Page 33 - Environment
Land is affected by degradation but we are committed to save it: Javadekar
Acknowledging that 29.3 per cent of land in India was affected by degradation, Union minister Prakash Javadekar Monday said his ministry was committed to save it with all necessary inputs at the upcoming Conference of the Parties (COP 14). Speaking at an event held to mark 'World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought', he said, "There is crisis in the world that the land, once fertile, is not fertile anymore. Where there used to be forest, now it is not. We are discussing degradation of land. Under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi we have direction, hope and promise to save the land from degradation." He also announced that India will host the 14th session of the Conference of the Parties or COP 14 to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) this year to address the issues of land degradation and desertification. The COP 14 will be held from September 2-14 in Greater Noida with over 5,000 representatives from more than 197 countries. International and ...
Environment-friendly battery golf cart ply in Parliament premises
As the first session of the 17th Lok Sabha began on Monday, environment-friendly battery operated golf carts were seen ferrying Lok Sabha staff inside the Parliament premises, seen as an attempt to contribute to keeping the pollution levels of the national capital down.Lok Sabha Secretariat started this environment-friendly initiative to reduce the levels of air pollution in the capital last year.The electric golf cart can ferry six people at one go and is used inside the Parliament premises.The National Capital of Delhi has been in the World Health Organization's (WHO) list of 'most polluted cities of the world' for the past few years and the city has seen alarming pollution levels every year.In this background, operating such battery operated cars is a symbolic attempt of measures being taken by government officials to make the capital's air quality better."This battery rickshaw is dedicated to all Lok Sabha staff, it was begun with two vehicles and six more battery rickshaws are ...
Kolkata magician feared drowned after Houdini act fails
A Kolkata-based magician, who attempted an underwater escape trick like legendary magician Harry Houdini, is feared to have drowned in the Ganga as his body could not be found till Monday afternoon, police said.
Goa CM urges MLAs to take up tree plantation
In a bid to increase the green cover in Goa, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Monday urged all MLAs to take up tree plantation during the upcoming forest festival in the state. The 'Van Mahotsav' will be held in the state from July to September. "As we are welcoming rains this monsoon season, I would invite you to join hands with me to improve the green cover of Goa by taking up tree plantation activities in all possible areas with the involvement of every member of the society," Sawant said in a letter to the legislators. He asked the forest department to work out a detailed programme for the 'Van Mahotsav' to cover all cities and villages along with local communities. He urged the MLAs to guide the forest department in selecting suitable sites for tree plantation and motivate people to participate in the campaign. The forest department will provide saplings as per people's choice and site-specific criteria and also distribute plants free to individuals and institutions,
After PM, Goa CM urges all MLAs to promote tree-plantation
Taking cue from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's personal letters to sarpanchas across the country urging their participation in water harvesting efforts, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has urged all state ministers and MLAs to undertake tree plantation to increase Goa's green cover.
Iran to surpass uranium enrichment limits in days: Official
Iran's atomic energy agency said on Monday that the country will breach on June 27 the limit on its stockpile of enriched uranium that was capped under a 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.
Vatican formally opens debate on married priests for Amazon
The Vatican has formally opened debate on letting married men be ordained as priests in remote parts of the Amazon where priests are so few that Catholics can go weeks or months without attending a Mass. The proposal was in a working document released Monday for an October meeting of South American bishops on the Amazon. The document, prepared by the Vatican based on input from the region, affirmed that celibacy is a gift for the church. But it suggested officials study "the possibility of priestly ordination for older men, preferably indigenous and respected and accepted by their communities, even if they have stable families, for the region's most remote areas." Pope Francis, history's first Latin American pope, has focused attention on the sacramental and environmental plight of Amazonian communities.
Greenpeace seeks more ambitious measures on plastic waste
Greenpeace on Monday asked the G20 group for more ambitious measures to ease the effects of climate change and to curb marine pollution ahead of the group's summit in Osaka, western Japan, next week.
Palau changes ocean sanctuary plan to allow Japan fishing
The Pacific nation of Palau has amended plans to create a huge marine reserve so Japanese fishing boats still have partial access to its waters. Fish stocks are overexploited around the world, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation warned this year, and Palau has long been regarded as a pioneer in ocean conservation. The island nation will close 80 per cent of its exclusive economic zone -- a 500,000 square kilometre (193,000 square mile) area roughly the size of Spain -- to commercial fishing from next year. The remaining 20 per cent was to be reserved for Palau fishing boats only, but President Tommy Remengesau said Japan -- one of Palau's major foreign aid donors -- asked for the plans to be changed. In response, the government last week passed legislation that will allow some foreign long-line vessels into the area. Remengesau said the changes were to accommodate vessels from the southern Japanese island province of Okinawa, which have fished the waters for generations. "We're
Hunt for cause of massive South America power outage begins
As lights turned back on across Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay after a massive blackout that hit tens of millions people, authorities were still largely in the dark about what caused the collapse of the interconnected grid and were tallying the damage from the unforeseen disaster. Argentine President Mauricio Macri promised a thorough investigation into what he called an "unprecedented" outage, one that raised questions about flaws in South America's grid, which connects many of the region's largest countries. Energy officials said the results of the investigation would be available in 10 to 15 days, and they could not immediately provide details on the economic impact of the outage, which came on a Sunday, and a day before a national holiday in Argentina. Argentine Energy Secretary Gustavo Lopetegui said the blackout began with a failure in the country's "interconnection system," adding that it happens in other countries as well. But he said a chain of events took place later, ...
Involving tribal communities can boost India's wildlife conservation: IIT Prof
India's wildlife conservation initiatives need the involvement of local tribal communities -- rather than the token activism of urban dwellers -- to ensure that humans and animals coexist peacefully, according to an IIT expert. Ambika Aiyadurai, Assistant Professor of Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Gandhinagar, said that it is high time that wildlife conservation projects in the country are revaluated. "We borrowed the idea of national park, thinking it will protect wildlife. But there are lot of issues about people in national parks," Aiyadurai, who has been closely studying how wildlife conservation affects local populations, told PTI. According to Aiyadurai, forests in India have never been "pristine spaces" and have always had local tribes interacting with them. Wildlife and human populations have peacefully and sustainably coexisted. However, the modern idea of conservation removes local people and puts a fence around forests -- at the same time letting in .
Electricity restored in Argentina after historic blackout
Electricity was restored across Argentina after a massive power outage due to an electrical grid failure led to a historic blackout in the country.
With no monsoon rains, drought-like situation grips Andhra
Andhra Pradesh is witnessing unrelenting heat, depleting ground water, fall in reservoir levels as the delayed and sluggish monsoon has left the fields parched and farmers worried.
Bitcoin use causing huge CO2 emissions: Study
The use of Bitcoin -- a popular virtual currency -- emits over 22 megatonnes of carbon dioxide annually, comparable to the total emissions of cities such as Las Vegas and Vienna, a study has found. Researchers from Technical University of Munich (TUM) in Germany carried out the most detailed calculation of the carbon footprint of the Bitcoin system to date. For a Bitcoin transfer to be executed and validated, a mathematical puzzle must be solved by an arbitrary computer in the global Bitcoin network. The network, which anyone can join, rewards the puzzle solvers in Bitcoin. The computing capacity used in this process -- known as Bitcoin mining -- has increased rapidly in recent years. Statistics show that it quadrupled in 2018 alone. Consequently, the Bitcoin boom raises the question of whether the cryptocurrency is imposing an additional burden on the climate. Several studies have attempted to quantify the CO2 emissions caused by Bitcoin mining. "These studies are based on a number ..
BHEL wins Rs 800 crore orders for 200 MW solar power plants
Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited's (BHEL) solar photovoltaic (SPV) portfolio has surpassed one gigawatt with the company winning two orders for setting up SPV plants with a cumulative capacity of 200 megawatt.Valued at over Rs 800 crore, the orders have been secured from NTPC Ltd and Gujarat State Electricity Corporation Ltd (GSECL).The NTPC order envisages setting up India's largest floating SPV plant of 100 MW capacity at NTPC Ramagundam in Telangana, while the GSECL order involves setting up a 100 MW ground-mounted SPV plant at Raghanesda Ultra Mega Solar Park at district Banaskantha of Gujarat.BHEL is offering engineering, procurement and construction solutions for both off-grid and grid-interactive SPV plants at various locations in the country including the Lakshadweep islands. Of its current portfolio of more than 1 GW of SPV plants, nearly 500 MW has already been commissioned.BHEL said in a statement that it has been contributing significantly to the nation's green initiatives
To avoid man-animal conflict, villagers near UP's Suhelwa Sanctuary stay alert
People residing in villages near the Suhelwa Wildlife Sanctuary in Uttar Pradesh are forced to stay awake at night most of the time to avoid any conflict with animals, especially leopards, which come out of the forest area seeking water."The leopards mostly attack the people in villagers in night or when they go out in open for defecation. Because of this, people are forced stay awake at night. The administration needs to do something for the safety of people in these villages," a local resident saidAnother local added, "The government should do something for our safety. People here are angry with the administration for failing to provide protection to us. If the situation will remain the same, the people will be forced to protest."Due to the heat wave conditions, water crisis has become a big issue for most of the villages. Not just human beings, animals too have suffered badly due to this."Leopards generally stay near the fringes of and often comes out of the area. There are several
NZ unveils plan to protect endangered dolphin
The New Zealand government on Monday unveiled a plan to expand and strengthen the protection for the endangered Maui and Hector's dolphins.
Bharat Heavy Electricals wins Rs 800 cr EPC orders for solar power plants
Valued at over Rs. 800 crore, the orders have been secured from NTPC and Gujarat State Electricity Corporation (GSECL), reinforcing the company's position as a leading EPC player in the solar industry.
Experts hail Goa govt's focus on water conservation
Conservationists have welcomed Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant's commitment towards rainwater harvesting, and suggested that the state government should draw a comprehensive plan to rejuvenate the groundwater table. At the NITI Ayog's meeting in New Delhi on Saturday, Sawant said his government would take steps to ensure proper rainwater harvesting to overcome scarcity in the state. Environmentalist Rajendra Kerkar said rainwater harvesting should be made mandatory for all industrial units so that they can use it for their own requirements rather than relying on the government. The Goa-based conservationist appreciated Sawant for laying stress on rainwater harvesting at a time when "the state might face water crisis, if Karnataka diverts water from the Mahadayi river". Karnataka and Goa, the riparian states of Mahadayi (known as Mandovi in Goa), have been locked in a bitter battle over the sharing of water of the river, which originates at Belagavi in Karnataka. Kerkar
Over 90 kinds of birds settle in Shanghai Disney Resort
More than 90 kinds of birds have settled in a wetland park at the Shanghai Disney Resort, authorities said on Monday.