Megacities Pose Serious Health Challenge

Rapid urbanization will take a heavy toll on public health if city planning and development do not incorporate measures to tackle air pollution. There are now 23 megacities in the world, compared with just two 60 years ago.

BPA’s Real Threat May Be After It Has Metabolized

Bisphenol A or BPA is a synthetic chemical widely used in the making of plastic products ranging from bottles and food can linings to toys and water supply lines. When these plastics degrade, BPA is released into the environment and routinely ingested.

New Zealand Oil Spill: Cleanup Costs Settlement

A Greek shipping company has agreed to pay the New Zealand government up to $31.5 million toward the cleanup costs of a cargo ship’s grounding on a reef near popular swimming and surfing beaches last year. But taxpayers will still be footing some of the bill.

French Highest Court Upholds Total Conviction In Erika Oil Spill

France’s highest court upheld a conviction against oil major Total SA over a 1999 oil spill, caused by the wreck of the Erika oil tanker off the Brittany coast in 1999, in a blow to the company which had hoped it would be absolved of blame for one of France’s worst environmental disasters.

Gujarat Beaches No Longer Pristine, India

Coastal tourism in Gujarat is proving to be a non-starter. More than the economic downturn, the main reason for this is the gross mismanagement of numerous beaches dotting the state’s huge coastline of 1,600 km.

Israel’s beaches: where sand and sun meet pollution

The Bat Galim beach in Haifa, which has been closed to swimmers for eight days, stands next to the barb-wired backside of an army base. Across the way, housing projects bake slowly in the sun. Three years ago, I came here on a date, and it seemed to be one of Israel’s most forlorn beaches. Even the sand is grayer, and harder.