Wednesday, 01 Oct 2003

Dead Heat

Global Warming May Be Killing 160,000 People a Year

Climate change and its side effects may be killing about 160,000 people a year, with children in developing countries particularly vulnerable, according to a new report by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the World Health Organization. By 2020, the annual number of deaths attributed to climate change could almost double. The majority of the deaths are expected to occur in Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America, where people are more vulnerable to malnutrition, malaria, and diarrhea as hotter temperatures settle in and floods and droughts become more common. Milder winters could mean fewer cold-related deaths in Europe and North America, said Andrew Haines of the LSHTM, but those benefits would be significantly outweighed by higher rates of disease.

Nettling Question

Nettle Fabric Could Be Eco-Friendly Replacement for Cotton

Fabric made from stinging nettles could be the next big thing in eco-friendly fashion. The process of growing nettles is much gentler on the Earth than growing cotton, which generally entails high use of water and pesticides. (Almost a quarter of the world's pesticides are sprayed on cotton plants.) In contrast, nettles don't need much water or protection from pests, and they provide habitat for many insect species and small birds. While hemp and flax are also eco-friendly replacements for cotton, they produce rough fabric, whereas nettles, strangely enough, can be made into soft and silky fabrics. One Italian fashion house has perfected a nettle fabric, designed a line of nettle-fabric clothes, and lined up willing retailers around the world. It's biggest problem: finding enough farmers to grow the nettles it needs.

Minding Nemo

Tropical Fish Trade Threatens Coral Reef Ecosystems

More than 20 million tropical fish and up to 10 million other marine critters are caught each year for the aquarium trade, according to a new report from the U.N. Environment Programme. One of the most destructive harvesting methods involves stunning tropical fish with a near-lethal dose of sodium cyanide, which can harm not only fish but coral reef ecosystems as well. Still, the report found that if harvesting were conducted sustainably, the aquarium trade could help coastal communities in Southeast Asia fight poverty and provide locals with incentives to protect fish stocks and marine ecosystems. The nonprofit Marine Aquarium Council offers a certification program for ensuring that fish have been caught sustainably; the UNEP report recommends wider application of such programs.

Nuclear Waste By Any Other Name...

Energy Department Wants to Redefine Nuclear Waste

The U.S. Department of Energy is asking Congress for the power to redefine some nuclear waste to allow it to be left where it is or disposed of at low-level radioactive waste sites instead of buried deep underground. The waste in question consists of tens of millions of gallons of salts and sludges left over from weapons production in Idaho, South Carolina, and Washington, as well as waste from a reprocessing plant near Buffalo, N.Y. The DOE has chosen Yucca Mountain, Nev., as the site for its underground repository for high-level nuke waste, but the site isn't scheduled to open for years, and if and when it does, it won't be big enough to hold all of the nation's high-level waste, so the DOE is looking for disposal alternatives. "This is DOE's attempt to pawn off highly contaminated stuff on the state," Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said yesterday. "We are fighting it."

Drowned and Out

Three Gorges Dam Causing Unexpected Pollution Problems

Unexpected environmental problems are already cropping up at China's Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest hydropower and construction project. After the dam went into operation in June, the reservoir behind it reached 443 feet and was supposed to stay at that level until 2006, but the Chinese government recently announced that the reservoir is now expected to rise another 13 feet by the end of October. This increased water level could cause serious pollution problems, say dam observers, because it will inundate polluted sites that weren't yet scheduled to be cleaned up. Enviros say the reservoir is set to become the world's largest cesspool. Though the government gave no reasons for the unexpected rise in waters, one possible explanation is that silt is building up behind the dam more quickly than anticipated.