Search Results for: Environmental Health⊂mit=Search

BY BILL CORCORAN, in Lilongwe, Malawi

THE WIDESPREAD implementation of new technological developments in Malawi’s flue-cured tobacco process could enable local producers to dramatically increase their output and its quality, according to industry experts.

Results from tests run during Malawi’s latest tobacco curing season using a new method of heating have shown a dramatic improvement in energy efficiency over standard methods, and an improved quality of the end product compared to traditionally cured tobacco.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A DEAL has been struck at the European Union (EU) Council of Ministers over unbundling of gas (and electricity) networks, which will allow formal ownership of production and distribution operations.

However, this compromise option will insist on transmission systems being managed by an independent operator.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

IN a major overhaul of the European Union’s (EU) Common Agricultural Policy, the European Commission has announced proposals to scrap price-inflating intervention for pig-meat and also effectively abolish it for feed grains. In proposals released on Tuesday (May 20), the Commission said: "Market supply measures should not slow farmers’ ability to respond to market signals."…

BY ANDREW CAVE

WITH scientific evidence of global fish depletion, governments and the fishing industry worldwide might be expected find common cause around ensuring sustainable resources will still exist in future years.

That’s not exactly how the response to fisheries sustainability has been framed, however.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

ETHIOPIA COMMODITY EXCHANGE OPENS

ETHIOPIA has opened a commodity exchange, designed to bring order to the country’s often chaotic food markets. Their informality effectively forces farmers to sell locally to traders they know and trust. This prevents commodities moving from regions where there is abundance to those where there are shortages, intensifying the risk of famine and for prices to plummet in districts with a production glut.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A EUROPEAN Observatory on Nanotechnologies – charged with predicting and detecting the potential environmental health problems caused by the increasing use of nanoparticles in consumer products – is to be created. Coordinated by the Institute of Nanotechnology in Glasgow, Scotland, it will receive Euro 4 million in funding from the European Union.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

FACED with an international food shortage and rising food prices, the European Commission has proposed permanently scrapping the ‘set-aside’ system, where 10% of European Union (EU) farm fields lie fallow.

Also, as expected, the Commission has proposed scrapping restrictive milk quotas from 2015, with five annual 1% production quota increases before that date.…

By Keith Nuthall

A UNITED Nations-sponsored global initiative to encourage business schools to teach and promote social and environmentally responsible commercial practices has gathered a critical mass of support. More than 100 business schools worldwide have now signed up to the Principles for Responsible Management Initiative.…

BY KARRYN CARTELLE

AS the world’s wild finfish and seafood stocks continue to dwindle and environmental pressure for sustainable fishing practices rises, South Korea’s fishing fleet is adjusting with the times.

South and North Korea’s combined expansive coastline spans 8,693 kilometres (South Korea’s mainland alone commands 2,413km).…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE SCIENTIFIC committee of the European Union’s (EU) official advisor on green issues has advised the immediate suspension of Europe’s target to increase biofuel use to 10% of transport fuels by 2020. The European Environment Agency (EEA) export panel has recommended that meanwhile a "new, comprehensive scientific study on the environmental risks and benefits of biofuels" be staged.…