Page 466 - Environment
Portugal: Centuries-old shipwreck found near Lisbon
Archeologists have found a centuries-old shipwreck off Portugal's coast near Lisbon, a local authority said on Saturday.Aboard the ship, that is believed to have sunk between 1,575 and 1625, divers found some interesting items including pepper, Chinese ceramics from the period, cowries and a type of shell used as currency for the slave trade in some parts of Africa at the time. The divers also found bronze cannons, engraved with the Portuguese coat of arms that are still featured in the Portuguese flag.Calling it discovery of the decade, Jorge Freire, project's science director, said that from a conservation perspective, both of the assets as of the ship itself, this discovery is of great patrimonial value, CNN reported.Judging by all the things that have been found on the ship, the officials are suspecting that the ship was coming into Lisbon from India.The shipwreck was discovered on September 3 as a part of an underwater investigation project. It was found 40 feet below the
Birla Carbon Spain to increase production to 95,000 tonnes
Birla Carbon Sunday announced investment of five million euros towards sustainability and energy efficiency projects to increase its production to 95,000 tonne per year from the current 80,000 tonne. This is in line with Birla Carbon's earlier announcement to support customers in growing markets, a release issued here said. Birla Carbon is the manufacturer and supplier of carbon black and a flagship business of the USD 44.3 billion Aditya Birla Group. "We are committed to investing in the future of our plants. While we are continuously innovating to ensure our products align to market needs, our technology teams are constantly working towards enhancing our processes to be more sustainable and efficient. Our announcement today, not only drives productivity higher but makes us more sustainable," Birla Carbon Chief Operating Officer John Loudermilk, said. The company's new stage has the challenge of increasing its production from 80,000 to 95,000 tonne creating ...
Supply position will meet demand for cotton: ICF
Indian Cotton Federation (ICF) Sunday expressed hope that the supply position would be able to meet the demand for cotton at the current spindlage in mills and prices would remain steady as of now. In view of normal monsoon, higher realisation compared to other cash crops, increase in Minimum Support Price, the farmers have shown more interest in cotton for the year 2018-2019. However, due to pink boll worm and pest attacks the volume of crop could be around 360 to 380 lakh bales (of 170 KG), ICF President J Thulasidharan said at ICF's 39th Annual General Meeting held here. "However, we need to leave a chance to other happenings in Agro climatic conditions," he noted. Thulasidharan also highlighted the requirements of the cotton sector such as standardisation of packing and need for bar coding cotton bales, and to improve irrigation system by using better conservative method, among others. Cotton being the seasonal crop, liberal finance at marginal interest should be ...
Pop-up habitats developed for Moon, Mars
Scientists have developed pop-up space habitats for future human colonies on the Moon and Mars, using a combination of origami techniques and digital weaving processes. MoonMars, a collaboration between the International Lunar Exploration Working Group (ILEWG), textile architect studio Samira Boon, and other research institutions, are transforming architecture plans for smart human habitats and research stations in space. "Origami structures made of textiles can be unfolded into a myriad of different shapes. They are lightweight. They can be easily deployed and re-used in different configurations and sizes for flexible spatial usage," said Anna Sitnikova, who leads the MoonMars project on behalf of the ILEWG. "Structures remain functional in changing circumstances, thereby extending their useable life-span," said Sitnikova. In the hostile environment of space, high-performance textiles and the flexibile nature of origami can provide unique architectural advantages. The angled facets ..
Encroachment on forest land can't be protected: Delhi HC
The Delhi High Court has said encroachment on forest land cannot be protected while refusing to direct the authorities not to demolish a five-decade-old temple, built on a forest land, in the capital. The court said it was clear from the averments made in the petition that the temple was constructed by encroachment and there was no reason to prohibit the forest department from recovering the land or demolishing the structure. "The assertion that the structure is an ancient temple is also inconsistent with the averments in the petition to the effect that the same was built in 1965. "In this view, this court finds no reason to interdict the forest department for recovering the said land or demolishing any structure thereon. It is now well settled that encroachments on forest land are not to be protected," Justice Vibhu Bakhru said while dismissing the petition filed by those managing the temple 'baba mohan ram ki kholi pracheen mandir'. The petitioner claimed that the temple was built ..
Nepal restores $2.5 billion hydropower plant contract to Chinese firm
KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Nepal's new government has reversed its predecessor's decision and has asked China Gezhouba Group Corporation to build the nation's biggest hydropower plant, an official said on Sunday, as it seeks to woo Chinese investment in its ailing infrastructure.
Australia kills four sharks after tourist attacks
Fourth large sharks have been killed in Australia after a woman and a 12-year-old girl were attacked at a popular Great Barrier Reef tourist spot. Both were still in hospital Sunday after being mauled in separate incidents just a day apart last week at the Whitsunday Islands. Drum lines, which use baited hooks to catch the predators, ensnared four tiger sharks, one 3.7 metres (12 feet) long and the others each between two to three metres, a Fisheries Queensland spokesman said Sunday. "While sharks of this size are potentially very dangerous to humans, it is unclear if they were responsible for injuries caused to two swimmers," he said. The latest shark to be caught "has been humanely euthanised and will be taken further out to sea for disposal." The spokesman said it was clear "there are a significant number of active sharks in local waters and people are urged not to swim". The drumlines were to remain in place over the next week. Shark attacks are very rare in the Whitsundays -- a ..
Sewage infra in 7 states as part of Ganga rejuvenation at a cost of Rs 18K cr: Gadkari
As part of efforts towards Ganga rejuvenation, a task top on Centre's priority, the government is making strides towards developing a sewage infrastructure by implementing 115 treatment projects in seven states at an estimated cost of Rs 18,000 crore, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said Sunday. This apart, massive projects for river front development and boosting cargo transportation by developing the National Waterways 1 on Ganga are also on, Gadkari said. "To make Ganga 'nirmal' and 'aviral', government is making strides and as part of the drive is implementing 115 sewage treatment projects in Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Haryana and Delhi at a cost of Rs 17,876.69 crore," the transport, river development and Ganga rejuvenation minister, Gadkari, told PTI in an interview. He said these 115 projects for sewage infrastructure are part of 240 projects for overall development of the river. Of these, 27 have been completed and work in 42 is in progress while 7
Swiss vote on regional 'burqa ban', GMOs
A referendum in Switzerland's northeastern St Gallen region Sunday is expected to usher in a "burqa ban", making it the second Swiss canton to prohibit all face-covering garments in public spaces. At the same time, voters across Switzerland are being asked to cast their ballots on initiatives aimed at boosting local farming and promoting "ethical standards" in food production, including turning a moratorium on genetically modified crops into a full-out ban. St Gallen is expected to follow the example of the southern canton of Ticino, where a law was introduced two years ago that appeared to be aimed at burqas and other Muslim veils. St Gallen lawmakers late last year adopted a text which stipulated that "any person who renders themselves unrecognisable by covering their face in a public space, and thus endangers public security or social and religious peace will be fined." The law passed the regional parliament with support from the populist right and centre parties. Now the issue ...
More global summits in line to bring surge of climate actions
Just over a week after commitments by investors, business communities and governments to step up actions at the Global Climate Action Summit, another two global dialogues both in New York next week, were the line to push actions towards bolder solutions to tackle climate change, experts said on Sunday.
ONGC gets 'green nod' for Development Drilling of 72 wells in
: The Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, has given the green signal to state-owned ONGC limited for Additional Development Drilling of 72 wells in the Krishna-Godavari basin. The Oil and natural gas PSU submitted a proposal to the Environment Ministry for environmental clearance (EC) to the project, related to the additional Development Drilling of 72 wells in East Godavari, West Godavari and Krishna districts of Andhra Pradesh, with an investment outlay of Rs 792 crore. "The EAC, after deliberations, recommended the project for grant of environmental clearance, subject to compliance of terms and conditions as under," the EAC said in the minutes of meeting held on August 30. The standard Terms of Reference for the project was granted on January 29, 2016 and public hearing was conducted by the State Polution Control Board at West Godavari, Krishna and East Godavari Districts on January 20, April 7 and May 3 this
Jharkhand: Threatened by Naxals, villagers fear to return home
After being coerced by Naxals to to leave their homes, villagers in Gurabanda fear to return due to persistant threats by the ultras.Scores of farmers left their village after they were threatened, their houses were demolished and farmlands were captured by Naxals."Naxals demolished my house in 2004, they even tried to kill me. To save my family I moved out of that village and now we do not have any permanent place to live in. We have our own farmland still we work on others," said a man displaced from his village.When asked if the Naxals consider themselves as supporters of villagers, one of the locals said that "They killed 65-70 people, how do we believe that they wouldn't kill us?"The police have however, refuted the presence of Naxals in the area. "There are no Naxal in that area, but if villagers are afraid they can come to us and we will help. The villagers can easily move back to their homes," the police said.Even the Member of Parliament from the constituency, Bidyut Baran ...
Despite ODF status, rural Guj still needs lakhs of toilets
Months after being declared as 'Open Defecation Free' (ODF), Gujarat still has requirement of lakhs of toilets in rural households, according to a reply to an RTI query. In Dahod, as of May-June this year, 1.40 lakh families are yet to get toilets under the 'Swachh Bharat Mission- Gramin' scheme, the district administration said in reply to the application filed by RTI activist Hitesh Chavda. Besides, 17,874 families in Vadodara, 26,687 in Chhota Udepur, 14,878 in Kutch, 34,607 in Sabarkantha, 27,180 in Patan, 19,526 in Mahisagar and 21,320 in Amreli districts do not toilets at their homes. Officials say that such requirements are expected to come up every year because of the branching out of families into separate units. The Gujarat government spent Rs 2,893 crore on construction of over 32 lakh toilets since 2014, after the Union government's scheme was launched. Of this, Rs 1,778.96 crore was sanctioned by the Centre, the state rural development department said in ...
Japan's hopping rovers successfully land on asteroid Ryugu
Two robotic rovers have become world's first to successfully land on the surface of an asteroid, the Japanese space agency JAXA said, sharing images captured by the probes. On September 21, the small compact MINERVA-II1 rovers separated from the Hayabusa2 spacecraft. The MINERVA-II1 consists of two rovers, Rover-1A and Rover-1B. "We have confirmed both rovers landed on the surface of asteroid Ryugu. The two rovers are in good condition and are transmitting images and data," JAXA said in a statement. Analysis of this information confirmed that at least one of the rovers is moving on the asteroid surface. MINERVA-II1 is the world's first rover to land on the surface of an asteroid. This is also the first time for autonomous movement and picture capture on an asteroid surface. MINERVA-II1 is therefore 'the world's first man-made object to explore movement on an asteroid surface'. A colour image taken immediately after separation from the spacecraft was shared by the space agency. ...
Centuries-old shipwreck found off Portugal's coast
Archeologists have found a centuries-old shipwreck off Portugal's coast near Lisbon, authorities said.
Japan successfully lands robot rovers on asteroid's surface
The Japanese space agency said that it has made history by successfully landing two unmanned rovers on an asteroid.
Australia kills two sharks after tourist attacks
Two large sharks have been killed in Australia after a woman and a girl were attacked at a popular Great Barrier Reef tourist spot. Both victims -- one of them just 12 years old -- were still in hospital Sunday after being mauled in separate incidents earlier this week at the Whitsunday Islands. Drum lines, which use baited hooks to catch the predators, ensnared two tiger sharks -- one 3.3 metres long, a Fisheries Queensland spokesman said. "While sharks of this size are potentially very dangerous to humans, it is unclear if they were responsible for injuries caused to two swimmers this week," he said. "The shark carcasses will be towed well out to sea for disposal." The spokesman added that the drumlines would remain in place over the next week to reduce the risk to swimmers. Shark attacks are very rare in the Whitsundays -- a collection of spectacular tropical islands in the heart of the Barrier Reef, with the last encounter reported to be eight years ago, according to national ...
10th GRIHA summit to focus on green, liveable housing
Fostering robust partnerships and seeking a collective and collaborative approach towards green, accessible, functional and liveable housing will be what experts from GRIHA Council and UNSW Sydneys School of Built Environment will focus on at the 10th Griha Summit being held here December 10-12.
Japanese supply ship heads to space station after delays
An unmanned Japanese space capsule is headed to the International Space Station filled with cargo including food, experiments and new batteries. The craft was launched Sunday at 2:52 am local time from the Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan. It will take four-and-a-half days to reach the space station. The launch was delayed for about two weeks because of bad weather and a mechanical problem. The delay has led NASA to postpone two space walks to install the six lithium-ion batteries until new crew members arrive next month. They will replace the aging nickel-hydrogen batteries for the station's electric power, enabling an extension of its operations. The supply ship is a 9-metre (30-foot) long cylinder that will be retrieved by the space station's robotic arm. It is named Kounotori, which means white stork. The 5,500 kilograms of cargo includes racks and equipment for experiments and an experimental re-entry capsule to try to demonstrate a novel technology to bring back ...
'By 2022, there won't be any kutcha house in Chhattisgarh'
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh assured that by 2022, there won't be any kutcha house in the state.Addressing the gathering in poll-bound Chhattisgarh on Saturday, Singh said, "By 2022, there won't be any kutcha house in Chhattisgarh. Everyone will have a roof over their head."The Chief Minister also said that electricity will be provided to every household in the state under the Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana or the Saubhagya scheme.Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana - 'Saubhagya' scheme was launched by the Prime Minister on September 25, 2017. Under Saubhagya, free electricity connections to all households (both APL and poor families) will be provided in rural areas and poor families in urban areas.There are around 4 crore un-electrified households in the country which are targeted for providing electricity connections by December 2018.Chhattisgarh is scheduled to go to polls later this year with Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Mizoram.