Preserving Biodiversity a Key to Global Health

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Preserving Biodiversity a Key to Global Health

 

EAST LANSING, Michigan, May 27, 2003 (ENS) - Scientists say preserving

biodiversity and wildlife habitat are at the foundation of global health and the

battle to prevent outbreaks of deadly disease across the world. In a policy

forum in the May 23 issue of " Science, " a group of scientists outlined ways to

protect biodiversity in China's vast system of nature reserves and said the

issues span farther than China, and are vital to more than pandas and gingko

trees.

" As we look at outbreaks of diseases such as SARS and AIDS, there are

indications that many diseases may cross over from animals, " said Jianguo " Jack "

Liu, an Michigan State University ecologist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences

and lead author for the policy forum. " If the ecosystem is not healthy, then

human health is in jeopardy. "

The article examines the importance of finding better ways to protect China's

rich biodiversity in its 1,757 nature reserves, as well as the challenges of

meshing ecology with socioeconomics.

The meshing of ecological and social sciences is the key to success, the

scientists say, since the needs of nature and of humankind cannot be separated.

" We need to address the bottom line when we are talking about conservation: How

to help people, " Liu said. " If people's basic necessities are not being met,

they will do what they have to do to survive. "

Liu and his colleagues discussed the push and pull in China, with tourism both

providing needed funding for maintenance of reserves, yet at the same time

degrading habitat. The authors expanded on this premise through discussion of

villagers' need for fuel wood to cook food and heat homes conflicting with

forest preservation.

It is important, Liu said, that people understand the longer-range benefits of

preserving biodiversity. China, for example, holds a wealth of known and

as-yet-to-be-discovered plants and animals with medicinal benefits.

" Once a species is lost, it cannot be restored, " Liu said. " This is not like air

or water pollution, which can be fixed. "

" We need to better understand the complex linkages between biodiversity, human

health, and economic development, " he said. " We are not just talking about the

environment here. We are also working to obtain long-term economic and health

benefits to the world. "

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Senate Bill Bans Asbestos

WASHINGTON, DC, May 27, 2003 (ENS) - Saying that asbestos kills thousands of

Americans every year, Senator Patty Murray, a Washington Democrat, has

reintroduced a bill in the U.S. Congress that would ban the substance in the

United States.

Murray's " Ban Asbestos in America Act, " first introduced in the 107th Congress,

would authorize additional studies to determine which commercial products in the

United States still contain asbestos. The bill seeks funding increases for

asbestos related diseases and calls for a national mesothelioma registry to help

public health professionals track mesothelioma, an asbestos related cancer.

The legislation is cosponsored by several other prominent senators and comes on

the heels of a landmark report commissioned by the Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA) released May 16 that calls for a ban on the production, manufacture

and distribution of asbestos in the United States.

A companion bill has been introduced in the House of Representatives.

" Like most Americans I thought asbestos had already been banned, " Murray said.

" While more than 30 other countries have banned asbestos and protected their

citizens, the United States still has not. The time for the United States to ban

asbestos is long overdue. "

The EPA commissioned " Asbestos Strategies " report urges that a ban " be proposed

by the Congress, promptly debated and conclusively resolved. "

The term asbestos describes six naturally occurring fibrous minerals -

chrysotile, amosite, crocidolite, tremolite, anthophylitte and actinolite. The

U.S. Geological Survey estimates that more than 26 million pounds of asbestos

was used in the United States during 2001. Common uses are as thermal pipe and

boiler insulation, spray applied fire proofing and sound proofing, floor

coverings, ceiling tiles, roofing materials and insulated sheeting.

According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, an estimated 1.3

million employees in construction and manufacturing still face asbestos exposure

on the job.

Under Murray's legislation the EPA would be required to ban asbestos within two

years. The agency would conduct a public education campaign about the risks of

asbestos products and conduct a survey to determine which foreign and domestic

products consumed in the United States today have been made with asbestos.

Money would be appropriated for research, tracking and treatment of asbestos

diseases, a registry to track mesothelioma, and 10 treatment centers nationwide.

The National Academy of Sciences and the Blue Ribbon Panel of the EPA would be

authorized to study issues beyond the six regulated forms of asbestos.

Reintroducing her bill, Murray was joined by congressional cosponsors Vermont

Senator Jim Jeffords, an Independent, and Democratic Senators Patrick Leahy of

Vermont, Maria Cantwell of Washington, Barbara Boxer of California, Max Baucus

of Montana and Mark Dayton of Minnesota. Asbestos victim advocates were also

present as was Lieutenant Colonel Jim Zumwalt, son of the late Admiral Elmo

Zumwalt, who died from mesothelioma in 2000.

" I hope that by continuing to work together, " Murray said, " and through the

positive steps we have seen by the EPA in the past few days, we will build

support for the Ban Asbestos in America Act and we will get this important bill

passed this year. "

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