Page sponsored by Texaco Caribbean Limited
Publication: Daily Nation
Paper Page:21A
Paper Date: Wed, Oct 17, 2001
Byline: Compiled by Terry Ally
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Page sponsored by Texaco Caribbean Limited |
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The overgrown lot next door not only can harbour rodents and mosquitoes, but can be aggravating allergies as well.
Researcher Edmund Blades said the most significant pollens which trigger allergies come from grass and soon he will be able to provide a daily pollen count for Barbadians. Blades recently published a study on the subject along with co-authors Professor George Matthison of the University of the West Indies and Dr Raana Naidu of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
He said when grass is allowed to grow tall, the arrows are the source of the pollen and measurements show that between 200 and 7 500 spores per cubic metre of air is generated when the grass is in bloom, usually a few weeks after rainfall. Adults normally breathe six to eight litres of air per minute of 10.1 cubic metres in 24 hours. Sample rates done by Blades show that the breathing rate of Barbadians who are asthmatics is twice that amount at 14 litres per minute.
"Therefore it stands to reason that half of the spores are breathed in by normal adults and more by asthmatics and children who have faster breathing rates," said Blades.
The laboratory technologist said equipment is available to measure daily pollen counts and the data can be useful as an advance warning system for allergy sufferers and asthmatics.
The captain of a visiting yacht, charged with damaging coral reefs on the West Coast, has settled the matter out of court, police say .
The 400 square metres of reefs were valued at $120 000 but the settlement was for just under $28 000 because Government opted to prosecute the captain under a law which carries a maximum fine of $50 000. Ian Robertson, who captained the yacht Virginian on January 19 when the reefs were damaged off Heron Bay in St James, was charged under Section 14 of the Fisheries (Management) Regulations 1998 for injuring coral reefs without permission of the Chief Fisheries Officer. The penalties were a maximum fine of $50 000 or a maximum prison term of two years or both. Had the captain been charged under the Coastal Zone Management Act, the cost of the damage would have been $120 000. That law sets a cost of $300 per square metre of coral reef.
The mega-yacht is owned by British industrial magnate Sir Anthony Bamford, and at the time of the incident, it was anchored offshore of his Barbados West Coast residence, Heron Bay. The Sun was told that famed black American television talk show hostess, Oprah Winfrey, was a guest on board the vessel at the time.
Construction magnate Sir Charles Williams vociferously protested the media and authorities' handling, saying that Sir Anthony brought money and employment to Barbados and the matter should have been handled differently. He felt that a call to Sir Anthony would have solved matters.
"I would bet anything in my life that if there are any repairs to be done to the reef that his boat has damaged, he would do it," Sir Charles said on Voice of Barbados' Down To Brass Tacks.
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The Caribbean Conservation Association (CCA) has announced the appointment of Dr Joth G. Singh, as the new executive director. His appointment became effective October 1.
Singh, an environmental scientist, has been appointed as the association begins a process to reinvigorate its work of supporting policies of environmentally sound management of the natural and built environment as well as preservation of the Caribbean's cultural heritage.
A national of Trinidad and Tobago, he holds a doctorate in environmental chemistry from the University of the West Indies, St Augustine, and a Master's degree in environmental management from Imperial College at Wye, University of London.
Singh came to CCA from the post of director - Technical Services, Caribbean Environmental Health Institute (CEHI), based in St Lucia, where his responsibilities involved planning and managing all the technical work of CEHI, including waste management, water resource management, coastal zone management, environmental engineering, environmental surveillance, environmental impact assessments and environmental auditing.
Worldwide there is now less than one acre of arable land per head of population. In Barbados, there is less than 0.25 acres to grow food for each person. What does this mean in terms of what we should be growing and eating and how we should be cooking it? The topic will be discussed by a panel of experts moderated by Senator Keith Laurie tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. at Treading Lightly. Telephone 425-0073 for further information.