TABLE OF CONTENTS
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S/N |
Title |
Synopsis |
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I. Subject Area: Environmental Technology |
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1 |
GM and Exxon advance fuel-cell technology |
GM and Exxon announced that they have made advances in the technology to power fuel cells using gasoline. |
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2 |
Use of 36V battery will reduce vehicle emission |
Car industry experts predicted that the adoption of the 36V battery in cars would help to reduce vehicle emission levels significantly. |
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II. Subject Area: Environmental Management |
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3 |
Ontario to spend C$240 million to clean up water |
Ontario plans to upgrade its water and sewage treatment plants in the wake of an E. coli outbreak that killed six people in a small farming community. |
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4 |
Cities turn to natural gas buses |
Facing tougher federal air quality regulations, cities in the United States are turning increasingly to buses powered by natural gas. |
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III. Subject Area: General Environmental News |
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5 |
Use of residential pesticide links to Parkinson's disease. |
A recent study found that home pesticide use and exposure is associated with an increased risk of developing Parkinson's disease. |
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6 |
Microbial pest control |
The International Programme of Chemical Safety has evaluated the use of Bacillus thuringiensis as a biological pesticide, including controlling mosquitoes in their first publication on biological pesticides. |
SUMMARY REPORT
Period Covered : 7 Aug 2000 to 13 Aug 2000
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Item 1 |
GM and Exxon advance fuel-cell technology |
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Summary |
GM and Exxon Mobil Corp. announced that they have made advances in the technology to power fuel cells using gasoline, in a development that may result in a cleaner and more efficient alternative to internal combustion engines in motor vehicles. The fuel cell is run by hydrogen that is produced by a fuel processor that uses gasoline. Consumers would be able to fuel their vehicles the same way they do with their current vehicles at gasoline stations. Widespread use of alternative fuels as propane, methanol and ethanol are lagging because of the lack of filling stations to provide the fuels. The fuel cell with the gasoline processor is supposed to be twice as efficient as current engines and emits half the CO2 and significantly less NOx. Because fuel cells have no moving parts, they can be much durable and quieter than internal combustion engines. GM plans to produce a demonstration vehicle using this technology within the next 18 months. |
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Reference |
http://www.planet.ark.com.au/ |
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Item 2 |
Use of 36V battery will reduce vehicle emission |
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Summary |
Car industry experts predicted that the adoption of the 36V battery in cars would help to reduce vehicle emission levels significantly. Conversion to the new higher voltage system allows vehicle features such as power steering, brakes and air conditioning to be driven by electricity. According to SAE Storage Battery Standards Committee's chairman, Rick Johnson, the use of 36V battery reduces the load placed on the engine and would cut both fuel consumption and emissions. He also said that as early as 2003, 36V batteries would be used in luxury cars. |
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Reference |
Automobile News, July/August 2000 pg. 12 |
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Item 3 |
Ontario to spend C$240 million to clean up water |
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Summary |
Ontario pledged C$240 million to upgrade its water and sewage treatment plants throughout Canada's most populous province. Ontario's new tougher water-quality regulations may require some smaller communities to replace ageing water-treatment plants and institute more frequent testing of water samples. Large waterworks will also be required to publish a quarterly quality report. The effectiveness of municipal testing and monitoring of drinking water in the province has been questioned since the E. coli outbreak in Walkerton, northwest of Toronto. About 2,000 out of 5,000 people fell ill, with six deaths directly related to contamination by the lethal 0157:H7 variety of the common E. coli bacteria. The province government has faced a barrage of criticism following the incident, especially for its sharp cutbacks in health and environmental spending and the privatisation of water-testing procedures. |
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Reference |
http://www.planet.ark.com.au/ |
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Item 4 |
Cities turn to natural gas buses |
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Summary |
Facing tougher federal air quality regulations, cities in the United States are turning increasingly to buses powered by natural gas. In 1998, natural gas-powered buses accounted for more than one out of every five buses of the 4,225 new transit buses built. Since then the number of transit agencies operating at least some natural gas buses has increased from 57 to 65. Last year, there were 3,024 natural gas buses in operation in cities around the country with the number expected to exceed 5,000 by 2001 when pending orders are filled. Diesel-powered buses and trucks are a major source of smog-causing pollution, as well as releases of toxic chemicals and microscopic soot. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is expected to issue new final regulations by the end of the year requiring low-sulphur diesel fuel and tougher emission standards aimed at reducing air pollution from buses and trucks by 95 percent by 2006. The prospect of cleaner burning diesel-powered buses and the higher cost of natural gas-powered buses is keeping some agencies from making a shift from diesel to natural gas. Natural gas-powered buses cost 15 to 25 percent more than those using diesel fuel. However, these monetary costs should be weighed against the cost of vehicle-related air pollution and its effects on human health. |
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Reference |
http://www.discovery.com |
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Item 5 |
Use of residential pesticide links to Parkinson's Disease |
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Summary |
A recent study led by Lorene Nelson, a neuro-epidemiologist at Stanford University's School of Medicine, found that home pesticide use and exposure is associated with an increased risk of developing Parkinson's disease. From the study, the researchers found that people are 70 percent more likely to develop Parkinson's disease when exposed to in-home insecticides and carried a 50 percent higher risk when exposed to garden insecticides. According to Nelson, damage to nerve cells in a part of the brain called that basal ganglia and subsequent deficiency in the neurotransmitter dopamine leads to balance and movement difficulties - characteristic of Parkinson's disease. Pesticides and insecticides may contain chemicals that have a certain affinity to this region of the brain and when people are exposed to the chemicals, they may be at particular risk for developing the disease. |
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Reference |
http://www.gnet.org/news/newsdetail.cfm?NewsID=11755&image1=2 |
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Item 6 |
Microbial pest control |
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Summary |
The International Programme of Chemical Safety (IPCS) has evaluated the use of Bacillus thuringiensis as a biological pesticide in their first publication on biological pesticides. It is reported that the use of the products of Bacillus thuringiensis, an anaerobic spore-forming bacterium, as commercial pest control agents is on the increase. This bacterium has the unusual property of synthesizing toxic chemicals in the form of insecticidal crystal proteins (ICP), which kills insects when ingested by them. B. thuringiensis are not only used against a variety of insect pests in agricultural crops. They are also used in large-scale programmes to control mosquitoes, including the malarial vector Anopheles sinesis and other vectors such as blackflies. In the IPCS evaluation, it was also reported that the field application of the B. thuringiensis products could result in contamination of drinking water reservoirs and food. However, ingestion and inhaling of large quantities of the products will not pose any adverse health effects and hazards to human beings. |
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Reference |
IPCS News, Issue 12, June 2000, pg. 2 |