Full Coverage: Pollution

31.08.2004 Back in 1872 Frederick Law Olmsted, the granddaddy of American landscape architecture and the designer of New York's Central Park, proclaimed that trees were the "lungs of the city."

31.08.2004 It will take more than a few extra pounds on our gas bills to make us do something about global warming.

31.08.2004 India is on the brink of a massive waste disposal crisis, but solutions are not forthcoming, says Sanjay K Gupta of New Delhi-based NGO Toxics Link, which disseminates information on toxics as well as hazardous, medical and municipal wastes.

30.08.2004 Lung cancer and respiratory diseases are cutting a swathe through villages next to Kosovo’s ageing electricity stations.

By Arben Salihu in Pristina and Obilic.

30.08.2004 Rubbish from homes in the north east of the UK has been sent to India for recycling, reports reveal.

27.08.2004 A waste management campaign aimed at reducing, recycling and reusing waste has been launched by Clean Energy Nepal and Japan International Cooperation Agency in five municipalities in Kathmandu, Nepal.

25.08.2004

© Friends of the Earth England, Wales and Northern Ireland

New analyses of fish samples collected by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from 500 lakes and reservoirs across the country found mercury in every single sample. Fifty-five percent show mercury levels above EPA’s “safe” limit for a woman of average weight and seventy-six percent exceeded limits for children under the age of three.

24.08.2004 At a news conference last week, a former plutonium worker and a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent revealed that the Department of Energy “made false representations to the regulators as the basis of cleanup plans" at Rocky Flats Nuclear site, a former weapons production plant near Denver. Large areas of the land on which the plant was located are still contaminated with radioactive and toxic wastewater, even as the federal government forges ahead with plans to make part of the site a wildlife refuge in 2006.

23.08.2004 GARY, Indiana, August 23, 2004 (ENS) - In one of the nation’s largest natural resource damage settlements, eight companies have agreed to pay roughly $56 million to partly restore natural resources in the Grand Calumet River and Indiana Harbor Canal.

19.08.2004 WASHINGTON, DC, August 19, 2004 (ENS) - Industrial facilities are getting away with accidental, unplanned air pollution releases, known as upset episodes, in 29 states, according to a fresh analysis of government data by the nonprofit and nonpartisan Environmental Integrity Project released on Wednesday.

19.08.2004 Industrial facilities are getting away with accidental, unplanned air pollution releases, known as upset episodes, in 29 states, according to a fresh analysis of government data by the nonprofit and nonpartisan Environmental Integrity Project released on Wednesday.

19.08.2004 Living near a petrol station or commercial garage may quadruple the risk of childhood leukaemia. A recent study in France has found a link between cases of acute leukaemia among youngsters and how close they lived to a petrol station or a garage carrying out car repairs.

19.08.2004 According to a new report by a non-governmental organization, security measures proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the wake of 9/11 to prevent possible leakage of lethal gas from the nation’s non-nuclear
power plants were blocked by the White House. Some 3.5 million people living near these non-nuclear power plants continue to face the danger that a terrorist attack could send a cloud of toxic and lethal gas into their neighborhoods.

18.08.2004 The governments of Australia and China signed an agreement this week to collaborate on projects that will reduce emissions of gases linked to global warming. The announcement comes ahead of a major workshop in Beijing next month that will be attended by industry, researchers and non-governmental organisations from both countries.

18.08.2004 Air pollution is a major concern in Kathmandu valley. The problem is even more severe in the villages, where the reliance on bio-fuels is causing a major health crisis. OneWorld partner EnvironmentNEPAL investigates the problem of indoor pollution in the villages of Nepal.

18.08.2004 Air pollution is a major concern in Kathmandu valley. The problem is even more severe in villages, where the reliance on bio-fuels is causing a major health crisis.

Anil K. Raut from EnvironmentNEPAL tells us about the problem of indoor pollution in the villages of Nepal….

18.08.2004

Capital of Vieques © Noticias Aliadas / Latimamerica Press

The Environmental Protection Agency announced last week that it would add the Island of Vieques, Puerto Rico, to the list of the country’s most contaminated hazardous waste site. The Island which was the U.S. Navy live training site for 100 years is also being investigated to identify contaminated areas outside of the live impact area.

17.08.2004 Human-made flame-retardant chemicals are contaminating our food supply, according to a recent study. The study looked at contaminant levels of polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) in salmon. Of particular concern is the finding that Scottish farmed salmon had the second highest level in the study. The EU is currently considering introducing a new law to bring tighter regulation of such chemicals.

17.08.2004 Toxics Link, a New Delhi-based environmental organisation, has published a report focusing on the status of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) in south Asia. The detailed study presents and examines data in terms of sources, pathways and contamination, exposures and effects.

07.08.2004 Sarajevo Film Festival in cooperation with UNDP will give an award for the best Short film that promotes environment protection. The competition will include short films within Regional and New Currents Programs. ECO award for the best film will be handed over on 28th of August 2004, during the official closing ceremony of the 10th Sarajevo Film Festival. By giving this award, UNDP wishes to support young and talented authors of short film, but to emphasize the importance of the environment problems solving in Bosnia and Herzegovina as well.