 |
|
|
|||||
Rice, the worlds most consumed grain, will become increasingly toxic as the atmosphere heats and as carbon dioxide emissions rise, potentially putting billions of people at risk of cancers and other diseases, according to new research published Wednesday in The Lancet. Eaten every day by billions of people and grown across the globe, rice is arguably the planets most important staple crop, with half the worlds population relying on it for the majority of its food needs, especially in developing countries. But the way rice is grownmostly submerged in paddiesand its highly porous texture means it can absorb unusually high levels of arsenic, a potent carcinogenic toxin that is especially dangerous for babies. Lewis Ziska, a plant physiologist and associate professor at Columbia University, has studied rice for three decades and has more recently focused his research on how climate change reduces nutrient levels across many staple crops, including rice. He teamed up with researchers from China and the U.S. to conduct a first-of-its-kind study, looking at how a range of rice species reacted to increases in temperature and carbon dioxide, both of which are projected to occur as more greenhouse gas emissions are released into the atmosphere as a result of human activities. The new study was published in The Lancet Planetary Health. Previous work has focused on individual responsessome on CO2 and some on temperature, but not both, and not on a wide range of rice genetics, Ziska said. We knew that temperature by itself could increase levels, and carbon dioxide by a little bit. But when we put both of them together, then wow, that was really something we were not expecting. Youre looking at a crop staple thats consumed by a billion people every day, and any effect on toxicity is going to have a pretty damn large effect. For six years, Ziska and a large team of research colleagues in China and the U.S. grew rice in controlled fields, subjecting it to varying levels of carbon dioxide and temperature. They found that when both increased, in line with projections by climate scientists, the amount of arsenic and inorganic arsenic in rice grains also went up. Arsenic is found naturally in some foods, including fish and shellfish, and in waters and soils. Inorganic arsenic is found in industrial materials and gets into waterincluding water used to submerge rice paddies. Rice is easily inundated with weeds and other crops, but it has one advantage: It grows well in water. So farmers germinate the seeds, and when the seedlings are ready, plant them in wet soil. They then flood their fields, which suppresses weeds, but allows the rice to flourish. Rice readily absorbs the water and everything in itincluding arsenic, either naturally occurring or not. Most of the worlds rice is grown this way. The new research demonstrates that climate change will ramp up those levels. What happens in rice, because of complex biogeochemical processes in the soil, when temperatures and CO2 go up, inorganic arsenic also does, Ziska said. And its this inorganic arsenic that poses the greatest health risk. Exposure to inorganic arsenic has been linked to cancers of the skin, bladder and lung, heart disease and neurological problems in infants. Research has found that in parts of the world with high consumption of rice, inorganic arsenic increases cancer risk. Ziska and his colleagues took the data from their field trials and then, based on per capita consumption data in seven of the top rice-consuming countries in Asia, projected how disease risk could also increase. They found that in those seven countriesVietnam, Indonesia, China, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Myanmar, and Indiadisease risk rose across the board. There is a toxicological effect of climate change relative to one of the most consumed staples in the world, Ziska said, and the consumption is one of the hallmarks of whether youre going to be vulnerable to that effect. Researchers have known that rice can contain high levels of arsenic and regulators have suggested exposure limits, especially for infants who are particularly vulnerable and tend to eat a lot of rice. This new research should put extra pressure on regulators to set more stringent thresholds, the authors say. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has never set limits for arsenic in foods. The researchers also point to the potential of various interventions that could limit exposure to inorganic arsenic from rice, including developing strains of rice that are less absorbent and educating consumers about alternatives to rice. Rice has always been a food where arsenic is an issue, and climate change is making it worse, said Keeve Nachman, one of the reports authors, a professor at Johns Hopkins University and a longtime researcher of health risks related to food production and consumption. This is one more reason to interveneto control peoples exposure. The number one thing we can do is everything in our power to slow climate change. Georgina Gustin, Inside Climate News This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News. It is republished with permission. Sign up for their newsletter here.
Category:
E-Commerce
When Chinese automaker BYD announced plans to build a massive factory in the hardscrabble city of Camacari, in Brazil’s northeastern Bahia state, locals saw a new beginning. After years of economic stagnation following Ford’s exit from the region in 2021, there was hope that the global leader in electric vehicles would bring back well-paying jobs and a brighter future.The timing seemed right. Brazil, the world’s sixth-largest auto market, is seeing a surge in EV salesand BYD is leading the charge. For Camacari, the deal promised to fill the economic vacuum left by the American company, which had once been the city’s largest employer. Then plans went off track.A December raid led by Brazilian authorities rescued 163 Chinese nationals said to be working in “slavery-like” conditions at the site. A video from the Labor Prosecutor’s Office showed dormitories with beds lacking mattresses and makeshift cooking facilities. The company postponed plans to begin its first production line in March and has not established a new timeline, spreading fears among Camacari workers.“When BYD announced it was coming here, it sparked a lot of hope in us,” said Luizmar Santana Pereira, a metalworker and former Ford employee, who has been working as a taxi driver. “We’ve been waiting for this job opportunity, but so far, we haven’t seen it.”After the raid, a spokesperson based at BYD’s China headquarters denied wrongdoing, saying in a post on the Weibo social media site that the accusations were an attempt at “smearing” Chinese brands and China. The post also blamed “foreign forces” for the allegation and criticized media reports.In a statement disseminated in Brazil, the carmaker adopted a more conciliatory tone. The company said it “does not tolerate disrespect for Brazilian law and human dignity” and rescinded the contract with Chinese construction company Jinjiang, which had brought the workers. In Brazil, ample room for BYD to grow EVs are spreading fast in Brazil, Latin America’s most populous nation. Sales jumped 85% in 2024, reaching over 170,000 units, including fully electric and hybrid vehicles, according to the Brazilian Association of Electric Vehicles. That accounted for about 7% of new car sales in the country.The growth is spearheaded by BYD. Seven out of 10 EVs sold in the country are from the brand, which also leads hybrid sales. In major cities such as Sao Paulo and Brasilia, imported BYD cars and dealerships have become a common sight. In Brazil’s capital, it’s the best-selling brand, whether EV or gas-powered.Another Chinese EV maker, GWM, also recently announced plans to open a factory in Brazil after acquiring a shuttered Mercedes-Benz facility in the industrialized state of Sao Paulo.BYD’s inroads in Brazil are in tandem with the company’s global growth. The world’s leading EV company logged a record $107 billion in revenue in 2024 as its sales of electric and hybrid vehicles jumped 40%, surpassing American rival Tesla. This year, plans include the inauguration of its first car factory in Europe, currently under construction in Hungary.Brazil’s policies are driving EV sales and production, according to Adalberto Maluf, national secretary of Urban Environment and Environmental Quality.In an interview with The Associated Press in Brasilia, Maluf cited incentives enacted in 2024 that favor electric motors, tax reductions for lower-emission cars and a new air quality program with nationwide monitoring and pollution reduction goals.Brazil is the one of the top 10 emitters of greenhouse gases, contributing around 3% of global emissions, according to nonprofit Climate Watch. However, pollution from energy does not play a big role, as about half of greenhouse gas emissions come from deforestation, mostly in the Amazon, followed by agriculture. About 85% of the country’s electricity comes from renewable sources.For Maluf, who worked for almost nine years at BYD Brazil, the country is attractive to Chinese electric car makers for reasons ranging from the size of its market to the presence of several auto parts suppliers and the strong political relationship between the two countries.“Brazilians have no geopolitical issues with China. If you ask, ‘Are you against China?’ most people won’t have a strong opinion about it,” he said.“In the U.S., however, they do, because it’s part of the president’s rhetoric,” he added, referring to President Donald Trump’s frequent comments about China “ripping off” America on trade. It’s unclear what is next for BYD factory Since the raid, BYD has not allowed press visits inside its Camacari premises, citing concerns about trade secrets. It’s unclear if BYD is still on track to turn the former Ford site into its largest plant outside China by the end of 2026.When AP journalists visited in March for several days, they saw only a few construction workers at the large site. And one day, while standing on the street adjoining the premises, three BYD guards, one who kept his hand on his gun, incorrectly accused the journalists of flying a drone inside factory boundaries and demanded to see identification. Minutes later, security guards on motorcycles approached, honking and ordering the journalists to stop filming workers.BYD said its security guards acted appropriately and declined to answer other questions about its operations in Brazil.While the future of the factory is unclear, the raid and the presence of Chinese workers have gotten the attention of labor unions.“The Metalworkers Union will not tolerate Chinese workers on the production line. If that happens even in the beginning of the production, we will call for a work stoppage,” Jślio Bonfim, the union president, told AP. Bonfim added that there were no objections with BYD employing Chinese technicians and managers, but the factory floor must employ only Brazilians. It was unclear if BYD had agreed to that.Despite the raid and seemingly slow pace of construction, in the Camacari region the shift from Ford to BYD is increasingly visible. A three-decades-old dealership for the American brand named Indiana, in tribute to the U.S. state, now shares space with a BYD reseller, Mandarim. A local hotel started distributing instructions specifically to Chinese guests, asking them not to hang washed clothes in common areas. And a state lawmaker introduced a bill to rename the city’s Henry Ford Avenue, where the plant is located, to BYD Avenue. Fabian Maisonnave, Associated Press
Category:
E-Commerce
A Wall Street Journal report this week gave an extensive look into how Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and a senior Trump adviser, handles his companies and his more than a dozen children. The answer, it seems, is by relying heavily on his longtime right-hand man, Jared Birchall. Birchalls role, as he reportedly said in a phone call, is to protect Elon. Here’s what to know about Musks fixer. Birchalls Early Career Birchall graduated from Brigham Young University in 1999 and spent a year as a financial analyst at Goldman Sachs. In 2000, he moved into private wealth management at Merrill Lynch but was fired after a decade for sending correspondence to a client without management approval, according to a regulatory report cited by Bloomberg. He joined Morgan Stanley in 2010, where he managed Musks money as part of a small team. In 2016, Musk recruited Birchall to run his family office, Excession. A Quiet Contrast to Musk Birchall and Musk present starkly different public personas. Birchall, according to Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal, is a practicing Mormon who prefers to stay out of the spotlight. Musk, by contrast, thrives on attentionhaving hosted Saturday Night Live and frequently sharing his views on X, the social media platform he owns. The Fixer’s Role Birchalls responsibilities are wide-ranging. According to Bloomberg, he helped arrange the loans from Wall Street that enabled Musk to purchase what was then known as Twitter. He also handled disbursements from Musks super PAC, which supported Donald Trumps presidential campaign. More recently, The Wall Street Journal reported, Birchall has acted as a go-between for Musk and several of the mothers of his children. That has allegedly included acquiring a property in Austin for them to live in and offering secrecy agreements in exchange for large sums of money. Loyalty and Wealth Birchall has remained at Musks side throughout the billionaires meteoric rise. While his exact income is unknown, Bloomberg cited a report estimating that the typical head of a large family office earns between $1 million and $3 million annuallythough his salary may be much higher. In 2020, Birchall reportedly purchased a $2.25 million home in Austin, complete with a pool and tennis court. He also serves as the head of Musks neurotechnology firm, Neuralink. However, Bloomberg noted that Birchall holds no actual executive authority there. His name was added to company documents as a legal formality, and he does not participate in day-to-day operations.
Category:
E-Commerce
All news |
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||