Delhi’s air quality deteriorates as the numbers of diesel cars and trucks soar. The area including India’s capital has seen its air pollution worsen dramatically over the last several years, and now ranks alongside coal mining towns and industrial hubs. Experts blame diesel-fueled vehicles, noting that diesel autos make up 60 percent of new car sales in Delhi. They also cite the failure to enforce limits on truck traffic. The city’s air has four times more contamination known as respirable suspended particulate matter than is considered safe. Nearly 83 percent of Indian cities fail to meet air quality standards for the particulates, which are linked to diseases including bronchitis, asthma and birth defects. Daily Mail
Apple pulls computers from a green certification program. The company took 39 of its computers and components, which included past versions of the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air, off the list of eco-friendly electronics items certified by EPEAT, a standards setting group backed by the U.S. government and manufacturers. Apple said its design direction is no longer compatible with standards requiring products to be recyclable and designed for energy efficiency and minimum environmental harm, an EPEAT spokesman said. Apple was key in creating the green standards but has since moved toward smaller gadgets that are harder to disassemble and recycle. The Wall Street Journal, The Mac Observer
Researchers link virulent strain of common childhood illness to deaths in Cambodia. In a joint statement, the World Health Organization and the Cambodian Health Ministry said lab tests have confirmed that a form of hand, foot and mouth disease known as EV-71 is to blame for some of the 59 mysterious cases of illnesses, including 52 deaths, since April. EV-71 is a virus that can lead to paralysis and brain swelling. Most of the Cambodian cases involved children younger than 3 who experienced fever, respiratory problems that led to rapid shutdown and sometimes neurological symptoms. Test results came back positive for EV-71 in 15 of the 24 children whose samples were evaluated. The Associated Press, Bloomberg
Unofficial reports say Cuba’s cholera outbreak has left at least 15 dead. Cuba’s Public Health Ministry, which rarely releases information that could give the island a negative image, declared last Tuesday that it had “controlled” an outbreak of cholera that had killed three people and affected 50 others in Granma, a southeastern province. But unofficial reports from the region indicate that the disease has spread, with hundreds more suspected cases. There also is a report of a cholera diagnosis in the capital, Havana, on the opposite end of the island. Public health officials said Cuba’s last outbreak of cholera, a bacterial infection that can cause severe diarrhea and dehydration, occurred soon after the 1959 Revolution. The Miami Herald, BBC
Agri-food giants devour most of the U.S. organic food industry. Companies such as Coca-Cola, Cargill, ConAgra, General Mills and Kraft increasingly dominate the $30-billion-a-year industry, defying the business’ image of small, local family farms that produce pure ingredients. The National Organic Standards Board, the key federal advisory group, is increasingly under the sway of big corporations. It riled purists in May when it voted to keep carrageenan — a seaweed-derived thickener with a questionable health record — on the growing list of nonorganic ingredients permitted in “certified organic” products. Big businesses argue that huge demand for organic products requires a scale that only they can provide. The New York Times
Recalls: Andante Dairy cheese, BI-LO Southern Home salad mixes, Buona Vita frozen meat and poultry products, bulk romaine lettuce sold at Vons and Pavilions, Maquet Flow-i anesthesia system, Arctic Zero frozen desserts
Compiled by Stuart Silverstein and Bridget Huber
