Monthly Archives: June 2006

Harder Bio-Plastics

When I was a kid, I used to make believe that Christmas was everyday. Going to the mall was especially joyfull since the majority of wares come pre-packaged. It didn’t take much imagination for me to believe I was in Santa’s factory surrounded by strangly wrapped Christmas presents. Now I’m grown up and I realize packaging is not a fun 1/4 second between me and a new toy, but a terrible waste that costs the Earth, especially when it comes to fast food containers and plastic bags.

Alternatives currently exist to plastic bags, but what about packaging? The company NatureWorks has developed a hard plastic made from corn thats suitable for many common packaging applications. Bio-plastics degrade by industrial processes and are ideally suited to large events where collection is assured. Perphaps future versions can be suitable for your backyard composter. The kid side of me is just hoping I can get my Christmas gifts in Organically grown, locally producted plastic packaging so I wont have to feel guilty when I grow up.

Too True

Good science cannot long persist in an atmosphere of intimidation. Political figures ought to be reviewing their public statements to make sure they are consistent with the best available science; scientists should not be reviewing their statements to make sure they are consistent with the current political orthodoxy. – House Science Committee Chairman Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY)

WHO Paves Way for Medicines for the Poor

The World Health Organization is actually going to try to make drugs more affordable for the majority of the world.

“The resolution approved by the Assembly, the supreme decision-making body of the World Health Organisation (WHO), urges the 192 member states to make the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals a strategic sector, thus committing themselves to making R&D of medicines consistent with public interest needs a priority.

This was the response of health ministers at last week’s meeting in Geneva to the concerns of developing countries and humanitarian non-governmental organisations, which criticised the tendency of transnational pharmaceutical companies to concentrate their R&D efforts on diseases prevalent in affluent countries. “

Smoking Cannabis Does Not Increase Lung Cancer Risk

Cannabis LeafAccording to an article on Fox News, cannabis does not increase the risk of lung cancer in smokers. Even frequent users who have smoked tens of thousands of joints over their lifetime are at no greater risk than infrequent users or non-users.

The researchers are not sure exactly why this is, but think it may have something to do with the active ingredient in cannabis, THC.

UN World Food Programme is Blogging

After creating the fantastic and educational video game for kids, Food Force, the UN is providing a way for kids to talk to humanitarian workers on the front lines. From the UN press release:

“Fresh from the global success of the world’s first humanitarian video game designed to arouse children’s interests in the challenges of fighting hunger, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today announced the launch of a blog, an interactive internet chat site, that allows youngsters to talk directly to aid workers on the battle’s frontlines.

“In response to queries from Food Force players all over the world on how they could help, the new blog is a way to channel interest and a place to exchange ideas,” WFP said, referring to the educational video game which has now been played by at least 4 million people since its launch in April 2005 and is currently available in five languages.”