US' Bonneville Environmental Foundation (BEF) has developed a "green power tags" programme that gives individuals and small businesses the opportunity to offset all or part of their yearly greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). BEF is a not-for-profit organization founded to fund new renewable energy resources, among other things. A purchase of "green power tags" is in effect a donation that provides a revenue ssource for BEF to invest in non-pollutive renewable energy.

The US' Energy Information Administration released two reports estimating compliance costs of stricter limits on power plant emissions that will be debated by the government.

The first report estimated that reducing sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, mercury and carbon dioxide between 75 and 90 would raise power generation costs by 8 to 9 percent, or US$142 billion to US$177 billion.

Shell is convinced that radical changes to the energy business will occur in the next fifty years. To remain a dominant player in future, Shell is of the view that major oil companies like Exxon, BP and Shell should be more sensitive to environmental concerns.

Currently there are no mosquito species in New Zealand that transmits dengue fever to human beings. However, researchers from Otago University and Waikato University expect that Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, the carriers of dengue fever, will become established in New Zealand within 50 years.

Parkinson's disease is a progressive, incurable neurodegenerative disorder that inflicts old people. Studies by US researchers suggest that chemical exposures, particularly to pesticides, are one of the causes of Parkinson's disease. The evidences that suggest this finding are:

• people who live in farming areas, especially those who drink well-water and have a history of exposure to pesticides are more likely to contract Parkinson's disease;
• several studies have shown that those who die of Parkinson's disease have higher levels of organochlorine pesticides in their brains than the general population; and
• in the early 1980s, a group of young people developed Parkinson's symptoms after taking an illegal drug called MPTP whose structure is similar to meperidine or Demerol, whose metabolite structure is similar to the herbicide paraquat.

For the past two decades, the US' Department of Energy (DOE) has declared October as the Energy Awareness Month in and use it to create greater understanding and awareness in the public of energy sources and how energy can be used efficiently and effectively.

For 2001, DOE will be providing the public with the information such as:

• the Clean Cities Initative, which supports public-private partnerships that deploy alternative fuel vehicles;
• fuel cell technology for automotive applications;
• advanced natural gas and petroleum production technology;
• the ENERGY STAR government/industry partnership that makes it easy for business and consumers to save money and protect the environment; and
• the Federal Energy Management Programme, which aims to reduce the cost of the federal government by advancing energy efficiency.