NEW YORK—(ENEWSPF)—December 17, 2012. Amnesty International and Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) have hailed last Friday’s ECOWAS Court of Justice ground-breaking judgment as a “key moment in holding governments and companies to account for pollution.” In the case, SERAP v. Nigeria, the Court unanimously found the Nigerian government responsible[Read More…]
Science
Poisoned Dog Injures Veternarians
Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–December 17, 2012) Pets are frequently exposed to toxic chemicals used for lawn care, bug sprays, flea and tick products, and rodenticides. Recently, a dog ingested a zinc phosphide based pellet rodenticide, and threw up these toxic chemicals, creating a toxic gas that caused respiratory stress for four of[Read More…]
What Are the Chances You Will Have a White Christmas
Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–December 14, 2012. The National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) can help answer that age-old question. This year the Center updated a map that shows the climatological probabilities of a white Christmas across the Nation. The Probability of a White Christmas map, now based on the most recent 1981–2010[Read More…]
EPA Announces Next Round of Clean Air Standards to Reduce Harmful Soot Pollution
WASHINGTON–(ENEWSPF)–December 14, 2012. In response to a court order, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today finalized an update to its national air quality standards for harmful fine particle pollution (PM2.5), including soot, setting the annual health standard at 12 micrograms per cubic meter. By 2020, ninety-nine percent of U.S.[Read More…]
Research Could Lead to Better Ways to Heal Injuries and Develop New Drugs
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.–(ENEWSPF)–December 14, 2012. In the 1970s and 1980s, tissue engineers began working on growing replacement organs for transplantation into patients. While scientists are still targeting that goal, much of the tissue engineering research at MIT is also focused on creating tissue that can be used in the lab to[Read More…]
MIT Anthropologist Looks Inside the Growing World of Do-it-yourself American Cheese-makers.
Professor Heather Paxson is available for interviews to discuss the research underlying her new book, “The Life of Cheese.” CAMBRIDGE, Mass.–(ENEWSPF)–December 14, 2012. Crafting high-quality artisanal cheese is not complicated, but it’s also not easy. Basically, heat a lot of milk, add bacterial cultures and enzymes to thicken it into[Read More…]
Study Finds Years Living With Disease, Injury Increasing Globally
Boston, MA –(ENEWSPF)–December 14, 2012. No matter where they live, how much education they have, or what their incomes are, people have very similar perceptions on the impact of diseases and injuries. This finding – counter to the prevailing belief that people throughout the world view different health conditions in[Read More…]
State Health Department Releases New Data on Infections in Illinois Hospitals
“C.diff” on the rise; MRSA infections stable CHICAGO—(ENEWSPF)—December 14, 2012. The Illinois Hospital Report Card and Consumer Guide to Health Care website now contains the first infection surveillance data available statewide on hospital-acquired infections for two of the most common and often life-threatening bacterium found in Illinois hospitals. For the[Read More…]
Neonicotinoids Regulators Criticized by UK Parliament
Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–December 14, 2012. Decision making advice by the Advisory Committee on Pesticides (ACP) and insecticide regulator, the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra), were harshly criticized on Wednesday by Members of Parliament (UK), as they discussed the problems associated with neonicotinoids, a group of neurotoxic insecticides linked[Read More…]
U.S., Pennsylvania and Scranton, Pa., Sewer Authority Settle Violations of Sewage Overflows
Settlement Establishes Control Plan to Protect Lackawanna River WASHINGTON–(ENEWSPF)–December 13, 2012. The United States and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania announced today a settlement with the Scranton Sewer Authority (SSA) resolving alleged Clean Water Act violations involving sewer overflows to the Lackawanna River and its tributaries. In a proposed consent decree,[Read More…]
