20131230 Sing Dao_空氣質素健康指數今生效

環保署今日起推出「空氣質素健康指數」Air Quality Health Index (AQHI)，取代沿用近20年的「空氣污染指數」。Environmental Protection Department (EPD) Air Quality Health Index (AQHI)
新指數會檢測空氣中四種污染物，即臭氧、二氧化氮、二氧化硫、粒子的三小時平均濃度，其中粒子濃度細分為可吸入懸浮粒子（PM10）及微細懸浮粒子（PM2.5），後者為新納入計算的污染物。 

清晨6時，一般監測站的指數介乎4至5，健康風險級別屬於中等。三個路邊監測站指數是5至6，級別亦是中等。

環保署表示，新指數與健康風險掛勾，較舊指數更能反映空氣狀況，又指計算方法較以往嚴謹，預計出現「甚高」或「嚴重」水平的日子會較以往多，但不代表空氣質素轉差。

20131230 Apple Daily_美國雞肉超多菌 雞飼料仲惹瘋牛症

本月，美國有一半雞隻被發現含有「超級細菌」，這些細菌可抵擋三種或以上的抗生素。問題的源頭其實跟雞飼料有關。

今年年中，美國消費者聯盟抽樣檢驗了全國超過300隻雞的雞胸，發現幾乎全部含有有害細菌，當中更有49.7％驗出超級細菌。究其原因，跟蓄牧業濫用抗生素大有關係：美國雞農為了催谷雞隻生長、加強免疫力，便長期在雞飼料裡頭放抗生素。然而濫用抗生素會令細菌產生免疫，最終變成無藥可治的超級細菌。消費者聯盟已要求政府，收緊蓄牧業使用抗生素的限制。

事緣美國不少牛農為了節省成本，會用「雞廢料」來餵牛。所謂「雞廢料」，就是雞農場產生的廢物，包括吃剩的雞飼料。而雞飼料本身則含有「肉骨粉」，其成份包括牛內臟和病死的牛隻。問題就出在「肉骨粉」上面：原來像牛這類反芻動物，假如吃了同類，便可能產生一種叫做 prion的異變蛋白質；prion，正正是瘋牛症的成因。

http://hk.apple.nextmedia.com/news/art/20131230/18572244

再者，「肉骨粉」裡頭可能含有感染瘋牛症的牛腦、牛骨髓。活牛要是吃了受感染的「肉骨粉」，傳播瘋牛症的風險便會大大提高。

20131121 BBC_Volcanic eruption gives birth to 'new island' in Japan

Pictures released by the Japanese coast guard show a new island forced up by an underwater volcanic eruption in the seas a thousand kilometres south of the capital Tokyo.

Authorities say it is yet too early to determine if the landmass is here to stay.

According to Japanese media, the last time a volcano formed a new island in the area was in the 1970s.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-25032329

20131230 BBC_Palmerston: The island at the end of the earth

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-25430383

20131230 BBC_Thousands in El Salvador flee erupting Chaparrastique volcano

Chaparrastique is one of more than 20 volcanoes in El Salvador

Thousands of people in eastern El Salvador are leaving their homes 

after a volcano erupted on Sunday morning.

Residents in the coffee-producing region said they had heard a powerful 

explosion before the Chaparrastique volcano began spewing hot ash and 

smoke into the air.

No one has been hurt, say the authorities. Anyone living in a 3km (2 mile) 

radius will be evacuated.

Temporary shelters are being set up in the area.

Civil protection authorities say that some 5,000 people live in the area,

in San Miguel province.

The eruption began at 10:30 local time (16:30 GMT).

The Salvadoran government says it had been monitoring the situation 

since 13 December, when they detected increased activity inside the volcano.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-25545555

20131230 China Daily_Bigger role considered in the Arctic

China's market, investment and labor forces could assist
China can play a bigger role in the increasingly ice-free Arctic, using its investment advantages and the size of its markets 
and labor force, but it is "far from becoming a power player in the Arctic", 
said the head of the polar strategic research division under the Polar 
Research Institute of China.
On Dec 10, the center in Shanghai was officially inaugurated when 10 
research institutions from China, Iceland, Denmark, Finland, Norway and 
Sweden signed an agreement to boost cooperation in Arctic research.


Research shows that the Arctic is expected to become ice-free in coming decades as temperatures there rise twice as fast as in the 
rest of the world. There is an increasing possibility of a much shorter 
commercial sea route and a longer navigable period in the Arctic Ocean.
"The shorter and safer route through the Arctic would cut thousands of 
kilometers — and considerable costs — off the journey from China to 
trading partners like Europe," said Zhang. Cheaper shipping would also 
bring the cost of the region's natural resources down and help deliver 
them to the international market more easily," he said.

The US Geological Survey estimates that there are 90 billion barrels of oil 
north of the Arctic Circle, enough to fuel the world for three years at 
current consumption rates. Most of the oil is within the uncontested 
jurisdictions of Norway, Russia, Canada, Denmark and the US.

However, offshore oil drilling is challenging and expensive. Difficulties 
such as long distances,harsh weather and poor infrastructure require 
advanced technologies and vast amounts of funding.

Canada lacks roads and pipelines to its Arctic coast and has just 
one deep-water Arctic port,located in Hudson Bay, far south of the 
Arctic Circle. The US has no Arctic ports and faces massive costs to 
repair damage being caused to existing roads, pipelines and buildings 
by melting permafrost, Michael Byers, a professor of global politics 
and international law at the University of British Columbia, said in an 
article earlier this year.

"If Beijing were to offer concrete and lasting benefits, such as funding 
for ports and other multiuse infrastructure, Chinese investments in 
Arctic offshore oil would be looked upon more favorably," he wrote.

Zhang said China's interest and investment in the Arctic are not for 
resource plundering.

"It is clear that these resources are not ours, but they could diversify 
and secure China's energy sources. For China, it is about having 
more options in case of emergency, and for the Arctic countries, it is 
about having one more market," he said.

"Many Arctic issues besides energy concern the whole international 
community," he added.

According to Zhang, climate changes in the Arctic, which have a 
global impact, have driven countries in the region and beyond to 
examine the links. Extreme weather in northern and eastern China, 
for instance, can be predicted by calculating the shrinking size of 
sea ice in the Arctic.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2013-12/30/content_17203687.htm