Emergency preparedness guide

A Finlandese and an US company are opening two huge new paper factories in Fray Bentos, Uruguay on the banks of the River Uruguay. This has been causing unrest and protests on the Argentine side, with cutting off the three important bridges that cross the river between the two countries.

According to an expert- Uruguayan - the world doesn't need any more paper mills. For every ten bobbins of paper that are produced in the world, one is used for the printing of books, note pads, leaflets, newspapers, reciepts, toilet and higienic paper etc, and nine are used for luxury packaging of goods that are mainly consumed in the cities of the northern hemisphere.

Statistics show that a north American consumes 100 times more paper goods than a south American but doesnot read 100 times more. Every heavy wrapping paper product carries the tears of the mothers of a third world country, whose child has contacted leucemia from the poisons of the papermills built in his country

There are three technologies to separate the paper from the wood fiber, a) elemental chlorine... the is the most dangerous, used everywhere but mainly in small factories. b)using Chlorine dioxide (ECF) as the ones to be installed in Fray Bentos. It is 20% less contaminating but the factories here will be the biggest of America, therfore the worst contaminators. and factor c) the most expensive and less contaminating, free of all chlorine contaminates

The mentioned factories are a crime against humanity in the regions because they daily take from the river the volumn of water normally used by all the river bank cities and revert the same amount in a contaminated state with high temperatures. The contamination levels are accumulative, but the impact will be felt by the population long before the authorities associate the effects with the factories, with the worn out phrase " there is no proof that the rise in child cancer is due to the presence of these factories"

An algae originating in the east that arrived in Chubut (Southern Argentina) attached to ships from Korea, has been invading the seabed for over ten years in the golfs around Valdez Peninsula, where it is causing large ecological and economical damage. The scientific name is “ Undaria Pinnatifida” and it has its origens in Japan, Southern China and Korea, where it is cultivated for human consumption since the 1960s. It was first detected in Puerto Madryn in 1992, and has since covered the seabed blocking the native flora and fauna, since it reaches a height of 1.70 meters, and so doesn’t let any solar light in. It also makes sport diving difficult, gives off a bad smell and dirties the beaches.

Specialists say that if it invades the shell fish banks it will cause enormous economical damage. The advance of the plague seems to have no solution, at least no in a short term, since once it is established , it is impossible to get rid of. As an example it wwas shown that if it is difficult to eleiminate a plague on earth’s surface without damaging the rest of the flora and fauna, how much more so on the seabed.. And, since no one knows how to control this plague, the algae is threatening to cause an exodus of salmon species since they cannot get to their caves. It is taking away the attraction of skindiving – a place usually considered a paradise for this sport – and threatening sea anenomaes, star fish and shellfish. Tides also throw the algae onto the beaches, putting off tourists due to its sickly smell

Perhaps people can remember what happened in Australia, several years ago, when rabbits were introduced there, but not their natural predator, foxes.

Something very similar has happened in the extreme south of Argentina, on the Island of Tierra del Fuego.

Chinese Cientists are said to have invented a planting machine that has began to show effect in the struggle against desertification.

The machine, capable of planting between two and three hectares a day, has been put to trial in the dry plains of the northern Chinese province of Inner Mongolia, by the Botanic Institute that depends on the Science Academy of China.

After using the machine in 67,000 hectars, scientists have prove dthat the grass planted survived the severe winter and spring of this desert land, and the sand usually moved by the wind did not settle in the cultivated areas.

The machine, weighing nearly 12 tons and measuring 2.8 meters high by 6.6 meters wide, can move rapidly through the desert. Its funcion has several steps. First it sprays the earth with water, then it digs the ditches, sows the seed, fertilizes the ground, and creates a humid cover all in 5 minutes, according to botinics in the institute.

China has 1,74 million square kilometers of desert land, especially in the nortrhern region- the Gobi Desert. According to official figure, a decade of government efferts against desertification, with reforesting projects, wind and sand control has contributed to recovering 18% of the countries surface.

A race of giant superrats is breeding in Britain after getting hooked on burgers and curries. The huge two foot long (60cm) rodents are not scared of people, and even eat poison without any problems. Experts fear they have no way of stopping the rise and say it could cause a sudden increase in the number of people killed by illnesses spread by rats.

Scientists say Britain’s rat population has boomed to epidemic levels after a series of mild winters failed to cut back their numbers. Plus the rats are being well fed by the amount of takeawy left overs dumped in the streets and bins.

What is considered lethal doses of poison are not killing them, and they are capable of breaking down walls to get to food.

The supply of fresh water will be reduced by a third in 20 years

The crisis affecting the hydraulic resourses con negatively affect both the survival opf the species (including human) and the planet.

• Individual attituds and conduct due to the lack of awareness over the magnitud of the problem.
• The indiference of world leaders.
• Lack of control over the contamination which gets turned into the water.

In order to lower this impact, it is necessary to take care of this precious natural resourse, and invert in systems where millions can have drinkable water. It is the only reasonable way to avoid dying from contamination or thirst in a nearer future than we have imagined.

• It has been calculated that children born in developed countries consume between 30 and 40 times more water than children born in under developed countries.
• 50% of the pobulation in developed countries is exposed to the dangers of sources of contaminated water.
• Every day, 6,000 people die from diseases directely related to the quality of their water and its accessability.
• Most of these fatal victims are children under 5 years old.
• In Argentina , more than 5 million people don't have accesss to fresh water. In the United Stataes, 40% of the bodies of water is no use for recreation purposes due to contamination.
• Only 5 of the 55 rivers of Europe are free from contamination.

The icecaps are melting faster than was anicipated, and it is calculated that 100 million people all over the world would be directly affected should the ocean water level rise just one meter. This is mainly due to changes in the icesheets of Greenland and the Antarcic. As well as fast melting inland glaciars. Sea level rise has doubled in the last 12 years over the average of the last 50 years. In the UK alone, London, Edinburgh and Bristol would be the worst affected cities and the UK itself could become a series of islands, it is calculated ,in no more than 200 years, probable a lot less.

More heat, droughts, forest fires, lack of water affecting agroculture and a descence in tourism are the main things that will affect the Mediterranean basin due to global warming, which could cause a rise of 2 º un less something is done to stop it. This would of course cause the disappearance of plant species and birds. In places like central Spain, Italy, Turkey amongst others, the tempertaure rise could be 5º. One might not think 2-5º is very much, but if our body temperature rises 2º we have a fever!!! So what about our Earth???

There will be more heat waves, with Mediterranean summers with periods of 6 weeks or more with 50º plus ( and I’m talking CENTIGRADE), less rain and prolonged droughts. We will have to seriously work on the environment within the next 10 years if we want to help our world.

The International Community only has a few years – between 10 and 20 in order to act and try to avoid a devastating climatic change for the earth the Climate Action Network integrated by 340 ONG ecologists.

This Network made its announcement in Paris during the opening of a series of acts on Health and environmental issues. This International Agreement – of which the United States is not a member – foresees the reduction on behalf of the industrialized countries, of the emission of gases which cause the greenhouse effect to rise 5.2 percent from now to 2012.

In order to limit the average world rise in temperature by 2 degrees, and count on a margin of security, the concentration of CO2 at 400 parts per million needs to be established.
You might think 2º is nothing, but this would not be uniform some places would be much more. If your body temperature rises two degrees you have a hell of a fever. A similar thing happens to the planet.