Env41
 

S/N	Title			Synopsis
I. Subject Area: Environmental Policy and Regulation
1		Germany wants all batteries to be mercury-free by April 2001	German Environment Minister Juergen Trittin said that the German government has passed a new Battery Ordinance that would require all batteries to be practically mercury-free after April 2001.
2		Taiwan may give 5-year grace period on GMO labeling	Taiwan's health department said it might give food manufacturers a grace period of up to five years before requiring all products made from genetically modified organisms (GMO) to be labelled.
II. Subject Area: Environmental Technology
3		Sensor uses DNA to detect presence of lead	Researchers at the University of Illinois have developed a simple and inexpensive method for lead detection that permits real-time, on-site detection of lead ions.
III. Subject Area: Environmental Health
4		Hands-free earpiece gives more radiation?	Using a hands-free earpiece with a mobile phone may channel more microwave radiation into your head than holding the phone up to your ear, according to tests announced by Britain's Consumers' Association.
IV. Subject Area: General Environmental News
5		UK announces progress with ultra-low sulphur fuels	The UK government has published a paper on ultra-low sulphur diesel (ULSD). The paper outlines the environmental objectives behind the switch to ULSD and explains how the ULSD programme has worked.
6		Joint development of fuel cell vehicles by Japanese and German companies	The business daily Nihon Keizai reported that Mitsubishi Motors Corp, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd and Daimler Chrysler AG plan an alliance on development and mass production of fuel cell vehicles.
7		Largest thin-film solar system in US	The General Services Administration (GSA) and the Department of Energy (DOE) commissioned the largest multi-celled thin-film solar power system in the US.

Env42
 

S/N	Title			Synopsis
I. Subject Area: Environmental Policy and Regulation
1		Tokyo plans big-diesel shut out	The Tokyo Metropolitan Government plans to ban from the streets of Tokyo diesel-powered commercial vehicles that fail to meet emission standards for particulate matter.
2		New York State adopts California's tough auto emissions	New York State aims to reduce emissions by 56% by 2020 with the adoption of stricter auto-emission standards.
3		UK launches recycling program to tackle waste mountain	In response to its growing waste mountain, the UK launched WRAP (The Waste and Resources Action Program) on 15 Nov 2000. Almost four times as much waste will be recycled by 2015 if government targets for household recycling and composting are met under WRAP.
II. Subject Area: Environmental Pollution and Health
4		Tunnel pollution bad for asthmatics	Swedish researchers have found that exposure to air pollutants for half and hour can increase bronchial response to allergens several hours after exposure in individuals with allergic asthma.
III. Subject Area: General Environmental News
5		Boston bans thermometers containing mercury	Joining a nationwide push to remove mercury from lakes and streams, the Boston City Council has voted to prohibit the sale of mercury thermometers.
6		Montreal readiness to test auto emissions	Owners of light and heavy vehicles will be required to have their vehicles approved by a qualified emissions tester at a government-certified garage every two years.
7		EU proposes exhaust and noise standards for boats	The European Commission has proposed new rules that stipulate limits for exhaust and noise emissions from pleasure boats.

Env43
 

S/N	Title		Synopsis
I. Subject Area: Environmental Policy and Regulation
1		Proposed ban on anti-fouling paint criticized by shipowners	A proposed international ban on the use of tributyl tin (TBT)-based paint applied to ships' hulls drew strong criticism from shipowners in the US. Shipowners said that the ban on the use of TBT-based paint would force them to use more expensive, less effective products to control barnacles.
2		Two new pesticides added for control under PIC	Two new substances namely ethylene dichloride and ethylene oxide have been recently added for control under the Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedures for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade
II. Subject Area: Environmental Technology
3		Carbon monoxide measurements enhanced	Researchers at Stanford University have developed a new way to measure carbon monoxide emissions from cars more accurately using laser diode sensors.
III. Subject Area: General Environmental News
4		Global warming could double heat deaths by 2020	According to World Meteorological Organization, deaths from heat waves in big cities worldwide are expected to double over the next two decades if nothing is done to curb global warming.
5		EC unveils plans for food agency	The European Commission has established an agency called European Food Authority (EFA). The EFA aims to achieve better health standards in food and restore consumer confidence, which was damaged by recent food scare incidents.
6		Italian unveils the use of "white diesel" to achieve cleaner exhaust emissions	An Italian company, Cam Tec SpA, has unveiled a formula that will allow the existing diesel vehicles to run on a cleaner and cheaper fuel mixture called "White Diesel".
7		EU to propose "generous" aid for renewable energy	Under the new EU's proposal, companies investing in renewable energy facilities would receive governments' guarantee that their full investment would be recovered.

Env44
 

S/N	Title	Synopsis
I. Subject Area: Environmental Management
1	US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) sets guides to rank cars according to emissions	The USEPA has developed an Emission Guide that ranks passenger vehicles sold in the US based on tailpipe emission levels for nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons.
2	Agreement to reduce air pollution from power generation utilities in Virginia, US	The US Department of Justice, EPA, State of New York and Virginia Power have reached an agreement to reduce air pollution from the utility's eight coal-fired power plants.
II. Subject Area: Environmental Policy
3	Solar-power plan for street lights	The Hong Kong SAR's Geotechnical Engineering Office is carrying out an in-house feasibility study of installing solar panels on public and private slopes to power public street lighting.
4	Emission standards proposed for recreational and industrial engines	In response to environmental and public health concerns, the USEPA has proposed emission standards to reduce emissions from more off-road recreational and industrial equipment.
III. Subject Area: Environmental Pollution and Health
5	Silica in some respects may be more dangerous to lifespan than asbestos	Sand and other aggregates containing silica are benign and productive building materials when used properly. However, they could also be slow and silent killers when workers at construction sites and quarries breathe airborne dust containing silica.
IV. Subject Area: General Environmental News
6	Survey on ecolabel information preferences	A survey conducted by the University of Maine concluded that a label with details about a product's environment attributes was likely to elicit a more favourable response than just a seal of approval.
7	Funds approved for development of wind power in China	The Global Environment Facility has approved a grant of US$12 million for a US$98 million wind power project that would be jointly implemented by international organizations such as the World Bank.

Env45
 

S/N		Title	Synopsis
I. Subject Area: Environmental Technology
1		New technique speeds decomposition of pesticides in water		A team of researchers from the University of Maine has found that zeolite, a common volcanic mineral, can speed up the decomposition rate of three pesticides.
II. Subject Area: Environmental Pollution
2		Europe's move to eradicate mad cow disease poses lethal waste threat		UK scientists warned Europe that "high-risk" measures to combat mad cow disease could create mountains of lethal waste.
III. Subject Area: Environmental Policy
3	Swedes promote "green" winter tyres		To reduce the releases of carcinogenic polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from tyres, the Swedish local authorities and businesses have urged consumers to buy passenger car winter tyres without high aromatic oil content.
IV. Subject Area: Environmental Management
4		US and Canada formally sign Clean Air Treaty		The United States and Canada have signed an agreement to reduce smog-causing pollution emitted mainly by power plants, by 2010.
5		France tightens buildings energy standards		From Jun 2001, new French homes and service sector buildings will be subject to tougher energy efficiency regulations.
V. Subject Area: Environmental Health
6		Pesticides levels in UK baby food above new limit		Tests on baby food carried out by the Pesticide Residues Committee (PRC), UK have discovered pesticide residues exceeding the proposed EU limits which would come into force in 2002.
7		Genetically modified food are "quite safe"		According to a report by an American Medical Association committee, genetically altered foods do not pose serious risks to people's health and do not require special labeling in grocery stores.
VII. Subject Area: General Environmental News
8		California revised its guidelines on zero emission vehicles		California has decided to reduced the percentage of battery-powered vehicles and allow other alternative clean vehicles such as gas and hybrid vehicles which are seen as commercially promising.

Env46
 

S/N	Title			Synopsis
I. Subject Area: Environmental Policy and Regulation
1		US to phase out the use of diazion	Pesticide manufacturers and the federal government have agreed to phase out the use of a popular pesticide diazion for indoor applications in Mar 2001 and for all lawn, garden and turf applications in Dec 2003.
2		Final drinking water standard for radio nuclides issued	USEPA is maintaining the current standard for radio nuclides in drinking water and has added a new standard for uranium in drinking water.
II. Subject Area: Environmental Technology
3		A plastic material that self-destructs	Environmental Polymers Group have invented a plastic material, which can self-destruct by making a plastic that is biodegradable and soluble in water under the right conditions.
III. Subject Area: General Environmental News
4		Increase in green vehicle aid	The UK government announced a £69 million package to tackle pollution and promote green vehicles and fuels.
5		Japan to cut local taxes on environment-friendly vehicles	The Japanese government will allow prefecture governments to slash by up to 50% taxes on motor vehicles equipped with devices capable of cutting harmful pollutants in exhaust gases.
6		Europe green energy certificates start test trading	Renewable energy certificates, which can be bought or sold separately from the electricity produced by renewable plants, will start trading in Europe on 1 Jan 2001.
7		Black soot raises regional temperatures far more than carbon dioxide	According to NASA and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography scientists, airborne black soot has the capacity to raise regional temperatures far more than carbon dioxide.

Env47
 

S/N	Title	Synopsis
I. Subject Area: Environmental Management
1	California city ordered to rectify leaked sewage problem.	The California Regional Quality Control Board ordered the city of Huntington Beach to rectify the problem of sewage leaking from its cracked and broken 80-year old sewer lines.
2	Virginia utility to cut emissions wafting into the Northeast U.S.	US utility company Dominion Virginia Power will be required to install emissions control equipment on units in West Virginia and Virginia to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides and sulphur dioxide.
II. Subject Area: Environmental Technology
3	Carbon adsorbents from waste tyres and nut shells	Scientists have found a way to make activated carbon adsorbents from old tyres and pistachio shells that are effective in removing mercury emissions.
4	New paving stones tackle exhaust emissions	London's borough of Westminster is experimenting with a new kind of paving stones that can break down pollutants emitted from vehicle exhausts.
5	Bacteria luminescence to detect toxicity in the environment	Researchers have developed luminance-emitting biological sensors to detect for toxicity in soil and water.
III. Subject Area: Environmental Policy
6	Australian Parliament approves new law setting nationwide fuel quality standards	Australia approves a new law to set consistent high fuel quality standards for the whole country.
IV Subject Area: Environmental Pollution and Health
7	French authority recalls radioactive watches	The French government has recalled watches sold in France under the brand name "Trophy" which were found to be contaminated with radioactive cobalt-60.

Env48
 

S/N	Title	Synopsis
I. Subject Area: Environmental Policy
1	Montreal Protocol fortified	A new set of amendments took effect on 1 Jan 2001 that will further control the production and use of chemicals known to deplete the ozone layer
2	Twelve toxics to be phased out	More than 120 countries have reached an agreement to phase out the production and use of 12 highly toxic POPs.
3	EU to reduce lead level in drinking water by 80%	New regulations in the EU will reduce permitted levels of lead in drinking water by up to 80% by 2013.
4	European Union tackles small-engine emissions	The European Commission has proposed a directive governing air pollutants from gasoline-powered non-road mobile equipment, such as lawnmowers and other garden tools.
5	New tougher standards for lead in the US	U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released new tougher standards to identify dangerous levels for lead in paint, dust, and soil.
6	Cars may be banned from central Hong Kong to cut pollution	Hong Kong plans to turn parts of its busy Central commercial district into traffic-free zones in a drive to improve its deteriorating air quality
7	U.S. EPA issues promised diesel standards	The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced new regulations mandating that emissions from 50% of the heavy-duty trucks and buses produced after 2006 be 90% of those currently allowed.
II. Subject Area: Environmental Pollution and Health
8	Asthma in children linked to ozone	Findings of studies conducted in the US confirm link between exposure to ozone and childhood asthma.
III. Subject Area: Environmental Waste Management
9	Process licensed to recycle plastic from motor oil bottles		Engineers from the US Department of Energy's plant in Kansas City have developed a technology to recover and recycle used motor oil bottles.
IV. Subject Area: General Environmental News
10	TNRCC approves clean air plan	The Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission has approved a clean air plan to reduce the emission of nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds in the Houston-Galveston area.
11	European paper industry and merchants pledge more recycling	The Confederation of European Paper Industries and the European Recovered Paper Association have pledged to recycle at least 56% of paper products used in Europe by 2005.

Env49
 

S/N	Title	Synopsis
I. Subject Area: Environmental Management
1	UK's £50 million boost for kerbside recycling schemes	Prime Minister Tony Blair announces that an additional £50 million will be made available for kerbside recycling schemes through the New Opportunities Fund.
II. Subject Area: Environmental Technology
2	Study turns scrap from domestic incineration into alloys	Researchers at Leeds University are investigating a new approach to steel recycling which turns less desirable scrap from domestic incineration into alloys that actually improve steel quality.
III. Subject Area: Environmental Policy
3	USA's first emissions control plan for fossil-fuel plants.	New Hamphire's Governor Jeanne Shaheen announced a new plan to reduce pollution from the state's three fossil-fuel plants.
IV. Subject Area: General Environmental News
4	EPA launches website for diesel engine retrofit efforts	EPA launches a new website designed to help equipment fleet operators retrofit diesel engines.
5	Droughts might increase CO2 in atmosphere	Researchers postulate that droughts due to global warming could cause a biological process in soils that would release large amounts of CO2 into the air. This process could lead to further warming and possibly speed up other climate changes.
6	Global warming may be creating a "dead zone" in the Japan Sea	Rising temperatures are shutting down a circulation process that is crucial to life in the Japan Sea and the same problem could affect oceans across the planet.

Env50
 

S/N	Title		Synopsis
I. Subject Area: Environmental Policy and Regulation
1		EPA sets new arsenic standard for drinking water	The US EPA has lowered the arsenic standard for drinking water from 50 ppb to 10 ppb to provide additional protection for at least 13 million Americans from cancer and other health problems.
2		Proposed rule for food developed through biotechnology	The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the US has proposed a new rule that will require food developers to notify FDA at least 120 days in advance of their intent to market a food or animal feed developed through biotechnology.
3		Eclipse gas system to improve emissions from diesel trucks	An ultra-low emissions fuel and engine management system for large trucks that improves performance, power and mileage while reducing typical diesel emissions has been developed in the UK.
4		POPs treaty moves forward	The POPs treaty will be signed at a ministerial meeting in Stockholm, Sweden, in May 2001, and will come into effect once 50 countries have ratified it.
II. Subject Area: Environmental Technology
5		New engine design - On-board oil refinery	A researcher from Texas University has invented a new device to make petrol-driven cars cleaner and save fuel consumption by solving the engine cold-start problem.
6		Technology eliminates trash with a splash	Researchers at the Ohio State University have experimented with moisture levels in two laboratory-size bioreactors that create a wet environment suitable for bacteria to decompose waste.