Page 703 - Environment

Demand for 'healthy food' increases organic product exports from India

Exports of organic products from India have risen over 20 per cent in the fiscal just ended owing to the "growing global appetite for healthy food" that is free from chemicals and pesticides residues. This is also a leg-up for the government's plans to expand the area under eco-friendly and sustainable farming, stakeholders say.

Malaysia says search for Flight 370 to end next week

Malaysia's new transport minister says the latest search for Flight 370 will end next week. Malaysia signed a "no cure, no fee" agreement with Texas-based Ocean Infinity in January to resume the hunt for the plane, a year after the official search in the southern Indian Ocean by Australia, Malaysia and China was called off. Transport Minister Anthony Loke said Wednesday that the latest search was due to end in April but was extended twice until May 29 at Ocean Infinity's request. He said the government will decide its next course of action next week. The Malaysia Airlines plane vanished March 8, 2014, while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board.

Jain Irrigation to execute Rs 239 cr project in Vidarbha region

Jain Irrigation Systems today said it will execute a Rs 239.17 crore drip irrigation project in Vidarbha region, Maharashtra in next 24 months. In a regulatory filing, the company said more than 10,000 farmers and 20,748 acre command area covering 65 villages of Arvi taluka of Wardha district in the state will be benefitted from the project. The project value is Rs 239.17 crore and will be executed within 24 months, it added. "Vidarbha region is known for its farmers' distress over the last six decades. Many irrigation projects were initiated, yet with limited reach. ....Only way out was to create more water. This is accomplished by eliminating wastage of water using scientific and modern irrigation techniques," Jain Irrigation said. Under the project, water is proposed to be lifted from lower Wardha reservoirs to each individual farmers' field with on-farm automated micro irrigation system. "This project is likely to improve the water use efficiency from the current 35 per cent to ...

Twin satellites to track Earth's water launched: NASA

A twin spacecraft to monitor the changes in sea level rise, ice melt and drought on Earth was today successfully launched aboard a SpaceX rocket, along with five communication satellites, NASA said. The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-On (GRACE-FO) is a joint mission by NASA and the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ). It lifted off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, US, sharing their ride into space with five Iridium NEXT communications satellites. Ground stations have acquired signals from both GRACE-FO spacecraft.Initial telemetry shows the satellites are performing as expected. The GRACE-FO satellites are at an altitude of about 490 kilometers, travelling about 7.5 kilometers per second. They are in a near-polar orbit, circling Earth once every 90 minutes. "GRACE-FO will provide unique insights into how our complex planet operates," said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of NASA's Science Mission ...

Madras High Court halts expansion of Vedanta's copper smelter after protests

CHENNAI/MUMBAI (Reuters) - The Madras High Court halted the proposed expansion of Vedanta Resources Plc copper smelter on Wednesday where a day earlier 11 people were killed when police fired on protesters seeking closure of the plant on environmental grounds.

Illegal online sales of endangered wildlife rife in Europe

The online sale of endangered and threatened wildlife was rife across Europe, ranging from live cheetahs, orangutans, bears, polar bear skins, live reptiles and birds, a new investigation has revealed.

Haryana orders supply of water to parched areas through tankers

As temperatures continue to rise in Haryana, the state government has directed officials to ensure tankers supply potable water to areas facing a scarcity. The order was given last evening by Haryana's Public Health Engineering Minister Banwari Lal at a departmental meeting attended by the state's superintending engineers, an official statement said. The mercury has stayed above the 40-degree mark in most parts of Haryana for days. Hisar was the hottest yesterday with a high of 45.5 degrees Celsius. With monsoon expected to reach the state by the end of June, flood preparedness was also discussed in the meeting. The officials were directed to ensure that sewers, inlet channels and tanks were cleaned in time to prevent waterlogging during rains. The problem is very common in Rohtak. The minister also ordered regular collection and testing of water samples to prevent the spread of vector-borne diseases.

First probe to 'touch' the Sun will carry 1.1 million names: NASA

NASA's Parker Solar Probe - humanity's first mission to 'touch' a star - will carry over 1.1 million people's names to the Sun this July, the US space agency said. Throughout its seven-year mission, the probe will swoop through the Sun's atmosphere 24 times, getting closer to our star than any spacecraft has gone before. "Parker Solar Probe is going to revolutionise our understanding of the Sun, the only star we can study up close," said Nicola Fox, project scientist for Parker Solar Probe at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab in the US. "It is fitting that as the mission undertakes one of the most extreme journeys of exploration ever tackled by a human-made object, the spacecraft will also carry along the names of so many people who are cheering it on its way," said Fox. In March, the public were invited to send their names to the Sun aboard humanity's first mission to 'touch' a star. A total of 1,137,202 names were submitted and confirmed over the seven-and-a-half-week period, ..

Kerala offers job to Nipah victim nurse's husband

The Kerala cabinet on Wednesday announced to offer government job to the husband of Lini, a nurse who died due to Nipah virus.The government will also give Rs 10 lakh each to two sons of Lini. The nurse was working at the Perambra district hospital in Kozhikode.It also announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakhs to the kin of the other victims of Nipah Virus.Kerala health minister K.K. Shailaja on Tuesday confirmed that the death toll in the deadly Nipah virus outbreak has risen to 10.Earlier, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan informed that the state government is closely monitoring the outbreak and taking steps to prevent its further spread.Taking cognizance of the issue, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare J.P Nadda earlier also directed to constitute a team of six doctors to probe the outbreak of the virus.

NASA probe to 'touch' the Sun will carry 1.1 mn names

When NASA's s Parker Solar Probe, humanity's first mission to "touch" a star, launches on July 31, it will carry more than scientific instruments on this historic journey -- it will also hold more than 1.1 million names submitted by the public to go to the Sun, NASA has said.

Jain Irrigation Systems to undertake integrated drip irrigation project

In Vidarbha region

Twin spacecraft to track Earth's water cycle successfully launched

A twin spacecraft to track the global water cycle has been successfully launched aboard the a SpaceX rocket, along with five communications satellites today, NASA said. The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-On (GRACE-FO) is a joint mission by NASA and the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ). It lifted off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, US, sharing their ride into space with five Iridium NEXT communications satellites. Ground stations have acquired signals from both GRACE-FO spacecraft. Initial telemetry shows the satellites are performing as expected. The GRACE-FO satellites are at an altitude of about 490 kilometers, traveling about 7.5 kilometers per second. They are in a near-polar orbit, circling Earth once every 90 minutes. "GRACE-FO will provide unique insights into how our complex planet operates," said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in ...

Macro lessons for Indian energy infrastructure (Column: Behind Infra Lines)

Higher oil prices, the consequent inflationary pressures and a weaker rupee have dominated recent news headlines. While short-term measures to deal with these macro-economic trends are essential, it is also necessary to look at the long-term structural changes required to bring about stability in the Indian economy and reduce exposure to the vagaries of macro-economic trends.

Integrated approach needed to clean Ganga: Nitin Gadkari

Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday inaugurated a workshop on "Ganga and its BiodiversityAddressing the gathering at the inauguration function, Gadkari underscored the need to approach the challenges of cleaning river Ganga through an "integrated approach and with synergy between development and ecology.Citing examples like making paper from bamboo, Gadkari said: "Such activities will not only generate employment in areas near river Ganga but will also encourage local communities, some of whom have joined the clean Ganga mission as Ganga Praharis and Ganga Mitras, to ensure conservation of river's biodiversity. We are increasing activities like plantation on the river bank, boating, construction of Mukti Dhams and Ghats. These will increase employment opportunities and will mobilise public participation of the local residents in the task of cleaning Ganga".Gadkari also released a status report on Ganga Bio-diversity and

Lava flow closes in on Hawaii power plant

A slow-moving lava flow is starting to close in on a power plant near Kilauea volcano, which has authorities scrambling to keep it from becoming part of the drama. Officials said there was no "immediate threat" to the Puna Geothermal Company (PGV) a 38-megawatt plant run by the state of Hawaii. Still, "cracks near the Puna Geothermal Company are active and producing lava that slowly flows into the property, which destroyed the old Hawaii Geothermal Project in an area adjacent to the PGV," it said. Authorities are closely monitoring the situation in this hot air turbine electrical plant. As a precaution, flammable chemicals were removed from the plant and the wells were filled with cold water. For now, there's a steam release. Civil defense also indicated that the constant eruptions from crack number 22 continue to feed another dangerous lava channel that goes to the ocean. When fiery lava hits water, it produces acid fumes, a phenomenon called "laze" -- a word in English formed from ..

N.Korea receives list of journalists covering nuke test site dismantling

North Korea on Wednesday received the list of South Korean journalists to allow them to cover the planned dismantling of its nuclear test site, Seoul's unification ministry said.

SpaceX launches 7 satellites for NASA, Iridium

US private space firm SpaceX launched two new Earth-observing satellites for NASA and five commercial communications satellites for Iridium on a used Falcon 9 rocket in a ride-share mission on Tuesday.

Two sportscar-sized satellites in orbit to measure Earth's water

A SpaceX rocket today blasted off a duo of sports car-sized satellites built by the US and Germany to reveal changes in sea level rise, ice melt and drought on Earth. "Three, two, one, liftoff!" said a SpaceX commentator as the Falcon 9 rocket launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 12:47 pm Pacific time (1947 GMT). The USD 521 million payload, called the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-on (GRACE-FO), was successfully deployed into its planned orbit some 500 kilometers above the Earth about 10 minutes after liftoff. The mission picks up from GRACE, a satellite pair that launched in 2002 and tracked, among other things, precisely how much ice was lost each year in Greenland and Antarctica until 2017. Groundwater, oceans, lakes, rivers and ice sheets will be monitored by the twin satellites, a joint mission between the US space agency and German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ). The pair will fly 220 kilometers apart, or about the distance from Los ..

Two sportscar-sized satellites in orbit to measure Earth's water

A SpaceX rocket today blasted off a duo of sports car-sized satellites built by the US and Germany to reveal changes in sea level rise, ice melt and drought on Earth. "Three, two, one, liftoff!" said a SpaceX commentator as the Falcon 9 rocket launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 12:47 pm Pacific time (1947 GMT). The USD 521 million payload, called the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-on (GRACE-FO), was successfully deployed into its planned orbit some 500 kilometers above the Earth about 10 minutes after liftoff. The mission picks up from GRACE, a satellite pair that launched in 2002 and tracked, among other things, precisely how much ice was lost each year in Greenland and Antarctica until 2017. Groundwater, oceans, lakes, rivers and ice sheets will be monitored by the twin satellites, a joint mission between the US space agency and German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ). The pair will fly 220 kilometers apart, or about the distance from Los ..

Uttarakhand forest fire: Situation being monitored, says official

As forest fire continues to raze the forest areas in Kumaon, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Jayaram said he is personally inspecting the situation to bring the situation under control."I have personally come for inspection. Operations to contain the fire are underway. We are bringing the situation under control. The weather is dry, which is making the situation look worse," he told reporters here.Furthermore, Chief Forest conservator in Dehradun, Monish Malik, said that no casualties have been reported so far, and added that most incidents occurred in the Garhwal region."In the last two days, due to soaring temperature and dry weather, even a small fire incident becomes difficult to contain. Garhwal is the most affected by forest fires. I will not call these as just a natural calamity, as sometimes, these could be caused by minor human errors as well," he claimed.Over 50 small and big incidents of fire were reported from forests across Uttarakhand in the past three days, ...