombs rained from endless streams of b-52 bombers
Did you think that chocolates are safe for your child? Think again. Chocolate firms are under scrutiny in California. Recently, the American Environmental Safety Institute, an environmental group, sued chocolate companies including Hershey and Mars for not disclosing the amount of toxic metals such as lead in their products, as …
There's an anti-us wave among Mexican transporters. They are upset over the us delay in implementation of North American Free Trade Agreement (nafta) that would let Mexican trucks deliver goods in the us. Mexican truck companies have asked authorities to suspend opening the border to us cargo vehicles. Execution of …
in a significant step towards overhauling the us energy policy, the us senate approved an energy bill on April 25, 2002. The bill was passed by a vote of 88 to 11 after a series of discussions. It allows voluntary reporting of greenhouse gas (ghg) emissions by utilities and industries …
It has not been smooth sailing for the controversial us $58 billion project to store all the nuclear waste across the us in Nevada. Initially, the plan was strongly opposed by environmentalists. Despite this the us house of representatives endorsed President George W Bush's decision to bury the waste in …
