US
seeking flood solutions
Experts in the United States say
foreign projects may provide answers for the rebuilding
of New Orleans.
The British regulate tidal surges along the Thames with a
barrier that rises as high as a five-storey building to block
rising waters. The semicircular gates, which lie flush to
the riverbed until raised in an emergency, have been in place
since 1982, and authorities have raised the Thames barrier
more than 80 times.
A 1966 flood that caused wide spread damage in Venice sparked
an ambitious plan known as the Moses Project. The engineers
of this plan have devised 78 gigantic gates that rest on the
floor of the Adriatic Sea and rise when needed to block tidal
surges. Long debate over the project's merits delayed the
beginning of construction to this project until 2003. The
gates are expected to be completed by 2010.
Planners in Bangladesh built hundred of concrete shelters
on stilts after a 1991 hurricane created huge storm surges
that killed more than 130,000 people.
In Japan, an ongoing battle against flooding has produced
the development of “superlevees.” Instead of
mounds of earth, sand and rock constructed to hold
back surging waters, these superlevees are broad expanses
of raised
land designed
to resist breaks and withstand overflows.
Innovations are happening in the United States as well. California
is experimenting with "smart" levees wired with
nervous systems of electronic sensors that sound alarms if
a weakening levee threatens to open a breach, giving crews
time to make emergency repairs.
California
to ban junk food in schools
In a controversial move, California
will soon ban sales of soda and fast foods on public
school campuses - including high schools.
The state Assembly and Senate have approved the legislation
in an effort to reduce childhood obesity. Supported by Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, the legislation is receiving both praise
and criticism.
"Elected officials are supporting parents in protecting
their children from the unrestrained marketing and ever-present
availability of soda and junk food," says Dr. Harold
Goldstein, director of the California Center for Public Health
Advocacy.
On the other hand, the soda legislation has determined that
the legislation is an “ineffective means of addressing
obesity, a complex problem with many causes including lack
of exercise, consuming excessive calories, lifestyle, genetics,
and other factors."
Yet those who monitor obesity statistics nationwide say the
California laws will have a significant effect on breaking
down legislative barriers elsewhere.
The new law is expected to be implemented within the next
four years
Bush signs energy bills
After a four-year battle, George
Bush has finally signed into law a $14.5bn energy
bill, conceding that the legislation is only
a start towards reducing US dependence on foreign
oil.
The Bush administration says that the law will strengthen
the US economy, improve the environment and make the country
more secure by using domestic resources – including
coal, nuclear power, oil and gas, as well as alternative energy
sources.
However, critics say the new energy bill will do little to
reduce oil imports and amounts mainly to a tax give-away to
energy companies.
The most controversial element of Mr Bush's original plan
- to allow oil drilling in an Alaskan wildlife refuge - was
not included and will come before lawmakers in September.
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