Page 912 - Environment
Leopard electrocuted to death in Madhya Pradesh
A leopard was electrocuted to death after he stepped on a live wire, laid at a farm by a farmer, a forest officer said today. The forest team apprehended the farmer, who laid the wire at his farm, the officer added. Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of Seoni's South Forest Division TS Sulia said the forest patrolling squad received information about the incident at around 11 last night. During the search operation, the forest squad this morning found the carcass of the leopard, aged around 5-6 years, at a farm near Jilepur village, he said. Sulia said the team also seized wires, bamboo sticks, and other material used for laying the electric trap. He said the farmer Rajkumar Bhalavi (28) admitted that he had laid the trap to save his crop from the wild boar and other wild animals. Bhalavi was arrested and a case under relevant sections of the Wild Life Protection Act was registered, the officer added.
Climate change linked to more flowery forests: Study
Florida State University researchers have revealed a surprising relationship between surging atmospheric carbon dioxide and flower blooms in remote tropical forests.Studying the rich tropical forests of Panama's Barro Colorado Island, the researchers found that climbing rates of carbon dioxide have set the stage for a multi-decade increase in overall flower production.Lead author Geography Stephanie Pau said, "Over the past several decades, we've seen temperatures warming and carbon dioxide increasing, and our study found that this tropical forest has responded to that increase by producing more flowers."The findings suggest that tropical forests, which have evolved over millennia to flourish in warm, equatorial conditions, might be more sensitive to subtle climatic changes than some ecologists predicted."Tropical forests have evolved in generally stable climates. So while they may not be warming as much as some higher-latitude ecosystems, these tropical species appear to be much more
Moscow favours collective world leadership: Russian FM
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said his country is in favour of collective leadership instead of US global leadership.
Include millets in daily diet to help farmers: Karnataka CM
With an view to supporting the farmers cultivating millets in dry areas of the country, and also for their nutritional value, millets must be included as part of our daily diet, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on Friday.
13 human skulls found in Mysore
The Karnataka Police on Friday found 13 human skulls in Mysore's Vijayanagar.The recovered skulls were sent for further examination.An investigation is underway.
Naidu calls for action plan to revitalise farming sector
Expressing concern over the agrarian distress affecting millions of farmers across the country, Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu on Friday called for a medium-term and long-term action plan to revitalize the farm sector.
Pollution: Kolkata safer than Delhi, says minister
Kolkata is safer than New Delhi so far as air pollution is concerned, claimed West Bengal Environment Minister Sovan Chatterjee. Countering reports based on study of air pollution by the US embassy and consulate in Delhi and Kolkata respectively, Chatterjee said those pollution levels are area specific and can never be generalised. The US Consulate General's air pollution monitor in Kolkata covers Park Street area, one of the busiest parts in the city, where vehicular movement is maximum. But in Delhi, the US embassy in the diplomatic enclave is covered by greenery, where traffic movement is much less, he said. "Obviously pollution level in Delhi's diplomatic enclave could be a little less than that in Park Street, but if the level is measured in the entire city, Kolkata will emerge as much better," said Chatterjee, who is also the city mayor. He also claimed that air pollution is less in Kolkata than any other metro city in the country. On the measures taken to reduce ..
Telangana signs MoU with Clean Authority of Tokyo
The government of Telangana and Clean Authority of Tokyo have signed a MoU in the field of municipal solid waste incineration facilities.
Foreign buyers keen on Indian organic products; concerned over
Foreign buyers, including the Chinese and Americans, today showed interest in importing Indian organic agricultural products to cater to increasing consumption levels in their countries, but raised some concerns on quality assessment. South Korea based Organic Partner CEO Raymond Yang said they usually import cashews, nuts,turmeric and rock honeyfrom India, but have problems relating to quality assessment. "In South Korea each product goes through at least 377 tests.However it isnt the case in India.Unless Indianproduce meets the Korean Specific Organic Standard, tradebetween both countries cannot happen unless the items areprocessed," he said atInternational Trade Fair For Organic and Millets 2018. Among the commonly exported items to South Korea and China, turmeric and cotton stand out from the rest, he said. Yang said China and India do not necessarily have the best traderelationship. nevertheless, trade between both countriesis essential, he said. Contamination and ...
India to allot Coal India 11 new mines to boost production by two-fifths
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India will allow Coal India to build 11 new coal mines, the government said, a move that could increase annual production of the world's largest coal miner by two-fifths.
T'gana, Tokyo body sign MoU for municipal waste incineration
The Telangana government today said it had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Clean Authority of Tokyo in connection with municipal solid waste incineration. "The government of Telangana and Clean Authority of Tokyo have signed an MoU for municipal solid waste incineration facilities. They will exchange knowledge in municipal solid waste incineration facilities and make an effort to realize human resource exchanges in view of technical cooperation in the future," an official release said. According to the release, a Telangana business delegation to Japan, led by IT and Industries Minister KT Rama Rao, met industrial heads and leaders of multinational companies in Tokyo. In a separate event in Tokyo, the state government and ISE Foods signed a letter of intent, as part of which, the Japanese firm would set up a pilot project for egg production in Telangana using advanced technologies, it said. The firm will set up a solar park to support the egg production ...
Anti-Nanar plant activists threatened by Shiv Sena: Narayan Rane
Maharashtra Swabhiman Party (MSP) President Narayan Rane on Friday accused the Shiv Sena of threatening farmers and leaders opposing the upcoming mega-refinery project at Nanar in Konkan.
Wildlife board panel to consider suggestions: Govt to SC
The Centre today told the Supreme Court that a standing committee of the wildlife board would consider suggestions, including making 27 corridors across India for safe passage of elephants and other endangered animals, later this month. The government, in its affidavit, said the standing committee would meet on January 25 and consider all aspects suggested by the petitioners, and if practical, take decisions so that follow-up action could be taken by all states. The petitioners had earlier given suggestions, including a mechanism to curb human-animal conflict, measures to reduce animal deaths on roads, highways and by electrocution and plan to protect critically endangered Great Indian Bustard. The matter came up for hearing before a bench, comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, when Attorney General K K Venugopal informed it about the scheduled meeting of the wildlife board. In its affidavit, the Centre has said that ...
Diesel cess to fund study on pollution's impact on health:CPCB
The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has cleared seven projects, including a study on the impact of air pollution on health, which will be funded by its environment fund made up of the cess levied on the sale of high-end diesel cars, officials said. The apex pollution regulator currently has Rs 70 crore in the corpus, called the Environment Protection Fund (EPC), which was created following a Supreme Court order in August 2016, CPCB member-secretary D Sudhakar said. In July last year, the agency had floated an expression of interest (EoI) and proposals for projects and studies to be undertaken using the EPC. Since then, it has received 39 proposals, Sudhakar said. "We have cleared seven proposals out of the 39. An amount of Rs 10.7 crore has also been sanctioned for this purpose," Sudhakar said, adding that a few more proposals are likely to be cleared in the board's next meeting on January 24. The approved projects, once completed, will help strengthen the air ...
WB to partner Sulabh to improve the lot of 'tiger widows'
Moved by the plight of women whose husbands were killed by tigers in the Sunderbans, the West Bengal government today said it would join hands with social oganisation Sulabh International to ameliorate the miseries of the 'tiger widows'. According to reports over 1000 men were killed by tigers in the Sunderbans forest in the past few years when they ventured inside the dense mangrove forest in the absence of toilets in their homes and for collecting wood and honey. The hapless widows have been branded as 'swami-kheko" (husband eaters) by their superstitious in-laws. The Sunderbans, which is the world's largest mangrove forest located between India and Bangladesh, has attained the dubious distinction of being home to a large number of widows. The initiative was announced at the day-long 'Workshop on the Emancipation and Empowerment of Widows' held by Raja Ram Mohan Roy and Pandit Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar Foundation here. About 12 widows from the Sunderbans attended the ..
China launches 2 remote sensing satellites
China today successfully launched two high-resolution optical remote sensing satellites, including one named after a county, from a launch center in the country's northwest. Jilin-1 Video 07 and 08 were launched into the preset orbit from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. Jilin-1 Video 07, also named Deqing-1, was China's first satellite named after a county in east China's Zhejiang Province. Both the satellites were independently developed by Chang Guang Satellite Technology Co Ltd, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. The Deqing-1 has a 0.92-meter ground resolution and a 19 km breadth. It will provide remote sensing data and products for government and industry users together with Jilin-1 Video 08 and eight previously launched Jilin-1 satellites. Deqing County is China's first town featuring "geographic information". The town has more than 150 geographic information enterprises, and had a total industrial output of 3.5 billion yuan (about USD 530 million) over the
India to allot 11 new mines to Coal India: statement
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian government will allot 11 new coal mines to Coal India (Ltd), adding 225 million tonnes to the state miner's annual production capacity, a government statement said on Friday.
NGT directs IBHAS to commission microwave waste treatment unit
The National Green Tribunal has directed the premier Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences (IHBAS) here to install and commission microwave waste treatment unit in its premises within a month. A bench headed by acting Chairperson U D Salvi asked the institute to communicate to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in this regard and seek its advice within a week. "Central Pollution Control Board is directed to consider the particulars of the microwave based treatment unit to be installed and advice the institute regarding the proposed installation of the said unit. "Institute is further directed to take decision in the matter of seeking approval to the room identified for storage of general solid waste within a week and start operating the said separate room as per the recommendations within a fortnight of this order," the bench said. The tribunal also directed the Central Ground Water Authority to consider the application of the institute moved for ...
Brisbane, Jan 19 (AFP) Scoreboard from the second one-day
Scoreboard from the second one-day international between Australia and England at the Gabba today: Australia D Warner c Root b Ali 35 A Finch c Roy b Plunkett 106 S Smith lbw b Root 18 T Head c and b Root 7 M Marsh st Buttler b Rashid 36 M Stoinis c Buttler b Rashid 4 C White not out 15 A Carey run out 27 M Starc c Roy b Woakes 3 A Tye run out 8 Extras (lb2, nb1, w8) 11 Total (9 wickets; 50 overs) 270 Fall of wickets: 1-68, 2-110, 3-124, 4-209, 5-213, 6-216, 7-255, 8-261, 9-270 Bowling: Wood 9-0-55-0, Woakes 9-0-37-1, Plunkett 8-0-43 -1, Ali 7-0-31-1, Rashid 10-0-71-2, Root 7-0-31-2 England J Roy c Finch b Starc 2 J Bairstow c Warner b Richardson 60 A Hales b Richardson 57 J Root not out 46 E Morgan b Starc 21 J Buttler c Carey b Starc 42 M Ali b Starc 1 C Woakes not out 39 Extras (lb1, w5) 6 Total (6 wickets; 44.2 overs) 274 Fall of wickets: 1-2, 2-119, 3-129, 4-157, 5-225, 6-227 Bowling: Starc 10-0-59-4, Richardson 10-1-57-2, Head 7-0 -55-0, Tye 9-0-47-0, Finch 3-0-17-0, ...
CPCB to fund mass awareness drives, better monitoring
The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has decided to spend a major portion of its green fund towards generating awareness among masses on pollution and strengthening the monitoring system, officials said on Friday.
