Page 417 - Environment
Hussain releases latest satellite pics of north India; says crop residue burning at dangerous levels
Latest satellite images showed crop residue burning at "dangerous" levels, Delhi's Environment Minister Imran Hussain said Wednesday and asserted that it should be stopped immediately or the entire north India, including Delhi, would suffer serious health hazards. Hussain, who also released the latest NASA image of north India, asked the people of Delhi to minimise local pollution, while noting that there will be "zero tolerance" for garbage and crop residue burning. He also asked people to keep all construction material covered to stop dust re-suspension. The Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), which prescribes a set of measures to curb air pollution based on the Central Pollution Control Board's (CPCB) daily Air Quality Index (AQI), is already in effect in the national capital since Monday. "It is high time crop residue burning in fields must immediately be halted, failing which a serious health hazard awaits the entire northern India. "It is beyond any reasonable understanding as ..
EU, Bill Gates launch $115mn clean energy fund in Europe
The European Commission and Breakthrough Energy Ventures, an investment fund led by Microsoft Corporation co-founder Bill Gates, launched on Wednesday a joint project to foster innovation in the energy sector in order to tackle climate change.
Turkmenistan opens $3.4 bn petrochemical plant
Turkmenistan inaugurated Wednesday a $3.4 billion petrochemical plant as the Central Asian state seeks to both obtain greater value from natural gas and reduce its reliance on exporting it to China and Iran. The plant should produce 386,000 tonnes of polyethylene and more than 81,000 tonnes of polypropylene -- both used to make plastic -- by processing 5 billion cubic metres of gas per year, according to fuel and energy chief Myratgeldi Meredov. President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, who participated in the opening of the facility on the coast of the Caspian Sea, said it is part of the country's "extensive plans to diversify the Turkmen energy complex, to increase the economy's export potential by launching production of gas and chemical products that are in demand on the global markets." While Turkmenistan sits on the world's fourth largest gas reserves, its isolation means it has struggled to take full advantage of them. Its dependence on a few neighbouring countries as customers was
Delhi's air quality deteriorates to 'very poor' category for first time in season
Delhi's air quality for the first time this season deteriorated to the "very poor" category Wednesday, with several areas in the national capital nearing severe levels of pollution, according to the authorities. The overall Air Quality Index (AQI) of Delhi was recorded at 315, according to the Centre-run System of Air Quality Forecasting and Research. 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 401 and 500 "severe". On Wednesday, Anand Vihar recorded an AQI of 358, Dwarka Sector 8 376, ITO 295, Jahangirpuri 333 and Rohini 330, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). The PM10 level (presence in the air of particles with a diameter of less than 10 micrometres) in Delhi stood at 296 and the PM2.5 level was recorded at 139, according to the CPCB data. This is the first time this season that the air quality has deteriorated to the "very poor" category. Further deterioration
Centre sends ICMR team to Jaipur as Zika cases rise to 100
As the number of people infected with Zika virus rose to 100 in Rajasthan Wednesday, the Centre rushed an Indian Council of Medical Research team to the state to intensify vector control measures. Of the total affected people, 23 are pregnant women, said a health ministry official in Delhi, adding that the 20 new Zika cases confirmed Wednesday were from Jaipur and two neighbouring districts. "A team of experts from ICMR has reached Jaipur to change the insecticides which are being used in the city to kill mosquitoes that spread Zika, dengue, and chikungunya viruses as a part of the integrated mosquito management programme," the official said. Zika virus has been found in some mosquitoes taken as samples from Sindhi Camp and densely populated Shastri Nagar. Rajasthan additional chief secretary, medical and health, Veenu Gupta chaired a review meeting in Jaipur Wednesday and released updated figures of the infected cases. "Almost all Zika virus infected patients are healthy after ...
AAI plants over 40k saplings of herbal plants in 21 airports
The Airport Authority of India (southern region) planted over 40,000 saplings of herbal plants in 40 places, including 21 airports, as part of observing national ayurveda day Wednesday. The initiative was taken up under the 'Swachch Bharat, Swasth Bharat' campaign, which would see setting up of herbal gardens in airports and AAI buildings, a release said. The saplings were planted, resembling the AAI logo, between 1000 am-10.05 am in all the 21 airports of the southern region. In the city, the day was observed at the residential colony of the AAI in Kendriya Vidyalaya-Meenambakkam, radar station at Porur and at the airport operation area, the AAI release said. The ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) observes ayurveda day on October 17 to promote the Indian system of medicine and treatment.
Jewar Airport: Gautam Buddh Nagar admin sends land-acquisition proposal to UP govt
A proposal for acquisition of 1,334 hectares of land in Jewar for an international airport has been sent to the Uttar Pradesh government by the Gautam Buddh Nagar administration, officials said Wednesday. After examining the proposal, the state government would issue a notification under section 11A of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 for the acquisition of the land, District Magistrate (DM) Brajesh Narain Singh told reporters. A total of 5,000 hectares of land is to be acquired for the greenfield airport, proposed to be built at an estimated cost of Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000 crore. Once built, it will be the second airport in the National Capital Region (NCR), after Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport. For the first phase of the project, 1,334 hectares of land is required. As much as 1,239 hectares of land from six villages (Rohi, Dayanatpur, Parohi, Kishorepur, Ranhera and Banwari Baans), which ...
Guj HC to monitor steps taken to prevent lion deaths in Gir
The Gujarat High Court on Wednesday said it will monitor the progress on measures taken by the Gujarat government for safety and conservation of Asiatic lions in the Gir forest in the state. A bench of Chief Justice R Subhash Reddy and Justice V M Pancholi asked the state government to file periodic progress reports on construction of walls around open wells in the areas with lion population, and the measures taken to prevent lion deaths due to electrocution. Falling into open wells and electrocution after coming in contact with electrified fences installed by farmers (for keeping animals away) are two common causes of lion deaths in Gir. The high court also directed the state government to seek expert opinion about prevention of virus-related deaths among the big cats. The reports are to be filed in three months, while the next hearing will be on January 16. The court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by wildlife activist Biren Pandya and another PIL seeking ...
Centre sends ICMR team to Jaipur; Zika cases rise to 86
As the number of people infected with Zika virus rose to 86 in Jaipur on Wednesday, the Centre rushed an Indian Council of Medical Research team to the Rajasthan capital to intensify vector control measures. Of the total affected 86 people, 23 are pregnant women, said a health ministry official. "A team of experts from ICMR has reached Jaipur to change the insecticides which are being used in the city to kill mosquitoes that spread Zika, dengue, and chikungunya viruses as a part of the integrated mosquito management programme," the official said. Zika virus has been found in some mosquitoes taken as samples from Sindhi Camp and densely populated Shastri Nagar. On Tuesday, the Union Health Ministry directed the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to monitor the cases on a daily basis and urged people not to panic. Health Minister J P Nadda chaired a high-level meeting to review the activities for prevention and control of Zika virus and stressed the need to undertake exhaustive .
Religious trust will face action if banned plastic found on
Managements of temples and prayer places in Maharashtra will face legal action if the banned plastic items are found on their premises, the state government said Wednesday, as it moved forward to implement the ban in toto. State Environment Minister Ramdas Kadam also said the onus of not allowing plastic on their premises falls on the temples, mosques, churches and gurudwaras. "A trust managing a religious place will have to face legal action if the banned plastic (items) are found inside that religious place or on its premises," Kadam told PTI. The state government in March this year announced ban on the manufacture, use, sale, distribution and storage of plastic materials, such as one-time-use bags, spoons, plates, PET and PETE bottles and thermocol items. The government started enforcing the ban on a variety of plastic items from June 23. Kadam said some people are still using plastic despite the ban. He said the state government wanted to strengthen its deterrent ...
Alcoa to close 2 Spanish aluminium plants with job losses
MADRID (Reuters) - Alcoa said on Wednesday it would close two of its three aluminium plants in Spain with a combined annual production of 180,000 metric tonnes, resulting in the lay off of almost 700 workers.
Man dies in freak incident as country-made gun goes off
A man was killed in a freak incident when a countrymade gun, placed by tribal hunters, went off after he stepped on a rope tied to its trigger in a forest area in Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh, police said Wednesday. 35-year-old Srinivasa Reddy met with the tragic end when he was collecting flowers in the Kanumuru forest along with two others, they said. He had stepped on the rope tied to the trigger of the gun placed on a tree and facing down, resulting in his death. Police said the gun would have been placed on the tree by tribals to hunt wild boars.
Blooming early! Japan's famed cherry blossoms make unexpected appearance
The delicate blossoms of the cherry tree might be synonymous with the onset of spring in Japan -- except this year they're also blooming in autumn, a weather forecasting company said Wednesday. Experts told local media that the rare late blooms could be the result of this year's unusual weather, including a particularly active typhoon season. Weathernews, a meteorological firm, said more than 300 people across Japan had reported cherry blossoms were blooming in their neighbourhood, in a survey conducted last week. Local media spotted clusters of the famous pink and white blooms at several popular cherry blossom spots. Hiroyuki Wada, a tree doctor at the Flower Association of Japan, speculated that unusual weather patterns could be responsible for the blooms' surprise appearance. He told public broadcaster NHK that violent storms had stripped trees of their leaves, which usually release a chemical that inhibits blooming before spring. A series of unusually warm days after typhoons ...
ABB bags Rs 115 cr order from Indian Railways
Swiss power major ABB Wednesday said it has won an order worth Rs 115 crore from Indian Railways to supply traction transformers. The contract has been awarded by Diesel Locomotive Works, Varanasi, ABB said in a statement. These transformers are customized for the WAP-7 type electric locomotive. The 6,000 horsepower capacity locomotive is capable of hauling 24 coaches at speed of up to 140 km per hour. The project is part of the 'Mission Electrification' initiative of the Indian Railways, which aims to convert an additional 24,000 km of railway network from fuel oil to electrification. The mission also aims to enhance energy efficiency by adopting high quality equipment and facilitating the increased adoption of renewable energy in railway operations, it added. ABB said the transformers will be manufactured at its Vadodara facility in Gujarat. ABB claims its transformers power about half the world's electrical locomotives and train sets, and most train manufacturers and rail operators
Antarctic ice shelf 'sings' as winds whip across its surface: Study
Winds blowing across snow dunes on Antarctica's Ross Ice Shelf cause the massive ice slab's surface to vibrate, producing a near-constant set of seismic "tones" which could be used to monitor changes in the ice from afar, according to a study. The Ross Ice Shelf is Antarctica's largest ice shelf, a Texas-sized plate of glacial ice fed from the icy continent's interior that floats atop the Southern Ocean, said researchers at Colorado State University in the US. The ice shelf buttresses adjacent ice sheets on Antarctica's mainland, impeding ice flow from land into water, like a cork in a bottle, according to the study published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. When the researchers started analysing seismic data on the Ross Ice Shelf, they noticed something odd: Its fur coat was almost constantly vibrating. "It's kind of like you are blowing a flute, constantly, on the ice shelf," said Julien Chaput, a geophysicist at Colorado State University. To better understand the ...
Vyas valley villagers to reach winter homes via Nepal this year
With the trekking route on the Indian side under repairs, over 2,000 residents of the high altitude villages in Vyas valley will have to migrate to their winter abodes in the lower areas via Nepal this year. The Vyas Valley villagers will have to traverse about 2 km in Nepalese territory as the trekking route on the Indian side used by them normally is being repaired and is not in usable condition, SDM Dharchula RK Pandey said. Every year, the residents of these villages, mostly tribals, come down from the mountains to spend their winter in the warmer climes of the valley. The usual descending route in the Indian territory is damaged and cannot be used by load-carrying animals due to ongoing construction activities in that portion of the border, Pandey said. This year, the Vyas valley villagers will have to cross over into Nepal through a log bridge built over Kali river at Nazang and will have to travel for around 2 km through the neighbouring country to reach their temporary homes ..
China says safeguard measures on sugar imports in line with WTO rules
BEIJING (Reuters) - China's commerce ministry said on Wednesday its safeguard measures on sugar imports are in line with World Trade Organisation rules, in response to Brazil's opening of a consultation process at the trade body over Beijing's management of imports.
Grub infestation may be the fix to India's sugar problem its farmers do not want
WADWAL, India (Reuters) - India may have found a fix to its sugar problem but the answer will not make its cane farmers happy.
AP conserving power worth Rs 1,000 cr annually by energy efficiency
The Andhra Pradesh government is conserving 2,000 million units (mu) of power and saving about Rs 1,000 crore annually by promoting energy efficiency initiatives for the last three years, according to a senior state government official. Besides demand-side management, the state government has undertaken steps to install LED street lights, promote solar pumps in farm fields and supply LED bulbs and energy saving appliances at cheaper rates for domestic consumption. "We have made rapid progress in conserving energy. We have been able to save 2,000 mu annually for the last three years. This has helped to save about Rs 1,000 crore every year," the official told PTI. Under the energy efficiency programme, the state government has so far completed installation of 18 lakh street lights in both rural and urban areas. "Our aim is to complete 30 lakh LED street lights by December. No other state has made so much progress. In the entire country, about 68 lakh LED street lights have been ...
3 Indian organisations benefit from Disney Conservation Fund
Arulagam, International Fund for Animal Welfare and Panthera -- three organisations of the 76 to receive grants from the Disney Conservation Fund (DCF), work in India.
