In Kabul, air pollution, a more deadly to war (AFP)

Kabul (AFP) - war can kill thousands of civilians a year in Afghanistan, but the suffocation of pollution of the air in the capital Kabul is more lethal, experts say that.

The signs of the silent killer - pollutants emitted by people burning trash, fuel quality and old cars - are everywhere on the chaotic streets.

Men on foot or by bicycle, usually covering their mouths with masks or scarves to prevent dust. Women shake blue burqa to their faces.

"It is not possible to stay in good health without mask," said Ahmad Wali, a pharmacist with her every day, even when working in his shop.

"People are blocked with a very big problem." It is difficult to reduce pollution quickly. We have to breathe this air. ?

Primitive hospitals and are of the city are forced to deal with increasing numbers of people with respiratory problems.

"I was sick for three years," said Malalai, an Afghan mother of nine treaties to Jamhuriat hospital, one of the largest of the city.

"When I speak, I get short of breath after two or three minutes." I have pain in the chest when I try to breathe. I can not walk or stand for a long time and I have no energy. ?

The figures are stark. About 3,000 people by die year of pollution of the air in Kabul, the National Agency for the Protection of the environment, said last year.

By comparison, the United Nations says that 2,777 civilians have been killed in the war in Afghanistan in 2010.

There are several main causes of air pollution, but underlying all them is the rapid expansion of Kabul as people fled the capital for relative stability in the middle of the fighting in many rural areas.

The city was designed for approximately one million people, but is today home to approximately five million, a figure who said of the municipality of Kabul doubled in six years.

Most of the newcomers living in houses built illegally slums and the struggles Kabul infrastructure to cope.

The town roads are usually stuck with old and poorly maintained cars imported illegally as the Canada, Germany and the United States countries, often spewing fumes that are the by-product of poor quality fuel.

Most of the roads are paved, which means that when cars can move, they throw up dust which adds to the quality of the air.

Households often depend on diesel for electricity generators, while companies such as brick factories, and public baths also use.

In the frigid winter, local people burn often all what they can get holds of, including old tires and plastic, they are struggling to keep warm.

The Ministry of health considers more tripled the number of Afghans suffering from respiratory problems six years to approximately 480,000.

Officials admit that they are difficult to get on top of the problem given the scope of the problems faced by the Afghanistan after three decades of war and 10 years after the 2001 US invasion brought down the Taliban.

Last year, they have official holidays Thursday in Kabul - in addition to the Friday - to reduce air pollution. Also adopted A resolution for the prohibition of businessmen, import of old cars.

The Office of the Mayor, insists that the move was a "very good" effect to stop pollution getting worse but could not provide figures.

"Government vehicles are not allowed to (use) vacation and prevents all vehicles to move around and is a great help to reduce pollution," said spokesman Mohammad Ishaq Samadi.

But Ghulam Mohammad Malikyar, Advisor to la National Environment Protection Agency, said: "nous still have difficulty to environmental issues and the environment a priority in national and international strategies."

"The country was at war for 30 years and there is very little control over the environment, no there was no protection of the environment to all the".

Doctors warn that unless the action is brought, Kabul is facing serious problems.

Erfanullah Shifa, a doctor at the Jamhuriat hospital, said up to 20 people per day were registering with respiratory problems.

"If air pollution increases the way it is now, people of Afghanistan will face a health catastrophe in the near future" said Shifa.

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"kill a camel" to cut the concept of pollution in Australia (AFP)

SYDNEY (AFP) - Australia plans to allow carbon credits to kill wild camels as a means to combat climate change.

The suggestion is included in "carbon farming Initiative of Canberra", a consultation document by the Department of climate change and energy efficiency, seen Thursday.

Based in Adelaide Northwest carbon, a commercial company, proposed some 1.2 million of wild camels that roam the Outback, the legacy of herds introduced to help settlers in the 19th century the slaughter.

Considered a pest because of damage to vegetation, a camel produces, on average, equivalent to one tonne of carbon dioxide per year, making them collectively one of the major emitters of the Australia of the gas methane greenhouse.

In its plan, Northwest said it shot from a helicopter or gather and send to a slaughterhouse for human consumption or animal of company.

"We are a nation of innovators and we find innovative solutions to our challenges - it is just a classic example", Director General of the Northwest carbon Tim Moore told Australian Associated Press.

The idea was among those accepted by the Government, which seeks to "provide new economic opportunities for farmers, forest producers and landowners", be they agree on ways to reduce emissions, according to the discussion paper.

Heavily dependent on electric powered coal and mining exports, the Australia is one of the worst polluters per capita in the world and the Government looks at ways to clean up its act.

Legislation for the "agricultural carbon Initiative" is set to go before Parliament next week.

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China pollution suppression drug target (AP)

SHANGHAI - waste Foul issued by one of the largest manufacturers of drugs China are become the latest target in a growing campaign to crack down on the country serious pollution problems.

Harbin in the North China pharmaceutical group, said Thursday that it is rushing to upgrade its equipment and reduce releases of its critical antibiotics after intense drawing plants in the national media for a stench residents have been complaining about years.

China has been stepping up efforts to close or clean heavily polluting industries which have left many communities contaminated with heavy metals and other pollutants.

Reports by the State national television and major newspapers said the gas hydrogen sulfide levels near Harbin pharmaceutical plants were found to be more than 1,000 times the legal limit, while the levels of ammonia were 20 times the allowed limit.

Due largely chemicals the fermentation process used to manufacture penicillin, they said.

Exposure of hydrogen sulphide, that smell of eggs rotten and is also known as the swamp gas, can be fatal in high concentrations. It causes irritation of the skin and lower concentrations of respiratory problems and is highly flammable.

"There is no excuse for such emissions of waste and there is no advantage to escape responsibility," the newspaper of the Communist Party of people every day, said in a sharply worded comment that took local authorities to task for failing to curb the problems when they resurfaced in 2004.

Representatives of the Harbin city government refused to comment on the situation.

The barrage of criticism for what local media have dubbed "door pollution" followed reports earlier this week that authorities investigating a chemical plant which discharges of certain toxic substances 10 accused of alteration of water to parts of Hangzhou, a city of 9 million people to the West of Shanghai.

Harbin pharmaceutical issued a notice Thursday to the stock market of Shanghai acknowledging the complaints and confirming it was cutting production in some of its facilities while it solves problems.

The company said that he had invested 400 million Yuan (approximately $ 62 million) in clean technologies and pollution control equipment. The results of its last sampling of the affected areas, conducted this week, were not yet available, he said.

The company, which employs more than 20,000 people, said that it will to gaps in the production of penicillin and cephalosporin with purchases of other drug manufacturers.

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China says deals with pollution in Inner Mongolia (AP)

BEIJING - a Chinese official said that the Government and local organizations focus on pollution problems that sparked clashes leading to a wave of ethnic protests through the Inner Mongolia.

The events of last month following the assassination of two Mongolians seeking to block mining operations and the transportation of coal that people complained about the Prairies of damage and cause pollution.

Vice Minister of the environment Li Ganjie said Friday that "the situation has abated and I am satisfied that the relevant issues will be reviewed".

He said he believes that local governments and agencies for the protection of the environment will be empowering companies that break laws and regulations.

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EPA establishes tribal Committee against toxic chemical Pollution (ContributorNetwork)

According to a press release from the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA has formally established a Committee which helps the Amerindian tribes across the country to provide more input on chemical pollution toxic and other related environmental issues.

EPA announcement was made Tuesday and enrolled in an effort to give Indian tribes more power and authority when it comes to protect their public health and environmental health of their land. The Tribal National Toxics Committee will help EPA work with individual tribes these environmental issues while still emphasizing the importance of the sovereignty of tribes and cultures, values and heritage.

Director assistant for the EPA Office of chemical safety and Pollution Prevention Steve Owens commented on the performance of EPA establishing the NTTC: "as focus us on chemical safety and identify ways to reduce exposure to toxic chemicals and prevent pollution in Indian territory, it is absolutely essential that we listen to our tribal partners." We want to ensure that we address the ways that members of the tribes are affected by toxic substances and promote pollution prevention efforts that take into account their interests and needs. ?

The NTTC have a series of meetings and forums, which the first is scheduled for June 1-2 in Washington. Meetings and open forums will give tribes a way to express their opinions on new management strategies and programs that affect their environmental health and to work with the EPA for improvements. The main objective will focus on the needs of unique environmental health which differ in each native American tribe. In addition, specific issues, the NTTC will deal, according to the official website of the NTTC, include preventing poisoning by lead from lead-based paint, the expansion of the prevention of pollution and exhibition initiatives and the management of chemical waste on tribal land.

Addressing lead poisoning in tribal communities has long been an important initiative of the EPA. According to another EPA press release, the Federal Environment Agency has developed a teaching and programs to process and evaluate the problem of lead poisoning and children Amerindian tribes of radiation exposure. The EPA has also been giving grants and federal funding to eliminate childhood lead poisoning in the County of Indian with the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) grants in 16 different and the tribes recognized by the Federal Government in California, Nevada and Arizona, region 9 Lead program EPA Southwest Pacific Web site.

Rachel Bogart provides a thorough analysis of local environmental issues current and new in Chicago. As a student of the suburbs of Chicago, seeking to obtain two degrees of science, applied his knowledge and his passion for the two subjects to gather more public awareness.

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EPA delays cuts in the boiler, pollution incinerator (AP)

WASHINGTON - the Agency of Environmental Protection is indefinitely delaying regulations to reduce toxic pollution of boilers and incinerators.

The move comes in response to a request from industry groups.

The Monday announcement is a further setback for a rule that the claims of the Agency will be avoided each year thousands of heart attacks and asthma. In February, the EPA has announced changes to make it much less expensive to comply with new standards without diminishing the benefits of public health.

Groups of industry and the Congress of Republicans and Democrats, had been critical of the rule because of its expense and its scope.

More than 13,000 large boilers would install the control of pollution in the three years of the regulations in force.

The EPA could not say when it would be. He said that it would work as quickly as possible.

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Dependence of the Australia on coal pollution waves (AFP)

SYDNEY (AFP) - use of the Australia of renewable energy as a source of electricity has fallen as a percentage of the total production over the past 50 years with an increased dependence on polluting coal, research showed Tuesday.

A report, "Australia?" s Mix of generation of electricity 1960-2009 ", shows that renewable energies provided 19 per cent of the nation? s power in 1960 but only seven per cent in 2008.

During the same period Australia? s overall energy consumption has increased more 10 times with coal power increased by 1,200%.

"Unfortunately, we"? "ve made little progress to clean up our supply of electricity over the past 50 years," said Mark Wakeham environment Victoria, a non governmental organization that commissioned the report.

"The growth of polluting the generation of coal far outweighs the growth of renewable energy." It is a shocking performance, given the strength of the Australia renewable energy resources.

"This trend continued during the past decade despite an array of climate change of the State and national programs."

"What this research clearly shows who is without a price for carbon, the Australian economy will continue with the usual pollution."

Australians are among the worst polluters of carbon per capita in the world and over the years, different national regimes have been proposed to reduce harmful emissions, but none has ever been applied.

First Labour Minister Julia Gillard provides a carbon tax of levied on major industrial polluters by July 1, 2012, and then go to the show full in three to five years.

But the plan has seen his personal popularity and diving commands to work with the majority of voters opposed to the idea.

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