中国与世界，环境危机大家谈 WHERE CHINA AND THE WORLD DISCUSS THE ENVIRONMENT
2012年5月21日
最新世界环境资讯
《卫报》援引欧盟气候变化专员康妮·赫泽高的话称，全球99%以上的主要航空公司已按照欧盟碳排放协议提交了碳排放数据。只有中国的8家航空公司和印度的2家航空公司未能如期在3月31号前提交数据，为此欧盟将提交日期延至6月中旬。
《中国日报》报道，中国航空运输协会的一位官员称，中国的航空公司将不会履行欧盟只是通过其成员国政府通过的碳排方案。今年二月，中国民航总局禁止航空公司履行在未经中国政府同意的欧盟方案。
《中国日报》报道， 北京市民从5月31日起可在加油站加到京V标准的汽油，此标准油品油品主要指标符合欧V标准。全市油品必须符合新标准，北京环保局预测，此举可使二氧化硫排放量从50毫克/公斤减少到40毫克/公斤。
法新社报道，美国上海领事馆公布了其污染统计数据，比中国官方的城市空气质量数据更为悲观。领事馆每个小时都在网络和推特上公布监测到实时空气质量数据。与美国驻京大使馆一样，上海领事馆也对PM2.5进行了监测。
英国国家通讯社报道，由英国科学家研制的污染监测系统将在7月伦敦奥运会期间进行试用。这套系统能够在整座城市范围内进行空气质量监察。与传统的“热点”系统不同的是，这套系统可以展现一幅大范围的“地图”，从而显示城市各个角落的空气质量。这样，工作人员便可读取到特定地点的污染数据，比如某个路口和儿童游乐场。
ZEE新闻消息，八国集团领导人承诺与非洲国家及其它国家联合启动“新粮食安全和营养保障”计划。该行动旨在未来10年内帮助50万人脱离贫困，并促进私人资本在非洲的农业投资，推动创新，提高可持续农业生产率，以及减少脆弱经济体所承担的风险。
路透社报道，美国商务部裁定，对中国制造的进口太阳能电池板征收约30％的惩罚性关税。此举是针对美国太阳能板制造企业指责中国企业“倾销”行为的回应。 中国商务部负责人则表示，“美国的做法是对清洁能源市场贸易的蓄意挑衅，对贸易保护主义造成负面影响。”
《卫报》消息，意大利北部艾米利亚—罗马涅大区的博洛尼亚小城镇，20日遭遇6.0级地震后发了100多余震。此次地震已造成7人死亡，迫使数千人逃离家园，当地已有百年历史的文化遗产，如教堂，钟塔和城堡都遭到了不同程度的损坏。
May 21, 2012
A global environmental update
More than 99% of all major global airlines have complied with the first step of the European Union’s scheme to charge them for their carbon emissions, The Guardian quoted Connie Hedegaard, the European commissioner for climate action, as saying. Only eight Chinese airlines and two Indian ones did not submit required baseline emissions data for 2011 by the 31 March deadline – now extended to mid-June.
Chinese airlines will not abide by the system without being ordered to do so by their government, China Daily cited an official of the China Air Transport Association as saying. In February, the country’s Civil Aviation Administration forbade the airlines from abiding by the EU scheme without Chinese government permission.
Beijing will introduce fuel standards on May 31 that municipal officials say are close to the EU’s Euro V standards, China Daily said. All fuel in the city will need to adhere to the new standards, which are expected to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions from 50 to 10 milligrammes per kilogramme, according to the Beijing environmental protection bureau.
The US consulate in Shanghai began issuing its own pollution statistics, giving a much more pessimistic assessment of the city’s air quality than does official Chinese data, according to Agence France-Presse. Hourly air-quality data from a monitoring device at the consulate is posted online and via Twitter. As at the US embassy in Beijing, the consulate monitors smaller particles known as PM 2.5.
An advanced pollution-monitoring system developed by British scientists, which scans air quality across whole cities, is to be trialled in London during the Olympics in July, the Press Association reported. Unlike conventional “hotspot” systems, it provides a wide-ranging “map” that can show air quality at every point in a city – allowing for pollution readings at specific places, such as road junctions and children’s playgrounds.
Leaders of the G-8 countries committed themselves to a “New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition” in association with African and other nations, Zee News said. Aimed at lifting 50 million people out of poverty over the next decade, the alliance aims to speed the flow of private capital to African agriculture, foster innovations to increase sustainable agricultural productivity, and reduce the risk borne by vulnerable economies.
The US imposed punitive tariffs of about 30% on solar panel imports from China, Reuters reported. The commerce department acted after ruling in favour of American companies that accused Chinese exporters of “dumping” cut-price panels. “By deliberately provoking trade friction in the clean-energy sector,” China’s ministry of commerce said, “the US is sending the world a negative signal about trade protectionism.”
More than 100 aftershocks rattled Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region after a 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck small towns on the plains north of Bologna, The Guardian said. At least seven people were killed in the quake, which drove thousands from their homes and also seriously damaged churches, clock towers and castles, some dating back centuries.
2012年5月14日
最新世界环境资讯
彭博新闻转载新华社报道，5月9日，中海油作为中国最大的海上石油生产商，其自主研制的、也是中国首座自主研发的深水钻井平台正式在南海西沙群岛附近开钻。作业地点位于香港以东南320千米，及中国、越南和台湾分属岛屿以北的海域，该区域海底能源储备的竞争将愈发激烈。
《圣何塞信使报》刊登的一份报告称，位于被称为“太平洋大垃圾带”海域的塑料总量自20世纪70年代以来剧增了100倍，同时该区域的大小和密度都在增长。《生物学快报》发布在网上的这份报告还显示了，以浮游生物和鱼仔为食的昆虫的产卵量也相应上升。
《卫报》报道，2011年3月的日本大地震之后的海啸制造了大量的碎片残骸，并以超乎预料的速度漂洋过海抵达了太平洋的对岸。预计的48万吨流入海洋的碎片残骸中，大多数将最终抵达北太平洋垃圾带，而相对较小较轻的物体将陆续被冲到美国和加拿大的西海岸。
《布里斯班时报》报道，近十年来，日本小镇太地町因举行一年一度的海豚猎杀活动一直备受谴责。如今，太地町将要建造占地28公顷的大型海洋哺乳动物公园，该市计划让从周边捕来的宽吻海豚和体型较小的鲸鱼在公园里重新安家。如纪录片《海豚湾》中所描述的，近年来，多达2000只各类海洋动物被捕猎，用于制作食物或者倒卖给水族馆和海洋公园。但相关官员表示，捕猎行为并不会因此停止。
《卫报》称，迫于动物保护人士的压力，一家已注资了中国鹅肝加工厂的英国公司暂停了该项目，并对此作出了检讨。香肠鹅肝被视为美味佳肴，但为了制造出这些美食，鹅鸭被强行喂养大量食物，致使他们的肝脏被迫扩大，这一残忍的行为在大多数欧洲国家是被明令禁止的。
新华社消息，甘肃省嘉峪关市通嘉再生资源加工有限公司发生铅中毒事故，初步调查显示，50名多工人因在工作过程中接触高温原料硫酸渣中铅导致蒸汽吸入和皮肤吸收造成铅中毒。通嘉再生资源加工有限公司的主要经营业务为生铁冶炼和加工。
路透社报道，美国环境保护署的研究报告称位于宾夕法尼亚州的迪莫克小镇，其饮用水检测结果为安全合格，这一消息立即引起了全国关于水力压裂开采天然气的热议。迪莫克的居民们自2009年起就投诉当地的饮用水恶臭混浊，纪录片《天热气之地》就在此地取材拍摄。
美联社援引菲律宾当地官员的话称，大火席卷了马尼拉一处大型棚户区，造成1万多人无家可归，通多区的居民已疏散至附近一处体育场馆。该火灾地的居民大都居住在窝棚里。
May 14, 2012
A global environmental update
China’s first deep-water drilling rig began operations near the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea, Bloomberg News reported, quoting Xinhua. CNOOC, the county’s largest offshore-oil producer, began drilling on May 9, about 320 kilometres south-east of Hong Kong and north of the islands claimed by China, Vietnam and Taiwan. Competition for undersea energy reserves has increased tensions in the region.
The amount of plastic in the ocean area known as the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” has increased a hundredfold since the early 1970s, growing in both size and density, according to new research cited by the San Jose Mercury-News. Published online by Biology Letters, the study also showed that insects that eat zooplankton and fish larvae were laying a growing number of eggs on the plastic.
Debris from the tsunami that followed the massive March 2011 earthquake in Japan has swept across the Pacific faster than expected, The Guardian reported. While most of the estimated 4.8 million tonnes of debris pushed into the sea is believed to be destined for the “garbage patch”, smaller and lighter objects are beginning to wash ashore in the US and Canada.
Taiji, the Japanese town criticised for nearly a decade for its annual slaughter of dolphins, is to build a 28-hectare marine mammal park, according to the Brisbane Times. The town plans to populate the park with bottlenose dolphins and small whales caught nearby. In the yearly hunt – seen in the film “The Cove” – up to 2,000 animals are killed for their meat or sold to aquariums and marine parks. The hunt will continue, officials said.
Following pressure from animal-welfare campaigners, a British company that had been financing a large foie gras factory farm in China has suspended the project pending a review, The Guardian said. Pâté de foie gras, considered a delicacy, is produced by force-feeding geese or ducks until their livers become enlarged; it is banned in most European countries.
Lead poisoning that affected more than 50 people at a plant in Jiayuguan, Gansu province, resulted from the workers inhaling steam from high-temperature raw materials and absorbing it through their skin, a preliminary investigation showed, according to Xinhua. Tongjia Renewable Resources mainly focuses on the smelting and processing of pig iron.
Drinking water is safe to consume in the small Pennsylvania town that became the centre of US debate on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, for natural gas, Reuters quoted the US Environmental Protection Agency as finding. Residents of Dimock, which featured in the documentary “Gasland”, have complained since 2009 of cloudy, foul-smelling water.
A huge fire that swept through a sprawling squatters’ colony along Manila Bay left thousands of people homeless, the Associated Press cited officials in the Philippines as saying. Many of the Tondo district residents, who have been evacuated to a sports complex, lived in shanties built on stilts.
2012年5月8日
最新世界环境资讯
美联社报道，警方称搜救人员全力搜救尼泊尔西北部山洪受困者，截至到目前已从泥浆和碎片中找到17具受害者的尸体，另有47人仍然失踪，生还希望渺茫。此次事故是因安纳布尔纳山脉发生大规模雪崩，塞蒂河洪水暴发淹没了沿岸的村庄所致。
《卫报》报道，美国学者们的研究显示, 海平面的上升不会出现预想中最糟的情形。刊登在《科学》杂志上的研究表明，,格陵兰岛的冰川流入海洋的速度比预计的慢。但是，科学家们发现冰川流失速度仍提高了30%, 并因此提高了沿海低地的海平面。
路透社报道, 挪威开放了其所谓的世界最大最先进的测试碳捕获技术的实验室，此实验室将用于测试联合热电厂和炼油厂的废气。
《中国日报》报道，世界银行的一份报告显示，中国的几个主要城市的人均碳排放量全球最高。收集自天津、上海和北京的数据显示，约40%的城镇排放来自于发电，还有40%来自工业生产，其中主要是煤矿的燃烧。
彭博新闻称，北海道电力公司为了维护而关闭了其位于日本北部的一核电站，至此，日本42年来首次处于没有一处正在运转的核反应堆。可以预料的是，日本将面临电力短缺的问题。日本共有50处核反应堆，拥有46,148兆瓦的发电量。
路透社报道, 爱尔兰通过了中国在爱尔兰中部建立大型贸易集散中心的第一阶段规划许可，这一举措为该国最终称为欧洲最大中国商品源地铺平了道路。
《卫报》称, 近来南美各国热衷于对能源企业实施国有化政策，玻利维亚总统埃沃·莫拉莱斯称将从西班牙电网集团所属的国际电网公司手中收回对国家主要电力的控制。在此之前，阿根廷强行收购了西班牙雷普索尔公司控股的阿最大石油企业YPF公司。
路透社报道，美国就水力压裂开采方式出台新规定，旨在加强境内石油和天然气钻探的监督与管理。此外，捷克环境部计划停止发放页岩气勘探许可证，直至确立新法规。
《纽约时报》消息，自今年2月以来，秘鲁政府进行的监测显示已有超过800头海豚和1500只海鸟死亡。官员解释物种的大量死亡分别由病毒和凤尾鱼短缺所致。一些科学家则认为可能是海洋石油勘探破坏了野生动物的栖息环境，也有科学家称是生物毒素或杀虫剂导致了动物的死亡。
新华社报道，山西可口可乐饮料公司称在例行的自查检测中发现，该公司二月份生产的部分产品因操作失误致含氯水进入饮料。经查实，共有9个批次12余万箱产品混入了氯水，山西可口可乐公司对此深表歉意。
May 08, 2012
A global environmental update
Rescuers searching through mud and debris for flash-flood victims in north-western Nepal have found at least 17 bodies, the Associated Press quoted police as saying. Another 47 people were missing and presumed dead after the Seti River burst through an avalanche and sent water gushing through villages along its banks.
Sea-level rises are unlikely to be as high as worst-case scenarios have forecasted, The Guardian reported American researchers as suggesting. Their study, published in Science, shows that Greenland’s glaciers are slipping into the sea more slowly than was previously thought. But ice loss still sped up by 30%, the scientists noted, and is driving sea-level increases along low-lying coasts.
Norway opened what it says is the world’s largest and most advanced laboratory to test carbon-capture technologies, Reuters reported. The facility is designed to test exhaust gases from two sources – a combined heat and power plant and an oil refinery.
Several major Chinese cities have some of the world’s highest per-capita carbon footprints, according to a World Bank report cited by China Daily. Data from Tianjin, Shanghai and Beijing indicate that about 40% of urban emissions come from power generation and another 40% from industrial activities, largely because of coal use.
Power shortages are expected after Hokkaido Electric Power shut down a nuclear plant in northern Japan for maintenance, leaving the country without an operating reactor for the first time in 42 years, Bloomberg News said. Japan has 50 reactors with a power capacity of 46,148 megawatts.
Ireland granted planning permission for the first phase of a huge Chinese trading hub in the Irish midlands, Reuters reported, paving the way for what could eventually become Europe’s largest source of branded goods from China.
South American nations’ interest in reclaiming privatised energy businesses grew as president Evo Morales of Bolivia said he planned to seize control of the country’s main power grid from a Spanish-owned company, Red Eléctrica Corporación, The Guardian said. His statement follows a move by Argentina to take control of its oil company, YPF, from Spain’s Repsol.
New US rules on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, were introduced, intended to strengthen oversight on oil and natural-gas drilling on federal land, Reuters reported. In the Czech Republic, meanwhile, the environment ministry plans a moratorium on granting licences for shale-gas exploration until new legislation is put in place.
Over 800 dolphins and 1,500 seabirds have died since the Peruvian government began tracking the deaths in February, according to The New York Times. Officials attributed the species’ deaths, respectively, to a virus and a shortage of anchovies. Some scientists say offshore oil exploration may be disturbing wildlife, while others fear that biotoxins or pesticides might be working their way up the food chain.
Coca-Cola Shanxi Beverages acknowledged that some of its products were contaminated by chlorine in February, Xinhua said, during a routine maintenance procedure. The company apologised for the contamination of nine batches of its products.
2012年4月30日
最新世界环境资讯
《金融时报》报道，石油巨头康菲和中海油同意支付17亿元人民币（约2亿6900万美元），赔偿去年蓬莱19-3油田溢油事故造成的海洋生态破坏。国家海洋监察部门表示，上述资金将用于受损海域修复以及生态环保建设，其中包括生境恢复和相关研究。
《卫报》报道，研究人员和非政府组织共同发布了世界最大的国际土地交易公共数据库，揭露了十余年来在发展中国家的秘密协议，协议涉及到了2000年以来5%的非洲农业用地的转卖或出租。中国中兴通讯股份有限公司因在民主刚果一项280公顷的土地交易而榜上有名，在土地交易矩阵数据库中高居第二位。
新华社报道，中国国家防汛抗旱指挥部最新数据显示，持续缺水已使860万人缺乏饮用水。相关官员称，干旱还导致超过360万公顷的农田受损，受损农田大多分布在云南、山西、湖北、四川和甘肃。
《中国日报》报道，陕西省水利行政部门公布了其60亿元人民币（约9亿5200万美元）的投资计划，将致力于渭河流域的洪水防御以及环境清理。渭河是黄河最长也是受污染最严重的一条支流。省水利局称，资金将用于治理环境污染，以及加宽堤坝、树木种植和修建桥梁等各个项目。
美国广播公司报道，澳大利亚首次将考拉列为濒危物种，城市化进程以及气候变化等因素“严重威胁”了考拉的生命。政府希望采取以遏制考拉数量急剧下降的趋势。在过去的20年中，昆士兰州和新南威尔士州的考拉数量分别下降了40％和33%左右。
CNN参与的一项研究表明，人类活动导致生活在太平洋海域的礁鲨种群数量锐减。夏威夷大学的海洋学家经调查后估算，栖息于有人居住岛屿沿海的礁鲨数目与栖息于珊瑚礁周围海域的数目相比，急剧下降了90%。
路透社报道，智利最高法院吊销了El Morro备受争议的智利铜金矿开采项目的环保牌照。加拿大第二大黄金矿业Goldcorp公司持有该项目70％的股权，由于没有给当地原住民提供充分的信息与合理的补偿，该项目暂时被叫停。
路透社消息，中国国家工信部下达今年落后产能淘汰的任务，其中炼钢淘汰780万吨，铜冶炼淘汰70万吨，以此达到减少污染和提高能效的目标。任务还包括电解铝淘汰27万吨和炼铁1000万吨，这两项目标较去年相比有所下降。
April 30, 2012
A global environmental update
Oil giants ConocoPhillips and CNOOC agreed to pay 1.7 billion yuan (US$269 million) for environmental damage caused by last summer’s leak in northern China’s Bohai Bay, the Financial Times reported. The money will be used to compensate harm inflicted by the spill and to support environmental initiatives in the region, including habitat restoration and research, the country’s maritime watchdog announced.
A coalition of researchers and NGOs released the world’s largest public database of international land deals, lifting the lid on a decade of secretive agreements in developing countries that have seen 5% of Africa’s agricultural land sold or leased to investors since 2000, The Guardian reported. Chinese company ZTE International is the second biggest investor listed in the Land Matrix database thanks to a 2.8 million hectare deal in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
New figures from China’s drought-relief authority revealed that the country’s lingering water shortages have left almost 8.6 million people without sufficient drinking water, according to Xinhua. Droughts have also harmed more than 3.6 million hectares of farmland, mostly in the provinces of Yunnan, Shanxi, Hubei, Sichuan and Gansu, officials said.
Water authorities in north-west China’s Shaanxi province unveiled plans to invest 6 billion yuan (US$952 million) in flood prevention and environmental clean-up on the Weihe River, the longest and most polluted tributary of the Yellow River, China Daily reported. The money will be used to fight pollution and to finance projects including dike-widening, tree-planting and bridge-building, the provincial water resources bureau said.
The koala has been classified as a threatened species in parts of Australia for the first time due to the “serious threat” from factors including urbanisation and climate change, ABC reported. The government hopes to stem the species’ precipitous decline which has seen numbers fall by 40% in Queensland and one third in New South Wales over the past 20 years.
Humans are causing a steep fall in populations of reef sharks in the Pacific Ocean, a new study covered by CNN showed. Marine scientists from the University of Hawaii estimated reef shark numbers near inhabited areas had fallen by more than 90% after surveying and comparing the waters around settled islands and the most untouched reefs.
Work stopped at the controversial El Morro copper-gold project in Chile after the country’s Supreme Court revoked its environmental approvals, Reuters reported. The permit for the project, which is 70% owned by Canada’s second largest gold miner Goldcorp, was suspended on grounds that indigenous people had not been adequately consulted or compensated.
China’s industry ministry announced a target to close 7.8 million tonnes of steelmaking capacity and 700,000 tonnes of copper smelting capacity this year as part of efforts to reduce pollution and improve efficiency, Reuters said. It is also aiming to remove 270,000 tonnes of aluminium capacity and 10 million tonnes of iron-making capacity, both much lower than last year’s targets.
2012年4月20日
最新中国环境资讯
路透社报道，温家宝总理周五抵达冰岛，开始了欧洲四国之旅。此次访问将关注中国参与的地区性投资，这些地区既迫切需要中国的资金又对自然资源开发利用表示谨慎。温家宝此行还将访问德国、波兰和瑞典，讨论相关投资和工业项目事宜。
路透社报道，冰岛方面希望与温家宝在东非地区能源发展问题上达成合作共识，中国是该地区的主要原材料的投资者和买主。温家宝此次欧洲之行，各国担心中国可能会利用冰岛经济困难期作为突破口，寻找到在北大西洋和北极地区的战略立足点，这些地区盛产石油、天然气、黄金、钻石、铁和锌。
《上海日报》报道，受大坝水位接近容载量可能造成的大面积山体滑坡及河岸塌陷的威胁，约十万现居住在三峡大坝区域的人口在未来三五年内将不得不搬迁转移。国土资源部官员柳源接受中国人民广播电台访问时称，地质灾害的控制及预防前景不容乐观。
新浪网消息，中国国家海洋局正式公布实施《全国海岛保护规划》，严禁擅自开发境内的1020座特殊用途海岛。未经官方许可，严禁包括摄影、测绘和勘察等在内的一切可能改变其地域特征的活动。
法新社消息，自今年年初以来，已有十六头濒危江豚死亡，专家认为水体污染，气候变化等其它因素是导致“河猪”濒临灭绝的罪魁祸首。淡水鲸类动物主要生活在长江及其支流—— 湖南洞庭湖和江西鄱阳湖。
亚洲科学家网站报道，中国首屈一指的基因组测序中心华大基因宣布，该研究院与其他机构联合开展的科研项目取得重大进展，他们成功克隆出世界第一头转基因羊。这头名为鹏鹏的克隆转基因羊体内含有欧米茄3不饱和脂肪酸，这一基因对于心脏，大脑，眼睛和神经元的运作和发展至关重要。研究人员称，鹏鹏的诞生意味着人们在未来可以通过喝羊奶或食用羊肉来获取欧米茄3不饱和脂肪酸。
《中国日报》报道，中国国家食品药品监督管理局责令吊销两家浙江胶囊厂生产许可证。华星胶囊厂、卓康胶囊厂涉嫌制造铬超标胶囊，这一行为已“严重违反了现行法律法规”，进一步的调查正在进行之中。
路透社援引发表在《PLoS医学》上的一中国科学家撰文称，与清洁的工作环境相比，长时间暴露在矿井、陶器厂及宝石加工厂的矽尘中的工人，死于呼吸系统疾病和肺癌的风险更高。科学家们还发现，长期暴露于这类环境会加剧心血管疾病风险，为相关研究开辟了新领域。
来自中外对话及环球中国环境专家协会
April 20, 2012
A Chinese environmental update
Premier Wen Jiabao landed in Iceland on Friday, beginning a tour of northern Europe that will focus on Chinese investment in a region eager for funds but wary of China’s hunger for natural resources, Reuters reported. Wen also will visit Germany, Poland and Sweden for talks on investment and industrial projects.
Iceland expects a cooperation deal with Wen on developing energy resources in east Africa, where China is a large investor and buyer of raw materials. Reuters added that his trip has fueled European concern that China might be trying to exploit Iceland’s economic troubles to gain a strategic foothold in the North Atlantic and Arctic region, rich in oil and gas, gold and diamonds, iron and zinc.
About 100,000 people living in the Three Gorges Dam area could be relocated over the next three to five years, Shanghai Daily said, with massive landslides and Yangtze riverbank collapses expected to hit the area as the dam’s water level reaches capacity. The prospect of controlling or preventing geological disasters in the near future is not promising, the land-resources minister, Liu Yuan, was quoted as telling China National Radio.
A national island-protection plan released by China’s oceans agency forbids development of any of the country’s 1,020 islands designated for special purposes, according to Sina. Without official permission, all activities that could change the nature of the areas are strictly banned, as well as picture-taking, mapping and surveying.
Sixteen endangered finless porpoises have been found dead since the beginning of the year and, said Agence France-Presse, experts blame water pollution, climate change and other factors for pushing the “river pig” toward extinction. The freshwater cetacean lives mainly in the Yangtze River and two lakes linked to it – Dongting in Hunan province and Poyang in Jiangxi.
In collaboration with other Chinese institutions, scientists from BGI – a premier genome-sequencing centre – announced they have cloned the world’s first transgenic sheep, according to Asian Scientist. The animal, Peng Peng, has a gene associated with omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, essential for healthy heart functioning and normal development of the brain, eyes and neurons. His birth, say researchers, means that in the future, people could absorb the acids by drinking milk or eating meat.
China’s food and drug safety watchdog withdrew the production licences of two medical-capsule producers in Zhejiang province, China Daily said, amid a scandal involving the manufacture of contaminated gelatin capsules. Licences of the Huaxing and Zhuokang plants were revoked for “grave violations of laws and regulations”, and other inquiries are under way.
Workers exposed to silica dust in mines and in pottery and gemstone factories are at higher risk of death from respiratory diseases and lung cancer than those employed in cleaner environments, Reuters reported Chinese-led researchers as writing in PLoS Medicine. Breaking new ground, the scientists also found heightened risk of cardiovascular disease in workers with long-term exposure.
Prepared in cooperation with PACE
2012年4月18日
最新世界环境资讯
《卫报》报道，世界最大的保险机构劳合社成为第一个就北极石油钻井对环境存在潜在破坏做出评论的主要商业组织。其首席执行官要求企业做到“慎重考虑其结果”，因为在北极的任何石油泄漏，特别是在被冰覆盖的地带，都会导致各种阻碍，从而造成“独特而难以管理的风险”。
《卫报》称，发表在《自然科学》杂志上的一项法国研究表明流经中巴边境喀喇昆仑中央山峰的冰川在过去10中有所扩大。科学家们利用卫星追踪该地区冰川在2000年和2008年三维海拔地图的变化发现，因全球变暖,每年有千亿吨冰从冰盖和冰川流失，喀喇昆仑山区的逆势令人费解。
绿色点击称，根据位于科罗拉多的环境科学研究所的一项研究，由于来自表面湖泊排放了大量冰川融水，格陵兰冰原可能会以更快的速度滑落进海洋。一位研究者强调，这样的湖泊排水的情况可能会影响海平面，可能殃及位于沿海地带的人们。
俄新社报道，猎豹国家公园已经在俄罗斯远东建立，这是一个旨在保护阿穆尔豹的国家自然保护区。一个多世纪以来,阿穆尔豹的数量在持续减少并进入濒危状态。
法新社报道，澳洲航空完成了一次使用飞行燃收食用油混合而成的燃料的商业飞行，这在澳大利亚还是第一次。此次飞行中，一架空中巴士A330使用这种混合燃料从悉尼飞至阿德莱德，澳洲航空称此次飞行大大减少了碳排放，其希望这能成为向可持续国家航空燃油产业发展的第一步。
《金融时报》报道，由于造船业等其它传统产业的衰退，拥有悠久历史的北爱尔兰贝尔法斯特哈兰德与沃尔夫船厂急需在绿色能源领域站稳脚跟。近年来，该船厂已开始制造风力涡轮机，在贝尔法斯特重新定位自己为绿色能源中心的同时，哈兰德与沃尔夫船厂也成为了一家可再生能源电力公司。
路透社消息，新西兰克赖斯特彻奇市计划用硬纸筒建造一座教堂，临时替代去年2月遭地震损毁的131岁的哥特式大教堂。纸板制成一个临时教堂计划，新西兰克赖斯特彻奇，2011年全市地震破坏后。这一临时教堂由日本建筑师蕃茂设计，纸管，木梁，结构钢和混凝土板将成为主要建筑材料。
Grist报道，英国环保人士保罗·金斯诺斯决定退出竞选的这一举动引发了人们对地球未来的激烈争论。他认为人类活动对地球环境造成了巨大的破坏，所取得的收益显得毫无意义。今年年初他发表在《猎户座杂志》上的文章《一个环保人士的自白》为了赢得了灾变论者和宿命论者的称号，同时他还被称为勇于说真话的现实主义者。
April 18, 2012
A global environmental update
Lloyd’s of London, the world’s biggest insurance market, has become the first major business organisation to speak out about huge potential environmental damage from oil drilling in the Arctic, The Guardian reported. The institution’s chief executive urged companies “to think carefully about the consequences”, as any oil spill in the Arctic, particularly in ice-covered areas, would present multiple obstacles, constituting a “unique and hard-to-manage risk”.
French research published in Nature Geoscience shows that the glaciers flowing between the central peaks of the Karakoram range, on the Pakistan-China border, have grown in the last decade, The Guardian said. The scientists used three-dimensional altitude maps obtained from satellites in 2000 and 2008 to track the glacier changes. While hundreds of billions of tonnes of ice are lost annually from icecaps and glaciers through global warming, it is not yet understood why the Karakoram bucks the trend.
The Greenland Ice Sheet may be sliding faster into the ocean due to massive releases of meltwater from surface lakes, according to a study by the Colorado-based Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, according to Click Green. Such lake drainages may affect sea levels, the researchers noted, with implications for coastal communities.
A new national reserve, the Land of the Leopard National Park, has opened in Russia’s Far East, RIA Novosti reported, created expressly to protect Amur leopards. Their population has declined steadily for more than a century and has reached a critical level.
The Australian airline Qantas conducted the country’s first commercial flight using a mixture of jet fuel and recycled cooking oil, Agence France-Presse said. In what it hopes will be the first step toward a sustainable national aviation-fuel industry, Qantas flew an Airbus A330 from Sydney to Adelaide using the biofuel – which the airline said has a much-reduced carbon footprint.
With the decline of shipbuilding and other traditional industries in Northern Ireland, Belfast’s historic Harland and Wolff shipyard is at the heart of a broader push to establish a foothold in the green-energy sector, according to the Financial Times. Having begun to manufacture wind turbines in recent years, Harland and Wolff is attracting renewable-power companies as Belfast repositions itself as a green-energy hub.
A temporary cathedral made of cardboard is planned for Christchurch, New Zealand, following the February 2011 destruction of the city’s 131-year-old Gothic-style cathedral by an earthquake, Reuters reported. The replacement, an A-frame structure designed by the Japanese architect Shigeru Ban, will be built of cardboard tubes, timber beams, structural steel and a concrete pad.
British environmentalist Paul Kingsnorth has sparked furious debate on the planet’s future, withdrawing from campaigning and arguing that humans have so thoroughly damaged the planet that further small gains are pointless, Grist said. Following publication of his essay “Confessions of a Recovering Environmentalist” in Orion earlier this year, he has been called a catastrophist and a fatalist, as well as a realist and a truth-teller.
2012年4月13日
最新中国环境资讯
路透社援引官方媒体消息，由155家企业参与的中国稀土行业协会成立，这被视为整治该行业混乱发展的一项举措。工信部副部长苏波称，政府希望淘汰小冶炼厂，令大型企业占有更多稀土金属供应的市场份额，以此促进环保事业。
《中国日报》引述经济信息报告称，去年江西省在稀土行业获利329亿元（约48.9亿美元），但与此同时，仅赣州市就不得不斥资380亿元用以治理环境污染。稀土矿的开采俨然成为环境破坏的罪魁祸首。
《上海日报》报道，康菲石油公司和中国海洋石油总公司将为去年6月渤海湾蓬莱19-3油田泄漏事故支付约3亿零45万元人民币（约合4830万美元）的赔款，用于赔偿河北秦皇岛市渔民的损失以及海洋生态环境的恢复。
据《纽约时报》，中国经济势力触角“伸向美国‘后花园’加勒比海”，国有银行提供贷款，中资公司注入资金，政府则以修建新体育馆、道路、港口及度假区的方式公然送礼。此举已引起外交官、经济学家和投资者的密切关注。
《北京新闻》援引一项环保组织的调查称，中国市场中发现了含有高浓度汞元素的化妆品。在对10个城市美白、祛斑产品的随机抽样中，23％的产品汞含量超标，且超过国家标准百万分之一的18至44,000倍。
《The Age》报道，澳大利亚研究人员发现部分中药含有潜在有毒植物，或是含有未标明的成分，或是含有濒危动物成分。发表在PloS Genetics上的研究报告称，他们对15种传统中药进行DNA化验检测，四分之三的中药含有未申报的动物成分，其中括濒临灭绝的亚洲黑熊。
《环球时报》报道，根据绿色和平组织的调查，中国多家名牌大型茶叶公司销售的产品中被检测出含有禁用农药。这一发现基于2011年12月至2012年1月从北京、成都、海口的九家公司购买的18种产品的测试。此项独立检测发现，所有样品中有12个至少含有一种禁用农药，如灭多威和硫丹。
据《卫报》报道，位于澳门与中国接界附近的逸园赛狗场是亚洲唯一的赛狗场，生意每况日下。目前该赛狗场正面临动物保护人士指责其残酷杀害无法继续参加比赛的狗。该赛狗公司位于中国的赌博中心地带，其管理人员拒绝发表评论。
根据亚洲协会，中国的原始森林正面临伐木、采矿、无节制开采中药材植物以及旅游业过度开发等威胁。观看肖恩·加拉格尔的视频《中国的脆弱森林》，请点击此处。
来自中外对话及环球中国环境专家协会
April 13, 2012
A Chinese environmental update
China set up a 155-member rare-earth industry association in a move to speed consolidation of the sprawling sector, Reuters quoted state media as saying. Su Bo, an industry vice-minister, said the government wants to phase out small smelters, giving large players a greater stake in the supply of rare-earth metals and boosting environmental protection.
Jiangxi province earned 32.9 billion yuan (US$4.89 billion) from the rare-earths industry last year, but has to spend 38 billion yuan to address the environmental pollution in the city of Ganzhou alone, China Daily quoted an Economic Information report as saying. Extraction of rare-earth minerals is environmentally devastating.
ConocoPhillips and China National Offshore Oil Corporation are to pay around 304.5 million yuan (US$48.3 million) to compensate fishermen in Qinhuangdao city, Hebei province, and to restore its maritime environment following spills in Bohai Bay’s Penglai 19-3 oilfield last June, Shanghai Daily reported.
China’s economic might has “rolled up to America’s doorstep in the Caribbean”, according to The New York Times, with loans from state banks, investments by companies and gifts from the government in the form of new stadiums, roads, buildings, ports and resorts. The development has raised eyebrows among diplomats, economists and investors.
Some Chinese medicines contain potentially poisonous plants, unlabelled ingredients and bits of endangered animals, Australian research has found, according to The Age. An DNA sequencing analysis of ingredients in 15 traditional medicines seized by customs officials found that three-quarters contained undeclared products derived from animals, including the critically endangered Asiatic black bear, said the study, published in PloS Genetics.
A Greenpeace investigation has detected pesticides banned for use in tea in products marketed by some of China’s top tea companies, Global Times said. The finding was based on tests of 18 products from nine companies, all purchased in December 2011 and January 2012 in Beijing, Chengdu and Haikou. Independent testing found that 12 of the samples contained at least one pesticide banned from use in tea, such as methomyl and endosulfan.
The run-down Canidrome racetrack near Macau’s border with China – the only greyhound track in Asia – is being targeted by animal activists who accuse its owners of brutality and of killing dogs after their racing days end, according to The Guardian. Officials at the track in Macau, China’s gambling hub, declined to comment.
Pristine natural forests in China are threatened by logging, mining, unregulated harvesting of flora for traditional Chinese medicine and excessive development linked to increases in tourism, according to the Asia Society. See Sean Gallagher’s video, “China’s Fragile Forests”, here.
Prepared in cooperation with PACE
2012年4月11日
最新世界环境资讯
巴基斯坦《国民报》报道，克什米尔锡亚琴冰川地区大规模雪崩导致驻军营地138人被埋，而恶劣的天气条件使得搜救工作困难重重。 4月7日，发生在东部喀喇昆仑山脉的雪崩重创整个营地，吞噬了周边近一公里平方的区域，被埋人员生还希望渺茫。
法新社称，长期的领土争端使巴基斯坦和印度陷入军事胶着，这导致环境破坏和人员伤亡。据报道，严重的军事活动正使极地以外的最大一处冰川融化加速，并向印度河水系渗入有毒物质。
法新社援引法国能源巨头道达尔公司的一名高管的言论，称道达尔公司将于四月底封堵北海油田泄漏灾区的海上钻井平台，以避免由气体泄漏引发的潜在爆炸危险。道达尔公司计划倒灌“高密度泥浆”用以阻断气体外泄，并开钻两个减压井。 此次泄漏事故开始于3月25日。
路透社称，雪佛龙发现在巴西离岸地区的海上油田出现泄漏情况，该油田由巴西国家石油公司负责开采，而该地区去年11月曾爆发严重原油泄漏事故，该事故导致雪佛龙及其钻井承包商Transocean被提起了民事和刑事诉讼。泄露事故引发了人们对巴西开发近海资源的安全及速度的忧虑。
独立报转载The Lancet，青蒿素作为世界上治疟疾最有效的药品，其功效正在减弱，并威胁着世界各地的上百万名患者的生命。位于泰国缅甸边境的实验显示，最具杀伤力的疟疾寄生虫已经具有了对青蒿素的抵抗力，而使用青蒿素在过去十多年内被认为是治疟疾的最好治疗方法。
《卫报》报道，世界上最大的科学基金之一，威康信托基金，目前正在着力于资助一项研究论文可全部在线共享的活动。到目前为止，近9000名研究人员已达成一致，共同抵制对于免费共享科技期刊设限。威康信托基金是资助医学研究的第二大非政府资助机构，此项活动被认为或会激发“学术的春天”。
BBC报道，美国国家航空航天局气候变化专家詹姆斯·汉森呼吁英国停止继续建造燃煤发电站。他表示，核能发电和可再生能源才是解决全球变暖问题的最佳组合。
据《卫报》报道，美国国家航空航天局戈达德研究所空间研究的负责人汉森最近宣称，避免人类活动引发气候变化而产生严重后果，是一项堪比奴隶制的“伟大的道德问题”。他表示如今所累积的、对未来所造成的昂贵而极具破坏性后果，是“对后代的不公”。他还支持对碳排放征收全球扁平率税。
April 11, 2012
A global environmental update
Harsh weather conditions hampered the search for 138 people buried under a massive avalanche at a Pakistani army camp high on the Siachen Glacier in Kashmir, The Nation reported. A wall of snow crashed into the Gayari base in the eastern Karakoram mountain range on April 7, smothering a kilometre-square area. Hopes of finding any survivors are slim.
Amid a long-running territorial dispute, Pakistan and India are engaged in a military standoff in the region that is wreaking havoc on the environment as well as costing soldiers’ lives, Agence France-Presse said. The heavy military presence is reportedly speeding up the melting of the glacier, one of the world’s largest outside the polar regions, and leaching poisonous materials into the Indus river system.
The French energy giant Total plans to plug a leak of potentially explosive gas from a stricken North Sea rig by the end of April, Agence France-Presse reported a company executive as saying. Total intends to pump “heavy mud” into the well – which has been leaking since March 25 – to cut off the gas, and to drill two relief wells.
Chevron has discovered an oil seep in an offshore Brazilian field run by Petrobras, near the site of a November leak that led to civil and criminal charges against the US company and its drilling contractor, Transocean, Reuters said. The new leak stokes broader concerns about the safety and speed with which Brazil can develop new offshore resources.
Artemesinin, the world’s most effective malaria drug, is losing its power, threatening the lives of millions of people around the world, The Independent cited a study in The Lancet as finding. Tests along the Thai-Burmese border show that the most deadly form of the malaria parasite has developed resistance to artemesinin, considered for more than a decade to be the best treatment for the disease.
One of the world’s biggest funders of science, the Wellcome Trust, is backing a growing campaign to allow all research papers to be shared online, The Guardian reported. So far, nearly 9,000 researchers have agreed to boycott scientific journals that restrict free sharing. The Wellcome Trust is the second-largest non-governmental funder of medical research, and its support is thought likely to galvanise the “academic spring” movement.
James Hansen of the US space agency NASA, a leading climate-change expert, has urged Britain not to build any more coal-fired power stations, the BBC said. A mixture of new-build nuclear-power generation and renewables is the best combination in addressing global warming, he said.
Hansen, head of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, recently wrote that averting the worst consequences of human-induced climate change is a “great moral issue” on a par with slavery, and he argues, according to The Guardian, that it would be an “injustice of one generation to others” to store up expensive and destructive consequences for the future. He also supports a flat-rate global tax on carbon emissions.
2012年4月4日
最新世界环境资讯
据CNN报道，周二强烈飓风席卷德克萨斯北部后，救援工作正在达拉斯的废墟中展开，力图找到并营救被困者。据悉有大约13起龙卷风登陆美国，摧毁至少150座房屋。
据《华尔街日报》， 尼泊尔某议会委员会已允许中国三峡集团在塞提河修建耗资16亿美元的水电站。上月中国投资方曾因尼泊尔政府对投标过程提出质疑而威胁撤资。
路透社称，日本鉴于公共安全，虽然面临供电紧缩仍决定延期重启近海核反应堆。能源部长枝野幸男说重开大井(Ohi)核电站仍需时间进行周密考虑。该电站在福岛灾难后首个在全国53个核电站中通过政府实施的压力测试。
另外，路透社援引日本专家的警告称，未来的近海地震可能会引发34米高的海啸，而日本海上防御系统还无法应对这种威胁。两项官方研究发布了极端情况测评修订版，并表示到达日本海岸的巨浪高度可能会超出预计。
《卫报》报道，国际能源机构（IEA）最新整理的数字显示，由于近十年石油价格飞涨，去年撒哈拉以南非洲国家获得的海外援助要少于他们进口石油所投入的资金。国际能源署经济学家法提赫·比罗尔表示，对发展中国家来说这个问题的解决办法是向可再生能源转移。
据BBC报道，英国政府投资10亿英镑再次尝试启动碳捕获产业，根据制定的方案，排放的二氧化碳在发电厂即被收集随后被压入地下。作为国家低碳战略的重要组成部分，此前已有项目着力发展此项技术，然而由于担心成本过高，九家参与公司退出，最终导致该项目搁浅。
路透社报道，法国能源公司道达尔正预备派遣专家队，前往事故所在地北海平台进行评估，并为遏制目前每天20万立方米的巨量天然气泄漏制定具体方案。环保人士警告说，此次泄漏已在海域附近形成极易爆炸性云团。如此一来，苏格兰将更难以达到今年制定的气候目标。
据《独立报》发布的一则报告，马特宏峰是阿尔卑斯山脉上的一座著名山峰，然而由于气候变化的影响，该山峰正面临开裂瓦解。据苏黎世大学的研究人员表示，山体的表面之下已发生微妙的变化，这是由于融水进入裂缝之中，而之后的冻结和解冻轮番周期发生，这已经造成大块的岩石脱落。
April 04, 2012
A global environmental update
Rescuers were searching the Dallas area for anyone trapped in the rubble left behind by a string of violent tornadoes that swept through northern Texas on Tuesday, CNN reported. Up to 13 twisters are believed to have touched down in the US state, destroying at least 150 homes.
A parliamentary committee in Nepal gave the go-ahead for China Three Gorges Corporation to build a US$1.6 billion hydroelectric dam on the Seti River, wrote the Wall Street Journal.The Chinese state-owned company had threatened to pull the plug on its investment last month after the Nepalese government raised concerns over the contract bidding process.
Japan said it would delay a decision on restarting two offline nuclear reactors, as public safety fears compete with concerns over constricted power supplies, Reuters said. Energy minister Yukio Edano said more time was needed to choose a date for switching on reactors at Ohi nuclear plant, the first of 53 sites closed after the Fukushima disaster to pass government-imposed stress tests.
Reuters also reported a warning from Japanese experts that the country’s sea defences are not robust enough to meet the threat of 34-metre high tsunamis, which could be triggered by future offshore earthquakes. Two official studies offered a revised worst-case scenario, and said much higher waves could hit Japan’s coast than previously thought.
New figures compiled by the International Energy Agency (IEA), and seen by The Guardian, showed that countries in sub-Saharan Africa received less in overseas aid last year than they paid out for oil imports, following a decade of soaring prices. IEA economist Fatih Birol said the only solution is for developing countries to shift to renewable energy sources.
The British government renewed an attempt to kick start the carbon capture industry with a £1bn offer for schemes that will trap carbon dioxide from power stations and pump it underground, the BBC reported. An earlier programme to promote the technology – which is a key part of the country’s low-carbon strategy – collapsed after all nine entrants withdrew, blaming high costs.
French energy company Total was preparing to fly a team of experts to its stricken North Sea platform to assess options for stemming a leak that is spewing out 200,000 cubic metres of gas each day, Reuters said. Environmental campaigners warned the leak, which has formed a highly explosive cloud around the site, will make it harder for Scotland to meet its climate targets this year.
Climate change may be causing the Matterhorn, one of the most celebrated Alpine peaks, to physically disintegrate, a new report covered by The Independent suggested. Researchers at Zurich University said subtle shifts under the surface, triggered by melting water entering cracks and subsequent cycles of freezing and thawing, were causing lumps of rock to fall off the mountain.
2012年3月29日
最新中国环境资讯
美联社报道，中石油已经超越美国的埃克森美孚，成为世界上最大的上市成品油生产商。中石油称，其产量达到了每天240万桶成品油，每天比埃克森美孚多出了十万桶。中石油在快速发展的同时，大量使用着来自中国、加拿大、中东和其它地区的石油储备。
路透社报道，苹果总裁蒂姆•库克在其首次中国之旅期间，到访了一家富士康旗下的位于河北省的iPhone生产车间。作为苹果公司供应链中的重要部分，富士康正面临着不正当使用劳工的指控。近几年，富士康员工自杀的现象已经多次出现，而一些社会活动者将其原因归咎于艰苦的工作条件。
据《中国日报》，苹果公司老板也在北京会晤了国务院副总理李克强。中国政府方面表明，在苹果商标纠纷和打击其流行电子产品的走私方面，会对其知识产权给予保证。
据《上海日报》，山西省振兴化肥厂已被叫停。该厂去年非法向文水县文峪河排放污水，导致鱼虾死亡，26个村庄的农作物颗粒无收。中央电视台曝光了该厂直接向河内排放黑水一事。管辖文水县的吕梁市政府，将对该厂如何赔偿当地居民作出决定。
新华社报道，自三月初开始的取缔行动以来，在广东省至少有15人因制造和销售有毒胶水而被拘留。这些胶水被认为是造成数十名工人中毒的罪魁祸首。到二月底为止，被报道的39名在广州的皮鞋皮革车间内中毒的工人中，已有4名死亡。初步调查显示，这些受害者所遭受的是急性二氯乙烷中毒。
《中国日报》报道，在河南省郑州市，经官方授权的饭店垃圾回收员在回收由城市饭店泔水的过程中，经常会遭到这些肆无忌惮的地沟油商家的拒绝，威胁，甚至是毒打。其目的就是更多获取每天10吨的城市饭店厨余泔水。唯一一家授权的回收公司会将垃圾转化为燃料，而其他商家则会将这些不卫生的油回收后再次送上餐桌。后者被公认会造成食品安全问题。
搜狐报道，为挽救日益衰竭的野生鱼类资源，下月珠江三角洲和长江中下游将施行季节性捕鱼禁令。在长江实行鱼禁已经是第十一个年头，这一措施旨在保护中国最长河流上的生活多样性。
新华社报道，由于去年的干旱和近来的持续低温导致鸟类食物匮乏，越来越少的候鸟选择在湖南洞庭湖湿地过冬。一项为期两天的研究项目显示，在中国第二大淡水湖栖息的禽类数量减少了40%。
March 29, 2012
A Chinese environmental update
PetroChina is now the world’s biggest publicly traded producer of oil, surpassing ExxonMobil, the Associated Press reported. The Chinese company announced that it pumped 2.4 million barrels of oil a day last year, surpassing Exxon by 100,000 barrels. PetroChina has grown rapidly, squeezing more from China’s oil fields and acquiring more petroleum reserves in Canada, the Middle East and elsewhere.
On his first trip to China as Apple’s chief executive, Tim Cook visited an iPhone production plant in Hebei province run by the Foxconn Technology Group, Reuters said. As a major part of Apple’s supply chain, Foxconn is being accused of improper labour practices. In recent years, a number of workers have killed themselves and activists have attributed the deaths to tough working conditions.
The Apple boss also met in Beijing with vice premier Li Keqiang, according to China Daily, and won a guarantee from the Chinese government about intellectual property rights at a time when Apple is embroiled in a trademark dispute and is trying to curb the smuggling of its popular electronic products.
Production at Zhenxing Fertiliser in Shanxi province was suspended after the company illegally discharged sewage into the Wenyu River in Wenshui county last year, killing fish and shrimp and causing crops to fail in 26 villages, Shanghai Daily said. China Central Television showed black water being released directly into the river. The government of Luliang city, which oversees Wenshui, is to decide how the company should compensate local people.
In a crackdown that began at the start of March, at least 15 people have been detained in Guangdong province for manufacturing and selling toxic glue blamed for poisoning dozens of workers, according to Xinhua. By the end of February, four of 39 workers reportedly poisoned at shoe and leather workshops in Guangzhou had died. An initial inquiry showed they suffered from acute dichloroethane poisoning.
Authorised collectors of restaurant waste in Zhengzhou, Henan province, often face refusals, threats and beatings from unscrupulous “gutter oil” dealers in competition for the 10 tonnes of leftovers produced daily by the city’s eateries, China Daily reported. The only authorised collecting company turns the waste in fuel, while other dealers often recycle the dirty oil for use in cooking, a practice believed to be unsafe.
Seasonal fishing bans are to be imposed on the Pearl River and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze next month, Sohu said, as part of China’s efforts to rescue its declining wild-fishing resources. The restrictions on the Yangtze are the 11th annual attempt to preserve biodiversity in the country’s longest river.
Fewer migratory birds spent the winter in the Dongting Lake wetlands of Hunan province, Xinhua reported, as last year’s drought and recent persistently cold weather have meant a severe food shortage for the birds. In a two-day research project, staff at China’s second-largest freshwater lake recorded a 40% decline in avian visitors.
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