Page 512 - Environment

Fund constraints delaying BCT road construction: Arunachal min

The completion of the Balipara-Charduar-Tawang road approved by the Centre ten years back is running behind schedule due to fund constraints and the delay in obtaining forest clearance, the Arunachal Pradesh Assembly was informed today. The road being executed by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), that leads to Tawang, is the life line for East Kameng, West Kameng and Tawang districts. Responding to a question raised by senior BJP MLA Japu Deru during Question Hour, Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein said as per information received from the BRO authorities, the main reason for the delay in completion of the road was due to meagre fund allocation by the Centre and the delay in forest clearance for a particular stretch of the road. "The forest clearance for this stretch has been received in 2016 and finalization of land acquisition at many stretches including Dirang by-pass and Jung Town has been made. The road is now planned to be completed by December 2021 for which .

Satya Tripathi appointed asst secretary-general and head of New York Office of UN Environment agency

Veteran Indian development economist Satya S Tripathi has been appointed as the assistant secretary-general and head of the New York Office of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) by UN chief Antnio Guterres. Tripathi, who will succeed Elliott Harris of Trinidad and Tobago, has since 2017 served as Senior Adviser on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at UNEP. A development economist and lawyer with over 35 years of experience, Tripathi has worked for the United Nations since 1998 in Europe, Asia and Africa on strategic assignments in sustainable development, human rights, democratic governance and legal affairs, spokesman for the Secretary-General Stphane Dujarric told reporters here yesterday. Tripathi was previously the Director and Executive Head of the United Nations Office for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries Coordination in Indonesia, as well as for the United Nations Recovery Coordinator for the USD 7 ...

Millions in India may face nutritional deficiencies due to CO2 rise: Study

Millions of Indians are at the risk of becoming nutrient deficient by 2050, as rising levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) are making staple crops such as rice and wheat less nutritious, according to a study. Researchers at Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health in the US found that rising CO2 levels from human activity could result in 175 million people worldwide becoming zinc deficient and 122 million people becoming protein deficient by the middle of this century. The study, published in the journal Nature Climate Change, also found that over one billion women and children could lose a large amount of their dietary iron intake, putting them at increased risk of anaemia and other diseases. It found that India would bear the greatest burden, with an estimated 50 million people becoming zinc deficient. As many as 38 million people in India are at the risk of becoming protein deficient, and 502 million women and children becoming vulnerable to diseases associated with iron deficiency, the ..

Plan afoot to install floating solar panels in dams in Maha

A state-run agency in Maharashtra has come up with a plan to install solar panels in the backwater of two dams to generate electricity. Jayakwadi dam, located in Aurangabad district of Central Maharashtra, and Ujani dam in Solapur district of Western Maharashtra, will be the sites of the solar power generation project, an official said today. The Marathwada Statutory Development Corporation (MSDC), a body formed by the state government, has come up with a plan to erect floating solar panels in the backwater of the two dams falling under its jurisdiction. A study in this regard is in an advanced stage at the Ujani dam, while the Jayakwadi dam was later added to the project, he said. "The Jayakwadi dam, like Ujani, has widespread backwater, which can be used for installing floating solar panels for power generation. "There is ample free space at the tail-end of the dam, which we are planning to use for (erecting) solar panels," Bhagwat Karad, chairman of MSDC, told ...

Equinor explores floating wind turbines to power North Sea oilfields

STAVANGER, Norway (Reuters) - Norway's Equinor said on Tuesday it is considering whether to build a pioneering offshore wind farm with floating turbines to supply electricity to two North Sea oilfields as part of a strategy to curb greenhouse gas emissions.

Air pollution may affect cognitive skills

Besides harming physical health, long-term exposure to air pollution can also affect cognitive skills, especially in elderly men, claims a study.

Traffic noise makes birds age faster

Traffic noise may accelerate ageing and reduce the lifespan of birds, a study has found. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Germany and North Dakota State University in the US investigated the effect of traffic noise on the telomere length of offspring Zebra finches. Telomeres are caps on the ends of chromosomes that protect genes from damage. Shortening of telomeres indicates accelerated biological ageing. Scientists found that zebra finches that were exposed to traffic noise after they had left the nest had shorter telomeres at 120 days of age than Zebra finches that were exposed to noise until 18 days post-hatch (before they had left the nest) and whose parents were exposed to traffic noise during courtship, egg-laying, and nesting. Finches exposed to noise after leaving the nest also had shorter telomeres than those which had not been exposed to traffic noise at all. "Our study suggests that urban noise alone, independent from the many other aspects of city

Haryana to get 47% of water from Lakhwar Dam: Khattar

Water issues in Haryana will get "resolved" after the state starts getting 47 per cent of the allocated water supply from the Lakhwar Dam in Uttarakhand. Chief ministers of six states are set to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Centre on the construction of the long pending dam project on Tuesday.Speaking on the issue, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said, "The state of Haryana will be allocated 47 per cent of water from the dam, and the rest 53 per cent will be given to the five other states. I firmly believe that the water-related issues in the state can be addressed once we start getting the allocated percentage of water from the dam."Besides Khattar, the five other chief ministers who will sign the MoU include Uttarakhand Chief Minister TS Rawat, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur.Khattar further said that the people of ...

Air pollution leads to lower verbal, math scores: Study

Long-term exposure to air pollution significantly impacts cognitive abilities, leading to steep reduction in verbal and math tests scores, a study conducted in China warns. The findings, published in the journal PNAS, imply that the indirect effect of pollution on social welfare could be much larger than previously thought, the researchers said. "Long-term exposure to air pollution impedes cognitive performance in verbal and math tests," said Xiaobo Zhang, a senior research fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) in the US. "The damage on cognitive ability by air pollution also likely impedes the development of human capital," said Zhang, who is also a professor at Peking University in China. While the health consequences of air pollution are well known, few studies have examined its impact on cognitive abilities. The study, with a sample size of nearly 32,000, examined the relationship between cognitive test scores and short- and long-term air pollution ...

Merino Group inaugurates Haryana's first open access solar plant

Merino Panel Products Ltd. (MPPL) on Tuesday announced the launch of a 5.5 MegaWatt captive open access solar power plant in Hisar.Commissioned by Sunsure Energy, the plant was inaugurated by group chairman C. L. Lohia. This is the first captive solar power plant in Haryana to deliver power under the open access mechanism.MPPL will draw more than 9 million units (kWh) of electricity from this plant every year for consumption in its manufacturing unit in Bahadurgarh, Haryana.Not only is this plant first of its kind in terms of the power delivery model, it is also the first to use single-axis tracking at this scale (5.5 MW) in the State of Haryana. This design enables the plant to deliver up to 15% more energy than the more common fixed-tilt plants.In a recent order, Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC) has waived all transmission and distribution charges on Solar Open Access plants, thus, making this a very well timed investment for MPPL."In the Merino Group, we are now ...

Scientists discover hidden deep-sea coral reef in US

Scientists have discovered a giant deep-sea coral reef system off the coast of the US state of South Carolina.

Merino Group inaugrates Haryana's first open access solar plant

Merino Panel Products Ltd. (MPPL) on Tuesday announced the launch of a 5.5 MegaWatt captive open access solar power plant in Hisar.Commissioned by Sunsure Energy, the plant was inaugurated by group chairman C. L. Lohia. This is the first captive solar power plant in Haryana to deliver power under the open access mechanism.MPPL will draw more than 9 million units (kWh) of electricity from this plant every year for consumption in its manufacturing unit in Bahadurgarh, Haryana.Not only is this plant first of its kind in terms of the power delivery model, it is also the first to use single-axis tracking at this scale (5.5 MW) in the State of Haryana. This design enables the plant to deliver up to 15% more energy than the more common fixed-tilt plants.In a recent order, Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC) has waived all transmission and distribution charges on Solar Open Access plants, thus, making this a very well timed investment for MPPL."In the Merino Group, we are now ...

MCFL gets green nod for Rs 1,547-cr expansion project in Karnataka

Mangalore Chemicals and Fertilizers (MCFL) has received green clearance for Rs 1,547-crore expansion-cum-modernisation of its fertiliser plants in Karnataka, a senior government official said today. The company's proposal is for energy improvement of ammonia and urea plants, expansion of DAP/NPK plant and Poly Carboxyl Ether (PCE) plant at the existing premises in Panambur in Mangalore. "The environment clearance has been given by the nodal ministry of environment to MCFL's proposed project," the official said. The green signal has been given to the project subject to compliance with certain conditions. The estimated cost of the project is Rs 1,547 crore, the official said. The MCFL complex is spread in an area of 192 acre. The proposed developments/facilities are planned within the existing premises. The company's proposal is to increase production capacity of ammonia from 2,47,500 tonnes per annum (TPA) to 3,28,500 TPA, urea from 4,29,000 to 5,69,400 TPA, DAP and NPK fertilisers ...

UN: China's African swine fever outbreak could cross borders

The UN's Food and Agriculture Organization is warning an outbreak of African swine fever in China could jump the border to neighbouring countries in Southeast Asia or the Korean Peninsula. The FAO said in a news release today that outbreaks have been reported in four different Chinese provinces. It said the distances between each outbreak of up to 1,000 kilometers mean the virus could spread to other Asian countries. African swine fever poses no direct threat to humans but threatens to devastate China's crucial pork industry. China is the world's biggest pork producer, accounting for about half the world's population of swine at around 500 million head. China has culled more than 24,000 pigs and imposed strict quarantine and disinfection efforts in hopes of stamping out the virus.

Centre signs MoU with 6 states for Lakhwar Yamuna basin project

Union Water Resources Minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) here with six states for the construction of the Lakhwar multi-purpose project in the upper Yamuna basin to deal with water crisis.

Heavy rains lash Gurugram, traffic hit

Heavy rains hit Gurugram on Tuesday, leading to the disruption of road traffic and paralysed normal life.

Justice Kurian Joseph sings at event for Kerala flood relief

As the rain-battered Kerala is reeling under the aftermath of a devastating flood, Supreme Court Judge Kurian Joseph on Monday sang at a cultural event in Delhi to raise funds for the rehabilitation of people in the southern state.The programme was attended by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra and many other top court and Delhi High Court judges.Addressing the audience here, Justice Misra said, "Some may feel that this is a celebration because there are certain performances, but I would like to say this is a consolidated effort of finding the energy to raise contribution for a noble cause."Justice Joseph sang a Gospel song by Charles Albert Tindley 'We shall overcome someday', along with playback singer Mohit Chauhan who played the guitar.As many as 357 people lost their lives so far, with the state incurring a loss of Rs 19,512 crore due to the deluge. The flood-ravaged state has received financial help from various states, Central government, organisations and individuals.

Satya Tripathi appointed Asst Secretary-General & Head of New York Office of UN Environment agency

UN Secretary General Antnio Guterres has appointed veteran Indian development economist and UN official Satya S Tripathi as Assistant Secretary-General and Head of the New York Office of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Tripathi, who will succeed Elliott Harris of Trinidad and Tobago, has since 2017 served as Senior Adviser on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at UNEP. A development economist and lawyer with over 35 years of experience, Tripathi has worked for the United Nations since 1998 in Europe, Asia and Africa on strategic assignments in sustainable development, human rights, democratic governance and legal affairs, spokesman for the Secretary-General Stphane Dujarric told reporters here yesterday. Tripathi was previously the Director and Executive Head of the United Nations Office for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries Coordination in Indonesia, as well as for the United Nations Recovery Coordinator for

Indus Water Treaty provided framework for resolving disputes on water use: UN Dy Secretary-General

The 1960 Indus Water Treaty between India and Pakistan has survived disputes between the two countries and provided a framework for resolving disagreements over water use, a top UN official has said. UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, addressing the High-Level Panel on Water Diplomacy in Stockholm yesterday, said that water can represent a source of cooperation, shared growth and mutual support. She, however, warned that getting caught up in water-war rhetoric will be a mistake for the international community. "When we examine history, we see that cooperation over water can prevail over conflict over water. Through water diplomacy, sometimes known as hydrodiplomacy', neighbouring states can be reminded of the benefits of cooperating around water resources, she said, adding that water, if fairly shared, can become a confidence-building measure. Such confidence-building measures are urgently needed in many of the current conflict areas, Mohammed said. The 1960 Indus Water ...

Indian appointed UN Assistant Secretary-General; will head NY environment office

Development and environment expert Satya S. Tripathi has been appointed an assistant Secretary-General and will head the UN Environment Programme's New York office.