Page 954 - Environment

Suzlon Energy gets energized after commissioning offshore met station

Suzlon Energy gained 1.23% to Rs 14.79 at 11:00 IST on BSE after Suzlon Group along with associates commissioned their first operational offshore met station in the Arabian sea.

First-ever hybrid bird species from the Amazon discovered

Scientists have discovered the first known hybrid bird species to be found in the Amazon rainforest - a golden-crowned manakin with yellow feathers. Through a series of genetic and other tests researchers found that the golden-crowned manakin - first discovered in Brazil in 1957 but not seen again until 2002 - is in fact a hybrid species. "While hybrid plant species are very common, hybrid species among vertebrates are exceedingly rare," said Jason Weir, from University of Toronto in Canada. A hybrid species forms when two parental species mate to produce a hybrid population, which then stops being able to freely interbreed with the parental species. In this case the two parents are the snow-capped manakin, named for its bright snowy-white crown feathers, and the opal-crowned manakin, named for its brilliant iridescent crown feathers. Researchers gathered genetic and feather samples over two separate field trips to Brazil. They were then able to sequence a large portion ..

Ganga Gram Project launched to make 4,470 Ganga Villages Swachh and fully developed

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Nitin Gadkari, Minister for Water Resources, Ganga Rejuvenation and River Development appealed to the village sarpanches to pledge unconditional support to making River Ganga and Ganga Grams 'swachh'. Highlighting the various Government interventions towards making the Ganga 'Nirmal' Shri Gadkari, announced that funds will be generated from NRIs to support the various Ganga projects.

Equine movement banned in W Delhi over glanders epidemic fears

The Delhi government has banned the movement of equines - such as mules, horses and donkeys - in the city's west district for three months as a precaution after the fatal glanders disease was found in seven animals. The disease affects the family Equidae. It is transferable and equally dangerous to humans. The disease is commonly contracted by consuming food or water contaminated by the nasal discharge of the carrier animals. The government's development department has issued a notification stating the ban, and an official said there were more than 3,000 horses in the national capital. The government has directed all veterinary officials of the Animal Husbandry Unit to take steps for "surveillance of the disease" and collect test samples from all equines in their areas. According to the notification, the National Research Centre on Equines, Hisar, collected samples from 13 equines at Sanjay Gandhi Animal Care Centre in west Delhi's Raja Garden. Of these, seven samples were

BJP raps Cong for 'double-speak' on Mahadayi issue

Union minister Prakash Javadekar today rapped the Congress for its 'double-speak' on Mahadayi river water dispute with Goa, and blamed Sonia Gandhi for the stalemate. "Here is a Goa Chief Minister, with magnanimity he says, he is ready to solve the issue and give drinking water required to the drought affected Karnataka. Instead of welcoming it, Congress is opposing in Goa, but raising questions against BJP in Karnataka." They cannot indulge in double-speak. People are not fools," Javadekar, the minister for Human Resource Development, told reporters here. The Congress was instigating people when they have welcomed Manohar Parrikar's gesture, Javadekar said. People were sure that when B S Yeddyurappa (BJP Karnataka state president) would don chief minister's mantle things would move fast, not like it was happening during Siddaramaiah's rule, Javadekar, BJP's election in-charge for Karnataka assembly polls due early next year, said. Parrikar, in a letter to Yeddyurappa on

Kovind visits ashram near Hyderabad, plants sapling

President Ram Nath Kovind on Monday visited Kanha Shantivanam Ashram, the global headquarters of Heartfulness Institute, near here and planted a sapling there.

China tightens grip over South China Sea in 2017, expands islands

China expanded the area of islands occupied by it in the South China Sea in 2017 and constructed radar facilities, hangars among others in an area covering 290,000 square metres, an official report said.

Grey Christmas in Delhi, pollution rises

Delhi had a grey Christmas today under a thick cover of haze which brought down visibility even as volume of pollutants spiked, keeping air quality in the 'very poor' category. The situation deteriorated after sunset with nine out of 17 stations of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in the city recording 'severe' air quality, which may affect healthy people and seriously impact those with existing diseases. The day's average Air Quality Index was 372, classified as 'very poor' by the CPCB. Yesterday, the reading was 305. The hourly graph of the Central Control Room for Air Quality Management of the CPCB reflected the rising trend of PM2.5 and PM10, which are the most dominant pollutants in Delhi's air. PM10 and PM 2.5 were recorded at 407 and 268.7 microgram per cubic metre (ug/m3) at 5 pm. The corresponding 24-hour- safe standards are 60 and 100. At 6 am, the corresponding pollutants had readings of 141 and 253 ug/m3. Thereafter, their concentration rose through

CPCB may consider vertical monitoring of air in Delhi-NCR:

A top Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) scientist today said that the agency may consider using advanced LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) devices to vertically monitor the air quality of Delhi-NCR. CPCB's air lab chief Dipankar Saha said the agency is currently focusing on strengthening its surface-level monitoring network, however, in "later stages", vertical monitoring will also be taken up. He was reacting to a PTI report that the CPCB's plans to to use the LiDAR technology, using which laser beams are projected in the sky to study the composition of pollutants present in the upper layers, has hit a financial roadblock. "The CPCB has taken up the responsibility to strengthen the ground-level monitoring first on a priority basis. It may consider application of the LiDAR-like monitoring in later stages to have better strategic planning in air pollution control in Delhi-NCR for which fund would never be a constraint," Saha said. LiDAR is a monitoring system for ..

Govt starts safeguard duty probe on solar cells

India has started a probe to determine imposition of safeguard duty on surging imports of solar cells with a view to protect domestic manufacturers. Domestic manufacturers have approached the Directorate General of Safeguards (DGS) with a complaint that their market share has remained stagnant despite rapid expansion in demand for solar cells in the country. India is targeting to 100 GW (gigawatt) solar capacity by 2022. The current installed capacity is about 15 GW. The government has planned to auction 20 GW capacities by March 2018, and 30 GW each in next two fiscals. Solar cells, electrical devices that convert sunlight directly into electricity, are imported primarily from China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. The application for imposition of the import restrictive duty has been filed by the Indian Solar Manufacturer's Association (ISMA) on behalf of five Indian producers - Mundra Solar PV, Indosolar, Jupiter Solar Power, Websol Energy Systems and Helios Photo ...

Sustainable energy balance needed to meet rising global demand, say experts

With global energy demand expected to grow 30 per cent by 2040 as per International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates, a sustainable energy balance needs to be achieved to meet this requirement while also ensuring reduction in hazardous emissions, experts said.

Planetary nebula that looks like 'holiday ornament in space'

The Hubble Space Telescope has captured the image of a planetary nebula that looks like a colourful holiday ornament in space, according to the European Space Agency (ESA).

Cold wave disrupts train schedule in Delhi

The cold wave continued to disrupt lives in the national capital as 26 trains got delayed while six were rescheduled and 17 got cancelled due to fog on Monday.With the winter season setting in, Delhi has been experiencing dense fog leading to disruption in the functioning of Indian railways.Yesterday, 17 trains were cancelled, 19 were delayed and six were rescheduled after a blanket of fog engulfed Delhi.The high pollution level in the region has further added to the fog causing low visibility.

Nepal's last known dancing bears rescued

Nepali authorities have rescued the country's last known "dancing bears", officials said today, ending the medieval tradition of abuse of the beasts for entertainment. The Himalayan nation banned performing bears back in 1973 but the illegal practice -- a traditional occupation for some street performer communities -- lingered on in parts of its southern region. Police and animal charities said they spent more than a year hunting the captors of the sloth bears before they were traced to the Rautahat district near the border with India on Tuesday. "We received information that they were in our area and managed to rescue the bears," district police chief Yagya Binod Pokharel told AFP. Dancing bears are captured and bought as cubs and taught to dance on their hind legs. Their snouts are pierced with a heated rod so they can be controlled by the tug of a rope or chain. Animal activists said the rescued bears -- 19-year-old male Rangila and Sridevi, a 17-year-old female -- ..

Chhattisgarh: 37 cows die in 2 weeks at shelter in Dhamtari

At least 37 cows died over the last two weeks at a private cow shelter in Chhattisgarh's Dhamtari district, an official said today. Thirty-seven cow carcasses were found in a forest near the shelter located on the outskirts of Rajadera village under Magarlod development block yesterday, Dhamtari District Collector CR Prasanna told PTI. The deaths came to light after villagers noted an unpleasant smell coming from the forest and found rotting carcasses. Police arrested Manharan Sahu, native of Umarda in the district who ran the shelter, last night based on a complaint lodged by the village Sarpanch, the collector said. "A preliminary investigation suggests that most of the cows had been left there by local farmers after they became very weak due to illness or injuries," the official said, ruling out starvation or lack of water as reasons for the deaths. However, exact causes of the deaths would be known only after a thorough probe, Prasanna said. Sahu had leased three ...

Mumbai-Pune expressway traffic back to normal: Highway police

State Highway Police officials today said that vehicular traffic on Mumbai-Pune Expressway was back to normal after continuous traffic interruptions that started early Friday morning. Officials said that heavy flow of traffic out of Mumbai due to the long weekend caused a traffic jam on both the Mumbai-Pune expressway as well as the Mumbai-Goa highway. Matters went from bad to worse on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, officials said, after a container-truck toppled at Khandala ghat around 8am yesterday. The container-truck was set right by around 1:30pm but it had caused traffic to slow down considerably by then, said an official. "A traffic bottleneck was created at Amrutanjan bridge in Khandala where the width of the road is narrow and gradient is high," said Vijay Patil, Superintendent of Police, State Highway Police. He added that more than 50 vehicles broke down due to various reasons during this time adding to the bottlenecks on several stretches of the route. "To avoid

Odisha varsity, BPCL to promote bio-fuel in Odisha

The Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and the Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) today signed a memorandum of understanding to produce bio-fuel from rice straw. The petroleum company has entered into a partnership with OUAT for effective utilisation of rice straw for bio-fuel production in a bio-chemical enzymatic process with a financial support of Rs 5 crore, said a senior government official. The agreement was signed in presence of Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and state's Principal Secretary, Agriculture, Saurabh Garg, at a function here. At present, the state yields 85 lakh tonne rice and around 100 lakh tonne rice straw annually, the official said. The large acreage and production of rice in the state provides ample opportunities to excel in promotion of rice straw-based bio-fuel, a statement issued by the BPCL said. Of the total budget allocation, Rs 3 crore will be used as research contingency for development, establishment

Parikkar, BJP trying to play drama on Mahadayi issue: Karna CM

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah today accused his Goa counterpart Manohar Parrikar and state BJP chief B S Yeddyurappa of trying to play out a 'drama' on the issue Mahadayi river water issue, keeping the coming assembly elections in mind. "...Parrikar and Yeddyurappa both tried to play out a drama for the sake of elections (due in Karnataka early next year), he told reporters in Haveri. He was responding to a question regarding Parrikars letter to Yeddyurappa on the inter-state river water issue after mediation by BJP national President Amit Shah. Karnataka is seeking water from the river for meeting drinking water requirements in northern parts of the state where it has become an emotive political issue. Parrikar, in a letter to Yeddyurappa on Thursday, had said, in principle, Goa would not oppose the "reasonable" and "justified" quantum of water meant to be utilised for drinking while pointing out that the matter is pending before the Mahadayi Water Disputes ...

First photosynthesis took place 1.25 billion years ago: Study

The process of photosynthesis in plants first took place 1.25 billion years ago, finds a study that identified an algae fossil, believed to be the world's oldest known direct ancestor of modern plants and animals.

In South Africa, bees stop elephants from trampling trees

The humble bee is helping to keep elephants from destroying trees and wiping out crops in their quest for food. A project launched near South Africa's Kruger National Park in 2015 has found success. An elephant's skin is thick but sensitive. The animals will try to avoid a bee sting whenever possible, experts say. "They're terrified of it coming up the trunk and then they could potentially suffocate," says Jess Wilmot, field researcher with the organisation Elephants Alive. Project founder Michelle Henley says beehives have proven to be "significantly effective" at protecting indigenous trees from being trampled. "It's amazing how a creature so small can actually scare away an elephant," beekeeper Mark Collins says. Now the project is upgrading the beehives, and using them to explore commercial honey production.