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News outlets examine West Africa floods

The torrential rains that began in June in West Africa and subsequent floods have forced an estimated 150,000 people from their homes and claimed the lives of 160, VOA News reports. The worst affected countries include Senegal, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Niger and Sierra Leone (Schlein, 9/13).

17 Sep 2009

Leading doctors call for climate change action to prevent 'global health catastrophe'

On Wednesday, the British Medical Journal (BMJ) and the Lancet simultaneously published an editorial (available here and here) and an accompanying letter (here and here) from 18 doctor association leaders to highlight the need for action at a December U.N. conference on climate change in Copenhagen, Reuters reports (Doyle, 9/16).

17 Sep 2009

Republicans strategy: Instead of attack, call for incremental reforms

Republicans are planning to counter Democratic health reform proposals with a call for an incremental approach.

16 Sep 2009

Role of society and business in advancing global efforts to fight climate change

Heads of state, United Nations agency heads and CEOs of the world’s top businesses will gather in New York on Tuesday, September 22, at the United Nations Summit on Climate Change to explore the role business and society can play in advancing global efforts to fight climate change.

16 Sep 2009

Obama to meet with sub-Saharan African leaders next week

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice announced Monday that President Obama will host a luncheon for leaders of sub-Saharan African countries next week during the ministerial meeting of the U.N. General Assembly "to promote economic and social development," the Associated Press/Washington Post reports.

16 Sep 2009

U.S. Navy and Solazyme to develop algae-derived advanced biofuel

Solazyme, Inc., the renewable oil production company and leader in algal synthetic biology, has been selected by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to research, develop, and demonstrate commercial scale production of algae-derived advanced biofuel that meets the United States Navy’s rigorous specifications for military tactical platforms.

9 Sep 2009

Senators return to full plate, featuring health bills

"The focus on health care as Congress reconvenes Tuesday after its monthlong recess is nearly all-consuming," The Associated Press reports. "At stake, beyond the future of health care, is an accomplishment Democrats need to convince voters they deserve to remain in power." Financial legislation, consumer protections and clean energy are also still on the table in the Senate (Abrams, 9/8).

9 Sep 2009

South East Asian ministers gather at WHO regional meeting

South East Asian health ministers met on Monday in Kathmandu, Nepal, for their 27th meeting during the 62nd session of the WHO Regional Committee for South East Asia, Republica reports.

9 Sep 2009

New technique used to analyse microbes

Sampling just a few genes can reveal not only the "lifestyle" of marine microbes but of their entire environments, new research suggests.

8 Sep 2009

Quest Diagnostics selected to be part of DJSI World and DJSI North America

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE: DGX), the world's leading provider of diagnostic testing, information and services, today announced that it was again selected to be part of the Dow Jones Sustainability World Indexes and North America Indexes (DJSI World and DJSI North America).

From Quest Diagnostics 5 Sep 2009

R'09 Conference to be held for improving the material usage and energy efficiency

Everyone will be thinking about energy efficiency and resource management in Davos from the 14th to the 16th September. The primary aim of the R'09 Conference, now being held for the ninth time, is to improve the material usage and energy efficiency of manufactured products, services and processes, whether during the production, usage or even the recycling phases.

4 Sep 2009

Also in global health news: Africa measles eradication; water, food security in South Asia; MDR-TB in Mumbai; SADC summit; U.S. Cuba embargo

WHO Regional Director for Africa Luis Gomes Sambo said Tuesday during the 59th Session of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa in Kigali, Rwanda, that measles could be eradicated from the continent by 2020, citing an 89 percent reduction in the number of deaths caused by measles between 2000 and 2007, Angencia AngolaPress reports.

4 Sep 2009

Union leaders hope to restore relevance in push for health reform

"The man expected to become the AFL-CIO's next president said Monday that lawmakers would pay a political price if they abandon a government-run option in any health care overhaul. 'We need to be a labor movement that stands by our friends, punishes its enemies and challenges those who, well, can't seem to decide which side they're on,' said Richard Trumka, currently the AFL-CIO's secretary-treasurer."

2 Sep 2009

World Climate Conference calls for global weather surveillance system, says could help predict disease outbreaks

The U.N. World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Monday opened the World Climate Conference - a week of talks in Geneva aimed at establishing a better global weather surveillance system to provide countries with "earlier, more accurate warnings about hurricanes, droughts and floods," the Associated Press reports.

2 Sep 2009

The Leverhulme Trust funds researchers for understanding the relationship between agricultural production and population health

Pioneering researchers coordinated by the London International Development Centre (LIDC) have won approximately £3.5m to address the global food security crisis by investigating the neglected links between agriculture and health. Their programme, funded by The Leverhulme Trust, bridges traditional disciplines and aims to create a new holistic paradigm for understanding the relationship between agricultural production and population health.

2 Sep 2009

Poll: Most Americans confused about health care proposals

According to a new CBS News poll, "two in three Americans call the health care reforms being debated by lawmakers confusing; only 31 percent said they have a clear understanding of the proposed changes. Sixty-seven percent of those questioned said the reform ideas were confusing. This evaluation cuts across party lines, with majorities of both Republicans (69 percent) and Democrats (58 percent) saying the current proposals are confusing."

1 Sep 2009

"Africa is mismanaging water resources," scientists say at conference; BBC examines effect of Kenya's drought on kids

Africa is mismanaging its water resources," according to scientists who are in Kenya at the Sustainable Water Conference, which is organized by the Pan Africa Chemistry Network, VOA News reports.

29 Aug 2009

Lawmakers debate the merits of cooperatives in health care

Legislators debate the merits of cooperatives as an alternative to the government-run public plan being advocated by some Democrats. Some point out that the rural electric co-ops, which were successful in bringing power to swaths of rural America, come at a high cost.

28 Aug 2009

Vertical farms could solve food production problems, opinion piece says

"If climate change and population growth progress at their current pace, in roughly 50 years farming as we know it will no longer exist," which means that the "majority of people could soon be without enough food or water," Dickson Despommier, a professor of public health at Columbia University, warns in a New York Times opinion piece

26 Aug 2009

Healthcare, education and clean energy are top job demands of the future

In the late 1980s, everyone wanted to study business management. Colleges and universities churned out millions of graduates who had watched Michael Douglas in Wall Street and believed they were going to be the next Gordon Gekko. Imagine their surprise when, in the early 1990s, corporate hiring trends shifted to heavily favor technology jobs! Certainly some of these graduates did just fine in the business world, but how many would have been happier and more successful with a computer degree?

25 Aug 2009