Public Health

Europe: Birthrate Down, Maternity Wards Packed

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While much has been made in recent years over declining birthrates in Europe and other parts of the industrialized world, some Western countries’ are having difficulty providing adequate health care for the births they do have. Britain’s maternity services are so bad they endanger the lives of mothers and babies, according to a report released this week by the nation’s Healthcare Commission. The Independent reports that the study was the largest of its kind ever conducted in Britain, and involved all 150 maternity hospitals in England. “I don’t ever again want to be reading another report into high death rates at a maternity unit,” Sir Ian Kennedy, chairman of the commission, told the newspaper. One of the key problems cited by the report was a lack of midwives to help busy doctors and nurses — a shortage that was noted in a separate report earlier this year.

Democracy & Civics

A Grassroots Water Grab in California

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The debate about water privatization is global, but many of the battles are local. One such struggle ended recently, when the mountain community of Felton, on California’s central coast, won control of its water supply from California America Water, a unit of international conglomerate Rheinisch-Westfaelisches Elektrizitaetswerk. According to the Press Banner, a local newspaper, the company settled out of court with the San Lorenzo Valley Water District to avoid an eminent domain trial. Felton residents were concerned over rising water rates and potential service disruptions, and formed an advocacy group, Felton Friends of Water, in October 2002. The group said their victory on June 5 has inspired them to help other municipalities struggling with similar issues.

Featured

30 Floors of Farmland, Coming to New York City?

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A plan to build a skyscraper in New York City — one that contains 30 stories of farmland — might have a chance of being realized. The Telegraph reports that city officials are considering a proposal to build a high-rise that could produce food for 50,000 city residents. The proposed building, designed by Dr. Dickson Despommier of Columbia University’s public health school, is the latest “vertical farm” to be suggested. Urban farming is undergoing something of a renaissance; Newsdesk has previously reported on programs taking root in South America, Europe and the United States. However, “vertical farms” remain unrealized, and a report on the NextEnergyNews Web site about a 30-floor agricultural skyscraper planned for Las Vegas turned out to be a hoax.

World

Memories of Old Japan Stir Island Dispute

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A new school curriculum in Japan is opening old wounds for its neighbors. South Korea has recalled its ambassador to protest a government educational guideline that considers two contested islands to be Japanese territory. The islands, referred to as Dokdo in South Korea and Takeshima in Japan, have been under South Korean control since 1953, according to the Korea Herald. The newspaper reports that Japan’s new guidelines also target four islands currently claimed by Russia. The new guidelines are set to take affect in April 2012, and recommends stating in both instances that the Korean and Russian claims are in dispute.

Environment

Bioplastics: Friend or Foe?

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Biodegradable plastics are raising hopes for a potential solution to overstuffed landfills, climate change and diminished fossil fuel resources. Yet they may not be as quick a fix as people would like, and researchers face an uphill climb towards finding a truly sustainable, renewable and biodegradable plastic. Bioplastics are sourced from plant-based materials rather than petroleum, and The Guardian reports that several universities in the United States are working to develop plastics that degrade in a matter of months. Yet conventional plastics — which linger for hundreds of years and occupy up to a quarter of available landfill space in the United States — are currently cheaper to make. This might change with rising oil prices worldwide, but meanwhile, petroleum-based plastic waste has spread from landfills to the ocean.

Democracy & Civics

Monsanto Loses Canadian GMO Dispute

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In late March, Canadian farmer Percy Schmeiser won a small victory against Monsanto Corporation after a decade-long legal engagement. His struggle began in 1997 when the company sued Schmeiser after the its genetically modified canola plants were discovered growing on Schmeiser’s property in Saskatchewan. Schmeiser said the modified canola was blown onto his property from a nearby farm, but Monsanto sued for $400,000, citing patent infringement and failure to pay technology fees. Schmeiser and his wife became international spokespeople for farmer’s rights and the fight against genetically modified crops — but in 2004, Canada’s Supreme Court ruled against the Schmeisers, reinforcing Monsanto’s patent, but waiving punitive damages. One year later, in 2005, Schmeiser found more of Monsanto’s plants on his farm, and after uprooting them billed Monsanto $660 for the labor.

World

U.S. Fourth Fleet Returns, Heads South

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Some Latin American nations are wondering if the return of the U.S. Navy’s Fourth Fleet to their coastlines signals the return of “gunboat diplomacy” as well, Agence France-Presse reports. Representatives of Argentine president Cristina Kirchner have raised the question with visiting U.S. officials during a recent economic summit. The fleet, which dates from World War II, was reactivated on July 1 after being mothballed for 58 years. The Navy maintains the fleet is not equipped for offensive maneuvers: It would be used only for humanitarian assistance and preventing drug traffic, and will respect national sovereignty. However, left-leaning governments in Bolivia, Venezuela and Cuba believe the United States is using the fleet to flex its military muscle and for surveillance and intelligence operations.

Environment

Fly the Cellulosic Skies: Will Second-Generation Biofuels Take Off?

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Japan Airlines recently announced plans to test fly one of its aircraft using a form of “second generation” biofuel in early 2009. The demonstration flight will be the first of its kind in Asia, according to the business news outlet Cleantech.com, and follows the lead of Virgin Atlantic, which successfully completed the world’s first biofuel-powered flight earlier this year. Japan Airlines said it is committed to finding a viable second- generation biofuel source that derives from cellulose — a woody type of plant matter — rather than from food crops. According to science website Physorg.com, global demand for cheaper and more sustainable fuel sources is considered a partial cause for skyrocketing food prices worldwide, as many farmers — especially in Brazil and the United States — switch to fuel crops such as soy, corn, rapeseed and sugar cane. Writing in the International Herald Tribune, critic Eric Holt-Gimenez noted additional environmental impacts of farmed biofuels, including loss of biodiversity, and increased carbon dioxide emissions when trees are cut or burned to make way for new plantations.

Democracy & Civics

Zimbabwe Troubles May Bust Borders

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Zimbabwe’s controversial re-election of President Robert Mugabe is bringing new pressure on South Africa to resolve the conflict, and raising military tensions with neighboring Botswana. Leaders of the G-8 and several African nations scolded South African Prime Minister Thabo Mbeki at a meeting in Japan Tuesday, saying his efforts to mediate Zimbabwe’s political crisis are not working, the Mail & Guardian of South Africa reports. With violence against the Zimbabwean opposition escalating, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are pushing for harsher sanctions. However, some African leaders, including Mbeki, warned against sanctions they said could potentially destabilize Zimbabwe, resulting in civil war. At a press conference during the G-8 summit, Tanzanian president and African Union chairman Jakaya Kikwete and President Bush agreed to an additional meeting on the subject in August.

Environment

The Other Kind of Green Beer

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From the Rocky Mountains to Japan and Australia, beer-brewing companies are adopting practices that aim to reduce waste, as well as energy and water use, according to an Environmental News Network report. In Colorado, New Belgium Brewery uses wind power and harnesses methane gas pumped from its water treatment facility to meet all of its electricity needs, while Odell Brewing Company recycles everything it possibly can — including water, spent grain, office paper and ink — and uses biofuels in all its vehicles. Brewing giant Coors sells more than 600 million pounds of solid waste to local farmers for feed, converts waste beer into alcohol-based biofuel for vehicles, and recycles its waste water. On the coasts, the Sierra Nevada Brewing Company in California uses fuel cells to reduce emissions, while the New York City’s Brooklyn Brewery runs on wind power. Japan’s Asahi and Sapporo breweries, meanwhile, are supporting projects to produce and promote second-generation biofuels that don’t compete with food production needs.