Page 199 - Environment

Adopt Kerala method to boost rubber production: Tripura CM

Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb on Tuesday asked all stakeholders to adopt the Kerala method to boost rubber production in Tripura.

Food security most important global issue: Report

Food security is the most important issue as no city or country in the world is completely food secure in view of climate change, population growth, increased urbanisation, changing dietary patterns and decreased arable land, according to a report released here. According to the Oliver Wyman report titled 'Sustainable and Resilient Foods for Future Generation' launched at the World Government summit here all these factors play a significant role in disrupting the food supply chain and availability. The report offers governments around the world the framework to assess the state of their food security and the tools to strengthen it both from regulatory and technological standpoints. The report emphasised that there is no "one size fits all" solution, but highlighted lessons learnt and identified best practices that can be implemented to avert a food crisis. Although efforts have been made, nothing can be done without increased investment in the agriculture sector and enabling ...

Leopard sighted on campus of research institute in Hyderabad

: A leopard has reportedly been sighted on the campus of a crop research institute near here and an effort made to trap and relocate the big cat, forest officials said Tuesday. The security personnel at the International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) spotted the leopard last week while on patrol, the officials said. On Sunday, the personnel again saw the animal and took photos and video-graphed it before informing the forest department, they said. "We have installed 11 cameras at key locations and set up two traps," a forest official A Shankaran told PTI. In a similar incident reported during August last, a leopard had strayed into the complex of the institute, had been trapped and relocated.

NASA spacecraft shrinking orbit to prepare for Mars 2020 Rover

NASA's atmosphere-sniffing MAVEN Mars mission is tightening its orbit around the Red Planet to prepare for the US space agency's rover which is scheduled to launch next year. The operation will reduce the highest point of the MAVEN spacecraft's elliptical orbit from 6,200 to 4,500 kilometres above the surface and prepare it to take on additional responsibility as a data-relay satellite for the Mars 2020 rover. "The MAVEN spacecraft has done a phenomenal job teaching us how Mars lost its atmosphere and providing other important scientific insights on the evolution of the Martian climate," said Jim Watzin, director of NASA's Mars Exploration Programme. "Now we're recruiting it to help NASA communicate with our forthcoming Mars rover and its successors," said Watzin. While MAVEN's new orbit will not be drastically shorter than its present orbit, even this small change will significantly improve its communications capabilities. "It is like using your cell phone. The closer you are to a ...

Japanese couple robbed of 400-year-old bonsai tree

A rare 400-year-old bonsai tree and seven other tiny trees worth 13 million yen ($118,000) have been stolen from a garden space in Saitama prefecture near Tokyo.

Almost 2,000 bacteria discovered in human gut

Researchers have now identified almost 2,000 bacterial species living the human gut. The team from EMBL's European Bioinformatics Institute and the Wellcome Sanger Institute used a range of computational methods to analyse samples from individuals worldwide.The results, published in the journal Nature, highlight that although researchers are possibly getting closer to creating a comprehensive list of the commonly found microbes in the North American and European gut, there is a significant lack of data from other regions of the world.The human gut is home to many species of microbes, collectively referred to as the gut microbiota. Despite extensive studies in the field, researchers are still working on identifying the individual microbial species that live in our guts and understanding what roles they play in human health.There are many reasons why some microbial species that are part of the gut microbiota have remained unknown for so long, such as a low abundance in the gut or an ...

Jim Sarbh to debut on TV

Actor Jim Sarbh is set to foray into the television space with a four-part series "Planet Healers", which features start-ups who are seeking innovative solutions to environmental hazards.

Focus: How a Philippines regulator stymied DowDuPont's global seed launch

WINNIPEG, Manitoba/CHICAGO (Reuters) - A Philippines regulator poses an unexpected obstacle to DowDuPont's launch of a new line of genetically engineered soybeans in the United States as the company challenges Bayer AG's decades-long dominance of the U.S. seed market.

Growatt Donates Inverter to Indore Cancer Foundation's Rooftop Solar Plant Project

/ -- Growatt, a Shenzhen, China-based manufacturer of PV inverters, announced that it donated one unit of its inverter, Growatt 20KTL3-S, to the Indore Cancer Foundation Charitable Trust (ICF), a not-for-profit charitable organization in central India, for its rooftop solar power plant project. The ICF was established in 1988, with its focus on head & neck cancers, the most common cancers among Indian male adults, promoting medical education to the public and conducting clinical researches. To reduce carbon footprint and power the facility with clean solar energy, the ICF initiated the installation of a 20kW solar power plant on the rooftop. After learning about the initiative, Growatt donated a 20kW inverter and worked with other parties to finish the project. Growatt has been committed to corporate social responsibility ever since its foundation. It applies responsible practices in the workplace and has been awarded the SA8000 certification. Growatt supports social and ...

World is getting greener, India and China leading efforts: NASA study

China alone accounts for 25 per cent of the global net increase in leaf area with only 6.6 per cent of global vegetated area

Russian, Chinese lasers threaten US satellites: Pentagon

A new Pentagon report has warned that China and Russia were both developing space capabilities to threaten the US, including lasers that could target and destroy American satellites.

Wildlife group: Malaysia seizes record 30-ton pangolin haul

A wildlife monitoring group says Malaysian authorities have seized a record 30 tons of pangolin and pangolin products in eastern Sabah state, the biggest such bust in the country. The monitoring network Traffic says Sabah police this month uncovered two major pangolin processing facilities, throwing a spotlight on Sabah's role in the sourcing and trafficking of the endangered scaly mammal. Sabah police said over the weekend they had seized three refrigerated containers containing 1,800 boxes filled with frozen pangolins, another 572 frozen pangolins in separate freezers, 61 live pangolins and 361 kilograms of pangolin scales. A 35-year-old Malaysian has been detained. Traffic said in a statement received Tuesday that in total, Sabah has been implicated in over 40 tons of pangolin smuggling since August 2017.

China, Russia pose challenge to US space capabilities: Pentagon

China and Russia have developed robust and capable space services and the two countries pose a challenge and threat to the space capabilities of the US, the Pentagon has said. Chinese and Russian military doctrines indicate they view space as important to modern warfare and counterspace capabilities as a means to reduce US and allied military effectiveness, the Pentagon said in a report released by the Defense Intelligence Agency. The report "Challenges to Security in Space" examines the space and counterspace programmes that could challenge the US or partner interests in the space domain. Noting that both countries have developed robust and capable space services, including space-based intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, the report said China and Russia were making improvements to existing systems including space launch vehicles and satellite navigation constellations. "These capabilities provide their militaries with the ability to command and control their forces ...

Shell, Mitsubishi and Brazil's Pátria in $700 million power JV in Rio

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Brazil's private equity group Pátria Investimentos and Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems, on Monday said they would invest $700 million to build and operate a gas-fired power plant in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

Saraswati idol immersion processions affect Delhi traffic movement

Smooth movement of traffic was affected on some major roads linking the Yamuna ghats in the national capital during peak hours owing to the processions taken out for immersion of goddess Saraswati idols, police said.

Algeria's Sonatrach signs $1 billion gas plant deal with Larsen & Toubro

ALGIERS (Reuters) - Algeria's Sonatrach has signed a $1 billion contract with India's Larsen & Toubro to build plants to produce 11 million cubic metres of gas per day, Sonatrach's CEO said on Monday.

Bird flu confirmed in Jehanabad: Official

After Munger and Banka, outbreak of bird flu has been confirmed in this central Bihar district with samples of crows found dead here testing positive for the H5N1 virus, an official said on Monday. However, no humans have been found to be afflicted with the disease in any part of the state so far. According to Civil Surgeon, Dilip Kumar, more than a dozen crows were found dead inside the collectorate premises here on February 1, following which samples of two dead birds were sent for testing at a lab in Bhopal. "The samples tested positive following which we have directed the animal husbandry department to collect samples from poultry farms and send these to Bhopal to ascertain whether the virus has afflicted other birds, he said. "As a preventive measure, bleaching powder is being sprayed at various places including the collectorate. An isolation ward has been set up at the Sadar hospital which would be manned by a team of medical professionals equipped to conduct tests on any person

India, Norway sign first joint initiative to combat marine pollution

In a bid to fight marine pollution, India Monday signed a letter of intent with the Norwegian government establishing the India-Norway Marine Pollution Initiative. The letter was signed by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) establishing the initiative with the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a statement from the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) said. "In January, 2019, the Indian and Norwegian governments agreed to work more closely on oceans by signing an MoU and establishing the India-Norway Ocean Dialogue during the Norwegian Prime Minister's visit to India in January," it said. The joint initiative was signed by Anil Kumar Jain, Additional Secretary, MoEFCC, and Nils RagnarKamsvag, Norway's Ambassador to India. The statement from the EAC-PM said his is the first joint initiative under this new partnership and the India-Norway Marine Pollution Initiative will combat marine pollution, which is one of the fastest growing ...

Inclusive development central to sustainable development: Vice President

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Monday said that inclusive development is central to sustainable development for which he stressed the need for "unparalleled collaboration among all nations."Expressing his concern over the unprecedented scale of environmental degradation and its drastic consequences, Naidu called upon all nations to "collaborate and cooperate in an equally unparalleled manner to ensure sustainable development."He said: "Inclusive development is central to sustainable development. It also encompasses sustainable agriculture, sustainable mobility solutions, sustainable urbanization, sustainable energy security and clean energy, sustainable waste management, sustainable efforts in wildlife conservation and sustainable green innovations."Addressing the World Sustainable Development Summit 2019, organised by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), here, Naidu said that India's traditional practices reflected a sustainable lifestyle and the Vedic philosophy of India ..

Gadkari launches projects worth more than Rs 3,400 crore in Bihar

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Monday launched national highways and waterways projects worth more than Rs 3,400 crore during his day-long visit to East Champaran and West Champaran districts of Bihar. Gadkari, who holds road transport and highways, and shipping, water resources, river development and Ganga rejuvenation portfolios, also addressed the concluding ceremony of a three-day farmers' conclave in Motihari, the district headquarters of East Champaran. The Union minister began his visit from Bagaha in West Champaran, where he inaugurated and laid foundation stones for projects worth Rs 366.62 crore, which included two road overbridge (ROB) approach roads for National Highway 28, an official release said. He also laid the foundation stone for a 300 km national waterway from Balmiki Nagar in Bagaha to the confluence of river Gandak and Ganga in Hajipur. At Motihari, Gadkari launched projects worth Rs 2,540 crore which included widening of an 83.24 km-long stretch on National ...