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. …
Disgruntled truckdrivers may have taken to the streets. Farmers, ambulance and taxidrivers may have joined them, too. But by relenting to their demands to reduce the tax on fuel oil following a sudden jump in the price of crude, the French government has set a harmful precedent. The rise in …
western civil society, it seems, has decided to go global and represent the world without any effort to understand what constitutes democracy and fairness from the point of view of poorer countries. Several Northern groups are now urging their governments to use their influence on international financial institutions, and stop …
a team of scientists at Ohio University in the us is working on technology that uses algae, sunlight and the natural process of photosynthesis to absorb carbon dioxide ( co 2 ) from the combustion of coal. The result: reduced greenhouse gas emissions. co 2 has been identified as the …
the us is unlikely to achieve emission reduction targets as stipulated under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol due to large-scale economic growth. "Taking full advantage of the flexibility mechanisms is the only option left with us in order to meet the Kyoto target,' said Frank Loy, under secretary of state for …
raging forest fires have consumed more than four hundered thousands hectares of natural forest in the us in areas ranging from Arizona to the Canadian border. Over 70 large fires which are still burning in the region have destroyed one million hectares of land. One large fire in Idaho alone …
South Africa and Namibia have rejected an offer of the us to provide financial assistance for purchasing anti- aids drugs. A total of us $1 billion was offered by the us Export-Import Bank to 24 sub-Saharan countries in annual loans. Bank officials said that till now none of the countries …
the largest living organism, Armillaria ostoyae, also called honey mushroom , has been discovered spread over 890 hectares beneath the soil of the Malheur National Forest in eastern Oregon, usa. The fungus started from a single tiny spore and has been spreading through the forest for an estimated 2,400 years, …
friendly plastic: A new plastic made from plant sugar will be soon introduced in the market. The plastic called NatureWorks PLA is being manufactured by Cargill Dow Polymers, a Nebraska-based company. Unlike conventional plastic, NatureWorks can break down in a compost pile if subjected to the right combination of heat …
The fungus Armillaria ostoyae , commonly called the honey mushroom, has grown so extensively in Malheur National Forest, usa , that it has become the largest living organism ever found. The fungal spore seems to have germinated approximately 2,400 years ago and now covers an area of 890 hectares and …
can it really be that petrol is now over us $0.40 per litre, when it was less than us $ 0.26 just a year ago? The anguished howls of drivers can be heard at every gas station. Truck drivers and airlines add surcharges to cover the unexpected rise in price, …
the west Nile virus has been making headlines in the us for quite some time now. Till now, three people, 213 birds and 114 mosquito pools have been reported infected with the virus in different parts of the country. It is believed that the virus, which killed seven people last …
Researchers in the us have found out that the nitrate in snow interacts with sunlight and sets off a very rapid series of photochemical reactions, producing oxides of nitrogen (no x ). "We found very high concentrations of no x in the snow of areas which are beyond the reach …
The number of wild and domesticated bees in the us has dropped considerably in recent years. In some parts of the country, nearly 90 per cent of the bees are estimated to have disappeared. "The biggest reason behind the decline is a bee-killing parasite, known as the varroa mite, which …
the World Wide Fund for Nature ( wwf ), has urged the us government to immediately impose economic sanctions on Japan because of its expanded whaling programme. Norman Mineta, the us c ommerce secretary had earlier announced that the Clinton administration will impose sanctions against Japan if the country starts …
the international focus on vanishing and deformed amphibians like frogs, toads and salamanders has masked the problems of another group of wildlife: reptiles. A new report says that reptiles
a team of us and European scientists have identified a new greenhouse gas that traps heat more effectively than all other known greenhouse gases. Trifluoromethyl sulfur pentafluoride ( sf5 cf3 ) is a synthetic gas and is 18,000 times more effective in trapping atmospheric heat as compared to carbon dioxide, …
in the 1960s, an unmanned spacecraft sent to the moon saw a strange phenomenon: dust from the lunar surface was rising up. This was later confirmed by astronauts who saw the glow from the suspended dust above the horizon of the Moon. Though there was a perfectly reasonable theory as …
it is a case of astronomy coming to the aid of medicine. A technique used by astronomers known as adaptive optics is being applied to the human eye to get a sharper picture and possibly better contact lenses. Adaptive optics is the technique by which astronomers correct the blurred images …
A TEAM of American scientist have decoded the genetic sequence of the bacterium, Vibrio cholerae. The sequence of El Tor, a destructive type of cholera bacterium, was deciphered by John Hedelberg of the Institute for Genomic Research in Rockville, Maryland, Rita Colwell of University of Maryland in Baltimore and John …
