Environment Report 2 Dec 2002 to 8 Dec 2002

S/N		Title	Synopsis
I. Subject Area: Environment Policy & Regulation
1	Canada Releases Climate Change Plan		Canada has released the "Climate Change Plan for Canada" that outlines how it could comply with the Kyoto Protocol's targets.
2	EU Ministers To Consider Energy Tax Plan		European Union finance ministers are trying to set tax rates for energy products.
3	Germany Backs Key EU Global Warming Plan		Germany supported a EU climate emissions trading scheme after its industry was allowed to form collective pools to carry out bidding.
II. Subject Area: Environmental Technology
4	Sugar Turns Plastics Biodegradable		Indian chemists are mixing plastics with sugar to make them palatable to soil bacteria.
5	Faster E.Coli Test In Works		Researchers are developing a monitoring system that could give instantaneous readings of E.Coli bacteria.
III. Subject Area: General Environmental News
6	Japan Launches Fuel Cell Cars In California		Honda and Toyota have launched the world's first commercial cars that run on fuel cell in Japan and California.
7	US EPA Releases Costs For US Pollution Abatement Work		The United States Environment Protection Agency has released the 1999 Pollution Abatement Costs and Expenditures.
8	High Carbon Dioxide Levels Can Retard Plant Growth		A research study by Stamford University shows that elevated carbon dioxide could reduce plant growth.

SUMMARY REPORT

Period covered: 2 Dec 2002 to 8 Dec 2002

Item 1	Canada Releases Climate Change Plan
Summary	Canada has released the "Climate Change Plan for Canada" which outlines how Canada could comply with the greenhouse gas reduction targets under the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The plan hopes to achieve the reduction target by proposing the following instruments: (i) covenants with large industrial emitters and trading emission rights domestically and internationally; a Partnership Fund to collaborate with provinces and territories on emission reduction initiatives; investments in infrastructure projects; increased investments in innovation technologies for climate change; and (v) targeted measures such as information, incentives, regulations and tax measures.
Reference	http://www.caprep.com/1102076.htm

Item 2	EU Ministers To Consider Energy Tax Plan
Summary	European Union (EU) finance ministers are trying to set tax rates for EU's energy products. The EU has debated the setting of minimum tax levels for electricity and gas for years and has not come to a unanimous agreement among the member states. Environmentalists want an increase in energy tax to encourage companies and individuals to use energy frugally and to reduce the pollution caused by fossil fuels and nuclear power. EU diplomats said that an agreement is possible if they are able to resolve the outstanding disagreements on the various exemptions from the tax required by member states.
Reference	http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/18877/story.htm

Item 3	Germany Backs Key EU Global Warming Plan
Summary	Germany, Europe's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, would support a European Union (EU) climate emissions trading scheme after getting concessions from EU to protect its industry's competitiveness. This is one of the major measures EU has in mind to achieve the 8 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emission under the Kyoto Protocol. Under the scheme, the law will set a limit on the amount of carbon dioxide that can be emitted by any big factory or power plant with effect from 2005. The German industry had initially opposed the scheme to avoid complying with mandatory emission reduction targets. EU subsequently allowed German industries to form collective pools instead of individual bidding for emissions trading. Germany intended to distribute emission rights to companies for free, rather than charge companies to buy them. German firms would also be able to trade emission rights individually rather than joining a trading pool.
Reference	http://www.planet.ark.com.au/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/18911/story.htm

Item 4	Sugar Turns Plastics Biodegradable
Summary	Chemists in India are mixing plastics with sugar to make them palatable to soil bacteria. The plastics, which normally survive for decades in landfills, start to biodegrade within days. Plastics such as polythene, polystyrene and polypropylene have been tested. The process involves mixing the monomer of plastics with some other substance follow by the addition of sugar. However, it is not certain whether the polymer would biodegrade entirely into non-toxic substances. Although carbon dioxide and water are the expected end products of the process, organic acids and aldehydes may be produced during the process.
Reference	http://www.nature.com/nsu/021125/021125-12.html

Item 5	Faster E.Coli Test In Works
Summary	Researchers are within a year of developing a rapid-fire monitoring system that could give instantaneous readings of E.Coli bacteria contamination in lakes and rivers and detect deadly chemicals in drinking water. The real-time system would protect the drinking water system from terrorist attacks and readily determine whether the waterways are safe for swimming. Currently, analysis of E.Coli in water requires 24 hours to complete. Besides its water testing capabilities, the system can also monitor smallpox and anthrax in the air.
Reference	http://www.lexis-nexis.com/

Item 6	Japan Launches Fuel Cell Cars In California
Summary	Two Japanese automakers, Honda Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp., have launched the world's first commercial cars to run on pollution-free fuel cells. The two companies are delivering cars to Japan and California. The technology, which was first used during the Apollo moon project in the 1960s, mixes hydrogen fuel and oxygen from air using an electrochemical process to produce the electricity that powers the car.
Reference	http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/18875/story.htm

Item 7	US EPA Releases Costs For US Pollution Abatement Work
Summary	The United States Environment Protection Agency (US EPA) has released the 1999 Pollution Abatement Costs and Expenditures. The data, which excluded expenditure items such as depreciation, research and development, etc., showed that US$6.2 billion were spent on pollution treatment, US$16.8 billion on disposal and recycling capital expenditures and operation costs and US$2.8 billion on pollution prevention.
Reference	http://www.earthvision.net/ColdFusion/News_Page1.cfm?NewsID=23252

Item 8	High Carbon Dioxide Levels Can Retard Plant Growth
Summary	Scientists have long perceived that by emitting more carbon dioxide into the air, the resultant global climate change would create new sources of plant nutrition that cause crops and trees to grow bigger and faster. A three-year research study carried out by Stamford University shows that elevated carbon dioxide would reduce plant growth when combined with other likely consequences of climate change, namely higher temperature, increased precipitation and increased nitrogen deposits in the soil. Elevated carbon dioxide would only stimulate higher plant growth when nitrogen, water and temperature are at normal levels. The researchers hope that policymakers would now take a more serious look at fossil fuel emissions, as the natural ecosystem could not effectively reduce carbon dioxide levels on its own.
Reference	http://www.scienceblog.com/community/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=522

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