Page 204 - Environment
S Africa mine rescue halted with 20 trapped, six dead
South African rescuers said Friday that they had been forced to halt an operation to rescue about 20 people trapped in a disused mine, blaming disruption from workers who had not been paid. Six people died after trespassing into the Gloria coal mine near the town of Middelburg in the eastern province of Mpumalanga, police told AFP, updating the earlier death toll of five. The group went underground between Sunday and Wednesday to allegedly steal copper cables in the mine, which had been closed for several months. "We have been prevented from continuing with the recovery operations by a disgruntled group of people who have not been paid their salaries," Mike Elliot, who represents the administrators of the mine, told local media. "They refuse to allow us to continue with the recovery operations and that includes repairing the power to the mine, restoring the power to the fans so that we can put fresh air underground." He said some locals had attempted their own rescue ...
Centre announces mascot for COP-13 on conservation of migratory species
The Centre on Friday announced that the Great Indian Bustard (GIB) will be its mascot for the 13th Conference of Parties (COP) of the UN Convention on the conservation of migratory species (CMS) to be held in Gujarat next year.
Centre allocates Rs 59 cr for Asiatic Lion conservation in Gujarat
With the aim to protect and conserve the worlds last ranging free population of Asiatic Lions, the Ministry of Environment on Friday launched a three-year Asiatic Lion Conservation Project in collaboration with the state of Gujarat.
It's official! Noida-Gr Noida join Global SDG 2025 plan
Noida and Greater Noida on Friday officially accepted an invitation to participate in the prestigious Global Sustainable Cities 2025 Initiative, according to a statement. An acceptance letter was formally handed over to UNGSII chief Roland Schatz in the presence of UN Director General Michael Moller and leaders of other cities participating in the flagship programme at SDG Lab in Davos, Switzerland, the official statement said. On November 25, 2018, Noida and Greater Noida were invited to participate in this showcase 'race to sustainability' held in Noida. The twin cities are among the 25 global cities to become fully compliant with the sustainable development goals by 2025 under the UN Global Sustainable Goals (SDG) Cities initiative. The twin-cities, the only from India, will be competing in the University City's category. "The decision of the government of Uttar Pradesh was conveyed by B N Singh, the district magistrate of Gautam Buddh Nagar, after getting approval on the proposal .
UK university signs urban growth pact with Kolkata
The UK's prestigious University of Strathclyde has signed new agreements with the West Bengal government to tackle challenges of urban growth and development in Kolkata. The Scottish university's Institute of Future Cities, based in Glasgow, said its work focuses on cities as home to an ever-growing proportion of the world's population, which puts pressure on transport infrastructure, the environment and quality of life. The institute announced that it has signed agreements at the Bengal Global Business Summit with the University of Calcutta; the Department of Environment, West Bengal government; and Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCC&I) to look at the opportunities and challenges created by urban living. "We are delighted to be working in partnership with key government departments, influential businesses and leading academics to develop innovative solutions for the key issues for cities in India," said Richard Bellingham, Director of the Institute for Future ...
Delhi's air quality in 'moderate' category after rain, hailstorm
The overall air quality index in the national capital was in the 'moderate' category on Friday after heavy rains and hailstorm on Thursday washed away pollutants in the air, the authorities said. According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data, the overall air quality index (AQI) of the city was at 142, which falls in the 'moderate' category. It has improved significantly from Wednesday when it was in the 'very poor' category at 349. An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered 'good', 51 and 100 'satisfactory', 101 and 200 'moderate', 201 and 300 'poor', 301 and 400 'very poor', and between 401 and 500 'severe'. The CPCB said 30 areas in the national capital recorded 'moderate' air quality, while two areas had 'poor' quality air. None of the areas recorded 'very poor' or 'severe' air quality. The level of PM2.5 (particles in the air with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometres) was recorded at 64 and the PM10 level was at 145, it said. In the National Capital Region, Ghaziabad,
HC allows MSRDC to cut mangroves for Versova-Bandra Sea Link
The Bombay High Court Friday permitted the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) to cut around 2.99 hectares of mangroves for the construction of the Versova-Bandra Sea Link project. The 9.89-km long proposed sea link project would connect Bandra with Versova in western Mumbai. A division bench headed by Justice B R Gavai directed the corporation to obtain clearances from all authorities concerned, like the Coastal Regulation Zone authority, forest department and others, and file an affidavit within a week with all the permissions. The bench was hearing a petition filed by MSRDC, seeking permission to cut mangroves to carry out the project. MSRDC counsels Milind Sathe and Saket Mone said the proposed sea link project is of great public importance, which would reduce congestion on the Western Express Highway and the Western Line of the Mumbai Suburban Railway. "The project would develop an alternative environment-friendly public transportation system, which would ...
Waterways between Delhi and Prayagraj soon, says Union Minister Nitin Gadkari
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday said a detailed project report (DPR) has been prepared for connecting Delhi to Prayagraj through waterways.Speaking to ANI, Gadkari said: "Connecting Delhi to Prayagraj through waterways is one of my dream projects. People will be able to travel via a jetty, which will also help in reducing road traffic and air pollution."In an attempt to boost the tourism and employment sector, the Union Minister said: "We are bringing in ethanol-driven engines to run fiberglass boats. This will also provide a new opportunity for our fishermen community."Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Shipping and Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Gadkari also said that 'Hilsa,' considered as East Asia's most prized fish, can swim back up to Prayagraj in Ganga from the next monsoon. "This will help in boosting the employment opportunities for the fishermen in the state," he said.The navigational lock at Farakka is said to have been ...
Centre launches logo, mascot for COP-13 on migratory species to be held in 2020
The Centre Friday announced the Great Indian Bustard (GIB) as the mascot for the 13th UN Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species (CMS)(COP 13), scheduled to be held in Gujarat next year. The mascot was launched by Union Minister Harsh Vardhan, who also revealed that the bird has been fondly named by the ministry as 'Gibi'. Speaking at the launch, the minister said that the issue of migratory birds is very important and must be taken care of. "We have been taught since childhood to be compassionate towards birds and animals. Migratory birds are important and must be taken care of. I hope with time the efforts in wildlife conservation reach new heights," he said. The minister also launched the logo for the convention. The CMS COP-13, which has over 120 countries as participants, is a global platform for the conservation and sustainable use of migratory animals and their habitats and brings together the states through which migratory species pass. So far 12 COPs (conference ..
Elephant found dead in canal in Tirupur district
The carcass of an elephant was found in a canal at nearby Tirupur district early Friday, forest department sources said. The jumbo, while moving in search of water, could have lost its balance and fallen into the contour canal linked to the Thirumurthy Dam, they said. The pachyderm, seven to eight years old in appearance, had injuries on its head and the reason for the death could be ascertained only after autopsy, they said.
Centre allocates Rs 59 crore for Asiatic Lion conservation in Gujarat's Gir
In a bid to protect and conserve lions, identified as one of the endangered species by the government, the Ministry of Environment Friday launched a three-year Asiatic Lion Conservation Project in collaboration with the state of Gujarat, which is the last habitat of the big cat. The Rs 98-crore project, for which the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has allocated Rs 59 crores, spans three years -- 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21 -- will focus on better management of the lion habitat, disease control and veterinary care for them. While launching the project, Union minister Harsh Vardhan released an amount of Rs 17 crore to the Gujarat government for the implementation of the project aimed to protect over 600 lions in the state's Gir sanctuary in its first year. The minister assured the state that this project will be a model scheme in the times to come and would not be like a routine affair. "I am very happy that efforts are being made to conserve lions. It is
Tokyo strikes gold, silver and bronze with e-waste Olympic medals
All medals for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics will be made from metal collected by recycling electronic waste, games organisers said on Friday. Tokyo's organising committee in 2017 launched a project to collect assorted electronic waste -- including old smartphones and laptops -- from the public to collect metal for the medals. Recycled metal has also been collected from local Japanese businesses and industry. In a statement issued on Friday, organisers said the collection was expected to reach its goal and will end in late March. By November last year, municipal authorities had already collected 47,488 tonnes of discarded devices, with the public handing in another five million used phones to a local network provider. Organisers had set a target of 2,700 kgs (about 5,950 pounds) of bronze, 30.3 kgs (67 pounds) of gold and 4,100 kg (about 9,040 pounds) of silver. They hit the target for bronze last June, and by October had more than 90 percent of the gold and 85 percent of the silver. "It is
PM inaugurates circuit bench of Calcutta HC
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday inaugurated the long-awaited circuit bench of the Calcutta High Court and said it would help in providing speedy justice to the people of north Bengal. Pressing a button to unveil the plaque of the circuit bench, he said, "The long-term demand of the people of north Bengal has been met with the inauguration of the circuit bench as they will not have to travel to Kolkata for litigations." The bench will provide speedy justice to people of Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar in north Bengal, he said. Residents of these four districts will now have to travel less than 100 km instead of 600 km, he said. Modi also laid the foundation stone for the four-laning of the Falakata-Salsalabari section of National Highway-31 D. The 41.7 km-long section of National Highway falls in Jalpaiguri district and will be constructed at a cost of about Rs 1938 crore, he said. The project will reduce the distance from Salsalabari and Alipurduar to Siliguri by
UP purchases 82,825 MU of power till Nov in FY19: Minister
The Uttar Pradesh government on Friday said it has purchased a total of 82825.55 million units of power from various sources till November 2018 to meet its demand. "UP Power Corporation has purchased 82,825.55 million units of electricity from various sources till Nov 2018 to meet your demands. Previous year (2017-18), the corporation had purchased 119,051.44 million units," UP Energy minister Shrikant Sharma said while replying to a qustion in the state assembly. The question was raised by SP members Sanjay Garg and Parasnath Yadav. The minister said everyday power demand is between 11,000-14500 MW and there is availability of 14,250 MW from different sources. Replying to a separate question, Sharma said there is no provision of lodging FIRs to recover power bill payments. "There is no provision for lodging FIRs to realise pending power bills. FIRs were registered in cases of power theft and restoring of connections snapped due to power dues.
Odisha urges Centre to release Rs 3,654.41 cr for food subsidy
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has requested the Centre for release of food subsidy to the state for timely payment to farmers.
To tackle Delhi's air pollution, Lt Governor asks to optimise use of mechanical road sweepers
Delhi Lt Governor Anil Baijal Friday issued an advisory to the national capital's municipal corporations to optimise use of mechanical road sweepers to combat air pollution. According to the LG's office, the issue of air pollution has multi-dimensional aspects and the urban local bodies (ULBs) have an important role in tackling the menace. Baijal stated that one of the major contributors to air pollution in Delhi is Particulate Matter (PM) produced through re-suspension of road dust caused by moving traffic, the LG office said in a statement. The lieutenant governor stated one of the ways to remove this particulate matter pollution load from city's environment is through mechanical sweeping. "The LG advised all ULBs to initiate necessary action as per the available expert advice/third party audit report and ensure optimum utilisation of MRS (Mechanical Road Sweepers) in Delhi," the statement said. "The ULBs were also advised to carry out scientific assessment of requirement of ...
Hubble discovers mysterious dark storm on Neptune: NASA
The Hubble Space Telescope has uncovered a new mysterious dark storm on Neptune and provided a fresh look at a long-lived storm circling around the north polar region on Uranus, NASA said. Like Earth, Uranus and Neptune have seasons, which likely drive some of the features in their atmospheres, according to the US space agency. However, their seasons are much longer than on our planet, spanning decades rather than months, NASA said in a statement. The storm appeared during the planet's southern summer, the fourth and latest mysterious dark vortex captured by Hubble since 1993. Two other dark storms were discovered by the Voyager 2 spacecraft in 1989 as it flew by the remote planet, NASA said. Since then, only Hubble has had the sensitivity in blue light to track these elusive features, which have appeared and faded quickly. A study led by Andrew Hsu, an undergraduate student at the University of California, Berkeley in the US, estimated that the dark spots appear every four to six ...
India unlikely to achieve 100 GW solar power target of 2022
India is unlikely to achieve its target of 100 gigawatt (GW) solar electricity capacity as it faces short-term uncertainty due to imposition of various taxes, research and consultancy firm Wood Mackenzie said. India's installed grid-connected power generation capacity increased 4 per cent from January to October 2018 to reach 347 GW. Renewables accounted for 9.7 GW of the total increase of 13 GW, highlighting the significant investment flowing into the sector, it said in a note adding that India is, and will be, the third largest solar market globally in 2018 and 2019, respectively. "As bid prices stabilise and costs continue to drop, long-term development remains positive but still not sufficient to meet the 100-GW solar target by 2022," said Rishab Shreshta, solar analyst at Wood Mackenzie. "India faces short-term uncertainty due to the imposing of various taxes and levies on solar products, the cancellation of tenders and tariff renegotiations," he added. The year-on-year growth ...
Australian court rejects coal mine on climate grounds
An Australian court on Friday delivered a landmark ruling by rejecting plans to build a coal mine on the grounds it would worsen climate change. Chief Justice Brian Preston said a planned open cut coal mine in a scenic part of New South Wales state would be in "the wrong place at the wrong time". The ruling by the New South Wales Land and Environment Court was notable for citing not only local impacts of building the proposed Gloucester Resources mine, but also secondary "climate change impacts" of the eventual use of the coal. "It matters not that this aggregate of the Project's GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions may represent a small fraction of the global total," the justice said. "Not every natural resource needs to be exploited." The case was unusual in referring to the 2015 Paris Agreement and United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and calling climate scientists to testify. Will Steffen, a noted climatologist, told the court that Australia's average surface ...
Mosquitoes can hear up to 10 metres away
A new study, conducted by researchers at Cornell and Binghamton University now finds that mosquitoes can hear over distances much greater than anyone suspected.Their findings were published in the journal Current Biology.Scientists earlier believed that organisms require eardrums for long-range hearing, and that the feathery antennae with fine hairs that mosquitoes and some insects use to hear only worked at close distances of several centimetres (a few inches).However, a series of experiments has now provided neurophysiological and behavioural evidence that the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes - which transmit such diseases as yellow fever, Dengue, Zika, West Nile and Chikungunya viruses - can hear specific frequencies as far away as 10 meters (32 feet) or more.These frequencies overlapped well with the frequencies of female mosquitoes in flight as well as human speech.Speaking about the development, senior author Ron Hoy, said, "It's been known for quite a long time that male mosquitoes are