A new study shows 77 million Bangladeshis are being exposed to water containing arsenic. CNN's Dan Rivers reports. Jun 21, 2010

Here's a short update on the arsenic problem in Bangladesh, and how the SONO filter alleviates the problem (click the title above to view the 2:51 minute video). With over 300,000 SONO filters already in place, that leaves some 75 million people in Bangladesh still in need of its benefits. Of course, there are many other countries (including developed countries) which need the same protection. Chemists Without Borders seeks contributions of people's time and money to expand manufacturing and distribution of this highly effective solution both within Bangladesh and elsewhere, so please share this need with your friends and colleagues and encourage their participation. Thanks for reading. [Pictures courtesy of Dr AKM Munir, Kushtia, Bangladesh.]

Related articles by Zemanta

• You: 'Arsenic in water poisoned 77 million Bangladeshis' (france24.com)
• Bangladeshi water 'poisons 77m' (news.bbc.co.uk)
• Arsenic could kill millions in Bangladesh (reuters.com)
• Our Dangerous Planet [Speakeasy Science] (scienceblogs.com)

Irreversible Catastrophic Climate Destabilization

Image via Wikipedia

Last Friday's edition of NOW on PBS asks, "Is a coastal catastrophe approaching, and what should we be doing about it?" It specifically addresses the issue of flooding in Bangladesh, currently the 7th most populous country on the planet and one of the most densely populated (1063 per sq km). (The next most populous country is Russia with a mere 8.4 per sq km!) Featured is Dr A. Atiq Rahman, the Executive Director of the Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies (BCAS) and a Lead Author of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) Chapter-19 on “Assessing Key Vulnerabilities and the Risk from Climate Change”, co-winner of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. Dr Rahman says terms like Global Warming and Climate Change are deceptively euphemistic, and says Irreversible Catastrophic Climate Destabilization is much more accurate and impactful. Where I come from, people might say, "It's time to get the finger out!"

You can watch the segment below. I recommend you view the NOW page also, as the comments are enlightening. For instance, commenter Forrest M. Mims III says,"... land subsidence alone may account for an elevation change of -30 cm over the past several decades," which for me is in the category of "things you never thought of".

''

Related articles by Zemanta

• World Questions Congress' Commitment to Climate Change (abcnews.go.com)
• Google climate change tools for COP15 (googleblog.blogspot.com)
• Thinning cloud cover over oceans speeds global warming, study finds (guardian.co.uk)
• World temperatures set for record highs (telegraph.co.uk)
• Climate-Change Dissent (cenblog.org)
• Google Earth offering up climate change tool and video channel (inquisitr.com)
• IPCC Chairman's Endorsement of 350ppm Goal a Big Boost in Fighting Climate Change: Bill McKibben (treehugger.com)
• Climate Change Forecast Worse Than Previous Predictions (takepart.com)
• Glaciers in Antarctica, Greenland Show Sea Level Rises (time.com)
• It's the climate, stupid (guardian.co.uk)
• Rather Than Melt, Some Glaciers Race to the Sea (time.com)
• Google Earth launches climate simulator (guardian.co.uk)
• Police stop green activist leaving UK (guardian.co.uk)
• Government climate change ad investigated (guardian.co.uk)

Bangladesh Initiative

The way I see it our arsenic project has unravelled into several strands.

First, we still have the original idea of using water hyacinth to remove arsenic from water. There are several difficulties there. How much dried water hyacinth will absorb how much arsenic? Scientifically what are the isotherms that describe the sorptive behavior? What procedure can be worked out that would be effective in a non-lab setting? What is the best way to remove the arsenic-rich hyacinth? How does one dispose of the contaminated plant material? Culturally, would you drink water that have been mixed with powdered plants? As Elmo says, its not much different than drinking tea, is it? Maybe, maybe not.

Next, arsenic is not the only significant environmental problem in Bangladesh. Three others have been suggested: surface water pollution from tanneries, from textile dyers, and indoor air pollution from burning a variety of materials to provide cooking fires. Perhaps with much of the global community focused on the arsenic, we should tackle something else.

Third, what would it take to assist the Bangladeshi chemical community to build an environmental chemistry research and development centre? Rather than jumping in and jumping back out, how can we set up infrastructure that will train new Bangladeshi scientists, provide research space to current scientists with up to date technologies to study and make recommendations for improving the conditions in Bangladesh?

Fourth, can we set up a model semester abroad for science students in Bangladesh? Can we collaborate to the extent that US (and other) undergraduate students (graduate students also?) could go to Bangladesh and not miss out on their requirements for graduation. Students might study Bangladeshi language and culture, take a science class, and assist a graduate student or professor with a research project.

Ideas? Reactions?

Mindmap added by Bego, 12/14/2008 (click to enlarge image):

Online NewsHour: Report | Climate Change Worries Bangladesh | March 28, 2008 | PBS

Online NewsHour: Report | Climate Change Worries Bangladesh| March 28, 2008 | PBS

You can view the video (recommended), hear the audio and read the transcript.

This is an excellent report on the flooding of Bangladesh and the impact of even a modest rise in sea level of just a few feet, a process which seems already to have begun. The consensus is that such a rise is quite within the realm of possibility (for an intelligent overview, see, for example, http://urltea.com/31jr and click the Go button).

In Bangladesh, they get it from both sides, the rising ocean on the coast, and the increasing expansion and flooding of their major rivers owing to increased runoff from snow melting in the Himalayas. The latter leads to major flooding in central areas within Bangladesh. indeed, a good half of the entire country has the potential to flood as land-based ice melts around the globe.

For some perspective, Bangladesh occupies an area of 144 km² , about the same size as New York state (142 km²). The US itself is about 9.6 million km² . The population of Bangladesh (about 150 million) is about half that of the United States. The aforementioned flooding has the potential to displace a good half of the population of Bangladesh, 70 million people! As this climate change progresses, irrespective of the cause, we can expect massive population shifts globally during the current century. Massive opportunities exist to prepare for and capitalize on the increasing need for goods, services, transportation, distribution, housing, etc.

Think big, think bigger, plan, do. Involve other people.

Online NewsHour: Report | Fighting TB in Bangladesh | March 27, 2008 | PBS

Online NewsHour: Report | Fighting TB in Bangladesh | March 27, 2008 | PBS

A success story about fighting tuberculosis in Bangladesh!

I recommend watching the video on this page. There is also an audio link and transcript.

One of the things that struck me about his was that this is not really an issue of technology, science or medicine, but of distribution, monitoring and compliance. The skills required for effectiveness are organizational and relational. So many of us are focused on what we know rather than on what our customer, client, consumer or end user actually needs. It is crucial to have direct contact with the people we serve in order to know what and how to provide what is needed.

This TB treatment and prevention program is worth understanding and possibly duplicating for some of our own efforts. Indeed, for some things that we may wish to do, perhaps we would utilize their existing system of people and resources.