COMPACT HEALTH & ENVIRONMENT NEWS from Jag 18.04.06

[Guest guest]

International conspiracy behind bird flu’ Press Trust of India Posted online: Thursday, April 06, 2006 at 1620 hours IST http://www.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=65630 Mumbai, April 6: The poultry industry, which has been hit hard by the bird flu, sees an ‘international conspiracy’ behind the bird flu outbreak of the disease at Navapur in Maharashtra ------------------------- Environment Disappearing Birds May Point to Bigger Problems by Deirdre Kennedy Morning Edition, April 17, 2006 · Fewer and fewer birds are migrating from California to Canada. Scientists are worried that this mysterious disappearance of birds may point to a larger problem. ---------------------------- Food Inc. swallows organics Multinationals move to corner niche market http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/story.html?id=15471e4c-6c19-452d-af5e-750d61a01888 Carly Weeks, CanWest News Service Published: Monday, April 17, 2006 OTTAWA - Coca-Cola, Wal-Mart and the corporate owners of cigarette giant Phillip Morris Companies Inc. might seem an unlikely match for organic and natural food. But these large corporations, which have been accused of contributing to obesity, cancer-related deaths and the destruction of independent businesses, are swiftly taking over the organic industry in Canada. Some say the entry of organic food, ranging from apples to milk to hamburgers, into mainstream retailing means the industry is finally getting the recognition and sales it

deserves. But others are concerned that corporate empires will wipe out small, independent farms, rely heavily on imported food from countries with suspect standards, and rapidly erode the principles upon which organic food production was built. "What's important to keep in mind is that these big corporations are getting into organics not because they have doubts about their prior business practices or doubts about chemical, industrial agriculture," said Ronnie Cummins, national director of the United States-based Organic Consumers Association. "They're getting in because they want to make a lot of money -- they want to make it fast." He said the companies couldn't care less about "family farmers making the transition to organic farms." Despite high prices -- about 40 per cent higher than conventionally grown food, a recent analysis in Ontario found -- Canada's organic industry was worth up to $1.3 billion in 2003

and is growing 20 per cent a year, Agriculture Canada says. --------- THE LEAN PLATE Eat right and your kids are likely to follow By Sally Squires, Special to The TimesApril 17, 2006 http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-lean17apr17,1,328932.story?ctrack=1 & cset=true Want to get your children to eat more fruits and vegetables without resorting to threats, bribes or begging? Eat these healthful foods with your kids. That's just one of the conclusions from new research on improving the eating habits of children and teens. ----------------------------- Posted on Mon, Apr. 17, 2006 Taking on autismDespite warnings that there is no cure, a couple are banking on a blend of mainstream and alternative therapies for their twin sons.By Josh GoldsteinInquirer Staff Writer Marie

Elliott knew something was wrong when her 20-month-old twins stopped talking. They were soon diagnosed with forms of autism. And doctors said the boys would suffer lifelong disabilities. "Like a lot of parents, we said that is not good enough," said the boys' father, Patrick Elliott, a trauma surgeon in Delaware County. So he and his wife used their expertise and much of their savings to create an intensive home treatment program that straddles mainstream and alternative medicine. The twins spend dozens of hours each week with traditional therapists to develop attention and language skills. And twice a week they sit in a special sauna trying to eliminate heavy metals and other toxins from their systems - a controversial therapy that some believe may help. Three years later, the hybrid regimen seems to be working. Recent follow-up examinations of the twins, who turn 5 tomorrow, found Connor "appears to

be functioning normally," according to a medical evaluation. Bradley improved but at a slower pace, and is about a year behind his brother. The Elliotts' treatment program puts them in both camps of a debate raging between the medical establishment and advocates of alternative therapies. Mainstream doctors often warn against unproven treatments, citing their danger, while some parents chafe at the lack of knowledge and look for options. About one in 166 children are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders. The rate is 10 times higher than in the late 1980s, according to an analysis of autism rates in a major metropolitan area by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The increase stems from better diagnosis, more awareness and an unexplained rise in cases, experts say. Autism spectrum disorders are complex developmental conditions that encompass a range of behavior, including poor social and communication

skills. Two related, milder conditions are Asperger's syndrome and pervasive development disorder not otherwise specified. Bradley was diagnosed with autism while Connor was found to have the less severe developmental disorder. Autism and related conditions are believed to be genetic, but it is unclear if an environmental trigger contributes to the disease in some people, said Maureen A. Fee, head of developmental pediatrics at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children in Philadelphia. "We are just not far along enough in the science to understand the cause in every case," she said. That lack of answers leads many parents to consider unproven treatments and doctors to caution against them. "I certainly understand the emotional aspects of parents wanting to make sure their child is getting every treatment available," said Susan E. Levy, director of the Regional Autism Center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

"Unfortunately, most of the . . . alternative therapies have not been subjected to rigorous scientific study and some may be harmful." One of the most troubling alternative therapies to the medical establishment is chelation, a process often involving a compound given intravenously to help remove heavy metals from the body. In August, a 5-year-old autistic boy in Portersville, Pa., died while undergoing chelation therapy at a doctor's office. The death was the result of heart failure from a lack of calcium in his blood - a known danger of the care - the CDC reported. "Many of us draw the line at chelation," Fee said. "If an alternative therapy is not going to be harmful, there is no downside, but we have always been concerned about chelation doing some harm." The mainstream medical approach focuses on developmental and educational therapies. "Parents should be cautioned about the possibility of misinformation,

especially from Internet sources" that allege association with measles-mumps-rubella vaccine and miracle cures, cautions the American Academy of Pediatrics. Many parents link autism with the vaccines. The timing of the shots and children's developmental problems lead many to blame mercury or other factors in the shots. "I think it is complicated," Marie Elliott said of the vaccines, "but I think they had a role." Lab tests showed that her twins had high levels of heavy metals and other toxins. So the Elliotts used a variety of measures, including chelation, to remove them. Patrick Elliott cautions parents to choose carefully the health professional and chelating agent. The Elliotts, for example, use a different chemical agent - glutathione - from the edetate disodium (Na2EDTA) involved in the Portersville boy's death. The Elliotts say they have spent more than $150,000 on their program over three years, an amount

beyond the reach of many parents. In their basement, the parents have set up two classroom areas for the boys. They've hired and trained their own team of six therapists to supplement county-funded therapy. Altogether, each boy receives about 35 hours a week of educational and developmental work including speech, physical, occupation and play therapy. The parents have created a physical therapy room with trampoline, workout mats and a swing. The room also houses the sauna that uses infrared light, not high heat, that helps detoxify the twins. They dedicate a shelf in the kitchen to vitamins, amino acids, minerals and other supplements that Connor and Bradley take each day. The boys are on gluten-free and casein-free diets to help ease gastrointestinal problems that often accompany the condition. The diet eliminates dairy products as well as foods rich in gluten, such as wheat, rye, beans and cabbage. Their physician father credits the long hours of traditional therapy for much of his sons' progress. Still, he thinks their diet, the supplements, and "the detoxification . . . has had a major effect." A doctor who cares for gravely injured trauma patients, Elliott relies on his medical training to treat gunshot victims and people hurt in car crashes. So he is frustrated when he hears from autism experts that there is little to be done for his kids. Even more infuriating are those parents and doctors who see Connor now and conclude he must not have had autism. Elliott has documented every aspect of the twins' treatment and holds the results of recent tests on the boys at the nationally known Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore as evidence for his multifaceted approach. He hopes others can be helped and that parents without his financial resources will be able to tap the array of treatments his boys have

received. Elliott also credits his wife for spearheading the twin's regimen and maintaining some normalcy in the house for their older sons, Patrick, 10, and Ryan, 8. "She has given her life for these kids," Elliott said at the family's home in Media, Delaware County. "I get to go away and help people. It is easy. Autism is hard, there is no road map." But there is progress, at least for the Elliott twins. Patrick Elliott talked emotionally about looking forward to a vacation for the first time since his sons were diagnosed. "Bradley is going to jump into my arms, look me in the eye, and call me daddy." Contact staff writer Josh Goldstein at 215-854-4733 or jgoldstein. Web Resources For more

information about autism, check out these sites online: Autism Society of America http://www.autism-society.org Autism Treatment Network http://www.autismtreatmentnetwork.org. Cure Autism Now http://www.cureautismnow.org The Autism Research Institute http://www.autismwebsite.com/ari/index.htm © 2006 Philadelphia Inquirer and wire service sources. .http://www.philly.com --- ScienceApril 18, 1906Lessons from the Earthquake That Shook the WorldBy J. MADELEINE NASH/ SAN FRANCISCOhttp://www.time.com/time/archive/preview/0,10987,1179365,00.html Already, scientists say,

there is a greater than 60% probability that one or more of the faults in the San Andreas system will unleash an earthquake of magnitude 6.7 or higher over the next three decades, and among the most likely candidates is the Hayward Fault. The last big earthquake on the Hayward occurred in 1868; it caused so much damage that it was known as the great San Francisco earthquake until 1906 displaced it. "The Hayward Fault is locked and loaded," says Brocher, "and it could fire at any time." What will happen when the Hayward Fault--or the San Andreas--goes off? Scientists who study ancient quakes cannot answer that question because it depends on details that sediments do not preserve. But using a new 3-D model of the earth's crust in the Bay Area, USGS geophysicist Brad Aagaard and his colleagues can run simulations that tweak different parameters for earthquakes that have already occurred and for those still to come. The results range

from the expected to the quite surprising. At his computer, Aagaard first conjures up the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, which started, many scientists think, along a spur of the San Andreas some 60 miles south of San Francisco. Across a Landsat image of the Bay Area, Aagaard's simulation takes the form of a spreading blob of mixed colors that indicate shaking intensities, from low-intensity blue to medium-intensity yellow and high-intensity red. Then Aagaard calls up 1906. The difference is immediately apparent. This time red flows across the landscape like a river of lava, and among the places that glow the brightest is the area around Santa Rosa, just as the ShakeMap says it should. Aagaard and his colleagues have started using their earthquake simulator to try to answer the most tantalizing questions of all: What if the rupture of the fault had not started directly off the San Francisco coastline? What if it had

started farther south, so that instead of breaking away from the city it had aimed right toward it? What if it had started farther north and broken south? In the first instance, the tentative answer is that San Francisco gets shaken even harder; in the second, it's Silicon Valley and the Livermore Valley that find themselves clamped in the lion's jaws. "1906 is the most powerful earthquake we can imagine hitting Northern California," says Mary Lou Zoback, head of the USGS Northern California Earthquake Hazards Program. "But it may not have been the worst-case scenario." Concerned about what their research is showing, Zoback and her colleagues have redoubled their efforts to raise public awareness of the hazard that lurks below. Later this month their voices will be reinforced by the more than 2,000 scientists, engineers and emergency managers gathering in San Francisco for a special 100th Anniversary Earthquake Conference. The question is: Will Bay Area residents pay attention to what these public-spirited researchers say? The ghost of Hurricane Katrina, no less than that of 1906, will haunt the centennial as it gets under way. "Katrina has shown us what a $100 billion--plus disaster looks like, the kind of disaster no one wanted to talk about before," says Chris Poland, chief executive of Degenkolb Engineers and chairman of the conference. "It's shown us what happens when you damage a community so much that its economy stops." -- Article published Apr 16, 2006Apr 16, 2006 Experts at hurricane conference spar over global warming's

impact By CATHY ZOLLO N.Y. Times Regional Media GroupORLANDO - Can driving your car, running the air conditioning all summer and flying on vacation lead to more and stronger hurricanes?Most climatologists agree that the aerosols and greenhouse gases humans dump into the atmosphere have caused or at least hastened global warming.But while some scientists say global warming makes hurricanes more likely, others disagree and see recent busy hurricane seasons as just part of a natural cycle.The debate over global warming's impact has taken center court among weather scientists, including many at the National Hurricane Conference in Orlando this week.Among those who don't see a connection is Colorado State University's William Gray, who says the global warming

hysteria was invented by Al Gore and yuppies."This is natural stuff," Gray says of the recent uptick in storms.While the folks at the Orlando conference hope he's right, they still took copious notes when climate expert Judith Curry spoke during a debate on the issue.Curry believes warming is connected to hurricane frequency.Her opinion matters; she's authored two books and more than 130 papers on climate and climate change and chairs the Georgia Institute of Technology's School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences.She says that if global warming continues, coastal residents should at least be prepared for the worst. She said the science may not be perfect, but it isn't likely to be flawed enough to say things are going to cool down in coming decades, as Gray contends.Curry says there's a reason Gray has guessed too low on his initial forecast for the last two years. She says he's calculating from 50 years of hurricane data that

puts too little weight on the most recent and active years.Gray's data says an average year has 9.6 named storms."The new average is more like 14.7," Curry said. "And that average is going to rise due to global warming. I would be surprised if there were fewer than 20 storms this year."Gray says science is behind the upswing in hurricanes. He blames the Atlantic Multi-decadal Oscillation, a 70-year cycle of warmer then cooler sea surface temperatures in the North Atlantic.A warming trend that produces more and bigger storms began in 1995, and most climatologists agree it could last until 2025 or 2030.But Curry says that even though we're only 10 years into the current warming cycle, we're already well past the peak of the last one in the 1950s."We've seen a 50 percent increase in tropical storms, a 50 percent increase in hurricanes and a 50 percent increase in Category 4 and 5 storms," she said.There's also the

question over whether hurricanes are getting stronger.A simulation by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory showed that the buildup of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will produce an intensity increase of one-half category on the Saffir-Simpson scale. . "Our ideal is not the spirituality that withdraws from life but the conquest of life by the power of the spirit." - Aurobindo.

Messenger with Voice. Make PC-to-Phone Calls to the US (and 30+ countries) for 2¢/min or less.