The Black Hole in the Kyoto Protocol: Was the Exclusion of Black Carbon Regulation a Fatal Flaw ?

Claiming that the Kyoto Protocol (“Protocol”) was “fatally flawed in fundamental ways,” on June 2001, U.S. President George W. Bush simultaneously condemned the landmark international agreement against climate change and announced that the United States would withdraw from participation in it. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (“UNFCCC”) drafted the Protocol in 1997 in order to fight the potentially catastrophic effects of climate change through an international carbon dioxide (“CO2”) emissions reduction plan. Over 160 nations ratified the Protocol. The United States and Australia are the only countries in the developed world not to participate

Energy Law and the Environment by Rosemary Lyster & Adrian Bradbrook, Cambridge University Press

As issues such as the depletion of fossil fuels and climate change rise to the forefront of modern international problems, energy law has become increasingly important in the modern world. In Energy Law and the Environment, authors Rosemary Lyster and Adrian Bradbrook paint a detailed picture of where Australia has been, and where it is headed in its efforts to adapt its energy policies to suit the needs of its population, as well as stave off the environmental problems that will result from climate change and current non-sustainable energy practices

Environmental animal models for sensorimotor gating deficiencies in schizophrenia: a review

Abstract.: Rationale: In schizophrenia research, the study of animal models has received considerable attention in the past 20 years. The value of animal models in pre-clinical research is widely recognised, largely because they can provide precious knowledge regarding the neurobiology of schizophrenia and can also be used for developing antipsychotic drugs. Prepulse inhibition (PPI; reduction in startle reflex induced by a prestimulus) is impaired in schizophrenic patients, a finding that has been associated with a loss of sensorimotor gating abilities. In rats, the schizophrenic-like PPI deficit can be induced by pharmacological or surgical manipulations targeting mainly the cortico-meso-limbic circuitry. Objectives: The literature was critically reviewed in an effort to determine the robustness and the relevance for schizophrenia of another category of animal models, based purely on manipulations of the social environment, that encompasses the neurodevelopmental hypothesis of schizophrenia. Specifically, we focused our attention on the long-term effects of such environmental models on sensorimotor gating processes as assessed in the PPI paradigm, with an attempt to evaluate their face, predictive and construct validity. Results: Our review of the literature leads to the conclusion that social deprivation performed directly after weaning (~21 days of age) is more likely to be a relevant model for PPI impairments in schizophrenia than pre-weaning manipulations. Conclusions: Although the robustness of such environmental models requires further study, these animal models offer the advantage of avoiding invasive manipulations, which allows for a variety of anatomical, electrophysiological, neuroendocrine or neurochemical investigations in the absence of confounding pharmacological or surgical effect

International Whaling Commission Indicates Potential Reversal of Policy

In June, the International Whaling Commission (“IWC”) held its 58th Annual Meeting in St. Kitts and Nevis and, for the first time since its inception in 1946, declared that it intends to reintroduce “controlled and sustainable” whaling of certain whale species.The 33-32 vote is purely declaratory and does not effect a change in the IWC’s ban on whaling, which would take a 75 percent vote to overturn. However, organizations across the globe call the vote an indication of a dramatic policy shift demonstrating an “abdication of responsibility by the global community” and a sign of IWC evolution from a conservational force to a “whaling club.