| S/N | Title | Synopsis | ||
| I. Subject Area: Environmental Policy and Regulation | ||||
| 1 | EU rules target global-warming gases | The European Union has proposed new rules to reduce emissions of other potent greenhouse gases other than carbon dioxide. | ||
| 2 | Thailand will ban smoky diesel vehicles from Bangkok streets | Thailand's Environment Ministry will start to ban smoky diesel vehicles from Bangkok streets next month. Owners will get 30 days to fix engines. | ||
| II. Subject Area: Environmental Technology | ||||
| 3 | Fighting fire with fire | The US Forest Service is increasingly relying on the use of potassium permanganate filled ping-pong balls as a safe and cost-effective way to help them put out forest and bush fires. | ||
| 4 | US and UK companies join forces to invest in natural gas vehicle venture in the UK | U.S.-based Clean Air Partners Inc. and UK based T. Baden Hardstaff, announced a joint developmentjoint development of low emission trucks powered by natural gas with diesel as pilot fuel. | ||
| III. Subject Area: Public Health | ||||
| 5 | Food safety regulations apply to mobile stands | Mobile food vehicles in Seattle and King County must apply for health permit, undergo regular inspections and follow food safety regulations in order to operate. | ||
| 6 | Canadian study found health impact of air quality costing US$700 million | A recent study conducted by the International Institute for Sustainable Development, is the first to quantify the health impacts of air quality and climate change from power generators in North America. | ||
| V Subject Area: Renewable Resources and Climate Change | ||||
| 7 | Toyota will use renewable resources in new bio-plastic plant | Toyota Motor Corporation has announced plans to construct a pilot plant to produce bio-plastics made from renewable resources like sugarcane. | ||
| 8 | Japan's Asahi to cut carbon dioxide emissions | Asahi Breweries Ltd in Japan has set new carbon dioxide emission targets in its efforts to become more environmentally friendly by launching projects to reduce fuel and electricity consumption. | ||
| 9 | Heatwave: Records sound red alert over climate | The UK meteorological office has recorded evidence that Britain was heating up because of global warming. | ||
| IV Subject Area: Waste Recycling | ||||
| 10 | Ireland introduces stricter tax to reduce waste | Irish Minister for the Environment proposed the implementation of new tax charges on packets of chewing gum, ATM receipts and polystyrene packing, to tackle littering problem. | ||
| 11 | Canada welcomes country's first electronics recycling facility | Noranda Inc has recently opened the first state-of-the art recycling facility for electronics waste in Canada. | ||
| 12 | UK steps up recycling effort with new law | A new law calls for all councils in England and Wales to provide every home with doorstep recycling. However, it does not demand that this is done until 2010 and only two different materials must be collected. | ||
SUMMARY REPORT
Period Covered: 11 Aug to 17 Aug 2003
EU rules target global-warming gases |
|
| Summary | The European
Union (EU) has stepped up efforts to tackle global-warming
with proposed rules to reduce emissions of other potent
greenhouse gases besides carbon dioxide. The proposal
seeks to cut projected emissions of fluorinated
greenhouse gases like hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs),
perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6)
which are used in products ranging from automobile air-conditioners
to jogging shoes. A key element in the plan calls for phasing out of the use of HFC-134a in air conditioners in new vehicles between 2009 and 2013, which would add about US$45 to the cost of a new car. In addition, all stationary refrigerators, air-conditioning, heat-pump equipment and fire protection systems must be inspected at least once a year for any emissions of the gases. The rules also call for producers, importers and exporters of fluorinated gases to keep inventory records of these gases and to submit annual reports on their activities. |
| Reference | http://www.washtimes.com/business/20030812-100652-3930r.htm |
| Item 2 | Thailand will ban smoky diesel vehicles from Bangkok streets |
| Summary | Although
city buses and trucks in Thailand made up only 5% of all
vehicles, they were responsible for up to 52% of fine
dust emissions that cause respiratory problems.
Thailand's Ministry of the Environment is taking stiff
action to get smoke-belching vehicles off the streets of
Bangkok since fines failed to convince motorists to
retire soot-belching diesel engines. From next month, it
will ban such vehicles from the streets of Bangkok. In
addition, diesel-powered vehicles, especially buses and
trucks, would be required to pass an inspection every
three months. Traffic police would first set up a checkpoint on Somdet Phrachao Taksin road, in western Bangkok, where high levels of dust have been reported. From December, inspections would be carried out on all routes. Mr Supat Wangwongwatana, deputy director-general of the Pollution Control Department, said owners of vehicles with dirty emissions would be given a grace period of 30 days to repair them and have them inspected. |
| Reference | http://www.bangkokpost.net/News/15Aug2003_news07.html |
| Summary | The "Fighting
Fire with Fire" technique which involves igniting a
so-called burnout in from of advancing flames to deprive
the fire of fuel, has been used in fighting bush and
forest fires in US. However this process is extremely
expensive, time-consuming and dangerous. The US Forest Service has recently relied on a much safer and more cost-effective strategy. Rangers use aerial ignition devices which are plastic ping-pong balls filled with highly flammable potassium permanganate. These ping-pong balls are loaded into a helicopter dispenser and injected with antifreeze before they are dropped into the targeted area. By the time these small missiles hit the ground, the chemicals have mixed. The ping-pong balls would have burst into flames and created a wall of fire around the targeted area. This would eat up the dry grasses, bush, trees and other fuel on the ground; and prevent the advancing flames of the forest or bush fire. |
| Reference | http://www.abcnews.go.com/sections/wnt/SciTech/pingpong030813_technology.html |
| Item 4 | US and UK companies join forces to invest in natural gas vehicle venture in the UK |
| Summary | As part
of the U.K. government's TransportEnergy PowerShift grant
program, a U.S.- based Clean Air Partners Inc. (CAP), and
UK - based T. Baden Hardstaff (Hardstaff), have recently
announced that they are jointly developing a natural gas/diesel
'Dual-Fuel' truck. The CAP-Hardstaff joint venture will
offer Dual-Fuel powered trucks and conversions that
comply with Euro IV emission standards. Dual-Fuel engines operate on both natural gas and diesel fuel simultaneously. During normal operation, the majority of the fuel burned is natural gas. Diesel fuel serves as a pilot for combustion that ignites under the heat of compression to produce substantially less nitrogen oxide and particulates than engines burning only diesel fuel without sacrificing diesel engine performance. This technology combines the benefits of a diesel engine with the benefits of a natural gas engine to provide a high performance, low emission, cost-effective, and cleaner system that may also reduce fuel costs. |
| Reference | Lexis-Nexis (subscribed access) |
Food safety regulations apply to mobile stands |
|
| Summary | According to the spokeswoman for Public Health - Seattle and King County, there are 107 permitted, unrestricted mobile food vehicles currently on record. Taco trucks are required to file their exact location or route, submit an itemized menu and have adequate hand-washing facilities. Public Health does not track which are Taco trucks, but does keep count of food-borne illness complaints, which average three a year for all such purveyors. |
| Reference | http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/food/134103_taco_health.html |
| Item 6 | Canadian study found health impact of air quality costing US$700 million |
| Summary | A Canadian
study conducted by the Winnipeg-based International
Institute for Sustainable Development has quantified the
health impacts due to air quality and climate change
externalities associated with thermal power generation
across Eastern Canada. The study traced the passage of pollutants from the electricity sector to their impacts on people. The economic costs of the increased risks of mortality, chronic respiratory disease and child bronchitis, as well as the cost of increased respiratory and cardiac hospital admissions, emergency room visits and the cost of degraded quality of life due to air pollution were calculated to total US$700 million a year in Eastern Canada alone. |
| Reference | Lexis-Nexis (Subscribed Access) |
| Item 7 | Toyota's new pilot bio-plastic plant offers new environmental solution |
| Summary | Toyota Motor
Corporation announced its plans to construct a pilot
plant for producing bio-plastics (polylactic acid) made
from annually renewable resources like sugarcane. The new
pilot plant, to be built within an existing production
facility in Japan, is envisioned to be able to produce 1,000
tons of bio-plastics a year. Toyota has been promoting research and development of bio-plastic manufacturing technology and has already started using TOYOTA Eco Plastic--automobile-use bio-plastics with improved performance in terms of durability and heat resistance. Using sugarcane as the base material, the entire process will be carried out at the plant, from fermenting and purifying lactic acid to polymerizing polylactic acid. Since the base material of bio-plastics is a plant like sugarcane, which absorbs CO2 from the air as it grows, bio-plastics contribute to the prevention of global warming, compared to conventional petroleum-based plastics. Furthermore, bio-plastics can be given biodegradable properties that allow them to be broken down into water and carbon dioxide by microorganisms in the ground, helping to solve waste disposal problems. |
| Reference | http://www.pollutiononline.com/content/news/article.asp?DocID={C26AA2A6-5BD4-49E5-8E11-21A352FA603D}&Bucket=Current+Headlines |
Japan's Asahi to cut carbon dioxide emissions |
|
| Summary | As part of
its efforts to become more environmentally friendly,
Asahi Breweries Ltd aims to reduce carbon dioxide
emission by half compared with 1990 levels. The brewery
had already achieved its goal of reducing its carbon
dioxide emissions to 184 kilograms per kiloliter of beer
brewed, down to 22 percent from the 1990 level, two years
ahead of its original schedule. Asahi has now set a new carbon dioxide emissions target to cut emissions from its beer brewing production up to 72% from the 1990 level. To meet its targets, Asahi has launched projects to reduce the fuel and electricity as well as the water used in brewing beer. It will designate two production sites as model plants where use of such resources will be reduced to a targeted amount and transfer the methods used in achieving the goals to other sites. |
| Reference | http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Japan/EH13Dh02.html |
| Item 9 | Heatwave: Records sound red alert over climate |
| Summary | A UK
intergovernmental panel on climate change reported that
rising temperatures that have recently reached
unprecedented levels signals that Britain was heating up
because of global warming. It added that both droughts
and floods could also be more common, globally. Records
show that the 1990s as the warmest decade globally and
the number of destructive weather events has tripled
since the 1960s. In one large study, the panel reported emissions of the gases that trap heat in the atmosphere - causing the greenhouse effect - could raise average earth temperatures by between 1.4 degrees Celsius (2.5 degrees Fahrenheit) and 5.8 degrees Celsius (10.4 degrees Fahrenheit) in the next 100 years. According to the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), the number and intensity of extreme events might increase as global temperatures continue to warm due to climate change. |
| Reference | Lexis-Nexis (subscribed access) |
Ireland introduces stricter tax to reduce waste |
|
| Summary | The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government of Ireland has proposed strict measures on reducing waste with new tax measures. Users of chewing gum, polystyrene packing and ATM receipts are targeted as these items are particular litter nuisances because they are not biodegradable and not essential. It is thought tax charges for packets of chewing gum would be between five to ten cents, but charging for ATM receipts and polystyrene packing has not yet been decided. |
| Reference | http://www.edie.net/gf.cfm?L=left_frame.html&R=http://www.edie.net/news/Archive/7205.cfm |
Canada welcomes country's first electronics recycling facility |
|
| Summary | Canada
has recently announced that Norando Inc, the country's
first state-of-the art electronic recycling facility is
in operation. The opening of the electronic recycling
facility has enabled Canada to have an environmentally-sound
option for safe recycling of its electronic materials. The facility has begun receiving material from original equipment manufacturers and other customers. The plant is expected to process approximately one million pounds a month of end-of-life electronics after ramp-up and 100% of all the electronic hardware will be recycling. |
| Reference | http://www.greenbiz.com/news/news_third.cfm?NewsID=25457 |
UK steps up recycling effort with new law |
|
| Summary | Many families and householders in the UK are keen to recycle their waste but they are being hampered by the lack of local schemes. A bill has been cleared which calls for all councils in England and Wales to provide every home with doorstep recycling. However, it does not demand that this is done until 2010 and only two different materials must be collected. In the meantime, on average, each household can recycle only 13% of its rubbish. |
| Reference | http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3055273.stm |