Global Warming Issues

“We’re working with colleagues in China and Japan on follow-up studies to determine whether this physical response can be measured in other seismically active regions,” said Rice University seismologist Fenglin Niu, the study’s lead author. “Provided the effect is pervasive, we still need to learn more about the timing of the signals if we are to reliably use them to warn of impending quakes.”

Today’s state-of-the-art earthquake warning systems give only a few seconds’ warning before a quake strikes. These systems detect P-waves, the fastest moving seismic waves released during a quake. Like a flash of lightning that arrives before a clap of thunder, the fast-moving P-waves precede slower moving but more destructive waves.

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Rich nations and emerging powers on Wednesday declared climate change “one of the great global challenges of our time.” But they set no short-term goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, with the largest developing countries demanding more action by wealthy nations before moving.

The declaration grew out of an unprecedented meeting that brought together 16 nations, rich and poor, and the European Union on global warming. The session, organized by President Bush, took place here on the northernmost Japanese island of Hokkaido, where leaders of the Group of 8 pledged Tuesday to “move toward a carbon-free society” by seeking to halve worldwide emissions of heat-trapping gases by 2050.

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Smoke from continuing wildfires is prompting officials of the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District officials to issue a health cautionary statement, which remains effective until fires are extinguished.

“Due to the erratic nature of the smoke, areas of the eight-county air basin could potentially be affected at any given time,” says Shawn Ferreria, senior air quality specialist.

Exposure to particle pollution, a byproduct of smoke, can cause serious health problems, aggravate lung disease, cause asthma attacks and acute bronchitis, and increase risk of respiratory infections, the air district says.

In people with heart disease, short-term exposure to particle pollution has been linked to heart attacks and arrhythmias, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Residents throughout the San Joaquin Valley are advised to take their local air quality into consideration when planning their outdoor activities. People with heart or lung diseases should follow their doctors’ advice for dealing with episodes of unhealthy air quality.

Additionally, older adults and children should avoid prolonged exposure, strenuous activities or heavy exertion. Everyone else should reduce prolonged exposure, strenuous activities or heavy exertion if smoke can been seen or smelled, the air district says.

The air district covers eight counties including San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Merced, Madera, Fresno, Kings, Tulare and the San Joaquin Valley air basin portion of Kern.

Obesity levels in China are rising fast, with more than a quarter of the adult population overweight or obese, as people add more meat and dairy products to their diet, causing serious health problems, a new study says.

Of all the developing countries, only in Mexico is the rate of increase in becoming overweight among adults faster than in China, the study, published in the July/August issue of the journal Health Affairs, says.

“What’s happening in China should be seen as a marker for what is going to hit the rest of the developing world if we fail to act,” said study author Barry Popkin, a professor of nutrition at the Carolina Population Center at the University of North Carolina.

“We need to find the right investments and regulations to encourage people to adopt a healthy lifestyle, or we risk facing higher rates of death, disease, and disability and the related costs,” he added.

Chinese people now derive a far larger proportion of energy from fat and animal-based foods, such as meat and eggs, compared with in the past, the study found.

“The classical Chinese diet — rich in vegetables and carbohydrates with minimal animal-sourced food — no longer exists,” the study said.

“In 2006, fewer than one percent of all Chinese adults consumed a diet with less than 10 percent of energy derived from fat.”

The change in diets and lifestyles, where Chinese less frequently have to engage in physical activity at work, is consequently leading to a rise in cancer and coronary heart disease, the study found.

“Based on fairly conservative assumptions, the total impact of these nutrition-related components of poor diet, inactivity, and obesity on medical costs to treat noncommunicable diseases, labor productivity and national production are very large.”