The damp chill of a winter’s night in colder climes once meant that kindling a fire was a slow burn - until the invention of the household firelighter. But the grey and crumbly blocks, as small as they are and as evanescent as their flame might be, likely contribute more than their fair share to air pollution, according to a team of scientists from China, India and Ireland. "Firelighters used for open fires and stoves in the home - even if used in small quantities and for a short period of time - emit more black carbon than all biomass fuels put together," they claim.
The Great Barrier Reef is no longer in "great danger" of destruction but remains under "serious threat," according to a United Nations heritage body. Citing recent Australian efforts to preserve the world's biggest coral reef, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) just reversed a call made in late 2022 to put the 2,300-kilometer stretch on its list of endangered locations. While welcoming the announcement, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said it was just a "draft decision" and warned there was more work needed to protect the reef.
https://nordot.app/1052194349731644180 Be it for cooking pasta, making pizza, dressing a salad or just frying an egg, olive oil has long been a healthy favourite among shoppers and diners across Europe. But consumers could be facing more shortages of and price spikes for the already-expensive oil, after the Spanish government announced a June drawdown of 73,000 tonnes
Deteriorating eyesight could be a sign of cognitive decline, according to US doctors and scientists, who say the findings could help catch conditions such as Alzheimer's Disease sooner. A team of researchers led by Joshua R. Ehrlich of the University of Michigan found "objectively measured visual impairment (VI)" to be "associated with a higher dementia prevalence." But with most such impairment regarded as "preventable," efforts at "prioritizing vision health" could in turn be "important for optimizing cognitive function," the medics said, after going through data on almost 4,000 people aged 71 and over from the 2021 National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS) in the US.
With Europe basking in summer sunshine, many people, are unrolling beach towels and untangling the swimming goggles and speedos again.The prospect of sunburn, or worse, could be enough to ruin a holiday, however, so suntan creams and sunscreen lotions too have to be factored in when packing for that day-trip to the beach or a week at a Mediterranean resort.The creams and lotions come with a caveat, with concerns raised in the past that they pollute beaches and seawater as they leach off their sweating and splashing human hosts.