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Sci/Tech
Minimal Long-Term Effects Of Marijuana Use Found in Central Nervous System by UCSD Researchers
An analysis of research studies with long-term, recreational users of marijuana has failed to reveal a substantial, systematic effect on the neurocognitive functioning of users. According to researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine, the only deleterious side effect found was a minimal malfunction in the domains of learning and forgetting.
The findings were particularly significant considering the movement by several states to make cannabis (marijuana) available as a medicinal drug, and questions regarding its potential toxicity over long-term usage.
Jun 28, 2003, 07:45
Administration, Yellowstone Staff at Odds on Park Threats
The Bush administration, citing a report by Yellowstone National Park's professional staff, is asking a United Nations committee to remove the park from a list of World Heritage sites that are "in danger" of losing their grandeur.
"Yellowstone is no longer in danger," Paul Hoffman, an Interior Department official, wrote in an April 7 letter to the World Heritage Committee of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. But there is one hitch: The professional staff appears to disagree with the administration's assessment that the government is addressing all the problems that put Yellowstone on the endangered list in 1995. A draft report by the staff earlier this year identified continuing threats to the quality of the park's streams, bison herd and cutthroat trout populations — and to visitors' overall experience of the park.
The final report sent to the international committee by the Bush administration had toned down or deleted these concerns. Copies of both reports were provided to the Los Angeles Times by the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, a regional conservation group.
Full story: LA Times
Jun 28, 2003, 07:20
Novel Immune Therapy for Leukemia
Researchers at the Rebecca and John Moores UCSD Cancer Center, in conjunction with Xcyte Therapies, Inc., of Seattle, are conducting a clinical trial of an experimental therapy for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) in which the patient's own T lymphocytes, a type of immune system cell, are modified to enhance their ability to mount a cancer-killing response.
Jun 28, 2003, 06:35
40 Countries sign Tobacco Control Treaty
Forty countries and the European Community (EC) signed the new global tobacco control treaty unanimously adopted last month by all 192 Member States of the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO).
Jun 25, 2003, 07:08
Mosquitoes, climate tracked for West Nile warnings
American scientists are combining climate, geography and insect data to form an early-warning system for outbreaks of West Nile disease.
Researchers will collect climate data this summer in areas where disease-carrying mosquitoes are found. They hope to develop a system to predict when, where and under which conditions the mosquitoes are likely to spring up.
Full story: CBC
Jun 25, 2003, 06:55
The Eleventh Smart Growth Principle
You might think if ten commandments were sufficient, then why is an eleventh smart growth principle needed? It is and this is why.
Sprawl's tentacles have reached out to choke military facilities, including bases, training ranges, airfields and air corridors. The phenomenon is called encroachment. Some land uses do not impact military operations, but many do and these are called incompatible land uses. A big problem is sprawl housing and schools that put people in harm's way of aircraft accidents and exploding ordinance, for example. Residents who move close to military installations complain a lot about noise and other effects from aircraft and various types of training operations. Angry residents apply pressure on elected officials. The result often is a loss of mission capabilities and flexibility. The mere presence of development can sometimes be a problem, such as lights interfering with night operations.
Jun 25, 2003, 06:47
'Superweeds' signal setback for GM crops
The dispute over genetically modified crops will intensify today with news of the evolution of "superweeds", which are resistant to the powerful weedkillers that GM crops were engineered to tolerate.
The development, which comes as the sacked former environment minister Michael Meacher puts himself at the head of the anti-GM campaign, will be seized on by opponents of the technology as undermining its rationale.
It means that bigger quantities of weedkillers - not less, as the biotechnology companies have claimed - will be needed in GM-crop fields, adding to the already intensive agriculture that has wiped out much of Britain's farmland wildlife in the past four decades. Monsanto, the GM market leader, confirmed to The Independent at the weekend that its solution for dealing with resistant weeds was to apply different weedkillers in new ways.
Full story: The Independent UK
Jun 25, 2003, 06:44
Critics Describe EPA Report As Overly Politicized
The Environmental Protection Agency yesterday released its first statistical overview of the national environment, but the near absence of any discussion of global climate change or other sensitive matters caused advocacy groups to dismiss the report as a self-serving Bush administration political document.
EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman said the report "isn't about comparing one administration to another." She said EPA sought to create a "baseline" of data for the future.
"This is about what we know today and what that tells us," she said. "We didn't want to project."
Whitman released the overview, titled "Draft Report on the Environment," four days before she leaves the EPA. She had promised to produce a single-document summary of environmental conditions when she took over the agency in 2001.
Full story: Washington Post
Jun 25, 2003, 06:41
Summer Safety Tips
The “official” first day of summer is here (June 21st) and CDF Fire/Butte County Fire Rescue would like to offer some summer safety tips. The summer season offers many opportunities for fun activities like swimming, cookouts and fireworks displays. The following are a few reminders for residents to consider when enjoying summer vacation activities. Please take them seriously as we really don’t want to see you this summer unless it’s during a visit to one of our stations for a glass of iced tea and a tour of the engine for the kids.
Jun 24, 2003, 06:29
NASA Noncompliance with Waste Reduction Requirements
One of the Federal Government's goals for protecting the environment is to lead waste reduction efforts by using recycled and environmentally preferable products.
We found that NASA's affirmative procurement program needs
improvements.
Jun 24, 2003, 06:18
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