Cyclone kills hundreds and paralyzes Myanmar

Powerful tropical cyclone Nargis hits Myanmar

The powerful tropical cyclone Nargis has killed at least 351 people in Myanmar (Burma) and damaged thousands of buildings. The death toll is expected to rise further.

In this photo released by Democratic Voice of Burma, damaged satellite dishes are seen on the roof of a residential building, and tree branches broken after tropical cyclone Nargis hit Yangon, Myanmar, on Friday May 2, 2008. A Myanmar official says that a tropical cyclone packing winds of 190 kilometers per hour (120 miles) caused heavy damage in Yangon, tearing off roofs and knocking out electricity in much of the country’s commercial capital. (Caption AP. Photo: Democratic voice of Burma)

Villages in the Irrawaddy delta have been flattened by 190km-per-hour wind, rain and storm surge. Forecasters said the tide would rise by as much as 4 meters above the normal levels. In Irrawaddy’s Labutta township about 20,000 homes have been destroyed and 90,000 people made homeless on the island alone, a government official said.

The government has declared five states as disaster zones. Much of the former capital Yangon (Rangoon) is without power or water. All flight from Yangon’s international airport have been canceled.

A Yangon resident was reported as saying: “Everything was wrecked. Roofs of the houses and satellite dishes were blown away.” A foreign diplomat called the city an “utter war zone”.

Less than a day after cyclone Nargis struck the area, price of food items such as meat, eggs, milk and vegetables was more than doubled.

Related Links:

• Cyclone kills at least 351 in Myanmar, state-run TV reports
• Cyclone kills over 350 in Myanmar

EU needs more pesticides, scientists claim

Scientists: Reduction in pesticides makes EU uncompetitive!

(Reuters) Scientists from seven European Union countries have warned against a planned reduction in the number of pesticides allowed in the EU, claiming this could increase resistance of pests and make crop cultivation uncompetitive.

“The scientists […] fear that reducing the available range of pesticides could lower their efficiency as it is likely that it will increase resistance.” they said.

The boll weevil (Anthonomus grandis) is a beetle measuring an average length of six millimeters, which feeds on cotton buds and flowers. (photo credit: Clinton & Charles Robertson, via wikipedia)

“In order to safeguard the production of food at affordable prices, it is essential to provide farmers with access to sufficient diversity of crop protection solutions.” the scientists’ spokesman from the UK’s Rothamsted Research institute added: “This is essential to prevent or delay the development of resistant pests, and to maintain the efficacy of remaining crop protection products,” he added.

Is their concern legitimate, or are they sacrificing the truth for the sake of their careers? The Chemical giants are doing booming business with their “+cide” products. Are the scientists party to their business “success?” FEWW would welcome any information provided by genuine whistleblowers. [Strict confidentiality of the sources of information is assured.]

A pesticide is a substance or mixture of substances used for preventing, controlling, or lessening the damage caused by a pest. A pesticide may be a chemical substance, biological agent (such as a virus or bacteria), antimicrobial, disinfectant or device used against any pest.

Codling moth: It is native to Europe and was introduced to North America, where it has become one of the regular pests of apple orchards. It is found almost worldwide. It also attacks pears, walnuts, and other tree fruits.

Pests include insects, plant pathogens, weeds, mollusks, birds, mammals, fish, nematodes (roundworms) and microbes that compete with humans for food, destroy property, spread or are a vector for disease or cause a nuisance. Although there are benefits to the use of pesticides, there are also drawbacks, such as potential toxicity to humans and other animals.Pesticides are hazardous to some wildlife in the sea because it gets evaporated and goes into the clouds.Then it rains, surface run-off into the sea and poisons them. (Source Wikipedia)

Types of pesticides

There are multiple ways of classifying pesticides:

• Algicides or Algaecides for the control of algae
• Avicides for the control of birds
• Bactericides for the control of bacteria
• Fungicides for the control of fungi and oomycetes
• Herbicides for the control of weeds
• Insecticides for the control of insects – these can be Ovicides (substances that kill eggs), Larvicides (substances that kill larvae) or Adulticides (substances that kill adult insects)
• Miticides or Acaricides for the control of mites
• Molluscicides for the control of slugs and snails
• Nematicides for the control of nematodes
• Rodenticides for the control of rodents
• Virucides for the control of viruses (e.g. H5N1)

A weevil of the Curculionidae family: Lixus angustatus (Image credit: Alvesgaspar, via wikipedia)

Weevils are often found in dry foods including nuts and seeds, cereal and grain products. In the domestic setting, they are most likely to be observed when opening a bag of flour although they will happily infest most types of grain including oats, barley and breakfast cereals. Their presence is often indicated by the granules of the infested item sticking together in strings, as if caught in a cobweb. If ingested, E. coli infection and other various diseases can be contracted from weevils, depending on their diet.

Pesticides can also be classed as synthetic pesticides or biological pesticides (biopesticides), although the distinction can sometimes blur.

Broad-spectrum pesticides are those that kill an array of species, while narrow-spectrum, or selective pesticides only kill a small group of species.

A systemic pesticide moves inside a plant following absorption by the plant. With insecticides and most fungicides, this movement is usually upward (through the xylem) and outward. Increased efficiency may be a result. Systemic insecticides which poison pollen and nectar in the flowers may kill needed pollinators such as bees.

Most pesticides work by poisoning pests. (Source Wikipedia)