Page 534 - Environment

Shyam Rao Shirke: The man who makes tea from nullah-emitted gas stove

Shyam Rao Shirke, a mechanical contractor who patented production of bio-CNG from sewage sludge, has shared how his initiative became functional."I collected water from drains and made mini 'collector' to collect water bubbles, used a drum to make a gas holder. When tested, system was functional. I connected it to a gas stove and made tea," Shirke said in an interview to ANI.Sharing that Chhattisgarh Science and Technology gave him money to take it to the next level, Shirke said he built and installed it in a nullah."In three days enough gas was collected. It was installed in a house where food was prepared for 4-5 months," the mechanical contractor said."Scientists told me my paper has been sent to higher authorities. It had already been 2 years hence, I had forgotten about it. Yesterday I came to know Modi ji (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) has mentioned my invention in his speech," he added.Sharing his ordeal, Shirke said he had no financial assistance."People from Municipality ...

Uttar Pradesh's huge plantation drives: But where is the space?

Huge plantation drives ordered by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and his predecessor Akhilesh Yadav have prompted green activists to remark that these are "paper trees to be found only in government files."

Exclusive: Britain's Quercus pulls plug on $570 million Iranian solar plant

OSLO (Reuters) - British renewable energy investor Quercus said it will stop building a 500 million euro ($570 million) solar power project in Iran due to recently imposed U.S. sanctions on Tehran.

Leopard cub enters Maha home, dozes off beside two children

In a strange occurrence, a leopard cub managed to make its way underneath the hem of a mosquito net inside which two children were sleeping and dozed off beside them till their mother got alerted to its presence early today in Maharashtra's Nashik district. The incident happened in Dhamangaon area of tribal-dominated Igatpuri taluka in the district, the official said. Forest Circle officer Gorakshyanath Jadhav said that the three-month-old cub may have entered the house of Manisha Barde under the cover of darkness when she opened the main door early today morning. "At around 5:30am today, Barde found the leopard cub sleeping beside her two children on the ground inside the mosquito net. She carefully took the children out of the net without disturbing the leopard. She then raised an alarm which alerted other villagers," said Jadhav. Jadhav said that a team of forest officials arrived at Barde's house and rescued the leopard and brought it to the department's local ...

India defers levy of safeguard duty on solar cells

The Indian government will not insist on payment of safeguard duty on import of solar cells for the time being in deference to an interim order passed by the Orissa High Court, a Finance Ministry official said on Tuesday.

Praveen Kumar Singh takes over as Director (commercial) of PFC

State-owned Power Finance Corporation (PFC)today said its Executive Director (Projects) Praveen Kumar Singh will take over the role of Director (Commercial) on August 10, 2018. Singh has worked in various units of Projects Division in PFC for over 24 years, a PFC statement said. Earlier, he had also worked with BHEL and CII for over 9 years. Singh did his B Tech in Electrical Engineering from IIT-BHU and M Tech in Energy & Environment Management from IIT Delhi. Singh has been representing PFC in various committees of the central government. He also served as the nominee director on the board of several private power companies.

India's July palm oil imports drop 33 percent as costs rise - trade body

MUMBAI (Reuters) - India's palm oil imports slumped 33 percent in July from a year earlier to 550,180 tonnes as higher duties and a depreciating rupee made imports more expensive, a leading trade body said on Tuesday.

China finds polymetallic sulphide deposits in Indian Ocean

China's unmanned submersible Qianlong 2 has found polymetallic sulphide deposits in the sea bed of western Indian Ocean after operating for 257 hours in nine separate underwater missions and covering 654 km of the water body, a state-run media reported here today. Chinese research vessel Xiangyanghong 10 reached Zhoushan in East China's Zhejiang province on Sunday after 250 days in the Indian Ocean, where Chinese scientists surveyed the distribution of polymetallic sulphide for the first time, covering southwest and northwest region of the water body. The autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) operated for 257 hours in nine separate underwater missions and covered 654 km, the Global Times quoted from the statement of China's Ministry of Natural Resources. The AUV discovered polymetallic sulphide, a mineral resource produced from seafloor hydrothermal activities, the report said. Deep seabed polymetallic sulphide contains iron, copper, zinc, silver, gold and platinum in variable ...

Pakistan Army plants 2 million trees

The Pakistan Army has simultaneously planted 2 million trees in a campaign aimed at increasing greenery across the country, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) announced on Tuesday.

Brazil's farmers dump sugar for soy as trade war boosts Chinese demand

ITAÍ, Brazil (Reuters) - Last year, Brazilian farmer Gustavo Lopes sized up his sugarcane plantation against his soybean fields.

Rains subside in Himachal

Rains started subsiding in Himachal Pradesh on Tuesday a day after downpours and flashfloods left a trail of destruction.

Earth mini-moons may provide testing grounds for space missions

Earth's mini-moons - small asteroids temporarily captured in the planet's orbit - could used as test-beds for research and commercial space activities in the future, say scientists. These small and fast-moving visitors have so-far evaded detection by existing technology, with only one confirmed mini-moon discovery to date. The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), which is currently under construction will verify their existence and track their paths around our planet, presenting exciting scientific and commercial opportunities, according to study published in the journal Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Science. "Mini-moons can provide interesting science and technology testbeds in near-Earth space. These asteroids are delivered towards Earth from the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter via gravitational interactions with the Sun and planets in our solar system," said lead author Robert Jedicke, based at the University of Hawaii in the US. "The challenge lies in finding ...

'Past space weather may help avoid future threats'

Data from past space weather may help us better understand the future cosmic events and plan for any potential threats they may pose to Earth, scientists say. Space weather can disrupt electronics, aviation and satellite systems and communications, said researchers at the University of Warwick in the UK. This depends on solar activity, but as this is different for each solar cycle, the overall likelihood of space weather events can be difficult to forecast, they said. The researchers charted the space weather in previous solar cycles across the last half century. They discovered an underlying repeatable pattern in how space weather activity changes with the solar cycle, according to the study published in the journal Space Weather. The Sun goes through solar cycles around every eleven years, during which time the number of sunspots increases to the maximum point (the 'solar maximum'). More solar activity means more solar flares, which in turn can mean more extreme space weather at ...

Odisha minister and MLA oppose water aerodrome in Chilika lake

An Odisha minister and a BJD MLA have opposed the Centre's proposal to set up a water aerodrome in the Chilika lake to promote tourism. The opposition followed an in-principle approval by the union government to a proposal for setting up of five water aerodromes, including one at the Chilika lake, in the country. "We are opposed to such a proposal. We'll draw the chief minister's attention towards such destructive idea," the state Revenue Minister Maheswar Mohanty, who hailed from Puri district, said yesterday. The Lake spread over Puri, Kharda and Ganjam districts of the state. The proposed water aerodrome will affect the bio-diversity of the Chilika lake, the largest salt water lake of Asia, said local MLA and senior BJD leader Sanjay Dasburma said. Dasburma urged the Centre to reconsider its decision to save the eco-system in the brackish water lagoon. He said setting up of a water aerodrome would affect livelihood of two lakh fishermen, migratory birds and ...

Baby crocodiles emerge from eggs in Bhitarkanika

Hatchlings of estuarine crocodiles have started emerging from the eggs and making their way to various water bodies inside the Bhitarkanika National Park in Odisha, a senior forest official has said. After coming out of the egg shells, the baby crocodiles were seen loitering aimlessly before hopping into the water bodies at the national park, he said. The emergence of hatchlings has commenced since the last three days and would continue for a fortnight, Divisional Forest Officer, Rajnagar Mangrove (wildlife), Forest Division, Prasanna Kumar Acharya, said. This natural phenomenon marks the culmination of the annual breeding and nesting season of the endangered salt water crocodiles. The forest department has engaged ground staff to keep a close watch on baby crocodiles to ensure that they do not fall prey to predators, he said. This year, forest personnel have spotted a record number of 101 nesting sites of the estuarine crocodiles in the national park, Acharya ...

Earth's oldest known evolved rocks result of asteroids

The oldest evolved rocks on Earth are the consequence of asteroids colliding with the the planet 4 billion years ago,an Australian research released on Tuesday revealed.

5 free saplings to farmers in Noida on eve of I-Day: Official

The Gautam Buddh Nagar administration will provide five free plants to farmers tomorrow as part of the Uttar Pradesh government's green initiative for the Independence Day, officials said. "All farmers across the district can visit their nearest mandi tomorrow to get five saplings free of cost," District Magistrate Brajesh Narayan Singh said. "The farmers can plant these saplings along their farms or around their houses. Besides the environmental benefits, the plants can later help them with wood and financially," he said, according to an official release. The initiative is part of the Yogi Adityanath government's for enhancing green cover across the state on the Independence Day. Principal Secretary, Agriculture, UP,Amit Mohan Prasad said the state government has decided to launched a massive afforestation drive on August 15. "The Agriculture Department and the Mandi Parishad have joined hands to provide every farmer with five saplings each on August 14 to be planted on the ...

Clean Ganga is our priority: Nitin Gadkari

Union Water Resources and Ganga Rejuvenation Minister Nitin Gadkari on Monday affirmed that cleaning the River Ganga was the top priority of the government.Addressing the media here, the Union Minister said necessary arrangements will be made to clean the river before the commencement of the Kumbh Mela in January next year."We will provide funds to Uttar Pradesh government to clean drains which pollute Ganga before Kumbh Mela near Allahabad and will send four dredgers for dredging Ganga from Allahabad to Varanasi. Clean and pure Ganga is our priority," Gadkari said after reviewing the cleaning work at the bank of the River Ganga here, along with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.Gadkari said the Centre is investing Rs 1700 crore in the dredging of Ganga and four river ports will be constructed in Allahabad.He further said that by November end, the Ministry will also launch Airboat services with a capacity of 40 people that will function between Allahabad and Varanasi.

2 cars in CM's convoy violated traffic rules 13 times: RTI

Two official cars of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis violated traffic regulations 13 times between January and August this year and a resultant fine of Rs 13,000 was yet to be paid, an RTI plea filed by a local resident has found. The Mumbai traffic police, however, clarified that the Chief Minister's convoy was exempt from speeding regulations due to security considerations. The police also said that these challans of Rs 1,000 each are automatically generated by enforcement cameras that monitor speed of vehicles apart from other stipulations. City-based Right to Information activist Shakeel Ahmad had a filed a plea with the police seeking details of traffic violations by the CM's car between January and August. The traffic police, in its reply, stated that one car that was used to ferry Fadnavis had violated speed limits five times while another had crossed speed limits eight times between January 12 and August 12. The reply added that these instances were ..

Bengal CM lays foundation stone of Silicon Valley hub

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday laid the foundation stone of a Silicon Valley hub proposed to come up over 100 acres of land at New Town, a satellite city of Kolkata.