SalvaEco

France’s Court of Accounts, which oversees the finances of public bodies and state-owned enterprises, said in a controversial report published on Wednesday that debt- laden EDF had only what it termed an "embryo" of the money needed to keep nuclear sites safe once they are taken out of service in future decades.

EDF is the world’s single largest producer of nuclear energy, which provides the bulk of France’s electricity supplies, and is due for partial privatisation this year.

It has spent heav?ly on a series of acquisitions abroad in recent years, eating up finances that are also heavily strained by future obligations of a generous staff pension scheme.

The Court of Accounts said EDF’s preparations for nuclear decommissioning were marked by a lack of clearly formalised rules and raised concerns that the cost of safeguarding nuclear installations would fall on future consumers or the state.

It also criticised what it called a lack of transparency in EDF’s financial accounting.

EDF declined to comment on the report other than to say it had been setting aside cash to help pay for costs to clean up nuclear waste.

"EDF has always integrated in the kilowatt-per-hour price the financial effort needed for long-term management of waste and for the dismantling of power stations," a spokesman for EDF said.

"Provisions amount to nearly 25 billion euros ($32.5 billion), besides 2.3 billion euros have already been set aside for funds that cover future nuclear waste costs," he added.

The long-term management of nuclear waste will be treated by EDF Chairman Pierre Gadonneix on Feb. 3 at a parliamentary hearing to evaluate scientific and technological issues, he said.

[b]"P-m?ntul meu fac tot ce pot pentru el"[/b] Puneti la contributie fantezia si ai sansa sa primesti premii de neuitat ce vor fi anuntate la finele concursului. Iar lucrarea ta are sansa sa fie prezentata la expozitia organizata de SalvaEco la data de 5 iunie ? Ziua Mondiala a Mediului. Data limita pentru depunerea aplicatiei tale este 17 mai 2006 Numele castigatorilor va fi publicat la adresa web [url=http://www.salvaeco.org]www.salvaeco.org[/url] si [url=http://www.test1.ru]www.test1.ru[/url] in ultima saptamana a lunii mai. Pentru mai multa informatie suna la nr.: 022 24 37 17 Sau scrie-ne la adresa str. Cosmonautilor 6 of. 403 Sau la e-mailul: [email]salvaeco@salvaeco.org[/email]

Referindu-se la defrisarile masive ale plopilor din oras, Vasile Ursu a declarat ca acestea se efectueaza conform unui program care a fost autorizat de Inspectoratul Ecologic de Stat si coordonat cu Ministerul Ecologiei si Resursele Naturale. Astfel, s-a hotarat sa se defriseze 8800 de plopi canadieni(15% din numarul total), motivul deciziei fiind varsta lor critica si incomoditatile pe care le provoaca raspandirea pufului in perioada mai-iunie. Costul prognozat pentru defrisari este de 3 mln.lei. In locul copacilor taiati, proiectul prevede plantarea a 45 mii de arbori de diferite specii, net superioare plopilor (tei, castan, artar, salcam, nuci), cu varsta intre 4-6 ani.
Vladimir Garaba a declarat ca Organizatia Teritoriala Chisinau a MEM sustine acest plan al defrisarilor si vor coopera in folosul orasului, doar cu conditia ca aceasta sa se desfasoare conform legii.
Mihai Mustea a opinat ca Inspectoratul Ecologic de Stat este de acord cu programul de inlaturare a arborilor, care creaza incomoditati, dar solicita ca defrisarile sa se desfasoare in paralel cu plantarea a noi arbori.

"We need to do something that even dwarfs the Manhattan project," Frist told the World Economic Forum in Davos. The Manhattan project was the codename for the United States’s World War Two effort to devise an atomic weapon.

"The greatest existential threat we have in the world today is biological. Why? Because unlike any other threat it has the power of panic and paralysis to be global."

He predicted that the world would experience another bioweapon attack within the next decade, following the limited casualties seen when anthrax was sent through the US mail system in 2001.

Next time, the death rate could be a much, much higher, said Massachusetts Insitute of Technology Professor John Deutch.

An attack using the smallpox virus is overwhelmingly the largest risk, he believes.

The disease was officially eradicated three decades ago but Deutch said it was possible former Soviet stocks were still at large or even that small quantities could be extracted from graves.

"Every country has a vulnerability here," he said.

VACCINE

In a bid to protect citizens, the US government has ordered millions of doses of smallpox vaccine as part of a wide- ranging security drive in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

Other governments are also following suit in stocking up on smallpox shots.

But experts warned that other avenues were open to would- be terrorists, with diseases such as plague and Ebola haemorrhagic fever virus options for weaponisation.

More worryingly still, sophisticated groups might in the future use genetic engineering to produce hybrid microbes against which there are no defences.

Francis Collins, director of the US National Human Genome Research Institute, said such developments raised the question of whether there should be restrictions on publication of some scientific research in biology.

Physicists are already limited from sharing information on atomic weapons technology.

Collins said openness was the best strategy but he suggested there could be specific information about protocols used to create dangerous super-bugs that might, in future, be classified.

?Primaria a renuntat la taierea plopilor din capitala?, sustine Presedintale Organizatiei Teritoriale,Chisinau a M.E.M, Vladimir Garaba. Acesta sustine ca s-a intalnit ieri cu primarul interimar,Vasile Ursu, care i-ar fi promis acest lucru. Vasile Ursu recunoaste ca a discutat cu Garaba, dar spune ca nu a promis incetarea taierii plopilor.

Vladimir GARABA:?In rezultatul acestui dialog s-a convenit ca primaria, temporar renunta la taierile masive de arbori de pe strazile orasului.?

Vasile URSU:?Nu si nici nu este posibil. Avem un grafic cu organele ecologice pe care il urmam.?

Vladimir GARABA:?Protestele populatiei, materialele din mass-media au avut o influienta hotaratoare; s-au adus exemple cand populatia a fost impotriva?

Vasile URSU:?Lumea este multumita. Unii fac galagie si le este totuna de cei care au probleme din cauza pufului. Noi dispunem de autorizatia Inspectoratului Ecologic de Stat?

Vladimir Garaba sustine, insa, ca potrivit legii, Primaria trebuia sa se adreseze Agentiei Ecologice Centru si nu Inspectoratului Ecologic. Anterior, primarul general interimar al capitalei a declarat ca toti plopii canadieni din oras vor fi taiati pana la sfarsitul acestui an. In pofida protestelor ecologistilor, in municipiul Chisinau au fost defrisati circa 450 de copaci din cei peste 9000 existenti.

Asociatiile de Proprietari P1, P2, P3 si P3A de pe Soseaua Panduri sarbatoresc abandonarea controversatului proiect de constructie a unei linii de tramvai pe aceasta sosea. Proiectul ar fi avut drept principala consecinta distrugerea spatiului verde dintre benzile de circulatie.

Asociatiile de Proprietari au luat initiativa unei actiuni de plantare de arbori, achizitionati din fonduri proprii, pe portiunea din dreptul blocurilor P1, P2, P3 si P3A (unde in aprilie 2004 autori necunoscuti au distrus peste 20 de arbori tineri).

Va invitam sa luati parte la actiunea de re-plantare a fasiei dintre benzile de circulatie rutiera, care va avea loc SAMBATA, 1 APRILIE 2006, incepand cu ora 900.

Actiunea a fost demarata de Asociatiile de Proprietari P1, P2, P3 si P3A de pe Soseaua Panduri si este sprijinita de organizatia neguvernamentala de protectie a mediului TERRA Mileniul III.

Prin aceasta initiativa dorim sa demonstram in continuare ca scopul protestului nostru fata de introducerea tramvaiului a fost acela de a mentine si dezvolta acest spatiu verde atat de important pentru sanatatea si confortul nostru.

Researchers at the CEA research centre in France have estimated that a person would have to eat 5 grams (0.2 ounce) of tainted tissue from an animal showing clear signs of the disease to be at risk of developing Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD).

"It is almost impossible now with the measures that have been taken to reach these doses," Dr Jean-Philippe Deslys told Reuters.

Since 1989 the brain and spinal cord of the central nervous system of cattle have been banned for human consumption. Animals are also tested for signs of mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).

"The combination of the two measures is very efficient," said Deslys.

If an infected animal that was just below the test limit was shown to be negative for BSE, 1.5 kilograms (3.3 lb) of its infected tissue would have to be consumed to pose a health risk, according to the research.

The scientists, whose findings are reported online by The Lancet medical journal, estimated the amount of infected tissue people would have to eat by giving adult primates 5 grams of ground brain tissue from a BSE infected cow.

One animal developed a disease similar to vCJD five years after it was infected but the other animal remained healthy.

Using their results and the findings from other studies they calculated the amount of exposure to BSE that would be dangerous to humans.

"Our results provide reassurance that BSE screening procedures combined with central nervous system removal are effective measures to protect the human food chain," Deslys said in the study.

But vCJD experts said there were fundamental problems comparing likely human exposure based on primate studies.

"Multiple oral exposure events over a period of years seems likely in the UK, and vCJD occurs predominantly in young adults, raising the possibilities of age-related susceptibility or exposure," Professor James Ironside, of the University of Edinburgh, said in a commentary on the research.

Because of the long incubation period, which Deslys and his colleagues estimate could be up to 50 years, it has been difficult to pred?ct how many cases of vCJD there will be.

Up to Nov. 1 last year, 146 people had died from definitive or probable vCJD in Britain, according to the Department of Health.

La 8 august 2005, Ministerul Justitiei (M J) al RM, a inaintat o cerere la Curtea de Apel, prin care a solicitat lichidarea ONSM. Motivul invocat in cerere se referea la faptul ca, in decurs de doi ani, ONSM nu a informat M J despre activitatea sa, ceea ce conform art. 27, alin. 2, din Legea nr. 837, din 17.05.1996, cu privire la asociatiile obstesti, atrage dupa sine ?excluderea asciatiei obstesti din Registrul de Stat si pierderea de catre aceasta a calitatii de persoana juridica?.
Functionarii respectivului minister, nu au informat ONSM despre faptul chemarii in instanta si din cauza absentei paratului, a amanat adoptarea deciziei. Abia in decembrie 2005, cand a aflat despre existenta cererii, ONSM s-a prezentat in instanta, unde si-a expus pozitia: nu ascundem nimic, suntem disponibili sa prezentam orice raport care va intereseaza. Mai mult ca atat, au fost inviatati functionarii M J sa efectueze un control al activitatii ONSM. Astfel, la 22 decembrie, sediul central al ONSM, a fost vizitat de o comisie, formata din trei functionari ai M J, care s-au documentat despre activitatile desfasurate de scoutii din Moldova, pe parcursul ultimilor zece ani. Acestia nu au avut nici o obiectie, ONSM considerand ca situatia s-a clarificat.
Conform prevederilor statutare ale ONSM, la 11-12 ianuarie 2006, s-a desfasurat Conferinta Nationala a ONSM. A fost aleasa o noua conducere si s-a infaptuit o singura modificare de statut ( recomandata de catre M J), schimbarea adresei juridice. Dupa conferinta, setul documentelor respective a fost prezentat la M J, pentru trecerea in Registrul de Stat a schimbarilor din cadrul ONSM.
La 22 martie, 2006 ministrul Justitiei, Valentina Iftodi, a adus la cunostinta , decizia despre refuzul inregistrarii modificarilor de statut. Motivele expuse au fost :
 In statutul ONSM lipseste cuvantul ?obsteasca?, cu toate ca acest lucru se mentioneaza, in cap. I, punctul 1: ?ONSM reprezinta o organizatie obsteasca?;
 Potrivit art. 15, alin. 17 al Legii cu privire la asociatiile obstesti, membri pot deveni doar copiii care au atins varsta de 10 ani, pe cand Statutul ONSM prevede posibilitea aderarii copiilor, de la 7 ani. In Statutul Organizatiei Miscarii Mondiale a Scoutilor, se specifica ca poti deveni scout de la 7 ani.
In caz de refuz al autoritatilor de a-si retrage hotararea, ONSM va apela la Curtea Europeana.

In serviciile ecologice reforma este un fel de ?perpetuum mobile", adica permanenta, fara incetare! La inceput cind s-a organizat Departamentul pentru protectia mediului inconjurator la conducerea caruia a fost numit actualul Academician dl I.Dediu, doctor habilitat in biologie, ecolog renumit, au fost argumentate stiintific si organizate in teritoriu 10 agentii ecologice pe zone naturale asa cum o cere ecologia. Trecerea de la fostele comitete pe protectia mediului la Departament si agentii n-a fost deloc usoara. Fostele comitete se foloseau in activitatea lor de fosta legislatie sovietica, care in conditiile noi nu mai corespundea realitatii. Deci, noile agentii activau practic fara o baza legislativa bine aranjata. Departamentul a fost nevoit in ritm rapid sa intocmeasca si sa elaboreze baza legislativa noua, lucru deloc simplu, care se efectua paralel cu activitatea in teren. Odata cu crearea bazei legislative s-a imbunatatit si activitatea agentiilor ecologice in teren. La noi insa cind totul se normalizeaza nu-i normal. Odata cu inlocuirea academicianului I.Dediu la postul de director general al Departamentului s-au inceput si modificarile agentiilor, insa principiul zonal a fost pastrat. Dat fiind, ca orisice schimbare se refera mai mult la cadre decit la teritoriu fiecare reforma isi lasa adinc amprenta in activitatea de serviciu. Orice reforma este insotita de disponibilizare si angajare, urmate de atestari, cu alte cuvinte cadrele sint stresate permanent. Aceasta situatie nici de cum nu favorizeaza eficacitatea lucrului, in schimb distruge nervii angajatilor. Ultima reforma, si cea mai drastica a avut loc in 2003, in rezultatul careia au ramas 4 agentii: Nord, Centru, Sud si Gagauzia. In temeiul Hotaririi Guvernului Republicii Moldova nr.735 din 16.06.03 ?Cu privire la structura si efectivul-limita ale serviciilor publice desconcentrate ale ministerelor, departamentelor si altor autoritati administrative centrale" la 01.07.03 a fost organizata Agentia Ecologica Centru cu
sediul in municipiul Chisinau. In cadrul Agentiei Ecologice Centru au fost incluse: ATE Centru, AE Municipala, ATE Orhei, ATE Lapusna, ATE Tighina, ATE Ungheni – in total 15 raioane si municipiul Chisinau. Agentia nou formata inca e tinara (2,5 ani) dar s-a stabilit si functioneaza eficient.

Da, neajunsuri sint in activitatea serviciului ecologic, dar asta nu-i vina structurii, trebuie sa avem barbatie si sa privim lucrurilor in ochi, realitatea e alta. Intr-o tara cu cioburi de economie, nu poate exista o ecologie perfecta. Amatorii de reforme ar fi cazul sa analizeze mai profund situatia creata nepatinitor si cu cunostinta de cauza, in gura nu ti se face dulce chiar si daca repeti de mai multe ori cuvintul ?zahar", exact asa e si cu profesia, fara studii speciale nu devii popa chiar de esti numit in functie de Papa de la Roma.

Ar aduce imbunatatiri considerabile in activitatea IES perfectarea si racordarea legislatiei existente la cea Europeana (deoarece parca am dori sa ne integram si noi acolo), egalarea tuturor reprezentantilor societatii de la Vladica la Opinca in fata legii, dotarea tehnica si asigurarea protectiei sociale a inspectorilor, salarizarea acestora suta la suta din buget, propagarea pe larg a cunostintelor ecologice in societate si introducerea lor obligatorie in toate institutiile de invatamint de la cresa la Academie, etc.

Reforma efectuata recent de noua conducere a IES nu-i menita sa amelioreze activitatea serviciilor, dar sa supuna inspectorii la noi stresuri, sa dubleze numarul acestora, care vor fi salarizati numai 50 la suta din buget, fiindca statul nu dispune de mai multi bani, sa distruga din nou stabilitatea obtinuta cu atita greu si mai mult nimic. Ea nicidecum nu urmareste imbunatatirea protectiei mediului inconjurator, ea va intensifica degradarea de mai departe a acestuia. Asemenea reforma are un caracter pronuntat Antieuropean si este menita sa destabilizeze activitatea organelor de control in respectarea legislatiei ecologice ceea ce este la cheremul infractorilor si a braconierilor.

Structura propusa actualmente nu este bazata pe un principiu logic sanatos. Au fost create ?Inspectii ecologice? in fiecare raion cu dublarea numarului de colaboratori (acestea-s fostele comitete raionale de protectia mediului pe timpul URSS) si ?Agentii ecologice? in or. Chisinau, Balti si Cahul. Componenta si numarul inspectorilor in ambele structuri este identica. in asa caz de ce sunt necesare doua denumiri? Autorii reformei sustin, ca in componenta agentiilor intra laboratoarele? Laboratoare sint si la Ungheni, Orhei, Causeni. De ce aceste servicii sint Inspectii da nu Agentii? De ce cele patru Agentii numai cea din Gagauzia este subiect juridic cu contabilitate si cu cont personal in banca? Pe ce criterii a fost stabilita prioritatea acestora? Deocamdata raspuns nu-i fiindca nu-i nici logica.

Reincadrarea cadrelor in noile structuri in fosta Agentie Centru s-a efectuat cu incalcarea brutala a Codului Muncii. Dosarele personale n-au fost examinate, nu s-a tinut cont de calitatile profesionale a inspectorilor nici de starea lor sociala, etc. in asa mod din AE Centru au fost excluse 21 de persoane dintre care femei singuratice cu copii mici, femei care se afla pe buletin, specialisti tineri valorosi ? 11, persoane cu staj de lucru de 16 ani in ecologie.

Din fostele servicii ecologice raionale au fost destituiti fara motivare seful SER Cimislia dl M.Tampiza care lucreaza din 1988 in ecologie, sefi tineri, perspectivi a SER Straseni si SER Ungheni. in acelasi timp a ramas in postura de sef dl D.Cornei la Hancesti, care n-a sustinut atestarea si are multiple incalcari ale legislatiei ecologice? Acesta-i principiu de selectare a cadrelor? Din AE Centru doi doctori in stiinta cu atestat in domeniul ecologiei au fost concediati ca pensionari, in Inspectoratul Ecologic de Stat sta in postura de consultant si initiator al reformei, fara nici un titlu stiintific pensionarul V.Egorov, iar in laboratorul Agentiei Chisinau pensionara dna M.Egorova ? sotia dumnealui. La conducerea Inspectiei ecologice Straseni este avansat pensionarul V.Puscas? De care principiu s-au condus nasii reformei? Faramitate organele de control, nerespectand principiile ecologice, in conditiile finantarii din buget numai a 50 la suta din necesitatile salariale va da nastere la fenomene negative in randul inspectorilor. Ambitiile amatorilor de reforme au castigat, dar ce a castigat Natura, care a fost data la cheremul celor care permanent o violeaza? Asta-i pregatirea pentru integrarea in Uniunea Europeana, pentru care protectia mediului este problema prioritara de prim rang?

Este cazul ca organele abilitate si in primul rand responsabilii din Guvern si Parlamentul RM sa analizeze profund si sa puna punct acestor ambitii de a restructura cu orice pret. Orice reforma trebuie sa serveasca ameliorarea Naturii, nu ambitiile si interesele unor persoane.

The grant is funded through the Poverty Reduction Cooperation Fund and financed by the Government of the UK.

"The potential for solar energy development is huge, not only generating electricity but also for water pumping for water supply and small scale irrigation, provision of potable water, hot water for homes, hospitals, and other buildings," said Ali Azimi, an ADB Senior Environment Specialist and mission leader for the project.

More than 80 percent of the population lives in rural areas and depends on traditional fuels for cooking and water heating, and kerosene for lighting. This is having an adverse impact on forests and watersheds. Most of Afghanistan’s 25 million people have no access to modern forms of energy, such as electricity, gas, and liquid fuels.

The grant should demonstrate how solar energy could be used to enhance the quality of life for low-income communities living in remote villages with limited to no prospects for grid electricity. It would also show how a community-based approach could lead to the success of such programs.

Estimates indicate that solar radiation in Afghanistan averages about 6.5 kilowatt- hours per square meter per day. Lighting provided by solar energy could be used in the running of literacy and other courses in the evenings that would benefit children and adults who work in the fields during the day. Solar-powered pumps would provide irrigation for agricultural production, which is the livelihood of 85 percent of the people in the country. This is important both for increasing incomes and for enhancing food security for vulnerable families.

"Rural electrification is the only way that most of the populace can move toward attaining energy security and enhancing social welfare," Azimi said. "The remoteness of rural locations and the topography of the country would make the expansion of elect?icity supply in remote areas through a centralized grid system difficult, and may not be economically feasible. The long-term objective of the TA (technology assistance grant), therefore, is to lay the foundations for sustainable dissemination and use of solar systems in these areas."

The grant should provide solar photovoltaic systems at household level in 10 communities on a pilot basis and train 10 persons from different ethnic groups as solar technicians at a community based training center in India. Upon return they will train 10 additional persons from their communities in installing and maintaining solar systems as energy entrepreneurs.

Specifically targeted are the poor, illiterate, and vulnerable and the primary beneficiaries will be those with no formal education, especially disabled people, youth, and women. In particular, disabled people who were maimed in years of conflict could be associated with the initiative by including them among these "barefoot" technicians.

Such marginalized people would be trained to design, install, and service these systems while capacity would be developed in the public sector to promote, monitor, and evaluate system performance. The technology assistance grant will also provide the policy framework for expanded use of solar photovoltaic systems.

The Ministry of Water and Power is the executing agency for the grant, which is due for completion in December 2006. The Afghan Government is contributing $150,000 equivalent toward the total project cost of $900,000.