Canada

Actions on air quality in North America: Canadian and U.S. policies and programmes to reduce air pollution

Air quality is a major challenge globally and is the single greatest environmental risk to human health. More than 90 per cent of the world’s population lives in areas that exceed the World Health Organization guideline for healthy air. In North America, Canada and the United States of America have …

Fish poachers held

international authorities have sent "a clear message' to the illegal driftnet fishing industry by seizing two boats in the north Pacific, said Canadian officials. The two were among four vessels spotted by Canadian patrol aircraft in a joint operation with the us , Russia and China to stop the environmentally-damaging …

The transfusion debate

Cutting back on blood transfusions for the critically ill can actually improve some patients' chances of survival, according to a study that may have a far-reaching impact on the treatment of the critically ill. After studying over 830 critically ill and anaemic patients in hospitals across Canada, Paul C Hebert …

Salmon in trouble

Although Canada's west coast is known for disputes over the Pacific salmon, wild salmon in the north Atlantic Ocean and farm-raised salmon have been making headlines. The salmon population in the North Atlantic dropped to 114,000 mature fish in 1998, its lowest point ever. Meanwhile, salmon farmers in the Canadian …

Water bonds

the key to all life on this planet is water. Without it, the Earth would have been just another planet, a tiny featureless speck in the Universe. Made of hydrogen and oxygen, water is another of nature's fantastic chance creations. Billions of years ago, it offered an excellent solvent and …

It may be legal...

... but is it sustainable? The Canadian government has once again set its usual quota for killing seals in 1999 after rejecting evidence suggesting that the country's annual harp seal cull is unsustainable. In 1999, like in the past two years, Canadian seal hunters will be allowed to kill as …

Brainy babies

Many doctors have been quite concerned about the increasing number of caesarean babies being born in hospitals. And many suspect that a large number of them are done merely for the convenience of the obstetricians. Now, a new finding by Canadian researchers Patricia Bosk and El-Khodor of McGill University in …

Asbestos at its worst

An epidemic of lung cancer caused by asbestos will sweep Europe, killing a quarter of a million men over the next 35 years, UK-based doctors have warned. "The figures are horrifying,' says Julian Peto of the Institute of Cancer Research in London. The cancer, which used to be extremely rare, …

Drought control

A gene that controls drought tolerance in plants has been identified. Scientists say that they may soon produce genetically engineered plants capable of surviving droughts. The gene was identified by scientists working at the University of Toronto, Canada. The gene controls a plant hormone that triggers closure of pores on …

Scared birds

A verstile digital scarecrow promises to put a virtual cat among the pigeons. Birds soon get used to conventional scarecrows, and though simulated gunshots are effective, they are too loud. Now Bramley and Wellesley, a company based in Gloucester, UK, and Phoenix Agritech of Canada are all set to patent …

PVC havoc

toxic substances have been found in the air downwind from Toronto, Canada's capital. These were most likely released by the dumping of polyvinyl chloride ( pvc ), say environmental organisations Greenpeace, Toronto Environmental Alliance and Jack Jayton, chairperson of Toronto's Environmental Task Force. They are urging municipalities across Canada to …

Tough webs

IT is tough, non-toxic and green. It is Biosteel. By borrowing a little from genetic as well as plain engineering, researchers in Quebec, Canada, have developed this incredibly light fabric that is both biodegradable and strong enough to stop bullets. If all goes as planned, biosteel - made by lacing …

Distant warnings

THE widespread effects of pollution can be gauged from the fact that the remotest and the most uninhabitable regions on earth are facing the brunt of pollution caused by pesticides and industrial chemicals. Researchers at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada, found that atmospheric processes are transporting and dumping chemicals …

Poisoned land

UP TO half of Inuit women in the Canadian Arctic are consuming toxic pollutants at levels that grossly exceed all international safety limitations. The seals, whales and fish they eat are contaminated with pesticides, heavy metals and PCBS - pollutants released almost half-a-world away by the developed, industrialised nations. A …

Oil alert

CANADIAN authorities have warned consumers not to use mustard oil, which they fear may be contaminated. The warning was issued after dropsy deaths were reported in India. No cases of the illness have been reported in Canada. But authorities fear that mustard oil may contain Argemone that releases toxic substances, …

Washed and cleaned

HOW do you kill cancer? It is a question that researchers the world over have been trying to answer. They have tried everything: conventional chemotherapy to blocking blood flow to cancerous tissues. Nothing, however, deterred the dreaded disease. So the research teams went back to their laboratories and tried again, …

Where there is smoke...

THE Canadian government has admitted that it cannot stop transboundary pollu-tion on its own, but at least it can set an example for the biggest polluters. The government officials have agreed to a plan to reduce the amount of toxic mer-cury pumped out of the region's incin-erators and industries. Studies …

The dirty dozen

WHAT do you do with chemicals that poison the Earth, travel fast, and do not disintegrate easily? Known as Persistent Organic Pollutants or POPS, these are toxic organic compounds that have many agricultural and industrial applications. But also pose a serious threat to all life as well as the environment …

Climate change

In January 1998, Toronto-based Environics International conducted a special survey focussed on the Third Conference of Parties (COP-3) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UN FCCC) which concluded in Kyoto, Japan, in December 1997. The survey involved 152 experts from across 30, mostly Organisation for Economic Cooperation …

Dying wings

Hundreds, perhaps, even thousands of migratory birds are dying in the eastern US and Canada due to salmonella bacteria, the US National Wildlife Health Center (nwhc) announced recently. The organisation has found the bacteria in dead birds form over American 10 states since January this year and is in the …

Mercury failing

A Toronto-based group will launch a lawsuit on behalf of as many as 17 million Canadians who were not told about the mercury in their dental fillings. The suit seeks damages from the health ministry and dental amalgam makers. Scientists are still unsure whether mercury from dental fillings actually pose …

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