Page 40 - Environment

IIT-M studying methods to extract methane from 'gas hydrates'

The Indian Institute of Technology-Madras Tuesday is working on techniques to extract methane from 'gas hydrates' stashed within the country. The move is aimed at making natural gas locally available and reducing its imports. It is believed that energy content of methane occurring in hydrate form is immense, possibly exceeding the combined energy content of all other known fossil fuels, a statement from the institute said. Gas hydrates, crystalline water-based solids, are promising methane sources present in shallow sediments along the country's continental coastlines. There is nearly 1,900 trillion cubic meters of methane gas lying untapped in these hydrates within the waters of the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone, it said. "Controlled extraction of methane from gas hydrates can not only meet the enormous demand for energy all over the world, but can also reduce detrimental geological release of greenhouse gas into the environment from these sources," professor of ...

Punjab seeks Centre's help in foodgrain storage

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intervention for permission to construct covered godowns for scientific storage of foodgrains to address the acute shortage of covered storage space in the state.

Karnataka's Irrigation minister meets Nirmala Sitharaman, seeks co-operation in key projects

DK Shivakumar, Karnataka's Water Resources Minister, met Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman here on Tuesday to seek cooperation in Krishna Water Disputes issue and other projects, including Mekedatu balancing reservoir.The Mekedatu balancing reservoir-cum drinking water project, to be constructed across the Cauvery river basin, has been at the centre of controversy between the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.Last year, Karnataka government got approval from Central Water Commission (CWC) for preparing a detailed project report for the proposed multipurpose project at Mekedatu on which Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly passed a resolution, urging the CWC to withdraw the permission given to Karnataka.

Ireland to ban sales of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030

Ireland has announced it will ban the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030 as part of its new climate change plan. The government hopes to have 950,000 electric vehicles on Irish roads by then, supported by a network of charging stations. The measure is one of 180 proposals covering business, construction, transport, agriculture and waste management intended to put Ireland on a path to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. "Our approach will be to nudge people and businesses to change behaviour and adapt new technologies through incentives, disincentives, regulations and information," said Prime Minister Leo Varadkar. "Our objective... is to transition to a low-carbon and climate-resilient society. Our call to action in the fight to save our planet," he added. Dublin hopes to increase its level of electricity generated from renewable energy from 30 percent of the total mix to 70 percent by 2030. The "Climate Action Plan" also includes the elimination of non-recyclable ..

World's first 'Green concrete' trial begins in Sydney

In a world's first, 'green' concrete" which is made using industrial waste from coal-fired power stations and steel manufacturing is being used in a road trial in Sydney.

Goa Dy CM warns firm engaged in garbage tussle with civic body

Goa Deputy Chief Minister Vijai Sardesai Tuesday threatened to dump garbage at the doorstep of a private firm which has been overseeing waste management at a dumping yard in Margao near here. Private firm Fomento Green, which has a contract to handle garbage in Sonsodo waste dumping yard, has been embroiled in a dispute with the Margao Municipal Council, following which the former refused to accept garbage at the yard. Speaking at a function in south Goa, Sardesai said, "I am the people's representative here. The company must accept garbage from the civic body or else we will dump it at the company's doorstep," he claimed.

Camera traps to study snow leopards in Himachal's national park

In a first scientific study of its kind, the state Wildlife Department, in partnership with the Nature Conservation Foundation, is laying camera traps to study the elusive and highly endangered snow leopard in the alpine and high-altitude regions of the Great Himalayan National Park -- a Unesco World Heritage site.

Crocodile strays into farm in Gujarat; rescued

A huge crocodile strayed into an agricultural field at a town in Gujarat's Vadodara district, triggering panic, an official said Tuesday. Farmer Sanjay Patel heard a dog barking near his farm in Itola village here around Monday midnight and when he went there, he was shocked to see an around 4.6 feet-long crocodile near some papaya trees in the field. Patel immediately contacted a wildlife rescue team which rushed to the spot and caught the reptile within half- an-hour. "The animal might have ventured into the farm from the nearby Dhadhar river which has a large number of crocodiles," a member of the rescue team said. The rescuers later handed over the crocodile to the forest department. The reptile was released in the Vishwamitri river here on Tuesday morning, range forest officer A A Makrani said.

Farmer attempted suicide before Maharashtra minister

A farmer attempted to commit suicide by consuming poison in the presence of State Energy MoS, MM Yerawar's in Buldhana on Saturday.The man identified as Ishwar Kharate told ANI that he took the step as the government had failed to provide electricity connection for his household."My grandfather had applied for electricity connection in 1980 but we still do not have it despite our constant efforts we are not getting the connection," he said.He also said that he had notified the local administration about his intention to commit but they did not bother. "So I drank the poison before the minister."Responding to Bawankule's complaint, Deepak Devhate, Buldhana Electricity Department official, admitted that the farmers' family had applied for the connection in the 1980s but said that Kharate failed to pay for the demand note."Sriram Kharate who had applied for connection in 1980 died in 2006 we had sent a demand note to Ishwar Kharate but he failed to pay the amount for it, if he pays the .

IIT Madras developing new techniques for methane extraction

The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) on Tuesday said its researcheers are developing new techniques for extracting methane from natural gas hydrates.

Heathrow publishes 'masterplan' for controversial third runway

London Heathrow, Europe's busiest airport, on Tuesday issued plans for its controversial third runway, including the rerouting of rivers and roads, as it sought also to allay environmental concerns. Britain's government last year finally approved the third runway after decades of acrimonious debate. "Heathrow today unveils its preferred masterplan for expansion," said a statement from the airport, which is owned by a consortium led by Spanish infrastructure giant Ferrovial. The detailed plan includes "tough new measures" to reduce emissions, limit noise and curb night-time flights. The M25 motorway that rings London will be rerouted under the new runway, while river corridors will also be diverted. "We're working with those impacted residents, communities and local authorities to identify appropriate mitigation measures," the plan said. "New river corridors will be created to channel the existing rivers and wildlife away from construction sites and the new runway." Construction is ...

Va Tech Wabag secures order for Rs 1477 cr from State Mission for Clean Ganga - Uttar Pradesh

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Australia begins first-ever trial to create roads through industrial waste

Australia's most populous city Sydney is conducting the world's first-ever trial to construct roads using industrial waste from coal-fired power stations and steel manufacturing, an initiative that can lower the pollution and greenhouse gases emitted during the production of concrete for laying roads. Concrete contributes 7 per cent of all greenhouse gas emissions and in 2018 the world produced about 4.1 billion tonnes of cement, which contributed about 3.5 billion tonnes of Carbon dioxide, according to researchers. "Geopolymer" made from fly ash and blast furnace slag, generates just 300 kilograms of CO2 per tonne of cement, compared with the 900 kilograms from the traditional cement production, they said. It also saves the equivalent of the electricity used by an average household every two weeks. Once the trials are successful, researchers from the University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, and the Cooperative Research Centre for Low Carbon Living (CRCLCL) will use it to create .

Farmer gulps poison before minister for power connection

Upset over being denied an agricultural power connection in his fields since 1980, a farmer recently attempted to commit suicide by consuming poison in the presence of the Maharashtra Energy Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule.

No more 'VIP stay' at Corbett Tiger Reserve

Corbett Tiger Reserve authorities have decided that it will not entertain references from VIPs requesting stay and safari facilities among others either for themselves or for their relatives and friends, instead these requests would be reported to their higher authorities. The move comes as the Corbett administration has been receiving a large number of communications, through explicit use/display of official position/state symbols, for arranging safari, stay, other private arrangements of various highly placed authorities, which is otherwise a purely personal activity and has nothing to do with discharge of any official duties of the authorities concerned. On many occasions, even cases of friends/other known ones have been referred to the authorities at Corbett and sometimes the matter has been tried to be pursued in coercive /intimidating manners, according to a recent official order. "This is nothing but brazen abuse of official position for seeking favour for personal ends. Such ..

How is unrecycled plastic affecting environment?

Recycling plastic waste can significantly help the environment. But how much of the plastic we use is being recycled and in the right way? How much of it is ending up in the environment or landfills and are causing newer problems that are difficult to fix?A new report finds that we are often drinking a credit-card size amount of plastic along with water every week.This new finding highlights that a number of plastic bottles that people drop on the streets of New York aren't always broken down or made into some new product. Thus, these end up lying around the globe around the beaches or even in someone's backyard, according to Live Science.The US is known to ship over one million tons of plastic waste overseas every year. Out of that one million, most of the plastic used to land in China for recycling, until it put a stop to the import of plastic waste in 2017.Moving away from China, much of the plastic waste is now redirected to some of the poorest nations including Bangladesh, ...

Seoul: 2 North Korean fishermen defect to South Korea

South Korea says two of four North Korean fishermen who were rescued off a boat drifting in South Korean waters will remain in the country after expressing their desire to defect. Seoul's Unification Ministry on Tuesday said the two other fishermen were sent back to North Korea through an inter-Korean village. The defections by the two fishermen come at a delicate time in bilateral relations between the Koreas. North Korea has significantly reduced its dialogue and engagement with South Korea since February, when a high-stakes nuclear summit between leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump collapsed over disagreements on exchanging sanctions relief for disarmament.

Sun's history hidden in Moon's crust: NASA

The Moon contains clues to the ancient mysteries of the Sun, which are crucial to understanding the development of life, according to NASA scientists, including one of Indian origin. Around four billion years ago, the Sun went through violent outbursts of intense radiation, spewing scorching, high-energy clouds and particles across the solar system. These growing pains helped seed life on early Earth by igniting chemical reactions that kept Earth warm and wet, said researchers at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in the US. These solar tantrums also may have prevented life from emerging on other worlds by stripping them of atmospheres and zapping nourishing chemicals, they said. Just how destructive these primordial outbursts were to other worlds would have depended on how quickly the early Sun rotated on its axis. The faster the Sun turned, the quicker it would have destroyed conditions for habitability. This critical piece of the Sun's history has bedeviled scientists, said Prabal .

Diversifying crops will mitigate climate impact in India: Study

Diversifying the crops in India can be an effective way to adapt its food-production systems to the growing influence of extreme climate change, said US researchers including Indian-origin.

Climate change affects major crops in India: Study

India's grain production is vulnerable to climate change, say scientist who have found that the yield of the country's rice crop can significantly decline during extreme weather conditions. Researchers from Columbia University in the US studied the effects of climate on five major crops in India: finger millet, maize, pearl millet, sorghum and rice. These crops make up the vast majority of grain production during the June-to-September monsoon season -- India's main grain production period -- with rice contributing three-quarters of the supply for the season. Taken together, the five grains are essential for meeting India's nutritional needs, researchers said. The study, published in the journal Environmental Research Letters, found that the yields from grains such as millet, sorghum, and maize are more resilient to extreme weather. Their yields vary significantly less due to year-to-year changes in climate and generally experience smaller declines during droughts. However, yields from