Page 59 - Environment
Himachal CM seeks power for diversion for forest land
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Saturday met Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar here and sought special powers for the state to allow diversion of forest land up to five hectares for development projects.
People's happiness country's real wealth: Mungantiwar
Maharashtra minister Sudhir Mungantiwar Saturday said "capita happiness" was as important as "capita income" when it came to evaluating the progress of a country. Speaking at a meeting with owners of multiplexes and single-screen theatres and film personalities on the state government's plan to plant 33 crore trees, Mungantiwar, also minister of forests, claimed satisfaction and happiness in people was the real wealth of a nation. The meeting, attended by MLA Mangalprabhat Lodha, Principal Secretary (Forests) Vikas Kharage among others, also saw Mungantiwar emphasise the need to plant more trees. He asked theatre owners to play videos encouraging tree plantation during every film show. "While evaluating the progress of the country, the concept of capita happiness is as important as capita income. Satisfaction and happiness in people must be considered real wealth," he told the gathering. "If there are no forests, then there is no joy in life. Hence, forest is life," he ..
Himachal CM seeks tribal status for Hatti community
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Saturday met Union Home Minister Amit Shah here and sought granting of tribal status to the Hatti community.
Malaria cases ahead of monsoon;some bureaucrats feel the sting
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has launched a special drive to destroy mosquito breeding spots ahead of monsoon, a senior official said Saturday. What perhaps prompted the civic body to expedite action is the instances of some state government bureaucrats, including an additional chief secretary, and a legislator, getting infected with the vector-borne disease. Cases of some residents of a housing complex in posh Nariman Point area in south Mumbai suffering from possible malarial fever also came to light in the last two weeks. "This outbreak of malaria has forced our insecticide department to intensify its drive to locate the mosquito breeding spots and to destroy them," the official said. The drive has so far covered the areas around the complex in Nariman Point and the spots near the metro rail construction site. The official, however, denied reports that the spots near the metro rail site have become the breeding grounds for anopheles mosquito--the ...
Talking about energy-efficient things to friend, neighbor can alter climate outcomes
While there have been many predictions about climate change and ways to address the same in the headlines lately, talking to a friend or neighbour about an energy-efficient things and taking initiatives at an individual level could do a much better job in reforming the situation, according to a new study.The findings were published in the Journal 'PLoS Computational Biology'."Human behaviour affects natural systems including climate, and that climate systems, in turn, affect behaviour," said Madhur Anand, senior author."But social processes are often neglected in climate models," she added.The researchers believe much of the answer to solving the problem of climate change, lies in coupling climate change models with social learning, or how learning from others affects our opinions or actions.Anand said, "We've studied everything from pest management to forest sustainability to human disease spread and found that human behaviour is key. So we decided to apply the framework to climate ..
Amazon loses contract with FedEx amid competition
Amid increasing competition, global courier company FedEx has decided not to renew its air shipping contract with e-commerce giant Amazon.
Monsoon has hit Kerala coast: IMD
Monsoon has hit the Kerala coast on Saturday, after a delay of one week, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said.
Climate change may make Siberia habitable for humans: Study
Large parts of Asian Russia could become habitable by the late 21st century due to climate change, new research has found. Researchers from the Krasnoyarsk Federal Research Center, Russia, and the National Institute of Aerospace, US, used current and predicted climate scenarios to examine the climate comfort of Asian Russia and work out the potential for human settlement throughout the 21st century. At 13 million square kilometres, Asian Russia - east of the Urals towards the Pacific - accounts for 77 per cent of Russia's land area, according to the study published in the journal Environmental Research Letters. Its population, however, accounts for just 27 per cent of the country's people and is concentrated along the forest-steppe in the south, with its comfortable climate and fertile soil. "Previous human migrations have been associated with climate change. As civilisations developed technology that enabled them to adapt, humans became less reliant on the environment, particularly ..
PM assures kerala of assistance in tackling Nipah
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday assured the people of Kerala that the Centre was working closely with the state government to provide all necessary arrangements required to deal with the Nipah virus problem that has cropped up in the state.Addressing a public meeting here, he asked people of the state to follow advisories released by the state government and the Centre in "true spirit" to deal with the Nipah virus."I assure you that the government of India is with the citizens and government of Kerala. We are working closely to provide all the necessary arrangements required to deal with the Nipah virus crisis," Prime Minister Modi said while addressing a gathering here."I request the people to be more vigilant towards cleanliness and follow advisories released from governments with a true spirit," he added.On June 4, a 23-old-man had tested positive for Nipah virus infection, which killed 17 people in Kerala last year.As of now, a total of 15 people are under observation in .
Monsoon hits Kerala coast, says IMD
Monsoon has hit the Kerala coast on Saturday, after a delay of one week, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has confirmed.
Indian-American activist who yelled at Jeff Bezos arrested
Indian-American activist Priya Sawhney, who interrupted Amazon Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos' on-stage talk, was arrested on trespassing and burglary charges.
15 monkeys die due to heat stroke, water scarcity in MP forest
Around 15 monkeys died possibly due to heatstroke in Joshi Baba forest range in Bagli, Dewas. The group met the tragic fate as another group of monkeys allegedly controlled the nearby water source and didn't allow the group to access it.Forest officials have even admitted burning the decomposing carcasses of some monkeys fearing that they might have died of some infection."The bodies were decomposing; we have to take all precautions. We have burnt few carcasses," said District Forest Official, PN Mishra."The nearby water source is controlled by another group of monkeys that didn't let this group of monkey's access water, which might have resulted in their death," said Mishra..
Crucial to life, oceans get chance in climate spotlight
Armed with better data than ever before, scientists have in recent months sounded the alarm over the rising pace of global warming and the parlous state of Nature. But there is another area of concern, one that covers two thirds of the planet and plays a crucial role in absorbing dangerous greenhouse gases and regulating everything from food chains to weather patterns. Oceans are crucial to life on Earth, yet they frequently only feature in the environment debate when plastic pollution or fish-stock declines are discussed. But experts believe that might be changing. "We have an important opportunity over the next 18 months to do something for oceans," said Dan Laffoley, from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which released a landmark report in October 2018 warning of the effects of global temperature rises, will this September publish its latest assessment on the state of oceans. "The IPCC report will .
14 lions escape from South Africa's national park
Communities around Phalaborwa, in South Africa Limpopo Province, have been alerted after 14 lions escaped from Kruger National Park.
Tomar calls for last-mile connectivity to all villages by 2022
Rural Development Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Friday called for providing last-mile connectivity to all villages by 2022 and preparing an action plan to achieve this.
K'tka: As water crisis looms in Shivamogga, officials inspect water processing unit
Commissioner of Shivamogga City Corporation Charulatha, Mayor Latha Ganesh, Deputy Mayor BS Channabasappa, and officials of Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Drainage Board inspected a water processing unit in Mandli, on the outskirts of Shivamogga on Friday."This year we are facing one of the worst water crisis in Shivamogga. As of now, there is sufficient water but if we don't get rain in the next 7-10 days, we will have to take measures to identify where we can reduce supply so citizens aren't affected," Shivamogga City Commissioner Charulatha said after the inspection.Amidst prevailing water crisis in Shivamogga district, environmentalists in the area termed the district forest administration's action of planting one lakh saplings on the occasion of World Environment day 'illogical' as the monsoon is delayed in the state.Ajay Kumar Sharma, an environmentalist, told ANI, "Monsoon is delayed and we are already facing acute drinking water issues in the area. As we didn't get ...
Search operation continues for missing AN-32
The Indian Navy's Long Range Maritime Reconnaisance aircraft P-8I undertook a search mission on Friday morning for search and rescue operation of the missing AN-32.
Researchers discover how tides trigger earthquakes
A new study has uncovered that even the slightest stress can set off tidally triggered earthquakes.Years ago, scientists realised that earthquakes along with mid-ocean ridges and underwater mountain ranges at the edges of the tectonic plates are linked with the tides. But nobody could figure out why there's an uptick in tremors during low tides."Everyone was sort of stumped, because according to conventional theory, those earthquakes should occur at high tides," explained seismologist and co-lead of the study Christopher Scholz.In a study published in the Journal of Nature Communications, researchers have uncovered the mechanism for this seeming paradox, and it comes down to the magma below the mid-ocean ridges. It's the magma chamber breathing, expanding and contracting due to the tides, that's making the faults move," said Scholz.During movement, the upper block slides down with respect to the lower one. So, scientists expected that at high tides, when there is more water sitting ..
India allows river sand, stone aggregates exports to the Maldives
India Friday allowed exports of specified quantities of river sand and stone aggregates to the Maldives under a bilateral trade agreement. "Export of the quantities of river sand and stone aggregates with the annual ceiling ... has been permitted for export to the Maldives under a bilateral trade agreement between India and Maldives," directorate general of foreign trade (DGFT) said in a notification. For 2019-20, the ceiling fixed for river sand and stone aggregates was 2 lakh tonnes and 8 lakh tonnes respectively. It said that the export is subject to a no-objection from Chemical and Allied Export Promotion Council of India (CAPEXIL), which would monitor the ceiling and send a quarterly report to the directorate. The council would also ensure that the suppliers/extractors have obtained appropriate clearances and mining of sand is not undertaken in the coastal regulation zone area. Further, the export is allowed "subject to the exporter obtaining necessary environmental clearances/ ..
New model to build silos for foodgrain storage: Paswan
Union Food and Public Distribution Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said that a new model will be created to expedite construction of silos of 100 lakh tonne capacity to plug foodgrain wastage and check corruption in the procurement system.