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LOS ANGELES, April 7 (Xinhua) -- Unrecycled energy-efficient bulbs release tons of mercury into the environment every year, raising an environmental concern, it was reported on Thursday.Demand for the energy-efficient lights -- the compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL) -- is growing as government mandates for energy-efficient lighting take effect, yet only about two percent of residential consumers and one-third of businesses recycle the new bulbs, the Los Angeles Times said, quoting the Association of Lighting and Mercury Recyclers (ALMR).Each CFL contains up to five milligrams of mercury, a potent neurotoxin that's on the worst-offending list of environmental contaminants, the report said.As a result, U.S. landfills are releasing more than four tons of mercury annually into the atmosphere and storm water runoff, the Journal of the Air and Waste Management Association said in a study published by the paper.The federal Clean Energy Act of 2007 established energy- efficiency standards for light bulbs that dimmed the future for old-fashioned incandescents, which don't meet those standards. Incandescents are to be phased out by 2014 in the U.S., and California passed even stricter rules, calling for store shelves to be cleared of them by 2013.The old-style bulbs are just too wasteful, converting to light only 10 percent of the energy they consume. The rest is squandered as heat.Sales of energy-efficient alternatives like CFLs, halogen bulbs and LEDs have been growing steadily, with the low-cost CFLs the biggest sellers, according to the paper.If every California household replaced five incandescent bulbs with CFLs, the move would save 6.18 billion kilowatt-hours and prevent the annual release of 2.26 million tons of heat-trapping carbon dioxide, according to the California Energy Commission. That 's equivalent to taking 414,000 cars off the road.But no federal law mandates recycling of household fluorescent lights. Federal rules exempt some businesses, based in part on the number of bulbs used, said Paul Abernathy, executive director of the ALMR, which is based in Napa, Calif.Several states, including California, Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont and Minnesota, do require that all households and businesses recycle fluorescents, the paper said.But the ALMR said compliance is low because of a lack of convenient drop-off options.

WASHINGTON, May 17 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced Tuesday that the international Aquarius/SAC-D observatory will be launched on June 9, to study interactions between ocean circulation, the water cycle and climate by measuring ocean surface salinity.Engineers at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California are performing final tests before mating the satellite to its Delta II rocket. The mission is a collaboration between NASA and Argentina' s space agency, with participation from Brazil, Canada, France and Italy.In addition to Aquarius, the primary instrument, the observatory carries seven other instruments that will collect environmental data for a wide range of applications, including studies of natural hazards, air quality, land processes and epidemiology.The mission will make NASA's first space observations of the concentration of dissolved salt at the ocean surface. Aquarius' observations will reveal how salinity variations influence ocean circulation, trace the path of freshwater around our planet, and help drive Earth's climate. The ocean surface constantly exchanges water and heat with Earth's atmosphere. Approximately 80 percent of the global water cycle that moves freshwater from the ocean to the atmosphere to the land and back to the ocean happens over the ocean.Salinity plays a key role in these exchanges. By tracking changes in ocean surface salinity, Aquarius will monitor variations in the water cycle caused by evaporation and precipitation over the ocean, river runoff, the freezing and melting of sea ice. Salinity also makes seawater denser, causing it to sink, where it becomes part of deep, interconnected ocean currents. This deep ocean "conveyor belt" moves water masses and heat from the tropics to the polar regions, helping to regulate Earth's climate."Salinity is the glue that bonds two major components of Earth' s complex climate system: ocean circulation and the global water cycle," said Aquarius Principal Investigator Gary Lagerloef of Earth & Space Research in Seattle in a statement. "Aquarius will map global variations in salinity in unprecedented detail, leading to new discoveries that will improve our ability to predict future climate."Aquarius will measure salinity by sensing microwave emissions from the water's surface with a radiometer instrument. These emissions can be used to indicate the saltiness of the surface water, after accounting for other environmental factors. Salinity levels in the open ocean vary by only about five parts per thousand, and small changes are important. Aquarius uses advanced technologies to detect changes in salinity as small as about two parts per 10,000, equivalent to a pinch (about one-eighth of a teaspoon) of salt in a gallon of water.Aquarius will map the entire open ocean every seven days for at least three years from 408 miles (657 kilometers) above Earth. Its measurements will produce monthly estimates of ocean surface salinity with a spatial resolution of 93 miles (150 kilometers). The data will reveal how salinity changes over time and from one part of the ocean to another.

WASHINGTON, May 20 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Friday approved Sutent to treat patients with progressive neuroendocrine cancerous tumors located in the pancreas that cannot be removed by surgery or that have spread to other parts of the body.Neuroendocrine tumors found in the pancreas are slow-growing and rare. It is estimated that there are fewer than 1,000 new cases in the United States each year.This is the second new approval by the FDA to treat patients with this disease. On May 5, the agency approved Afinitor."FDA believes it is important to provide cancer patients with as many treatment options as possible," said Richard Pazdur, director of the Office of Oncology Drug Products in the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. "The agency is committed to working with companies to bring innovative new therapies to the market and encourages companies to continue exploring additional uses for approved products."The safety and effectiveness of Sutent was established in a single study of 171 patients with metastatic (late-stage) or locally advanced (disease that could not be removed with surgery) disease who received Sutent or a placebo (sugar pill). The study was designed to measure the length of time a patient lived before their disease spread or worsened (progression-free survival).Results from the study demonstrate that Sutent provided benefit to patients by prolonging the median length of time they lived without the cancer spreading or worsening to 10.2 months compared to 5.4 months for patients who received placebo.In patients treated with Sutent for neuroendocrine pancreatic tumors, the most commonly reported side effects included diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, anorexia, high blood pressure, energy loss, stomach pain, changes in hair color, inflammation of the mouth, and a decrease in infection-fighting white blood cells.Sutent is marketed by New York City-based Pfizer.

BEIJING, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- China plans to dig 1,350 wells in eight major wheat-growing provinces to help ease the ongoing drought that is threatening the country's grain harvest, said the Ministry of Land and Resources (MLR) on Friday.The ministry will establish an anti-drought and well drilling operation headquarters and three front working teams in north China, Huanghuai area - along the Yellow and Huai rivers - and northwest China, said the MLR at a video conference.Also, China Geological Survey, an institution directly under the MLR, will transfer experienced technicians from its nine affiliated units to form three emergency squads and 12 emergency groups to assist local governments in finding water in those regions, said the MLR.Further, the MLR will send geological survey teams from its nine affiliated units and eight provinces, including Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou, to the eight provinces, it said.The survey teams will bring 100 sets of advanced geophysical prospecting instruments and 320 sets of drill machines to dig 1,350 wells to ease the water shortages affecting people and livestock, especially those in mountainous areas, and strengthen local irrigation, it noted.The eight provinces include Shandong, Henan, Hubei, Anhui, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Gansu and Jiangsu, which are China's major wheat-producing regions and have been severely affected by months-long drought.The MLR had previously put in place a series of measures to relieve drought and find water, such as making underground water layout maps and sending experts to drought-hit regions to give technical guidance, said the MLR.As of 3 p.m. Thursday, the drought had affected 101.28 million mu (6.75 million hectares) of crops nationwide and left 2.81 million people and 2.57 million livestock short of drinking water, said the Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.

来源：资阳报