Page 570 - Environment

Animals may use muscles as an internal water source

Turns out, animals may be able to use their own muscles to get water when it's not available.Water is vital for life. But as our climate changes, the availability of water also changes, leaving animals with limited or unreliable supplies of this critical resource.The researchers at the Arizona State University looked into this concept by studying the effects of water deprivation on the reproductive efforts of female Children's pythons.Pythons, a medium-sized snake that reproduces during the dry-season in Australia, where natural water sources are extremely limited.They found that muscles play an important role in providing water to the body when none is available.During the study, the researchers paired pregnant Children's pythons with similarly sized non-reproductive females. During a three-week period when the snakes were pregnant, only half of the pairs had access to water. Reproductive females, both in the lab and the wild, don't eat during pregnancy and rely on internal reserves

Delhittes wake up to heavy rain, several areas waterlogged

Heavy rain lashed Delhi and its adjoining areas on Friday morning, leading to waterlogging and traffic jams in several areas.The national capital has been lashed with incessant rainfall since Thursday night.Delhi Traffic Police is also on constant watch to ease the traffic congestion due to the waterlogging. The Department is keeping the people updated on the traffic situation and the routes to avoid.Even though normal life has been affected in the city, the rainfall has brought respite to the national capital from the humidity it has been reeling under.

India-UK step up scientific cooperation

India and the UK today resolved to further intensify their cooperation in the areas of science and technology and global research programme on health, the two countries said. In a biennial meet on Science and Innovation Council between Science and Technology Minister Harsh Vardhan and UK's Minister of State for Science and Innovation, Sam Gyimah, the two sides expressed satisfaction at the human impact that existing cooperation through 600 projects supported by the Newton-Bhabha Partnership had brought in areas such as using technology to monitor maternal health and make water safe. "They signalled their commitment to a deeper relationship by jointly announcing four new awards worth Pounds 4.8 million under the civil nuclear energy programme and seven new awards worth Pounds 10.8 million under Phase 2 of the global research programme on health. "They also renewed a Memorandum of Understanding focusing on environmental challenges and another on arts and humanities," a statement by the

Record heatwave across Northern Hemisphere

From the Arctic Circle and Scandinavia to California, Japan and North Africa, an exceptional heatwave has been sweeping across the Northern Hemisphere for several weeks, setting record high temperatures and causing drought and wildfires. Meteorologists say the summer weather conditions are a result of climate change. "2018 is shaping up to be one of the hottest years on record, with new temperature records in many countries," said Elena Manaenkova, deputy secretary-general of the World Meterological Organisation (WMO). "This is no surprise," she added. "The heatwaves and extreme heat we are experiencing are consistent with what we expect as a result of climate change, caused by greenhouse gas emissions. "This is not a future scenario. It is happening now." The summer weather in the north of Europe has been especially unusual with the thermostat in the Arctic Circle hitting 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit). Record temperatures were reported in northern Norway at 33 C last ...

One-lakh fish seeds released into Beas river

Punjab Environment Minister O P Soni released one lakh fish seeds into the Beas river today as a part of the state government's commitment to further improve the aquatic ecosystem and environment within the water body. Accompanied by Baba Bakala-constituency MLA Santokh Singh Bhalaipur and Amritsar Deputy Commissioner Kamaldeep Singh Sangha, the minister took a boat ride for releasing the fish seeds. Talking to media persons on the sidelines, the minister said a fine of Rs 5 crore was imposed on a firm which had spilled molasses in the river. He said the mill was still closed. Soni said the need of hour was to sensitise the people for this cause, adding that the 'Tandrust Punjab' mission would act as a catalyst to save the environment. He assured that all-out efforts would be made to make the state's rivers pollution-free and clean. Twenty-lakh fish seeds will be released in the rivers by August 15, Soni added.

Two hours of heavy rains brings Lucknow to its knees

Two hours of downpour on Thursday evening brought the Uttar Pradesh capital to its knees, with most areas inundated with water and traffic snarl ups bringing the city traffic to a grinding halt.

Delhi Env minister calls for blanket ban on Chinese manja

Delhi Environment Minister Imran Hussain has called for a complete ban on the sale, production, storage and import of Chinese manja or the kite-flying threads made out of plastic or nylon. In a letter to Union Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan, Hussain said these sharp edged threads not only hurt birds but also children. "Additionally, users of non-biodegradable threads pose environmental hazard," Hussain said. There have also been instances of tripping of power lines and sub stations causing power interruptions. Calling for a complete ban on the sale, production, storage and import of kite strings made of plastic or nylon, Hussain said only cotton threads which are not sharp should be permitted. Earlier in the month, the Delhi government directed the departments concerned to strictly implement the ban on glass-coated threads or Chinese manja in view of large scale kite-flying in the city on the occasion of Independence Day and Raksha Bandhan. A complete ban on Chinese manja or any ..

Rains cripple Delhi: HC asks 'who is responsible?'

The Delhi High Court on Thursday came down heavily on the Delhi Government over the issue of crumbling infrastructure of the city due to the rains.Citing news paper reports, the High Court said, "Looking at newspaper photographs of Minto bridge flooded under water, did not seem like it's Delhi. It looked like a tribal area when we saw pictures of people being rescued from Minto road. Let's get organised. We want a composite plan. Whose responsibility is this?"At a time when the court took suo moto cognizance of water logging in the city, the Delhi government Counsel in its reply apprised the court that the existing drainage in the national capital is designed for certain capacityResponding to which the court questioned, "can we do something to increase the volumes?"Heavy rains lashed national capital earlier in the day. The incessant rains caused massive water-logging in several parts of the city and surrounding areas, resulting in traffic jams.

Gujarat govt announces urban sanitation policy

The Gujarat government today came out with an 'Urban Sanitation and Cleanliness Policy' for better management of solid and liquid waste in cities. Among other things, the policy aims at complete abolition of manual scavenging. Unveiling it, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said the policy seeks to streamline collection and disposal of all kinds of waste in cities and towns. A system to convert solid waste into fuel to generate "green energy" will be set up, he said. The policy also puts a thrust on recycling of drainage water, Rupani said, adding that it is line with the National Urban Sanitation Policy.

Tenth rhino dead in Kenya after disastrous transfer

A tenth critically endangered black rhino has been reported dead after a botched operation to move the animals to a new reserve in southern Kenya, the country's tourism minister said today. The one surviving animal from last month's attempt to transfer 11 rhinos from Nairobi and Lake Nakuru national parks to Tsavo East is in a critical condition and could also die after being attacked by lions. Tourism Minister Najib Balala, who had ordered detectives to investigate the fiasco, said at a briefing in Nairobi that several of the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) officials involved in the deadly operation had been suspended. "Yesterday the tenth rhino died. Also unfortunately the eleventh rhino has been attacked by lions yesterday. (It) was treated and so far we are monitoring that eleventh rhino," he said. "According to the inquiry team the cause of all the deaths was... multiple stress syndrome intensified by salt poisoning," he added, admitting there had been "negligence" by the transfer ..

India, B'desh Coast Guards conducting exercise on pollution

The Indian Coast Guard is conducting a bilateral table-top exercise on maritime pollution response with Bangladesh Coast Guard at the regional headquarters (North East) of the ICG here today. ICG (NE) commander Inspector General K S Sheoran said the two-day exercise, that began today, is being conducted in the backdrop of the MoU signed between India and South Asian Cooperation for Environment Protection (SACEP) approved by the Union Cabinet in May. The Bangladesh Coast Guard delegation was led by Captain M Ehsanullah Khan, Commanding officer, BCGS. "During the exercise, a scenario was developed wherein one Bangladesh flag oil tanker collided with an Indian flag vessel resulting into developing a hole in the vessel which led to discharge of huge heavy fuel oil into sea," he said. Officials of both the neighbouring countries participated in brainstorming for formulating actions to prevent the oil reaching the shore so that sensitive bio-reserve of Sundarbans could be ...

Taj protection: SC slams TTZ, asks what 'tamasha' is going on

The Supreme Court today deplored the Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ) authority on environment protection in and around the Taj Mahal asking it whether preservation of the iconic monument was a "tamasha" (drama) or a "joke". Terming the TTZ authority as "flop", a bench of justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta said the body has done nothing and "we would not have this problem if TTZ would have done its work". TTZ is an area of about 10,400 sq km spread over the districts of Agra, Firozabad, Mathura, Hathras and Etah in Uttar Pradesh and Bharatpur district of Rajasthan. When the court was told that TTZ authority has problem of infrastructure and was under-staffed, the bench shot back, "Is it our fault? What is this 'tamasha' going on. It is nothing less than a 'tamasha'. They (TTZ) are saying they do not have staffs. Will the Supreme Court recruit staff for them?" The bench asked TTZ chairman K Ram Mohan Rao, who was present in the court, as to whether he had written letters to the Uttar ...

Fruit bearing trees to be planted in Goa forests: Parrikar

The Goa government will plant fruit bearing trees in forest areas to prevent wild animals from invading human settlements in search of food, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar told the Legislative Assembly today. "As far as the Forest department is concerned, there are some problems that need to be resolved. One of them is wild animals entering human habitation. We have the issue of wild monkeys, wild boar and wild bison entering farms and destroying them," he told the House. "We are planning to plant fruit bearing trees in the jungle so that they dont stray into human settlement. Perhaps, because we have encroached on their land, so they are encroaching on our land," Parrikar said. He said that the state's forest policy would be redrafted once the national forest policy is in place. The CM informed the House that the state's forest cover had increased by 19 square kilometres as per latest reports. "We have a forest cover of 2,229 square kilometres which is 61 per cent of ..

Goa denies having talks with Karnataka over Mhadei water

Months after Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar's pre-election overtures to Karnataka BJP leader B.S. Yeddyurappa, expressing willingness to work out an amicable settlement to the Mhadei river water issue, Goa's Water Resources Minister Vinod Palienkar told the state assembly that no agreement or negotiation has taken place with the neighbouring state.

Ancient monuments amendment bill sent to select panel by RS

The Rajya Sabha today sent a bill to allow construction of public works within the 'prohibited area' of protected monuments to a select committee. A 'prohibited area' is 100 metres around a protected monument. Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Vijay Goyal proposed in the House that the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (Amendment) Bill should be sent to the select committee, which was approved by the House. The committee has been asked to submit its report on the bill by August 8. The members of the select committee include Ambika Soni, Jairam Ramesh, Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, Jaya Bachchan, K Ramesh, Madhusudan Mistry, Saroj Pandey, Sanjay Raut, S C Misra, Naresh Gujral and Kahkashan Perween. As per the Bill, the relevant central government department, that seeks to carry out construction for public purposes in a prohibited area, should make an application to the competent authority. It empowers the National Monuments Authority to consider an ..

Don't miss your date with century's longest Lunar Eclipse on July 27

If you missed the trilogy of supermoons earlier this year, the Lunar eclipse -- the longest of the 21st century -- set to occur on Friday, will offer you a rare celestial treat.

Goa mining: State got 1,487 cr through e-auctioning, royalty

Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar today told the state Legislative Assembly that the government had recovered Rs 1,487.91 crore from mine owners in the form of e-auctioning of ore and royalty payments on them. He was replying on cut motions moved by the opposition on the demand for grants of the Mining department. "The total loss estimated by the Public Accounts Committee due to illegal mining is Rs 4,000 crore. A panel of chartered accountants has put this figure at Rs 1,508.59 crore. The CAG has pegged it at Rs 1,922 crore," Parrikar told the House. He said that the government had recovered Rs 1,487.91 crore from mine owners and this included Rs 1,042.46 crore from e-auctioning and Rs 445.44 crore from royalty and other payments. Responding to demands to restart the mining sector in the state, Parrikar said that it was not an issue that could be solved by the state government alone. "To solve the issue, we will have to take it to the Centre," he said, adding that the

Govt to develop 17 road-cum-airstrips, says Gadkari

As many as 17 facilities that can be used as roads as well as airstrips are being developed in the country, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said today. The facilities are being developed under the ambitious Bharatmala project that mainly seek to strengthen roads network in the country. Gadkari told the Lok Sabha that several projects have been taken up under the Bharatmala project. One of the best things regarding backward areas and Rajasthan is that 17 road-cum-airstrips are being developed. These facilities would come up at places in the state where there is no airport in the vicinity of 300 kilometres, the Minister for Road Transport and Highways said during the Question Hour. Road would be closed for traffic at the time of landing and take-off of aeroplanes, he added. "When I talk about it (road-cum-airstrip), people think it is a dream and difficult to believe. I assure this House that whatever I am saying will happen for sure," the minister said. Projects for constructing 6,320 km .

Romania minister apologises over Auschwitz gaffe

A Romanian minister apologised today for having compared the incineration of dead pigs infected with African-swine-fever to the Auschwitz concentration camp. "I respect all the members of the Jewish community and clarify that I only wished to describe the difficult situation facing Romanian breeders due to the African swine fever," Agriculture Minister Petre Daea said in a statement. Daea said in a television interview Tuesday that in breeding grounds affected by the disease, "pigs are incinerated, it's extraordinary work, it's like Auschwitz". "I have never offended anyone. I just expressed my pain", said the minister, whose statements often cause confusion. The Israeli embassy in Romania expressed its "dismay and consternation at the affirmations of the Minister of Agriculture". "We hope, though, that such an association was made by Minister Daea due to the lack of detailed information on what was the Holocaust and Auschwitz, without the intention of dishonouring the memory of ...

Ready for discussion with those demanding separate north

Karnataka Chief Minister H DKumaraswamy today said he was open for a discussion on thedevelopment of North Karnataka, a day after some outfits called for a bandh on August 2 to press their demand for statehood for the region. The chief minister also invited those demanding a separate state for a meeting to discuss the issues concerning the region. "Do they have any information about thedevelopments in the last 60 to 70 years? Without getting anyinformation with some personal interests they are doing allthese things," Kumaraswamy told reporters here. He asked whether the discrimination has happened inthe last two months. "Do the people of north Karnataka feel let down after I assumed charge as chief minister and my government came to power? I'm ready to discuss it anywhere," Kumaraswamy said. "Those wanting to divide the state, why they are asking for this?...I'm ready to call for a public hearing or invite the organisations to Suvarna Vidhana Soudha (in Belagavi) for a .