Do not to drink bottled water that has been left in a car for any length of time because, supposedly, the heat releases cancer-causing toxins which 'leak' from the plastic into the water.
A new European study published on 2009 raises doubts about the safety of disposable water bottles, which have heretofore been regarded as safe by the FDA and other government health agencies. Researchers in Germany found evidence of a man-made estrogen-like compound leaching into water packaged in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles.
Such chemicals, known as "endocrine disruptors," have the potential to inferfere with estrogen and other reproductive hormones in the human body.
In the United States, plastic bottles of the type used for commercially marketed water are regulated by the FDA as "food contact substances" and held to the same safety standards as food additives.
Water bottles made from PET plastic leach compounds that mimic the hormone oestrogen raising questions about their safety, say German researchers.
Previous research has focused on plastics containing the chemical bisphenol-a (BPA). During that time regular PET plastic water bottles have maintained a reputation as safe, at least as far as human health is concerned.
But new evidence suggests that PET, or polyethylene terephthalate, may not be so benign after all.
Scientists at Goethe Universityin Frankfurt found that estrogenic compounds leach from the plastic into the water.
It's too soon to say whether drinking out of PET plastic bottles is harmful to human health, says lead researcher Martin Wagner.
But it now appears possible that some as-yet unidentified chemicals in these plastics have the potential to interfere with estrogen and other reproductive hormones, just as BPA and phthalates do.
"Having done all of these experiments, I started drinking tap water," says Wagner. "It might have other stuff in it, but at least it doesn't have estrogenic compounds."
The specialised yeast, which change colour in the presence of estrogen-like compounds, revealed estrogenic activity in seven of the nine plastic bottles (and both cardboard samples), compared with just three of the nine glass ones.
Overall, Wagner says, levels of these compounds in the water were surprisingly high.
However, the authors of the study say more research is required to determine whether, or to what degree, this poses an actual health risk to humans.
In 2009, about 31.3 billion tones of carbon dioxide (CO2) are emitted from various human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels. China, USA and Russia are the biggest emitters of carbon dioxide globally. In Malaysia, more than 100 billion kilogram carbon dioxide emission from transportation sector is expected in 2010. As a result of increasing level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the earth surface is exhibiting increased temperature level that will result to global warming.
To overcome this problem, many efforts have been done to reduce global warming. One of the efforts is through the use of biotechnology in various human activities especially industrial processes. Biotechnology is a field that utilizes living things or their products, for example microorganism, animal and plant cells, or enzyme to synthesize, degrade or transform matters into desired products.
According to the report from WWF Denmark, the use of biotechnology in industrial processes has a potential in reducing about 2.5 billion tones carbon dioxide emission every year. This reduction surely will help to reduce or combat global warming.
Some examples of biotechnology application in reducing carbon emission are: o Carbon capture using plants and microbes - Plants can be genetically modified so that they can capture more carbon in the atmosphere and retain it in inaccessible form when they die (more efficient Rubisco enzyme involved in carbon sequestration by plants during photosynthesis). - Biotechnology can enhance the ability of microorganism in the ocean to take up carbon from the atmosphere and retain it permanently in the deep ocean. o Biomass for fuel production. - Plants can be genetically modified in order to contain more material easily converted to clean energy. - Genetically modified microorganism can be used in industrial processes as the sources of biomass energy. o Collection and utilization of biogas from waste material (e.g methane and carbon dioxide from sewage and municipal solid waste). o Biotransformation of waste material into other bio-based products. This process will reduce carbon dioxide emission up to 65 million tones. o Production of bioethanol through fermentation of sugar is possible to partially substitute fossil fuels, thus reducing carbon dioxide emission. o Biotechnology can be used in chemical industries that are currently using fossil fuel based feedstock. o Biotechnology is used in the production of bio-plastic, less energy and resources are consumed and greenhouse gas emissions are reduced. o Enzyme used in detergent help to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Studies show that carbon dioxide emissions can be reduced by 100 gram per wash.
By focusing on some aspects such as improving efficiency in industrial processes, replacing fossil fuel with biofuel and developing closed loop system in order to destroy waste, biotechnology in various activities and industries will help improving the economy without damaging the environment for the better future.
Hi guys and gals, how about back to basic living, no rocket science or fanciful gadgets, but mere lifestyles adjustment and habit change.
Trash-free living, a reason not to take out the trash A young couple has made it possible to spend a year living trash-free. Amy Korst, 26, a recently laid-off high school teacher in Dallas, USA and her husband, Adam only bought items they could recycle or compost to avoid adding to landfills. Their trash count for 12 months – about 75 scraps such as 8 used razor blades, a burned-out light bulb, 2 Theraflu pouches and broken Christmas ornament – fits in a shoebox that weighs about 1.8 kg.
The Korsts are among growing Americans trying to reduce their landfill load in a country where the average person generates 2 kg of trash each day.
Recycling rates have skyrocketed, from 6% of solid waste in 1960 to 33% in 2008, the Environmental Protection Agency reports. The amount of trash generated, after increasing for decades, has stabilized since 2005, in part due to recession related phenomena, as people have less to spend.
According to Amy Korst, who began her Green Garbage Project on July 6, 2009 and finished last month, “if we can’t recycle it, we don’t buy it.” Amy started a compost bin in her backyard, grew produce and negotiated with a grocery store manager to be able to take food home from the meat and cheese counters in her own containers. When they go out for dinner, the Korst bring a container for leftovers. And whatever Amy cannot recycle curbside, she takes to the recycling depot.
Long before the Amy Korst zero waste living, a whole community in the hills of eastern part of Japan, named Kamikatsu has been living trash free for many years, where the garbage man never comes.
Living in a world without waste. A small community in the hills of eastern Japan has been practicing "Zero Waste". It was told to BBC News that the residents have to compost all their food waste and sort other rubbish into 34 different categories. Residents say the scheme has prompted them to cut down on waste generally and food waste in particular.
Kamikatsu may be a backwater in the wooded hills and rice terraces of south-eastern Japan but it's become a world leader on waste policy. There are no waste collections from households at all. People have to take full responsibility for everything they throw away.
Kitchen waste has to be composted. Non-food waste is processed either in local shops which accept goods for recycling or in Kamikatsu's Zero Waste Centre. There, people have to sort their unwanted items into 34 different boxes for recycling.
Residents have to sort plastic bottles (used for fruit juice, for example) from PET (polyethylene teraphthalate) bottles (used for mineral water) because PET is more valuable when it is separated out.
There are specific boxes for pens, razors and the sort of styrofoam trays on which meat is often purchased. These have to be washed and dried. The scheme was adopted when councilors realized it was much cheaper than incineration - even if the incinerator was used to generate power.
Winning idea Many locals are enthusiastic participants. Kikue Nii strips labels off bottles then washes and dries them before sending them to recycling. She takes her other everyday waste to the local shop where she receives a lottery ticket in return for a bag of cans. She has won a £5 food voucher four times. It's not a huge amount but it's better than nothing. She is also a big fan of composting. "I think I produce less waste because I have to compost it," she says. "When I can't use the whole vegetable or meat, I try to cook it again with wine and so on. It makes a very good soup.
Her neighbors Fumikazu Katayama and his wife Hatsue are ardent composters, too. Hatsue says: "I have to do it every day; it's certainly a bit of work. But it's a good idea to send things back to the earth so I support it. I just do it naturally now; it's part of the routine Old curtains or kimonos are expertly converted into bags
The community uses incentives to encourage recycling
Articles extracted from The Star dated 3rd Aug, 2010 by Wendy Koch and BBC news reported by Environment analyst, Roger Harrabin
Reading the article posted by one of our classmate regarding the cell phones and environment has drawn my attention on looking into the issue as well. So I started to surf for more info related to it. Not to surprise with the result, because there are abundance of articles about it. Cell phone is actually one small example. The real problem is called gadgets, which all of us are involve into whether we like it or not.
To date, hundreds of millions of gadgets are produced annually to meet demand for the latest smart phones, laptops or TVs. The average U.S. household owns 25 electronics products, according to the Consumer Electronics Association, and judging by the upward trend that has been consistently showing across the markets in the region, it appears that more or less people in Asia are having the same percentage. Within few months, the gadget that you buy today will no longer effective, and then you will buy a new one, and thrashed the old one straight into the dustbin. It is wrong but many people still don’t realize that this stuff should be disposed of in a different way than regular old household waste. The question is why?
So far, there has been little discussion about the proper disposal of the gadgets. Little that we know, by recycling, we actually could help recover valuable resources such as gold and platinum that are common in many electronics, and they would help properly dispose of toxic metals like lead and mercury that also are used in electronics and can contaminate soil if carelessly discarded. So as this information carelessly being delivered, we cannot expect people to be responsible to properly dispose gadgets.
Even in U.S, states, cities and consumer groups are still looking for a federal solution to the growing problem of getting rid of more than 2 million tons of used electronic gadgets each year. This is because recycling them is regulated mostly by local or state governments, and rules can change from one locale to the next leading to confusion for both consumers and companies that make and sell electronics.
According to a report, the problem arises because currently there has no electronics recycling legislation on the national level implemented. There are in few countries showing some efforts, where retailers collect a fee of between $8 and $25 on the sale of devices. The fee is used by the state to pay for the collection and recycling of old products. But the lack of public awareness campaign has make people refuse to pay for it.
Recently, the U.S. Government Accountability Office recommended that the Environmental Protection Agency, which oversees waste management, reevaluate its efforts aimed at recycling electronics. The EPA agreed to work toward further integration of their programs to achieve nationwide environmentally responsible management of used electronics.
With that effort, I hope soon or later our government policy will also be joining their effort in educating us of gadget recycling program as well as developing our own gadget recycling law. We cannot say to stop using gadgets to solve the environmental problem because we use them every day, but we can always seek for alternative solution to save our Earth. One of it is to start recycle it. Look in the website, there are many of non-profit organizational who are ready to receive and recycle gadgets for us. So start today, save our Earth.
Obviously... Over and illegal hunting are the main causes of this problem. Also, rapid development causing the mammals loss of habitat where these factors eventually seriously disturbs the food chain and the whole ecosystem.
Ranking 6… the increasing of ocean dead zone…
Ocean dead zone means the sea areas that are devoid of all life. These sea areas are lack of oxygen and caused by excess nitrogen from farm fertilizers, emission from vehicles and factories, and sewage. Getting bigger area of ocean dead zone mean getting more ocean areas had been polluted and causing more marine species to lose their habitat and food sources.
Ranking 5… the collapsing of fish stock…
Fish is one of the major food sources in our diet. Higher demand means higher supply. Fishermen have been pulling such a huge quantity of fish from the ocean that causing a global collapse of all species currently fished. After large scale of mammal extinction, the collapse of fish species would have a major impact on the world ecosystems.
Ranking 4… destruction of the rain forest…
Development… Deforestation for housing purpose… Building factory… Agriculture… Livestock ranching… Drought...Fire…YES… all these factors bring a serious damage to our rain forest… According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), losing 60% of the rain forest would accelerate global warming…The WWF says that the ‘point of no return’, from which recovery will be impossible, is only 15 to 25 years away… Gosh… is so close to us from now…
Ranking 3… polar sea ice loss…
Polar sea ice is melting at an unprecedented rate, and it’s not showing any signs of slowing down. It’s perhaps the most startling visual evidence of global warming. The collapse of the Larsen B and Wilkins ice shelves in the Antarctic Peninsula shows just how fast the region is warming. Its cause scientists rushing to figure out just how big of an effect the melting is going to have on the rest of the world such as those countries lying just above the sea level…
Ranking 2… carbon dioxide (CO2) level in the atmosphere…
The polar sea ice loss issue that mentioned just now is yet another sinister sign of carbon dioxide levels building up in the atmosphere – the main force behind global warming. Greenhouse gas emissions caused by our modern way of life – vehicles, power plants, factories and giant livestock farms. When end of the century there will be an increasing of 12 oF of average temperature if the emission of greenhouse gases is continue to rise in this rate. For your information, a global temperature rise of just 7.2 oF would cause a catastrophic domino effect, bringing weather extremes that would result in food and water shortages and destructive floods.
Ranking 1… Population explosion…(after reading for some time only notice ourselves is the main problem… sigh)
6.7 billion peoples in this world…. So??? Well… All of those mouths will need to be fed. All of those bodies will need clean water and a place to sleep. We consume resources, pollute the environment, destroy natural habitats and destroy ecosystems to the point of causing millions of species to become endangered and going to extinct.
We are the root of environmental problems… We always are...So sad to admit this… T.T
After looking on those worlds ranking environmental problems… Let make the scope smaller… We should have a look on some local issues… Actually, all the environmental problems are interrelated…In Malaysia.. So far.. the environmental problems stated above not really threatening us… just sometime the weather is a bit too hot… but it still under the acceptable level… However, this dosen’t mean we din contribute to it… So, may I introduce you the ‘Ranking 0’ for this article…
Ranking '0'....automobile explosion
We are facing ‘automobile explosion’ in some areas such as Kuala Lumpur… this not something that should be proud of it… It also dosen’t means our living standard is getting improved… High way or roads in Kuala Lumpur areas just like a ‘mobile car park’ during peak hours… There are some conclusions of the problem…Poor road and highway design… Public transport planning is not perfect enough… Car pooling is sometime hard to practices… Impossible to walk from Serdang to KL for work and so on and so forth… Because of this ‘mobile car park’, we are creating a line source of greenhouse gases and it becomes a point source when combining all in the areas. Vehicles will emit more exhaust gases when stuck in traffic… So, at first we emit more carbon dioxide and then ‘contribute’ to global warming… Causing the polar sea ice to melt… Then it might cause flood in some places and destroy some species habitat… Damage to environment… Conclusion, human that suffering on this…
I knew automobile is not a kind of ‘environmental problem’ but it is one of the main causes of environmental problems… Forgive me for mixing up these… I just get mad when every morning stuck in traffic jam during the way going to work… I just start my job not long time ago… and still got whole life waiting for me… sigh… @@
Last… guys… you are welcome to drop a comment ya… tell me what is the Ranking 0 in your mind…
P/S: Dr… I guess it no need be too formal for the article format, right?? Promised… Next time will try my best to write a formal article with proper language and grammar… haha ^^
There are several dive sites at two of the top diving destinations in the Malaysia which are the Pulau Tioman and Pulau Redang Marine Park, are temporarily off-limits to divers and snorkelers until end-October 2010. The major cause is due to the coral bleaching. I came across this news in the Star in July 2010.
Corals are relying on algae that live inside each coral polyp to provide them nutrients and supplemental oxygen. Bleaching occurs when these colorful algae die out or leave the polyps, often claim of warm conditions excessively. Without their brightly colored algae, the coral's skeleton becomes visible through its transparent tissue, making it appear white.
Coral bleaching has devastated coral colonies around the world for almost three decades. There are many marine parks are affected by coral bleaching, a phenomenon caused by global warming that has increased sea water temperature. Marine Park Department said it would limit the number of visitors daily during the closure.It was crucial way to close marine parks and islands to protect the coral reefs which had turned white.The damage on coral reefsis at a warning stage which it is affecting between 60 to 90% of corals.
The climate change was worsening the serious problems facing the marine ecosystem. The lack of coral reefs, which provide a home to many marine species, would lead to fewer fishes in the ocean and affect the fishing industry. Who can help the corals reef? What should we do? The local university like Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT) has taken the initiative to breed the spineless species. I think the coral reefs may never recover unless the people switch to a greener lifestyle thus corals can be sustainability alive. A good water quality, high coral cover and an abundant and diverse community of herbivorous fish is only the essential way in promoting coral recovery. And what do you think?
