Page 962 - Environment

Air-quality alarm in Kolkata

An air quality report by the US consulate here has shown that the PM 2.5 level at the city's Park Street area has surpassed Delhi's Chanakyapuri locality on Tuesday, with environmentalists and people here expressing concerns. The particulate matter (PM) level -- an important index in measuring pollution -- in the Chanakyapuri area of Delhi had improved from 292 Acceptable Quality Limit (AQL) to 189 AQL between noon to 6 pm on Tuesday. In Park Street here, the count went up from 274 AQL to 288 AQL during that time, the consulate website report says. Expressing concern over the report, environmentalist S M Ghosh said diesel cars are the main contributing factor to the alarming level of pollution in the city. The West Bengal Pollution Control Board is doing very little to reduce the fleet of diesel cars, he alleged. The situation, however, improved this morning with the PM 2.5 level at 171 AQL, far higher than the minimum alarming level of 151 AQL (acceptable quality ...

Need people's help in checking air pollution: Adityanath

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath today called for people's participation in checking the high level of air pollution in the state's major cities. "Guidelines have been issued after a state-level meeting on checking high level of air pollution but people's participation is a must," he said in the state Assembly while responding to an adjournment notice moved by Samajwadi Party MLA Nitin Agarwal. Adityanath said the high level of pollution today is the result of "continued neglect" for a prolonged period, illegal mining and unscientific development. "This dangerous level of pollution has not been reached in a day...it was (first) noticed when people started having breathing problems and experienced burning in the eyes," he said, adding that the government has taken necessary steps and will continue to do so. The matter came up in the Zero Hour when Agarwal broached the subject of air pollution in major cities, how it has reached a critical stage and is causing .

Wind tariff competitiveness to remain a challenge: ICRA

Even as the tariff competitiveness of wind energy has improved as against the conventional energy sources, its viability continues to be a challenge, says ICRA. According to the rating agency, while the government's wind power bidding programme provides visibility to support capacity additions over the next four years, the renegotiation or cancellation of power purchase agreements (PPAs) by few states will be a major challenge. The ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) proposes to issue bids for 5,000 MW by March next year followed by 10,000 MW each in FY 2019 and FY 2020, so as to achieve the cumulative wind capacity target of 60,000 MW by FY2022. The tariff discovered in the reverse auction under the second MNRE scheme conducted by SECI in October this year declined by 24 per cent to Rs 2.64 per unit as against Rs 3.46 per unit discovered in the first MNRE scheme. While this significantly improves the tariff competitiveness of wind energy as against conventional

Satya Pal Singh appeals for burial of cremation ashes in ground

Union Minister Satya Pal Singh on Wednesday appealed to people to bury cremation ashes in ground instead of immersing it in River Ganga.Talking to reporters here, the Minister of State for Human Resource Development urged the people to bury ashes in the ground and to plant saplings on it."As per the present situation, I appeal to everyone, ashes must be buried in ground and saplings should be planted on it, so even coming generations can remember (the deceased). I urge all priests, associated with rituals, to create awareness among people over it," Singh said.He said that it was the demand of the time to revisit people's beliefs."People have beliefs, but it is the demand of today's time to revisit them. We must not do anything that affects the purity of Ganga," Singh said.According to the Hindu rituals, it is highly recommended that the cremation ashes should be immersed in River Ganga in Haridwar. However, concerned with the pollution level in River Ganga, the Narendra Modi-led ...

Cosmic rays from exploding stars affecting Earth's climate: Study

Cosmic rays raining down from exploded stars and variations in the Sun's magnetic activity can affect climate on Earth, claims a study.

Cow protection: NGT directs Centre to file affidavit

The National Green Tribunal today directed the Ministry of Agriculture to file an affidavit stating details of the minutes of a meeting held to frame a national policy to prevent the "rapid decline" in population of indigenous breeds of cattle across the country. A bench headed by Acting Chairperson Justice U D Salvi also asked the other stakeholders in the case to place on record their views along with all the material concerned within two weeks. During the hearing, advocate Sumeer Sodhi, the counsel for petitioner Ashwini Kumar, said that applicant, who was allowed by the tribunal to attend the meeting, did not participate in it and, therefore, he would like to submit his response on the livestock policy. The matter will now be heard on February 1. The NGT had earlier directed the governments of West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Goa, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Sikkim and Tripura to participate in the meeting to frame a national ...

Govt to combine old, modern tech for crop forecast: Anant

The Centre is weighing combining traditional and modern technologies like yield estimate and satellite imagery to ensure accurate farm output forecast, Chief Statistician T C A Anant said today. "The Centre is working on a combination of traditional and modern technology like satellite imagery for crop acreage and yield estimation to build up a much more sophisticated analysis and ensure accurate agriculture forecasts," Anant said here while addressing an event of Geospatial Technologies in India. "If we can combine traditional technology of acreage, yield estimation with satellite imagery, which is possible through a small hand-held device... it will be possible for you to not only get the estimates... but also the geospatial coordinates... This is one work which is now in progress," an Assocham statement quoted him as saying. He further said, "The technology is there, apps have been developed, it is a question of working with all state officials and there is huge ...

All stations under SCR Zone to be 100 pc LED lit by March

All stations coming under the South Central Railway (SCR) Zone will be 100 per cent LED lit by March 2018, a top official has said. The SCR Zone is in the forefront of initiating energy conservation measures, its General Manager Vinod Kumar Yadav has said. Addressing the National Energy Conservation seminar held at Rail Nilayam in Secunderabad yesterday, Yadav gave an insight into the SCR plans for energy conservation. "The Zone has been a pioneer in installation of energy efficient gadgets as LED lighting, brushless DC electric motor energy saving fans and inverter type ACs," an SCR release quoted Yadav as saying at the seminar. SCR officials said there are 704 stations under the Zone and so far around 500 of them have been LED lit. All stations under the Zone will be 100 per cent LED lit by March 2018, Yadav said.

SAIL uses multimodal transport to export TMT bars to B'desh

Domestic steel giant SAIL today flagged off from Kolkata port the first consignment of 1,000 tonnes of SAIL-TMT reinforcement bars for the Indo-Bangla Maitree Super Thermal Power Project. This is the first time that SAIL is utilising multimodal transport for delivery of material to a project site, the Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) said in a statement. "The barge will offload the material at Bangladesh's Mongla port, for transportation by road to the project site at Moidara village in Bagerhat district of Bangladesh," the statement said. The Maitree project is a 50:50 joint venture of Bangladesh Power Development Board and NTPC India for setting up of two 660 Megawatt thermal power plants in Bagerhat district of Bangladesh by 2020 at an estimated cost of USD 1.49 billion. SAIL bagged an order for supply of 17,200 tonnes of corrosion-resistant thermo-mechanically treated (TMT) rebars in sizes 8mm to 36 mm in phase-1. Re-bars were produced at the three integrated ...

Amara Raja Batteries commissions 1st phase of two wheeler battery plant

In Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh

Rome's Christmas tree a 'disgrace'

Residents of the Italian capital have branded the city's Christmas tree as a "disgrace" and claimed that it was just another sign of Rome's decline, the media reported.

Nest of globally endangered turtle species spotted in Cambodia

A nest of the globally endangered Asian giant softshell turtle was found on a sandbar on the Mekong river in Cambodia, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) said.

BHP says likely to quit global coal lobby group

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Global miner BHP Billiton said on Tuesday it had taken a preliminary decision to leave the World Coal Association (WCA) over differences on climate change and might also withdraw from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Nagaland CM allocates portfolios to ministers

Nagaland Chief Minister T.R. Zeliang Aon Tuesday allotted portfolios to the newly-inducted ministers, while keeping a few including finance, personnel and administrative reforms with himself.

Greenpeace India hails National Clean Air Programme

Greenpeace India has hailed the National Clean Air Programme, saying it's an important first step towards ensuring unpolluted air for the country's people. Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan yesterday informed the Rajya Sabha in a written reply that the government has formulated the NCAP to tackle the increasing air pollution in the country. Welcoming the move by the Environment Ministry, Greenpeace India's campaigner Sunil Dahiya said: "NCAP is an important first step towards ensuring clean air for India." He said it was imperative to have "measurable, focused and precise" targets with clear timelines and demonstrable accountability towards public health, to make the programme a national-level initative. The minister had said that the objective of the NCAP was to augment and evolve an effective ambient air quality monitoring network across India, besides ensuring a comprehensive management plan for prevention, control and abatement of air pollution.

U.S. regulators approve emissions fix for 24,000 Audi diesel 3.0-liter vehicles

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board said Tuesday they had approved an emissions fix for 24,000 Audi 3.0-liter passenger cars as Volkswagen AG looks to move beyond its diesel emissions crisis.

Space technology proposed for agriculture: Minister

The Agriculture Ministry has proposed National Programme on use of Space Technology for Agriculture (NPSTA), envisaging integrated use of space and geo-spatial tools for mapping, monitoring and management of agriculture, Parliament was told on Tuesday.

Electrified 15,183 villages till November 30: Minister

The government has electrified 15,183 villages till November 30, 2017, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Tuesday.

Amara Raja commissions two-wheeler battery plant

Battery manufacturer Amara Raja Batteries on Tuesday commissioned its two-wheeler battery plant here.

Top polluter China unveils nationwide carbon market

China, the world's biggest polluter, unveiled plans today for a national carbon market likely to become the world's largest exchange for emissions credits. Environmentalists praised the move as an important step in the battle against climate change as China burns more coal than any other country, giving it the ignominious title of top greenhouse gas emitter. Although the long-delayed emissions exchange scheme will initially cover just the power generation sector, it is expected to surpass the European Union's carbon market, currently the world's biggest. "The purpose of this programme is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions," said Zhang Yong, vice chairman of China's National Development and Reform Commission. The country is the largest investor in renewable energy but has faced an uphill battle transitioning from coal, which is used to generate roughly three-quarters of its power according to the International Energy Agency. China is seen as a potential leader in the ...