Page 672 - Environment
From today, eco-friendly plates to replace polymer plates in select trains
From today, passengers travelling on some premium trains will be served meals on eco-friendly, disposable plates made of bagasse, instead of those made of polymer, as part of the Indian Railways' drive to go green, a statement from the national transporter said. On World Environment Day, the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) launched its trial run of environment-friendly, bagasse-based food packaging on eight select Shatabdi and Rajdhani trains originating from New Delhi. "A Small Step to Beat Plastic Pollution: On #WorldEnvironmentDay, Indian Railways has started using fully biodegradable packages in 4 Shatabdi and 4 Rajdhani trains from Delhi, contributing towards a greener planet (sic)," Railway Minister Piyush Goyal tweeted. The IRCTC will now use bagasse -- the fibrous remains after extracting sugarcane juice -- to make disposable cutlery and containers, in which meals will be served. "Provision will be made to collect the used packaging, which will then be .
Jharkhand to become plastic-free by next Env Day: CM
Jharkhand would become a plastic-free state by June 5, the World Environment Day, next year, Chief Minister Raghubar Das announced here today. "By June 5, 2019, Jharkhand will be plastic free. I appeal to 3.25 crore people of Jharkhand to free Jharkhand from plastic---from office to house to bazaar to village, plastic should not be seen," Das said while addressing a programme on the World Environment Day. People's movement will begin against the usage of plastic, an official release said quoting him. Stating that plastic takes between 500 to 1000 years to get absorbed with nature and during this period poisonous gases are emitted from it, Das said plastic recycling plants would be set up in Jharkhand. He said all power plants should use recycled water. Jharkhand would move towards green economy by protecting water, forest, land and climate, Das said and added that use of forest produce should be encouraged and a market has to be created from village to the world level for
CM launches e-car in MP
On the occasion of World Environment Day, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday flagged off a solar power-run e-car. This also marked the launch of e-vehicles in the state.
Rio sets December deadline to free Nagaland of plastic waste
Nagaland today joined the rest of the country in observing World Environment Day with Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio setting December deadline to "free the state of plastic waste". Across the state, NGOs, educational institutions and government departments held green rallies to raise awareness on plastic pollution. India is the global host of 2018 World Environment Day celebrations. With "Beat Plastic Pollution" as the theme for this year's edition, countries have come together to combat environment concerns. At a programme at NBCC Convention Hall in Kohima, Rio called upon the people to reaffirm their commitment to create a "plastic-free state" in the next six months. The CM listed the harmful effects of polythene bags on the environment. "Plastic bags choke drains and gutters, causing them to overflow. Burning plastic also results in release of toxic gases," he said, adding that people need to take measures to end the menace. Urging people to replace plastic bags and ...
Amazon to install solar rooftops at fulfilment, sort centres
In its global initiative to generate clean energy, e-commerce major Amazon India today said it will install 8,000-kilowatt (kW) rooftop solar panels at its fulfilment centres and sortation sites in the country by year-end to make them self sustaining. The company has so far installed close to 1,600 kW of solar power panels at its two fulfilment centres in Delhi and Hyderabad, it said in a statement. It plans to expand the initiative to another five fulfilment centres and two sortation sites located in Bangalore, Mumbai and Chennai, while further expanding existing capacity in Delhi. "By the end of 2018, we plan to expand this installation to an additional seven Amazon operations sites in India," said Akhil Saxena, vice-president, customer fulfilment, Amazon India. With this deployment, Amazon India expects to generate solar energy close to 8,000 kW by the end of this year, according to the release. The investment in solar energy systems in India is in line with Amazon's
Hry minister gives five-point formula to protect environment
Haryana Environment Minister Vipul Goel today gave a five-point formula to the people of the state to protect environment. Goel, who was speaking in a state-level function organised on the occasion of the World Environment Day in Panchkula, said the five-point formula included that every individual should plant at least three trees once in a year, not to honk without any reason, make use of air conditioner only when needed and use energy-efficient LED bulbs. He also inaugurated three projects related to environment. The minister further added that if every individual would adopt this five-point formula in their lives then it would help in protecting the environment. He urged the people to take a pledge of keeping the environment clean by using jute bags instead of plastic bags. On the occasion, he also honoured the students who won the competitions organised on the topic environment and honoured officers and officials of the department for doing a commendable job for the success of ...
How successful is green cremation in Delhi? (June 5 is World Environment Day)
Many in the capital may not know that there are four ghats here which offer environment-friendly substitutes to the conventional manner of cremating a dead.
India extracts more groundwater than China-US, says study
India accounts for one-fourth of the total groundwater extracted globally, more than that of China and U.S combined and cities and villages in the northern and central parts of India are among regions facing a water crisis, says an analysis by WaterAid. A total of 163 million people in India have no access to clean water close to home, or 15 per cent of all rural residents and seven per cent of all urban residents, says the study,released on the occasion of world environment day today. Severe groundwater depletion in north and central India, already home to some of the poorest communities, further threatens their access to water, it said. "The country accounts for one-fourth of the total groundwater extracted globally, more than the water extracted by China and the United States combined. Severe groundwater depletion in the north and central India, already home to some of the poorest communities, further threatens their access to water," it says. Because of climate ...
Telangana aboriginal tribes step up stir
The aboriginal tribes in Adilabad district of Telangana have intensified their protest since June 1 in support of their demands, including removal of Lambadas from the list of Scheduled Tribes. Members of the community hoisted black flags atop their houses as part of the protest and not allowing Lambada government employees, including teachers, into their habitats in some places in the district, official sources said today. They have been contending for several years that there has been an increased migration of Lambadas from neighbouring Maharashtra and that the latter benefited more from government schemes in Telangana. The demands of aboriginal tribes include removing Lambadas from ST list and taking measures to check the "unchecked" migration of Lambadas into Telangana, the sources said, adding that the issue was being studied by the government. Adilabad district superintendent of police Vishnu S Varrier told PTI that all measures are being taken to ensure peace and .
Water in India's major reservoirs 10% less: Study
Water levels in India's major reservoirs are 10 per cent lower than normal whereas these are 50 per cent deficient in Himachal Pradesh, a factsheet by Climate Trends said on Tuesday.
Ensure effective implementation of ban on microbeads in cosmetics, say environmental experts
Have you ever thought that every time you use a facewash or a cosmetic product that its makers promise to be more effective due to presence of microbeads, you may be causing irreparable damage to the environment. Many personal care products like soaps, facial scrubs and toothpastes etc. contain microplastics or microbeads that can pass unfiltered through the sewage treatment plants and make their way into rivers and canals, resulting in plastic particle water pollution that can wreak havoc on marine life. As World Environment Day is being celebrated across the globe with Beat Plastic Pollution' being the theme this year, experts are calling for effective implementation of the ban on use of microbeads in cosmetic products as they claim that many such products are readily available in the market and are being used by consumers, who are unaware of their ill-effects. Bharati Chaturvedi, director of Chintan Environmental and Research Action Group, is among those have advocated barring of .
China spent USD 171 million on ecological conservation in Tibet last year
China spent more than 1.1 billion yuan (USD 171 million) on ecological conservation projects in Tibet in 2017, the regional environmental bureau said today. The projects range from grassland, wetland and wildlife protection to construction of nature reserves and afforestation. In 2009, China introduced a 23-year plan with a total spending of 15.5 billion yuan to boost ecological conservation in the region. Statistics showed that in 2017, Tibet had 47 nature reserves covering 412,200 square kms or more than one third of the region's total territory, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. Zhang Tianhua, deputy head of the regional environmental bureau, said the region has set up a special committee for monitoring the environment in Tibet and cracking down on illegal activities in the nature reserves. Over the past five years, more than 60 regulations on ecological protection have been introduced in Tibet. Authorities investigated nearly 1,000 cases of environmental breaches, the report .
EU delegation, embassies of member states pledge to stop use of single-use plastic in their premises
The Delegation of European Union and embassies of the member states of the bloc today pledged to discontinue use of single-use plastic at their premises here. Under the 'Green Pledge' on the occasion of World Environment Day, the EU delegation and 28 member states committed to greening of their embassies and to eliminate use of single-use plastic products, said an EU statement. "As part of the #BeatPlasticPollution campaign, use of harmful plastics including plastic straws, stirrers, cups, water bottles in the embassies and residences will be discontinued to switch to eco-friendly materials," it said. The events organised by the embassies and the delegation will also have minimum plastic footprint. They also committed to making the embassies more sustainable by reducing water and power consumption along with better waste management, it said. Ambassador of the EU to India, Tomasz Kozlowski said, "We need to move from discussions to action. We need to reduce our plastics footprint to ...
India became net power exporter in last four years: Minister
India became a net exporter of electricity for the first time during the last four years and aims to achieve the target of universal household electrification by the year-end three months ahead of the original deadline, Power Minister R.K. Singh said on Tuesday.
Renewable power installed capacity has already reached over 70 GW
Renewable power installed capacity has already reached over 70 GW. Over 40 GW renewable power capacity is under construction/tendered.
Tamil Nadu to ban use of plastic items from 2019
The Tamil Nadu government today announced it would ban the use of plastic items, including non-biodegradable carry bags, from January 2019 to "gift a plastic-free" state to future generations. Chief Minister K Palaniswami's announcement in the state assembly coincided with International Environment Day today. The ban on manufacture, sale, storage and usage of items such as plastic paper, cups, water sachets, straws and carry bags would come into effect from January 1, 2019, Palaniswami said. The ban would cover these plastic articles irrespective of their micron size. However, polythene sachets used for packing milk, curd, oil and medical equipment would be exempted from the ban, Palaniswami said. The PMK, in a statement, said this is not the first time the state government was banning disposable plastic, recalling that late Jayalalithaa had made a similar attempt in 2002 as chief minister then. Palaniswami said former chief minister Jayalalithaa had earlier constituted an expert ...
Solar power scheme entailing Rs 1.4 lakh cr to be implemented from next month: RK Singh
The big ticket Rs 1.4 lakh crore KUSUM scheme to promote the use of solar power among farmers will be implemented from next month, renewable energy minister R K Singh said today. Recounting the government's achievements in the last 4 years, he exuded confidence that 4 crore families targeted under the SAUBHAGYA scheme would get electricity connections by December, ahead of the March 2019 deadline. "The KUSUM (Kisan Urja Suraksha Evam Utthaan Mahaabhiyan) will be implemented in July. Under this scheme farmers would be provided with solar water pumps," the minister of power and new & renewable energy said at a press conference. Under the scheme, the government has planned to provide 27.5 lakh solar pumps (17.50 lakh standalone + 10 Lakh Grid-connected). It will help farmers install total 10 GW of Solar Power Plants of intermediate capacity of 0.5 to 2 MW each. It also envisages 50,000 Grid-connected tube-wells/lift irrigation and drinking water projects. Singh also gave assurance ..
Top firms pledge to cut plastics use in businesses on World Environment Day
Major companies across sectors, including RB, PepsiCo, Nestle and Hyundai, have pledged to reduce usage of plastics in their businesses and enhance recycling on the World Environment Day. FMCG major RB has committed to make 100 per cent of its plastic packaging to be recyclable or reusable by 2025. Similarly, food and beverages major PepsiCo India said it would explore ways to scale up recovery and recycling, equivalent to 100 per cent of its post-consumer plastic waste in the next few years. PepsiCo will also pilot first-ever plant-based, 100 per cent compostable packaging for Lay's and Kurkure snacks products in India. "The responsible use of plastic for packaging is our overriding aim and we have organised our efforts using the 4R approach -- reduce, reuse, replace, and recycle. We are committed to removing or reducing plastic packaging...and investing in research into alternative materials," RB said in a statement. PepsiCo India President and CEO Ahmed ElSheikh said the company ...
Tata Starbucks reinforces its commitment to sustainability
Starbucks has always committed itself to instilling and strengthening environmental responsibility as a corporate value, right from the farms from where the company sources its coffee, to the end where customers experience the coffee at Starbucks stores.Starbucks has been a pioneer of what it calls the C.A.F.E. Practices (Coffee And Farmers Equity) that focus on sustainable coffee farming with sustainable agricultural practices like water conservation, bio-fertilizers, supporting the prosperity and resilience of the farmers, and co-investing in farmer communities via technical assistance and grants.C.A.F.E. Practices ensure that Starbucks is sourcing sustainably grown and processed coffee by evaluating the economic, social and environmental aspects of coffee production. Across the globe, Starbucks is committed to 100% ethically sourced coffee, providing 100 million coffee trees to farmers by 2025, investing 50 million dollars in funding to farmers by 2020 and training 200,000 coffee ..
'On Environment Day, recognise Bishnois for saving trees'
A young farmer has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi on World Environment Day to get global recognition for 363 Bishnois who died protecting trees they held sacred in an 18th century precursor to the Chipko movement. Vishek Vishnoi's movement to get recognition for the sacrifice of the Bishnoi community in 1730 is named 'Mission Global 363'. According to the legend popular among the environment-conscious Bishnois, 363 members of the community led by Amrita Devi died while protecting the Khejri trees being felled to build a palace for the Maharaja of Jodhpur. They hugged the trees they held sacred. Upset over the bloodshed, the maharajah later called off the felling of the trees. The young farmer from Jodhpur wants recognition in the country and abroad for the sacrifice of those people in Khejarli village. It was a historic thing that 363 people made the supreme sacrifice to protect trees in 1730 AD, Vishnoi told PTI. The community very well understands the importance of environment ..
