Update: Patients with inflammatory bowel disease are at greater risk of relapse during heat waves, finds a study that could have significant implications in an era of climate change. Risk of hospitalisation for an IBD flare went up by nearly five percent for every day that a heat wave lasted, retrospective data from over 2,000 patients showed. By around the same margin, patients with infectious gastroenteritis (IG) were also more likely to have a flare during a heat wave compared with a control group of patients admitted with non-infectious intestinal inflammation. In IG patients the heat wave effect was strongest after a seven-day lag whereas for IBD flares the effect was immediate, the authors from the University Hospital of Zurich found. Reporting in the American...

Climate change bad news for IBD patients | Gastroenterology Update:

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International Taipei forum puts focus on climate change. The one-day event largely focused on the participation of observer organizations, particularly non-governmental organizations (NGO) in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, one of the forum's organizers. The ministry arranged the forum along with the Environmental Protection Administration "to encourage more exchanges between our NGOs and UNFCCC NGO representatives," Deputy Foreign Minister Simon Ko said. "Taiwan's voice, both governmental and non-governmental, needs to be heard through different channels," he said.. (update) | Society | FOCUS TAIWAN - CNA ENGLISH NEWS

International Taipei forum puts focus on climate change (update) | Society | FOCUS TAIWAN - CNA ENGLISH NEWS: "Although Taiwan is not a UNFCCC member, reaching out through local NGOs seems like the country's "best bet for participation today" in the UNFCCC, according to Marilyn Averill, chair of the convention's Steering Committee for Research and Independent Non-governmental Organizations. Following her presentation on civil society engagement with the UN organization and the importance of NGO perspectives, Averill told CNA that she is impressed with the way that Taiwan's government and NGOs work together. Similar statements were made earlier in the day by Frederic Laplanche, head of the European Economic and Trade Office in Taipei." CLICK LINK TO READ MORE

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Sustainable BIOFUELS that is NOT in direct competition with FOOD crops: Turning sugar cane into ethanol offers a number of environmental benefits over other biofuel production processes. As it grows, sugar cane generally absorbs CO2 at a greater rate than other biofuel crops such as soy. Ethanol made from Brazilian sugar cane produces around 70% less CO2 than petrol, when the cultivation and production processes are taken into account. Since 2003 the use of ethanol in Brazil has avoided over 103 million tonnes of the CO2 that the petrol it has replaced would have produced, according to Unica. Raízen is further reducing its overall CO2 emissions by using waste material to power its own plants and delivering surplus electricity to the national grid. By-products from turning sugar cane into ethanol are recycled as organic fertiliser. To further improve productivity, Raízen uses its own advanced geographical information system to monitor its land. This allows its scientists to make accurate predictions about crop yields and adjust fertiliser or pest control, for example, to help boost production. Sustainability Today’s biofuels present some sustainability challenges:for example, labour rights and, if land is not carefully managed, concerns can arise over direct competition with food crops. The Raízen joint venture agreement includes a set of sustainability principles designed to help overcome these challenges and improve sustainable production. The principles require Raízen to carry out a robust assessment of the potential direct and indirect impacts of cultivating new land for biofuel crops –and to avoid land with a high conservation value. Raízen works with its suppliers, contractors and landowners to make sure that they follow sound land, water management and labour practices. Raízen is a member of Bonsucro, an organisation that drives the development of sustainable biofuels. It has developed an EU-approved certificate for sustainable sugar-cane production. This covers areas such as human rights and the impact of activities on biodiversity. Bonsucro separately certifies mills and the ethanol produced. By the end of 2012, seven of Raízen’s mills had been certified.

Fuelling a lower-carbon future with biofuels - Shell Global: "Accelerating advanced biofuels
Raízen has the potential to help accelerate the commercial production of biofuels from crop waste and inedible plants. Over the coming years some plant waste from the sugar-cane ethanol process could potentially go into making advanced biofuels. In one process enzymes can break down the cellulose in plant fibres to produce ethanol." CLICK LINK TO READ MORE

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Special Report: Experimental climate fixes stir hopes, fears, lawyers | (Reuters) - Last year the Haida, an indigenous group in Canada, set out to increase their salmon stocks and save the planet. Helped by American businessman Russ George, a group of villagers dumped 100 metric tons (110.23 tons) of iron dust from a boat into the Pacific Ocean. They wanted to see if the iron would cause a bloom of algae that could promote fish numbers and absorb the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Instead, in March, they were raided by Canadian officials for illegal dumping at sea. "I think they (the officials) kind of expected to see Dr. Evil and his group planning to destroy the Earth with geoengineers," said James Straith, lawyer for Haida Salmon Restoration Corp. (HSRC), as the project called itself. "What they got was a bunch of nice kids doing a lot of things on plankton scanning, scientific models and analyzing data... Did the officials really need bullet-proof vests?" The Haida case highlights a growing legal, environmental and even geo-political conundrum. The Canadian group is part of a debate about geoengineering - deliberate and sometimes sci-fi-like interventions designed to slow climate change. A U.N. panel of climate scientists says carbon dioxide and other gases are causing global temperatures to rise and change our climate and will lead to more heat waves, droughts, floods and rising seas. Geoengineers have proposed everything from brightening clouds to reflect more sunlight and heat back into space to - as in the case of the Haida - encouraging the oceans to soak up more carbon dioxide. The idea behind the ‘ocean fertilization' experiment was simple: iron will promote the growth of algae which will provide food for fish and absorb carbon dioxide from the air as they grow. When the algae die their remains fall to the seabed, removing them from the atmosphere. Environment Canada, the nation's environment ministry, said the experiment was illegal under Canadian law and violated the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the London Convention, which governs dumping at sea. World leaders at a U.N. Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro last year urged "utmost caution" in ocean fertilization due to worries that it could disrupt marine life. Many scientists remain skeptical about whether any form of geoengineering will solve climate change. Allowing research, they argue, may detract from efforts to reduce emissions from cars, power plants and factories.Reuters

Special Report: Experimental climate fixes stir hopes, fears, lawyers | Reuters: "But despite the uncertainty about efficacy and safety, groups and individuals around the world are beginning to experiment, arguing that humanity needs a ‘Plan B' in case countries don't cut greenhouse gas emissions.

A draft of a report by the U.N. panel, due for publication in late September and seen by Reuters, warns that the side-effects of sun-dimming geoengineering, for instance, "make it a high-risk strategy" but also concludes that some methods might help avoid some of the worst effects of warming." CLICK LINK TO READ MORE

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