Berlin, 13 April – A new report by the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change “IPCC” indicates that global emissions of greenhouse gases have accelerated despite reduction efforts. The report, also, shows that many pathways to substantial emission reductions are available. As, many other atmospheric pollutants and toxic compounds are expected, also, to be associated with the emissions of greenhouse gases, then enhanced degradation in world aquatic and ecosystems will be taking place in parallel. In addition, the sites where these emissions are taking place there would be additional local and regional problems as well to the workers, in particular “high occupational levels of pollution” and the public health of individuals “air quality” in general.

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO1404/S00127/many-pathways-to-substantial-emissions-reductions-available.htm

By 2030 South Africa will have 60 million people, i.e. more than double of today’s population, to feed. Today’s water and energy resources are already used up for living and providing food. The only solution is SUSTAINABLE planning and recognizing the way these three resources, i.e. food, energy and water, are INTER-CONNECTED.  We need sustainability as much as sustainability needs us.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MGNxRZD4Uxs

Our understanding of algae, their unique and rich diversity, is shifting more and more towards finding industrial applications for production of useful products, in particular, food (human food, fish food and animal food), energy and farmaceutical products. There are known methods and tools to extract oil and other valuable products from algae, also to change the genetic content and chemical composition of many algae.

Many and many organizations give lots of money for research for commercialization of algae. Research takes is typical path fuelled by society needs, human hopes for prosperity and fears from environmental threats. In this amazing journey of what we are right now and where we are heading to, there are several important facts to be known, e.g. benefits and threats. There are, also, key interests in understanding the potential of artificial photosynthesis as a new path, not yet fully understood, for production of energy.

Algae are “biochemical reactors” that can recycle carbon to produce organic compounds in different forms, which indeed is the origin of all the gas and oil reservoirs around the world. Multi-hundred-million dollar industries have invested in many products, e.g. sushi wrap, oils, dental impression, ice cream thickener, cosmetics, medical products, plastics… etc. They still invest more and more money for production of energy-rich food, biofuel from algae and use of wastewater to grow algae as well as for the extraction of other useful products like coloring agents and anti-oxidant, agro-culture business for production of food in the fish and shellfish industries.

Basic research is needed, and even imperative, to solve central bottleneck in algae processing technology ranging from cultivation, harvesting, extraction of desired products, processing and refining. Micro-algae are known to grow very fast and there is commercial potential in industrial microbiology where molecular biology in combination with aquaculture and marine farming can yield hybrid and novel technologies. Unlike industrial small-scale microbial technologies, e.g. cheese, beer, alcohol that are based on “closed systems” trying to cultivate algae on large-scale, i.e. in open systems, is a great challenge. Algae are now looked upon as the most sustainable known potential source of biofuel. The challenges are transferring the many different types of small-scale bioreactors to open systems for growing algae at large scale. Up-scaling of algae-based technology leads to emergent issues that are not fully controlled, e.g. competitor algae, predators and diseases (bacteria and viruses). Up-scaling to large-scale open systems, therefore, requires solving a wide-range of difficulties and threats including those arising from varying weather conditions, e.g temperature, and much work is still needed.

Check the top 10 health benefits of eating Kale.

http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-4408/Top-10-Health-Benefits-of-Eating-Kale.html

Go organic and green, even better go straight to the queen of greens “KALE”. Anti-inflammatiry, anti-oxidants, more iron than beef, more calcium than milk, low calories, no fats, very rich in vitamin A, C and K. To be organic means that you remove the threats of residual pesticides.

http://marinahunley.com/2013/11/18/health-benefits-of-kale/

For those who are working in laboratories and/or in a way or another being exposed to indoor pollutants, there are guidelines for the exposure to such pollutants. In this document such guidelines for indoor air-quality are given for some selected indoor sources of pollutants (benzene, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, naphthalene, nitrogen dioxide, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (especially benzo[a]pyrene), radon, trichloroethylene and tetrachloroethylene). These pollutants are known in respect of their hazardousness to health and are often found indoors in concentrations of health concern. For these pollutants information is given for their indoor sources, pathways of exposure, indoor concentrations, indoor–outdoor relationship, kinetics and metabolism, health effects, and health risk evaluations as well as other relavant explanations.

Click to access e94535.pdf

Air pollution has become the world’s single biggest environmental health risk. According to WHO it is linked to around 7 million death or nearly one in eight death in 2012. The new figures are more double previous estimates and suggest that outdoor pollution from traffic fumes and coal-burning, and indoor pollution from wood and coal stoves, kill more people than smoking, road death and diabetes combines.

The document is WHO’s Air Quality Guidelines Global Update 2005. These Guidelines offer guidance to policy-makers on reducing the effects on health of air pollution for the four most common air pollutants – particulate matter, ozone, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide.  Also, issues affecting the use of the guidelines in risk assessment and policy development.

This document contains Part (1) Application of air quality guidelines for policy development and risk reduction; Part (2) Risk assessment of selected pollutants (Particulate matter, Ozone, Nitrogen dioxide, Sulfur dioxide).

Click to access E90038.pdf

Modern brain research has facilitated to understand the interaction between mind and brain, to turn brain anxiety into calmness, to reduce stress and anxiety, relieve pain, change lifestyle habits, and to live with more wellness. Brains can be wired in different ways, but they are also changeable “neuroplasticity” and thereby we can bring about a state of “worrying well”, i.e. to turn anxiety and stress into calmness and confidence. These all related to that our worries are in fact no more than thoughts, anxieties are feelings, and threats are responses. In this context, we have to take inconsideration that men and women are emotionally different.

Air pollution is a worldwide problem especially in many big cities and industrial areas around the world. Emission of fine particulate matter (e.g. aerodynamic diameter ≤ 2.5 µm; PM_2.5) , chemicals (e.g. biogenic VOC) and pollutants (e.g. heavy metals), and associated photo-chemical reactions (e.g. production of tropospheric ozone) in the atmosphere as well as in-cloud interactions (e.g. acid rain) experienced dramatic changes since the industrial revolutions. Concentrations of hazardous pollutants in global atmospheric air masses, dry and wet precipitates have been subject to gradual increasing reaching harmful levels for air-quality what regards human health (e.g. lung cancer, mortality) and the environment (e.g. negative impacts for forests and vegetation and quality of life in aquatic eco-systems) in many places around the world.

Climate change influences air quality through several mechanisms, including changes in photochemical reaction rates, biogenic emissions, deposition/re-suspension, and atmospheric circulation. Several techniques/approaches were used in such studies including atmospheric chemistry, climate model inter-comparison, high-resolution satellite observations together with a global atmospheric models and extensive compilation of surface measurements to better represent global air pollution exposure.

http://www.salon.com/2013/09/23/infographic_shows_air_pollution_deaths_around_the_world_newscred/

The dream of any nation is to provide its population with safety and security especially in most critical situations with severe disasters, tragedies and collective nightmare arising from fear, insecurity and uncertain future. The nuclear disaster and the national tragedy from Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan demonstrated how collective efforts, the neat national planning along with continuous and intensive hard-work brought about safety and security for almost all the population in Japan.

An amazing awareness and responsibility on all levels for the DE-COMTAMINATION of every single inch or centimeter of land, houses, school, hospitals, roads, trees and practically all environmental compartments. A national DE-COMTAMINATION strategy if followed by other nations much of pollutions and waste problems can be solved. Successful sustainable management is about providing future generations with secure and safe living conditions, it is a collective discipline, awareness and responsibility from all for all and by all including preparing and fostering future generation for how to handle national disasters and severe tragedies.

Cleaning up Fukushima

Whether we agree or not on the causes of global warming, facts still remain about the increasing impacts of climate change not only on weather but, also, life quality on earth. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has enormous evidence on increasing average global temperatures; rising sea levels; changing global precipitation patterns, including increasing amounts and variability; and increasing mid-continental summer drought. The combined effects of weather changes may have significant impacts on wildlife, domestic animal, and human health and diseases. Expanding human populations is already causing intensive pressures on the limited water resources with feedback impacts on habitat destruction, and more risks for infectious diseases to cross from one species to another.

Click to access Climate_Change_and_Wildlife_Health.pdf

Asbestosis is known to affect the tissue of lungs as a consequence of the inhalation and retention of asbestos fibers. This usually occurs after high intensity and/or long-term exposure to asbestos from mining, manufacturing, handling, or removal of asbestos. This is, also, the case for people in houses or areas contaminated by asbestos.  Sufferers may experience severe dyspnea (shortness of breath) and are at an increased risk for certain malignancies, including lung cancer but especially mesothelioma.

As the damage to lungs occur from contaminated air, early investigation were carried out through measurements of asbestos levela in air samples, which is suspected to have caused asbestos-related lung problems.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wy-p_DvM6Jw&feature=youtu.be