EIACP Centre on Plants and Pollution

In Kanpur, political meddling harms toxic waste management  
The Indian Express  
6 January 2007  
Do tanneries along the Ganga in Kanpur region pollute the river? According to information, the water was not being released in the river due to pollution engendered by the tanneries in Kanpur. But this is merely the latest in the game of sealing, & ‘voluntary desealing’. On June 27 & 28 last year the UPPCB had sealed 39 small tanneries & 29 glue factories for flouting waste disposal norms. In its report the committee pointed out that 20-odd tanneries had not installed “mandatory” chromium recovery plant within their premises, while 19 others released waste-water directly in to Ganga. The pumping stations & treatment plants of the government that are lying defunct “cause maximum pollution”.  


SGPGI, tanneries on toxic watch  
The Indian Express  
6 January 2007  
Hospital will get notice if it fails to stop bio-waste dumping, warns UPPCB. The decision has been taken after complaints about SGPGI dumping, & burning, its biomedical waste in the open & the institute’s incinerator is said to be out of order at present. The entire hospital’s waste is burnt three to four times every day, with the first shift beginning at 8.30am. The laboures working at a construction site near the old incinerator seemed unaware of the fact that gas emanating from the burning waste could be harmful.  


U.P. Govt. orders closure of tanneries in Kanpur, Unnao  
The Indian Express  
6 January 2007  
An increasingly popular LPG-based water heater, better known as the Chinese Geyser, is being linked to more than a dozen carbon monoxide poisoning deaths that have occurred in bathroom s in Bangalore over the past two years. The latest deaths occurred on Dec.27 & all occurred in poorly ventilated bathrooms using LPG geysers. The deaths began being reported in Nov.2004. “oxygen depletion in bathroom results in the production of carbon monoxide. Five minutes of inhalation of carbon monoxide will leave most people unconscious.”  


Unseasonal Heat Wave in US Revives Global Warming Fears  
The Hindu  
7 January 2007  
Against the poor water quality of the Ganga at the Sangam in Prayagraaj (Allahabad) during the ongoing Ardh Kumbh, the Utter Pradesh Government has ordered closure of tanneries in Kanpur, & Unnao, besides initiating other measures for augmenting the flow of the river. Tannery owners contend that the tanneries are not the source of water pollution instead of the ordance Equipment Factory in Kanpur, the dyeing industry in Uttarakhand & the Dhela river upstream near Kannauj which release huge amount of filth & muck in to the river. To further their argument that the tanneries were being “defamed”, the owners say that according to the chromium metal testing report prepared by UP Pollution Control Board & Industrial Toxicology Research Centre, Lucknow (Sample Registry No.TS-735(I & II) the metal chromium in the water sample collected on Nov.2, 2006, was 0.001 milligram per litre. Significantly, as per the estimates of Kanpur Municipal Corporation the total domestic waste generation in Kanpur was around 500 million liters per day of which only 162 MLD was treated. “The remaining 350 MLD untreated waste goes in to the Ganga.”  


China-made LPG water heaters blamed for a dozen Bangalore deaths  
Times of India  
7 January 2007  
Climate is becoming the main topic of discussion across the world because of dramatic changes in conditions, widely attributed to global warming. Delhi was experiencing temperature of around 5.60 Celsius early on Saturday; it was nearing mid-20s on the US east coast, where it should typically have been freezing, and sub-zero winter. Washington DC soared to 720F (220C) & New York touched 700F (210C). The lowest temperature in Washington DC on Friday night was 600F (160C). Some are regarding this as spring weather at its best but others see this as Global Warming at its worst.  


Chill in this warm New Year  
Indian Express  
8 January 2007  
Former American Vice President Al Gore and some scientists have portrayed the growing human influence on the climate an unfolding disaster that is already measurably strengthening hurricanes, spreading diseases and amplifying recent droughts and deluges. Conservative politicians and few scientists, many with ties to energy companies, have variously countered that human driven warming is inconsequential, unproved or a manufactured crisis. They agree that accumulating carbon dioxide and other heat trapping smoke stack and other tailpipe gases probably pose a momentous environmental challenge, but say the appropriate response is more akin to buying fire insurance and installing sprinkler and new wiring in an old irreplaceable house (A home planet) than to fighting a fire already raging.  


Scientists study scheme to reduce carbon dioxide in atmosphere  
The Statesman  
8 January 2007  
To achieve the goal of reducing carbon dioxide load in the atmosphere, the main greenhouse gas which is causing global warming. The process is being tested is called carbon sequestration as a way for long-term storage of carbon dioxide, either underground or in the oceans, so that the buildup of carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere will reduce or slow. The aim is to9 trap carbon dioxide as mineral carbonate. The project is being done in partnership with the US’ Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. If the study is successful, it would establish a way for carbon sequestration globally. In the study, rock samples from Saurastra would be taken to the US lab as currently such testing facilities to see whether rock can react with carbon dioxide at the pressure & temperature (30 degrees to 40 degrees), which present inside the rocks, are not available in India. Normally it takes 120 days to convert carbon dioxide in to mineral carbonate in such a reaction. Atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide have risen from pre-industrial levels of 280 parts per million (ppm) to present levels of 375 ppm. Predictions of global energy use suggest a continued increase in carbon emissions & rising concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere unless major changes are made.  


Protest over ‘dirty’ Ganga continues  
The Hindu  
9 January 2007  
Sadhu here threatened on Monday to boycott a major religious festival, in which millions of people wash away sins in the Ganga,saying it is too polluted, demanding that the river be cleaned up before the next auspicious bathing day on Sunday. “ The water in the river is so dirty that no one can take a dip. It is dark red where as the Ganga used to be bluish green.” Devotees believe the holy waters wash away sins, liberate them from a continuous cycle of birth 7 reincarnation & guarantee immortality. “ The pilgrims come here towash away their sins but after a dip here, they may carry skin diseases with them.” Brahmachari has filed a court case against the Uttar Pradesh Government for not keeping the Ganga clean.  


Teri Ganga Maili  
The Times Of India  
11 January 2007  
The notion of purity has dominated the Hindu psyche for all the wrong reasons. Unfortunately, it was never extended to keeping holy places & surroundings free of filth. The patrons of purity, the Hindu orthodoxy, are now waking up to the fact that their sites of worship, including rivers like 6the Ganga, have been reduced to garbage dumps & cesspools of toxic material & last week they have complained that the water at the holy confluence was unfit for bathing. The sadhus have now warned that they will do a jal samadhi (ritual suicide) if the government fails to clean the river. Ganga & Yamuna Action Plan has been ineffectual exercises & has led to misuse of public funds. Spiritual leaders could educate the faithful about the need to keep rivers free of filth. The government should penalize industries, which refuse to upgrade to clean technology &install sewage treatment plans. In the coming years, water is bound to be the most needed, & the scarcest, natural resource. Rivers are not just sources of this precious resource, but are also embodiments of cultural & social memories. The death of river is the death of an ecosystem & also an economy.  


“Pollution tax will be an extra economic burden”  
The Hindu  
14 January 2007  
Delhi Bhartiya Janta president Harsh Vardhan said the citizens would have to bear an extra economic burden if the Government goes ahead with its proposal to impose a pollution tax & enhance the parking rates. More than 45-lakh workers in the capital would lose their employment & industries will have to pay heavy pollution tax, power & eater charges as well as property tax. Only the service sector would be allowed to function. Industries, unauthorized colonies, cottage industries, villages, farms, slums & the walled city would be destroyed under the new master plan.  


China Spilling  
The Indian Express  
14 January 2007  
China’s fast growing cities will no longer be able to cope with the amount of rubbish they produced by 2020. By that time, the garbage produced annually by urban house holds & business in the world’s most populous nation be no less than 400 million tonnes, equivalent to the figure for the entire world in 1997, the China daily reported. It cited research by the China council for international cooperation & development, a government watchdog, which warned that inadequate waste management could result in methane explosion, the release of toxic gases & the pollution of water supplies.  


Global warming & sea level rise  
Down To Earth  
15 January 2007  
On Dec.13, 2006, scientist warned that the Arctic ice is melting at a rate faster than was estimated, this melting ice sheet will considerably increase the sea level. Vanishing ice sheets are not the only factor leading to a rise in sea level. As temperature rise, the sea will absorb heat from the atmosphere & expand. From 3,000 years ago to the start of the 19th entury, sea level was almost constant, rising at 0.1 to 0.2 mm/yr. Since 1992, a rise of about 3 mm/yr has been observed. This change may be the first sign of the effect of global warming on sea level. By 2080, sea levels could rise from 9 cm to 48 cm in a ‘low-emission scenario’ & from 16 cm to 69 cm in a ‘high-emission scenario.’ The rise in sea levels has had or is expected to have calamitous impacts on several countries. Sample this… • Recife, Brazil: shoreline receded by over 6 feet annually between 1915 & 1950 & over eight between 1985 & 1995 • Senegal: sea level rise has caused loss of land at Rusfique on the southern coast • Rising sea levels threaten nations on low-lying islands in the Pacific & Indian oceans. Two uninhabited islands in the Kribati chain have already disappeared • Samao: residents of Saoluafata village have noticed that their coastline has retreated by 50 metres in the past decade • Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge marshland on Chesapeake Bay, USA, has seen a third of its area disappear since 1938. The rest of the marsh is to be flooded in 25 years • Vietnam: mangroves are undergoing species change because of saltwater intrusion The Sunder bans example shows India’s vulnerability. India has been identified as one amongst 27 countries that are most vulnerable to sea level rise caused by global warming. The oceans around the Indian sub continent are likely to warm up at their surface by about 1.5-2.00C by the middle of this century & by about 2.5-3.50C by its end. The corresponding thermal expansion related sea level rise is expected to be in the range of 15-38 cm by mid-century & 46-59 cm by its end.  


Nainital Lake being polluted out of existence  
Down To Earth  
15 January 2007  
Nainital town’s Naini Lake is shrinking & its water becoming increasingly murky. The quality of water in the lake, which is the sole source of drinking water for the people of the town, has deteriorated alarmingly. The discharge of sewage in to the lake & inappropriate construction activity in the lake’s catchments area are the villains of the piece. The biological oxygen demand (BOD) levels in the lake range from 13 mg/litre to 23 mg/litre (permissible limit: <3 mg/litre) on the surface & are increasing. The lake has also shrunk: “… from an average depth of 29 m in 1871, the depth has dwindled to 13 m in recent times.” Rapid population growth, unrestricted building activities on the slopes, frequent landslides, dumping of solids & liquid waste & uncontrolled expansion of tourism in the catchments & forest areas, has taken its toll on the lake. The main sewer line of Nainital due to landslides has broken resulted in free flow of water (sewage) from the pipe. Sewage from the snapped sewer line is polluting village down slope & undermining the hill. The Supreme Court had passed directions in 1995 to stop sewage discharge into the lake; maintain Balia ravine; & ban new building complexes.  


Cities graded for fouling air  
Down To Earth  
15 January 2007  
In contrast to the conventional practice of rating cities only on the basis of air pollution, a new study has bench marked 20 Asian cities on their ability to manage air quality. The study has classified cities in to five classes based on pollution trends & pollution management capacities. The results show wide variations among Asian cities. Predictably, the developed cities-Singapore, Hong Kong, Taipei, Tokyo, Bangkok, Seoul & Shanghai-have made it to the excellent rank of I & II. The rapidly growing cities of Beijing, Busan & New Delhi are termed good. Next in the rung are the moderates-Ho Chi Minh cities, Jakarta, Kolkata, Metro Manila & Mumbai. The cities with limited management capacity like Surabaya & Kathmandu are also among the most polluted. Shanghai, which is ranked excellent for air quality management, has serious particulate pollution with moderate levels of NO2 & SO2. Emissions of NO2 & fine particulate matter, mainly from the transport sector, are a cause of serious concern. In contrast to the conventional practice of rating cities only on the basis of air pollution, a new study has bench marked 20 Asian cities on their ability to manage air quality. The study has classified cities in to five classes based on pollution trends & pollution management capacities. The results show wide variations among Asian cities. Predictably, the developed cities-Singapore, Hong Kong, Taipei, Tokyo, Bangkok, Seoul & Shanghai-have made it to the excellent rank of I & II. The rapidly growing cities of Beijing, Busan & New Delhi are termed good. Next in the rung are the moderates-Ho Chi Minh cities, Jakarta, Kolkata, Metro Manila & Mumbai. The cities with limited management capacity like Surabaya & Kathmandu are also among the most polluted. Shanghai, which is ranked excellent for air quality management, has serious particulate pollution with moderate levels of NO2 & SO2. Emissions of NO2 & fine particulate matter, mainly from the transport sector, are a cause of serious concern.  


GREEN REGULATIONS  
Down To Earth  
15 January 2007  
A five-member bench of the Pakistan Supreme Court recently ordered the country’s Environmental Protection Agency to find out whether industries in Islamabad confirmed to prescribed environmental regulations. The emissions from the factories in the area, particularly from steel furnaces & marble processing units, were causing life-threatening diseases like asthma, respiratory infections, allergies & heart diseases.  


Green construction (Global warming)  
Down To Earth  
15 January 2007  
In yet another innovative effort to go green, the UK government has come up with a code for sustainable Homes. It sets out a schedule for achieving a zero-carbon target & was announced in the recent budget report. Its prime objective is to cut down the country’s carbon emission by 27% by reducing energy use for heating & lighting in UK households. Under the plan, all new homes will come with star rating on a scale of one to six, reflecting their energy efficiency, by 2008. Regulations will also be made stringent so that highest levels of energy efficiency can be achieved by 2016. Besides encouraging energy efficiency in individual homes, the strategy also creates communities designed to produce less emissions from sectors such as transport.  


Rise in carbon levels fuels fears of runway warming  
The Hindu  
20 January 2007  
Carbon dioxide is accumulating in the atmosphere much faster than scientists expected. They reveals that concentrations of CO2- a shift that would make it harder to tackle global warming. Over this last decade the growth rates in carbon dioxide have been higher. The concern is that climate change itself will affect the ability of the land to absorb our emissions. At the moment around half of human carbon emissions are reabsorbed by nature but the fear among scientists is that increasing temperatures will work to reduce this effect. Our emissions would have a progressively bigger impact on climate change because more of them will remain in the air. It accelerates the rate of change so we get it sooner & we get it harder. CO2 concentration in the atmosphere is measured in parts per million (ppm). From 1970 to 2000 that concentration rose by about 1.5 ppm each year. According to the latest figures, a rise of 2.6 ppm means the carbon dioxide level has risen by an average 2.2 ppm each year since 2001. Above average annual rises in carbon dioxide levels have been explained by natural events such as the EL Nino weather pattern, centred on the Pacific Ocean. But the last EL Nino was in 1998, when it resulted in a record annual increase in carbon dioxide of 2.9 ppm. If the current trend continues, this year’s predicted EL Nino could see the annual rise in carbon dioxide pass the 3 ppm level for the first time. Figures presented to a recent United Natoins climate conference in Nairobi showed that carbon dioxide emissions produced by the worldwide burning of fossil fuels increased 3.2% from 2000 to 2005, from 1990 to 1999 the emissions increase was 0.8%.  


Giving the green signal  
Hindustan Times  
24 January 2007  
The strange weather patterns around the world are not simply explained by vagaries of day-to-day meteorological phenomenon. They are part of longer-term climate changes wrought, for the most part, by growing green house emissions. In fact, the world is warming, & will continue to warm if greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise. It is quite clear now that greenhouse gas emission reductions on the order of 60 to 80% will be needed by the year 2050 to avoid even more drastic climate change. It’s a global problem that needs a global solution. India’s emissions are insignificant compared with those of richer nations. According to the International Energy Agency, India’s carbon dioxide emissions increased by a third between 1992 & 2000, & greenhouse gas emissions are steeply on the rise. It is very likely to have eclipsed many of the current richest economies of the world-together with the other three countries of the so-called “Bric” group: Brazil, Russia & China. The Kyoto Protocol’s clean development mechanism (CDM) allowances through investment in emission reduction projects in developing countries. What the world urgently needs is ‘global compact’ to fight climate change. Carbon finance has already shown it can be used to green that growth, while catalyzing very significant investment multipliers .if industrialized countries met half of the emission reductions they are expected to achieve in a few decades. It is enough, according to a recent analysis by the World Bank, to green the $ 16-17 trillion of energy investment projected for the next 50 years. Creating major financial incentives to reduce pollution can only happen on a global scale. But the Indian example shows that economic growth & climate protection are far from being mutually exclusive.  


Global warming, terror in Davos focus  
The Indian Express  
25 January 2007  
ADEARTH of snow threatened to make this year’s annual meeting of the World Economic Forum the greenest ever, but a storm covered the town with a fresh layer of white ON Wednesday as participants prepared to discuss global warming & climate change. Global warming & security are the two dominant issues, according to the Forum’s organizers. The annual meeting is also to focus on securing global energy supplies, including the development of more alternative fuels. America is on the verge of technological breakthroughs that will enable to live people’s lives less dependent on oil. These technologies will help become better stewards of the environment-& they will help to confront the serious challenge of global climate change. By putting climate change at the top of the Davos 2007 agenda, the World Economic Forum has focused on the key challenge of time. Many of those present in Davos have the power to move decisively on global emission reductions-the world is looking to them to rise to this crucial challenge. There will be 17 sessions focusing on climate change, featuring topics to help companies & governments navigate the legalities of implementing policy changes aimed at curbing emissions & pollution how to make going green profitable. A survey of participants by pollster Gallup International found that this year twice as many attendees as last year thought that environmental protection should be a priority for world leaders.  


Facing global warming, are we like frogs?  
Hindustan Times  
25 January 2007  
Confronted by new evidence of global warming, will people reacts like frogs? A United Nations report to be released in Paris on Feb. 02 will include the strongest warning yet that humans are stoking global warming that may cause colossal damage to nature if, like the doomed frog, they ignore rising temperatures. The boiled frog as a cautionary tale of the dangers of human complacency about global warming. There is at least a 90% chance that human activities led by burning fossil fuels are the main cause of warming in the past 50 years. The warming may cause more floods, heat waves, droughts & rising sea levels by 2100. Scientist’s warning about the risks of carbon dioxide has often gone unheeded. In a world where millions of individuals are unable to quit smoking or avoid obesity, action to curb global warming seems a tall order.  


Gomati cleanest at Gaughat, noxious at barrage  
The Times of India  
29 January 2007  
The good news first, Gaughat, the prime source of drinking water for most part of the city, is getting the cleanest water of the decade. The value of dissolved oxygen (DO) the most important indicator of water’s health-for the past few days is hovering at 10 milligram per liter, as against around 8 mg/lit, which was the case earlier (Dec.2006). And for some bad news, the water around Gomati Barrage-around 10 Kms down stream of Gaughat-continue to be bad, just enough to keep fishes alive. The DO levels are well below 1 mg/lit making it almost unfit for the aquatic life, leave alone human consumption. The massive influx of untreated sewage water, pouring in from nearly 22 nullahs, barely a few meters upstream of Gomti Barrage is the main culprit. The two big distilleries- at Hargaon in Sitapur & Gola Gokulnath in Lakhimpur Kheri- have stopped discharging untreated effluents from the factories in to the river, the factories were resorting to bio composting of their wastes thus decreasing the pollution level substantially. This is the reason behind Gaughat getting fresh water. However the improved situation at Gaughat has not changed the situation at Gomti Barrage, often seen as the prime cause of fish mortality. Currently the barrage gates were being opened for at least an hour on daily basis to prevent large-scale aquatic mortality. Sources said that the board would be contesting location of the barrage which a senior UPPCB official said was “wrong” & “needed to be relocated upstream of the inflow of 22 nullahs”. Officials pointed out that the river maintains its quality through self-purification.  


Emission’s logic  
Down To Earth  
31 January 2007  
Diesel cars are not as good for the environment as people think. NOx emission from a diesel-run vehicle, contributes more to global warming as compared to carbon dioxide, emitted from petro-run vehicles. According to some calculations NOx is 310 times stronger than CO2 when it comes to emissions of greenhouse gases.  


Climate change and global leadership  
The Hindu  
10 February 2007  
Key data and statistical modeling have provided stronger evidence supporting the view that greenhouse gases (GHGs) Such as carbon dioxide and methane released by human activities are warming the world abnormally. The IPCC has stated “unequivocally” that globally averaged increases in temperature since the mid-20th century “very likely” resulted from an observed rise in GHG concentrations. Existing gas levels in the atmosphere can continue the warming process for centuries. Going by the estimates for warming, a rise in global temperature of 1-1 degrees Celsius by 2099 appears inevitable while the increase could soar to a dangerous and possibly unmanageable maximum of 6-4 degrees Celsius with less effective interventions. The forecast is for a continuing rise in the sea level and more frequent not extremes, heat waves, and heavy rainfall events. Since the industrial revolution, to a marked rise in the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide; this could be the reason for 11 of the last dozen years (until2006) being the warmest on record since 1850. The incandescent light bulb in favor of much more energy-efficient compact fluorescent bulbs; every CFL bulb, they reasoned, would reduce by 1,300 pounds the carbon dioxide being pumped into the atmosphere by power plants. A similar culture of efficiency in power generation, industrial manufacturing and automotive sectors can cut Giga-tonnes of emissions. Global climate change poses significant risks to the planet, and all nations have an important stake in addressing this new threat that is already sufficient to make collective action both necessary and urgent. Temperature will rise by 1.1to 6.4degrees Celsius and sea levels by 7 to 23 inches. This is “very likely” caused by human activity. Based on scale, magnitude, and irreversibility, global climate change constitutes a critical security. To accommodate future population and economic growth, new methods are required for the development of alternative sources of energy supply to reduce global reliance on oil and conventional coal, including greater use of nuclear energy and hydroelectric power, even while promoting the use of no fossil fuels and renewable sources of energy. Both industrial and emerging market economies need to acknowledge their common but differentiated responsibilities, to accept an equivalence of burden-sharing, to see that all countries take national action on climate change, and to negotiate an effective regime aimed at stabilizing global levels of carbon emissions within agreed acceptable targets. Because current levels of affluence in industrial countries have been directly associated with cumulative carbon emissions, they must provide financial and technical support to developing countries for them to achieve sustainable economic growth and social equity. Urgent energy needs now for developing and developed countries have somehow to be reconciled with longer-term goals of halting and reversing carbon emission and global warming.  


India working out moves to address climate change  
The Economic Times  
10 February 2007  
Taking cue from the IPCC, Teri has already tied up with the British government for downscaling results on the economic and environmental impacts of climate change in India. According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Kenya’s gross domestic product fell by 16% in just three years due to excessive drought 23% due to floods. IPCC warned that global warming would impact India many ways because of its long coastline and low latitudes. Drought, low precipitation, high temperatures and melting of glaciers are expected to be rampant. Agriculture would be the most vulnerable to climate change said IPCC chairman RK Pachauri. The ministry is working on a proposal to setup an institute of environmental technologies. Such an institute adverse climate changes. IPCC has hinted at cheaper methods to mitigate such climate changes, details of which could be released by the third working group in November.  


Global warming may not be behind melting glaciers  
The Times of India  
12 February 2007  
Glaciers are receding but could not be said if it is a global warming-borne phenomenon or a natural occurrence. Solar cycle has most profound bearings on glaciers”. Indian ranges of the mountain system house some 9,575 ice bodies that feed some of the noteworthy river systems on the earth, including Ganga, Indus and Brahmaputra. Himalayan glaciers, are said to be retreating at rate faster than in any other part of the world, including one of the most voluminous glaciers, Gangotri. The reaction time of glaciers towards climatic changes differs depending on their location, altitude, mass, orientation and other factors, hence it is not fit to ascribe the findings of the study to all the glaciers alike. The rapid retreat of glaciers could result in gradual in crease in drought, flash floods, and Iandslides.  


Water shortage, threat to food security if India doesn’t act now  
The Indian Express,  
12 February 2007  
Climate change is more real and closer home than ever before. The first report said that temperatures in the next century are expected to go up by 2.5 to 4.5 degrees Centigrade. What does this exactly translate for India? Most figures Water and add up to a serious shortage of water and threat to food security. It might be the wake up call that Indian policy-makers need. These findings are for 2030, a little more than two decades away.  


Global warming cooks rice’s prospects  
The Economic times  
13 February 2007  
Global Warming is not just changing the climate drastically the world over, it is actively threatening to lower the production of India’s-and Asia’s-key staple by at least 7%(over pre-determined levels) by 2020 and to a maximum of 60% by threat of the century. In fact, the scientific world views the threat of increasingly high temperatures to rice-now the principal crop for the country’s food security with 44.6 million ha area and 89 million tones in production-as a mammoth problem. Temperature is a major determinant of crop development and growth. Studies show that rice yields would dip 10% for every 1oC increases in minimum temperature during the growing season. Global mean air temperatures to go up 1.4-5.8 oC by the end of the century depending on changes in greenhouse gas. That could mean at least 60% reduction in yield per ha by the end of the century. Almost 90% of the world’s rice is produced and consumed in tropical Asia, and this factor alone is likely to force agric research into rice varieties that are highly temperature tolerant. The results of climate change impact assessment show general rice yields being seriously adversely affected not just in north-west India, the food bowl, but countrywide.  


Experts question theory on global warming  
Hindustan Times  
13 February 2007  
Global warming leading to shrinkage of Himalayan glaciers. The research on Indian Glaciers is negligible. Nor thing but the remote sensing data forms the basis of these alarmists observations and not on the spot research. Out of 9575 glaciers in India, till date research has been conducted only on about 50. The issue of glacial retreat is being sensationalized by few individuals; the carbon dioxide radioactive forcing has in creased by 20 percent particularly after 1995. And also that 11 of the last 12 years were among the warmest 12 years were recorded so far. Data collection in over 25 glaciers in India and abroad, debunked the theory that Gangorti glacier is retreating alarmingly. Gangotri and Zanskar areas (Drung, Kagriz glaciers) have not shown any evidence of major retreat.  


Globally warmed-up questions  
The Indian Express  
14 February 2007  
It is now scientifically substantiated that we have lost forever a great deal of our tropical forests, glaciers, desertified lands, species. The report says, with enhanced confidence, that it is lifestyles chosen by the people since the industrial revolution, defined by fossil fuel use and conversion of land to agricultural practices, that has added to atmospheric concentrations of GHGs (greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide), which in turn have created global warming. The good side to this bad news is that this new scientific evidence should motivate us to make the right choices. To make any right decision the first corrective measure needs to be at the policy level. The world on this issue is divided into Annex I and Annex II countries. The GHGs emitted at any point in time also have their own life spans. Released today, they can remain in the atmosphere for many years even up to more than a century. GHGs released by the people for attaining welfare is like a bank account with reverse implication. Unlike money put GHGs every day into the atmosphere bank depletion of our collective natural wealth, which can in extreme case even lead to the extinction of life on earth. Whatever GHGs have been emitted over the past 100 years by Annex I countries are already affecting our lives. With more emissions to come from both Annex I and Annex II countries, we are destined for catastrophe. The question that has come up over and over again is who bears how much of the responsibility for reducing GHG emissions. The answer is obvious. Each citizen on earth-either as consumer or producer- needs to share the responsibility. The question remains: how do we share the burden of the past additions of GHGs and the likely add the likely additions future?  


Mucky waters  
Down To Earth  
15 February 2007  
Pollution in the river Hindon-a tributary of the river Yamuna-and its impacts on villagers in six districts in western Uttar-Pradesh. Large-scale water extraction and indiscriminate effluents for the Hindon’s misery. Paper, sugar mills and distilleries have taken an enormous toll, so have dairy units, textile manufactures and slaughterhouses. There are alarming facts on the Hindon’s biochemical oxygen demand the amount of organic biodegradable matter- and the dissolved oxygen level. In fact, there’s very little oxygen throughout the river’s 260 km stretch and this explains the high BOD levels. For bathing are dissolved oxygen of minimum 5 mg/1 and a maximum BOD of 3mg/1. The study also investigated for macro-invertebrates. This has was on the principle that different species have different levels of toleration to water pollution. The data on heavy metals and pesticides in the river are also shocking Presence of three heavy metals- lead, chromium and cadmium- were confirmed. Lead levels exceeded the permissible level of 0.01 mg/1: at Hindon and Kali (west), they exceeded permissible levels by 179 and 112 times.  


Heavy metal  
Down To Earth  
15 February 2007  
FOREST fires hasten mercury accumulation in the soil and catchments, forest foliage are huge mercury traps. When burnt, the mercury accumulates in the soil. Since it has been predicted that global warming will lead to an increase in forest fires, this could heighten mercury accumulation wildfires resulted in 62-66 percent increase in mercury accumulation. But it largely depends on the intensity of the fire, type of forest and mercury in the foliage. The researchers type of trees and the severity of the fire determined the amount of mercury released. The type of tree is important because evergreen threes take up more mercury from the atmosphere no their needles than broad-leafed trees, leading to more mercury accumulation in the soil prior to the fire. The lake was a catchments area and had experienced a forest fire in its vicinity. The enhanced mercury accumulation was caused due to increased nutrient concentrations in the lake, which in turn had enhanced productivity and restructured the food web.  


E-waste recycling subsidies  
Down To Earth  
15 February 2007  
Many e- waste recycling units exist all over the country and most are unregistered. “Collecting e-waste is a big challenge and needs producer responsibility. But the government is not doing anything”. Presently, there is no separate legislature dealing with the imports of e- waste in the country. “E- waste imports are regulated under the Hazardous wastes (Management and Handling) Rules. 1989. But the rules are inadequate. We plan to amend it to make import monitoring more stringent,” “A set of rules similar to the medical waste management rules would be better rather than amending the hazardous wastes rules. Electronics producers too need to make products with longer life a take back once they are no longer in use.  


Yellow River blues  
Down to Earth  
15 February 2007  
China’s second longest waterway, the Yellow river, has lost one-third of its fish species, over fishing; rising pollution levels and hydropower projects along the river have degraded the river’s ecological environment. Declining water flow caused by scanty rainfall is also blamed for the shrinking fish population. The ministry will set up its first-ever integrated fishing resources committee to save the river from further degradation.  


Smog kills 3,600 in a month  
Down to Earth  
15 February 2007  
Hazardous air pollution in Teheran has reportedly killed at least 3,600 people with him a month (October 23 to November 21, 2006), prompting the city officials to call it a “ collective suicide”. Over the past one year, nearly 10,000 people have reportedly died-either directly or indirectly due to pollution- in the Iranian capital, reputed to be the world’s most polluted city. Most of the deaths were caused by heart attacks and respiratory illnesses brought on by smog. Pollution problem becomes acute during winter when a lack of wind and cold air creates smog for days together. Availability of cheap fuel (at nine cents per liter) encourages people to use vehicles extensively, though many do not meet global emissions standard.  


Short change  
Down To Earth  
15 February 2007  
POISONOUS smoke from the burning of dump of batteries in Ghaziabad spread on January 8,2007. One woman succumbed due to the smoke, other complained of nausea, headache, coughing and vomiting. Fifty were admitted to a hospital in Delhi. A few others were taken to private nursing home. The incident might be an accident, but it’s a very serious one. The smoke could contain neuron-toxic elements and inhaling it could be lethal. Dumping of dry batteries without reclaiming the harmful elements and metals out of it is illegal and it can lead to severe consequences. Battery waste disposal rules exist but only for lead-acid batteries, which are used in cars. They have left out nickel-cadmium batteries, mercury button cells and lithium batteries. Cadmium is as poisonous as lead,” In order to regulate collection of old/used batteries and their recycling the government promulgated Lead-Acid Batteries (Management and Handling) Rules in 2001 under the provisions of the Environment (Protection Act), 1986.  


Nodal agency for Yamuna face lift  
Times of India  
22 February 2007  
As part of its efforts to clean the polluted Yamuna and give a swank look to the riverbank, the Government is planning to set up a Yamuna river front development authority to oversee all aspects related to beautification of the Capital’s lifeline. The authority is likely to facilitate implementation of an eight-point action plan for cleaning the river plan for cleaning the river as marked in Delhi Master Plan-2021. The authority will ensure rehabilitation of three major trunk sewers located on Ring Road. Bela Road and in west Delhi. To check the flow of untreated water into Yamuna River, the action plan talks of treating sewage at the Najafgarh and Shahdara drains. The action plan targets removal of slum clusters, which have come up illegally on the riverbank and are one of the contributing factors to the flow of untreated sewage into the Yamuna.  


Limiting Climate change  
The Hindu  
23 February 2007  
The vast quantities of carbon dioxide and another greenhouse gases being released into the atmosphere by vehicles and industrial smokestacks were trapping the earth’s heat. Rising global temperature would in turn, lead to more frequent heat waves, droughts, and powerful storms as well as a dangerous rise in sea-level and acute water scarcity. Meaningful cuts in emissions will require countries to act in unison. After a recent meeting in Washington D.C., legislators from G-8 countries along with those from China, India, Brazil, Mexico, and South Africa issued a landmark statement asking their government to sign up to a “measurable long-term goal to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere.” The ‘G8+5’account for two-thirds of global greenhouses gas emissions. The Kyoto Protocol required industrialized countries to meet targets for cutting their emissions. Developed countries are not going to be able to achieve the necessary emission reductions on their own. China is second only to the United States in its emission of greenhouse gases; and India is a rising contributor to global warming. Establishing a post-Kyoto framework to govern greenhouse emissions is not going to be easy. China, India, and other developing countries are likely to refuse to limit their emissions if it denies them economic growth.  


Colorado river in troubled waters too  
The Indian Express  
26 February 2007  
Global warming will worsen drought and reduce flows on the Colorado River, a key water source for several western states in the United States. “The basin is going to face increasingly costly, Increasing demands are impeding the region’s ability to cope with droughts and water shortages.” Such measures as conservation, desalination and water recycling would be helpful, the authors said, but wouldn’t offer a panacea. The report, which examined climate modeling and tree ring data, reaffirms more pessimistic assessment of river hydrology more pessimistic assessment of river hydrology that has emerged in recent years. Scientists have concluded that the Colorado River system, which supplies water to 25 million people and several million acres of crop and ranch land, has been drier and more prone to severe drought Global warming will only make matters worse, US Bureau of Reclamation and several water agencies, notes that temperatures have risen in the western United States over the past century and are expected to keep climbing. Climate change would alter the amount of precipitation in the basin. But as the mercury rises, water demands would increase. There would be more evaporation from croplands and reservoirs, and wild land vegetation would suck more moisture from the soil, reducing runoff.  


THE CARBON TIME BOMB  
The Indian Express  
26 February 2007  
GLOBAL warming has a taste in village of Bhamia in Bangladesh. It is the taste of salt. Only a few years ago, water from the local pond was fresh and sweet drinking a cupful now leaves briny flavor. Tiny white crystals sprout on skin after he bathes and in his clothes. The result of intensified flooding caused by shifting climate patterns. Warmer weather and rising oceans are sending seawater surging up Bangladesh’s River in greater volume and frequency than ever before, carbon emissions are pushing temperature and sea levels inexorably upward. Global warming fueled by human activity could lift temperatures by 8 degrees and the ocean’s surface by 23 inches by 2100. Heavier-than-usual floods have wiped out homes and paddy fields. They have increased the salinity of the water, which is contaminating wells. Killing trees and slowly poisoning the might mangrove jungle that forms a natural barrier against the Bay of Bengal. A3- foot rise by century’s end- a possible scenario if polar ice caps melt at a more rapid pace, would wreak havoc in Bangladesh. Politicians who had previously dismissed global warming as a far-off problem are starting to see it as a clear and present danger. Deliberately trapping so much briny water to raise shrimp has increased the sodium concentration in the soil, which aggravates the salinity creeping into drinking-water supplies. Residents report an increase in health problems such as diarrhea, skin diseases and dysentery. The salty water has also choked many of the palm and date trees that once lent a fecund beauty to the sun baked landscape.  


Pollution report: Lot of smog ahead  
The Indian Express  
28 February 2007  
The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) report on air pollution trends, based on surveys carried out in 17 cities over a period of 4 to 10 years up to 2005. Court expressed concern over the rise in pollution in all 17 cities. The CPCB report examines the sources of pollution, ambient air quality. The two main sources of pollution are vehicular emission and industrial emission, and industrial emission, however, domestic pollution (garbage and wood burning), burning of coal, mining and generators also lead to increase in the pollution level. In Kanpur, which is among the most pollutes cities; several steps have been taken to curb pollution. These include monitoring of adulterated oil, tree plantation, and prohibition of burning substances in the open, registration of new vehicles as per PUC standards and registration of new industries as per the Master Plan of the city. Although the result shows an initial decline in the pollution level, a rise in the level of sulpher dioxide (SO2) has been observed in the later stages. The rise in nitrogen dioxide (NO2) reparable suspended particulate matter (RSPM) and suspended particulate matter (RSPM) and suspended particulate matter (SPM) are above the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) at critical levels. However, the report has no mention of the growing levels. However, the report has no mention of the growing levels of NO2, and instead, it harps on the ‘successful measures taken to counter the rise in the levels. In the case of Lucknow and Delhi- where there has been an increase in the level of NO2. Overall, the report shows a decline in the SO2 levels in all 17 cities within the NAAQS. Taking credit for the decline on SO2 levels Sengupta said that it “is an indication of the success of our methods and policies”. The NO2 levels are shown mainly within the NAAQs limits. NO2 in cities like Delhi, Bangalore, Patna, Varanasi, Lucknow, Jodhpur, Hyderabad is increasing. “Levels of RSPM in cities like Ahemdabad, Kanpur, Sholapur, Lucknow, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderbad, Mumbai and kolkata are alarming.” Four year later, RSPM is still at high levels in all the cities and has in fact increased in Mumbai, Patna, Kanpur and others. In north India –Delhi, Jodhpur, Varanasi and Lucknow –is a reason for high SPM levels but fails to mention reasons for other states. A look at the monitoring stations in these 17 cities shows that out of the 76 stations only 6 are located at sensitive sites like hospitals, ASI designated monuments, national parks biospheres, pollution sensitive crops, tourism and pilgrimage sites, The report is also mum on the levels of dangerous pollutants like carbon monoxide (except Delhi), ozone, lead and soleplates and nitrates in the air.  


Aerosol pollution may impact rainfall  
Down to Earth  
28 February 2007  
THE brown haze over north-India’s sky could portend a dry future. Caused by liquid pollutants suspended in air, the aerosol cloud, infamous for its effects on crops and human health, may result in localized decrease of rainfall. Significant decrease in rainfall over California at certain times in a year when aerosol-content was high. “The more the aerosol pollution, the greater the reduction in rainfall. Tamil Nadu projected a 16-25 percent decrease in annual rainfall in the Garhwal hills and Gujarat. “Overall changes in rainfall need to account for the combined effect of aerosols and green house gases together,” greenhouse gases and aerosol pollution impact differently on climate. With the arrival of monsoons the aerosol content falls drastically.  


Not just vehicles, roads kick up dust, cause pollution: Pune survey  
The Indian Express  
12 March 2007  
ENVIRONMENTALISTS have cried hoarse over vehicular emission for the alarming rise in air pollution. The corporation’s Air Quality Management cell says paved roads contribute as much as 61 percent to the PM 10 emissions. PM 10 is particulate matter suspended in the air below ten microns. These particles are directly reparable and get into lungs. Total PM 10 emission is estimated to be 9,203 tone per year. Paved and unpaved roads release maximum dust particles in air, while vehicles on road contribute 8 percent of the total emission. “The total PM 10 emission in Pune is at least 30-40 percent higher than normal,” “There is more dust from paved roads be cause roads are not constructed “The size of particles emitted from these vehicles is less than PM 2.5 but more toxic”. Catalytic converters and sulphur quantity in fuel, vehicular pollution is being controlled, The AQM has also conducted a ward wise survey of emission inventory, which states that Bibvewadi. Anndh and Hadapsar wards have the highest number of PM 10 release.  


‘Ozone-depleting substances seeping through border’  
Hindustan Times  
15 March 2007  
INTERNATIONAL SMUGGLING cartels are continuing to push in the banned ‘ozone depleting substances’ (ODS) into India through the Indo, Nepal border. Manivachagam said cylinders containing the banned CFC gases are loaded into cycle rickshaws and smuggled in cylinders through the Indo-Nepal border and even the country’s border with Bangladesh in the eastern sector. He said the banned CFC gases were supplied through the transit points in Nepal and Bangladesh to mechanics engaged in the refrigeration business across India. “Smuggling of the CFC gases is considered extremely lucrative. There is also no control over trade in the ODS substitutes which are used as a cover for trading in banned substances”, Manivachagam said. “The ‘CFC-12’ category of gases are found to be found traded illegally in the highest quantities besides ‘HCFC-22’, a substitute for ODS, India produced seven out of 20 substances controlled under the Montreal Protocol. Ultra violet rays forming due to depletion of ozone layer could harm crops. In humans, the ultra violet rays could cause skin cancer, sunburns and premature ageing of skin.  


Global concern  
The Indian Express  
15 March 2007  
CHICAGO: A survey on climate change conducted in more than a dozen countries revealed that a majority of people in nations including South Korea, Australia, Iran and Mexico view global warming as a critical threat. In the US, about 46 percent of those questioned said global warming is critical, while four in 10 lapelled it an important but not critical threat, Ukraine was the only nation where less than four in 10 participants found global warming to be a critical threat. There, it was 33 percent. Just two decades ago, hardly anyone knew what climate change or global warming was, and now you have people all around the world – even in developing countries – really absorbing that there is something to address here,” “Its really quite phenomena that this kind of change can happen.”  


Britain drafts law to check climate change  
The Indian Express  
15 March 2007  
BRITAIN’S government on Tuesday proposed bold new environmental legislation that would set legally binding, long-term limits on carbon emissions. The draft climate change bill would be the first legislation in an industrialized country to set such long-range goals, including a carbon budget set every five years that would cap CO2 levels and create an independent body to report on progress. It also set binding targets as far ahead as 2050 for reducing carbon emission. Both Blair’s Labour Party and the opposition Conservatives have seized on the issue, devoting more media time to the ozone layer than to British troops in Iraq. Blair says he plans to step down by September, and a success in brokering a global carbon pact could be seen as a significant closing achievement. Blair hopes Britain and Germany – which holds both the European Union and the Group of Eight presidencies – can lead work on a new global pact to curb emissions. The next step is getting the US, China and India to make similar commitments. The government hopes it will become law in the first half of next year.  


India high on indoor air pollution: WHO report  
Our Earth  
24 March 2007  
India has one of the highest levels of indoor air pollution in the world with more than 75 percent of households using solid fuel for cooking. This form of pollution is the most lethal killer in the country after malnutrition, unsafe sex and lack of safe water and sanitation. Globally each year indoor air pollution kills an estimated 1.6 million people; a life is lost every 20 seconds. “People die due to breathing smoke from cooking from cooking and heating with biomass fuels in clouding dung, wood, crop residue and coal. Indoor smoke is responsible for the death of a million children under five every year. Indoor air pollution form cooking with traditional solid fuel is the fourth greatest health risk in the world’s poorest countries.” Shall Foundation is working to provide technologies that are less polluting and safer for use especially for women and children.  


How much harmful are plastics?  
The Hindu  
26 March 2007  
The Delhi High Court has directed the Plastic Federation Of India, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), a consultant on plastic industries and the Delhi Government to inform it within a week how much harm do polythene, plastic wastes and plastic packaging case to human beings and the environment. The non-biodegradable and recycled plastic bags are more harmful and take much longer time, as much as one thousands years, to dissolve while the biodegradable plastic dissolves in three to four when exposed to the environment. Adequate steps should be taken to prohibit the throwing of garbage and the religious material into the river, drains and sewers in accordance with the provisions of the Delhi Plastic Bag (manufacture, sale and use) and garbage (Control) Act, 2000.  


Coastal cities at global warming risk  
Hindustan Times  
29 March 2007  
MUMBAI IS at risk. And so are other coastal cities in the world. Low-lying coastal areas as being vulnerable to global warming and sea level rise. Risk of being swamped by flooding and intense storms if nothing is done. The five countries with the largest total population living in threatened coastal areas are China, India, Bangladesh, Vietnam and Indonesia. Asia is particularly Vulnerable, and in general poorer nations are most at risk, “Migrating away from the zone at risk will be necessary but costly and hard to implement, so coastal settlements will also need to be modified to protect residents,” coastlines are already showing the impact of sea level rise and global warming and that it expected to worsen. Rising seas could flood about 100 million people each year by 2080. In February, the IPCC warned of sea level rises of between seven and 23 inches by the end of the century. Some scientist said a far faster sea level rise – more than 3.3 feet per century – could result from accelerated melting of the Green-land ice sheet or the collapse of the Western Antarctic ice sheet.  


Filtering arsenic out  
Down to Earth  
31 March 2007  
A NEW filter that removes arsenic has come as a boon for communities the world over. Abul Hussam, associate professor at George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, has won the 2007 Grainger Challenge for developing a filter that removes arsenic from drinking water. The innovation, called the sono filter, is used as a household water treatment, is used as a household water treatment system. The arsenic removal happens when water passes through a composite iron matrix, formed by sandwiching a layer of iron turnings between two layers of sand. Iron is natural scavenger of arsenic and effectively purifies the water passing through it. For arsenic disposal, also called residue management, there are standard methods to detect leaching. “ The amount that is leached is 16 parts per billion (ppb), which is very small. The EPA limit is 5, 000 ppb,” Hussam adds. The arsenic problem traces its origin to attempts on the part of international aid agencies to provide safe drinking water to the people of Bangladesh. Problem, however, is not restricted to Bangladesh. Over 4.4 million people in West Bengal have been affected by arsenic residues, especially in water, with excessive levels of the toxic chemical also having been detected in Uttar Pradesh, Higher, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Assam.  


Future meltdown  
The Pioneer  
1 April 2007  
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a UN network of Governments and scientists, has submitted a draft report on global warming that makes several significant point, many of which paint an alarming scenario. The panel has warned of temperature rises of two to three degrees by 2050, it could spell disaster for both humankind and environment. This is likely to cause catastrophic alterations to ecosystems on a planetary scale. The indisputable evidence includes rising sea levels damaging coastal wetlands, warmer waters bleaching and killing coral reefs and pushing marine species towards the poles, and a fall in the fish population of African lakes. Every physical and biological system is threatened on every continent. By 2050, more than 200 million people could have been forced out of their land by rising sea levels, floods and droughts. The Himalayan glaciers could melt away, impacting the lives of hundreds of millions of people. It is to be noted that global warming in its negative consequences will hit everyone eventually, though the poorer nations may bear the brunt in earlier stages. Appraisals made earlier have estimated that global warming and the rise in sea levels would continue for up to a millennium even if no more greenhouse gases were added to the environment. It is time not just for Government and multilateral organization but also for the people to wake up to this fearful threat.  


Warming could benefit northern nations  
Times of India  
3 April 2007  
Northern nations such as Russia or Canada may be celebrating better harvests and less icy winters in coming decades even as rising seas also caused by global warming are washing away Pacific island states. Most scenarios foresee an extended rise in temperatures this century, stoked rising concentrations of greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels. Droughts and floods that could cause more hunger for millions of people, mainly in Asia and Africa, and water shortages for up to 3.2 billion. How ever, that world farms could gain from up to a 3-Celsius rise in temperatures because of better crop growth at higher latitudes. Stock of cod or herring might move north, damaging fisheries. And there are ethical issues too “With a temperature rise of perhaps 2-3 Celsius you would see benefits for the whole temperate zone.”  


Clean is Dirty  
The Times of India  
3 April 2007  
Homes have become toxic waste dumps. Detergents often contain phosphates that pollute the groundwater; wood polish contains flammable toxins like nitrobenzene; and laundry detergent may contain bleach and other corrosives. Air fresheners, which are designed to clean the air, contain phenol, cresol and formaldehyde. All these chemicals in our homes are exposing us to allergies, asthma, cancer, migraines, dizziness, nausea, eye, skin and respiratory tract irritation and other unknown health risks. Personal hygiene products too are increasingly suspect. Given that cleaning is big business, manufactures are likely to try and green wash these concerns by selling us eco-friendly products, but no product emerging from the chemical quagmire which is the soaps and cleaning agents industry will actually provide the answer. The consumer will have to realize that the way forward is actually thy way backward.  


Urban air riskier than Chernobyl’s  
Hindustan Times  
4 April 2007  
AIR POLLUTION in major cities may be more damaging to health than radiation exposure suffered by survivors of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. High levels of urban air pollution cut short life expectancy more than the radiation exposure of emergency workers around the site straight after the accident. Two explosions at the Chernobyl reactor killed three people immediately and more than 30 died from acute radiation poisoning, but the radioactive plume released from the reactor spread over most of Europe and is estimated to have caused up to 16,000 deaths. About 4,000 people also developed thyroid cancer in 1986 as a result of the accident, most of them children and adolescents, although the survival rate has been 99 percent. The health risks associated with air pollution and passive smoking appear more severe.  


India and U.S to Cooperate in the environment sector  
The Hindu  
4 April 2007  
“We have to live in a global environment just as we live in a global economy. Issues such climate change, regional and long range transport of air pollutants, protection of our international waters and safe disposal of hazardous waste cannot be addressed by one of even a handful of nations,” “Pollution knows no political boundaries and the United States recognized that environmental responsibility does not stop at our borders. “The U.S has been the world leader in addressing the global climate change. It has already invested $29 billion in the sector.” U.S should end its “negative attitude” towards international negotiation to reduce carbon emissions. “Climate change needs to be addressed in the context of sustainable economic development and we need to invest more in technology.” On India’s progress in checking green house emissions, he said it had done extremely well in areas such as cleaning the Mithi, initiating the concept of green buildings (HYDERABAD) and making New Delhi the greenest city of the world, but more had to be done.  


Underutilization of CEPTs leaves Yamuna dirty  
The States man  
7 April 2007  
Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs) meant to treat industrial waste of the Capital before it is flown in the Yamuna are ridden by irregularities. An agreement has been done by Delhi Jal Board with DSIDC to maintain the conveyance system to bring the industrial waste to CETPs. The industries are also throwing off domestic waste in plants. This increases the biological oxygen demand (BOD). Signed to handle high BOD levels. The BOD levels of the waste treated at Lawrence was 114 while the permissible level is 30,” The CEPT societies say that the quality of treatment can be improved if clear water is provided for back flushing of the filters.  


Climate Change to affect developing Asia  
The Economic Times  
8 April 2007  
CLIMATE change due to global Warming could impinge on sustainable development of most developing countries in Asia, leading to fresh water shortages and decreasing crop yield in most parts of the region, a United Nations report says. The crops yields could increase up to 20% in east and Southeast Asia while recording a decrease of up to 30% in central and south Asia by mid-21st century. “Increases in coastal water temperatures would exacerbate the abundance and toxicity of Cholera in south Asia, it Glacier melt in Himalayas, the report project, would increase flooding, rock avalanche from decades. This would be followed by decreased river flows as the glacier recede.  


Serious warning about the warming  
Hindustan Times  
9 April 2007  
It warns that temperatures could climb up to five degrees by 2100, inflicting damage on every continent and wiping out a third of the world’s species. So disruption of Earth’s weather systems from greenhouse gases will trigger dramatic changes in rainfall patterns. It’s a cruel irony that the world’s poor are likely to be hit disproportionately hard by the catastrophic changes that will force billions of people to face water scarcity and hundreds of millions to go hungry. For it is an open secret that the poorest regions are least to blame for spewing the fossil fuel pollution that is pumping up global temperatures. The major cause of global warming is the immoderate depletion of a disproportionate share of the planet’s resources by the richest countries. Now with the writing on the atmosphere so clear, these countries must take the lead in using technology to combat global warming. For the harder climate change bites, the likelier it is that profound and possibly irreversible change will occur.  


Experts eye climate change master plan  
Times of India  
1 May 2007  
The world’s leading climate change experts gathered in Bangkok on Monday to thrash out a master plan on limiting the worst impacts of global warming, but amid deep divisions over how to go about it. At least 400 scientists and expert’s form about 120 countries are attending the week long third session of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the UN’s leading authority on global warming. Two reports issued earlier this year by the panel warned that the Earth was already warming and predicted severe consequences including drought, flooding, violent storms and increased hunger and disease The third report aims to layout ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prevent a climate catastrophe without seriously hurting the economy. “Global warming is increasing becoming a hot agenda that requires harmonized cooperation from all nations”. “Its very difficult at these negotiations to try to find that level of compromise and to try to find sustainable solutions that are equitable”.  


Apple unveils plants to go greener  
The Economic Times  
4 May 2007  
APPLE Inc, responding to criticism from environmental groups, unveiled plans on Wednesday that chief executives Steve Jobs claimed would make the company greener than most of its competitors. In a message titled, “ A Greener Apple,” posted on the company’s Wed site, jobs gave details for the first time of what the company was doing to remove toxic chemicals from its new products and more aggressively recycle old products. “Today is the first time we have openly discussed our plants to become a greener Apple,” Jobs wrote.” Among the initiatives are Apple’s plans to completely eliminate the use of arsenic in all of its displays, and stop using polyvinyl chloride and ruminated flame-retardants in its products by the end of 2008.  


Global warming and Himalayas  
The Times of India  
4 May 2007  
This has reference to the news item forget Himalayas Glaciers’ in TOI of April 3: people exhibit dangerous ignorance towards the phenomenon of global warming. It the ice near Antarctica is melting, melting of Himalayas is not far off. If Himalayas melts, India will be hit most In terms of climate and water resource. While western world are causing global warming through reckless burning of fossil fuels, we Indians are contributing through reckless population growth and forest cutting. If global warming affects agricultural production, the countries with high populations density like India or Bangladesh, Will be hit more than thinly populated countries like USA or Brazil. At our level, we should immediately control our population to avoid catastrophe in the future.  


Now or never: Just 8 yrs to fight global warming  
The times of India  
5 May 2007  
The world cannot remain a fossil fool anymore, oblivious of the environmental destruction wrought as it guzzles fuels like coal and oil. It has just eight years to act and bring down the concentration of heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere if the rising global temperatures are be contained between 2-24 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial era, a hard hitting report of UN’s apex body on climate change released on Friday said. All countries, including India, will have to take drastic steps to shift from fossil fuels like coal and oil, which emit global warming gases upon burning, in order to avert a global crisis, the report said with a firmness and certainty that the experts of more than 100 countries have never asserted before. It has warned that any delay in action would lead to the temperatures rising alarmingly. The report warned that emissions of heat-trapping gases had increased alarmingly by 70 % between 1970-2004, with levels of carbon dioxide increasing by 80% over the same period. It noted that if the world continues to burn fossil fuels along current lines. Than the dangerous emissions would rise by 90% by 2030.  


What’s pricklier than heat? Your talc!  
Hindustan Times  
7 May 2007  
“Samples of most of the talc based cosmetic cosmetics powders available in India are contaminated with asbestos”, said Dr Iqbal Ahmad, head of the Fiber Toxicology Division of ITRC that had been working on asbestos contamination in talcum powders for the past two years. Asbestos contamination as high as 15 percent was detected in the popular talcum powder brands in available in India. While many western countries have put permissible level of asbestos in cosmetics as ‘0’ “Such cosmetic powders can rove hazardous in the long term/ usage states the research report. Once asbestos exposure takes place, it takes few years for manifestation of serious malignancies such as pulmonary and ovarian cancer,” Talc is a mineral, produced by the mining of talc rocks and then processed by crushing, drying and milling. Talc is the principal ingredient home and garden pesticides and flea and tick powders. Talc is used in smaller quantities in deodorants, chalk, crayons, textiles, soap, insulating materials, paints, asphalt filler, paper, and in food processing. Surgical gloves and condoms are also dusted with it. Cancer Prevention Coalition, Chicago warns that people should not buy or use products containing talc. It is especially important that women not apply talc on underwear or sanitary pads.  


Government urged to combat global warming  
The Hindu  
9 May 2007  
The emerging threat from global warming to countries came under focus with Lok Sabha members urging the Government to take steps to combat it, without losing time. Tibetan plateau melted, it could lead to flooding of rivers like the Brahmaputra, which would in turn flood vast areas. A similar effect would be felt in areas where the Ganga flow, in case the Himalayan glaciers melted. Mr. Chandrappan said that as per reports there was a clear link between global warming and human intervention, which was playing havoc and threatening the existence of mankind. Maneka Gandhi (BJP) said the effect of global warming on people was already being felt and would become more intense in 10 year. The Government should stress the use of solar and wind power, promote vegetable based fuel for motor vehicles and discourage use of diesel and petrol.  


e-book of life  
Pioneer  
12 May 2007  
After weeks of bad news about global warming and climate change, an exciting new project to map the world’s bio-diversity provides some cheer. This is the ‘Encyclopedia of life’, a $100 million project – to be executed over 10 year – to compile and make accessible high quality knowledge. About living species through multimedia over the Internet. This project will entail the recording of all life: Microscopic fungi, the dung beetle, the orangutan – the 1.8 million species of flora and fauna that are currently known, and fauna that are currently known, and the many more expected to be discovered, will be in the database. This makes it an example of unique cooperation between biologists and software designers and computer engineers; and of technology in aid of conservation efforts and of life. As is known, human king’s depredations have been the biggest cause of the elimination of species in the last few centuries. The future also appears somewhat bleak, what with scientists warning of cataclysmic events to follow in the wake of global warming that will destroy entire ecosystems. This encyclopedic database is then a convenient tool towards this end, useful in many ways, including the identification of the threats.  


UN climate chief says time short to find 2012 pact  
The economic Times  
11 May 2007  
THE world has a “ closing window of opportunity” to agree to a pact to fight global warming beyond 2012, the UN’s top climate change official said on Thursday. Yvo de Bore also said reports by climate experts warning of ever more drought, floods and rising seas should be given prominence at the next talks of environment ministers in Bali, Indonesia, in December, Officials in Bonn are seeking ways to widen and extend the UN’s Kyoto Protocol on limiting greenhouse gases, released mainly by burning fossil fuels, to include outsiders led by the United State, China and India. Kyoto binds 35 industrial nations to cut greenhouse gases by 5% below 1990 levels by 2008-12 but Kyoto backers only account for about a third of world greenhouse gas emissions. Bush opposes Kyoto-style caps on emissions on the grounds they would cost jobs and wrongly exclude poor nations. Still, governments are under pressure to act after the UN climate panel this year squarely blamed human activities for stoking global warming and said it could bring more hunger in Africa, water shortages for billions and rising ocean levels. De Boer said there was progress in Bonn in talks on issues such as the possibilities of giving credits to developing nations for slowing deforestation of the transfer of clean technologies to help poor nations cope with climate change.  


Climate change refugees by 2050  
The pioneer  
15 May 2007  
Climate change will take the number of refugees worldwide to a billion by 2050, according to a report. Global warming and its consequences will exacerbate a global crisis in which 155 million people have been is placed by wars, natural disasters and development projects, the study by Christian Aid warn. China is likely to be hit by more floods, typhoons and drought this year than at any time in the past decade because of global climate change. Even existing estimate, more than a decade old, predict that hundreds of millions of people will be forced from their homes by floods, drought and famine sparked by climate change. Populations compete for dwindling food and water,” “Climate change and growing competition for scarce resources are together likely to increase the incidence of humanitarian crises. The spread of desert regions, a scarcity of water, coastal erosion, declining arable land, damage to infrastructure from extreme weather: all this could undermine security.”  


Taj turning yellow, says House panel  
The Times of India  
15 May 2007  
Despite the government’s best efforts, the Taj Mahal is losing its sheen, a parliamentary panel has said. The government’s various attempts – setting up an Air Pollution Monitoring Laboratory at Agra and asking Mathura refinery to strictly monitor pollution – to arrest yellowing of the world heritage site has failed, Parliament’s standing committee said. Taj Mahal was becoming yellowish due to deposition of suspended particulate matter (SPM). “The deposition of SPM on the shimmering white marble of the Taj Mahal imparts a yellow tinge to the surface,’ the report said. The committee recommended that to restore the pristine glory of the Taj Mahal, clay pack treatment – which is non-corrosive and non-abrasive – should carried out to remove the deposits.  


Yangtze terminal  
Down to Earth  
15 May 2007  
The latest report on conservation and development of the river Yangtze has found that water pollution along China’s longest river is increasing. In fact, large parts of the river have been irreversibly polluted, the report notes. It found that 600 km of the river is in a “critical condition” and nearly 30 percent of its major tributaries are “seriously polluted”. The water reservoir of the there Georges Dam – the world’s largest hydropower plant – has also become seriously polluted due to excessive levels of nitrogen and phosphorous from pesticides and fertilizers. The report says that unless this pollution is reversed immediately, the future ecological and social development of the river could be at risk.  


Emission Rights  
Down to Earth  
15 May 2007  
A federal court trial over whether stats have the authority to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from automobiles got underway on April 10, 2007, at the US district court in Burlington. The auto industry has challenged Vermont’s strict emission limits. It argues caps won’t help stem global warming. Currently, 10 states, including Vermont, have followed California in adopting standards tougher than federal rules. They want a 30 percent cut in carbon dioxide emission. The industry has sued California and Rhode Island, but Vermont is the first to go to trial.  


PMO to review stand on climate change  
Times of India  
16 May 2007  
In a move to formulate an “ Indian Position” on a UN report on climate change which predicted worrying scenarios for India, PMO is holding review meeting on Wednesday to discuss critical issues like use of green technologies and the economic costs of such initiatives. India needed to prepare to prepare its arguments, as the issue was increasing on the global agenda and was going to figure at the G-8 summit, which would be attended by PM Manmohan Singh. The crux of the issue that India will increasingly consider in coming months is how to move towards accepting the need to use green technologies but also extract international commitments to underwrite some of the costs.  


Fly ash improves soil fertility  
The Hindu  
17 May 2007  
Fly ash is by-product of pulverized coal-fired thermal power station. Its disposal poses a serious problem considering storage space and cost involved and dust pollution arising out of its fineness. Use of Fly ash: - Fly ash improves permeability, status, soil texture, water holding capacity/porosity/aeration, resistance to pest attack and reduces bulk density and crust formation. It has also been successfully used as a source of essential plant nutrients such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, copper, zinc, manganese, iron, boron, molybdenum, and also for boosting crop growth. Fly ash works as a part substitute of gypsum for reclamation of saline alkali soil and lime for reclamation of acidic soils. Ground water quality: - Crops grown in fly ash amended soil are safe for human consumption and ground water quality is not affected. Repeated field trials and residual effects have also recorded the increase in the crop yield (20-50 percent) with high nutritional value, that is protein, oil and the like. Studies on the bulk use of fly ash in the agriculture sector have well established its efficacy in boosting chemical fertilizer efficiency in terms of better use by growing crops and thus resulting in lesser use of fertilizer.  


Mitigating Climate change  
The Hindu  
18 May 2007  
The recommendations on climate change mitigation made by a working group of the Inter governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) provide hope that concerted action can make a real difference in the next quarter century. The panel is convinced that greenhouse gases in the atmosphere can be pegged at relatively safe levels with measures that will not affect GDP growth. It is little surprise that the working group found that owing to human activity gas emissions, primarily carbon dioxide, rose by 70 percent between 1970 and 2004. Much of that challenge lies in implementing carbon capture and storage technologies in the energy supply sector, which in the pat three-and half decades has responsible for a 145 percent increase in gas emissions. The IPCC estimates that more than $20 trillion will be spent on energy infrastructure between now and 2030. It is imperative that such investments are environmentally sustainable. The government can mandate that buildings integrate green technologies such has solar photovoltaic systems, which are particularly relevant in country with plentiful sunlight. The energy efficiency of end-user equipment can be ensured through appropriate tax breaks and certification systems. The IPCC points out that improved cooking stoves and high-efficiency lighting, heating, and cooling devices are available even today. What they need is promotion.  


Raja defends India’s record in combating global warming  
The statesman  
18 May 2007  
India today strongly defended its record in the international fight against global warning. Replying to the discussion, the new minister for communication, Mr A Raja, who till recently handled the ministry of environment and forests, made a spirited defence of India’s efforts in tackling the dangerous phenomenon. He sought to dispel the impression prevailing in some countries that India was not concerned about emission levels that caused global warming as it was not signatory to the Kyoto Proposal. Mr Raja said India was proud that emission level in the country stood at only four percent of the global emission as against 8 percent in Germany, 9 percent in the U K, US and Canada and 10 percent in Japan. “India is very safe as our emission level is within limits,” he added. The Kyoto Protocol provided that all developed nations should reduce emissions. He pointed out hat in order to reduce pollution; India had switched over to hydrothermal power.  


Southern Ocean study sounds more warming alarms  
The Indian Express  
19 May 2007  
THE Southern Ocean, a massive storehouse for carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, is slowly losing its capacity to buffer the world from rising concentration of the greenhouse gas; As a result, carbon dioxide will accumulate in the atmosphere faster than previously expected. The southern Ocean, which surrounds Antarctica, accounts for about one-third of all carbon stored in the oceans. The degree to which the oceans will be able to buffer against rising carbon dioxide emission is a key uncertainty in predicting temperature increases. Carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere are now 385 parts per million. The continued burning of fossil fuels has been increasing atmospheric levels of the gas annually by abut 2 parts per million. With only barren, ice-covered land nearby, the researchers could rule out interference from vegetation.  


“19% of India’s global warming emissions from large dams”  
The Hindu  
20 May 2007  
Latest scientific estimates show that large dams in India are responsible for about a fifth of the country’s total global warming impact. The estimates also reveal that Indian dams are the largest global warming contributors compared to all other nations, Brazil comes second with the emission of methane from its reservoirs being 21.8 million tones per year, which is 18.13 percent of the global figure. The study titled “Methane emission from Indian large dams” estimates that total emissions from India’s large dams could be around 33.5 million tones per year, including those from reservoirs (1.1mt), spillways (13.2mt) and turbines of hydropower dams (19.2mt). Total generation of methane from India’s reservoirs could be 45.8mt. Total global emission of methane due to all human activities, the contribution from large dames alone could be around 24 percent. The methane emission from India’s dams is estimated at 27.86 percent of the methane emission from all the large dams of the world, which is more than the share of any other country of the world. Indian hydropower projects are already known for their serous social and environmental impact on the communities and environment. Neither the Central Water Commission nor the Central Electricity Authority has assessed the global warming impact of India’s large dams and implications there of,” he Said.  


Polar bears at risk as warming melts icy home: Experts  
The Indian Express  
22 May2007  
Time may be running out for polar bears as global warming melts the ice beneath their paws. Restrictions or bans on hunting in recent decades have helped protect many populations of the iconic Arctic carnivore, but many experts say the long-term out looks is bleak. “There will be big reductions in numbers if the ice melts,” Many scientific studies project that warming, widely blamed on emissions of greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels, could melt the polar ice cap in summer, with estimates of the break-up ranging from decades to sometime beyond 2100. Bears’ favourite hunting ground is the edge of the ice where they use white fur as camouflage to catch seals. “If there’s no ice, there’s no way they can catch the seal”. The World Conservation Union last year listed the polar bear as “vulnerable” and said the population might fall by 30 percent over the next 45 years.  


Growth spurs climate change: Oz report  
Times of India  
23 May 2007  
Global warming is occurring is occurring faster than predicted because rapid economic growth has resulted in higher than expected greenhouse gas emission since 2000, said an Australian report on Tuesday. Emissions from burning fossil fuels have increased about 3% a year since 2000 up from 1% a year. Co2 output to rise 59% by’ 30: US Global emissions of the main gas scientists link to global warming will rise 59% from ‘04to ’30, with much of the growth coming from coal burning in developing countries, US forecast on Monday.  


Climate initiative hinges on china, US  
The Statesman  
26 May 2007  
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced on Thursday the government’s basic policy for an international framework to succeed the Kyoto Protocol to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. The policy should serve as a starting point to create a post-Kyoto Protocol framework to combat global warming, a cause that must involve every member of the international community. The Kyoto Protocol states emission levels of greenhouse gases must be reduced between 2008 and 2012. The Kyoto Protocol stipulates country-by country numerical targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Japan’s new initiative will seek agreements from other countries to work toward a unified global target, and then to discuss how to meet this goal. The main objective of the policy announced by Abe is to halve emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from the current level by 2050. With this figure as the common global target, Abe argued that technological developments and other efforts should be made to ensure any reduction of greenhouse gas emissions does not impinge on economic growth. The United States - the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases – steadfastly refuses to ratify the protocol. To ensure the new framework is effective, the participation of the United States and China is essential. The European Union has its own numerical target to reduce greenhouse gasses by more than 20 percent of 1990 levels by 2020. Despite this gloomy prediction, the reports offered a ray of hope: Global warming can be halted if appropriate measures are taken in time. Abe also said the government is ready to extend technological and financial assistance to developing countries that actively take-steps to deal with global warming.  


Climate of Profit  
The Times of India  
26 May 2007  
WHO’s afraid of climate change? Everybody is, but more so western countries struggling to reconcile the widening divide between development and conservation, responsibility and action. India’s refusal to be bound by emissions control under the Kyoto Protocol – a stand it will reiterate at the forthcoming G-8 meet in June – should be seen in this context. Greening initiatives would require participation of the individual. Government and corporation. However, lack of funding has stalled research and development initiatives that can make green alternatives accessible to all. Harvesting solar energy for industrial or domestic consumption requires capital investment in photovoltaic receptors and transmitters, currently beyond the reach of most. No region or people are exempt from the effects of climate change. Its time for those who benefited from resource-exploitation to bail out those now bearing he consequences. All countries could contribute to common funds for common benefit. Taxing over-consumption of electricity and gas-guzzling automobiles, air travel, A/C train travel and coal-based power plants are some ways of sourcing funds. Stern committee-type recommendation to maximize cost- benefit of sustainable development can be implemented only when climate change is perceived as something that affects us all. The choice is clear. Swim or sink, together.  


Forget governments. Reversing climate change should begin with you  
Hindustan Times  
27 May 2007  
It’s a greenhouse effect of another kind. Even as our greenhouse gas-choked planet becomes progressively feverish, in homes across urban India, whirring ACs are being silenced, house wives are introducing worms into their kitchens for composting, and lentils are replacing livestock. Shopping is being purged of plastic bags and fuel- guzzling cars are being sold off. Remarkably, those doing such things are not dyed-in-the wool green activists, but people who made the lifestyle shift long before scientists issued grim prognoses. The climate for change had arrived in the there lives a while before ‘carbon footprint’ became a talking point and government began the blame game over who is greener than thou. Being altered by ecologically driven decisions is seeping into family dynamics. People not attending night weddings consume too much electricity.” Some others have made their office spaces green zones. Publisher Rukhmini Sekhar and her staff acknowledge the in convenient truth of global warming in their daily lives by choosing to do without an AC in office.  


Too Much Hot Air  
The Times of India  
30 May 2007  
Global warming is agitating our minds, particularly after the report of the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). A large number of scientists disagree with the view that a climate catastrophe is looming and hat economic development and industrial sation are the cause of it. In a letter to the Canadian prime minister, 60 of the world’s leading climate scientists wrote, “Global climate change all the time due to natural causes and the human impact still remains impossible to distinguish from this natural’ noise”. Of course, we need to know who emits maximum of harmful carbons into the atmosphere. The US topped the list in 1999 with 5.60 tonnes of emission per person, Russia followed with 2.72, EU 2.40, Japan 2.40, China 0.53 and India close to 0.25 tonnes per person. The developed world has to be aggressive in controlling carbon emission. We are aware that coal will be available for 2004-450 years, and here the integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) is so relevant. IGCC is used in two plants in the US, where carbon dioxide is extracted out of the coal and sequestered deep into the ground while hydrogen gas and steam powers the turbines to produce electricity. In The M2M (methane to market) partnership between FICCI and Environmental Protection Agency of the US is a humble example of emerging possibilities. Developing countries along the equator, which are expected to face the brunt of global, warming, could become global leaders in energy production with a solar energy breakthrough. It is little known that India has at least 31 percent of world’s thorium (RAR category). Given the keen interest of many countries, including India, in fast- breeder reactors using thorium, India could become a supplier of nuclear fuel rater than a recipient. Switching significantly to nuclear power with our own fuel source would put us in the big league on clean power production. Let us not swept away by the alarmists in the global warming debate. We must take a cool and hard look at global at global technology partnerships and engineer tectonic shifts to beat the Malthusian and Club of Rome syndrome.  


Climate change – Post Kyoto protocol  
Economic times  
30 May 2007  
CLIMATE change is estimated to cause rise in global temperatures by as much as 1.4o C to 5.8o C by the end of the century. This may result in catastrophic climactic changes leading to mass population movements. The risks associated with climate change are high enough to merit serious spending on various mitigation measures. Limiting CO2 concentration to sustainable concentration levels could lower global output anywhere between 1% and 5% by this Century, as compared to the situation if there were no attempts to control emissions. The damage due to global output as a result of climate change may be anywhere between 5% and 20% There are essentially two ways to reduce carbon emissions: one, by imposing a carbon tax and the other, the “ cap-and-trade” system as in vogue in the European Union. Carbon trading is a market-based alternative to either direct taxation or” command and control” approach that directly improves emission limits. The global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have come mainly from the developed world. During the period 1950-2003, the percentage of global GHG emissions was as follows: the United States, 26,4%; EU-25, 21,5%; Germany, 5.7%; the United Kingdom, 3.6% and Japan, 4.7%. The per capita CO2eq emission figures are relatively much higher: 792 tonne in the US; 605 tonne in Germany; 566 tonne in the Russian Federation; 527 tonne in the UK; 412 tonne in the EU (25); 322 tonne in Japan, whereas the corresponding figures are a mere 65 tonne in China and 21 tonne in India. The main issue for consideration in this global fight is to decide upon an appropriate benchmark emission entitlement level for setting of future reduction targets. Developed countries would thus require greater efforts in absolute terms to reduce their per capita emission levels to bring them at par with the levels in developing countries. The truly “cap-and-trade” system of CERs would lead to purchase and adoption of cleaner and more efficient technologies in the south, leading to win-win situation for both the north and the south.  


NO global warming, say GSI EXPERTS  
Pioneer  
2 June 2007  
It may sound incredible to our ears that there is no global warming taking place, as we are accustomed to hearing just the opposite. And the reason is simple there is no scientific evidence to prove the fact. And there are many supporters of this theory, of this theory, the Geological Survey of India, Lucknow being one. Director, Glaciology Division, CV Sangewar offers scientific reasons in support. “We have been monitoring Himalayan Glaciers since 1906 onwacds to study their recession and found very little evidence of global warming. “The 30.5km long Gangotri retreated 1147 metres from 1935-1996, an average retreat rate of 18.80 m/year. The latest figures of 2004-05 show a 12metre retreat. At this rate this glacier might melt in 2000 years”. Similarly, the Bara Shigri glacier in the Chenab Basin showed an average retreat of 28.78 m/year in 89 years and would take not less than 1000 years to melt. The 73 km long Siachen Glacier has been almost static between 1958-1985 and would not melt before 5000 years “If we say that global warming is taking place, we should have a point of reference for studying the temperature. Our study of the glaciers shows that there is hardly any change in temperature” The Global Warming theory has been forwarded only to stop the pace of development in developing countries.  


Warming could affect 40% of population: UN  
The Times of India  
5 June 2007  
Melting glaciers, ice sheets and snow cover could affect up to 40% of the world’s population through rising sea levels. Flooding and dwindling supplies of water for drinking supplies of water for drinking and farming, a UN report said on Monday. Even though much of the ice is in remote areas, such as Polar Regions and Greenland, the impact will be felt worldwide, UN Environment Program executive director Achim Steiner said. The report was released in the Norwegian Arctic city of Tromsoe, which is hosting the main international celebrations of world Environmental Day under the theme “melting ice – ice – a hot topic? The report, called “The Global outlook for Snow and Ice”, said warmer temperatures could raise sea levels by 30-50 inches this century which could flood low-lying areas and force millions to flee, such as in Bangladesh. “An estimated 40% of the world’s population could be affected by loss of snow and glaciers on the mountains of Asia,” the UNEP said. In the Northern Hemisphere, snow cover in March and April has declined 7-10 % over the past 30 or 40 years, the report said. It said over the past 30 years, the extent of sea ice has declined 6-7% in winter and 10-12 % in summer, while ice thickness has declined by at least 10-15% “Melting of ice and snow will in itself have severe consequences on nature and society. “But it will also reduce the reflection of Sun beams from the surface of the Earth and the global warming” Norwegian environmental minister Helen Bjoernoey said.  


Fuel of the future  
The Indian Express  
6 June 2007  
On the eve of World Environment Day this week the government committed itself to getting a million hydrogen powered vehicles on to Indian roads by 2020. The optimum composition would need to be based on two main factors: one, reducing dependence on imported, price-volatile fossil fuel; two, cutting down greenhouse gas emissions responsible for climate change. It would be more prudent for the government to desist from providing incentives by the nature of the technology. Transportation is a key sector for reducing carbon emissions. The World Resources Institute estimated that in 2000 transportation accounted for 13.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions. A bouquet of fuel potions is available to reduce these emissions, especially with the number of vehicles the roads continuing to register robust growth. There is, of course, hydrogen. Biofuel is another option. Currently it is being made mostly from sugarcane or corn. Sceptic argues that diverting fields to sugarcane or corn cultivation for this purpose would effect food prices. They also point out that while biofuel would reduce dependence on fossil fuel, its production and usage are only marginally less polluting. However, scientists argue that biomass-based cellulosic ethanol-still being developed-would be much less polluting. And last, an ever viable option is to produce more fuel efficient vehicles. Instead of staking dependence on particular potions, policymakers would be safer setting targets for emission cuts and fossil fuel consumption.  


Green guards for every village  
The economic Times  
6 June 2007  
Climate is changing, getting warmer, causing, unprecedented natural calamities resulting in huge human losses. We need to seriously introspect and start living differently if we really want to leave this planet to the generations to come. To do this, the world community as a whole must act together as our eco-system is in many ways integrated and thus needs global action. Climate change, therefore, has to be dealt with as a global issue. In India, we need to focus on water: we have just 4% of the world’s freshwater source and need to support 17% of the world population. Quality of water should become our top priority along with demand side management (DSM) and conservation strategy. The use of bio-fuel, touted as solution to the energy and carbon emission problem, may also end up as a water guzzler, and would create the serous problem of water shortage. We must maintain our natural forests and rain forests while increasing our forest cover to 33% of our total landmass to ensure ecological balance and also to act as carbon sinks to sequestrate carbon emissions to abate global warming. We need more ambitious programme to maintain the marine ecology intact. Industrial activities cause a great deal of land, water and air pollution. We have to use policies, which can recycle our resources. Manufacturing is only 23%of our GDP today and has to increase to may be half our total GDP in future. Our population will be anywhere between 1.5 to 1.8 billion people by the middle of this century. We need a people’s movement to keep ecology in safe hands. We need green guards, in every village, a volunteer force to keep their water, air and land safe. Man created the problems and he must also find solutions very quickly.  


‘Global warming a ploy to check developing nations’  
Times of India  
6 June 2007  
Global warming seems to be a plot of developed countries to keep a tab on developing ones. The programme was organized by Indian water Works Association (WWA). Nevertheless, the pollution level in India itself has risen considerably. Three important rivers of North India – Ganga. Yamuna and Gomati – are pertinent examples. According to Anand, the river, which forms the lifeline of major cities in North India, including Delhi, has not been able to maintain the water level. While Yamuna needs around 350 million cusecs, the availability is of not more than 100 cusec. Pot ability the river water has declined substantially. Gomati likewise has been turned into a nullah with an ever-increasing domestic wastewater load. Amount of water suitable for drinking purpose is extremely less – around 2.7 percent of the total water “This needs to be preserved for our existence. Phenomenon of global warming indeed was alarming, even if it the result of indiscriminate exploitation of fossil fuels by the developed countries. The water level in seas would in crease by 20-feet owing to melting of ice if global warming is not checked.  


Garbage gas chinks green Armour!  
Hindustan Times  
6 June 2007  
DUMPING BIO-DEGARDABE waste at landfills is not environment-friendly as it releases methane (garbage gas), which is one of the causes of global warming, experts say. An urgent need to ban land filling of composite materials and recommend reuse of all the recyclable materials and recommended reuse of all the recyclable material through their proper segregation at every household. Other methods of waste management such as incineration generates energy inefficiency while generating fossil fuel derived carbon dioxide, “Generally, no processing of municipal solid waste takes place in the country. Most of the municipal authorities deposit solid waste at a dump yard situated within or outside the city. The landfills are not properly maintained and the waste is left to spread foul smell and becomes a breeding ground for flies, rodents and pests. The solid waste management efforts cannot be the sole responsibility of the government.  


City Gets 20% Noisier  
Hindustan Times  
6 June 2007  
NOISE POLLUTION has blown all decibel limits in the city, which may lead to serious health ailments, warns the Pre Monsoon Assessment of Environmental Status report released by the Industrial Toxicology Research Centre on the occasion of the World Environment Day on Tuesday. The city has roughly become 20 percent noisier. The day and night noise pollutions have grown 19.6 and 26 decibels higher than the permissible limits, which is a cause of alarm, the report says. The day and night noise levels were recorded between 68.7 and 74.6 and 61.3 and 71.0 decibels respectively in residential areas. All the values are higher than the prescribed limits of 55 and 45 decibels respectively. The report said the noise pollution could have adverse effects on the health. It can produce hearing loss, cardiac and cardio vascular changes, stress, fatigue, and dizziness lack of concentration. Encroachments should be removed for smooth and slow traffic and pressure horns must be banned. Slight increase of Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter (RSPM) was recorded over previous year except in Indira Nagar. Sulphur Dioxide (SO2) level was also found increased in Vikas Nagar and Gomti Nagar. The bacteriological assessment of drinking water in the city stated that 33 percent samples in residential areas, 43 percent in commercial and 27percent samples in industrial areas were found having coliforms above the permissible standards in the drinking water. Report obsevation revealed that 42 percent piped supply and 26 percent ground water samples were found to be bacteriological unsafe for drinking purpose. Periodical water quality monitoring as well as proper disinfections and maintenance of drinking water sources are required, suggested the report.  


‘Increase role of stakeholders in waste management’  
The Indian Express  
6 June 2007  
THE Regional Centre for Urban and Environmental Studies, Lucknow, in collaboration with the Centre for Environmental Studies, Lucknow organized a one-day workshop on the theme ‘Sustainable Waste Management: Contribution to Climate ‘Protection’ on the occasion of the World Environment Day on Tuesday. The workshop was inaugurated by Principal Secretary, Department, the Urban Development, the Government of UP, Sri Govind Nair. He called for increasing the role and involvement of stakeholders in management of wastes and mitigation of green house gases. Nair also addressed the problems of urban environment and global warming. Pro-Vice Chancellor, Lucknow University, Prof RS Yadav, highlighted the role of community in management of domestic wastes. He cited examples of waste management initiatives taken by the varsity for handling domestic waste in the varsity premises. Dr VP Sharma from the Industrial Toxicology Research Centre, Lucknow, presented the perspective of waste recycling of plastic waste in order to reduce environmental degradation.  


G8 agrees to big emission cuts  
Hindustan times  
8 June 2007  
Germany: German chancellor Angela Markel said G8 leaders agreed Thursday to call for “substantial cuts” to greenhouse gas emissions blamed for global warming, hailing at a big success on climate change. Their declaration calls for cutting the emissions in half by 2050. Markel has long called for setting specific targets for the reduction of the carbon emissions believed to cause global warming, inclu ding a so-called two-degree target under which global temperatures would be allowed to increase by no more than 2 degree Celsius before being brought back down. Experts have said that would require a global reduction in emission of 50% below 1990 levels by 2050. Us president George W. Bush insisted that efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emission would not succeed till India and china were involved. He emphasized the need for creating a bridge between Europe and developing countries. Sending a strong message to the industrialized nations on climate change, the G-5, including India, made it clear that there could be no compromise on the issue of development as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asserted that developing countries should be treated as “partners and not petitioners”.  


Saving Earth  
The pioneer  
8 June 2007  
The possibility of engineering our climate gives some hope that life on Earth might yet be saved from the catastrophic consequences of climate change and global warming caused by uncontrolled human activity. There are fears that by the time the world gets it act together, it might be too little and too late. Reports, which have corroborated that the global warming is indeed taking place and predicted that it would to be stabilized, have implied terrible effects. The shifting climate pattern would cause the melting of glaciers and the drying of rivers, the destruction of habitats and the elimination of species. Scientists have been suggesting for some time types of solar shields that would protect the planet by reflecting some the sun’s radiation back in to space. Carbon dioxide, the principal greenhouse gas, could be soaked by phytoplankton whose growth could be stimulated by seeding seas with iron particles. The safest way to combat global warming remains that of altering our energy system, it may be a good idea to invest further in understanding and refining these scientists solutions to save life Earth  


G8: India arms itself with energy efficiency figures  
The Indian Express  
8 June 2007  
In the G8 summit that started , India is going to come under increasing pressure to cut carbon emissions. The Indian delegation headed by the Prime Minister is armed with figures to show that India is already on a low carbon growth path. Meanwhile, china, the worlds second-largest producers of greenhouse gases after the US, has announced a new policy this week that claims to combat global warming through measures like energy saving. “china has not agreed to cut down on carbon emissions, but to control it . our performance on the energy consumption front has been much better. In all the major energy intensive sectors-steel, aluminium, fertilizer, paper, cement-levels of energy efficiency are at global levels, claims India. India contributes only 4% of the total global greenhouse gas emissions and in terms of per capita emissions it is about 23% of the total global average. It has been working hard on improving energy efficiency. There has been effective delinking of energy sector growth from economic growth. At present, the primary energy sector growth rate is 2.76% per year, against GDP growth exceeding 8%.  


Time starts now  
Times of India  
12 June 2007  
The agreement on climate on climate change reached at Heiligendamn by the G-8 leaders merely sets the stage for the real debate to come: how will we divide up the diminishing capacity of the atmosphere to absorb our greenhouse gases? The G-8 leaders agreed to seek “substantial” cuts in greenhouse gas emissions and to give “serious consideration” to the goal of halving such emissions by 2050. Now, in response to suggestions by bush and other must be part of the solution to climate change, Ma Kai, the head of china’s National Development and Reform Commission, has said that China will not commit to any quantified emissions reduction targets. Likewise, India has said that it would reject such mandatory restrictions. China and India claim the right to proceed with industrialization and development as the developed nations did, unhamper by limits on their greenhouse gas emissions. There is a solution that is both fair and practical: Establish the total amount of greenhouse gases that we can allow to be emitted without causing the earth’s average temperature to rise more than two degree Celsius, the point beyond which climate change could become extremely dangerous. The fairness of giving every person on earth an equal share of the atmosphere’s capacity to absorb our greenhouse gas emissions is difficult to deny. It would give developing nations a strong incentive to accept mandatory quotas, because if they can keep their per capita emissions low, they will have excess emissions rights to sell to the industrialized nations. The rich countries will benefit, too, because they will be able to choose their preferred mix of reducing emissions and buying up emissions rights from developing nations.  


Future shock: the environment  
The Indian Express  
13 June 2007  
The United States admits that global warming is a serious problem. India is going to face problems, not just from within its borders, such as the melting of the Himalayan glaciers, but from without, too. Environmental degradation and depletion of natural resources is a reality in Bangladesh today. Deforestation, damage to wetlands, depletion of soil quality, is some of problems the county already faces. The mudslides, which have reportedly claimed around hundred lives, are an example of how fragile Bangladesh is, ecologically speaking. The World Bank estimates that 25% of the country’s four million wells may be contaminated by arsenic, a poison that occurs naturally in Bangladesh’s alluvial soils. Increase in sea level will be the biggest environmental threat to Bangladesh. Already a million people are displaced every year by the loss of land along rivers, and indications are that this trend could rapidly increase in days to come. A one-metre rise in sea level is predicted if no action is taken on global warming. India could be directly affected by this, with ‘environmental migrants’ seeking refuge. This in turn will pose various challenged to India’s security. The point is that the 21st centuary threats are essentially non-military.  


Carbon trading gets new platform  
Economic Times  
13 June 2007  
A Form of carbon trading that falls outside the kyotoprotocol seems to have caught the attention of Indian entities. US-based company Chicago climate exchange (ccx), which legally binds its members to meet greenhouse gas emission caps set by it, is luring sellers of carbon credits in India to trade with companies in the US. The complex clearance process under the clean Development Mechanism of the kyotoprotocol have been sited as the reason behind alternative trading through companies such as the CCX that have a greenhouse emissions allowance trading system. An allowance or carbon credit which is earned by reducing emissions can be traded at a price with those entities that require the allowance to meet their emission caps. Joining entities from other developing countries such as Brazil, a Kerala-based NGO Anthyodaya happens to be first Indian entity to become a member of the CCX while talks are on with other NGOs for tie ups. The US one of the biggest polluters globally, has not ratified the kyotoprotocol that sets emission caps at the country level, states like California have set their own emission caps and companies volunteers to take up caps by entering in to a legal contract with the Chicago Climate Exchange.  


Ozone’s ugly side rears its head  
Times of India  
15 June 2007  
New Delhi: As if vehicle fumes were not sufficient. Delhities are set to battle yet another pollutant. It may be highly beneficial for us in the upper atmosphere, but ground level ozone is extremely harmful for humans and animals. This year, under the influence of increasing pollution and extremely hot summer, ozone levels have been increasing at a drastic rate. Ozone is created as a secondary product of the reactions of primarily nitrogen oxides (NOx) and hydrocarbons under the influence of sunlight and high temperature. It is evident that our air quality is becoming worse with levels of Nox rising. With temperature rising, the conditions are ideal for the production of ozone. The ozone level is measured in the city at two places-sirifort and Bawana. Since February, it has risen to over 40% of the safe limits prescribed for it.  


Green route to White House  
Down To Earth  
15 June 2007  
NEW York City is set to go green. Mayor Michael Bloomberg recently announced his ambitious “PlaNYC-2030” for a “greener and greater” New York. The following are the highpoints of the plan: • Reduce 30 percent greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 • Plant I million trees I next decade • Charge trucks US $21 and cars US $ 8 to drive into Manhattan • New constructions to be 20 percent more energy efficient than the current energy code • Waiving sales tax on purchases of fuel-efficacy cars • Rebate programmes to encourage installment of efficient toilets, urinals and washing machines • Clean up contaminated former industrial sites for housing and other uses • Offer wide-ranging incentives for efficiency upgrades in existing buildings, like property tax rebates for the installation of solar panels • Retiring the city’s most inefficient power plants and updating some with cleaner technology According to officials, controlling traffic here will definitely improve the air quality lessen congestion. The plan also talks of tackling climate change. Bloomberg plans to cut down on emissions through measures power production, better fuel efficiency and promotion, better fuel efficiency and promotion of hybrid cars, making buildings more energy efficient and controlling vehicular emissions. The fact is, to avoid serious harm; we must reduce our emissions by 60 to 80 percent by 2050.  


Metallic threat  
Down To Earth  
15 June 2007  
Heavy metals are seeping into Kolkatas’s groundwater from Dhapa, its waste dumping ground on the eastern fringe of the city. A study has found traces of chromium, zinc, cadmium and copper in areas around Dhapa. Copper and cadmium recorded. “Sewage of the entire city collects at ECW along with industrial waste from tanneries, battery and jewellery factories. Polluted water is permeating the aquifer through a number of deep- buried pale channels (underground channels carved out by once – active streams and rivers). These have cut into the confining layer of the aquifer under Dhapa and ECW. The aquifer lies under an approximately 40 meter deep layer of clay in this region, from where ground water is extracted. Measures to reduce stress on the aquifer and ECW need to be taken now. Construction of high-rises should be banned, he says. They usually don’t get surface water supply. Use of surface water should be increased and the aquifer needs to be recharged through rainwater harvesting.  


Bad weather travails  
Down To Earth  
15 June 2007  
Climate change is likely to create at least a billion refugees by 2050 according to a recent report. The real migration crisis, by the European aid agency Christian Aid, said that in future, many people, especially the poor, would be forced to migrate due to water shortage and crop failure, which would ultimately lead to fights over local resources. “We believe that forced migration is now the most urgent threat world”. Industrialized countries which have mainly contributed to greenhouse gas emission should bear the cost of helping the worst hit by it, said the report.  


Fly ash pesticide  
Down To Earth  
15 June 2007  
Fly ash, the notorious waste product of coal-based thermal power plants, known for its ill effects on agricultural land, may now come as an aid for the farming community. Scientists of Annamalai University, Tamil Nadu, have developed fly ash based herbal pesticide with turmeric; neem, eucalyptus, pepper and chilli dust and found them effective against several pests of rice and vegetables. “We have found that fly ash – from both coal and lignite – acts as a good carrier for herbal pesticides. The pesticides showed efficacy in thwarting various groups of pests infesting rice and vegetables. Among all the pesticides, the ones made with 10 percent turmeric dust and 10 percent of neem seed kernel dust was found to be most effective on pests such as Epilachnal beetles attacking brinjal and a species of spodoptera affecting okra. Clarifying that heavy metal in fly ash was not harmful. Grains, seeds and vegetables harvested from crop applied with tones of fly ash were found to contain negligible amount of heavy metals. The recommended level of harmless use of fly ash pesticide is 40kg/hectare. The pesticides should be applied through dust, spray and manual spread. Central Fuel Research Institute, Dhanbad, observes that there is no significant uptake of radioactive elements by plants. Also, there is negligible cumulative build up of these contaminants is soil when fly ash is used in agriculture. India generates around 112 million tones of bituminous wastes from coal and lignite based thermal power plants annually. This waste is normally diverted to the manufacture of bricks and as fillers for roads. Its use in making herbal pesticides shows a new direction. But the long proclaimed ill effects of fly ash should be thoroughly examined before putting it to large-scale use.  


Ground level ozone rising  
The Hindu  
16 June 2007  
New Delhi: A new analysis of the latest available air quality data in Delhi carried out by the center for science and environment has detected growing levels of ground level ozone, known to be extremely hazardous for human health and unheard of in the city so far. The rising ground level ozone is the result of the deadly combination of high pollution levels and soaring mercury during this usually hot summer. Ozone s not emitted directly from any sources. But other pollutants, primarily nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons that are spewed by the growing number of vehicles and other sources react in the atmosphere under the influence of sunlight and high temperature to form ozone. Ozone is forming in the city it is also drifting to the periphery. Ozone is harmful as even short –term exposure can trigger serious health problems. It worsens the symptoms of asthma, leads to lung function impairment and damage the lung tissues. Chest pain, coughing, nausea, headaches and chest congestion are common symptoms.  


A Greenfield project  
Hindustan Times  
19 June 2007  
ANDHRA Pradesh government’s advice to farmers not to allow animals to graze on Bt cotton fields reflects the confusion reigning among lay people and policymakers alike about genetically modified (GM) crops. The government appears to have issued this warning after some goats and sheep grazing on Bt cotton fields were found dead in the course of the last year. Apparently, this coincided with the findings of four labs that detected traces of nitrates, nitrites and organophosphates in Bt cotton plants, prompting edgy authorities to play safe. Bt cotton contains a transgenic gene that is transferred from the bacterium Bt (bacillus thuringiensis), which lets it produce a safe insecticide to fight the bollworm pest. It has the proven potential to improve crops, while cutting down on the use of pesticides that pose a grave economic and environment threat. For instance, GM cotton uses almost 90 percent less insecticides than non-GM cotton in the US, which translates into almost 90 percent less pesticides that pollute Rivers and leave residues in the soil, killing harmless insects. Perhaps India should take a leaf from the notebook of Chinese farmers who overcame initial fears to make spectacular advances in the commercial use of Bt cotton.  


Early springs a problem for Arctic creatures  
The Hindu  
20 June 2007  
Spring is arriving in the Arctic weeks earlier than it did a decade ago, according to a long-term survey of life in the far north’s landscape, Rising temperatures are causing snow to melt sooner than before, extending the summer period and dramatically disrupting the fragile ecosystem, scientists said. The change in the seasons – one of the most rapid examples of climate change – was discovered by researchers who observed familiar spring patterns over 10 years. They recorded a clear shift in the time of year plants came into flower, bird’s laid their first eggs, and insects and other creatures emerged to forage for food. Wading birds, including sander lings, ruddy turnstones, and dunlins, which migrate to breeding ground in the Arctic began laying eggs between a week and 10 days earlier, while some insects emerged more than a month earlier. Some plants including the arctic poppy and arctic heather flowered three weeks earlier. Sensitive environment Recent studies have shown spring advancements of 5.1 days a decade for animals and plants around the world, and 2.5 days a decade for European plants. The trends are likely to be even more sharply defined in the Arctic, which is regarded by climate change. Warming at the high latitudes is almost’ twice that witnessed in more temperate regions. The new Arctic data included the flowering dates of six plant species. The study reveals that many Arctic species are able to adapt quickly to the changing climate – which could have both negative and positive consequences. Another threat to the unique life of the Arctic comes from species in warmer areas just to the south. As the Arctic warms and becomes more habitable. These species are likely to push further north, putting them in conflict with native species.“This is a much more serious concern. The Arctic species could be out-competed and they can’t move much further north – there’s nowhere else to go.  


200m warming refugees by 2040  
The Times of India  
21 June 2007  
Berlin: Global warming could create some 200 million-climate refugees by 2040 and the bulk of affected will be people living in poor countries, Green peace warned on Wednesday. The environmental group said the forecast was based on a study by German Academic Cord Jakobeit from Hamburg University. Environment experts believe there may already be at least 20 million climate refuges and some have predicted the figure will increase tenfold as the impact of rising temperatures becomes more clearly felt. They say Inuit communities are being displaced by the melting ice caps in North America and Greenland, and the inhabitants of Africa’s drought-stricken Sahel region, the floodplains of Bangladesh and the islands of the South Pacific are suffering a similar fate. “The poorest people in the world have had no hand in climate change but will be the first to suffer severely from its fallout.  


Search on for new tech to filter Karnataka river water  
The Indian Express  
23 June 2007  
Twenty-one percent of communicable diseases in Indian are water related and polluted water related and polluted water is killing over 1,600 people each day, according to the World Health Organization. Now, a proposal at the World Bank’s Global Developing Marketplace contest aims to apply a unique filtration method that makes polluted water usable in an economically sustainable manner to the polluted Kali river in Karnataka. If successful, it can be scaled up across India. Worse, water-borne diseases from faecal contamination is one of the biggest public health risks and, according to the Blacksmith Institute, about 300,000 people in the state are affected by polluted water. The RBF system involves extracted water from wells located 20 to 200 meters away from rivers. As the polluted river water passes through the riverbed sediments, contaminants are removed by overlapping biological, physical and chemical processes. The technique’s success depends on site selection and system design. In Karnataka, they seek to transfer their RBF know how to water supply professionals and the public and demonstrate it as a technique “capable of economically producing high-quality water from the low-quality local river water”. Expected to benefit over 5,000 people living within the Kali river watershed, the project will run for 2 year initially. It will involve students from Dandeli’s Bangurnagar College and create a number of jobs around the RBF system.  


ACC’s eco-friendly waste management practices  
The Hindu  
27 June 2007  
MUMBAI: In what is a small initiative but has the potential to grow to significant proportions in future, ACC, the cement major, has undertaken an activity over the last one year to help dispose of hazardous waste materials generated by several industries by burning them in its kilns. The company has tied up with one of the largest fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies to dispose of its ‘expired’ stocks of toothpaste, cosmetics and other products. While on the one hand this helps the FMCG Company dispose of tones of accumulated toxic products in an environment friendly manner. The company is in talks with several other FMCG companies and those generating solid waste like plastics, paints, paper and allied products, chemicals, rubber and plastics, automobile and auto ancillary and petrochemical manufacturers and solid waste generators like hospitals for a safe way of disposing their waste. ACC has initially nominated two factories for this purpose – Kymore in Madhya Pradesh and Gangal in Himachal Pradesh. The Madukkarai unit is also likely to start co-processing soon and in due course; this activity will be extended to all ACC kilns. “This kind of waste disposal is common in Europe and we are in fact, getting money to burn other’s waste. In the area of alternative fuels as alternatives to coal, ACC is experimenting with pet coke and is setting up washeries at four sites. The company has also initiated huge plantations of castor and Jatropha. “In the last two years, we have planted hundreds of thousands ofJatropha and castor trees which will start yielding in about three years.  


Canal turns into a death pool  
The Indian Express  
27 June 2007  
FOR some, a fish flipping out of a lake due to lack of oxygen would be a rare sight but for the villagers of Godavi, near Sanand, this is a common sight. The Gota-Godavi canal near the village, built to clear excess rainwater and used by villagers has become a polluted waste outlet for various factories based in the city. The water has caused the death of about 5,000 fish in the canal and 11 buffaloes, which drank water in the last one week. “The water here has got polluted with the waste thrown out from factories. It’s black and acidic and cannot be used.” “A large number of fish have been dying since the last one week because of the polluted water. “There are two bore wells near the canal, but we fear that the water might cause health problems as these wells draw water from this canal.” This is the first time that such large quantities of fish have died because of the polluted water. The letters sent by the Gram Panchayat also cite the possibility of an outbreak of diseases. To top it all, the identity of the factory causing the pollution is yet to be known.  


2007 could be warmest after 1998  
Hindustan Times  
30 June 2007  
This year is on track to be the second warmest since records began in the 1860s and floods in Pakistan or a heat eave in Greece may herald worse disruptions in store from global warming, “2007 is looking as though is will be the second warmest behind 1998,” said Phil Jones, head of the Climatic Research Unit at Britain’s University of East Anglia, which provides data to the UN’s International Meteorological Organization, Jones had predicted late last year that 2007 could surpass 1998 as the warmest year on record due to rising concentrations of greenhouse gases emitted mainly by burning fossil fuels and an El Nino warming of the Pacific. Almost all climate experts say that the trend is towards more droughts, floods, heat waves and more powerful storms. But they say that individual extreme events are not normally a sign of global warming because weather is, by its nature, chaotic. “Severe events are going to be more frequent,” The 10 warmest years in the past 150 years have all been since 1990. Last year ranked number six according to the IMO. NASA, which uses slightly different data, places 2005 as warmest ahead of 1998. Among extreme events, more than 500 people have died in storms and floods in Pakistan, Afghanistan and India in the past week. Temperatures in Greece reached 46 c this week as part of a heat wave across parts of southern Europe. Parts of China have also had a heat wave in recent days. And torrential rains have battered northern England and parts of Texas, where Austin has had its wettest year on record so far. The UN climate panel, drawing on the work of 2,500 scientists, said this year that it was “very likely” that human activities led by use of fossil fuels were the main cause of a warming in the past half-century. It gave a “best estimate” that temperatures will rise 1.8-4.0 Celsius this century. Briceno said that the world had to work out better policies to prepare for disasters, saying that climate range was adding to already increasing risks faced by a rising human population.  


Garbage gives green polymer  
The Indian Express  
1July 2007  
Carbon dioxide, Orange peels. Chicken feathers. Olive oil. Potato peels. E. Coil bacteria. It is as if chemists have gone Dumpster diving in their hunt to make biodegradable, sustainable and renewable plastics. Most bio plastics are made from plants like corn, soy, sugar cane and switch grass, but scientists have recently turned to trash in an effort to make so-called green polymers, essentially plastics from garbage. It was here that Coates discovered the catalyst needed to turn CO2 into a polymer. With Scott Allen, a former graduate student, Coates has started a company called Novomer, which has partnered with several companies. Including Kodak, on joint projects. Novomer has received money from the department of Energy, New York State and the National Science Foundation. Coates imagines CO2 being diverted from factory emissions into an adjacent facility and turned into plastic. The search for bio composite materials dates from 1913, when a French and a British scientist field for patents on soy-based plastic. There was intense competition between agricultural and petrochemical industries to win the market on polymers. Much of the early research on bio plastic was supported by Henry ford, who believed strongly in the potential of the soybean. One famous 1941 photo shows Ford winging an ax head into the rear of a car to demonstrate the strength of the soy-based bio composite used to make the auto body. Most living systems require water. Fossil fuels-inexpensive, abundant and water resistant quickly dominated the plastics market. Now, agriculture-based plastics are back in the running and with the type of catalysts developed by Coates and others, a whole new array of polymers have become commercially viable. Choosing carbon dioxide as a feedstock for a polymer was not an obvious choice. It was what Coates called “a dead molecule”, and that’s why it’s used in fire extinguishers, So what made him choose carbon dioxide? It’s abundant and cheap. We picked it for environmental and economic reason, not for its reactivity.  


Action on water crisis  
The States man  
9 July 2007  
The State Council’s decision to revise the water pollution law is an overdue response to the water quality crisis surfacing nationwide. In State Environmental Protection administration Director Zhou Shengxian’s words, an environmental emergency may break out anytime in most areas. While announcing a temporary ban on new construction projects in a second batch of seriously polluted regions, SEPA Deputy Director Pan Yue admitted that was their last resort. The 23-year-old legislation identifies all conceivable forms of violations and prescribes penalties. But lacks methods of enforcement. The fines and vague civil liabilities for most polluting actions are simply too slight in the face of potential financial gains. The amended law should impose unbearable costs on polluters. Another reason that the law has failed in that it gives local government too much responsibility. Lawmakers have evidently given more trust to local authorities than they deserve. The law should include a mechanism for timely judicial intervention. There also has to be way to liberate local environmental protection agencies from their current paralysis. They cannot supervise while being held hostage to local interest. The complete picture of the State Council’s proposed revision is yet to be seen. But when it passes through the National people’s Congress Standing Committee, we hope to see a legislative remedy that truly works.  


Coral "shuffle" helps reefs survive warmer world: study  
Reuters (yahoo news)  
13 July 2007  
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australias Great Barrier Reef might be able to survive warming sea temperatures as a result of global warming better than first thought because some coral algae are more heat tolerant Australian scientists said. Coral geneticists from the Australian Institute of Marine Science have found that many corals store several types of algae which can improve their capacity to cope with warmer water. Simply when conditions warm the more heat tolerant algae provide back up become more abundant. Some algal types impart greater resistance to environmental extremes. Since the 1980s reefs around the world have been devastated by coral bleaching where temperature increases of just 1 degree Celsius can cause coral animals to expel the photosynthetic algae that keep them supplied with nutrients. Numerous scientific studies have warned that global warming of the ocean was threatening the very existence of reefs such as the Great Barrier Reef. The Australian scientists said their study had found that coral has the ability to "shuffle" the algae maximizing nutrients depending on water temperature. They discovered heat-resistant algae by examining the DNA of different types of coral. But many marine scientists have argued that back up algae were infrequent because of the small number of corals that were shown to host several types of algae. "The potential for this hidden back up type (algae) to step in and provide nutrition to coral during heat stress is far greater than currently. The Australian scientists said this "shuffle" ability might explain why coral reefs have been able to survive for thousands of years during various climate changes. This flexibility discovered in our research is important in understanding the past evolutionary success of these coral species and their future survival capacity in the face of a changing climate.  


Coral shuffle helps reefs survive warmer world: study  
Reuters (yahoo news)  
13 July 2007  
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australias Great Barrier Reef might be able to survive warming sea temperatures as a result of global warming better than first thought because some coral algae are more heat tolerant. Coral geneticists from the Australian Institute of Marine Science have found that many corals store several types of algae which can improve their capacity to cope with warmer water. This work shatters the popular view that only a small percentage of corals have the potential to respond to warmer conditions by shuffling live in algal partners. Simply when conditions warm the more heat-tolerant algae provide back up become more abundant. Some algal types impart greater resistance to environmental extremes. Since the 1980s reefs around the world have been devastated by coral bleaching where temperature increases of just 1 degree Celsius can cause coral animals to expel the photosynthetic algae that keep them supplied with nutrients. Numerous scientific studies have warned that global warming of the ocean was threatening the very existence of reefs such as the Great Barrier Reef. The Australian scientists said their study had found that coral has the ability to shuffle the algae maximizing nutrients depending on water temperature. They discovered heat resistant algae by examining the DNA of different types of coral. But many marine scientists have argued that back up algae were infrequent because of the small number of corals that were shown to host several types of algae. The Australian scientists said this shuffle ability might explain why coral reefs have been able to survive for thousands of years during various climate changes. This flexibility discovered in our research is important in understanding the past evolutionary success of these coral species and their future survival capacity in the face of a changing climate.  


Pesticides lower crop yields  
Down to Earth  
15 July 2007  
Pesticides have so far been touted as protectors of plants. For the first Time, a new research says some of them may actually be harming the very crops they are supposed to protect. Reason: many of them cut off the communication between crops and nitrogen fixing bacteria and are a threat to natural nitrogen fixation. Result: decrease in crop yields. The chemical component pentachlorophenol (PCP) caused the strongest inhibition for symbiotic nitrogen fixation resulting in the lowest plant yields. In addition, PCP was the only chemical that negatively affected seed germination. PCP, which is sold as pentachlorol and chlorophen is used a insecticide, herbicide and algaecide. None of the chemicals was toxic to either the plant or the bacteria and that PCP was unique in that it inhibited both seed germination and nitrogen fixation. “When an overabundance of synthetic nitrogen fertilizer is applied to legume crops, the plants will produce less chemical signals to attract symbiotic rhizobia soil bacteria”. Overuse of agrochemicals in legumes. This reduces the legume’s natural need for nitrogen fixing. Besides, poor soil quality due to overuse strips nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorous, as also tillage, which interrupts root structures and disturbs bacteria when soil is turned. The study comes as blow to recent report by ASSOCHAM, which had concluded that pesticides were the ultimate solution to make up annual crop losses in India. A study by the Central Rice Research Institute at Cuttack in Orissa published in Current Science in 1980 showed that treatment of rice fields with the pesticide pyrethrin reduced nitrogen-fixing ability of rice fields by 80 percent. West Bengal, shows that population and activity of non-symbiotic bacteria are stimulated by some herbicides. “If non-symbiotic bacteria grow more, symbiotic bacteria will not have enough space to grow. This will hamper nitrogen fixation”.  


Once Bt, twice Bt  
Down To Earth  
15 July 2007  
The department of Animal Husbandry of Andhra Pradesh said cattle deaths reported from a few parts in the state could have been caused by toxics from Bt cotton. The department informed the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) that test of Bt samples taken in 2006 by laboratories indicated that the deaths could have been caused by the high content of nitrates and nitrites, hydrogen cyanide and organophosphate. GACE, however, recently approved about 160 new Bt cotton hybrids for commercial cultivation in India. Andhra Pradesh is now contemplating a new law to regulate sale and usage of GM seeds. “Since GM seeds are not in the concurrent list, the states have the right to have their own legislation”. GACE has no knowledge of the over 1,600locations of commercial cultivation, But GACE says all biosafety measures will be in place and every crop field will be monitored. But activists disagree. Biosafety tests are not designed keeping in mind the rural realities like uncontrolled grazing. In a situation where grazing lands continue to shrink, the cattle will feed on the boll and the foliar. Seed companies or government agencies on open grazing on Bt cotton fields have conducted studies.  


Officials sacked for algal bloom  
Down To Earth  
15 July 2007  
China has sacked five officials “dereliction of supervision” and “inadequate work” after green algae covered the country’s third largest lake, the Taihu, triggering a drinking water crisis for millions. The foul smelling blue-green algal bloom choked the lake in the eastern province of Jiangsu towards late May, and left tap water undrinkable for more than 2.3 million residents for weeks. The Taihu crisis is both natural and human made, and is mostly blamed on the chronic pollution discharge by chemical plants near the lake. Algal blooms develop in water that is rich in nutrients, often because of runoff from heavy fertilizer use, industrial waste and untreated sewage. Following the incident, the government has ordered all towns around the lake to build sewage treatment plants and make sure chemicals factories meet water emission standards by next year. In a separate incident, the marine algal bloom, known as red tide has choked the Shenzhen day of the South China Sea. The public has been issued warnings to stay away from the polluted sea or eat seafood products from the area. This is the third time this year that a red tide has appeared near Shenzhen day in January and another appeared near Dameisha in May. The red tide is said to be caused by a buildup of marine plankton that consume oxygen while releasing toxic substances into the water, killing off fish and plant life.  


NBRI to study pollution in ANTARCTICA  
The pioneer  
17 July 2007  
In an attempt to study environmental pollution in the Antarctica, the National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI) will send one of its research fellows on an expedition to the Indian station Maitri in the Antarctica in December. The scientist will specifically study the effect of ultraviolet rays on lichens and their adaptability process. Lichens are a major flora of the Antarctica region. Their high ability to adapt to harsh conditions makes them the most interesting group of organisms for studies. The NBRI has been associated with the Antarctica studies since India’s scientist to the area every five years. While in 2002, its scientist studied the biodiversity of Antarctica, identifying 35 species of lichens; the current expedition will focus on pollution. Head of NBRI’s lichenology lab Dr. Upreti said that with almost 50stations in Antarctica, the region had become contaminated with usage of large amounts of fuels. “These plants can capture minute microclimatic changes. Also, since the ozone layer remains largely thin in that area, the ultraviolet rays are particularly severe in this region. Lichens, which represent symbiotic relationships between algae and fungi fight pollution by developing pigmentation. They play a major role in absorbing heavy metals from the atmosphere,” Upreti said. “Identification of the Antarctica lichens is particularly a challenging job with the vast phenotypic variations in difficult conditions. Blizzards, continuous light, darkness, low temperature and humidity bring about these phenotypic variations,” Upreti added. Research scientist Rajesh Bajpai is scheduled to leave shortly and has geared himself for a three month stay in the cold climates.  


Algae outbreak in China threatens water supplies  
Reuters (yahoo news)  
18 July 2007  
BEIJING (Reuters) - An outbreak of blue algae in a Chinese reservoir has left nearly 25,000 people without water and 100,000 others with reduced supplies state media said on Wednesday of the latest in a series of water pollution scares. The algae in the northeastern city of Changchun, was likely caused by farm fertilizers and abnormally hot and dry weather.The local government had started collecting the algae using nets and boats and was trucking in water to residents in Changchuns Luyuan district where supplies have been suspended. Water supplies to millions of residents have been affected in a series of algae outbreaks across the country in recent months.On July 4 water supplies to 200,000 people in Shuyang county Jiangsu province were halted for more than 40 hours after ammonia and nitrogen were found in a local river state media reported. In late May a major outbreak in Chinas third biggest lake cut off water supplies to over 2 million residents of Wuxi city also in Jiangsu. Algae blooms develop in water that is rich in nutrients, often because of run off from heavy fertilizer use industrial runoff and untreated sewage all pollutants in ready supply in many parts of China.  


Floods force many to face climate change reality  
Reuters (yahoo news)  
22 July 2007  
BRIESKOW-FINKENHEERD, Germany (Reuters) - Fisherman Peter Schneider knows the floods come each year and says they are good for business but few other people see any benefit as experts warn of more high water to come. Experts now say climate change may cause more disasters in Europe and across the world with evidence increasing that global temperatures are rising. It would be wrong to deny the possible impact of climate change on flooding because if we (waited for more) statistical proof it may be too late. Warmer air can hold more water and will unleash more energy when the weather turns bad Grabs said making storms heavier and boosting rainfall. In recent weeks parts of China have seen the heaviest rainfall since records began killing more than 400. Some 770 people have been killed by flooding in South Asia with hundreds of thousands displaced by flash floods in southern Pakistan. Thousands of flood victims in Britain last week were clearing chaos and braced for more after floods in northern parts of the country triggering the countries biggest peacetime rescue effort. European grain prices have risen to their highest level for around 10 years on fears that bad weather will hit this summers crops stoking food price inflation. Initially a spring drought caused damage to wheat crops across Europe and in key grower Ukraine. Since June heavy rain in western Europe has increased concerns over quality which may leave bread makers short of high grade grain later this year.  


Ozone cuts plant growth spurs global warming: study  
Reuters (yahoo news)  
25 July 2007  
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The affects of greenhouse gas ozone which has been increasing near Earths surface since 1850 could seriously cut into crop yields and spur global warming this century. Ozone in the troposphere the lowest level of the atmosphere damages plants and affects their ability to absorb carbon dioxide another global warming gas whose release into the atmosphere accelerates climate change .While carbon dioxide is blamed for global warming it also has a beneficial effect on plant growth and ozone counteracts this effect. As CO2 (carbon dioxide) increases in the atmosphere that stimulates plant growth. Plants and soil currently slow down global warming by storing about a quarter of human carbon dioxide emissions, but that could change if near-surface ozone increases. Projections of this rise in ozone could lead to significant reductions in regional plant production and crop .Carbon dioxides fertilizing effect can be powerful, pushing global plant productivity by 88.4 billion tons a year. Ozone damaging effect on plants means they will suck up less carbon dioxide from the atmosphere leaving more of this chemical to contribute to greenhouse warming. Carbon dioxide is the largest greenhouse warming gas but (ozone) is reducing plant productivity by an appreciable amount. Ozone has doubled since the mid 19th century due to chemical emissions from vehicles industrial processes and the burning of forests. Carbon dioxide has also risen over that period. Unlike carbon dioxide which is directly caused by these human spawned emissions ozone is a so-called secondary air pollutant produced by reactions with other chemicals like nitrogen oxide and carbon monoxide. Tropospheric ozone is different from stratospheric ozone which contributes to a protective layer high above Earths surface that guards against harmful solar radiation.  


Coral reefs dying faster than expected  
Associated Press (yahoo news)  
7 August 2007  
BANGKOK, Thailand - Coral reefs in much of the Pacific Ocean are dying faster than previously thought with the decline driven by climate change disease and coastal development. Coral coverage in the Indo Pacific an area stretching from Indonesias Sumatra Island to French Polynesia dropped 20 percent in the past two decades. About 600 square miles of reefs have disappeared since the 1960s and the losses were just as bad in Australias well protected Great Barrier Reef as they were in poorly managed marine reserves in the Philippines. Even the best managed reefs in the Indo Pacific suffered significant coral loss over the past 20 years. The study which examined 6,000 surveys of more than 2,600 Indo Pacific coral reefs done between 1968 and 2004 found the declines began earlier than previously estimated and mirror global trends. The United Nations has found close to a third of the worlds corals have disappeared and 60 percent are expected to be lost by 2030. The Indo Pacific contains 75 percent of the worlds coral reefs. They provide shelter for island communities and are key source of income mostly from the benefits of fishing and tourism. The cause of the decline was driven by a range of factors including warming waters due to climate change, also blamed storm damage, runoff from agriculture and industry, predators like fast spreading crown-of-thorn starfish and diseases like White syndrome. The study demonstrated the need to better manage reefs and prevent threats such as overfishing but acknowledged local measures would have little impact without a reduction of greenhouse gases.  


UN: Global warming to hit poor hardest  
AFP ( Agence France Presse )  
8 August 2007  
NEW DELHI - Global warming will likely hit food production in developing nations the hardest increasing the risks of drought and famine in the countries that already struggle to feed their populations. However a rise in global temperatures would increase food production in most industrialized countries which mostly have colder climates. Crop yield potential is likely to increase at higher latitudes for global average temperature increases of up to 1 to 3 degrees Celsius (2 to 6 Fahrenheit) depending on the crop and then decrease beyond that. At lower latitudes especially in the seasonally dry tropics crop yield potential is likely to decline for even small global temperature rises which would increase the risk of hunger. He estimated that a country like India could lose 18 percent of its annual cereal production. Developing genetically modified crops that produce higher yields could offset the impact of climate change while noting that crops designed to be resistant to drought and flourish in extreme conditions are not yet a reality. Scientists have warned that unchecked greenhouse gas emissions are causing global temperatures to rise leading to drought, floods and searing heat.  


Trees Would not Fix Global Warming  
Live Science  
12 August 2007  
The plan to use trees as a way to suck up and store the extra carbon dioxide emitted into Earths atmosphere to combat global warming is not such a hot idea. Scientists at Duke University bathed plots of North Carolina pine trees in extra carbon dioxide every day for 10 years and found that while the trees grew more tissue only the trees that received the most water and nutrients stored enough carbon dioxide to offset the effects of global warming. The treated trees produced about 20 percent more biomass on average but since water and nutrient availability differed across the plots averages do not tell the whole story. In some areas the growth is maybe five to 10 percent more and in other areas it is 40 percent more. So in sites that are poor in nutrients and water very little response, are rich in both see a large response. Fertilizing forests to spur more carbon dioxide uptake is impractical, because of the ramifications to the local environment and water supply. Carbon that is in foliage is going to last a lot shorter time than carbon in the wood because leaves decay quickly. So elevated CO2 could significantly increase the production of foliage but this would lead to only a very small increase in ecosystem carbon storage.  


Global warming boosts crop disease  
AFP ( Agence France Presse )  
14 August 207  
PARIS (AFP) - Global warming will fuel a disease that annually causes hundreds of million dollars in damage to rapeseed plants used to make canola oil. The warmer winters have significantly advanced the date of stem canker appearance in spring giving it more time to spread before harvest. Eleven of the past 12 years rank among the dozen warmest years on record while mean global atmospheric temperature has risen by 0.8 C (1.44 F) over the last century. The computer model was developed as a tool to help guide fungicide applications timing by farmers to examine how global warming might impact on future epidemics. The top rapeseed growers in the world are China, Canada, India, Germany, France and Britain, accounted for nearly 80 percent of worldwide harvests. This year human activity is almost certain to blame for global warming and warned that the Earths average surface temperature could rise between 1.1 and 6.4 degrees by 2100.  


Climate change could trigger global food crisis  
The Hindu  
1 September 2007  
Climate change and an increasing population could trigger a global food crisis in the next half-century as countries struggle for fertile land to grow crops. And rear animals. A combination of poor farming practices and deforestation will be exacerbated by climate change to steadily degrade soil fertility, leaving vast areas unsuitable for crops or grazing. Policy change that result in improved conservation of soil and vegetation and restoration of degraded land are fundamental to humanity’s future livelihood. This is an urgent task as the quality of land for food production, as well as water storage, is fundamental to future peace. Securing food and reducing poverty can have a strong impact on efforts to curb the flow of people, environmental refugees, inside countries as well as across national borders. The U.N. millennium ecosystem assessment ranked land degradation among the world’s greatest environmental challenges. Some 40 percent of the world’s agricultural land is seriously degraded. Among the worst affected regions is Central America, where 75 percent of the land is infertile. Africa, where a fifth of the soil is degraded, and Asia, where 11 percent of the land is unsuitable for farming.  


World’s grasslands losing out  
Indian Express  
2 September 2007  
Rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere might be contributing to the conversion of the world’s grasslands into a landscape of useless woody shrubs, according to a study released on Monday. By artificially doubling carbon dioxide levels over enclosed sections of the Colorado prairie in the US. To the extent the CO2 is driving this conversion; this suggests the problem is going to become more intractable in the future. Since at least the dawn of the industrial Revolution, when carbon dioxide levels began to rise with the burning of fossil fuels, woody shrubs have replaced large swaths of the world’s seasonal grasses favored by livestock. The concentration of carbon dioxide has risen from 280 ppm at the end of the 18th century to 385 ppm today.   


Greek forest fires could be CO2 threat  
Reuters (yahoo news)  
2 September 2007  
ATHENS (Reuters) - Greeces huge forest fires have been blamed by some on global warming but satellite images of smoke plumes drifting as far as Africa prompt the question: are forests a major source of greenhouse gas? Usually it is cars, factories and power stations that are most often mentioned as sources of carbon dioxide (CO2) a gas which traps heat in the atmosphere. Trees considered the "lungs of the planet" soak the gas up. But what if they burn? Global emissions from deforestation and the degradation of forests are the second single source after coal. Deforestation accounts for 18 percent of CO2 emissions. Although paling in significance next to deforestation in the Amazon, Congo and Indonesia, forest fires in the Mediterranean might also be a net source of emissions. In the atmosphere CO2 is the main gas which contributes to the greenhouse effect trapping the earths heat which would otherwise be radiated into space. Temperatures will rise by a best estimate of 1.8 to 4.0 Celsius (3 to 7 Fahrenheit) this century and sea levels will rise by between 18 and 59 centimeters. Under the Kyoto Protocol, Greece was allowed to increase its emissions by 25 percent over 1990 levels. If hotter and drier summers mean more frequent forest fires that could well mean a net emission of CO2. If they become more frequent then vegetation does not have time to grow back and the net effect is that lose more carbon from the eco-system than the eco-system can recapture before the next fire.  


Shrinking ice could put polar bear on endangered list: US  
AFP ( Agence France Presse )  
8 September 2007  
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Melting Arctic sea ice due to global warming could cut the polar bear population by two thirds over the next 50 yearsy. Polar bears depend on sea ice as a platform to hunt seals their primary food. But sea ice is decreasing throughout their Arctic range due to climate change. Models used by the USGS team project a 42 percent loss of optimal polar bear habitat from the Polar Basin during summer a vital hunting and breeding period by mid-century. In January 2008 the Fish and Wildlife Service is to make a recommendation on whether to list the polar bear as "threatened" which imposes restrictions on hunting and protects the habitat of the species until it recovers. A more serious listing under US law is the "endangered" category.  


No Time for Further Climate Change Dithering  
www.climatea rk.org  
10 September 2007  
Given continuing delays in real efforts to decrease greenhouse gas emissions, the world will almost certainly exceed two degrees Celsius of warming above pre industrial levels, the point near where it is generally considered global heating will become particularly dangerous. Global warmings impact is expected to be like a nuclear war. The world is decades behind the curve in instituting actual actions to reduce emissions and yet the worlds leaders still dither. International policy responses to climate change continue to limp forward as global warming tightens its grip upon the Earth, her ecology, and her humanity and species Emission reductions must commence with all haste in late 2007 in Bali, Indonesia, if human family is to have any chance of maintaining the Earths climatic and biosphere systems.  


Mediterraneans rich marine life under threat: study  
AFP ( Agence France Presse )  
11 September 2007  
ROME (AFP) - Climate change has warmed up the Mediterranean Sea and threatens its rich animal and plant life. The experts said a cold current emanating from the Gulf of Trieste off northern Italy which allowed the waters of the Adriatic and the Mediterranean to mix had vanished since 2003 due to warming. This threatened to turn the Adriatic Sea into a salt lake with no marine life. The body said the warming of the Mediterranean Sea prevented the mixing of waters and could lead to the disappearance of micro algae crucial to the marine food chain. Temperature rises of 0.4 degrees Centigrade could alter up to 50 percent of the species. The conference will also discuss the melting of Alpine glaciers, drought, desertification and the choking of the lagoon at Venice and in the northern Adriatic.  


Expert says climate change will spread global disease  
AFP ( Agence France Presse )  
11 September 2007  
JEJU ISLAND, South Korea (AFP) - Climate change will have an overwhelmingly negative impact on health with possibly one billion more people at risk from dengue fever within 80 years. The water snail that transmits schistosomiasis had also shifted northwards putting perhaps 20 million people at risk of the parasitic disease also known as bilharziasis. In France extreme heat in August 2003 led to about 25,000 deaths. Worlds land area suffering drought increasing perhaps tenfold by the end of the century. Climate changes will affect in profoundly adverse ways some of the most fundamental determinants of health: food, air, water. Developing countries will be the first and hardest hit. Subsistence agriculture will suffer the most. Areas with weak health infrastructures will be the least able to cope.  


Air pollution increases risk of heart attack: study  
AFP ( Agence France Presse )  
12 September 2007  
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Air pollution could be putting patients with heart disease at risk by affecting blood vessels and clotting. The inhaling diesel exhaust caused changes in the hearts electrical activity, suggesting that air pollution reduces the amount of oxygen available to the heart during exercise. Most people tend to think of air pollution as having effects on the lungs, it can also have a major impact on how our heart functions. Continuous electrical monitoring of the heart during the exercise test showed that inhaling diesel exhaust caused a three fold increase in stress on the heart during exercise. In addition the bodies ability to release the t-PA (tissue plasminogen activator) protein which can prevent blood clots from forming was reduced by more than one third following exposure to diesel fumes. Diesel engines were the focus of researchers attention for the study because they generate 10-100 times more pollutant particles than engines that run on gasoline.  


Experts: Climate change puts sea at risk  
Associated Press (yahoo news)  
12 September 2007  
ROME - Climate change is affecting Europe faster than the rest of the world and rising temperatures could transform the Mediterranean in to a salty and stagnant sea. Europe and the Mediterranean are warming up faster than the rest of the world. In the next decades temperature increases hitting Europe during the summer months could be 40 percent to 50 percent higher than elsewhere. The change is also being felt at sea level, with a surface temperature increase of 1 degree every decade. The Mediterranean is becoming warmer and saltier due to increased evaporation. The higher salt concentration in the Mediterranean would cause water to flow out into the Atlantic Ocean as opposed to Atlantic water coming into the Mediterranean which serves as the seas lifeline. Temperature differences between the seas layers create the currents that allow the Mediterraneans waters to mix and bring up fresh nutrients to feed the algae that form the basic diet of most fish species. These temperature rises could wipe out up to 50 percent of the species. The decline in the algae population measured last winter also reduced by 30 percent the seas ability to absorb carbon dioxide one of the gases blamed by scientists for heating the atmosphere like a greenhouse.  


Climate change and desertification two sides of same coin  
AFP ( Agence France Presse )  
13 September 2007  
MADRID (AFP) - Climate change and desertification are two sides of the same coin and must be tackled together. Desertification the loss of biodiversity and climate change is three inextricably linked aspects of the problem. About 80 percent of deforestation in tropical areas is caused by people gathering fire wood simply to cook their food. Guatemalan Environment Minister Juan Mario Dary Fuentes illustrated the link between poverty, deforestation and desertification, a phenomenon threatening an estimated 48 percent of his countries surface area. Spain is all too aware of the urgency to act with one third of its territory facing desertification which requires action such as more efficient watering of crops and better desalinization techniques for seawater supplies. De Boer said he hoped that this conference would lead ultimately to the revitalization of a strategy to combat desertification and climate change. De Boer concluded that the conference would have underlined the link between climate change and desertification stress that nations need to act on those two issues in synergy.  


Indoor air pollution widespread in Asia  
Associated Press (yahoo news)  
13 September 2007  
HANOI, Vietnam - indoor air pollution caused by burning wood, coal or other cheap fuels in kitchens, it kills about 1.5 million people worldwide each year. The resulting smoke ranks as the fourth-biggest health risk in the poorest countries, yet it is typically overlooked. In 2002, nearly two-thirds of all global deaths linked to burning solid fuels were in the Asia-Pacific region. Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh had the highest percentage of death and disease linked to indoor air pollution in Asia, followed by India and Laos. Combined, more than half a million deaths occur annually in those countries alone. Mothers in many developing countries cook with their babies strapped to their backs, exposing their infant lungs to the smoke. Indoor air pollution has received scant attention even though it kills up to 800,000 children each year, mainly from pneumonia. Pollution levels recorded in some Bangladesh and Indian kitchens were up to 40 times higher than the WHOs recommended levels over a 24hour period.  


Global climate change, ozone layer are tied  
AFP ( Agence France Presse )  
15 September 2007  
MONTREAL (AFP) - A meeting of signatories to the Montreal Protocol could make a historic gesture by working simultaneously to restore the ozone layer and halt global warming. With the anniversary coming up the enormous challenge has still not been met and it offers the international community the chance to make rapid gains both concerning the ozone layer and global climate change. Haloalkane (HCFC) and Chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) chemical compounds once widely used as refrigerants and propellants in aerosol cans have been largely curtailed by multilateral agreements in the Protocol.CFC emissions opened a large hole in the ozone layer in the Earths upper atmosphere allowing more of the suns harmful ultra violet radiation to enter and raising the specter of increased cases of skin cancer and eye cataracts. If production of CFCs are halted and eliminated over the next 10 years the effect of global warming could be cut by 4.5 percent.  


Worst pollution sites include India, China: survey  
AFP ( Agence France Presse )  
16 September 2007  
NEW YORK (AFP) - Poisonous industrial sites in India, China and the former Soviet Union topped a new ranking this week of the worlds most polluted places where millions of people are threatened by toxic chemicals. India were among new additions to the top 10 list of worst polluted places. Mining, Cold War era legacy pollution and unregulated industrial production are the major culprits behind the pollution. More than 50 poison the local soils and groundwater with pesticides,PCBs (carcinogenic chemicals), chromium, mercury, lead, and cadmium. Cancer rates in Sumgayit are 22 to 51 percent higher than the national average; genetic mutations and birth defects are commonplace."The top 10 featured another Chinese city, Linfen in northern Shanxi province; Sukinda in India; Dzerzhinsk and Norilsk in Russia; La Oroya, Peru and Kabwe, Zambia.The other was Chernobyl, the site of a devastating nuclear reactor explosion in Ukraine in 1986. The institute highlights the health threats to children from industrial pollution such as the stunting effect of lead poisoning on intellectual development. The institute also compiled a dirty 30 list of other places it described as very toxic and dangerous to human health including sites in Kyrgyzstan and the Dominican Republic. The only geographic regions not ranking in the 30 were the Middle East and Oceania.  


China warns foreign polluters  
AFP ( Agence France Presse )  
17 September 2007  
BEIJING (AFP) - Environmental pollution caused by some foreign funded companies has come to attention and will strengthen supervision. Unilevers plant in Hefei in the eastern province of Anhui was fined 100,000 yuan (13,300 dollars) and ordered to cut production to reduce discharge. It has also paid nearly 50,000 yuan for excessive discharge. Chinas fast industrialization has been pressing on at a huge environmental cost with up to 70 percent of its waterways polluted and air quality in its biggest cities among the world’s worst. It has set a goal of reducing two major pollutant indicators sulphur dioxide for air and chemical oxygen demand for water each by 10 percent from 2006 to 2010 an average decline of two percent a year. However sulphur dioxide emissions fell by just 0.88 percent in the first six months of this year while chemical oxygen demand increased by 0.24 percent, after both indicators rose last year.  


‘Minimize the use of things that emit heat radiations’  
The Indian Express  
17 September2007  
Use of harmful chemicals is threatening the existence of life-saving Ozone layer, resulting in environmental imbalance. Erratic climatic changes, floods and droughts are the consequences of this phenomenon said Dr S.P Sharma, Advisor, Environment and forest ministry, Government of India, while speaking at the occasion of International Ozone Conservation Day here on Sunday. The people to take up the cause seriously and minimize the use of such things, which emits heat radiations the consumption of electricity, fuel and air-conditioners, fuel and air-individual level. The authorities can think of convenient, cheap and rapid transport system, which would reduce the number of vehicles on road, cutting down fuel consumption as well as heat emission. The compressed air is being high lighted as alternative to petrol and diesel, but it is not safe to the environment. “The IIT Kanpur has developed a design for houses, which would keep their temperature at 30 degrees round the year. The cost of construction would be slightly more than normal houses. India, though, has made a good progress in controlling uses of chloro-fluorocarbons, like fridges and air conditioners of today don’t use these gases.”  


Skin cancer, cataract a fallout of ozone layer depletion  
The Times of India  
17 September 2007  
Gases emitted during manufacturing of such pillows damage the ozone layer, which keeps ultra violet rays at day. These rays are responsible for skin cancer and eye cataract. “Rising incidence of kin cancer and eye cataract is direct fallout of ozone layer’s depletion.” The World Ozone Layer Protection Day role in Human life, which can only be ignored at the cost of human existence. “Ozone layer prevents the entry of ultra-violet rays in the environment which also causes large-scale damage to the ecology of sea.” “The ultra-violet rays damage plants and animals under the sea thus disturbing the food chain,” the further said adding” “this would create an imbalance in the ecology of sea which is a source of medicine and rich food.” UVB is harmful. Ozone layer prevents the UVB from entering the atmosphere and thus protecting the ecology. “Ecological imbalance under the sea is another harmful effect which is bound to affect human population sooner or later.” India has taken a huge leap in the progress of reducing the ODS and is set to achieves the target of adopting technology which would not be ODS dependent,” Ozone layer is also damaged by packaging material like thermacol and solvents used in the electronic industry to cleanse computer chips.  


How climate change will affect the world  
The Hindu  
20 September2007  
The effects of climate change will aisled and the world must learn’ to live with the effects, experts said on Tuesday. Destructive changes in temperature, rainfall and agriculture were now forecast to occur several decades earlier than thought. Politicians had wasted a decade by focusing only on ways to cut emissions, and had only recently woken up to the need to adapt. “Mitigation has got all the attention, but we cannot mitigate out of this problem. We now have a choice between a future with a damaged world or a severely damaged world”. Countries such as Britain needed to focus on helping nations in the developing world cope with the predicted impacts, by helping them to introduce irrigation and water management technology, drought-resistant crops and new building techniques. The report warned that Africa and the Arctic would bear the brunt of climate impacts, along with small is lands such as Fiji, and Asian river mega deltas, including the Mekong, it said extreme weather events were likely to become more intense and more frequent, and the effect on ecosystem could be severe.  


A model of global cooperation  
The Hindu  
20 September2007  
On September 16 commemorated the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Montreal Protocol, a groundbreaking international agreement that curbed and eventually reversed the thinning of the ozone layer, and ushered in a new era of environmental responsibility. By any measure, the Protocol has been a resounding success. Its 191 signatories have together phased out more than 95 percent of ozone-depleting substances, and we expect the earth’s protective ozone layer to return to its pre- 1980 levels no later than 2075. Climate change broadly threatens human progress, most immediately and seriously in the developing world. One of the most notable aspects of the Protocol’s success is its engagement of both the developed and developing worlds in reducing ozone-depleting substances. The Protocol’s implementation fund – have helped more than 100 countries phase out over 63,000 tonnes of ozone-depleting substance. In India, for example, we helped 80 small and medium- size businesses cut out 290 metric tones of the ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbon-II (CFC-II) from the manufacture of polyurethane insulation products. Farmers in Malawi have taken 185 tonnes of ozone-depleting methyl bromide out of use. Many ozone-depleting substances are also greenhouse gases; their elimination serves to protect not only the ozone layer but also the global climate. As the international community gears up to determine our post-Kyoto course, we need the same cooperative spirit, ambitious intent, and inclusive approach of the Montreal Protocol.  


Climate change worse than feared: Australian expert  
AFP ( Agence France Presse )  
20 September 2007  
SYDNEY (AFP) - Global warming is occurring at a faster rate than the worst-case scenario envisaged by experts just six years ago. Flannery said predictions in a 2001 UN report warning the atmosphere was likely to warm by 1.4 to 5.8 degrees Celsius (2.5-10.4 Fahrenheit) from 1990 to 2100 now appeared conservative. Carbon dioxides increasing more rapidly sea levels are rising more rapidly (and) the Arctic ice cap is melting away more quickly than were projected in 2001. Flannery said the world needed an international organization similar to the United Nations dedicated solely to climate change. The 21st century is going to be about environmental limits. There is six billion of us on the planet, there will soon be nine billion the atmosphere is tiny as a pollution receptacle, clearly that is going to be where the action is. Flannery said nations needed to "de-carbonise" their economies by 2050, increasing reliance on geo-thermal, nuclear and renewable energy.  


Global warming hits lake in Canadas Arctic: report  
Reuters (yahoo news)  
26 September 2007  
OTTAWA (Reuters) - Global warming is affecting North Americas northernmost lake where algae growth has increased dramatically in the last two centuries. Analysis of the deepest layers of sediment revealed a very small number of algae which the scientists suggested meant the lake had been permanently frozen in the past. But the top of the core corresponding to the last 200 years showed that a pigment found in every species in the lake had increased 500 fold. This is of course an extreme environment for living organisms but data indicate that current conditions make the lake a more favorable location for algae growth than it was in the past. The lake is permanently covered by a 4-meter (13-foot) layer of ice except for a small peripheral zone that thaws out during a few weeks every summer.  


Warming linked to unprecedented algae growth in Arctic lake  
AFP ( Agence France Presse )  
27 September 2007  
MONTREAL (AFP) - Global warming is believed to be softening the harsh Arctic environment causing the algae population in Canada’s northernmost lake to spike over the past two centuries. The changes occurred at a speed and range unprecedented in the lakes last 8,000 years. Culprit is climate change related to human activity. The deepest layers of sediment revealed a very small number of algae as well as only minor variations in concentration but the top two centimeters (0.8 inches) corresponding to the last 200 years showed an abrupt increase in the lakes algae population. Data indicate that current conditions make the lake a more favorable location for algae growth than it was in the past. The lake is permanently covered by a four meter layer of ice except for a small peripheral zone that thaws out during a few weeks every summer. It was previously believed to be frozen solid year round. In the past two hundred years the ice on the peripheral has thawed more permitting organisms to thrive. According to the UNs Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change average temperatures in the Arctic increased twice as fast as elsewhere over the past century and polar ice is expected to be greatly reduced by 2100.  


Warming linked to unprecedented algae growth in Arctic lake  
AFP ( Agence France Presse )  
27 September 2007  
MONTREAL (AFP) - Global warming is believed to be softening the harsh Arctic environment causing the algae population in Canada’s northernmost lake to spike over the past two centuries. The changes occurred at a speed and range unprecedented in the lakes last 8,000 years. Culprit is climate change related to human activity. The deepest layers of sediment revealed a very small number of algae as well as only minor variations in concentration but the top two centimeters (0.8 inches) corresponding to the last 200 years showed an abrupt increase in the lakes algae population. Data indicate that current conditions make the lake a more favorable location for algae growth than it was in the past. The lake is permanently covered by a four meter layer of ice except for a small peripheral zone that thaws out during a few weeks every summer. It was previously believed to be frozen solid year round. In the past two hundred years the ice on the peripheral has thawed more permitting organisms to thrive. According to the UNs Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change average temperatures in the Arctic increased twice as fast as elsewhere over the past century and polar ice is expected to be greatly reduced by 2100.  


Wonder neem  
Down To Earth  
30 September 2007  
September 30, 2007 Neem is touted as an eco-friendly insecticide. Almost all parts of the tree-seeds, leaves, flowers and bark have anti–microbial properties. But it seems some of these properties are due to a host of fungi living inside the plant. At least 18 types of these endophytic fungi (from different taxonomic groups) are present in various parts of the neem, and add to the plant’s ntimicrobial properties. The study is likely to shift the focus of researches on the neem tree to its endophytic fungi and the bioactive chemicals they produce. The study is not the first of its kin. Almost all endophytic fungi produce bioactive chemicals, which have great potential for agricultural and pharmaceutical industries. Earlier, Gary Strobel from the University of Montana, also the co-author of the research paper, had found a similar endophytic fungus, Taxomyces andreane. The fungus thrives on the pacific yew (Taxus brevifolia) – a conifer native to the northwest of North America. Strobel found that the fungus produces a bioactive chemical, taxol, similar to that produced chemical, taxol, similar to that produced by the tree. Taxol is commonly used for preparing anti-breast cancer drugs. The study is also an attempt to understand the bioactive chemicals produced by these fungi. The study is significant for India; since neem is native to the country. The three has so far remained under researched in the country.  


Punjab crop loss  
Down To Earth  
30 September 2007  
Around 25 percent of the cotton crops stand damaged in Punjab because of the pest ‘mealy bug’ or woolly aphids. The worst affected are the areas under BT cotton. Cotton was cultivated in 570,000 hectares in 2006, and this year it has been cultivated in 648,000 hectares. Production however has fallen from 2.7 million bales in 2006 to 2.2 million bales this year in the state. Mansa, Bhatinda, Mukhtsar and Ferozepur districts are the worst hit. Maharashtra has also reported such pest attacks. The inherent quality of hybrids used and monoculture is responsible for the outbreak.” Dhawan recommends increased use of pesticides as a solution to the pest attack. “Prosenofos, acephate, chloropyrifos and thiodicarbs were withdrawn after the introduction of BT cotton. These need to use again because they can counter the pest. No organic method can help fight the mealy bug attack.” Non-pesticidal management has been successful in Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. In case of mealy bug, ordinary soap solution or cow urine solution works well, the official’s say.  


Ozone hole has shrunk by nearly a third: European Space Agency  
AFP ( Agence France Presse )  
3 october 2007  
PARIS (AFP) - The ozone hole over Antarctica shrank by 30 percent this year compared with the record loss recorded in 2006. Measurements made by the agencies Envisat satellite found a peak loss in the ozone layer of 27.7 million tonnes compared to 40 million tonnes last year. Ozone a molecule of oxygen forms a thin layer in the stratosphere filtering out dangerous ultraviolet sunlight that damages vegetation and can cause skin cancer and cataracts. In 2006 the ozone hole at its biggest measured 28 million square kilometers (10.81 million square miles); in 2007 it was 24.7 million sq. kms. (9.53 million sq. miles) or roughly the size of North America. This years ozone hole was less centred on the South Pole as in other years which allowed it to mix with warmer air reducing the growth of the hole because ozone is depleted at temperatures less than 78 degrees Celsius (-108 degrees Fahrenheit). Over the last decade the ozone layer has thinned by about 0.3 percent per year on a global scale Last September 22 nearly 200 countries agreed to accelerate the elimination of hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) a category of ozone-destroying chemicals. Under the deal reached at a UN sponsored conference in Montreal developed countries will phase out the production of HCFCs by 2020 while developing states have until 2030, 10 years earlier than previously promised. The agreement changes the timetable that had been set in 1987 under the Montreal Protocol which aims to eliminate the use of HCFCs and similar chemicals once commonly found in refrigerators, fire retardants and aerosol sprays.  


Merkel warns of climate change in South Africa  
AFP ( Agence France Presse )  
6 october 2007  
CAPETOWN, South Africa (AFP) - Climate change is already happening in South Africa German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Saturday during a visit to a biodiversity centre in Capetown. “You can see that climate change is already a reality here," said Merkel as she visited Biota Africa a centre where German and South African scientists conduct research on African climate change. Climate change is more obvious in South Africa than in Germany she said. If the temperature rises seven degrees in South Africa then it is too late. Merkel had a meeting with South African President Thabo Mbeki on Friday in Pretoria and then met former president and anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela in Johannesburg on Saturday. She is expected to go to Liberia on Sunday the last stop on her first sub-Saharan Africa trip.  


Expert studies climate change in Arctic  
AFP ( Agence France Presse )  
8 October 2007  
OTTAWA - Climate change may make Arctic energy resources easier to reach but it could also make them harder to exploit because of changes to sea ice. Hajo Eicken, a University of Alaska scientist is one of the presenters from at least five countries scheduled to speak about oil spills in ice-choked waters at a conference in Anchorage, Alaska that starts Wednesday. Eicken said that climate change is rewriting the rules for Arctic sea ice and becoming a crucial consideration in any offshore drilling. He says drillers will have to be aware that the old certainties of shore-bound ice where much of the current exploration will take place have changed. Conditions are more variable, less predictable.  


Hong Kong choking in dense smog  
AFP ( Agence France Presse )  
8 October 2007  
HONG KONG (AFP) - Hong Kong’s air pollution reached dangerous levels, reigniting concerns about public health and fears that the city could lose out on crucial foreign investment due to the thick smog. The poor air quality which left the cities Victoria Harbour shrouded in haze was recorded even though many factories in the neighbouring Pearl River Delta in mainland China have been closed for a week-long holiday. More than a dozen Hong Kong pensioners hospitalized alone for breathing ailments. The air quality was particularly bad. For the elderly the effect would be worse and the number of those who reported they had problems breathing suddenly shot up advising to stay home or breathe through a wet towel when outdoors. Hong Kong authorities have introduced a series of measures to combat persistent pollution which business groups warn is deterring investment and tourism and making expatriates think twice about moving here. The Environmental Protection Department says the soaring levels are due to concentrations of ozone a pollutant that can inhibit the lungs and irritate the respiratory system.  


Two of planet’s most polluted spots in India  
The Times of India  
8 October 2007  
Two of the 10 most-polluted spots on earth are in India, according to a report by the US-based Blacksmith institute. The institute’s advisory board which includes environmental and public health experts from institutions like picked Sukinda valley in Orissa and Vapi in Gujarat as 4th and 5th in the list of the top 10 have been picked from what the institute calls the “Dirty Thirty”, a larger list of the 30 worst polluted areas in different parts of the world. Not surprisingly, the list is dominated by fast-growing economies. Four Indian cites and six cities each from Russia and China are among them. Sukinda has the largest chromite ore deposits in India and also has the largest opencast chromite mine in the world. Approximately 70% of the surface water and 60% of the drinking water contain hexavalent chromium, caused by the dumping of waste products. The air and soil are also heavily polluted. Nearly one-fourth of the people in neighboring villagers are suffering from pollution-induced diseases, which include gastrointestinal bleeding, tuberculosis, asthma, infertility, birth defects and stillbirths. Vapi houses have more than 50 industrial estates and over 1,000 independent industries. The industries are mainly chemical and tanning related. Vapi is equally affected by all kinds of pollution. The air is polluted because of discharges of hazardous oxides. The groundwater contains 96 times higher mercury than the safety norm and the soil is contaminated by heavy metals. Respiratory diseases, chemical dermatitis, carcinoma, skin, lung and throat cancers are frequently reported by the residents. Women in the areas report exceedingly high incidences of spontaneous abortions, bleeding during pregnancy and abnormal fetuses. Sumgayit in Azerbaijan, which tops the list, was a major Soviet industrial center for manufacturing industrial and agricultural chemicals. It is followed by Linfen and Tianying, which are the highest coal and lead producing areas of China. Mahad Industrial Estate in Maharashtra and Ranipet in Tamil Nadu are the other Indian areas listed in the “Dirty thirty” approximately 1, 8000 tonnes of hazardous sludge has accumulated at the Mahad Industrial Estate CETP. The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board estimates that about 15,00,000 tonnes of solid waste has accumulated in this town, known for its tanning industry. Again, mining, metallurgy and tanning industries are responsible for the pollution at almost half of these places. D. Raghunandan, secretary of Delhi Science Forum, says that with most developing economies being less strict about pollution norms, polluting industries have tended to concentrate in these countries.  


Environmental presentation  
The Pioneer  
12 October 2007  
A lecture-cum-presentation on environmental pollution and global warming was held at Army Parade ground in Lucknow Cantonment on Thursday. Senior Scientist and assistant director of Central Drug Research institute, Presentation K Srivastava, made the presentation with the help of audio-visual aids and scientoons to an audience to an audience consisting of senior Army officers and others. Camp Commandant, Lt Col S Chakraborty, exhorted the cadets to take a pledge to collectively come forward and rededicate themselves to the task of spreading awareness about global disasters.  


Carbon in now bread & butter business  
Times of India  
13 October 2007  
Mumbai By now, carbon credits are a familiar term. Corporate reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases; in return for their efforts, they are awarded carbon credits; these credits can them be sold to other corporate elsewhere in the world that haven’t been able to reduce their emissions. After three months of testing, hypothesis is this: if four regular bulbs in a home are replaced with CFL bulbs, over a household’s lifetime, it ends up saving 2,000. That translates to lowering power bills by Rs 80-100 each month. For each tonne of carbon dioxide the project reduces, the firm earns one carbon credit priced at roughly Rs 550. The country’s potential with such projects, says industry analysts, is roughly around 9 million carbon credits per year, which, at current prices, can earn around Euro 90 million per annum. With such revenues, the country could even influence carbon credit pricing at the leading exchanges – Chicago Climate Exchange and European Climate Exchange – where demand and supply determines pricing. “In the next one year or so, we expect at least 20 such projects by entrepreneurs to reduce carbon-dioxide emissions.”  


Pachauri - led IPCC, Gore wins Nobel Peace Prize  
Hindustan Times  
13 October 2007  
India environmentalist RK Pachauri’s work on global arming got the highest international recognition on Friday with the inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that heads bagging the Nobel Peace Prize. IPCC and former US vice-president Al Gore jointly shared the award. The Norwegian Nobel Committee announced that award in Oslo. The panel has been awarded for its efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change. Al Gore, won an Oscar this year for his film ‘An Inconvenient Truth’. In an official statement after the announcement of the award, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said largely thanks to the IPCC’s lucid and well-documented finding, it was now established beyond doubt that climate change Is happening, and that much of it is caused by human activity. The 67-year-old Pachauri, director general of Tata Energy Research Institute (TERI,) said the award would help to bring the issue of climate change o he fore. The IPCC this year made the strongest link between mankind’s activities and global warming– gaining big publicity around the world. The IPCC has warned global warming is underway and accelerating, shifting weather patterns and producing stronger storms, floods or droughts that endanger life. It predicted that all regions will change from climate warming and that a third of the Earth’s species would vanish if global temperatures reach 2 degrees Climate warming and that a third of the Earth’s species would vanish if global temperatures reach 2 degrees Celsius above the average temperature in the 1980s-90s.  


Indian’s first bio-diesel plant to kick off today  
Times of India  
13 October 2007  
India’s first bio-diesel plant will go on stream. Hyderabad-based Natural Bio-energy will start production of the “green” fuel at its factory in Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh. Its entire annual production of 30 million gallons is tied up for exports to customers in US and Europe. With production of bio-diesel, India’s place as a source of green energy will get yet another star. Already, Pune based Suzlon is one of the leading players in wind energy and Delhi-based Moser Baer is setting Moser Baer is setting a large facility for making solar panels. Though bio-diesel fades in comparison to the performance of gasoline, western countries are increasingly choosing the fuel. In these days, when crude trades over $80 a barrel, bio-diesel is economical. Secondly, states like California in US have already begun incentivizing use of alternative fuels that are low in carbon emission. Bio-diesel, an equivalent to crude derived diesel, is processed from biological sources. Natural will make its bio-diesel from Jatropha plant with Belgian technology. The Plant derived bio-diesel can be used in normal diesel engine vehicles without modifying them. Bio-diesel produces between produces between 40-60% lesser carbon dioxide emission but emits more smog forming residues. Vehicle manufactures in Europe. Who were initially vary of bio-diesel, are now more willing. European automakers like Scania now say that their vehicles can run on 100% bio-diesel. Virgin’s Richard Branson who is testing the use of bio-diesel in one of this trains, has planned the first commercial flight that will be powered with a 60% bio-fuel-kerosene blend in 2008. Globally, bio-diesel costs lesser than normal diesel. Its price is benchmarked to the international prices of crude. In 2006, US and Europe consumed nearly five million tonne of bio-diesel, a negligible quantity compared to diesel consumption. It is expected to increase to 100 million tonne by 2016.  


It’s getting darker, but India can show way  
Hindustan Times  
14 October 2007  
A day after an international panel headed by Indian climate warrior Rajendra Pachauri won the Nobel Prize for Peace, speakers at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit spoke of the critical importance of saving the earth. Thickening haze clouds due to an alarming rise in greenhouse emission pose a serious challenge to India’s growth, if immediate steps are not taken to control the situation, environmental experts warned. University of California-based climate scientist Dr V. Ramanathan said: “It is getting darker and darker for Indian, as sunlight is going down and the blanket of haze is growing thicker over the Indo-Gangetic plains, which may cause reduction in rainfall during the monsoon. The frequency of droughts could double in the nest 25 years, Ramanathan said. “Studies show rising temperatures will have a huge impact on Indian agriculture and the monsoon.” Professor Daniel Schrag. Director, Harvard Unversity Centre for the Environment, However, said “India can make the right choices, not repeat the mistakes committed by China. India can be a leader by making smart choices of adopting clean energy technology in transport, urban planning and power sectors. By doing this you can lead by providing environmental solutions, and use it as a business opportunity for the country,” he said Stressing on the linkage between climate change, and energy. Professor Schrag said India was among the five countries, which accounted for 75 percent of coal usage in the world High carbon emissions from coal can be controlled by carbon capture and storage technology.  


What we share with Eskimos  
Down To Earth  
15 October 2007  
So for climate change study models have ignored how carbon emission contributed to the melting of glaciers. This was not part of climate study models since reliable data on soot emissions was absent. There was, however, evidence for the glacial melt in the Arctic due to the black carbon emissions from the US in the late 19th century. The industrial soot was said to have affected the reflective nature of the same could be happing in the Himalayas, suggesting there is a nee to analyze the carbon contribution to glacial melt. A Study be the Desert Research Institute US, says the amount of soot increased between 1850 and 1950, melting of glaciers in Greenland. The level of soot was eight times higher than normal (science online, August 9, 2007) at some point. Last year, another study in Science found Greenland’s glaciers melting into the Atlantic faster than predicted, necessitating the need for more accurate models in predicting climate changes. “Warming from soot is still significant and will improve climate models if soot is included, the melting rate is being studied, the rate of deposition of snow which may be changing due to change in moisture levels is not being looked into,’ says M M Saini of the Ahmeabad. Satellite data shows many glaciers like the Gangotri have retreated. “Unlike the Greenland glaciers, the Himalayan glaciers have thick layers with carbon. This prevents melting,” there is evidence of atmospheric warming due to soot in the Himalaya and satellite data too confirms the receding of glaciers. Recently, the flow in glacier-fed rivers has increased significantly and the flow was not in tune to the rainfall received. Substantial analyses of this using the carbon model can indeed be of help the communities’ dependent of the glacial rivers.  


Pollution in air  
Down To Earth  
15 October 2007  
Air pollution has become the most serious environmental problem for Hong Kong. It is not only affecting public health but also the city’s ability to attract and retain foreign investment, an environment survey conducted by the US based Nielsen Company on behalf of the American Chamber of Commerce has revealed recently. Worsening air quality has led to an adverse impact on the economy of they city – world’s leading commercial centre. The city is losing its charm to foreign investors, who in the future are likely to invest elsewhere. Around 84 percent of the respondents say air pollution is affecting their well being, and hey are thinking of leaving the city of have already left. Nearly 60 percent find traffic congestion to be the growing concern. Air pollution is also affecting companies, which are experiencing difficulties, which are experiencing difficulties to recruit foreign executives in the city. While about 51 percent of the companies are facing the problem, their number has increased by 12 per cent over the past year. About 70 percent of the professionals personally know people who consider the city as a hardship posting. Very few executives, only 19 percent, are expecting improvements in the next 12 months. City urgently needs to devise and implement a detailed action plan to improve its air quality.  


Human waste can help save planet: Indian expert  
AFP ( Agence France Presse )  
16 October 2007  
NEW DELHI (AFP) - A cheap system to recycle human waste into biogas and fertiliser may allow 2.6 billion people in the world access to toilets and reduce global warming. Bindeshwar Pathak, founder of the Sulabh International Social Service Organisation, said his group plans to push the system at the seventh annual World Toilet Summit to be held in New Delhi at the end of October. He said Indias contribution would be a toilet system that organically breaks down faeces into trapped biogas that can be burned to provide cooking fuel and electricity and convert urine into fertiliser. Want others to know about this technology which was recently installed at Kabul, Afghanistan, because it can help meet the Millennium Development Goals and reduce global warming. Founded in 2001 as a non-profit organisation, the World Toilet Organisation aims to make sanitation a key global issue and now says it has 55 member groups from 42 countries.  


Warning sounded over level of water pollution in China  
AFP ( Agence France Presse )  
18 October 2007  
MANILA (AFP) - Water pollution may already have reached alarming levels in China following its industrialization over the last three decades. The Philippines based lender said it was giving Beijing a 500,000 dollar grants to help it design a system to manage water pollution that may have already reached an alarming level across the country. The aid would help Beijing cut the discharge of mostly industrial pollutants by 10 percent from 2005 levels. Chinas economy has expanded rapidly since the late 1970s, lifting nearly half a billion of its people out of absolute poverty. Along with the rapid growth however, the country has been faced with the increasingly difficult task of controlling environmental pollution, resources depletion and ecological degradation. Despite government efforts and investment the country has yet to arrest these problems. Water pollution has emerged as the most pressing concern due to frequent discharges in nearly all the water systems across the country. A large number of wastewater treatment facilities are operating at less than 30 percent of capacity while some newly built ones have remained idle.  


Poor indoor air quality may worsen lung disease  
Reuters Health  
19 October 2007  
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A smog filled sky can make it hard to breathe but air pollution in the home may also be hard on people with lung disease. In a study of 148 adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), investigators found that those who lived in homes with poor air quality tended to have worse symptoms. Cigarette smoke was the major air-polluting culprit. COPD includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis, two serious lung diseases frequently caused by smoking. Breathing in other irritants, such as polluted outdoor air, can contribute to or exacerbate COPD, but less is known about the importance of household air pollution. In general the researchers found patient’s homes had high levels of particulate matter the fine airborne particles that constitute pollution. Smokers homes had especially high concentrations. Homes with the highest levels of particulate matter exceeded the maximum levels recommended by the EPA by about four-fold. A number of factors including outdoor air pollution can affect indoor air quality. Study shows that environmental tobacco smoke exposure worsens symptoms among people with COPD. Its reasonable to assume that poor indoor air quality also worsens the long-term prognosis for COPD patients but long-range studies are needed to confirm this.  


Warming causing stress in Arctic  
The Times of India  
19 October 2007  
The Arctic under increasing stress from warming temperatures as shrubs colonize the tundra changing wildlife habitat and local climate conditions researchers. Sea ice fell well below the previous record, caribou are declining in many areas and permafrost is melting. According to the annual update of the State of the Arctic report, released on Wednesday “The bottom line is we are seeing some rapid changes in the Arctic,” said Richard Spinrad, assistant administrator for oceanic and atmospheric research at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Scientists have expected Polar Regions to feel the first impacts of global warming, and the 2006 State of the Arctic report provided a benchmark for tracking changes. Wednesday’s follow-up was the first update. Winter and spring temperatures were all above average throughout the whole Arctic, the report said.  


Assam pollution board against dumping idols in Brahmaputra  
The Indian Express  
20 October 2007  
With two days left for Durga Puja to get over, the Assam Pollution Control Board has warned against dumping of idols in the Brahmaputra and asked the authorities to arrange for retrieve the structures and dispose them as municipal waste. Pollution Control Board Chairman JL Dutta had issued a directive on October 3 that immersion of idols in rivers would lead to congestion and serious toxic pollution and also affect aquatic life. “The directions were issued (to the district authorities) to lessen pollution load of rivers and water bodies in view of last year’s observation that the concentration of heavy metals had increased alarmingly in the Brahmaputra River following immersion of idols.” The Pollution Board, which began its efforts to minimize pollution levels since last year, has also asked puja committees and temples to minimize use of plastic plates and glasses for offering prasad to devotees. In a seven-point directive issued to the puja committees and district authorities, the Board has also called for nonuse of thermocol and other non-biodegradable materials in pandal and idol decorations.  


Oceans may be losing ability to absorb CO2  
AFP ( Agence France Presse )  
22 October 2007  
PARIS (AFP) - The worlds oceans may be losing their ability to soak up extra carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere with the risk that this will help stoke global warming. Absorption of atmospheric CO2 by the North Atlantic plunged by half between the mid 1990s and 2002-5. The data comes from sensors lowered by a container ship carrying bananas which makes a round trip from the West Indies to Britain every month. It has generated more than 90,000 measurements of ocean CO2. The finding touches on a key aspect of the global warming question, because for decades the ocean has been absorbing much of the CO2 released into the atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels. If the sea performs less well as a carbon sponge or "sink" according to the technical jargon more CO2 will remain in the atmosphere thus accelerating the greenhouse effect. We expected that the uptake would change only slowly because of the oceans great mass. Research last year pointed to rising acidification of the oceans as a result of CO2 uptake highlighting the risk of carbon saturation as well as a looming peril for biodiversity. Perhaps this is partly a natural oscillation or perhaps it is a response to the recent rapid climate warming.  


The Time to Act Is Now  
The Times of India  
23 October 2007  
By awarding the 2007 Peace Prize to former vice-president of the U.S, Al Gore, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the Nobel Prize Committee has clearly signaled the important of stabilizing the earth’s climate for ensuring peace and stability in the world. The Fourth Assessment Report, in November 2007has clearly brought out several dimensions of present and future climate change, which could affect stability and peace in several locations. For instance, it has been found that while the average global temperature during the 19th century increased by 0.740 degrees C, this was accompanied by changes in precipitation which are likely to continue. Hence, in the higher latitudes, precipitation, including rainfall and snow, has increased whereas in the lower latitudes and the Mediterranean region it has decreased. There has also been an increase in extreme precipitation events, possibly such as the ones that resulted in the major cloudburst that took place in Mumbai during the monsoon season this year and the more severe one that occurred two years ago. There are major equity issues associated with climate change, essentially arising out of the fact that the High concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere that are causing climate change has been created cumulatively by the developed countries. However, some of the worst sufferers from the impacts of climate change are the poorest societies largely in Africa and parts of Asia. Poor communities even in the developed world are vulnerable to the impacts of climate change as was revealed with Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans in the US. In that case it was the poorest sections of society who suffered the most. The reduced length of the growing season as a result of climate change is causing detrimental effects of agriculture. Perhaps the most significant impact of climate change is expected in respect to availability of water. There are several regions that are already afflicted by water stress. But the situation could worsen substantially due to changes in precipitation patterns, increasing salinity of groundwater due to increase in sea level and melting of glaciers which would result in decreased river flow. It is estimated that the range of people exposed to increased water stress by 2020 would include 120 million to 1.2 billion in Asia, 75 to 250 million in Africa and 12 to 81 million in Latin America. A major impact of climate change resulting from sea level rise would be the threat of coastal flooding. Droughts and floods, which are increasing in several parts of the world in frequency and intensity, could displace large numbers of people with consequences for the stability of society. Research is essential for the world to understand the requirements for adequate mitigation measures, which need to be taken in hand urgently to minimize and eliminate harmful impacts in the future. The best estimates of average temperature increase by the end of the century are 1.80 degrees C at the lower end and 40 degrees C at C increase in the 20th century. Several world leaders are now highlighting climate change as the most serious threat facing humanity. The Nobel Peace Prize for 2007 adds a much more profound dimension to this subject, which the global community must consider seriously.  


Lucknow India’s fourth most Polluted city: Report  
The Indian Express  
23 October 2007  
Lucknow is the fourth most polluted city in the country. And it’s official. A report released by the Environment and Forest Ministry last month revealed that 51 Indian cities do meet the prescribed Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter (RS PM) levels, specified under the National Ambient Air Quality Standards. Lucknow is fourth behind Raipur, Ludhiana and Gobindgarh (Punjab) in Lucknow, the levels of SPM and – commercial, residential and industrial – were found to be well above permissible standards. Environmentalists attribute this to an increase in vehicular traffic and rapid economic development. “Thousands of vehicles are being added to the traffic on city roads every year. But existing roads and their quality are perhaps not sufficient to carry the load. Slow moving vehicles, which form a larger chunk of the traffic, reduce the average traffic speed and cause more pollution. The use of old vehicles and adulterated fuels also aggravate the situation.” The concentration and not the load of pollution is the main concern. “Big cities like Delhi and Mumbai may have pollution loads many times that of smaller cities but they have improved on pollution concentration by introducing various techniques,” Director, Environment (UP) Yashpal Singh said he did not have any information about the pollution report but felt the air quality in Lucknow had improved over the last few years. “The Transport department has been making sincere efforts towards converting the entire public transport to CNG. “Besides the massive growth of vehicles, a lot of construction work – buildings, roads, and flyover – has been going on around the city, which contributes to air pollutions significantly. Though there is no major industry here. The infrastructure has been expanding rapidly and the high levels of pollution could be the after effect of this urbanization process,” exposure to air pollution could lead to various respiratory ailments. A senior official of the Environment and Forest Ministry said air monitoring is a regular process and the positioning of cities keeps changing. Vehicles are the single largest contributor to air pollution in the Tier – 2 cities.” As per the Transport department, Lucknow total vehicular population is around 9.5 lakh at present and is increasing at an average of 10 percent every year. Lucknow average ambient air quality (Jan-Aug, 2007)** (Quantity in microgram/cubic meter) PLACE CATEGORY SPM RSPM NOX Hazratgang Commercial 387.5 181.4 31.6 Mahanagar Residential 388.3 185.3 31.1 Talkatora ndustrial 415.7 201.2 32.6 Aminabad Commercial 407.0 195.2 32.6 Aliganj Residential 401.3 191.2 25.3 Residential/Commercial Industrial 140 60 60 360 120 80  


Did global warming fan the wildfire?  
The Indian Express  
24 October 2007  
Are the massive fires burning across Southern California a product of global warming? Scientists said in would be difficult to make that case, given the dangerous mix of drought and wind that has plagued the region for centuries or more. But they said the extreme conditions that stoked the wildfires could become more common as the world warms. Research suggests that rising temperatures are already increasing fire damage in many parts of the West. In a study published last year in the journal Science, researchers looking at Western federal forest found nearly seven times more land burned from 1987 to 2003 than in the previous 17 years. The analysis mainly attributed this to a 1.5-degree rise in average spring and summer temperature. With spring arriving earlier and snow melting faster, the forest dried out sooner, extending the average fire season by more than two months. The study, however, found Southern California was different from the rest of the West, with no increase in the frequency of fire as temperatures rose in southern California. In other words, Southern California was already perfect fro life But eventually global warming could make Southern California’s occasional droughts more persistent, exacerbating the fire danger. Conditions are dry as the Dust Bowl of the 1930s could prevail in the Southwest by the middle of this century. The Southwestern United States has been in drought since 2000, although tree-ring record shows there have been far drier periods during the last millennium. Scientists said more persistent drought would inevitably lead to more fires, as long as intermittent periods of moisture allowed vegetation to grow as fodder for flames. In Southern California, hillsides were ripe for fire because big rains two years ago allowed vegetation to flourish, then severe drought during the last year dried it out Rising temperatures, fueled by greenhouse gas emissions, would eventually push peak Santa Ana wins from mid- October to late November. That could, over decades, make fires fires worse by giving the landscape more time to dry out Global warming, he said, could intensity wind flow increasing the difference between in land and coasted temperatures.  


Fruits, vegetables and fishes contain highly toxic elements  
The Indian Express  
24 October 2007  
Fruit sellers in the capital are taking the citizens for a ride. The sale of toxic fruits, vegetables and even fish is on the rise, which according to the medical standards carry serious health heath hazards due to the presence of artificial chemicals used as additives for ripening, preservation or colouring. The symptoms of ill effects of the chemicals range from loss of taste buds, stomach upset to severe allergic reactions. Some of the toxicants may cause poisoning and may cause poisoning and chronic exposure may lead to caner. “The additives including ripening substance are mostly used in the fruits available in the summers, especially in bananas and mangoes which are ripened by carbide. Carbide produces intense heat that ripens the fruit faster and this creates health hazards in the long run if these bananas are eaten through a period of time. “Synthetic sweeteners are injected inside the fruit apart from liquefied days which add colour to the apple from inside. Moreover, if not consumed within a stipulated time frame the softer portion of the apple starts decomposing.” “Even tomatoes are not spared. Chemical agents known to uncouple oxidation from phosphorylation in biological systems are injected into mature green unpicked tomatoes.” The fish traders apply one of the most hazardous chemicals known as formal in on the body of the fish to keep it in solid state for a long period of time, in spite of interior decomposition. This often makes the fish look good in texture but tastes bad when consumed. Lot of people has allergic reactions after eating adulterated food but most of the incidents remain unreported. He also said that though the reaction triggers diarrhoea in some cases involving higher concentration of chemical, the end result could be acute poisoning and death.  


Toxic emissions on the rise in India  
The Hindustan Times  
24 October 2007  
Emissions of gaseous pollutants, especially nitrous oxides, have increased in India over the past two decades. Sachin Ghude said rapid industrialization, urbanization, and traffic growth were the likely causes for the increase, adding that because of the varying consumption pattern and growth rates, the distribution of emissions varied widely across India. In order to mitigate the causes of pollution, policy makers ought to know the hardest ought to know the hardest hit regions. “Nitrous oxide emissions over India are growing at an annual rate of 5.5 percent Rapid industrialization, Per year and the location of emission hot spots correlates well with the location of mega thermal power plants, mega cities, urban and industrial region,” said Ghude.  


CO2 emissions in increasing at alarming rate find study  
The Times of India  
24 October 2007  
Just days after the Nobel Prize were awarded for global warming work, an alarming new study finds that carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is increasing faster than expected. Carbon dioxide emissions were 35 % higher in 2006 than in 1990. a much faster growth rate than anticipated, researchers led by Josep G Canadell, of Australia’s Commonwealth scientific and Industrial Research Organization, Increased industrial use of fossil fuels coupled with a decline in the gas absorbed by the oceans and land were listed as causes of the increase. “In addition to the growth of global population and wealth, we now know that significant contributions to the growth of atmospheric Co2 arise form the slowdown” of nature’s ability to take the chemical out of the air, said Canadell, director of the Global Carbon Project at the research organization. The changes “characterize a carbon that is generating stronger than-expected and climate forcing.” Kevin Trenberth of the climate analysis section of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Coloroado, in the United States, said the “paper raises some very important issues that the public should be aware of: Namely that concentrations of Co2 are increasing at much higher rates than previously expected and this is in spite of the Kyoto Protocol that is designed to hold them down in western countries.”  


New French environment steps  
AP (Associated Press)  
25 October 2007  
A look at the measures announced Thursday by President Nicolas Sarkozy to improve Frances environmental reputation: • CARS: Discounts for those who buy cars that use little gasoline, extra taxes for those whose cars are not fuel efficient. • TRANSPORT: 1,200 miles of new train tracks, 900 miles of new tram tracks. Strict limits on new road construction. • BUILDINGS: Make all new buildings "energy positive" by 2020, meaning they produce as much energy as they consume. Renovation of all public buildings to waste less energy. • LIGHT BULBS: Ban on incandescent light bulbs starting in 2010. • PESTICIDES: Slashing pesticide use by half within a decade "if possible." • GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOODS: Temporary freeze on planting of genetically modified crops, though not the outright ban activists had wanted. • ORGANIC FOOD: All cafeterias at schools and other public buildings will be required to offer organic food once a week. • RENEWABLE ENERGY: Make more than 20 percent of Frances energy supplies renewable by 2020. • NUCLEAR ENERGY: Sarkozy remains staunch advocate, activists remain opposed.  


UN agency urges tackling climate change  
AP (Associated Press)  
25 October 2007  
LONDON - The international community must respond more quickly to climate change, species extinction, dwindling supplies of fresh water and other threats to the planet. The U.N. agency said in a report that nations still fail to recognize the seriousness of environmental threats to the planet. Climate change is a global priority that demands political leadership but there has been "a remarkable lack of urgency" in the response which the report characterized as "woefully inadequate. "The report outlined other global problems including declining fish stocks and the loss of fertile land through degradation. Human activity has reached an unsustainable level outstripping available resources the report said. But it also found progress in some areas since the 1987 report. Over the past 20 years the international community has cut by 95 percent the production of ozone-layer damaging chemicals. There has also been the creation of "a greenhouse-gas emission reduction treaty along with innovative carbon trading and carbon offset markets. The British branch of environmental group Friends of the Earth welcomed the report calling it an "important call for global political leadership in a fast degrading world." The groups campaign director Mark Childs, said "it is now clearer than ever that we need concerted international political action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and halt the loss of wildlife and ecosystems."  


Oceans losing ability to absorb CO2: Study  
The Hindu  
25 October 2007  
It can be called a sea change in global warming. Oceans, while act as a sink fro carbon dioxide by absorbing it through natural processes, are slowly losing their ability to absorb the gas. Yes, researchers in Britain have carried our study and found that carbon dioxide (Co2) levels in the oceans are gradually decreasing, the Daily mail reported here. According to lean researcher Professor Andrew Watson of East Anglia University, “This could increase global warming by leaving more CO2 in the atmosphere. The scientists came to the conclusion after recording the North Atlantic’s Co2 levels by taking readings from water collected by thousands of ships, which crossed the ocean between 1995 and 2005.  


Climate change and extinction of species  
The Hindu  
25 October 2007  
Rising global temperatures caused by climate change could trigger a huge extinction of plants and animals, according to a study. Though humans would probably survive such an event, half of the world’s species could be wiped out. When the Earth’s temperatures are in a “greenhouse” climate phase extinctions rates were relatively high. Conversely, during cooler “icehouse” conditions, biodiversity increased. The predictions of a rapid rise in the Earth’s temperature due to manmade climate change could have a similar effect on biodiversity. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, global temperatures could increase by as much as 6 degrees Celsius by the end of the century. Dr. Mayhew found that of the five mass extinction events in the Earth’s history, four were linked to greenhouse climates where the Earth was covered in heat-trapping Co2 or methane. This includes the extinction of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago, thought to have been caused by the impact of large asteroid on the Yucatan peninsula and beneath the Gulf of Mexico. The largest-ever extinction occurred 251 million years ago, when 95 percent of animal and plant species were killed off. The most likely cause was floods of lava erupting from the central Atlantic region – an event that triggered the opening of the Atlantic Ocean.  


Festive litter leaves Mother Gomti breathless  
Hindustan Times  
25 October 2007  
A study conducted by the UP Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) has revealed that the level of dissolved oxygen (DO) in Gomti took a dip after the immersion of idols on Dussehra this year. The Ph value of the river water too took a dip while the water conductivity increased. The Ph value was measured at 7.84 mg per liter in pre-immersion stag. Post immersion it was registered at 7.81. Water conductivity was measured at 50.4 in the preimmersion stage. Post immersion, the conductivity rose to 51. The ph value determines the acidic content in the water while conductivity indicates impurities in the river water. The DO level that measured 2.4-mg/ litre in the pre-immersion period to 1.9. Even two days after the immersion the DO level continued to be low at 2.0. In September last year a sharp dip in the DO level had led to Gomti turning into a watery grave for fishes. Then, less rains coupled with excess flow of domestic affluent and closure of the sluice gates of the Gomti barrage had led to the problem. This time, the water quality has taken a beating due to immersion of idols. “The oil paints that are used in the idols are actually most hazardous for aquatic life. A study on the effect of metals/heavy metals in the river in the post immersion period is on.” Already the level of DO in the river is rarely around the ideal mark of 4 mg/ litre of water. On October 18, it measured 2.6, going down to 2.3 the next day, than recovering a little to 2.4 the day after. On Dussehra day, it measured 2.4 and the very next day, a sample survey conducted by UPPCB indicated that the DO level had dipped to a recent low of 1.9.  


China announces $14 billion lake cleanup  
AP (Associated Press)  
27 October 2007  
BEIJING - China has announced a multibillion-dollar plan to clean up a severely polluted lake where an algae bloom forced the suspension of water supplies to millions of people this summer. The $14.5 billion plan to clean up Lake Tai in a densely populated area northwest of Shanghai should take five years. The move comes amid mounting official urgency about curbing chronic pollution in Chinas rivers and lakes that has left millions of people without clean water and disrupted city water systems. Lake Tai is one of a series of lakes where blooms of blue-green algae blamed on pollution have disrupted water supplies this year. Some types of the algae can produce dangerous toxins. The plan will control the eutrophication of Lake Tai in five years and realize the clear improvement of water quality. The algae bloom on Lake Tai in June prompted the suspension of running water in and around the major city of Wuxi for six days forcing as many as 5 million people to rely on bottled water. The algae covered as much as one-third of the 930-square-mile lake, a popular tourist attraction that has become badly polluted as the Wuxi area developed into a center for manufacturing and high technology. Regulators responded by ordering the mass closure of chemical plants that dumped waste into the lake. The pollution of Lake Tai has been politically sensitive for local authorities. Environmental regulators say Chinas rivers and lakes are so polluted that tens of millions of people have no access to clean drinking water. State media regularly report incidents in which cities are forced to temporarily suspend running water due to chemicals in lakes or rivers from pollution or industrial accidents.  


Swaminathan calls for national policy on climate change  
The Hindu  
28 October 2007  
October 28, 2007 It might not be long before India introduces a national policy to address the impact of climate change on the country. Member of Parliament and agricultural scientist M.S. Swaminathan plans to introduce a Private Member’s bill on the ‘Management of Climate Change,’ which will seek to develop a national strategy to assess local vulnerabilities to climate change and suggest adaptive strategies. There is increasing evidence that while developing countries contribute relatively less to global carbon emission – per capita carbon dioxide emission in the United States is 20 times that of India – they are likely to be the worst affected, given the vulnerability of livelihoods in these areas, such as agriculture, to climatic changes. Climate change policy Dr. swaminathan hopes that that the bill will stimulate the government to subsequently formalize a national climate change policy. The expected effects of climate change rangs from range from changing rainfall patterns to increased salinity of the soil. Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of the Intergovernmental panel on Climate Change (IPCC), told the United Nations in a September 24 address that “500 million in South Asia” are likely to be affected by the lack of availability of water caused by a reduction in the mass balance of glaciers. Hundreds of thousands more in densely populated coastal areas are likely to be affected by rising sea levels –sea –levels have risen by 17 by 17 centimetres in the past century, according to the IPCC. Regulation need not focus on reducing emissions alone, “Everyone is talking about reducing emissions, but should first look at how regulate land use in Tamil Nadu, We need to achieve a balance between development and conservation, which do not have.” Catchment areas – such as the Western Ghats – and coastal areas particularly need to be protected. Deforestation of these areas not only directly adds to the problem – around 30 percent of global carbon emission is as a result of deforestation, according to a UN report but also changes rainfall patterns with widespread consequences. Mr. Sreedharan said that Tamil Nadu –and India – needed to have “a more rigid land use policy,” as well as incorporate the effects of climate change into its economic planning, to mitigate its effects. “Tamil Nadu is already extremely vulnerable to the vagaries of the weather. “Erratic rainfall, in have severe ramifications on the State.  


China to spend $ 14 billion on clean up of lake  
The Hindu  
28 October 2007  
China will spend more than $14 billon to clean up a famed lake inundated by so much pollution this year that it became a symbol of the country’s lax environmental regulation against polluting industries. Officials in Jiangsu province, in eastern China, posted a notice on a government web site announcing plans to spend 108.5 billion yuan, or $14.4 billion, for a cleanup of Lake Tai, the country’s the country’s third largest freshwater lake. The campaign would focus initially on eradicating the toxic algal bloom that choked the lake this spring and left more than 2 million people without drinking water. “Jiangsu province plans to effectively control the eutrophication of Lake Tai in five years, and greatly improve the water quality of the lake,” the notice declared. More than 2,800 chemical factories arose around the lake, and industrial dumping became a severe problem and, eventually, a crises.  


The heat is on  
The Times of India  
29 October 2007  
Until very recently, man-made climate change was believed to be a crisis of the distant future. Rich and poor countries alike have already been hard hit: killer heat waves in Europe, extreme droughts in the US and Australia, major floods and tropical cyclones in Asia and the Gulf of Mexico, extreme floods and droughts in Africa. Part of our response, of course, must be to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases causing these changes. Another part, however, should be too adept skillfully to the changes already underway. Climate change was once simply described as global warming, but we now appreciate that the changes ahead go far beyond temperature alone. Climate changes affect crop productivity through changes in temperature, rainfall, river flows, and pest abundance. Droughts and floods are becoming more frequent. Tropical diseases such as malaria are experiencing a wider range of transmission. Extreme weather events such as high-intensity hurricanes in the Caribbean and typhoons in the Pacific are becoming more likely. All parts of the world will have to increase their scientific understanding, public awareness and investments to reduce climate risks and to adjust to climate shocks as they occur. New sustainable engineering techniques can teach poor farmers new ways to harvest and store rainwater, in order to protect them from the rising risks of drought. Improved seed varieties can add drought-resistant traits to vital food crops. Improved weather and climate forecasting can give a region the advanced warning of seasonal and multi-year climate trends. There is talk about a new global fund to help poor countries to stop deforestation, and thereby to help them build up greater ecological resilience as well as to protect biodiversity and reduce the emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Villages led by the UN Development Programme and the Earth Institute, are empowering poor farmers to diversity crops. Improve small-scale water management, insure against droughts and build a financial buffer against climate shocks. It is now time to take the adaptation challenge, and the emerging adaptation science, to a much larger scale. Less than two months from now, when the world’s government convenes in Bali, Indonesia to negotiate a new climate protocol to follow the Kyoto Protocol (which expires in 2012), adaptation should be high on the policy agenda. Moving into a new era, when we must not only reduce greenhouse gas emissions sharply, but also learn to live wisely with the changes we have wrought.  


Ozone could harm world vegetation, economy  
The pioneer  
2 November 2007  
Boston: the spread of ozone a greenhouse gas could inflict serious damage on vegetation in many places cutting up to 12 percent off the value of global crops by 2100 and hurting the world economy. Hotter temperatures and increase in cordon dioxide from fossil fuels will lead to damage to world crops from higher ozone levels. Without curbs on emissions, growing fuel combustion worldwide will push global average ozone up 50 percent by 2100 was published in November’s journal Energy Policy. A mix of economic, climate and agricultural computer models shows that ozone levels tend to be highest in regions where crops are grown. During photosynthesis, Carbon dioxide enters plants through tiny pores called stomata. “When crops are fertilized, their stomata open up, and they suck in more air. And the more air they suck in the more ozone damage occur in the crops.’ Scientists say average temperatures will rise by between 2.6 degrees, Celsius by the end of the century, causing droughts floods and violent storms. Without emissions curbs, forest and pasture yields will decline slightly or in some cases grow because of the warmer climate and carbon dioxide effects, crop yields would fall by nearly 40 percent worldwide. The world would adapt by expanding the amount of land fro corps. But the cost of doing so would shave 10-12 percent off the total value of crop production.  


Farmers in Nagaland take up jatropha cultivation on Jhum land  
The Hindu  
12 November 2007  
November 12, 2007 For long Hevelie Shohe and her family have ben growing upland paddy on their traditional jhum’ (slash-and-burn cultivation) land on the hills of this Sema Naga Village of Nagaland, but have had little to save. This autumn old farmer is busy taking care of the jatropha saplings planted on one hectare of jhum land. Hopes to double income when they mature and their seeds sold for extraction of green fuel. Zingchar Bio-initiatives Private Limited, floated by first generation naga entrepreneurs Lawrence Jamang and Cinglei Jammang, has given a buyback guarantee of jatropha seeds to jhum cultivators of the village after distributing the saplings free of coat. Employees of this company tour the villages to motivate the farmers to undertake jatropha cultivation. They also train the farmers, besides explaining the economics of bio-diesel. Mr. Lawrence said that Zingchar Bio-Initiatives had so far motivated 3,800 jhum cultivators of Nagaland and Manipur to take up jatropha as an alternative crop to help them overcome poverty and backwardness. All the 130 families of the villagehad started jatropha cultivation on their traditional jhum land. The free distribution of jatropha saplings among the farmers and buyback guarantee are part of an ambitious project initiated by DI Williamson Magor Bio Fuel Limited to create sufficient feedstock for production of bio-diesel at 400 million litre a year by contract farming on 2,00,000 hectares in the east and north-eastern region by 2010. Kaushik Saikia, Chief Project Manager of DI Williamson Magor Bio Fuel Limited, said that so far 40,000 hectares of wasteland like jhum land in northeast region were covered under jatropha. He said that a seed-expelling unit would be set up in Dimapur next year.