Illegal gold mining in the Amazon has a devastating effect on indigenous peoples, writes Sarina Kidd. First the miners bring disease, deforestation and even murder. Then long after they have gone, communities are left to suffer deadly mercury poisoning. Now the UN has been called on to intervene.

In Brazil, new statistics reveal alarming rates of mercury poisoning amongst the Yanomami and Yekuana. 90% of Indians in one community are severely affected, with levels far above that recommended by the WHO.

Mercury poisoning is devastating tribal peoples across Amazonia, Survival International has warned.

 

Read more ...

Investigadores de Oxford han cuantificado los beneficios del mundo de convertirse en vegetariano, escribe Marco Springmann. Su estudio muestra que los cambios simples, como cambiar a las dietas bajas en carne y con alto contenido de frutas y verduras, podrían conducir a una reducción significativa de la mortalidad y los costes sanitarios, mientras se reducen las emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero del sector de alimentos en dos tercios.

Read more ...

Initial findings from the Walnuts and Healthy Aging (WAHA) study presented at Experimental Biology 2016 (EB) indicate that daily walnut consumption positively impacts blood cholesterol levels without adverse effects on body weight among older adults. The WAHA study is a dual site two-year clinical trial conducted by researchers from the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona and Loma Linda University and is aimed at determining the effect of walnuts on age-related health issues. 

"Given walnuts are a high-energy food, a prevailing concern has been that their long term consumption might be associated with weight gain," said Dr. Emilio Ros, director of the Lipid Clinic, Endocrinology & Nutrition Service at the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona. "The preliminary results of the WAHA study demonstrate that daily consumption of walnuts for one year by a sizable cohort of aging free-living persons has no adverse effects on body weight. They also show that the well-known cholesterol-lowering effect of walnut diets works equally well in the elderly and is maintained in the long term. Acquiring the good fats and other nutrients from walnuts while keeping adiposity at bay and reducing blood cholesterol levels are important to overall nutritional well-being of aging adults. It's encouraging to see that eating walnuts may benefit this particular population." 

 

Read more ...

El Niño years can have a big impact on the littlest plants in the ocean, and NASA scientists are studying the relationship between the two. In El Niño years, huge masses of warm water – equivalent to about half of the volume of the Mediterranean Sea – slosh east across the Pacific Ocean towards South America. While this warm water changes storm systems in the atmosphere, it also has an impact below the ocean’s surface. These impacts, which researchers can visualize with satellite data, can ripple up the food chain to fisheries and the livelihoods of fishermen.

Read more ...

La formación de un cambio en el patrón de las temperaturas superficiales del mar en el medio del Océano Pacífico Norte puede predecir un mayor riesgo de olas de calor del verano en la mitad oriental de los EE. UU, con hasta 50 días de anticipación.

El patrón contrasta el agua más cálida que el promedio con el agua procedente de mares más fríos de lo normal. Cuando aparece, las probabilidades de que el calor extremo se deje sentir durante... 

Read more ...

Después de casi 50 años de servicio, la última central térmica de carbón de Escocia, la central eléctrica de Longannet, finalmente ha sido cerrada, poniendo fin a más de 100 años de la quema de carbón para generar electricidad.

Es un momento importante para Scottish Power, que mira hacia adelante para limpiar las... 

Read more ...

More Articles ...

Subcategories