Page 893 - Environment
Dutch have done human, animal diesel tests 'for years'
Dutch researchers have been performing tests "for years" on humans and animals to study the effects of diesel fumes, scientists said today, amid an outcry in Germany over similar experiments. The Dutch National Institute for Public Health (RIVM) "is involved in research in which volunteers ... are exposed to diluted emissions from a diesel engine" for a maximum of two hours, Flemming Cassee, a toxicologist at the organisation told AFP. The volunteers were made up of people "in good health, as well as those who are sick, such as those who are been treated by cardiologists". The emissions are similar to those breathed in every day in a busy town or close to motorways, added Cassee, a researcher at the institute which often carries out assignments for the Dutch government as well as other public bodies. "We've been doing it for years, and there is nothing extraordinary about it," he stressed, adding the situation was the same in "many countries". According to the New York .
Bengal's potato production likely to dip
With the lower acreage of potato cultivation by about five per cent in West Bengal, potato production in the current season is expected to be close to 100 lakh tonnes, down by 10 lakh tonnes from previous year, an official said on Tuesday.
Swaraj holds talks with Guyanese counterpart to boost ties
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today met her Guyanese counterpart Carl B Greenidge and held talks to further strengthen ties between the two countries through cooperation in capacity building and promotion of business and trade. Greenidge, who is also the 2nd Vice President of the Caribbean nation, is on a five-day visit to India, along with the Minister of Natural Resources and the Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement. "Three Memorandums of Understanding, namely, Renewable Energy, Cultural Exchange Programme and Framework Agreement on International Solar Alliance were signed. The Guyanese delegation also presented the Instrument of Ratification of the International Solar Alliance," the MEA statement said. During his meeting with Greenidge, Swaraj referred to the historical and multifaceted ties between the two sides. "The subsequent discussions focused on further strengthening ...
HP: Man arrested for keeping illegally extracted cedar oil
A man was today arrested in connection with the January 23 seizure of 17,000 litres of illegally extracted cedar oil from the Chopal forest here, police said. Ramanand has been booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Indian Forest Act for keeping the cedar oil hidden in the forest, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Chopal, Santosh Sharma, said. The police had also seized 85 empty drums from the forest. Extraction of the oil was banned in Himachal Pradesh in 2012 as it harmed cedar trees. The DSP said the police has also recovered 55 drums of 50 litres capacity each and 30 drums of 200 litres capacity each from the godown of one Laik Ram. However, Ram has claimed that he stopped extracting the oil after it was banned, the officer said. The police are investigating all aspects of the case. The forest department has charge-sheeted two of its employees of after preliminary enquiry, the DSP said.
High powered group set up to look into sharing utility infra
In order to decided on sharing of infrastructure for utilities like water pipes and telecom cables, a high-powered committee was constituted today at a meeting of PM-appointed Group of Infrastructure, headed by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari. A high-powered committee has been formed, headed by telecom Secretary, and comprising Secretaries of road transport and highways, power and petroleum and member (Engineering), railways, an official said after the sixth meeting of the infrastructure group. The committee will look into the modalities for sharing infrastructure for utilities like water pipes and telecom cables, he said. Chaired by Gadkari -- the minister for road transport, highways, shipping, water resources, river development and Ganga Rejuvenation, the meeting also decided that these ministries would enter into a pact to the effect that they would not charge each other for setting up projects as the payment would be on government-to-government basis, the official ...
Smart Cities Mission progressing at brisk pace: Puri
Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri today said the Centre's flagship Smart Cities Mission was progressing at a "brisk pace" and setting a "new benchmark" in term of project implementation. The housing and urban affairs ministry has so far announced 99 cities for Smart Cities Mission. In January 2016, 20 cities were announced, followed by 13 cities in May 2016, 27 cities in September 2016 and 30 cities in June 2017. On January 19, nine cities were chosen in the latest round of the Smart Cities Mission. At an event here, Puri said two years is a short duration in terms of urban development life-cycle where transitions take place over decades. "The Smart Cities Mission is progressing at a brisk pace," the housing and urban affairs minister said, adding that 99 cities selected so far have identified projects worth Rs 2.02 lakh crore. He said as on January 17, there were 2,948 projects worth Rs 1.38 lakh crore at various stages of implementation, while 189 projects worth Rs ...
Telangana officials hopeful of rise in wild animal population
The Telangana forest department officials are hopeful that the population of animals in the state's forests has increased in recent times. The officials held a meeting here today with the volunteers who took part in the just-concluded census of tigers and other forest-dwelling animals, according to a state government release. The release, however, said it takes time to know the exact number of animals. The officials feel the population of forest animals in all regions, including Amrabad and Kawal tiger reserve, is encouraging, it said. The meeting discussed various proposals for conservation of animals in the forests, it said. The proposals include taking measures to ensure the well-being of animals during summer, rising awareness of local populace about conservation of forests and increasing punishment for those causing harm, like fire incidents, to the forests, the release added.
Amphibian species under threat in Western Ghats
Several frog species are facing extinction threats in the Western Ghats mainly due to habitat loss caused by various activities such as deforestation and forest destruction. Over one-third of all known amphibian species were facing extinction threats and their populations were drastically declining mainly due to habitat loss caused by anthropogenic actives such deforestation and forest destruction, Prof S D Biju, University of Delhi, said. Currently there are over 7800 species of amphibians found worldwide. In terms of number of species, they are the third largest group of vertebrates, after fishes and birds, he said in a presentation at the recent Kerala Science Congress at Thlassery in Kannur district. India is home to over 420 known species of amphibians and many of these are found no where else in the world, he said adding amphibians are the most threatened group of vertebrates in the world. "The status of amphibians in India is also similar and so we need to ...
Congress demands Parrikar's quit for 'mishandling' Mhadei issue
The Congress on Wednesday demanded the resignation of Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar for "mismanaging" the Mhadei river water dispute with Karnataka which had put Goa's very future in peril.
Banning non-organic produce from outside will benefit Sikkim:
Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling today defended the government's proposed move to ban non-organic produces from outside, saying such a measure will promote consumption of locally grown organic products and make the state self-reliant in the long run. The Sikkim government had yesterday withdrew a bill that sought a ban on supply of non-organic produces in Sikkim from outside, citing paucity of time. "The proposed move to ban supply of non-organic produces in a phased manner in Sikkim from outside has been taken to boost production and consumption of organic produces grown domestically for a host of reasons," Chamling said in the state Assembly during his 90-minute speech at the two-day special session of the House. "By taking a tough decision like banning supply of non-organic produces from outside in a phased manner in Sikkim and giving impetus to production and consumption of organic produces that we can make, our state will be self-reliant in farm sector in
Mahadayi dispute:KTK CM hits out at Goa Dty speaker's charge
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah today hit out at Goa's accusation that his state was diverting the water of a Mahadayi tributary into the Malaprabha river basin. The reaction comes a day after Goa Assembly's Deputy Speaker Michael Lobo levelled the allegation after visiting Kanakumbi at the border of Karnataka and Goa with Speaker Pramod Sawant, yesterday. Alleging that the Goa leaders were indulging in mischief, Siddaramaiah said there was "no violation." "Let them (Goa leaders) say whatever they want to say but there is a tribunal to decide," Siddaramaiah told reporters here. "The matter is pending before the tribunal. It will decide whether we have violated its order or not. Just because their deputy speaker says so that does not mean that there was a violation," Siddaramaiah said. At least 45 TMC ft of water originate in Karnataka, he said. "Nearly 200 TMC water (in the river) straightaway goes to the sea. All that we are asking for is 7.5 TMC, which the Goa ..
CM launches Rs 110 cr scheme to provide 24x7 power supply in
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakurlaunched integrated power development scheme at Nagrota Bagwan today to provide 24x7 power supply in 54 towns of the state. "The Rs 110 crore centrally sponsored scheme is for 54 towns of the state in the ratio 90:10 by the Centre andstate government, respectively. "This will include strengthening of power distribution system, setting up new transformers, besides upgrading 33 KV and 22 KV Electric sub stations in the state and maintaining electric lines to prevent transmission losses. The electric power in all 54 towns selectedwill be strengthened for providing round the clock powersupply to the people of the state," the chief minister said. He further said that the six towns selected in Kangra district with base at Nagrota Bagwan are Kangra, Nagrota Bagwaan, Yol, Dehra, Palampur and Dharamshala. The scheme envisages to strengthen the basic infrastructure and upgradation of power supply and sub stations. The total funds for .
Taiwan demands compensation for U.S. solar safeguard tariffs
GENEVA (Reuters) - Taiwan has joined South Korea in demanding compensation for steep U.S. tariffs on solar panels, opening a 30-day window for negotiations, a World Trade Organization filing showed on Tuesday.
Leopard falls into well, dies
A leopard which strayed into a village was found dead in an open well at Suttuballe in neighbouring Udupi district, police said. The carcass of the leopard was noticed by the family members of Sathish Kulal when they went to draw water from the well yesterday. Villagers informed the forest department officials who came and lifted out the body from the well. Veterinary doctors conducted the post-mortem and buried the animal in the nearby bushes, the sources said.
Govt launches kits to detect use of chemicals in fresh fish
Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh today launched kits to detect chemical adulterants -- ammonia and formaldehyde -- in fresh fish. The use of chemicals to increase shelf life of fish is leading to many health issues. The Rapid Detection Kits for adulterants in fresh fish have been developed by the Central Institute of Fisheries Technology (CIFT), Kochi. "Ammonia helps in preventing ice from melting and use of formaldehyde increases the shelf life of fish therefore many people in the fisheries sector are using these chemicals. The kit helps in detecting both the chemicals in the fish," an official statement said. Singh informed that continuous ingestion of ammonia and formaldehyde can lead to many health issues including abdominal pain, vomiting, unconsciousness, and sometimes can even cause death. Formaldehyde is potential cancer-inducing chemical, which is a major health concern, therefore, its use needs to be curbed. Stating that fish consumption is beneficial for
U'khand: Activist threatens to protest Centre's eco-sensitive
Social activist Avdhash Kaushal today threatened to protest a Centre's notification declaring an area from Gaumukh to Uttarkashi as eco-sensitive, claiming it had led to stalling of power projects and forced Uttarakhand to procure electricity from outside. The amount being spent to buy electricity could be used to upgrade nearly 12,500 government primary schools and minimise migration from the state, he said. Kaushal said that he would not let the tax payers' money go to waste in the stalled hydel-power projects and launch a movement for the withdrawal of the notification. Threatening that his organisation -- RLEK -- would "fight in the streets and courts" for revival of the stalled projects, the activist alleged that the notification had no scientific backing. To buttress his argument, he referred to a resolution passed by the Uttarakhand Assembly on March 29, 2011. The resolution had opposed the Centre's notification on the ground that no opinion was sought from ...
Cauvery water: TN CM seeks meeting with K'taka counterpart
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister E. Palaniswami has written a letter to Karnataka counterpart Siddaramaiah seeking an appointment to discuss the Cauvery water dispute.On January 13, Palaniswami had requested Siddaramaiah to release water from River Cauvery to save the standing crops of farmers in the former's state.Citing that the crop season in Karnataka was over, Palaniswami, in a letter, requested 15 thousand million cubic feet (TMC ft) of water for his state.Palaniswami urged Karnataka chief minister to consider the plight of the farmers whose livelihoods depend on a good harvest to release the water.
India, Guyana sign three agreements
In a bid to enhance New Delhi's ties with the Caribbean region, India and Guyana on Tuesday signed three agreements, including on renewable energy and cultural exchange, following bilateral talks between External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Second Vice President and Foreign Minister of Guyana Carl B. Greenidge here.
Regional adaptions can cool heat extremes by up to 2-3 degrees
Climate engineering that modifies the properties of the land surface in highly populated regions and agricultural areas over Asia, North American and Europe may reduce extreme temperatures there by up to 2-3 degrees Celsius, a study suggests. The modifications could include "lightening" buildings, roads and other infrastructure in high population areas and changing crops and engaging in no-till agricultural practices. Unlike many other climate-engineering methods proposed to tackle climate change, many of these regional modifications have already been tested and proven to work, said researchers from the University of New South Wales in Australia. Critically, this method has fewer risks compared with injecting aerosols into the atmosphere, they said. "Extreme temperatures are where human and natural systems are most vulnerable. Changing the radiative properties of land helps address this issue with fewer side effects," said Andy Pitman from the ARC Centre of Excellence for
TN, Karnataka CMs to meet over Cauvery
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K. Palaniswami and ministers from the Cauvery Delta region will meet Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and urge him to release the river river water to save the state's paddy crop, it was announced on Tuesday.
