Page 90 - Environment

US states' drones inspect bridges, help predict avalanches

In Utah, drones are hovering near avalanches to watch roaring snow. In North Carolina, they're searching for the nests of endangered birds. In Kansas, they could soon be identifying sick cows through heat signatures. Public transportation agencies are using drones in nearly every state, according to a survey obtained by The Associated Press ahead of its release Monday. The report from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials shows a sharp increase in their use over the last few years, reflecting the rapid adoption of the technology by governments as well as hobbyists. In 2016, the nonprofit group found no state transportation agency was using drones on a daily basis. Now, 36 states have certified drone pilots on staff. When the survey was done this month, all but one state was using drones in some way. Since then, the lone holdout Rhode Island has bought a drone, said Tony Dorsey, a spokesman for the group. The small, unmanned aircraft are often used ...

Specialty chem market to grow at 12-13 pc CAGR over next five years: Report

The specialty chemicals market is likely to clock a compounded annual growth rate of 12-13 per cent over the next five years, with the intensity of specialty chemicals in end-use domestic markets expected to rise, a report has said. The closure of plants in European Union and China, owing to increasing environmental concerns, has opened doors for Indian manufacturers to invest further in specialty chemicals, according to a report by rating agency Crisil. "While India also faces threat from environmental concerns, the threat is limited to smaller players and shall serve as an opportunity for larger players to capture the market," it said. Some of the large players have established themselves in global markets like the EU and US and have active export revenue share which will help them seize the opportunity, it said. Global players are looking to diversify the supply risk, thereby improving export opportunities for Indian players, Crisil added. It noted that prospects of the domestic ...

Madhya Pradesh: Leopard beaten to death by villagers in Mandsaur district

A leopard was beaten to death by villagers after it attacked five villagers in Fatehpur village within the district.Two leopards were seen in the area and one of it got involved in a scuffle with the local villagers and got killed in the process. "When we got the news of leopard entering the village then I went there to photograph it. We were standing together; at that very time, it leaped up around 7 feet and attacked me. Some villagers then got together and caught the leopard with the help of a charpoy. Villagers killed it there and then by overpowering it," said a local person of the village."We came to the village to inspect the area after we the news of two leopards entering the village broke out. One of them was killed and one of them is still in the area. We are performing search operations in the area and will nab the other leopard soon," said a forest official."In the morning, five people came here after being attacked by a leopard. They are all out of danger now," said Dr. ..

UP: No electricity since 2009, complain Bikanpur villagers

Residents of Bikanpur village complained of being forced to live in darkness for the last nine years despite electricity poles, transmission wires being present in the village since decades. Most of the houses even have electronic meters installed."There is no electricity in the village since 2010, it used to come for a short while for 2-3 years before that. Linesman comes but nothing gets done. We just have a connection now with no electricity but every month the bill comes and we have to deposit the bill," a villager Pankaj Kumar Singh told ANI.Other villagers too said that they had filed complaints but no action was taken by the concerned authorities.Frustrated with the situation, the villagers now dry their clothes on the transmission wires.Bikanpur village comes under the Mundha Pande block which falls in the Moradabad district and is located just 15 kilometres away from the main town.Sanjay Garg, the Senior Engineer in Pashchimanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Ltd. (PVVNL) denied ...

NGT directs DDA to submit report on 'Neela Hauz' lake

The National Green Tribunal Monday directed the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to furnish action taken report on rejuvenation of the 'Neela Hauz' lake in South Delhi. A bench headed by NGT chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel directed the DDA to submit the report within a month. The green panel said conservation of a water body is essential for the environment as it helps in recharging ground water and maintaining microclimate in the area. "The DDA must take necessary steps by way of fencing and preventing dumping of waste. Accordingly, we are of the view that a factual and action taken report needs to be taken from the DDA. Let such report be furnished by the DDA within a month by e-mail at ngt.filing@gmail.com. A copy of this order, along with the newspaper report be sent to the DDA by e-mail for compliance," the bench said. The matter is posted for next hearing on August 13. The tribunal's order came after taking note of the newspaper report which said the 'Neela Hauz' lake is .

Tree plantation termed a necessity for people of Leh

To address increasing air pollution caused due to deforestation in the rugged terrain of Leh, local authorities have taken initiatives to remedy the situation.On October 29, 2012, the people of Leh witnessed an event where volunteers planted approximately 1 lakh Ladakhi willow trees to set the world record. Those saplings have now grown into trees and are located between the Hemis monastery (Ladakh's largest monastery) and the Indus River.Again in 2017, during a tree plantation drive organized by the Leh Forest Department, Hill Council Chief Executive Councillor Dr Sonam Dawa told ANI that, "Hill Council has made some road map to save the environment by planting more trees on barren land and also stressed on the need of water conservation."The declining environment has now become a very serious issue for Ladakh, we need more and more plantation of trees to be done on a regular basis.In Ladakh different types of trees like apple, apricot, poplar, willow and walnut can easily be grown ..

Expert suggests biotech solution to abate mining pollution

Mining plays a significant role in the economic development of countries, but it also poses environmental threats, which, if not mitigated employing advanced technology, could lead to destruction of habitats, an expert has said. Odisha, with its vast resources, is one of the foremost mineral-rich states, where application of advanced biotechnology could abate pollution to a large extent, said K A Natarajan, emeritus professor in the department of materials engineering at Indian Institute of Science (IISC), Bengaluru. Natarajan, while addressing a conference here recently on green technologies, also maintained that cyanide in aqueous discharges, treatment of high-volume mine water containing low concentrations of metal and other contaminations can have severe impact on the ecosystem. "In Sukinda area of Jajpur, known for its chromite reserves, acid rock drainage is posing a potential threat to the health of the locals. The chromium from the ores has contaminated the ...

Amplus bags 150 MW solar projects in Haryana

Amplus Solar said Monday that it has secured approval from the Haryana government for two power projects of 150 MW for supplying clean energy to industries. Amplus Solar expects to make a capital investment of Rs 750 crore for these open access projects, a company statement said. Under the open access route, industrial and commercial users can source electricity from the open market. They can purchase power from a number of suppliers and can also meet their Renewable Purchase Obligations. The company had signed an MoU with the Department of Renewable Energy, Government of Haryana, in 2016 to invest Rs 1,000 crore in the solar sector in line with the Haryana Solar Policy that has a target of 3,200 MW of solar projects. Gurgaon-headquartered Amplus will set up these projects under group captive model in Sirsa and Bhiwani districts where it has already acquired 575 acres of land under a long-term lease. Construction of the plants is expected to begin soon and will be operational this ...

More mysterious 'jars of the dead' discovered in Laos

Scientists have discovered 15 new sites in Laos containing over a hundred mysterious 1,000-year-old massive stone jars -- similar to those found in India and Indonesia -- possibly used to bury the dead. The jars of Laos are one of archaeology's enduring mysteries, said researchers from the Australian National University (ANU). Experts believe they were related to disposal of the dead, but nothing is known about the jars' original purpose and the people who brought them there. The new findings show the distribution of the jars was more widespread than previously thought and could unlock the secrets surrounding their origin. The sites, deep in remote and mountainous forest and containing 137 jars, were identified by ANU PhD student Nicholas Skopal with officials from the Laos government. "These new sites have really only been visited by the occasional tiger hunter. Now we've rediscovered them, we're hoping to build a clear picture about this culture and how it disposed of its dead," ...

Consider appointing more experts to Tree Authority: HC to BMC

The Bombay High Court Monday said to keep larger public interest in mind and to safeguard the environment, the BMC should consider including more experts to the civic body's tree authority. A vacation bench of Justices Sandeep Shinde and Sarang Kotwal was hearing applications filed by the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, and environmental activist Zoru Bhatena seeking various reliefs related to the tree authority. The high court had, in October last year, restrained the tree authority from taking any decision on applications to cut trees until it had independent experts as nominated members. Last week, the BMC had informed the court that the present tree authority has four experts. Bhatena, however, took objection to this and said the tree authority had 15 councillors or corporators and just four experts. He argued the BMC must include an equal number of experts as councillors to ensure permissions for felling trees were not granted ...

MEIL Proved its Superiority in Hydrocarbons Sector Too

/ -- Hyderabad-based MEIL's Hydrocarbon division made an extraordinary beginning in the field. It has completed and commissioned many projects in the last financial year. Oil storage tanks, gas-based power generation units, gas processing units, pipeline projects and city gas distribution projects were taken up and completed most of them. MEIL's Hydrocarbon division also has had a presence in the global market by execution projects in Kuwait and Jordan. It also expands to Singapore, Bangladesh. (Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/889632/MEIL_Hydro.jpg ) Global footprints It has commissioned gas turbine in Power generation and energy solutions at Arab Potash Company (APC), Jordan. This 54-megawatt gas-based power plant commissioned in the month of October 2018 and running successfully. This project includes engineering, supply, erection and commissioning of the gas turbine of 54 MW capacity, heat recovery steam generator and step-up transformer of 80 MVA. Another global project ..

Over 51,000 farmers get Rs 21 cr drought assistance in Maha

More than 51,000 farmers in Palghar district of Maharashtra have been provided drought assistance worth Rs 21.09 crore, an official said on Monday. Due to the deficient monsoon last year, reservoirs in the district have only about 22 per cent water stock of their total storage capacity, collector Prashant Narnavre said in a statement. "So far, 51,174 farmers from 333 villages in Palghar have been paid Rs 21.09 croretowards compensation for the scarcity situation in the district," he said. The state tribal development department's principal secretary, Manisha Verma, toured the district during the weekend to review the water crisis and assured there was no dearth of funds to tackle the situation, he added.

Goa govt to spend Rs 1,000 cr to upgrade power network

The Goa government has decided to upgrade the electricity transmission and distribution network across the coastal state at a cost of Rs 1,000 crore, a senior official said on Monday. An administrative approval has been already granted for the works and the tendering process will start once the model code of conduct enforced for the Lok Sabha elections is withdrawn, the official from the power department told PTI. "The work for transforming, upgrading and strengthening the power infrastructure, costing around Rs 1,000 crore, will be completed within two years," he said. The aim is to bring down the power transmission and distribution losses from the current 18 per cent to about five to seven per cent, he said. Some of the power lines in the state were installed nearly 30 years ago and require urgent repairs, he said. The state, which does not have its own power generating plant, depends on the western and southern grids for the supply, which reaches around 550 to 575 Mega

Climate a bigger driver of language diversity: Study

A region's climate has a greater impact than landscape on how many languages are spoken there, according to a study that mapped language diversity around the world. The research, published in the journal Nature Communications, found that areas with more productive climates tend to have more languages. "We were able to show that despite popular belief, climatic factors have a stronger effect than landscape factors -- like how mountainous it is, or how many rivers there are -- when it comes to language diversity," said Professor Lindell Bromham from The Australian National University (ANU). The researchers think this could have a lot to do with food production -- another driver of language diversity. "If an area can reliably support food production for more of the year it may allow human groups to persist in smaller areas, so you can pack more different cultures into one region, and therefore more languages," Bromham said. "If you're up in a region with a shorter growing season, or less

Traumatised by conflict, animals find haven in Jordan

For more than a year after being moved to a Jordanian wildlife reserve from war-hit Syria, two bears, Loz and Sukkar, would cower whenever planes flew by, traumatised by past bombardments. They are among dozens of animals that have been rescued from regional war zones, including the Israeli-blockaded Gaza Strip, and brought to Jordan's Al Ma'wa For Nature and Wildlife. The sanctuary located in Jerash province north of Amman was set up by the Princess Alia Foundation, named after the king's sister, in cooperation with the international animal welfare organisation Four Paws. Sukkar (sugar in Arabic) and Loz (almond) are Asian black bears, now aged nine, who were trapped by war in the Magic World Zoo outside Syria's second city, Aleppo, before being rescued in the summer of 2017. "When they were brought here they were terrified by the sounds of aircraft, especially helicopters and for more than a year they would hide in a room inside their pens each time they heard planes go by," said ...

Vice President calls for improving pulses productivity

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu has called for increasing the acreage and productivity of pulses for achieving self-sufficiency and urged agricultural universities to step up research on improving their yields.Speaking at the inaugural session of All India Coordinated Research Group's Annual Group Meet on MULLaRP and Arid Legumes workshop here on Sunday, the Vice President said there was a need to introduce high-yielding, disease and pest-resilient seed varieties.Pointing out that pulses were an inexpensive source of plant-based proteins, vitamins and minerals for people, Shri Naidu said they provide green, nutritious fodder for animal and also enrich soil through biological nitrogen fixation."Some legumes are known to have medicinal and therapeutic properties also. Hence, they were rightly termed as 'Unique Jewels' of Indian crop husbandry," he said.Observing that legumes were an essential component in Indian cropping pattern, especially in dryland farming, Naidu said India was the ..

Humans cooked, ate starchy plant tubers 120,000 years ago: Study

Researchers have found archaeological evidence that anatomically modern humans were roasting and eating plant starches, such as those from tubers and rhizomes, as early as 120,000 years ago.The new research by an international team of archaeologists, published in the Journal of Human Evolution, provides archaeological evidence that has previously been lacking to support the hypothesis that the duplication of the starch digestion genes is an adaptive response to an increased starch diet.The discoveries were made at the Klasies River Cave in South Africa's southern Cape."This is very exciting. The genetic and biological evidence previously suggested that early humans would have been eating starches, but this research had not been done before," says Lead author Cynthia Larbey of the Department of Archaeology at the University of Cambridge.The work is part of a systemic multidisciplinary investigation into the role that plants and fire played in the lives of Middle Stone Age ...

UNESCO includes Indian part of Kailash Mansarovar in tentative list of world heritage sites

UNESCO has included the Indian part of Kailash Mansarovar in its tentative list of world heritage sites, sources in the Culture Ministry said Sunday. It was in April that the Archeological Survey of India, which is under the Culture Ministry, sent the proposal mooted by the Ministry of Environment and Forests to UNESCO. In the proposal, Kailash Mansarovar is in the mixed category both as a natural as well as a cultural heritage. Covering an area of 6,836sq km within India, the area is flanked in the east by Nepal and bordered by China on the north. The Indian site is part of the larger landscape of 31,000 sq km referred to as the 'Kailash Sacred Landscape' constituting the Mount Kailash and Lake Mansarovar in the remote south-western portion of the Tibet Autonomous Region of China and adjacent districts in the far-western region of Nepal. Both China and Nepal have proposed the landscape as a world heritage site to UNESCO. If it comes through, Uttarakhand, a major transit point of the

Maharashtra stares at power crisis as Koyna water level dips

Maharashtra is likely to face power shortage due to depleted water stock in the Koyna dam, an official said Sunday. While the Koyna dam's total capacity is 105 TMC, its current stock is merely 28 TMC, the official said. The 1,000 MW fourth phase of the Koyna hydroelectric project is currently facing water shortage. Only nine TMC water stock is available for the fourth phase of the power generating unit, the official said. "It means power generation for the fourth phase will continue for the next few days. Of the current 28 TMC water, only nine TMC will be available for the fourth phase, which generates 1,000 MW power," he said. The total power generation capacity of the dam is 1,920 MW. "The state power generating utility would be compelled to exhaust the current (water) stock owing to the higher demand during the summer season. It means the state will have to make some alternative arrangements to meet the shortage of 1,000 MW," the official said.

Cattle smuggling bids foiled in J-K, 12 held

A dozen separate cattle smuggling attempts were foiled in Jammu and Kashmir's Raman, Udhampur and Poonch districts, police said Sunday. Twelve drivers were arrested and 185 animals were rescued, they added. Five trucks, heading for Kashmir and allegedly loaded with 80 animals, were intercepted at Batote and Chanderkote areas of Ramban district Saturday evening, a police official said. He said the animals were rescued and the five drivers arrested. In nearby Udhampur, the official said, three more drivers were arrested during vehicle checking at Chenani after they were caught trying to smuggle 80 animals. Four more drivers were arrested and 25 animals rescued at Surankote and Gursai area of Poonch district, the official said. All the accused were booked under relevant sections of the law and further investigation is underway, he added.