The State Forestry Administration of the People's Republic of China stated that yellow sand phenomenon intensified (June 17) - In the 8th World Day To Combat Desertification and Drought(June 17, 2002), the Chinese State Forestry Administration(SFA) reported that yellow sand phenomenon in northern China occurred 12 times this year of which frequency decreased from 15 and 18 times in 2000 and 2001 respectively. - However, yellow sand phenomenon are getting intensified, affecting 32 million ha. of agricultural land and 132 million ha. of grassland in recent years. - Expansion of desertification is known as the main reason for yellow sand phenomenon. SFA reported that nearly one-fifth of China's land has became desertified, and desertification of 52,000 square kilometers in China's territory had occurred between 1995 to 1999. Environment research organization INFORM Inc., published a report on environmental waste treatment of cellular phones (June 19) - The report 'Waste in the Wireless World: The Challenge of Cell phones' estimated 65,000 tons of waste per year will be generated by 2005. The report pointed out 'the toxic materials in wireless products, including persistent, bioaccumulative toxins(leads. arsenic and cadmium, etc) and brominated flame retardants can pose serious threats to human health and the environment'. - The report suggested products need to be redesigned with end-of-life concerns: replacement of toxic materials with less or non-toxic materials, standardization of design elements to allow adaptors and accessories to be used with different makes and models of phones, etc. - It also suggested effective take-back programs using incentives for manufacturers to design phones that generate less waste and are easier to reuse and recycle. For the full text of this report, visit http://www.informinc.org/cellphone.htm