Page 961 - Environment
Morocco, EU discuss cooperation in energy sector
Rabat, Dec 20 (IANS/MAP) Moroccan Minister of Energy, Mining and Sustainable Development and the head of the EU delegation in the country held talks to strengthen cooperation in the energy sector.
Four forest department personnel suspended for MP tiger deaths
Four forest department personnel were today suspended for failing to prevent the deaths of three tigers in the first fortnight of December in Umaria district, an official said. Sub Divisional Officer (SDO) of Pali Forest area Rahul Mishra said that deputy rangers Mann Singh and Moeen Khan and forest guards Ajay Singh and Naresh Baiga were suspended for being lax in performing their duties in preventing the deaths of three tigers, including a cub, in Umaria district. The carcass of a tiger was found in Gungutti forest range of Umaria on December 3 while mutilated bodies of a tigress and its cub were found in the same area on December 11. According to forest officials, the animals were electrocuted for their body parts and eight people had been arrested in connection with these cases.
Loudspeakers at places of worship: Allahabad HC issues notice to UP govt
The Allahabad High Court's Lucknow bench on Wednesday issued notice to Uttar Pradesh government and state pollution control board in connection with a plea seeking a ban on use of loudspeakers at places of worship.Giving six weeks to the respondents, the court has asked the Yogi Adityanath-led state government and the board to submit the measures they have taken to curb the noise pollution.The division bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Abdul Moin also questioned the two over the non-implementation of Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000, in the state.The public interest litigation was filed by an advocate, Motilal, and the next hearing of the case is on February 1 next year.
Bamboo not a 'tree': Lok Sabha passes bill amending Forest Act
A bill to exclude bamboo from the definition of 'tree' under the Indian Forest Act was passed by the Lok Sabha today amid a protest by opposition members against the promulgation of an ordinance on the matter last month. Piloting the bill to amend the Indian Forest Act, 1927, in the lower house, Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Harsh Vardhan said the changes in law would encourage bamboo plantation by farmers. The bill permits felling and transit of bamboo grown in non-forest areas, he said, adding that it would help improve the rural economy. He clarified that bamboo grown on forest lands would continue to be classified as tree and would be guided by restrictions as per the law. The bill, which will replace the ordinance promulgated by the President on November 23, seeks to exempt bamboos grown on non-forest areas from the requirement of permit for felling or transit under the Forest Act. Observing that bamboo taxonomically is grass, the minister ...
Maha Guv calls for GM seeds that can withstand pest attack
Expressing concern over the deaths of several farmers in Yavatmal allegedly due to pesticide poisoning, Maharashtra Governor C Vidyasagar Rao today urged researchers to develop genetically-modified seeds that can withstand pest attack. Rao also made an appeal to researchers to do farmer-centric research so that cultivators benefit from it. The issue of farmers suffering from exposure to pesticides began in July this year, but its gravity deepened after several farmers lost their lives, mainly in Yavatmal district. The government had formed a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the farmers' deaths. "The researchers should develop genetically-modified seeds that can withstand pest attack," Rao said. The governor was speaking at the launch of the new building of Shri Vasantrao Naik Agriculture Biotechnology College here. "The governments at the Centre and in the state are giving priority to the agriculture sector so that by 2022 farmers in the country would be able to
Those spitting in public in Indore to be fined, shamed
The residents of Indore will find themselves fined and shamed by the local municipal body if found spitting in public places. The commercial capital of Madhya Pradesh was adjudged the cleanest city in the country in the "Clean Survey 2017". Mayor Malini Laxman Singh Gaud today told PTI that if a person is caught spitting paan or gutkha in public places, he will be fined Rs 500. Also, names of such people will be made public through newspapers and announced on radio so they feel embarrassed for their act and don't repeat it, she said. Gaud said spitting is mostly visible at traffic signals and road dividers. Municipal employees would monitor these spots and fine the offenders on the spot.
Health of rivers should be maintained for survival of human
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today said health of rivers should be maintained for the survival of human civilisation. Patnaik said this after inaugurating the 8th edition of Odisha Environment Congress at Regional Museum of National History here. "Rivers are integrally involved with the growth and development of human civilisation. It is thus the responsibility of society to ensure that the rivers live in good health and continue to serve the humanity in a sustainable manner," Patanaik said. He also stressed on the water sharing conflict between states. "The gluttony for water, territorial approach to ownership over river water and utter disregard to environmental needs of the river system has most often led to water conflict," he said. Patnaik said unless all riparian state respect the basic philosophy and principles of equitable sharing of river water with due regard to its health and follow the territorial approach, such conflicts are bound to magnify in ...
Punjab CM launches app to check illegal construction
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh today launched a mobile app to check unauthorised construction, and also unveiled a new web portal of the housing department for online issuance of change of land use. While the app will enable quick action to stop any ongoing illegal construction, the web portal will facilitate easy land use change and help citizens track any such change, the chief minister said here. The android-based App, known as PUDA-UCIC (Unauthorised constructions and illegal colonies), opened for public use today in Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) region. With this app, the field staff and public would be able to click pictures of any unauthorised construction from the spot and upload them for further action, he said. The satellite and geo tagging based app will provide the unique details of the location, enabling the officials to take quick action to stop the ongoing illegal construction and illegal colonies on the land. An official ...
Northern army chief visits LoC in Poonch, Rajouri
Indian Army's Northern Command chief, Lt Gen Devraj Anbu on Wednesday visited forward areas on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch and Rajouri districts, a defence statement said.
UP Govt to open cow sanctuaries in 75 districts
Uttar Pradesh government is planning to open cow sanctuary in all 75 districts of the state, chief minister Yogi Adityanath announced this on Wednesday."We plan to start a very big cow sanctuary in every district of UP, but the government will not operate these sanctuaries. The government will only provide infrastructure and would encourage formation of a district level committee," Adityanath said after inaugurating six-day 'Zero Investment Natural Agriculture' workshop here.The chief minister said cow was the biggest source of natural farming and hence the government has decided to open cow sanctuary in every district."In the first phase, we have decided to start cow sanctuaries in 16 municipal corporations and seven districts of Bundelkhand," he informed.On arranging land for the proposed cow sanctuaries, the chief minister said, "We have constituted anti-land mafia task force in the state and 44,000 hectare land has been freed from the clutches of land-mafia. Another 1,53,000 cases
DAE signed pact with BAEC to help with Rooppur project: Govt
The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) has signed an agreement with the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC) to extend technical support for the Rooppur Nuclear Power Project (RNPP) in the neighbouring country, the Lok Sabha was informed today. Minister of State Jitrendra Singh said in a written reply that he DAE has signed the agreement with the BAEC through its Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership (GCNEP) to extend technical/consultancy and capacity building support for the RNPP being set up with Russian collaboration. To a separate question, he said the government had formulated a scheme aimed at detection, interception, interdiction, prevention, preparedness and response to mitigate consequences for unauthorised entry of radioactive material. Singh added that the government had set up an institutional mechanism under the DAE at the national-level named as Counter Nuclear Smuggling Team (CNST). "The DAE has also developed Emergency Response Centers ...
SAIL sends 1,000-tonne TMT re-bars for Indo-Bangla project
The Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) on Wednesday said its central marketing organisation (CMO) flagged off the first consignment of 1,000 tonnes of TMT high corrosion-resistant (HCR) reinforcement bars for the Indo-Bangla Maitree Super Thermal Power Project from Kolkata Port in a barge.
Punjab Cabinet clears creation of directorate of environment
To check air pollution, including from stubble burning, the Punjab Cabinet today approved the creation of directorate of environment and climate change in the state, an official spokesperson said. The move will also help strengthen the system of environmental clearances given to industries, thus bringing greater accountability into the process, he said. The proposed directorate will address issues related to biotechnology or biodiversity, and implementation of research or recommendations of the Punjab State Council for Science and Technology (PSCST), besides ensuring clean, green and pollution-free environment, the spokesperson said. Giving further details of the cabinet's decision, taken under chairmanship of chief minister Amarinder Singh, an official spokeman said that the directorate would be set up in the department of science, technology and environment and would focus on technical issues to curb pollution risks efficaciously. The directorate would work in two ...
Punjab cabinet okays closure of Bathinda, Ropar power units
The Punjab cabinet today approved the closure of the inefficient power units in Bathinda and Ropar with effect from January 1, 2018, without any job losses. A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of the Council of Ministers, chaired by Chief Minister Amarinder Singh here, an official spokesman said. The cabinet decision was based on the report of the sub-committee constituted to look into the matter, he said. The sub-committee comprised cabinet ministers Manpreet Badal, Rana Gurjit Singh and Charanjit Singh Channi. As per the decision, taken in line with the guidelines of the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) to retire inefficient and economically unviable power plants in operation for more than 25 years, all units of 460 MW Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Plant (GNDTP), Bathinda and Unit-1 and 2 (2x210 MW) of 1260 MW Guru Gobind Singh Super Thermal Plant (GGSSTP), Ropar, will be shut down from January 1. All the units of GNDTP, Bathinda, had been in operation for ...
Delhi pollution: 'Anti-smog gun' trials begin in Anand Vihar
Commuters at Delhi's Anand Vihar Bus Terminal were greeted with an unusual sight when a huge anti-smog gun was installed in the vicinity of Anand Vihar metro station.Speaking to ANI, Delhi Environment Minister Imran Hussain said: "Anand Vihar is one of the most polluted areas in Delhi. We had decided in the meeting that we shall deploy the machine in the area, to check whether pollution levels come down or not. If pollution levels do come down, then we will take a call on it later"."When water is sprinkled from above, it helps the pollutants (P.M 2.5 and P.M 10) to settle down and clears out the air," added Hussain.On being asked about the cost and the success of the trial run, Hussain replied: "Our priority is to fight air pollution. The cost can be decided later on. If the trial run is successful, then the government (Delhi) will do a survey and will install such machines (anti-smog guns) soon".Asked whether anti-smog guns are used elsewhere, the environment minister replied that ...
Pollution caused rains to turn more acidic: Govt
Pollution caused rains to turn increasingly acidic in many parts of the country, particularly in the last decade, the Lok Sabha was informed today. Union of Minister of State for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences YS Chowdary replied in affirmative when asked whether a research by the India Meteorological Department and the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology has found that pollution is causing rain to turn acidic. Chowdary cited the study, conducted during 1981-2012, which underlined a decreasing trend in potential of hydrogen (pH), a scale that tells how acidic or alkaline a substance is. More acidic solutions have lower pH. "Study during 1981-2012 has shown the decreasing trend in pH at all the ten global atmosphere watch (GAW) stations in India. "This trend is more significant in the last decade. Decadal mean pH among ten stations for 1981-1990, 1991-2000 and 2001-2012 ranged between 7.31 to 5.76, 7.45 to 4.92 and 6.16 to 4.77, respectively," he said in a
UP to introduce Direct Benefit Transfer for fertilizer: Adityanath
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday announced to introduce Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) for fertilizer and chemicals.He made this announcement after opening six-day 'Zero Investment Natural Agriculture' workshop here, which is being organised by Lok Bharti.Adityanath said his government favours transferring subsidy amount directly into the bank account of the beneficiaries, so that theft by middlemen is curbed."We are going to introduce DBT of subsidy for fertilizers and chemicals so that the farmers should spend the money as per their choice on natural farming, bio farming or fertilize and chemical farming," Adityanath said.He also informed that the DBT system for ration is also being done in the state that curbed theft in the supply chain level."When the government did survey of ration cards in the state then 30 lakh ration cards were found to be fake. After due survey, the government has allotted 38 lakh new ration cards to the eligible persons. In the urban .
Delhi's air quality worsens as smog returns
Air quality across the National Capital Region (NCR) worsened on Wednesday with the return of "smog situation" and particle pollution crossing "severe plus or emergency" mark across several locations, officials said.
'Cosmic rays from exploding stars affect Earth's climate'
Cosmic rays from supernovae - or exploding stars - can influence Earth's cloud cover and its climate, scientists have found. The findings by researchers from University of Copenhagen in Denmark and Hebrew University of Jerusalem explain climate changes observed during the 20th century as well as the coolings and warmings of around two degree Celsius that have occurred repeatedly over the past 10,000 years, as the Sun's activity and the cosmic ray influx have varied. Atmospheric ions, produced by the energetic cosmic rays raining down through the atmosphere, helps the growth and formation of cloud condensation nuclei - the seeds necessary for forming clouds in the atmosphere. When the ionisation in the atmosphere changes, the number of cloud condensation nuclei changes affecting the properties of clouds. More cloud condensation nuclei mean more clouds and a colder climate, and vice versa. Since clouds are essential for the amount of solar energy reaching the surface of ...
Scientists simulate climate of Game of Thrones
Winter is coming! Scientists have used a climate model to simulate and explore the climate of the world of the Game of Thrones. Researchers, including those from the University of Bristol in the UK, show that The Wall, where the land of Westeros is guarded from the White Walkers, has a climate in winter similar to that of Lapland in Finland. They suggest that Casterly Rock, the stronghold of the scheming Lannisters, has a climate similar to that of Houston, Texas in the US, and Changsha in China. The wind speeds and directions predicted by the climate model explain phenomena such as the dominance of the seas by the Iron Fleet, the likely attack plans of invading dragon hordes from Essos, and the trading routes between Westeros and the Free cities across the Narrow Sea. The temperatures predicted by the climate model indicate the likely hibernation zones of White Walkers in summer. Researchers show that the extended seasons can be explained by a 'tumbling' of the tilt of ..
