Currently browsing tag

environment

More urgent action needed on air pollution in Britain – MPs

By Nina Chestney LONDON (Reuters) – A government plan to tackle air pollution in five major cities in Britain by 2020 will not be enough and more urgent action needs to be taken, lawmakers said on Wednesday. Britain has some of the highest levels in Europe of the pollutant nitrogen dioxide, which is produced by diesel vehicles, and has already breached EU limits. Last year, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said it would introduce so-called clean air zones in areas of Birmingham, Leeds, Nottingham, Derby and Southampton by 2020 in a bid to improve air quality.

Smart wheelchair moves by pacifier sucks

A Barcelona-based disability foundation has created an intelligent chair so that severely disabled children can better explore their surroundings. Previous models of wheelchair were usually joystick-operated and were unusable for children without the necessary motor skills or with limited awareness of their environment. This model of wheelchair responds to voice command, head movement, or sucks of a pacifier.

Malaysia deforestation liked to human cases of monkey malaria

Deforestation in Malaysia and the changes it causes to the environment are highly likely to be to blame for a steep rise in human cases of a type of malaria usually found in monkeys, scientists said on Thursday. The mosquito-borne disease, known as Plasmodium knowlesi malaria, is common in forest-dwelling macaque monkeys and was only recently found for the first time in people, the scientists said in a study of the issue. In research published in the Emerging Infectious Diseases journal, scientists led by Kimberly Fornace of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine said their analysis showed that changes in the way land is used is a key driver in the emergence of P. knowlesi in people.

EU should curb mercury emissions from cremations, campaigners say

By Barbara Lewis BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Environment campaigners are calling for curbs on mercury emissions from human cremations as part of pollution controls that EU authorities will debate this month. Increased cremation as shortage of land makes burial expensive has coincided with a rise in emissions of the toxic metal from fillings in teeth. An average cremation releases 2 to 4 grams of mercury, data compiled by U.S. researchers shows. Mercury is associated with mental development problems. …