antidepressants; food miles; car emission standards

[angela bischoff]

Antidepressants don't work as well as reported, study says

New England Journal of Medicine reports that 88 per cent of clinical
trials that showed the drugs didn't work either weren't published in
medical journals or were presented as positive findings

Globe and Mail Update
January 16, 2008

Read full article here:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080116.wpharma1701/BNStory/specialScienceandHealth/home

---------------

Researchers Find a Bias Toward Upbeat Findings on Antidepressants

New York Times
January 17, 2008

The makers of antidepressants like Prozac and Paxil never published the
results of about a third of the drug trials that they conducted to win
government approval, misleading doctors and consumers about the drugs’
true effectiveness, a new analysis has found. <snip>

They found that 37 of 38 trials that the F.D.A. viewed as having positive
results were published in journals. The agency viewed as failed or
unconvincing 36 other trials, of which 14 made it into journals. But 11 of
those 14 journal articles “conveyed a positive outcome” that was not
justified by the underlying F.D.A. review <snip>

Read full article here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/17/health/16cnd-depress.html?_r=2&ref=health&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

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Eat Responsibly. Eat Sustainably. Eat Locally.

The Falls Brook Centre Food Miles Challenge is examining the environmental
costs of getting out food from across the planet and how we can serve up a
plate of local foods in style. Climate Change is forcing us all to examine
our lifestyle and how it affects the planet. The Food Miles Challenge
hopes to make its contribution to reduce emissions and air pollution
caused by transportation of food over great distances through the support
of farmer's markets and by helping Carleton County Schools develop a local
foods menu for their cafeterias.

The Food Miles Challenge team would like to announce the launch of the
online <http://www.fallsbrookcentre.ca/cgi-bin/calculate.pl>Food Miles
Calculator, an innovative tool for calculating the greenhouse gas
emissions resulting from the transportation of goods.  Enter the weight of
your product and the distances travelled by air, boat, rail, and truck to
find out how much C02 was emitted as a result of shipping.  The tool also
gives you your results in equivalent kilometres traveled in the average
Canadian car, in case that is a more meaningful way for you to think about
greenhouse gas emissions.

The calculator is also available from the
<http://www.fallsbrookcentre.ca/foodmiles>food miles webpage which also
contains a resource list of local producers and farmers markets, seasonal
recipe suggestions, and educational activities to teach students about the
food they eat and where it comes from.

For more details please email Shannon Herbert :
<mailto:%20shannon at fallsbrookcentre.ca>shannon at fallsbrookcentre.ca

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Support higher Canadian standards for car emissions

Encourage government to adopt California's Clean Cars law. This new
requirement will significantly reduce vehicle emissions, and is becoming
the progressive standard in North America.

http://thegoodlife.wwf.ca/ActionDetail.cfm?ActionId=4

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Climate Action Network Canada-Réseau action climat Canada
Press Release
Thursday, January 17, 2007

Federal Government Must Act to Protect Canadians from Car Pollution

 Ottawa – The Climate Action Network Canada-Réseau action climat Canada is
calling on the Government of Canada to deliver on its promise to
“maximize the environmental and economic benefits” for Canadians when it
sets new federal fuel efficiency standards for cars this spring.

In a press conference earlier today, Transport Minister Lawrence Cannon
announced the government’s intention to implement a “Made-in-Canada” fuel
efficiency standard for cars following a 60-day consultation process. The
government signalled its support of the new U.S. federal fuel efficiency
standard, but a final decision on the Canadian standard will be announced
after the consultations conclude.

“California’s standards should be the minimum for Canada, and the
government missed an opportunity to sign on to them today,” said John
Bennett, climateforchange.ca.  “If the government truly wants to
‘maximize’ the benefits for Canadians, the weaker U.S. federal standards
just won’t do it. Choosing them would be a broken promise that will cost
Canadians drivers billions over the next decade in extra fuel costs, and
will needlessly permit more car pollution,” he said.

In December, the U.S. Congress passed energy legislation containing new
fuel efficiency regulations aimed at increasing mileage to an average of
35 miles per gallon or 6.7 litres per 100 kilometres by 2020.  Analysis
shows that the California standards are 16% more stringent for 2016 models
and 18% more stringent for 2020 models than the new U.S. federal rules. 
The California law also contains benchmarks for carmakers to ensure they
meet the targeted efficiency levels on time. 

“The government is under pressure from the automotive and fuel industries
to adopt the U.S. federal standard,” said Pierre Sadik, David Suzuki
Foundation. “Canada must resist that pressure by keeping in mind
the serious consequences of failing to take urgent action on climate
change.”

“We can’t let the Bush Administration drive Canada’s climate change
policy,” said Graham Saul, Climate Action Network Canada-Réseau action
climat Canada.  “California tailpipe standards should be our point of
departure, and we should be working to catch up with European standards,”
he said.



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