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BY PHILIPPA JONES

NANOTECHNOLOGY scientists remain excited by the advantages various industries can glean from the addition of nanosilver to textiles, but there is increasing opposition to its use in non-medical fields and growing concern that not enough is known about its health and environmental effects.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

CONSERVATIONISTS may detest the notion of jungle food – cooking rain forest species for the dinner table. But harvested sustainably, the plants, animals and birds of jungles, deserts, ice caps and steppes inhabited by traditional societies offer excellent nutrition.…

BY EMMA JACKSON

THE EUROPEAN Commission and European Environmental Agency have launched a pollution register for European industries. It shows in 2007, (the latest figures available), the European textiles pre-treatment and dyeing industry released 76.7 tonnes of nitrogen into water and 6,460 tonnes of nitrous oxide into the air, for instance.…

By KEITH NUTHALL

AIRPORT customers worldwide can assess the carbon footprint of their flights when buying an e-ticket in future because of a groundbreaking deal between the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and Spain-based travel IT company Amadeus. It supplies e-ticketing platforms to many companies, and will now use data from an electronic ICAO carbon calculator, which takes account of aircraft type, route specific data, passenger load factors, cargo carried and other factors affecting CO2 emissions.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE MOST detailed study into the environmental, energy and social costs generated by auto manufacturers when making cars has dubbed General Motors the world’s most profligate and Toyota cleanest and greenest. The study coordinated by Queen’s University, Belfast, concluded GM wasted Euro 9.8 billion’s worth of environmental and social costs compared to a notional industry average in 2007 (the most recent available data); while Toyota saved Euro 5.2 billion’s worth of impact compared to an industry mean.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A REVISED European Commission action plan to boost nanotechnology has signalled that Brussels will be pressing for market reports that will test whether consumers avoid buying products with nano-particles over safety concerns. In a detailed list of initiatives, the Commission said it would work with member states and the European Union’s (EU) ‘nanotechnology high level group’ to keep watch on the nanotechnology product market.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE

MOROCCO’S 150,000 tonnes per year decorative paint market, worth Moroccan Dirham (MAD) 2 billion (GBPounds 157.4 million), grew by an estimated 5 to 8% in 2008, but plunged by 30% in December in the wake of the financial crisis, according to paint manufacturer Hempel Morocco (NOTE – SPELLING IS CORRECT).…

BY EMMA JACKSON

FRAGRANCE houses know how to bottle scents – that’s their job and expertise. But scent is not only for graceful necks and pampered wrists; it can also market products, create ambiance, or add realism to a museum exhibit.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE USA petroleum and petrochemical industries may face comprehensive controls on the chemicals they buy and use, maybe mirroring Europe’s REACH system. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is preparing draft reforms to American toxic chemicals regulations, branding them an "inadequate tool for providing the protection against chemical risks that the public rightfully expects".…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission is to review all existing European Union (EU) laws that control the use of nanoparticles, to ensure regulations are sufficiently robust to cope with their unusual properties. Outgoing EU environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas told a Swedish government-European Commission conference on nano-regulation: "The Commission will review all relevant legislation within two years to ensure safety for all applications of nanomaterials in products with potential health, environmental or safety impacts over their life cycle."…