All posts tagged: Pacific Ocean

How Western food imports are fuelling obesity in Pacific nations

How Western food imports are fuelling obesity in Pacific nations

Published by skeptic

Between 1975 and 2016, data identified Vanuatu as one of the countries with the largest increases in overweight and obese children globally. This is in line with much of the rest of the Pacific region, home to nine of the world’s 10 most obese countries. Nerida Hinge, national coordinator for nutrition at Vanuatu’s Ministry of Health, says the prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is increasing “every day” as a result of the country’s poor nutrition. Obesity is a risk factor for a range of NCDs including diabetes, hypertension and heart disease. Almost 20 per cent of adults were estimated to have diabetes in Vanuatu in 2019, and national mortality data indicates up to 60 per cent of premature deaths are a result of NCDs. In Saniel’s case, several of his family members have been diagnosed with heart disease or diabetes. He blames their reliance on canned goods. “Looking at the people having these diseases, in the houses they buy mostly imported foods,” he said. It’s not that people don’t know how to be healthy but …

Solomon Islands voters go to polls as China’s influence draws scrunity

Solomon Islands voters go to polls as China’s influence draws scrunity

Published by Sam

Solomon Islanders began voting Wednesday in an election that could reshape regional security, with citizens effectively choosing if their Pacific nation will deepen ties with China Issued on: 17/04/2024 – 01:29 2 min Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare has pledged to further bolster relations with Beijing if he is re-elected, while his main challengers want to wind back China’s growing influence. Swelling crowds gathered early outside guarded election booths in the capital Honiara, pouring in to cast their ballots when voting opened at 7:00 am local time. Voting day is an immense logistical challenge in Solomon Islands, a nation of some 720,000 people spread across hundreds of volcanic islands and coral atolls. Ballot boxes and voting papers have been despatched by boat, plane and helicopter to the many far-flung villages that make up the “Hapi Isles”. Teams of international observers are on hand to watch over voting in a nation where elections frequently spell trouble.  Police from Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea are on the ground to help the stretched local forces keep the …

The mine that sparked a civil war but could bankroll the world’s next nation

The mine that sparked a civil war but could bankroll the world’s next nation

Published by skeptic

Politician Theonila Roka Matbob lives downstream from the open pit, and she sees the consequences of the last mining epoch every day. Polluted water flow from the mine pit into nearby rivers and erosion from the mounds of mine tailings left by Rio Tinto further contaminates the area. She has gotten off lightly. Further downstream from the open pit, where up to 14,000 people live, the situation is worse. Arable land and rainforest have been replaced with moonscapes and swampland, a breeding ground for malaria. Fish stocks in rivers are wiped out and drinking water poisoned. “People are struggling, lacking arable land, food and clean water,” she says. “How can a hungry person focus on realizing independence?” Still, Theonila Roka Matbob has changed her mind about mining, from being completely opposed to it. “I would first like to see a diversified economy. Then, the mining can provide an extra boost, if it is managed responsibly,” she says. But first, the area needs to be cleaned up. Together with 156 landowners and the Australian Human Rights …

The £3.5bn rival that could cripple Panama Canal despite not having a drop of water | World | News

The £3.5bn rival that could cripple Panama Canal despite not having a drop of water | World | News

Published by skeptic

The Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Mexico is emerging as a formidable rival to the Panama Canal, despite not relying on a single drop of water. With an estimated cost of £3.5 billion, this ambitious project aims to connect the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean, creating a vital alternative route for international shipping. The corridor, situated in the narrowest part of Mexico’s Isthmus of Tehuantepec, has the potential to transform the region’s economic landscape and challenge the long-standing dominance of the Panama Canal. The Interoceanic Corridor is envisioned as a comprehensive transportation network, incorporating state-of-the-art rail and road infrastructure, alongside cutting-edge technology and logistics hubs. This innovative approach aims to offer an alternative to the traditional water-centric routes and alleviate the congestion and delays often experienced at the Panama Canal. One of the most notable features of the Interoceanic Corridor is its lack of reliance on water, setting it apart from traditional canal projects. Instead of navigating through locks and channels, the corridor uses advanced rail systems and intermodal transportation …

Scientists propose a Category 6 as hurricanes gain in intensity with climate change 

Scientists propose a Category 6 as hurricanes gain in intensity with climate change 

Published by skeptic

A pair of climate scientists are proposing a sixth category for hurricanes as climate change increasingly intensifies these storms, according to a new research study. In a study, published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the two scientists argued the “open-ended” Saffir Simpson hurricane wind scale is becoming increasingly “inadequate” as the globe continues to warm. The scale, developed in the early 1970s, may not reflect the true intensity of some storms, argued study co-authors Michael F. Wehner — a climate scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab — and James P. Kossin — a former NOAA climate and hurricane researcher. A Category 6 designation would apply to storms with winds that exceed 192 miles per hour under their proposal. Storms with winds of 157 mph or higher are currently ranked Category 5, an open-ended approach that fails to adequately warn people of the dangers of higher wind speeds, the study contended. The study’s co-authors believe the open-ended nature of the current scale will prompt people to underestimate the risk of …

China’s Pacific charm offensive pays off as Nauru drops Taipei for Beijing

China’s Pacific charm offensive pays off as Nauru drops Taipei for Beijing

Published by Sam

The island nation of Nauru’s shock announcement that it was severing ties with Taiwan in favour of Beijing has brought China’s charm offensive across the Pacific into sharp relief – and highlighted the limited options available to micro-states desperate for a way out of economic dead-ends. Where most countries send congratulations to those who win presidential elections, the Pacific Island nation of Nauru sent an altogether different message to Taiwan’s President-elect Lai Ching-te. After the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)’s win in the presidential election over the weekend, Nauru notified Taiwan on Monday that it would no longer be recognising the island as an independent nation. Instead, Nauru’s 12,000-odd inhabitants would from now on consider Taiwan “an inalienable part of China’s territory”. The loss of Nauru’s support is just the latest blow to Taiwan’s dwindling group of diplomatic allies, a motley collection of developing nations across Latin America, the Caribbean and the Pacific that continue to recognise Taiwan – under its formal name of the Republic of China – as the sole legitimate representative of China …

SpaceX Is Holding Up America’s Lunar Ambitions

SpaceX Is Holding Up America’s Lunar Ambitions

Published by skeptic

The second liftoff of Starship, SpaceX’s giant new rocket-and-spaceship system, went beautifully this morning, the fire of the engines matching the orange glow of the sunrise in South Texas. The spaceship soared over the Gulf Coast, with all 33 engines in the rocket booster pulsing. High in the sky, the vehicles separated seamlessly—through a technique that SpaceX debuted during this flight—and employees let out wild cheers. The booster soon exploded, but the flight could survive that. What mattered was that Starship was still flying. It could still coast along the edge of space, and then plunge back to Earth, crashing into the Pacific Ocean off of the coast of Hawaii, as SpaceX planned. But then, as SpaceX mission control waited to hear a signal from Starship, there was only silence. Something had gone wrong after the ship shut off its engines in preparation to coast. The self-destruct system kicked in, and Starship blew itself up, according to SpaceX’s commentators, who were narrating the livestream. A “rapid unscheduled disassembly,” as SpaceXers call it. SpaceX can certainly …