Page 749 - Environment
Vietnam rice rates up for fifth week; currency moves weigh on India, Thailand
BENGALURU (Reuters) - Rice export prices rose for a fifth straight week in Vietnam as demand remained robust and supplies thinned, but rates of Indian and Thai varieties dipped amid weakness in the local currencies of the top exporters.
Rs 11 cr cleared by Assembly for sensor barriers in Kaziranga: Assam tells NGT
The Assam government today told the National Green Tribunal that a budgetary allocation of Rs 11 crore has been cleared by the assembly to install sensor-operated automated traffic barriers to check accidental deaths of animals near the Kaziranga National Park. The state government informed a bench headed by acting NGT Chairperson Justice Jawad Rahim that the amount would be released immediately. The Assam government also said that the tendering process for installation of the barriers in six areas inside the park has already been initiated and the date of opening of tender is May 14. The matter will now be heard on July 18. The tribunal had earlier rejected the Assam government's proposal to engage manpower instead of installing sensor-operated traffic barriers to control the accidental deaths of animals near the Kaziranga National Park. The state government had proposed to engage additional manpower to monitor the animal corridor stretch of the NH-37 which passes from Jakhalabandha .
Petrol bomb attack on Sterlite's copper unit; No damage
Amid continuing protests demanding its closure, the Sterlite Industries' copper smelter plant here came under a petrol bomb attack by unidentified persons in the early hours today, police said. The two-wheeler borne miscreants hurled the petrol bombs which, however, fell outside the plant and did not cause any damage, they said. Police said investigations were on into the incident, which came at a time when locals had been agitating against the plant and opposing its proposed expansion plan, citing environmental concerns. On April 4, the Madras High Court has ordered police to provide security to the Sterlite plant. MDMK chief Vaiko yesterday filed a PIL in the Madurai Bench of the high court seeking to restrain the plant from operating. The court today sought the response of the Central and Tamil Nadu governments to the plea.
Costa Rica to offset national team's World Cup carbon footprint
Costa Rica will offset its national football team's carbon footprint during the 2018 World Cup in Russia by purchasing bonds that help fund an environmental project, officials said.
Thermax wins a Rs 279 crore order for captive cogeneration power plant
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Construction of toilets in urban areas under Swachh Bharat to be completed before schedule: Minister
Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said today that the government would meet the target of construction of 72 lakh household and public toilets in urban areas under the Swachh Bharat Mission a year ahead of the schedule of October 2, 2019, and stressed that behavioural change among people was at the heart of cleanliness mission which would ensure its success. The Housing and Urban Affairs Minister said that the success of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) would hugely depend on the success of India just as the success of China in taking people out of poverty led to the success of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The minister said the government has set a target of building 67 lakh household toilets and five lakh community or public toilets in urban areas by October 2019. As on March 31, we have already built 52 lakh individual household toilets and 3.2 lakh public toilets...well one year in advance of October 2019, well before October 2018, we would build the required amount
NITI Aayog proposes Yamuna Authority to combine river cleaning efforts
NITI Aayog is proposing to set up a Yamuna river authority with a view to coordinating the work being done by various government departments for cleaning the river, its vice chairman Rajiv Kumar said today. Kumar further said in case steps are not taken to revive the river, Delhi may face Cape Town like situation. Cape Town, a coastal city in South Africa is facing a severe water shortage in the region since 2015. "I don't know how many of us are aware that the huge threat that we are facing in this city because of what is happening to Yamuna river and also what is happening to our ground water situation. "There could be a situation and I am not exaggerating ,that we could be in the next 15 years and so and completely bereft of water.We may face Capetown like situation. We will try and set up Yamuna River Authority which will combine work of different departments," Kumar said at an event here. Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation minister Nitin Gadkari was ...
Critically endangered Javan Rhino dies in Indonesia
A Javan rhino has died in Indonesia, the environment ministry said today, bringing the critically endangered mammals closer to extinction with just 60 believed to be still living in the wild. The body of the male rhino was found inside West Java's Ujung Kulon national park, the creature's last remaining habitat. Its death was believed to be from old age rather than poaching. The animal has been driven to the brink of extinction as their horns are highly valued in traditional Chinese and Korean medicine, although most countries in the region have banned the trade. "We found it on (Monday) and are now performing an autopsy," said environment ministry spokesman Djati Witjaksono Hadi. The 40-year-old rhino didn't had any offspring, he added. Javan and Sumatran rhinos are classified as "critically endangered" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The Javan rhino is distinguished from African rhinos by its smaller size, single horn and loose skin folds which give it .
Dragonfly wings inspire new generation of aerogels
Scientists have created a new form of highly-efficient, low-cost insulation material based on the wings of a dragonfly. Aerogel is the most porous material known to man and ultralight, with a piece the size of a family car weighing less than a kilogramme, said Lidija Siller from the Newcastle University in the UK. Starting out as a wet silica gel, similar in structure to jelly, the material is carefully dried to create a strong, porous material, said Siller, joint lead author of the research published in the journal Advanced Materials. However, until now, removing the water molecules without collapsing the fine silica structure has been a long, difficult and expensive process and as a consequence, the use of aerogels has been limited to a few highly specialist tasks, such as the collection of stardust in space. Now, a team of experts has managed to cheaply replicate the process by mimicking the way in which the dragonfly dries out its wings. Instead of drying the silica under high ...
Decade-long census finds more gorillas, chimpanzees
A decade-long study of Western Equatorial Africa's gorillas and chimpanzees has uncovered both good and bad news.
UK corporate giants sign pact to cut plastic waste
More than 40 British companies including major retailers and soft drinks companies on Thursday pledged to eliminate unneccessary plastic packaging as part of an anti-pollution push. The 42 firms, responsible for 80 percent of plastic packaging sold in Britain, have signed up to a pact that aims to tackle plastic pollution over the next seven years through a series of measures. These include cutting down on single-use plastic packaging, making all plastic packaging reusable or recyclable and stipulating that 30 percent of all plastic packaging include recycled material. Corporate giants such as Coca-Cola, Asda, Procter & Gamble and Marks & Spencer have all signed up the "UK Plastics Pact" amid growing concern over the problem of plastic pollution, particularly in the oceans. "This requires a whole-scale transformation of the plastics system and can only be achieved by bringing together all links in the chain under a shared commitment to act," said Marcus Gover, head of the ...
UK supermarkets launch voluntary pledge to cut plastic packaging
UK supermarkets and food companies launched a new voluntary pledge to cut plastic packaging on Thursday as ministers were considering to force them into paying more towards collecting and recycling the waste they produce.
Rs 100 cr sanctioned for creatoriums in villages: UP minister
Uttar Pradesh government has sanctioned 100 crore rupees for constucting crematoriums in 410 villages across the state, said Panchayati Raj minister Bhupinder Singh here. Interacting with media here yesterday, he also said BJP leaders would dine at Dalit households in 3,378 villages across the state under the Rashtriya Gram Savraj Abhiyan. Last Monday, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath held a "chaupal" and dined at a Dalit's house in Pratapgarh, in an effort to reach out to Dalits ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Philippines tourist island temporarily shut for sanitation work
The Philippines' Boracay island has been closed to the public for six months starting from Thursday for sanitation and development work at the famous tourist destination.
Secrets of solar flares can now be studied on Earth
Scientists have discovered a new way to study the spectacular space phenomena such as solar flares, cosmic radiation, and the northern lights in a laboratory environment. "Scientists have been trying to bring these space phenomena down to earth for a decade," said Longqing Yi, a researcher at the Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden. "With our new method we can enter a new era, and investigate what was previously impossible to study. It will tell us more about how these events occur," said Yi. The research, published in the journal Nature Communications, concerns so-called 'magnetic reconnection' - the process which gives rise to these phenomena. Magnetic reconnection causes sudden conversion of energy stored in the magnetic field into heat and kinetic energy. This happens when two plasmas with anti-parallel magnetic fields are pushed together, and the magnetic field lines converge and reconnect. This interaction leads to violently accelerated plasma particles that can ...
Cooling India with less warming: Affordable, efficient ACs (Comment)
With Earth Day top of mind this week, what do you think is among the top strategies for protecting the planet from climate change? Improving air conditioners? Yes, thats true for India and the world.
Geologists say North Korea's nuclear test site has collapsed
Research by Chinese geologists shows the mountain above North Korea's main nuclear test site has collapsed, rendering it unsafe for further testing and requiring that it be monitored for any leaking radiation. The findings by the scientists at the University of Science and Technology of China may shed new light on North Korean President Kim Jong Un's announcement that his country was ceasing its testing program ahead of planned summit meetings with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and US President Donald Trump. Nuclear explosions release enormous amounts of heat and energy, and the North's largest test in September was believed early on to have rendered the site in northeastern North Korea unstable. Chinese authorities have said they've detected no radiation risk from samples collected along the border. Calls to those departments were not immediately answered today. The data in the latest Chinese study was collected following the most powerful of the North's six nuclear device tests
Man-elephant conflicts in Meghalaya claimed 25 lives in 5 yrs
Nearly 10,000 cases of conflicts between humans and elephants have been reported from Meghalaya in the past five years, claiming the lives of 25 people and causing widespread damage to crops, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India has said. The state is home to around 1,800 elephants and the Garo Hills region itself accounts for approximately two-thirds of such conflicts, said the CAG report for the year ended March 31, 2017, recently tabled by Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma in the Assembly. "Over 9,622 cases of human-elephant conflicts (HEC) were registered with the forest department, resulting in death of 25 persons, injury to 22 persons and damage of crops in about 4,009 ha (hectare) area," it said. The CAG report, covering the period between 2012 and 2017, stated that over 6,500 cases were registered in the Garo Hills region, including the Balpakram National Park. Around 2,500 cases were reported from the Khasi Hills region. An amount of Rs 4.41 crore was paid .
This German state is a pioneer in renewable energy
The success of an energy policy depends on it being owned locally and decentralised, a top policymaker has said, adding: "Many economically underdeveloped regions in Germany are now earning money by tapping energy from renewables."
States contributing to forest conservation must be given incentives: VP Naidu
Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday said that the states that contribute to forest conservation must be given incentives."Giving incentives to the states will encourage them to expand the green cover further," Naidu said while addressing at Indira Gandhi National Forestry Academy in Dehradun.He said that government and NITI Aayog should incentivize the states that are making a precious contribution to forest conservation.Naidu also said that Man-animal-wildlife balance must be maintained through scientific management of our forest resources.He said, "You have to find the method to strike a balance between ecological security and development. Man-animal-wildlife balance has to be maintained through scientific management of our forest resources."Naidu urged the society to protect trees and save the forests for the future generations."We have to save the forests for the future generations. If we protect our trees, they will protect us," he said.Naidu was addressing the annual ...
