Page 709 - Environment
Limiting warming to 1.5 degrees C can save world's species
Limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius could save the vast majority of the world's plant and animal species from climate change, a study has found. The study, published in the journal Science, shows that limiting warming to the ultimate goal of the Paris Agreement would avoid half the risks associated with warming of two degrees Celsius for plants and animals, and two thirds of the risks for insects. Species across the globe would benefit, but particularly those in Southern Africa, the Amazon, Europe and Australia, according researchers from the University of East Anglia in the UK. Reducing the risk to insects is particularly important, the team say, because they are so vital for 'ecosystem services' such as pollinating crops and flowers, and being part of the food chain for other birds and animals. Previous research focused on quantifying the benefits of limiting warming to two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial times - the upper limit for temperature as set out in the ...
Six pygmy elephants found dead on Malaysian Borneo
Six Borneo pygmy elephants have been found dead in Malaysian palm oil plantations in recent weeks, officials said today, the latest of the endangered creatures to perish as their rainforest habitat is devastated. The carcasses of the elephants, aged between one and 37, were discovered at different locations in Sabah state on Borneo island, local wildlife department director Augustine Tuuga told AFP. "We are currently conducting tests on their internal organs," he said, adding the carcasses did not have any signs of gunshot wounds. Tuuga said the elephants could have accidently consumed fertiliser in the palm oil plantations, which could have poisoned them. The Star newspaper, citing conservationists, said the creatures might have drunk from poisoned watering holes. There are about 2,000 pygmy elephants, the smallest type of elephant in Asia, in the wild. Late last year three were killed by poachers. In 2013 14 pygmy elephants were found dead in Sabah and were thought to have been ...
Plastic pollution needs to be curbed: UN Environment head (IANS Interview)
Plastic pollution is one of the biggest environmental threats and countries need better waste management to cope with the sheer quantity of plastic rubbish that is fouling the waters and environment, says United Nations Environment head Erik Solheim.
CSC to reach 2.50 lakh gram panchayats and 700 Digital villages to be established by the year end : Union Minister of Electronics & IT
Sh. Prasad said that the CSC movement had transformed into a movement of change bringing services like banking, pensions, digital literacy and telemedicine to rural and remote villages through electronic infrastructure. Union Minister of Culture(IC), Dr. Mahesh Sharma also present at the event said that the CSC project is providing sustainable digital access to rural communities and are giving the necessary impetus for upliftment of the rural community.
L&T Hydrocarbon Engineering bags orders for setting up two fertilizer plants
L&T Hydrocarbon Engineering in consortium with TechnipFMC has bagged two orders from Hindustan Urvarak and Rasayan Ltd for setting up two fertilizer plants. "L&T Hydrocarbon Engineering (LTHE), a wholly owned subsidiary of... Larsen & Toubro Ltd, in consortium with TechnipFMC, has won two significant orders from Hindustan Urvarak and Rasayan Ltd (HURL), a joint venture company of IOCL, NTPC, CIL, FCIL and HFCL," Larsen and Toubro (L&T) said in a BSE filing. The engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning (EPCC) contracts are for setting up two fertilizer plants at Barauni (Bihar) and Sindri (Jharkhand). LTHE's scope of work, worth in excess of Rs 3,800 crore, consists of two 2,200 TPD Ammonia plants, it added. Both the projects shall be executed concurrently. Shares of Larsen and Toubro were trading 0.84 per cent up at Rs 1,327.15 on the BSE.
Kerala: 9 die due to high fever, 2 affected with Nipah virus
At least nine people have died in Kerala's Calicut district due to high fever. The health department of the state has confirmed that two out of the nine deceased were affected with the rare Nipah virus.The health department has, however, not confirmed the cause of the death of the other seven patients and sent their samples for tests.A task force has also been formed to probe the matter."The samples of the other deceased have been sent for tests to virology institute Manipal. A task force has been formed under District Collector U V Jose for further probe on it," an official from the health department said.Meanwhile, the health department conducted emergency meetings in Kozhikode today under Minister of Health and Family Welfare JP Nadda along with Secretary Health over the deaths.Nipah virus is spread by fruit bats and causes severe disease in both animals and humans.The virus can be transferred from a human through close contact, body fluids, saliva and cough.Nadda yesterday ...
Kerala Health dept on alert after 3 deaths due to virus
The Kerala health department has been put on high alert in the wake of the death of three members of a family here in the past fortnight due to 'Nipah' virus. Union Minister J P Nadda had yesterday directed the Director of National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to visit Kerala's Kozhikode district to assist the state government in the wake of death of three people due to Nipah virus. "Reviewed the situation of deaths related to nipah virus in Kerala with Secreatry Health. I have directed Director NCDC to visit the district and initiate required steps as warranted by the protocol for the disease in consultation with state government," Nadda had said in a tweet. Nipah virus (NiV) infection in humans has a range of clinical presentations, from asymptomatic infection to acute respiratory syndrome and fatal encephalitis, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). State Health Minister K K Shylaja had yesterday said the nature of the virus was yet to be ascertained. "The kind of .
ASSOCHAM-Reckitt Benckiser launch joint campaign to raise awareness of air pollution in Punjab
The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) in association with Reckitt Benckiser will set up 50 camps and use other outreach activities target over two lakh people including farmers, students and other stakeholders viz., government, community, industry, media and others in 95 villages of Punjab's Patiala district as part of the campaign which will go on till January 2019 in a phase manner.
China launches relay satellite to explore Moon's far side
China successfully launched a relay satellite early today to set up a communication link between the Earth and a planned Chinese lunar exploration mission to explore the Moon's mysterious far side. Named Queqiao (Magpie Bridge), the 400-kg satellite has a designed life of three years. It was carried by a Long March-4C rocket that blasted off at 5:28 AM (local time) from southwest China's Xichang Satellite Launch Center, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) said. "The launch is a key step for China to realise its goal of being the first country to send a probe to soft-land on and rove the far side of the Moon," said Zhang Lihua, manager of the relay satellite project. About 25 minutes after lift-off, the satellite separated from the rocket and entered an Earth-Moon transfer orbit with the perigee at 200 kms and the apogee at about 400,000 kms. The solar panels and the communication antennas were unfolded. Queqiao is expected to enter a halo orbit around the second Lagrangian .
China launches satellite to explore Moon's far side
China launched a relay satellite on Monday to set up a communication link between Earth and the planned Chang'e-4 lunar probe that will explore the mysterious far side of Moon, which can not be seen from the Earth.
'Jurassic Park' dinosaur expert's next big thing: holograms
Forget the gray, green and brown dinosaurs in the "Jurassic Park" movies. Paleontologist Jack Horner wants to transport people back in time to see a feathered Tyrannosaurus rex colored bright red and a blue triceratops with red fringe similar to a rooster's comb. Horner, who consulted with director Steven Spielberg on the "Jurassic Park" films, is developing a three-dimensional hologram exhibit that will showcase the latest theories on what dinosaurs looked like. He is working with entertainment company Base Hologram to create an exhibit that will let people feel as though they're on an archaeological dig, inside a laboratory and surrounded by dinosaurs in the wild. "I'm always trying to figure out a good way to get the science of paleontology across to the general public," Horner said in a recent interview with The Associated Press. "Like taking them into the field or taking them into my laboratory and then using the technology that we have to show people what dinosaurs were really ..
2 electrocuted in Agra
Two employees of the Uttar Pradesh electricity department were electrocuted while trying to fix a power connection in Kheragarh village in Agra district today, police said. Following their death, angry villagers blocked a road alleging that neither the police arrived nor the ambulance service was available despite several phone calls made to them. A roadways bus was damaged by the villagers, police said. The sub-divisional magistrate also visited the scene to pacify the villagers. Later legislator Mahesh Goyal assured the villagers that action would be taken against people who started the power supply when the two were working to fix the connection.
CSCs in 2.5 lakh digitised villages by end-2018: Prasad
The network of Common Service Centres (CSCs) is to be expanded to 2.5 lakh gram panchayats by the end of 2018, IT and Electronics Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Sunday.
Nipah Virus outbreak: Health Ministry reviews situation in Kerala
Minister of Health and Family Welfare JP Nadda along with Secretary Health reviewed the situation in Kerala on Sunday, in relation to the deaths which occurred because of the Nipah virus (NiV).Nadda instructed the Director of National Centre for Disease Control to visit the district and initiate required steps as warranted by the protocol in consultation with the state government.As per reports, at least three people died in Kozhikode district of Kerala due to Nipah virus.There is no specific treatment for the 'rare and deadly' virus and its outbreak has resulted in a panic situation in the city.
Health dept on high alert after 3 deaths due to 'rare virus'
The death of three people of a family here in the past two weeks, reportedly due to 'Nipah' virus, has put the Kerala state health department on high alert. State Health Minister K K Shylaja today said the nature of the virus was yet to be ascertained. "The kind of virus that caused the disease has not been ascertained. Blood and other samples of the deceased have been sent to the National Virology Institute, Pune. The results will be made available in a few days",she told reporters here. after chairing a meet of top health department officials. A district level special task force, headed by Kozhikode District collector, U V Jose has been formed in the wake of the deaths due to this virus, official sources said. the Director of Health service, Kerala, Dr R L Sarita, took the decision to form the task force after the meeting. A single window system has been put in place to monitor emergency treatment to meet any eventuality, they said. While a 50-year-old lady died at a ...
Nipah virus scare: Nadda rushes NCDC team to Kozhikode
Union Minister J P Nadda today directed the Director of National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to visit Kerala's Kozhikode district to assist the state government in the wake of death of three people due to Nipah virus there. A central team will be visiting the state to monitor the situation post the Union Health Minister's direction. "Reviewed the situation of deaths related to nipah virus in Kerala with Secreatry Health. I have directed Director NCDC to visit the district and initiate required steps as warranted by the protocol for the disease in consultation with state government," Nadda said in a tweet. Nipah virus (NiV) infection in humans has a range of clinical presentations, from asymptomatic infection to acute respiratory syndrome and fatal encephalitis, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). The Kozhikode health department is maintaining vigilance in the wake of three deaths there reportedly due to the virus. Two more persons, who were allegedly in contact ...
Nipah virus identified in Kozhikode fever deaths, Central team on way
The cause of death of two people, ostensibly suffering from fever, in Kozhikode has now been confirmed to be due to the Nipah virus (NiV), spread by fruit bats and causing severe disease in both animals and humans, a top official said on Sunday.
Mufti concerned over slow pace of R-APDRP in Jammu
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti today expressed concern over the slow pace of execution of Restructured Accelerated Power Development and Reforms Programme (R-APDRP) and asked officials to clear bottlenecks for smooth completion of the scheme. Mufti passed the directive for early completion of the Rs 622 crore power restructuring project at a high-level meeting convened by her to review key development projects, including the Rs 1,381-crore All India Institute of Medical Sciences and the upcoming ring road in Jammu, an official spokesman said. She asked the executing agencies to redouble resource mobilisation to ensure compliance with the project timelines. During the meeting, the spokesman said, Mufti stressed on completing drinking water and power supply projects on time. In the tourism sector, the chief minister was informed that the Suchetgarh project would be ready by March, 2019. Similarly, the Rs 400-crore Tawi Riverfront project is about to start with tenders ..
Response of developed nations to tackle climate change 'not adequate': Harsh Vardhan
Noting that the world is at a critical stage in combatting climate change, Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan said today that the response of the developed nations to tackle the issue is still "not adequate". He said this in his intervention at the 26th BASIC Ministerial Meeting of Environment Ministers in Durban. The grouping is a bloc of four countries - Brazil, South Africa, India and China - formed by an agreement on November 28, 2009. "We are at a very critical stage, both in our efforts to combat climate change and in negotiations. There is an evident need for greater action and we find that the response of the developed countries is still not adequate," Vardhan said. He stressed that developed nations take the lead in terms of mitigation and providing means of implementation to developing countries. "While we talk about our actions, it is equally important to emphasise that the ambition of the developing countries needs to be supported and sustained, predictable and adequate ...
400 million-year-old marine animal fossil found in China
Scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences are said to have found a fossilised body piece of an extinct class of marine animal known as Cystoidea or cystoids in southwest China's Guizhou province recently. The fossil, that dates back some 400 million years, was discovered in Tongzi county while the scientists were studying a geological section in the area, the county government said. With an egg-shaped body, cystoids are echinoderms or marine invertebrates that existed during the Pleozoic era, the Ordovician and Silurian periods, and became extinct during the Devonian period, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. Guizhou boasts a rich store of prehistoric treasures. Fossils of various extinct invertebrate marine species have been discovered in the area. Tens of thousand of vertebrate fossils have also been found there, the repot said.
