In 2007, 153 government-funded BPA experiments on lab animals and tissues found adverse effects and 14 did not. In contrast, all 13 studies funded by chemical corporations reported no harm. The studies indicating harm reported a variety of deleterious effects in rodent offspring exposed in the womb: abnormal weight gain, insulin resistance, prostate cancer, and too much mammary gland development.
A panel convened by the U.S. National Institutes of Health in 2007 determined that there was "some concern" about BPA's effects on fetal and infant brain development and behavior. The concern over the effect of BPA on infants was also heightened by the fact that infants and children are estimated to have the highest daily intake of BPA. A 2008 report by the U.S. National Toxicology Program (NTP) later agreed with the panel, expressing "some concern for effects on the brain, behavior, and prostate gland in fetuses, infants, and children at current human exposures to bisphenol A," and ""minimal" concern for effects on the mammary gland and an earlier age for puberty for females in fetuses, infants, and children at current human exposures to bisphenol A." The NTP had ""negligible" concern that exposure of pregnant women to bisphenol A will result in fetal or neonatal mortality, birth defects, or reduced birth weight and growth in their offspring."
Joe Clark
Charles Joseph "Joe" Clark (born June 5, 1939) is a politician from Canada. He served as Canada's Prime Minister from 1979-1980. He was elected Prime Minister when he was 40 years old, making him the youngest Prime Minister in Canadian history.
Norfolk Broads
The Broads are a network of mostly navigable rivers and lakes in the English counties of Norfolk and Suffolk. The Broads, and some nearby land were made into a special protected area (like a national park) by "The Norfolk and Suffolk Broads Act" of 1988. The Broads Authority has managed the area since 1989.
The total area is , mostly in Norfolk, with over of navigable waterways. There are seven rivers and 63 broads, mostly less than deep. Thirteen broads are generally open to navigation, with a further three having navigable channels.
Although the terms Norfolk Broads and Suffolk Broads are used to identify specific areas within the two counties respectively, the whole area is frequently referred to as the "Norfolk Broads".
Boko Haram
Boko Haram is a branch of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. The name of the group means "Western" or "non-Islamic" education is a sin. The group is centred in Borno State in northeastern Nigeria. It wants to make Islamic law the only law in Nigeria. It also wants to outlaw education that is not based on Islam. The group sees itself as similar to the Taliban, which are active in Afghanistan. Locally, the group is known as the "Taliban". The official name of the group is "Jama'atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda'awati wal-Jihad", which in Arabic means "People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet's Teachings and Jihad." They also call themselves 'Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).
The group was formed in Maiduguri, Borno State, in 2002. Its insurgency began in 2009. They follow an extreme version of Sunni Islam. Local residents of the area soon called the group Boko Haram. Loosely translated from the local Hausa language, this means Western education is forbidden. Residents gave it the name because of its strong opposition to Western education, which it sees as corrupting Muslims. The term "Boko Haram" comes from the Hausa word 'boko' meaning "Animist, western or otherwise non-Islamic education" and the Arabic word 'haram' figuratively meaning "sin" (literally, "forbidden").
Boko Haram opposes not only Western education, but Western culture and science as well. The group also forbids the wearing of shirts and trousers and the act of voting in elections. In its view, the Nigerian state is run by non-believers.
In a 2009 BBC interview, Mohammed Yusuf, the group's leader at the time, said he rejects the fact that the earth is a sphere and views it as contrary to Islam, along with Darwinism and the fact that rain comes from water evaporated by the sun.
Boko Haram often carry out bombings, kidnappings and shootings, as well as arson and looting. They have killed thousands of people in Africa, attacking civilian and military targets. There are many terrorist activities for which Boko Haram have claimed responsibility:
Boko Haram is not associated with the group Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta which fights against the oil industry in the Niger Delta, since 2006.
On 14 April 2014, Boko Haram kidnapped 276 teenagers from a secondary school in Chibok, Borno. Boko Haram killed at least 100 people in Baga, Borno, in January 2015. About 620 buildings were damaged or destroyed by fire.
In the mid-2010s, Boko Haram extended its activities into Cameroon, Chad and Niger. It became part of Islamic State in March 2015.
Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta is one of the largest militant groups in the Niger delta. Many people in the delta are poor. The Nigerian government has contracts that allow international companies to extract crude oil in the delta. This extraction causes massive damage to the environment. According to the magazine "The Economist", the organization wants more of the profit of the oil extraction to go to the poor region, where the oil is extracted.
According to the magazine, the organisation is used by several armed groups; these groups are sometimes paid to launch attacks. The payment is done either with weapons or with money.
MEND has been linked to attacks on petroleum operations in Nigeria as part of the Conflict in the Niger Delta, engaging in actions including sabotage, theft, property destruction, guerrilla warfare, and kidnapping.
MEND's stated goals are to localize control of Nigeria's oil and to secure reparations from the federal government for pollution caused by the oil industry. In an interview with one of the group's leaders, who used the alias Major-General Godswill Tamuno, the BBC reported that MEND was fighting for "total control" of the Niger Delta's oil wealth, saying local people had not gained from the riches under the ground and the region's creeks and swamps."
In a January 2006 email, MEND warned the oil industry, "It must be clear that the Nigerian government cannot protect your workers or assets. Leave our land while you can or die in it... Our aim is to totally destroy the capacity of the Nigerian government to export oil." Additionally MEND has called upon President Olusegun Obasanjo to free two jailed Ijaw leaders — Mujahid Dokubo-Asari, who is jailed and charged with treason, and Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, a former governor of Bayelsa State convicted of corruption. Obasanjo's successor, President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua authorised the release of Dokubo-Asari and Alamieyeseigha in 2007.
Urbanization
Urbanization (or urbanisation) is a term from geography. The base of the word is the Latin "urbs", which means city. The term urbanisation means that lifestyle that is common in a city becomes prevalent. This can happen in two different ways:
Physical urbanization has been observed for centuries. In developing countries this is the main form of urbanization. In developed countries, functional urbanization is the main form of urbanization. With functional urbanization, people living in the city center move to the countryside, next to the city; this is known as suburbanization.
Environmental scientists are studying the urban heat island. The urban heat island is made when industrial and urban areas are developed and heat becomes plentiful.
Environmental impacts also include reducing soil moisture and intensification of carbon dioxide emissions.