Bill Gates talks about malaria & DDT
Posted by Helen Dunnett on February 21, 2009 in Food & health, Global issues
Just watched an interesting video of Bill Gates presenting at a TED conference in America this month. He is talking about two ongoing societal challenges that he is passionate about. The first is malaria; he talks through the facts and the solutions with some interesting statistics, and the second is on education and what makes a great teacher. Worth a watch.
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Comments(2)Pesticides: an alternative view from Africa Fighting Malaria
Posted by Richard Tren on October 16, 2008 in Environment, European Regulation, Food & health, Global issues
The cool autumn air in Brussels means that the outdoor cafes are ideal places to sit, read and watch the world go by. This is a very pleasant, civilised and thoroughly European city. As with many European cities, there are little in the way of outward reminders of Belgium’s brutal colonial history. The behaviour of Belgians in the Congo is probably something that many would prefer to forget and to move on; and perhaps they are right. However it is increasingly clear that the many European parliamentarians and Commissioners would, instead of just forgetting Europe’s dalliances in Africa, perpetuate their legacy and inflict actual harm on African economies and people through their draconian rules and regulations.
The amendments to EU Directive 91/414 are the subject of enormous debate and gnashing of teeth. Farmers are, quite rightly, outraged that EU Commissioners and Parliamentarians seem set to restrict the chemicals that they need to produce safe, high quality and low cost food, just as consumers demand. The fact that the EU is prepared to de-list these chemicals in a process that is devoid of any sound, scientific merit means that costs will be incurred without any real benefits to consumers, farmers or the environment. Read the rest of this entry »