Month: July 1999

US Air Quality Index updated after 23 years

The EPA's new Air Quality Index will provide the public with precautions that the agency recommends individuals take on days when air pollution poses a threat to health. The new Index will include warnings for people suffering from health conditions, including asthma.

MALAWI: soil erosion threatens Lake Malawi

International researchers have warned that soil erosion is threatening the viability of Africa's third largest lake, home to about 700 species of fish.

BP Amoco wins greenwash award for solar petrol stations

Celebrating the entry of the word "greenwash" into the official lexicon of the English language (via the Oxford English Dictionary), Corporate Watch gave the Summer Greenwash Award to the BP-Amoco corporation for its "Plug in the Sun" program. BP claims that by installing solar powered gas pumps, it allows you to "fill your tank with sunshine."

Legal gaffe puts pressure on Jamaica to protect the conch

A leading Jamaican environmentalist has told edie that the Jamaican government's failure to pass legislation protecting the conch and lobster from overfishing risks placing the country in conflict with international laws.

Cruise line industry ‘wakes up’ to environmental pollution

The International Council of Cruise Lines (ICCL) has sought to assure the public that recent violations of environmental laws by its members have acted as a 'wake-up call' to the industry. Royal Caribbean International, an ICCL member, was fined $18 million in July for the illegal dumping of oil and hazardous chemicals in six US districts.

Standards for chemicals in drinking water may be incomplete

A study published by the American Chemical Society has raised questions regarding current standards for chemical levels in drinking water. The EPA-commissioned study looked at the volatisation of chemicals to indoor air from residential dishwashers.

Canada tests CO² emissions trading scheme

Two pilot projects in greenhouse gas emissions trading have provided Canada with real experience in a trading system that the government hopes will assist it in meeting targets to reduce CO² emissions.

Southern Ocean warming increases rainfall

Ocean warming has caused an eight per cent increase in rainfall over the Southern Ocean and South Pacific over the past 20 years, say Australian scientists in a new report published in Nature this week.

US CEOs believe technology will eventually solve climate change

The Business Roundtable (BRT), an association of CEOs of leading US corporations, has called on government to assist in the development of new technologies to deal with climate change. The report states that technology will not be of use in meeting the Kyoto Protocol, and reasserts the organisation's opposition to the treaty whose aim is to reduce CO² emissions.

World carbon emissions fall while economy expands

For the first time since 1993, global emissions of carbon from the combustion of fossil fuels declined last year, falling 0.5 percent to 6.32 billion tons, according to new estimates by the Worldwatch Institute.

MAURITIUS: Port-Louis fishermen fight for pollution compensation

Fishermen in the Port Louis area are threatening to blockade the port, if they are not compensated for lack of income due to industrial pollution. They are also demanding rehabilitation of the polluted area and re-planting of corals.

Head of Greenpeace UK released from custody

Lord Melchett, head of Greenpeace UK, was released on Wednesday 28 July after being remanded in custody on Monday. Melchett and 27 other environmental activists attacked a genetically-modified maize field in Norfolk on Monday.

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