Page 16 - Environment

Where communities plant trees

Every day, without fail, a group of four women takes the responsibility to walk and to ensure that nobody fells trees there. They fight with intruders; they confiscate their axes and bicycles

People trapped, 2 mn without power after hurricane Ian swamps SW Florida

Hurricane Ian left a path of destruction in southwest Florida, trapping people in flooded homes, damaging the roof of a hospital intensive care unit and knocking out power to 2 million people before aiming for the Atlantic Coast. One of the strongest hurricanes to ever hit the United States barrelled across the Florida peninsula overnight on Wednesday, threatening catastrophic flooding inland, the National Hurricane Centre warned. The centre's 2 am advisory said Ian was expected to emerge over Atlantic waters later on Thursday, with flooding rains continuing across central and northern Florida. In Port Charlotte, along Florida's Gulf Coast, the storm surge flooded a lower-level emergency room in a hospital even as fierce winds ripped away part of the roof from its intensive care unit, according to a doctor who works there. Water gushed down onto the ICU, forcing staff to evacuate the hospital's sickest patients -- some of whom were on ventilators to other floors, said Dr. Birgit .

Decoded: What are green bonds and how much will be the govt issue?

Green bonds are debt instruments the proceeds of which are utilised to finance projects that are beneficial to the environment

Biden administration launches environmental justice office in N Carolina

Forty years after a predominantly Black community in Warren County, North Carolina, rallied against hosting a hazardous waste landfill, President Biden's top environment official visited what is widely considered the birthplace of the environmental justice movement on Saturday to unveil a national office that will distribute USD 3 billion in block grants to underserved communities burdened by pollution. Joined by civil rights leaders and participants from the 1982 protests, Michael Regan, the first Black administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, announced he is dedicating a new senior level of leadership to the environmental justice movement they ignited. The Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights comprised of more than 200 current staff members in 10 US regions will merge three existing EPA programs to oversee a portion of Democrats' USD 60 billion investment in environmental justice initiatives created by the Inflation Reduction Act. The president

India's focus is on green growth and green jobs, says PM Narendra Modi

'Now, the focus of the country is on growth, on green jobs. And to achieve all these goals, the role of the environment ministry of every state is enormous'

COP27: Centre reaches out to states for stronger climate action plan

As the government prepares COP27, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) is hosting a two-day conference of state environment ministers in Ekta Nagar, Gujarat, starting

Significant drop in SO2 levels in India in last decade: IIT KGP study

There has been a significant drop in Sulphur Dioxide (SO2) levels in India in the last decade as compared to the previous three decades, a study conducted by IIT Kharagpur has found. The reduction in emission and concentration of SO2 has been due to environmental regulation and the adoption of effective control technologies such as 'scrubber' and 'flue gas desulphurisation', the study conducted by a team of researchers from the Centre for Oceans, Rivers, Atmosphere and Land Sciences (CORAL) of the institute stated. The study represents temporal changes in SO2 concentrations across India in the last four decades (1980-2020), an institute spokesperson said. While thermal power plants contributed 51 per cent to SO2 concentration, the construction sector's share was 29 per cent, as per the estimate during that period, the study noted. The temporal analyses reveal that SO2 concentrations in India increased between 1980 and 2010 due to coal burning and the lack of novel technology to ...

Investors commit $7.1 trn of assets in pursuit of 1.5 deg C climate goal

A coalition of pension funds and insurance companies have committed to managing $7.1 trillion of assets in line with the Paris Agreement's goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius

Project Cheetah an effort for wildlife, environment conservation: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the Project Cheetah, under which the felines were reintroduced in the country after they became extinct seven decades ago, is his government's endeavour towards environment and wildlife conservation. Modi was speaking after releasing cheetahs flown in from Namibia into special enclosures in Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh. Modi, who turned 72 on Saturday, released three of the eight cheetahs, who made the transcontinental flight, in an enclosure by operating a lever. The PM said it was unfortunate that we declared cheetah extinct in 1952, but for decades no constructive efforts were made to reintroduce them. He thanked the government of Namibia for help in the programme to reintroduce cheetahs in India. Project Cheetah, under which the cheetahs were reintroduced in the country after they became extinct seven decades ago, is our endeavour towards environment and wildlife conservation, he said. Cheetahs are our guests; we should gi

Climate change as business: Crisis, opportunity and everything in between

As the world changes with changing realities, some businesses will suffer. But in any case India has an unplanned advantage: It has to destroy less of the old to make way for the new, writes T N Ninan

IISc, Shell India partner to promote R&D in energy and environment

Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and Shell India have entered into a partnership to promote research and development in the areas of energy and environment. The partnership seeks to build on cutting-edge energy and environment related research being carried out at the Interdisciplinary Centre for Energy Research (ICER), IISc, an IISc statement said. A research agreement was signed at the institute in the presence of IISc Director Prof Govindan Rangarajan and Chief Technology Officer at Shell, Yuri Sebregts, on Thursday. The key aspects that the partnership will focus on include reducing Green House Gas emissions and promoting decarbonisation through innovations such as low-carbon fuels, distributed electrification, carbon sinks, hydrogen generation, efficient power and refrigeration cycles using supercritical carbon dioxide. Structured research projects will be initiated under this research agreement involving Shell scientists as well as faculty members and students at the ...

Climate Change intensified rain that fueled Pakistan floods, heatwave

In addition to the rainfall, a heat wave in India and Pakistan earlier this year, also fueled by climate change, worsened the flooding that left a third of Pakistan under water, the scientists found.

Vembanad lake continues to shrink, under threat of ecological decay

Vembanad lake, the second largest wetland system in India after the Sunderbans in West Bengal, is shrinking and its unique biodiversity is under threat of ecological decay despite it being declared as a Ramsar site 20 years ago. The lake, which is a source of livelihood for farmers of Kuttanad and the fisherfolk community, continues to undergo ecological degradation due to pollution and unauthorised constructions on its banks, with experts calling for "committed efforts" to save its wetland ecosystem. With a gradually shrinking area of over 2,000 square kilometres and a length of around 96 km, it is one of the largest lakes in Kerala and the longest in the country and is bound by the districts of Alappuzha, Kottayam and Ernakulam. According to ecological experts and various studies conducted over the years, the lake is facing serious environmental degradation due to recurring floods, increased pollution, reduction in water spread area and increased weed growth. Experts like E J Jam

All you need to know about India's first dark sky reserve in Ladakh

Government plans to promote astronomy tourism at the reserve, which is located in Hanle in Ladakh

Environment-driven taxes: An interesting challenge for policymakers

The question of designing and imposing environmental taxes with specific objectives remains challenging due to the complexities involved

Concord Enviro Systems gets SEBI go-ahead to raise funds through IPO

Concord Enviro Systems, an environmental engineering solutions firm, has received Sebi's go- ahead to raise funds through an initial public offering (IPO). The proposed IPO comprises fresh issuance of equity shares worth Rs 175 crore and an offer-for-sale (OFS) of 35,69,180 shares by promoters and an investor, according to the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP). Those selling shares in the OFS are promoters Prayas Goel and Prerak Goel, promoter groups Namrata Goel, Nidhi Goel, and Pushpa Goel and investor AF Holdings. Concord Enviro Systems, which filed preliminary IPO papers with the capital markets regulator in July, obtained its "observation" letter on August 30, an update with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) showed on Monday. In Sebi's parlance, issuance of observation letter implies its go-ahead to float an IPO. Going by the draft papers, proceeds from the fresh issue will be used for investment in the company's arm Concord Enviro FZE in relation to financ

SC raises ceiling limit of iron ore mining for three Karnataka districts

The Supreme Court on Friday raised the ceiling limit of iron ore mining for Ballari, Chitradurga, and Tumakuru districts in Karnataka, saying conservation of the ecology and environment must go hand in hand with the spirit of economic development. The apex court raised the ceiling limit of iron ore mining from 28 MMT to 35 MMT for Ballari district, and from 7 MMT to 15 MMT for Chitradurga and Tumkur districts. "Conservation of the ecology and the environment must go hand in hand with the spirit of economic development and the fine balance between the two goals is what is sought to be achieved even now," a bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana said. The bench, also comprising Justices Hima Kohli and C T Ravikumar, passed the order on pleas seeking lifting of the ceiling limits of iron ore mining in these districts. It referred to the May 20 this year order passed by the apex court which had granted certain reliefs relating to the sale and export of iron ore in these three distric

Reuse and recycle water to become 'aatmanirbhar': Union minister Shekhawat

Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Friday stressed the need to reuse and recycle water in order to become 'aatmanirbhar' or self-sufficient in its supply. Speaking at the 'Har Ghar Jal Utsav' programme organised by the Goa government to mark 100 per cent piped water supply coverage in rural households of the state, the minister also called for harvesting rainwater. Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the event via video conferencing. "We should work on reusing and recycling water to become 'aatmanirbhar' in its supply," Shekhawat said. On the occasion, he remembered the freedom fighters who fought for the country's independence and for the liberation of Goa from Portuguese rule. "People of the country should introspect, where they lacked in creating the India of the dreams of those people who laid their lives for its freedom. The world is looking at India with expectations that we need to fulfil," he said. Shekhawat said the Har Ghar Jal programme of the Jal

Australian party to introduce bill to close state coal plants by 2030

Australia's environmentally forward political party, the Greens, is set to introduce a bill that would close the three remaining coal plants in the state of Victoria by 2030

'Increased tiger reserves show Centre's commitment to tiger conservation'

The government has demonstrated its commitment to tiger conservation by increasing the number of tiger reserves from nine in 1973 to 52 at present, said Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav