Page 463 - Environment
Common herbicide may be killing honeybees: Study
The world's most widely used weed killer may also be indirectly causing death of honey bees, according to a study. Researchers from The University of Texas at Austin in the US found that honey bees exposed to glyphosate, lose some of the beneficial bacteria in their guts and are more susceptible to infection and death from harmful bacteria. Scientists believe this is evidence that glyphosate might be contributing to the decline of honey bees and native bees around the world. "We need better guidelines for glyphosate use, especially regarding bee exposure, because right now the guidelines assume bees are not harmed by the herbicide. Our study shows that's not true," said Erick Motta, who led the study published in the journal PNAS. Since glyphosate interferes with an important enzyme found in plants and microorganisms, but not in animals, it has long been assumed to be nontoxic to animals, including humans and bees. The study shows that by altering a bee's gut microbiome -- the ...
Ancient Mars may have supported underground life
Ancient Mars had an ample supply of key ingredients for microbes to thrive under its surface for millions of years, a study has found. Lacking energy from sunlight, subterranean microbes on Earth -- known as subsurface lithotrophic microbial ecosystems (SliMEs) -- often get their energy by peeling electrons off molecules in their surrounding environments. Dissolved molecular hydrogen is a great electron donor and is known to fuel SLiMEs on Earth. "We showed, based on basic physics and chemistry calculations, that the ancient Martian subsurface likely had enough dissolved hydrogen to power a global subsurface biosphere," said Jesse Tarnas, a graduate student at Brown University in the US. The study, published in Earth and Planetary Science Letters, shows that radiolysis, a process through which radiation breaks water molecules into their constituent hydrogen and oxygen parts, would have created plenty of hydrogen in the ancient Martian subsurface. The researchers estimate that hydrogen
StanChart to stop financing new coal-fired power stations
TOKYO (Reuters) - Standard Chartered said on Tuesday it will stop financing new coal-fired powerd stations, joining the growing ranks of lenders and financiers ending support for the dirtiest fossil fuel amid rising concerns about climate change.
SC extends deadline till Nov 15 for UP govt to submit vision document on protection of Taj Mahal
The Supreme Court Tuesday extended till November 15 the time for Uttar Pradesh government to submit a vision document on protection of Taj Mahal. The Uttar Pradesh government told the apex court that it would be difficult to declare entire Agra as a heritage city. The top court asked the state government to consider declaring certain portions of the area surrounding Taj Mahal as heritage. The state government informed the court that an Ahmedabad-based Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology was assisting it on declaring areas surrounding Taj Mahal as heritage.
Anti-Pak protest in PoK against exploitation of water resources
Residents of Muzzafarabad on Tuesday launched a large-scale protest against Pakistan for diverting water from Neelum River to fulfil the requirements of Punjab Province, leaving the region dry.Venting anger over Islamabad's move, Jameel Maqsood, leader of United Kashmir People's National Party, said, "They have diverted the water of Neelum River to utilize it for the project (Neelum-Jhelum power project), which has left the river dry. This has worsened the situation in the region. Lower riparian areas like Muzaffarabad city are facing acute shortage of water. People are compelled to leave their homes and property due to this. This is the real concern of the people. They are saying that this is an illegally occupied territory of Pakistan and it cannot build a project which is not serving any purpose when people will be left deprived of their basic rights, they are bound to take to the streets."The locals residing in the area also raised their voices against the proposed construction of
New method to turn plant waste into fuel
Scientists have created a ready-to-use recipe to turn sawdust into gasoline, which can help existing gas plants generate greener fuel. Researchers at Katholieke Universiteit (KU) Leuven in Belgium have made it possible to convert the cellulose -- the main component of plant fibres -- in the sawdust into hydrocarbon chains. These hydrocarbons can be used as an additive in gasoline. The resulting cellulose gasoline is a second generation biofuel, said Bert Sels from KU Leuven. "We start with plant waste and use a chemical process to make a product that is a perfect replica of its petrochemical counterpart," said Sels. "In the end product, you can only tell the difference with fossil gasoline using carbon dating," he said. In 2014, the researchers built a chemical reactor in their lab, with which they can produce cellulose gasoline on a small scale. "But the question remained how the industry can integrate this and could produce it in large quantities," Sels said. Researchers identified .
Sunshine in Punjab, Haryana after 3 days of rain
Giving a break to three days of continuous rainfall, sunshine greeted people in most parts of Punjab and Haryana on Tuesday.
Nepal, China to discuss hydro projects
The first Nepal-China joint steering committee (JSC) meeting to discuss development of hydropower projects will be held here later in September, a Nepali official has said.
Australian PM proposes national holiday to celebrate indigenous history
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Tuesday proposed establishing a national day to celebrate the country's indigenous history.
49,000 cusecs water to be released from Pong dam Tuesday: Official
More than 49,000 cusecs of water will be released from the Pong Dam in Himachal Pradesh's Kangra district on Tuesday afternoon as the water level in the dam is nearing the danger mark, an official said. Bhakra Beas Management Board's (BBMB) Assistant Design Engineer (ADE) Arun Bhatia said more than 49,000 cusecs of water from the dam would be released at 3 pm Tuesday. Bhatia told PTI that reservoir level or water level of Pong Dam, also known as Beas Dam, reached at 1386.84 feet-mark on Monday at 11 pm against the danger level of 1390 feet. "49,000 cusecs of water would be released on Tuesday afternoon," he added. There is no need to panic, he said. "However, the residents of low-lying areas in HP and neighbouring Punjab should remain vigilant. The authorities have also been asked to make all kinds of preparations," he added.
5 dead, 9 missing in floods in western Mexico
At least five people are dead and searches continue for others after a 5-foot wall of floodwater crashed through the streets of a town in western Mexico, state officials said Monday. The interior secretary of Michoacan state told the Milenio television network that five bodies have been found so far. Pascual Sigala said emergency personnel were still working to find nine people reported as missing. Earlier, a state official who was not authorized to be quoted by name said the dead include two children. Unusually heavy rainfall swelled the Cutio River and sent a wave of water into the town of Periban on Sunday. Michoacan Gov. Silvano Aureoles said "searches are underway for the people who are still missing." Soldiers searched huge piles of debris left in the streets. The muddy surge was so strong it carried away vehicles and trees. Periban is located in a forested, mountain zone known for its avocado groves.
Will Katla Volcano erupt any time soon?
Nobody knows as to whether or not Iceland's dormant Katla Volcano will erupt or not.Katla last erupted in 1918.According to Sputnik, geologists and volcanologists from Iceland and Britishlogists have found at that a cone located beneath the glaciers on 4961 feet Katla is rapidly filling with magma and has a potential to emit around 24 kilotons, of carbon dioxide in its surroundings.Local media reported that the volcanic eruption might surpass the explosive power than its counterpart Eyjafjallajokull volcano which exploded back in 2010. Since it is estimated that the former has three times more magma capacity than the latter.According to Evgenia Ilyinskaya, a research fellow at the Institute of Geophysics and Tectonics at Leeds University, took to Facebook and gave out a warning that a close eye needs to be kept on the volcano as the findings by the scientists might point towards the inevitable.Iceland's meteorological office has not ascertained that the danger level in accordance with
HP rains: Cabinet reviews rehabilitation, rescue operations
The Himachal Pradesh Cabinet headed by Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Monday reviewed the rehabilitation and rescue operations being undertaken by the state government in view of the incessant and heavy downpour in the state from the last few days.Around 120 stranded persons have been rescued from Koksar in Lahaul-Spiti, 23 from Marhi and 31 from Rohtang (Kullu).Apart from this 33 persons stranded at Phojal in Kullu were also rescued. Out of these, 21 persons were rescued by the Indian Air Force and 14 persons were rescued by adopting other means.As many as 45 vehicles have been retrieved from Koksar in Lahaul-Spiti. Around 600 students and teachers were shifted from Jawahar Navodaya Vidyala Chamba and 100 students from Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya Mehla in Chamba district. In addition to this, three families of Rakh in Chamba district were also shifted to Public Works Department (PWD) Rest House.The Cabinet was also apprised that 12 tourists from Sikkim state have also been ...
Leaders back climate change urgency in New York
Heads of state and government on Monday kicked off "Climate Week," held every year on the margins of the UN General Assembly, by urging world leaders to act urgently to reduce global warming. With Poland hosting the COP 24 climate summit in December, UN climate chief Patricia Espinosa called on nations to unite behind limiting global warming to the less than two degrees Celsius enshrined in the 2015 Paris accord. "Nations are not living up to what they promised," she said, making no mention of the Trump administration's decision in June 2017 to pull out of the Paris agreement. "What nations have currently pledged under Paris will bring the global temperature up about three degrees by 2100," she said. Emergency climate talks in Bangkok earlier this month did not make sufficient progress, she said. "We must therefore work harder than ever between now and Cop 24 to complete this work." Following a recent climate conference in San Francisco, California Governor Jerry Brown, whose state ...
No information on whereabouts of Sandesaras: CBI
Amid media reports that Chetan and Nitin Sandesara, both directors of Gujarat based pharma company Sterling Biotech and wanted in an over Rs 5,000 crore bank fraud case may have fled the country, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday said that it has "no information" about their whereabouts.
Centre to spend Rs 1.5 lakh cr to improve NE highways: Gadkari
Union Road and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari here on Monday announced that the government will spend Rs 1.5 lakh crore for improving national highways in the northeastern states of the country.
Two lions die in Gujarat's Gir forest, toll since Sep 11 rises to 13
A lioness and a cub died on Monday due to illness in Gujarat's Gir forest taking the death toll of big cats in the region to 13 since September 11. The lioness was rescued on Sunday by a forest department team engaged in screening sick lions, while the cub had been shifted to a rescue centre from Gir's Dalkhania range on Monday, forest department officials said. Earlier, carcasses of 11 lions, including cubs, were found between September 11 and 19. Nine of those were recovered from Dalkhaniya range and two from the Jashadhar range of Gir forest. In a release issued Monday, the state Forest department said a chip was found fitted on the deceased lioness, which suggested that it was the same one that had been released last month after being provided medical treatment. The death of the lion cub, the department claimed, was natural and as 70 per cent of lion cubs fail to reach adulthood. Around 100 lions die annually, with the death rate peaking during monsoon. On an average, 31 to 32 ...
Gujarat forms 64 teams to look for sick lions in Gir
The Gujarat Forest Department has set up as many as 64 teams to scan the vast Gir forests to identify sick and weak lions and immediately shift them to rescue centres in view of the recent deaths of 11 big cats in the region.
Defence India Startup Challenge deadline extended
The last date for submission of applications to the Defence India Startup Challenge, being organised by the Defence Innovation Organisation, has been extended till October 31, the Defence Ministry said on Monday.
Refusal to renew consent bad in law, Sterlite tells NGT panel
Mining major Vedanta on Monday told a panel here, constituted by the National Green Tribunal, that the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board's refusal to renew consent to operate its Sterlite copper plant at Tuticorin was bad in law, according to sources. The panel, headed by former Chief Justice of Meghalaya High Court, Tarun Agrawal, heard the over one-hour-long submission by senior counsel P S Raman for the plant at its sitting here. Journalists were barred from entering the premises of the NGT's Southern Bench, where the panel held its sitting. The counsel for the company assailed the April 9 order of the Board and claimed that the reasons given for not renewing consent were either "erroneous" or "false," and thus bad in law, the sources told PTI. Further, the counsel pleaded that the recommendation of the pollution control board's inspection team was renewal for five years and without even rejecting that report, they refused renewal of consent to operate on April 9, they said. Amid .