Environment

Bamboo Bikes for the People

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Craig Calfee, an elite bicycle designer, makes high quality, fully functional bicycles out of bamboo that sell for over $2,000 in the United States.  
Now, Calfee has launched Bamboosero Bikes, which will bring a priced-down version of his eco-friendly bicycles to rural communities in sub-Saharan Africa, according to industry journal Bicycle Retailer.  
Most bikes in Africa are cheaply made imports from China and India. 
Calfee has designed a cargo bike made from locally grown bamboo that is more appropriate for heavy loads and bumpy roads than imported bikes.   
The bikes, which are said to be fully sustainable and require no power tools to make, are intended to to give rural Africans better transport options, and to foster a bike-building cottage industry.   
–Julia Hengst/Newsdesk.org 
Source:
“Africans Mold Bamboo into Cargo Bikes”
Bicycle Retailer and Industry News, March 2, 2009

Environment

Sweden's own Ecotopia

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The small town of Kalmar, Sweden, is on track to become entirely free of fossil-fuel use by the year 2030, according to a report in the Chicago Tribune. 
The city’s comprehensive program to reduce fossil fuels includes heat and electricity generated by a local wood pulp plant, an entire fleet of biodiesel municipal trucks, strict energy efficient building codes and tax incentives.  
Kalmar’s 60,000 residents save money by getting over 65 percent of their energy from renewable resources. 
They say that while the shift has been an adjustment, it “hasn’t made life miserable.” 
At first, most of the city’s politicians scoffed at the idea of independence from fossil fuels, but now they are overwhelmingly in support of the transition. 
“We are not eco-freaks,” one sustainability officer told the Tribune. “We’re just making it easy to change, giving people the tools.”  
–Julia Hengst/Newsdesk.org
Source:
“Going green: Entire Swedish city switches to biofuels to become environmentally friendly”
Chicago Tribune, March 3, 2009
 

Economy

Black Truckers Win Big Wal-Mart Settlement

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Black truck drivers who claimed that Wal-Mart discriminated against them have reached a settlement of $17.5 million, although the company denies any wrongdoing. The 23 drivers who filed suit will also receive priority job placement for future work with the company. According to the Associated Press, figures show that 15 percent of truckers were black from 2000 to 2005. However, in that five-year period only 4 percent to 6 percent of Wal-Mart’s 8,000 truckers were black, and none of the hiring committees at Wal-Mart’s various sites had a strong representation of blacks, despite a rule that the panels have 50 percent minority membership. — Brittany Owens/Newsdesk.org
Source:
“Retail giant Wal-Mart settles suit by black truck drivers”
Associated Press, February 20, 2009

Democracy & Civics

Historically Black Schools: Change They can Believe in?

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Historically black colleges and universities face declining enrollment, with expenses rising and the historic culture changing. Only 13 percent of African Americans pursuing higher education are enrolled at a historically black college, reports The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Mark Gamble, an African American who attends Georgia State University, where the population is 60 percent Caucasian, told the newspaper: “I like being around whites, blacks, Asians and all other minorities.” Indeed, students from some higher-income families are opting for a more diverse environment at schools such as Harvard, Vanderbilt and elsewhere. Those who choose historically black institutions find that they are getting a good education, but also a debt burden.

Newsdesk News

Video: Newsdesk.org WeMedia 'Pitch It' Session

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For best results, click the Mogulus player’s “on demand” option, below. Newsdesk.org starts at approx. 49:48; click on the playback bar to advance to that time code. NOTE! The video track is frozen and the audio skips a few times before finally kicking in around 52:00.

Featured

A Soft 'n' Gentle Forest Killer?

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The eco-impacts of “luxury” toilet paper, including deforestation and chemical pollution, may exceed those of driving an SUV or eating fast food. Unlike recycled paper, tissue made from virgin wood is easier to “fluff up,” and accounts for 98 percent of the U.S. market. Photo: Iva_01

Public Health

In Kyrgyzstan, Stigma Trumps Hippocrates

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Some doctors in the central Asian country of Kyrgyzstan are refusing to treat people with a history of drug use, incarceration and HIV infection. EurasiaNet reports that such individuals are “regularly denied treatment at hospitals around the country.” Scarce medical resources are partially to blame, but social stigma also drives the problem. According to a report funded by the Soros Foundation, one doctor said that drug users “made a personal decision to choose such a lifestyle” and should therefore be denied care even in life-threatening situations. –Julia Hengst/Newsdesk.org

Source:
“Kyrgyzstan: Doctors Deny Treatment To Undesirables”
EurasiaNet, February 20, 2009

World

Bulgaria Juggles its Nuclear Waste

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Bulgarian dependence on nuclear energy has produced a hot problem — how to dispose of spent nuclear fuel. The BBC reports that although nuclear power keeps Bulgaria’s carbon emissions down, it also creates tons of toxic waste that will remain radioactive far into the future. Some of the waste goes temporarily to Russia, but after reprocessing and a ten-year waiting period gets returned to its source. For this reason, and increasing transport costs, other Eastern European countries no longer work with Russia — but Bulgaria is running out of room in-country to store the spent fuel produced by its two active nuclear plants. So far, the problem has not caused Bulgaria to rethink the way it produces electricity.

Public Health

HIV Evolution Challenges Vaccine Push

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An international study found that HIV is evolving rapidly, targeting different populations and challenging efforts to create a universal vaccine. According to the Los Angeles Times, researchers found that the virus has developed an “escape” mutation that enables it to evade key defensive molecules, and becomes less recognizable to some human immune systems, depending on national origin and genetic heritage. The study, published in the journal Nature, was an international collaboration and involved 2,800 participants. Though the news sounds discouraging, one researcher said that frequent mutations can make a virus weaker. Another told the BBC that future HIV vaccines would be constantly changing to keep up with viral evolution, much like the flu vaccine today.