Page 84 - Environment

Waste food may help cut fossil fuel use: Study

Wasted food can be affordably turned into a clean substitute for fossil fuels, say scientists who used natural fermentation to produce a biodegradable chemical that can be refined as a source of energy. The chemical could also be used to replace petroleum-based chemicals in a host of products including drugs and plastic packaging. "People like me, environmental biotechnologists, look at food waste as a tremendous resource," said Hyung-Sool Lee, an engineering professor at University of Waterloo in Canada. "With the right technologies, we can extract numerous useful chemicals and fuel from it," said Lee. Wasted food account for a worldwide economic loss of an estimated USD 1.3 trillion every year. Most of that discarded food goes into landfills, researchers said. Technology already exists to reduce the environmental impact by diverting food waste, collecting methane gas as it is broken down by microorganisms and burning the gas to produce electricity. However, Lee said that the system .

Rare albino panda caught on camera in China: state media

A rare all-white panda has been caught on camera at a nature reserve in southwest China, showing albinism exists among wild pandas in the region, state media reported. The spotless, red-eyed animal was photographed while trekking through the forest mid-April in southwestern Sichuan province, said official news agency Xinhua on Saturday. The panda is an albino between one to two years old, said Li Sheng, a researcher specialising in bears at Peking University, who was quoted in Xinhua's report. The Wolong National Nature Reserve -- where the animal was spotted -- told AFP it had no further details about the albino panda. More than 80 per cent of the world's wild pandas live in Sichuan, with the rest in Shaanxi and Gansu province. There were about 548 giant pandas in captivity globally as of November, reported Xinhua. The number living in the wild has dwindled to fewer than 2,000, according to the World Wildlife Fund. Famed for its "panda diplomacy", in which China dispatches the rare ..

Ancient seawater dating back to Ice Age discovered in Indian Ocean

In a first, scientists have discovered the remnants of seawater dating back to the Ice Age, tucked inside rock formations in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Researchers from the University of Chicago in the US made the discovery on a months-long scientific mission exploring the limestone deposits that form the Maldives. The ship, the JOIDES Resolution, is specifically built for ocean science and is equipped with a drill that can extract cores of rock over a mile long from up to three miles beneath the seafloor. Then scientists either vacuum out the water or use a hydraulic press to squeeze the water out of the sediments. "Previously, all we had to go on to reconstruct seawater from the last Ice Age were indirect clues, like fossil corals and chemical signatures from sediments on the seafloor," said Clara Blattler, an assistant professor of geophysical sciences at the University of Chicago. "But from all indications, it looks pretty clear we now have an actual piece of this ...

Giant replica of earth on display in Britain

A giant replica of the earth went on display at the Liverpool Cathedral, Britain's biggest church.

Delhi's power demand increases by 22 pc in April-May

The power demand in the national capital has been soaring this year with April-May recording a 22-per cent growth over the corresponding period in 2018. The peak power demand in April 2018 was 5,200 MW. This year, the demand in April crossed the 5,200-MW mark five times, peaking at 5,664 MW on April 30, said Delhi's power department and discom officials. "Notwithstanding the intermittent pleasant weather, Delhi's power demand in 2019 is turning out to be up to 22 per cent more than the corresponding period last year," an official said. The power demand in April 2019 has been higher on 19 occasions than the corresponding days last year. On April 22, it was 3,828 MW in 2018 and 4,588 MW in 2019 an increase of 20 per cent. Again on April 25, it was 4,438 MW in 2018 and 5,552 MW in 2019 an increase of 19 per cent, the officials said. The trend continues in May 2019. Of the first 24 days of May 2019, the power demand has been higher than on 13 corresponding days of last May, increasing ..

Strong, cooling wood may help cut electricity bills

Scientists have designed a novel type of wood that radiates heat away, paving the way for building materials that could keep homes cool and help save on electricity bills. Researchers at the University of Maryland and the University of Colorado in the US have harnessed nature's nanotechnology to help solve the problem of finding a passive way for buildings to dump heat that is sustainable and strong. Wood is already used as a building material, and is renewable and sustainable, they said. Using tiny structures found in wood -- cellulose nanofibres and the natural chambers that grow to pass water and nutrients up and down inside a living tree -- the specially processed wood has optical properties that radiate heat away, according to the study published in the journal Science. "Cooling wood that is made of solely wood -- that is, no any other component such as polymers -- can cool your house as a green building material," said Liangbing Hu, from the University of Maryland. "When applied

Small, fast, insect-eating animals to predominate in the future: Study

Animals such as tawny eagle and black rhinoceros that are slow-lived and require special environmental conditions are likely to face extinction over the next 100 years

Zimbabwe allows bow-and-arrow hunting for buffalo

Zimbabwe is to allow bow and arrow hunting of buffalo in a bid to capture a growing part of the international sports trophy hunting market, an official said Saturday. "As part of diversifying our product we have now introduced bow and arrow hunting... to attract more people to Zimbabwe," Parks and Wildlife Management Authority spokesman Tinashe Farawo told AFP. The market for wealthy hunters from the developed world seeking a trophy specimen for display is becoming more competitive. Earlier this week, neighbouring Botswana ended a five-year ban on elephant hunting, sparking protests from conservationists who reject the argument that it will help provide money for poor countries and lead to better management of animal stocks. "What we are doing is to capture that market, so that we can also have more revenue and put the money back into conservation, improve our economy, create more jobs," Farawo said. Zimbabwe boasts a healthy population of buffalo running into hundreds of ...

Researchers forecast worldwide move towards smaller birds, mammals

In the future, small, fast-lived, highly-fertile, insect-eating animals which can thrive in a wide variety of habitats will predominate, a recent study suggests.These 'winners' include rodents, such as dwarf gerbil - and songbirds, such as the white-browed sparrow-weaver. Less adaptable, slow-lived species, requiring specialist environmental conditions, will likely fall victim of extinction. These 'losers' include the tawny eagle and black rhinoceros.Researchers at the University of Southampton have forecast a worldwide move towards smaller birds and mammals over the next 100 years.The researchers predict the average (median) body mass of mammals specifically will collectively reduce by 25 per cent over the next century. This decline represents a large, accelerated change when compared with the 14 per cent body size reduction observed in species from 130,000 years ago (the last interglacial period) until today.Findings are published in detail in the journal Nature ...

Electric hookahs no safer than traditional charcoal-based ones: Study

Electric hookahs are just as harmful has traditional charcoal-based ones, a recent study suggests.Waterpipe tobacco smoking, otherwise known as "hookah" or "shisha," is becoming increasingly popular worldwide, especially among youth. Traditional hookahs burn charcoals as a heat source, but recently, electrical heating elements (EHEs) have been introduced to the market.Reinforced by product advertising and package labeling, many hookah smokers believe that EHEs are less harmful than charcoal. According to a recent study, although EHEs reduce some toxicants, they increase others.In traditional hookahs, smokers burn charcoal on top of a tobacco preparation known as ma'ssel, a mixture of tobacco, glycerin, water, and flavourings. The resulting smoke bubbles through the water at the bottom of the pipe before being inhaled through a tube by the smoker.Findings of the study were published in the Journal of Chemical Research in Toxicology.Previous studies have shown that charcoal contributes .

US hiker found after two weeks lost in Hawaii forest

An American yoga instructor who spent two weeks lost in the wilds of Hawaii and survived on plants and water has been found alive. Amanda Eller, 35, was rescued Friday beside a creek bed at the bottom of a ravine in a national forest on Maui after she was spotted by a helicopter. She had been out on a hike when she vanished. Her disappearance prompted a social media campaign to boost efforts to find her. "Amanda has been found. She got lost and was stuck and slightly injured in the forest - way way out," reads a posting on a "Find Amanda" Facebook page created after her disappearance on May 8. Eller, who also works as a physical therapist, has been in the hospital since her rescue. A grassroots fund-raising campaign collected more than USD 70,000, and this allowed a helicopter to be chartered to look for her. Eller's boyfriend was the last to see her. Police found her car at a parking lot near a hiking trail. "She is just as strong as we always said she would be. We knew she could ...

Traffic resumes on Jammu-Srinagar Highway after remaining closed for 13 hours

Traffic on the strategic 270-km Jammu-Srinagar National Highway resumed on Saturday evening after being closed for over 13 hours following a massive landslide in Ramban district, officials said. The landslide, triggered by incessant rains over the past two days, occurred near Battery Cheshma around 4.30 am, completely blocking the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with rest of the country, Suresh Sharma, Deputy Superintendent of Police (traffic), national highway Ramban, told PTI. After hectic efforts by the road clearance agencies, lasting over 13 hours, the road was cleared and stranded vehicles were allowed to move, he said. The traffic on the highway plies between the twin capitals of Srinagar and Jammu alternatively due to ongoing four-laning works. Sharma said a minor landslide in Digdole area was cleared within a few hours. Meanwhile, officials said, Divisional Commissioner of Jammu Sanjeev Verma and Inspector General of Police, Jammu, M K Sinha visited Ramban Saturday and .

Three arrested for hunting pregnant deer in Rajasthan

Three men were arrested for allegedly hunting a pregnant deer in Rajasthan's Nagaur district, forest officials said Saturday. The accused hunted the animal in Kundlota village in the district on Thursday night. Locals caught the accused and informed the forest department, they said. Shivlal, Laxman and Umaram were arrested under the Wildlife Protection Act on Friday and sent to judicial custody for 15 days by a local court Saturday, assistant conservator of forest, Nagaur, Sunil Gaur, said.

Forest staff's daughter killed by elephant

A seven-year old girl was killed by a wild elephant near here, police said Saturday. Ranjani, the daughter of a member of anti-poaching squad, and her mother Chitra saw the animal in front of their house Friday night after returning home from shopping, the police said. The elephant got alarmed by the light from their cellphone and chased the girl and the mother. The girl couldn't run fast as the animal lifted her with its trunk and hurled her to the ground before fleeing into the forest, the police said. The injured girl was taken to a hospital and she died upon reaching there, police said. Based on complaints, forest department is checking the presence of elephants in the area and assured to prevent their straying into human habitats, they said. The department made an initial payment of Rs 50,000 as a compensation and the remaining Rs 3.50 lakh would be handed over to the victim's family soon, they added.

Drought situation in Maharashtra is very serious: Pawar

NCP president Sharad Pawar said Saturday that the drought situation in Maharashtra was very serious. Addressing a gathering in Satara district, Pawar said he would try his best to ensure that the government provided maximum assistance to drought-hit areas. Last October, the Maharashtra government announced drought in over 150 of 358 tehsils in the state following a bad monsoon. "All of us must ensure that we never face such situation again," he added. Pawar visited villages of Chilewadi and Nagewadi in Koregaon tehsil of the district Saturday. The meteorological department has predicted delay in the onset of monsoon, so people should be ready for a proper water management, the NCP president said. The former Union agriculture minister also lauded Pani Foundation, an initiative of actor Aamir Khan, for its efforts to promote water conservation in Maharashtra's drought-prone areas. "The foundation is doing a good job and it should be noted that villagers are completely ...

Farmers gather in Shivamogga to remember victims of 1980 police firing

Farmers from Shivamogga and nearby regions in Karnataka on Saturday gathered at the memorial site built near Nagasamudra village in remembrance of the farmers killed in the 1980 police firing.Kodihalli Chandrasekhar, president of the state Raitha Sangh, said the Nagasamudra incident was an important date in the history of farmers' movements. He added that brutal suppression of the Naragunda rebellion by the erstwhile Congress government using police forces was a "black day.""Nagasamudra incident is an important date in the history of peasant movements in Karnataka. In 1980, Naragunda rebellion started in Gadag district, Dudda in Hassan district and simultaneously at Nagasamudra in Shivamogga. Congress government led by Gundurao fired on farmers, that was a black day for us," Chandrashekhar told ANI.He asserted that the farmers had kept memories of the firing fresh in their minds and hoped it would help shape the course of future movements."We are remembering and keeping history alive.

Peacock rescued from IGI's Terminal-3

An injured peacock was rescued from Terminal-3 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport here, an NGO said. On Friday afternoon, a team of Wildlife SOS rushed to the airport after getting information that a peacock with battered wings was found near the arrivals area. They rescued the bird and kept it under observation for a few hours, before releasing it into the natural habitat, a Wildlife SOS spokesperson said. The peacock had sustained minor dog bites on its wings and was highly stressed. Peacocks and other birds are a common sight in the airport area and they often venture into the green covers around the airport in search of water and shelter, the spokesperson said. Peacock is protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

Eight killed in carbon dioxide leak on cargo ship in China

At least eight people were killed in a carbon dioxide leak on a cargo ship in an eastern Chinese port on Saturday, officials said. The incident happened at around 4:00 pm at Longyan port in Rongcheng city, Shandong Province, the local authority said. The cause of the leak is under investigation, state-run China Daily reported.

Elephant found dead in Corbett core area

A tusker was found dead in the core area of Corbett Tiger Reserve, an official said Saturday. The carcass of the 60-year-old elephant bearing multiple injury marks was spotted by a patrolling team between Gaujpani forest rest house and Dhara Gate in the core area of CTR Friday, the official said. The deep cuts on its body suggested it died in aterritorial fight with another pachyderm, he said, adding, its tusks are intact.

Modi's Himalayan warning: A surgical strike now on greenhouse gases? (Comment)

Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to Kedarnath temple and his meditation at 12,000 ft above sea level in the Garhwal Himalayas was an extraordinary event. It will probably go down in history as the highest level of meditation ever performed by any head of government.