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S/N |
Title |
Synopsis |
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I. Subject Area: Environmental Policy and Regulation |
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1 |
The Bush administration revised clean air regulations to make it easier for power plants and refineries to repair and upgrade their facilities, a move environmental groups said will cause more air pollution. |
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2 |
France mandates greater recycling, publishes end-of-life vehicle decree |
The French Ministry of Ecology and Sustainable Development announced a new series of regulations that aims to substantially reduce waste produced from the 1.2 million to 1.6 million vehicles taken out of service in France each year. |
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3 |
Japanese government approves local plans to reduce NOx, PM from motor vehicles |
The Japanese government has endorsed nitrogen oxide and particulate matter (PM) reduction programmes of seven large municipalities surrounding Tokyo and Osaka that had called for use of low emission vehicles. |
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4 |
The Italian government has issued a decree requiring government and government-linked companies to increase the use of recycled products to at least 30 percent. |
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II. Subject Area: Environmental Technology |
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5 |
LG Electronics Inc., a major home appliance maker, said it has launched a new line of high-powered refrigerators that are environmentally friendly and energy-efficient. |
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III. Subject Area: Public Health |
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6 |
Greening Ethnic Restaurants (GER) helps Indian and other Asian restaurants in the San Francisco area with little environmental knowledge to transform into "green" enterprises, where they improve on their water conservation, energy conservation, waste reduction and pollution control. |
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7 |
Health experts from the Scottish Centre for Infection and Environmental Health (SCIEH) and the Food Standards Agency are working together to locate the source of Salmonella Bareilly, a bug that has affected 31 people throughout Britain so far. At this stage, they do not know if it is food-borne. |
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IV Subject Area: Renewable Resources and Green Energy |
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8 |
Japanese agency, industry plan development of home-use fuel cells to be sold by 2005 |
The Japanese government and industry will start a large-scale experiment for developing home-use fuel cell units, with the hope of launching commercial sales in 2005. |
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9 |
In the United States, Honda plans to become the first automaker to mass market a vehicle that runs on natural gas and expects to sell tens of thousands of them each year. |
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10 |
The Japanese government intends to adopt a national policy to continue using nuclear energy to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions |
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11 |
Government funding to boost Scotland's renewable energy industry |
Over £600,000 have been awarded to four universities to run renewable energy projects in Scotland by the Government's Proof of Concept (PoC) initiative. |
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V Subject Area: General Environment News |
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12 |
A new business venture, offering an alternative mode of transport-bicycle, could result in a healthier population of Londoners and cleaner city air. Under the pilot scheme, 130 green and yellow bikes will be placed at each of 600 locations, offering customers a pollution-free method of travelling within the city. |
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SUMMARY REPORT
Period Covered: 25 Aug to 31 Aug 2003
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Summary
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The Bush administration revised clean air regulations to make it easier for power plants and refineries to repair and upgrade their facilities, a move environmental groups said will cause more air pollution. The US EPA issued a final rule that would let industrial facilities make some upgrades without installing expensive equipment to fight air pollution. The rule would let facilities replace equipment, even if the upgrade increases pollution, without installing pollution controls as long as the cost of the replacement is not above 20 percent of the cost of what the US EPA broadly defines as a process unit. Under the new rule, if a coal-fired plant replaced a boiler whose cost was less than 20 percent of the cost of replacing the entire process unit - the boiler, turbine, generator, and other equipment that turns coal into electricity, the company would not have to control any resulting pollution increases. |
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Reference |
http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/22012/story.htm |
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Summary
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The Italian government has issued a decree making all government offices and most companies controlled by the state to use at least 30 percent recycled products. Compared to a similar initiative proposed in 2001, which was eventually dropped during a ministerial budget debate in 2002, the current decree is less extensive, but would have extended the rules to law enforcement agencies, military bases stationed aboard, and even private companies working on public contracts. The current decree is expected to go into effect starting on 1 Jan 2004. |
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Reference |
International Environment Reporter Vol. 26, No.17, Page 844 |
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Item 5 |
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Summary
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LG Electronics Inc., a major home appliance maker, said it has launched a new lineup of high-powered refrigerators that are environmentally friendly and energy-efficient. The key innovation in the appliance is the so-called linear technology. This is a set of environmental friendly solutions that minimizes the emission of pollutants, cuts energy consumption and reduces noise. This is the first time that linear technology has been commercially applied to refrigerators with a side-by-side design. With the adoption of a linear compressor, new refrigerators reduce electricity consumption by over 30 percent. The new product also makes use of R-600a, a natural refrigerant, and cyclopentane, a next-generation blowing agent, ensuring ozone depletion potential and global warming potential of zero. |
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Reference |
http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2003/08/28/200308280005.asp |
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Summary
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The "Greening Ethnic Restaurants" (GER) programme is created by Ritu Primlani, founder of Thimmakka's Resources for Environmental Education. The programme helps small, family-owned businesses in the San Francisco area increase their efficiency and at the same time saves money by the use of some environmental measures. Participating restaurants spend a maximum of 24 hours a year improving on their water conservation, energy conservation, waste reduction and pollution prevention. Environmental experts, together with GER volunteers, assess the premises and GER helps research and implement the environmental reforms. At the end of the programme, the newly improved restaurants undergo a formal audit to become certified as green businesses. |
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Reference |
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Summary
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Cases of Salmonella Bareilly, which can cause diarrhoea, vomiting and fever, are appearing throughout Britain and health authorities suspect that there could be a common source. They have not determined if it is food-borne but advised that salmonella is usually spread by undercooked food or poor hygiene and while investigations continue, they also advised that taking care while preparing food and hand washing are effective defences against the bacterium. More than 2,500 varieties of Salmonella have been identified but the majority of food poisoning are caused by just two strains: S. enteritidis and S. typhimurium. |
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Reference |
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Item 8 |
Japanese Agency, Industry Plan Development Of Home-Use Fuel Cells To Be Sold By 2005 |
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Summary
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The Japanese government and industry will start a large-scale experiment for developing home-use fuel cell units, with the hope of launching commercial sales in 2005. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI)'s New Energy Foundation and 11 private-sector companies will conduct the experiment in phases starting in Sep 2003 at 43 locations. By 2005, the participating firms are expected to be able to manufacture commercially marketable home-use fuel cell units with output of about 1 kilowatt. |
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Reference |
International Environment Reporter, Vol. 26, No.17 Pages 843 and 844 |
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Summary
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In the United States, Honda plans to become the first automaker to mass market a vehicle that runs on natural gas. The automaker intents to sell the car model Civic GX to the general public during the second half of 2004. This model is expected to cost consumers about 15% more than a petrol-powered Civic. However, the GX will cost about one-third less to operate than a car that runs on petrol. The GX has also benefits for the environment, such as emitting 87 percent less nitrogen oxide, 25% less carbon dioxide and 70% less carbon monoxide than an engine that uses petrol. The GX was previously introduced in 1998, but the lack of refueling stations has limited the production and use of natural gas powered vehicles. With new plans to allow owners to fill their tanks with natural gas from the their homes, Honda hopes to sell tens of thousands of these vehicles each year. |
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Reference |
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Summary
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The Japanese government has announced that they are drafting a new long term energy/carbon dioxide emission national policy that supports the continued use of nuclear power to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, through the recovery of plutonium and spent nuclear fuel reprocessing. The government warned that without the use of nuclear power, Japan would fail to achieve its internationally committed goal of reducing greenhouse gas by 6 percent by between 2008-2012, compared to the 1990 levels. Based on estimates, Japan needs to build 10 to 13 additional nuclear power stations to keep its carbon dioxide emissions within its commitment under the Kyoto Protocol. Besides its international commitment, Japan is compelled to continue with its nuclear plans since most of the existing nuclear power stations are kept idle at the moment, causing Japan to burn more coal and oil leading to more carbon dioxide emissions in the process. |
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Reference |
International Environment Reporter Vol. 26, No.17, Page 844 |
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Item 12 |
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Summary
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A new business venture, offering an alternative mode of transport-bicycle, could see a healthier population of Londoners and cleaner city air. OY Bikes is initiating a scheme to get Capital commuters pedalling their way around the city, rather than using conventional buses, trains, tubes and taxis. In and around Hammersmith and Fulham, 130 green and yellow bikes will be placed at each of 600 locations, offering customers a pollution-free method of travelling within the city. The pilot scheme is due to start in Sep 2003 and will place the bicycles at strategic transport points such as tube stations, public buildings and car parks. |
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Reference |
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Item 13 |
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Summary
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An non-government organization (NGO) in India discovered dangerously high levels of four toxic pesticides in bottled soft drinks produced and sold by the Pepsi Cola and Coca Cola companies in and around New Delhi, blaming poor water quality standards for the problem. A study by the NGO showed that the drinks contain residues of lindane, DDT, malathion, and chlorpyrifos that exceed standards set by the European Union. Each sample had enough poison to cause long term health problems like cancer, damage to the nervous systems reproductive system, birth defects, and severe disruption of the immune system. The report finding prompted Indian lawmakers to call for a ban on sales of the beverages and possible revision of the water quality standards for the soft drink industry, which are weakly regulated and enforced. |
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Reference |
International Environment Reporter, Vol. 26, No. 17, Page 841 |