In early September, the UK government’s Food Standards Agency took the significant step of issuing revised guidance to consumers recommending that they steer clear of products containing certain E-numbers if their children are showing signs of hyperactivity or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The release of the new public health advice follows the results of the …
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Corporate water strategy – a report
Business for Social Responsibility and the Pacific Institute teamed up to investigate corporate water strategy. We have seen increasing concern over water shortages globally including at major growth markets and economic centers in Asia, India and the US which already face a lack of freshwater. If current trends continue, freshwater resources will grow more scarce …
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Nuclear, the GMO of energy, is gaining ground as a “convenient” solution
There have been several reports recently of the increasing popularity of nuclear as a solution to rapidly emerging concerns with fossil fuel energy. But this may be more a result of propaganda than pragmatism and principle. A collaborative approach, which had been adopted in the UK, is breaking down. Recently the UK government initiated a …
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Supermarkets’ collusion costs you money
In the UK, the Office of Fair Trading has concluded a three year investigation by bringing charges against the main supermarkets for price fixing with dairy producers, naming Asda, Morrisons, Safeway, Sainsbury’s and Tesco, as well as dairy processors Arla, Dairy Crest, Lactalis McLelland, The Cheese Company and Wiseman. They claim consumers were defrauded of …
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Terrorist plot in Germany foiled
In early September three men were arrested in Germany on suspicion of planning a “massive” attack on US facilities in the country. Federal prosecutor Monika Harms said the three had trained at camps in Pakistan and procured some 700 kg of chemicals for explosives. She said the accused had sought to target facilities visited by …
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Rise in US consumption for August could be misleading
Although Commerce Department data for August showed a rise in August and a moderation of core inflation, this data should be considered warily as they may be a result of unusual incentives. Consumer confidence and housing are still down. Consumer spending rose 0.6% in August, the largest increase since April and more than expected. The …
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Commodity prices underpin inflation
Many observers have noted the spike in food commodity prices, underpinned by interest in corn for ethanol in the US. There also appears to be a broader rise in prices of commodities which is bound to push up inflation. Last year the pressure on metal commodities from demand from China was observed. As the chart …
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Catholics go green
At last the Pope has jumped on nature’s band-wagon. In early September, Pope Benedict joined about 300,000 young Roman Catholics for an eco-friendly festival at the shrine of Loreto, in Italy. Wearing green vestments, the pontiff told the crowd it was up to them to save the planet from development which often upset “nature’s delicate …
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Where are the green taxes going?
In the UK, the Taxpayers’ Alliance has claimed that the government is raising billions of pounds more in green taxes than it needs to remove the UK’s “carbon footprint”. In a report they say that emissions in 2005 had done damage worth an estimated £11.7 billion (covering the “social cost” of climate change to the …
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Hope is not the answer; living in reality is
By coincidence a number of comments received on last month’s musings (both News and Views and Review) drew attention to hope. Whether a quantitative or qualitative observer of life, people seem to want a hopeful sign that everything is going to be alright. It would be fantastic if that could be. But it is only …
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