BRIEFS NEWS Midwestern rain contains dangerous levels of mercury, according to a report released in September by the National Wildlife Federation. Based on research performed in conjunction with academic and environmental institutions throughout the region, Clean the Rain, Clean the Lakes documents mercury levels in precipitation that greatly exceed EPA standards, even in remote areas: up to 65 times the standard in Detroit, 41 times the standard in Chicago, and 35 times the standard in Michigan's Sleeping Bear Dunes. Previously, scientists believed that rain diluted pollution, the report notes; now, it appears that precipitation adds pollution to lakes and streams. To see the report, go to http://www.nwf.org/ water/. The European Union (EU) generated almost 28 million tons of hazardous waste in the mid 1990s, according to the latest figures from Eurostat, the EU's statistical agency. Although Ger-
TABLE 1 EU hazardous waste generation Country Belgium b (Flanders region) Denmark Germany Greece Spain France Ireland Luxembourg Netherlands Austria Finland Sweden UK Norway Switzerland
Reference year3
Total (t, in thousands)
1997 1997 1993 1997 1995 1990 1995 1997 1996 1996 1992 1994 1993 1997 1996
1625 252 9093 350 3394 7000 248 142 930 606 559 139 2077 640 888
Note: No data available for Italy and Portugal. " Latest year for which datei are available. 6 For Belgium, data available for Flanders region only. Source: Copyright 1999 European Communities . Reproduced from http://europa.eu.int/en/comm/eurostat/compres/en/9099/ 6809099a.htm by permissioni of the publishers.
many Greece, The Netherlands, Austria, Sweden, and the United Kingdom have reduced their outputs of hazardous waste, overall amounts are increasing, with the majority disposed of in landfills. Worldwide electricity use will double by 2020, according to a study released in September by Enron, the world's largest integrated energy services company. The Enron Energy Outlook 19992020 forecasts that electricity usage will rise from 13,100 billion kWh in 1997 to 26,960 billion kWh by 2020. Growth will come primarily from increased consumption in developing nations, especially in Asia and Latin America, where usage is expected to nearly triple by 2020. For a copy, call (713) 853-7431. Habitat loss, invasive species, and overharvesting have put one of every eight plant species at risk of extinction worldwide, finds a report by the Worldwatch Institute. In the United States, one in every three plant species is at risk. As a result, crop breeders have a much reduced gene pool from which to cull key traits, such as disease resistance. And "biotechnology is no solution to this loss of genetic diversity," the report's author says. "If a plant bearing a unique genetic trait disappears, there is no way to get it back." Likewise, with fewer than 1% of all plant species having been screened for bioactive compounds, every plant loss means a potential loss of future drugs and medicines. Nature's Cornucopia: Our Stake in Plant Diversity can be ordered from www.worldwatch.org. Global environmental resources are reaching the crisis point, and some—including coral reefs—are beyond the point of possible recovery, concludes a millennium report by the United Nations Environment Programme. Old threats such as water shortages, land degradation, air pollution, and global warming continue to plague the planet while new threats are emerging in the form of increased severity of natural disasters, species invasions as a result of globalization, and increased environmental pressures
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caused by urbanization. Global Environment Outlook 2000 can be accessed on the Web at www. unep.org/geo2000.
Millions of tax dollars subsidize corporate chicken and hog factories, even though they are responsible for one of the nation's most dangerous water pollution problems, charges a report from the Sierra Club. The report profiles 10 such factories that together received more than $100 million in tax dollars for road improvements, worker training, railroad spurs, and even an airport. According to the Sierra Club, these concentrated animal feeding operations have polluted 35,000 miles of rivers and contribute to bacterial infections that are resistant to normal antibiotic treatment. A copy of Corporate Hogs at the Public Trough is available at www.sierraclub.org/cafos/ report99. Children in the world's megac ties are exposed to air pollution levels 2 to 8 times above the maximum World Health Organization exposure guideline, according to a report by the World Resources Institute (WRI). Urban Air Pollution Risks to Children: A Global Environmental Health Indicator reports some of the greatest levels of health risk to children in megacities in China, Brazil, India, Mexico, and Iran, but developed countries are also at risk. New York, Paris, Tokyo, and Los Angeles have some of the highest levels of traffic-based pollution from nitrogen oxide (N0 2 ) in the world. For a copy of the report, call WRI at (202) 729-7600 or click on www.wri.org.
