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New type of activated carbon that captures PFAS Trying to capture and destroy PFAS, persistent pollutants that remain in the environment for a very long time (called also "forever chemicals") has become a priority goal for researchers given the damage they cause; they are present in water and therefore in the food chain with consequent damage to health and the environment. They are present in a large number of products widely used such as in non-stick coatings of pans, as waterproofing agents in jackets and other fabrics, in cosmetics and conventional methods fail to break the very resistant molecules of their chemical bonds. It seems that Canadian researchers have developed a procedure with a new type of activated carbon that succeeds in this difficult task by using fragments of wood in a solution of iron chloride and burned at high temperature. e-mail: info@salutary.eu Tel: +39 338 1809310 Date: Sep 24, 2024 
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 Plastic used for few minutes and thrown away A simple gesture that has become common in the world such as taking a plastic cup filled with a drink and throwing it away after a few minutes or even seconds could be a serious damage to the environment and this often happens for a large number of plastic containers that may be apparently comfortable, practical and convenient but constitute a big risk for the food chain. Efforts are being made at international level this year to reach an agreement to limit plastic pollution; in fact, it is estimated that four hundred million metric tons of plastic end up in the environment every year, an evidently enormous amount with devastating impact for the entire ecosystem. United Arab Emirates residents are said to have one of the highest volumes of plastic waste in the world, and single-use plastic makes up forty percent of all plastic used in the country. e-mail: info@salutary.eu Tel: +39 338 1809310 Date: Sep 18, 2024 n: 5751 Crops affected by drought in southern Africa The effects related to the global current "El Nino" already at the beginning of the year would have affected vast regions in southern Africa, there is talk of crops suffering from drought and about sixty-eight million people are at risk from food shortages; then recently in the Harare capital of Zimbabwe in a conference was discussed, among other food security issues concerning sixteen (developing) countries of southern Africa. If the fields no longer produce fodder livestock farms are also affected and consequently the entire economy, it is estimated that seventeen percent would need aid and Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi have already declared the food crisis as a state of disaster, then Lesotho and Namibia require humanitarian support. In Zimbabwe malnutrition affects children under five, pregnant and breastfeeding women, as well as adolescents. e-mail: info@salutary.eu Tel: +39 338 1809310 Date: Aug 22, 2024 n: 5728 Agriculture hampered by drought in Morocco Six years of drought would have seriously damaged crops in Morocco where a third of the fields are no longer cultivated due to adverse conditions, then the work in the fields became harder and this decidedly unfavorable situation that heavily hinders agriculture affects vast areas of the Mediterranean; particularly affected in addition to Morocco where about a third of the active population works in the fields, neighboring Algeria and Tunisia. The authorities complain that drought has become a reality and announce investments including the increase in the use of renewable energy, then technology helps with modern and sophisticated solutions in the agricultural field, but it is used only in about fifteen percent of cultivated areas. Some say that without rain there is no life as they watch their crops impoverished and damaged by drought. e-mail: info@salutary.eu Tel: +39 338 1809310 Date: Jul 13, 2024 n: 5695 An agricultural chain poorly controlled in Italy Following a case of exploitation in an agricultural field of melon harvesting to the detriment of an illegal immigrant, gruesome to say the least, with tragic consequences protests have multiplied regarding the working conditions in agriculture reserved for those who do not have protection; then the supply chain is poorly controlled and even those who buy fruit and vegetables can hardly know if basic rules against accidents have been respected and it seems sometimes even the distribution chains know this in an approximate way, making serious abuses possible. Needless to say that climate change in addition to hindering production and damaging crops (for example up to minus sixty percent of production of oil, wheat, and some vegetables in the South of Italy due to drought) makes work in the fields exhausting due to extreme temperatures and strong solar radiation. e-mail: info@salutary.eu Tel: +39 338 1809310 Date: Jun 22, 2024 n: 5677 Pasteurization works for the H5N1 virus There would be no problem with eating pasturized milk while eating raw milk could be risky in the United States due to outbreaks due to the H5N1 avian flu virus in cow farms; in fact, it seems that infected cows have produced an anomalously thick and yellowish milk, at least according to what emerges from analyses carried out in several states after the confirmation of infections in some farms. Veterinarians also discovered the virus in the lungs of cows that showed no symptoms belonging to an infected herd, but the meat did not enter the food chain; fragments of the virus were then found in milk samples examined, prompting increased surveillance measures. According to the researchers several barriers must be built starting at the level of the farms and then at each stage of food processing to avoid pandemic risks. e-mail: info@salutary.eu Tel: +39 338 1809310 Date: May 10, 2024 n: 5640 Little water for coffee farms in Vietnam Water reserves for the cultivation of robusta coffee are rapidly decreasing in Vietnam, which is the world's largest producer of robusta, due to climatic conditions characterized by low rainfall, high temperatures and therefore excessive dryness that have led to an unfavorable balance in plant nutrients. Hot and dry have also favored the spread of cochinilla, sometimes very quickly and worryingly in some farms, the insect damages flowers and small fruits with an inevitable drop in the harvest and consequent possible further increase in the price of coffee (it had already increased again due to drops in production). Temperatures in the north and center of the country reach forty degrees Celsius with peaks of up to forty-four due to the heat wave that is affecting Southeast Asia. e-mail: info@salutary.eu Tel: +39 338 1809310 Date: Apr 30, 2024 n: 5632 Natural predators alternative to pesticides Climate change with the increase in carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere and the greenhouse effect affect both crop yields and the dynamics of how pests interact with plants, also increasing their survival rate and a study has shown how natural predators such as birds, beetles, spider and bug could be an effective alternative to pesticides by keeping the population of plant pests under control. Farmers are using more and more chemical pesticides because erratic rainfall with extreme rainfall variability generally makes plants less resistant to pests, but it only takes one species of predator to improve the situation; although it would be better to use more species for the natural functioning of the ecosystem and promote biodiversity. e-mail: info@salutary.eu Tel: +39 338 1809310 Date: Mar 08, 2024 n: 5589 Xylella isolated in some almond trees in Apulia In Triggiano in the Bari province in Italy a variant of Xylella (fastidioda-fastidiosa) would have been isolated in some almond trees, for the moment there is talk of isolated cases even if it will be necessary to reclaim the area by uprooting the plants within a radius of fifty meters; this variant of Xylella already identified in other countries could also attack vines and cherry trees. An attempt is being made to monitor the situation that has already caused heavy damage to olive tree crops and decimated monumental centuries-old trees, then climate change is making the plants less resistant and productive. Shifting the focus to Piedmont region it is worth noting the prolonged drought that is affecting the region, it seems that the authorities have requested a state of natural disaster even though it has been raining lately and further rainfall is expected. e-mail: info@salutary.eu Tel: +39 338 1809310 Date: Feb 23, 2024 n: 5577 Quechua agricultural technique for climate crisis On the border between Peru and Bolivia an ancient agricultural technique called "Waru, Waru" has been tested which in the Quechua language means bridge, to counteract the effects of climate change on the territory and protect for example potato and quinoa crops as was done two thousand years ago. Seen from above these are circular traces of cultivated land crossed by straight lines (figuratively like the famous crop circles made by alleged aliens) with a design that favors irrigation and is very useful in times of drought and frost. The chosen area is located in Puno near Lake Titicaca at about three thousand eight hundred meters above sea level where farmers have prepared six of these characteristic Waru Waru fields near irrigated land, with water around the vegetation that creates a microclimate by absorbing heat during the day and returning it at night. e-mail: info@salutary.eu Tel: +39 338 1809310 Date: Feb 13, 2024 n: 5568 Nutrition * The author doesn't assume some kind of responsibility for the bad use of the articles councils (all rights are reserved) |
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