GMOs have been in our diets for about 20 years, writes Rupert Read. Proof that they are safe? No way - it took much, much longer to discover the dangers of cigarettes and transfats, dangers that are far more visible than those of GMOs. On the scale of nature and ecology, 20 years is a pitifully short time. To sustain our human future, we have to think long term.
… Principle. GMOs have unknown ' tail risks ', that is, unknown potential risks of ruin that they harbour as possibilities. No rigorous risk analysis has been done, with regard to …
The lead poisoning crisis in Flint, Michigan is just the tip of a vast iceberg of lead contamination afflicting mainly urban black communities, writes Leif Fredrickson. A rigid 'race bar' on postwar suburban housing and mortgages left black families in inner cities, exposed to flaking lead paint in run down housing, leaded gasoline residues and lead pipework. Now is the time to correct this shocking historic injustice.
… poisoning in the United States. What are the risks? Who is most vulnerable? Who is … and emitted from car exhaust. But the risk is not evenly distributed. Some Americans face a 'triple whammy' of increased risk based on poverty, race, and place. …
The government is set to ban local authorities and their £14 billion pension funds divesting from companies they deem unethical, writes J W Bode. The law will specifically forbid divestment from fossil fuels - and that could put the pensions of future public sector retirees at risk.
… pensions of future public sector retirees at risk. Today sees one of the more interesting … new rules are putting pensioners at risk And this is it: by preventing these … they will be putting these funds at risk. And in doing so, it is clear that this …
The Chernobyl sarcophagus which has long contained the fissured reactor core is at risk of collapse, writes Claire Corkhill. The solution: build a pair of tracked arches 260m wide and 100m high, and slide them over the site to enclose it for a century to come: so creating a sealed space for robots and remotely operated machinery to deconstruct the reactor and sarcophagus piece by radioactive piece.
… contained the fissured reactor core is at risk of collapse, writes Claire Corkhill. The … sighted in the roof space. Every day, the risk of the sarcophagus collapsing increases, along with the risk of another widespread release of …
In a second response to a recent article published in the Ecologist, "Are the UK 'biomass sustainability standards' legitimising forest destruction?", SBP Chief Executive Officer Carstem Huljus debunks the myths in a right of reply
… The pellet/chip producer must carry out a risk assessment to identify the risk of compliance with each of the 38 … Each indicator is scored as either ‘low risk' or ‘specified risk'. For any indicator …
The exclusion of fishers from the design of management plans for the vaquita, driven by conservation groups and implemented by the government, has led to polarized opinions and a large divide between communities and conservation agencies, writes Andrew Frederick Johnson. To save the vaquita, this needs to be replaced with a close collaboration.
… unable to free themselves once entangled and risk being drowned while held under water. … Trawl gear is an alternative that reduces the risk of bycatch. These heavy gears are towed … reduces the effective catch area that poses a risk to the vaquita. Also, the use of trawl …
Chemical and pesticide industry lobbyists are striving to abolish the European precautionary principle in favour of a so-called 'science-based' approach, write Lora Verheecke & Laura Große. If the EU succumbs to the spin, human health and the environment across Europe will be sacrificed to corporate profit.
… of scientific consensus on the potential risk of a chemical or pesticide, regulators … EU. All other substances have to undergo a 'risk assessment'. This means that a product is … seen by regulators not to pose an acceptable risk to consumers. US: 'weaker, less …
The lives of all the thousands of badgers slaughtered in the name of TB eradication have been lost in vain, writes Martin Hancox. The cryptic reservoir of bovine TB is the cattle themselves, and no amount of badger killing will make the slightest difference to the problem. Once we have grasped this reality the solution is astonishingly simple: improved TB testing that picks up all infected cattle.
… (Little 1982). Even in the supposedly 'high risk', high badger density population with … infectious badgers which might have posed a risk to other badgers or cows, there will have … Lesion' / 'Unconfirmed')) herds in the High Risk Area increases the risk of lifting …
Nuclear power sites in Belgium have been targetted by Daesh radicals seeking radioactive materials to use in terrorist attacks, write Robert J Downes & Daniel Salisbury. One top nuclear researcher has come under hostile surveillance, while 'insider threats' have led to 11 workers being excluded from nuclear sites. But despite increased security, the threat has not gone away.
… 'Dirty bomb' security risk at Belgian nuclear power plants Robert J …
With industry spinning that glyphosate is harmful to health, if at all, only with co-formulants like tallowamine, the World Health Organisation's cancer agency IARC has just released a Q&A document (below) stating that 'pure' glyphosate poses similar cancer and genotoxicity risks as its formulations. Banning particular co-formulants, as proposed by some EU countries, does not solve the problem.
… poses similar cancer and genotoxicity risks as its formulations. Banning particular … on glyphosate and non-Hodgkin lymphoma risk do not outweigh those of other studies. … that glyphosate poses no unreasonable risks to humans. What did IARC do differently? …
The EPA's release of an internal memorandum last month showing the increasing use of the cancer-linked weedkiller glyphosate looked like a welcome opening up of information to the public, writes Carey Gillam. But then it was suddenly withdrawn, along with other related documents - though not before she grabbed her copy and reviewed the scale and scope of glyphosate usage.
… feed on. The EPA is currently finishing a risk assessment for glyphosate that examines … choice of pest control tools including lower-risk pesticides, to be used on minor crops, … to those who want to see a thorough risk assessment done. But the delay and the …
ExxonMobil has long known that climate change is real and dangerous, write Louise Rouse & Naomi Ages, while denying it in public and supporting climate change deniers. Now they accuse their critics of 'chilling' climate science and the search for solutions. The truth is the precise opposite.
… to force greater disclosure on climate risk through a shareholder resolution. … organisational challenge that climate risk presents to oil companies. But rather … company's ability to handle the far greater risk posed by a low carbon transition. The SEC …
Thirty years since the 1986 nuclear disaster at Chernobyl the impacts are still being felt, writes Ian Fairlie, and they will persist long into the future. Some 40,000 cancer deaths can be expected across Europe over the next 50 years, and 5 million people still living in areas highly contaminated with radiation. Yet the nuclear madness continues, with even Belarus building new nuclear reactors.
… in TORCH-2016 by the currently accepted risk of fatal cancer from radiation (10% per … linear no-threshold (LNT) model of radiation risks. The 40,000 figure is the same order of … the other for exchanges of views on radiation risks. Transparency is essential. Third, WHO …
Each year the US Department of Agriculture manages to test for over 400 pesticides in food, writes Carey Gillam. But glyphosate, the world's biggest-selling herbicide, is not among them, even as evidence of its dangers mounts. It's time for USDA and EPA to stop their buck-passing - and give consumers their right to know.
… nothing to worry about. The EPA's glyphosate risk assessment delayed again This begs the … and impacts. The agency was due to release a risk assessment last year. In fact, EPA's … nonprofit organization that investigates the risks associated with the corporate food …
Consumer environmentalism aligns conservation with modern consumer culture, writes Paul Jepson, offering NGOs the means to reach new people and generate new funding streams. But it risks ever more shallow public engagement and digital activism where masses of people back 'solutions' that only make themselves feel good.
… and generate new funding streams. But it risks ever more shallow public engagement and … benefit in terms of growth, productivity and risk management . Apple gains WWF's … new funding streams - but it also carries the risk of ever more shallow public engagement …
The Chilcot report reveals that the UK has disclaimed any duty to decontaminate the toxic, radioactive ash left behind by its DU munitions, or even monitor the impacts on human health, writes Doug Weir. But Iraq and other countries are working towards a UN Resolution this October that would hold contaminating governments like the UK and the US legally accountable for DU pollution.
… personnel carriers - pose a particular risk to civilians, both to workers in the … nail for recognition and research into the risks posed by the site following its closure, … that there was a real and significant health risk to the public from past DU emissions from …
Under my leadership Britain will act to protect the future of our planet, with social justice at the heart of our environment policies, writes Jeremy Corbyn. Meeting our Paris climate targets will be the starting point for a green industrial revolution that will deliver clean, affordable energy to all, create millions of new jobs, and establish the export industries of the future.
… associated with policy, financing risk, and technological maturity. This implies … presently at an all time low, the financial risks associated with the long-run financing … commitment to finance renewables, the policy risk would also be reduced to a minimal level. …
The nuclear industry is forever reinventing itself with one brilliant 'new' idea after another, Amory Lovins wrote in this classic 2009 essay. But whether it's touting the wonders of future SMRs, IFRs or LFTRs, the reality never changes: the reactors they are building right now are over time, over budget and beset by serious, entirely unforeseen technical problems.
… each kg of spent fuel 7x hotter, enhances risks, and makes certain transuranic isotopes … but major challenges, greater technical risks and repair problems, and speculative but … routine releases, accident and terrorism risks, proliferation, and disposal needs for …
Tate and now the Edinburgh International Festival have dropped BP sponsorship, writes Chris Garrard, with BP citing unspecified 'challenging conditions'. As indigenous campaigners accuse BP of 'sponsoring death in our communities', it's high time for the British Museum to follow their lead.
… BP would not put the museum's core work at risk, and it's likely that the majority of … oil." But like with cigarettes, we know the risks of not quitting. For BP to continue … the past, BP is putting the future at risk, and not just through its contribution to …
Efforts to clean up the Jukskei River are to be applauded but fall far short of what's really needed to return it to the former glory so many Johannesburg residents still remember writes LELYZAVETA IVANOVA
… words of Dr Snow, "They pose a major health risk to anyone making the slightest use of … people are increasingly aware of the health risk the river poses, but are unable to … the city and its outputs do make it a higher risk. Other Johannesburg rivers, such as the …
The TTIP EU-US trade deal has finally hit the rocks with massive popular opposition on both sides of the Atlantic gaining serious political traction, write Guy Taylor & Nick Dearden. There's now a good chance that TTIP will be defeated - but first we must make sure that CETA, the equally toxic EU-Canada 'Trojan Horse' deal, bites the dust.
… courts too seriously. In fact, the only risk assessment they've carried out on TTIP … advises the government that there are lots of risks and no benefits . CETA - a Trojan horse … that's a lot closer to being ratified. CETA risks becoming a Trojan horse for TTIP, with …
Theresa May's first big decision as PM was to duck out of a signing ceremony and review the Hinkley C nuclear project. But she will soon have to reach her decision. In this open letter Scientists for Global Responsibility set out six compelling reasons for her to let the whole monstrous white elephant go.
… Cabinet Office advisors have pointed to the risks of allowing a state-owned corporation of … creates unique security and environmental risks, and there remain major difficulties in managing these risks adequately. Nuclear plant, radioactive …
Ecosystems don't collapse a little at a time, writes JAMES DYKE, but all of a sudden. So how can we see the danger signs and act in time to save them? A new study of eutrophic lakes shows that the answer lies, not in easily-measured nutrient levels, but from a more subtle understanding of the lakes' shifting ecology and types of species: keystones, weeds and canaries.
… the government. To not act would have been to risk large sections of our globalised economy … continual assault on biodiversity , we risk producing rapid changes that can sweep …
Another week, another series of disasters for EDF and it's Hinkley C nuclear power project, writes Oliver Tickell, with the company's credit rating downgraded partly due to its exposure to the project, and its Chinese partner CGN ruling out a takeover of the site. How much longer can the tragicomedy continue before the curtain falls?
… writes Moody's, "reflects ... the incremental risks associated with the Hinkley Point C … energy market. And last month, new legal risks: UK green electricity supplier … decommissioning liability. This is the risk that is alarming Moody's, investors and …