Bengal chemicals keen on resuming anti-snake venom serum production

Bengal chemicals and pharmaceuticals ltd(BCPL). which had forayed into anti-snake venom serum(ASVS) manufacturing India nearly half a century ago. It is keen to resume production of this lifesaving medication, shortage of which kills hundreds of people. ASV is an anti-dote to the snake venom action and is free in government hospitals. No records are available to pinpoint the exact year, but it is somewhere around 9020's. Its capacity was about one Lakh vials. The figures culled from several reports shows snake bite morbidity is high in the Indian subcontinent with over one million bites annually. Yet there are only a handful of Pharma companies making this.

Snake bite death : West Bengal, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh reported 3252 deaths due to snake between 2013-15 and accounting for the highest number in death. Till 2006-07, BCPL manufactured ASVS in East Kolkata from its Maniktala unit. An erstwhile BCPL has return to profit and is now awaiting government nod to resume production of ASVS at Maniktala unit. This would need around rupees 30 crore capital expenditure and can generate a rupees 30 crore turn over with 4 lakhs vials capacity. It adopts the equine plasma method of making the ASVS which need horses.

Strength :It is a new method for saving life of people from snake bites. It reduces the death rate caused by snake bite. It generates high profit and turnover.

India conducts its first major wind-solar hybrid auction

Hybrid is one in which solar and wind is generated together by placing solar modules and wind turbines alongside each other.
BE
NGALURU: Softbank-backed SB Energy and Gautam Adani led- Adani Green Energy have won 840 MW of the 1,200 MW put on sale at the first wind-solar hybrid auction.

SB Energy won 450 MW at Rs 2.67 per unit of electricity generated while Adani Green Energy won 390 MW at Rs 2.69 in the auction conducted by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI).

Dust from Middle East affects Indian summer monsoon: Study

WASHINGTON: Dust and soot transported from the deserts of the Middle East settle on the snow cover of the Himalaya mountain range and affect the intensity of the summer monsoon in India, a study has found.

pangolin poaching

NEW DELHI: Animal protection bodies Monday asked the Centre to take strict measures to put an end to pangolin poaching after a video footage of the animal being brutally killed was captured by a researcher..

They said the footage, captured by World Animal Protection (WAP) and Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, University of Oxford (WildCRU), shows that not only is this a major conservation issue but also a devastating animal welfare concern.

The footage, taken as part of a two-year study, purportedly shows a pangolin being brutally killed for its body parts to be sold on the black market in Assam.

2.0 in real life

Hundreds of Birds Fall From the Sky During 5G Test in The Netherlands .I saw this video after I had seen the movie 2.0 by Shankar .This video is an eye opener for telecom giants coming up with higher frequency towers.

The radiation from cell phone towers impairs their natural sense of direction and end up landing somewhere ,and they die.This in turn affects the entire food chain and the pest or locusts which they feed on significantly increase causing damage to crops.This is a matter of serious concern since the whole food chain is affected.

https://youtu.be/ah8Bpg6ep1k

Tamil Nadu order to close Sterlite plant against natural justice: NGT panel

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) said the Tamil Nadu government’s order to shut down Sterlite Industries’ copper plant in Thoothukudi could not be upheld, according to media reports. The sealing of the Vedanta Ltd-owned copper smelting plant without a notice was against “natural justice”, the tribunal stated citing the report of a three-member expert committee headed by former Meghalaya High Court Chief Justice Tarun Agarwal. Calling it a “favorable development”, Vedanta counsel and Supreme Court Senior Advocate Ariama Sundaram said the committee has also suggested constant monitoring of groundwater and “will also adhere to all suggested norms. The developments are being seen as a setback for the All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Khazhagam government. The ToI report quoted a source in environmental non-government organization Poovulagin Nanbargal as saying that the state acted in haste despite Opposition parties urging for fool-proof action. The ruling party denied the charge though. The court will hear the matter again December 7, when both parties would be able to put forth their submissions. Little was discussed on whether the plant was polluting and violated environmental norms.  The Thoothukudi plant was widely opposed by locals as well as the wider civil society. Protests were ongoing this year, seeking the closure of the plant. On May 22—the 100^th day of the protests—the police opened fire, killing 13 demonstrators and drawing national and international focus on the issue. Six days later, the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB), ordered that the plant is shut and power supply be disconnected. Vedanta approached the NGT to stay the TNPCB order and settle the matter. The state approached the Supreme Court questioning the NGT accepting Vedanta’s challenge to its order, but the apex court dismissed the review petition. Apart from the case at the NGT, the matter is also being heard at the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court. Sterlite Copper's survival despite being shut down five times in the past two decades owes much to India's malleable regulatory authorities. Earlier, the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) conducted multiple studies on the environmental impact of the plant and brought out detailed reports in 1998, 1999, 2003,2005 and 2011. Though the first report was highly critical of Sterlite, the organization’s stance soon changed. These were used in a case filed in the Madras HC in 1996. In 2010, the court ordered for the plant’s closure but it was stayed by the Supreme Court. Eventually, due to another clean chit by NEERI in its final report, the apex court didn’t uphold the HC order and let the company go with an Rs 100-crore fine.   

Land degradation makes containing floods and droughts tough

Around 91 million hectares in India is degraded land. This constitutes almost 28 percent of the geographical area of the country, according to a new draft report on land degradation prepared by the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) in Hyderabad. The report finds eight different processes by which land degradation takes place—water erosion, wind erosion, waterlogging, salinization/alkalization, acidification, glacial erosion, anthropogenic changes, and others. These processes are further divided into different ways that they can happen. Most of the degradation of land has happened because of water erosion which makes up more than half (55 percent) of the total degraded area. This is followed by wind erosion which constitutes 15 percent of land degradation. Among states, Rajasthan has the largest area of degraded land at 18 million hectares followed by Maharashtra. Some of the states have a high percentage of their areas covered by degraded land. For example, Uttar Pradesh has more than 53 percent of its area covered with degraded land while Rajasthan comes a close second at 52. Surprisingly, the northeastern states also have large parts of their total land area under degradation. Most of the northeastern states suffer from acidification of their soil which reduces their productivity. Acidification takes place when the pH balance of the soil shifts towards acidic due to an excessive presence of hydrogen ions. States like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh suffer from waterlogging, especially during floods. Eighteen Indian states have experienced minor to severe floods in 2018. The worst was in Kerala in August which caused a damage of anywhere between 30,000 to 40,000 crores, according to various estimates by the Kerala government, the World Bank and the KPMG. The major reason for all these flooding events was intense rainfall over a short span of time and this was highlighted by experts and the media. In the case of Kerala, mismanagement of dams and reservoirs had also come into play. But, there was another reason for these events which has not been highlighted much by the media—degradation of land and land use change. When there is a heavy downpour of water over land that is already degraded then flooding becomes more severe. It also increases the possibilities of flash floods and landslides. The land degradation report shows that many of the flood-affected states like Maharashtra and Rajasthan also have large tracts of degraded land. While Rajasthan accounts for 20 percent of the degraded land in the country, Maharashtra has 12 percent of degraded land. In the flood-affected states of Maharashtra and Odisha, the major cause of land degradation was water erosion. Floods are one of the major causes of water erosion which means that floods would further induce more floods. At the time of floods when rains batter the earth’s surface where it has been degraded, most of the water flows into the water bodies and becomes surface run-off. This, in turn, leads to low retention of moisture in the soil which leads to droughts. Ten Indian states have either declared a drought or are in the process of doing so. Eight of these drought-affected states like Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Assam had earlier suffered from floods. In some instances, the same districts that were flooded before will now be suffering a dry season. In the context of risk management in the case of floods and droughts these factors also need to be accounted for. In fact “soil moisture retention and surface runoff along with precipitation and evapotranspiration are the major factors that will help us understand the impacts of climate change at the local level”, K J Ramesh, director general of the India Meteorological Department said.

Extreme rainfall acidifies land in India's northeastern states

Large parts of the northeastern states’ land area are degraded, says a new draft report on land degradation prepared by the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC). Among the top seven states with the highest increase in land degradation in the last 10 years, six are in the northeast. After Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, which have 53 percent and 52 percent degraded land area, Nagaland stands third with 47 percent of its land area under degradation. In Manipur, Mizoram, and Meghalaya, 38, 35 and 28 percent of the land is degraded. One of the major causes of this degradation could be an increased frequency of high rainfall events in the region. The degradation could, in fact, be one of the reasons for the devastating surface floods, flash floods and landslides throughout the northeastern region of the country this year. Five states—Assam, Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram, and Nagaland—suffered from minor to major floods in 2018. This would mean that the floods and land degradation are turning into a vicious cycle for the northeastern population. But more than water erosion, which worsens floods, the report finds that the most common cause of land degradation in these states is acidification. In the top eight states in the country where acidification is the most rampant, seven are in the northeast. The highest among these is Nagaland where almost 7.5 lakh hectares of land area is acidic which constitutes around 45 percent of the total area of the state. Manipur comes second with 6.3 lakh hectare acidified land, which is more than 28 percent of its total geographical area. Only in the states of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam, the degradation has been caused by water erosion is greater than that caused by acidification with the latter having water logging as another major concern. Acidity is measured in terms of the concentration of hydrogen ions (pH) in the soil as they are essential for the formation of all acids. Acidification of soil or land takes place when the pH balance of the soil shifts towards acidic nature due to an excessive presence of hydrogen ions. Soil acidity increases when metallic minerals like calcium, magnesium, potassium, and sodium are lost from the soil and only hydrogen ions remain. These minerals get removed from soils due to heavy rainfall and flooding. They also get removed along with the residues of crops or hay during harvest. Land in the northeast is naturally acidic because of the heavy rainfall it receives every year but climate change induced high frequency of heavy rainfall events will further exacerbate the acidification. This acidification decreases the quality of soil and reduces their productivity significantly. In a region that is predominantly dependant on agriculture, with 70 percent of the population engaged in farming, such loss of arable land and at an increased rate could spell doom for the people’s livelihood. One way that this situation can be rectified is by using lime and organic manures in the soil. Acidification can also be remedied by adopting nutrient management practices and smart crop selection.

Extreme heat increasing in both summer and winter

A new study in the in Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, a publication of the American Geophysical Union, examined absolute extreme temperatures -- high temperatures in summer and low temperatures in winter -- but also looked at relative extreme temperature events -- unusually cold temperatures and unusually warm temperatures throughout the year. The new study found both relative and absolute extreme heat events have increased across the US and Canada since 1980. This upward trend is greatest across the southern US, especially in the Ozarks and southern Arizona, as well as northern Quebec. That means there are more extremely hot days during the summer as well as more days that are considered extremely hot for the time of year, like abnormally warm days in the winter. The new research also found both relative and absolute extreme cold events are decreasing, most notably in Alaska and Northern Canada, along with patches along the US Atlantic coast. In these areas, there are fewer instances of temperatures that are extremely cold either compared to the normal range, like in winter, or for the time of year, like unusually cold days in the summer. Global mean surface temperature, the most frequently cited indicator of climate change, has been steadily increasing since the 1970s. However, temperature extremes pose a greater ecological risk to many species than average warming, according to the study's authors. The new study is one of the first to explore relative extreme temperature events, which are changing more rapidly than absolute temperature extremes, and can have important implications for the environment, agriculture and human health, according to Scott Sheridan, professor in the department of geography at Kent State University and lead author of the new study. "Typically for this kind of research we look at the highest temperatures in the summer and lowest temperatures in the winter. But we've also seen that extreme temperatures that are really anomalous for the time of year can have a high impact -- these relative extremes are important and underappreciated," he said.

Investigating temperature extremes

To investigate how extreme temperature events have been changing over time, Sheridan and his co-author conducted a climatology of cold and heat events, both absolute and relative, for North America, followed by an analysis of how they have changed from 1980-2016. Relative extreme temperature events are changing faster than absolute extreme events, and often occur outside of seasonal norms, according to the new study. In the eastern half of the US, relative extreme heat events occur as early as mid-winter into early spring. Out-of-season extreme temperatures can cause early thaws in mild winters or catch vulnerable populations unprepared and unacclimated. Across parts of the Arctic, extreme cold events have become almost entirely nonexistent and increasingly difficult to identify, according to the researchers. "Relative temperature anomalies can trigger what is called phenological mismatches, where a mismatch in the temperature and the season can cause trees to bloom too early and birds and insects to migrate before there is appropriate food," Sheridan said. Most notable is the highly anomalous warm event in March 2012, which included persistent mid-summer warmth in multiple locations. The event produced a 'false spring' in which vegetation prematurely left dormancy, so that it was not prepared for subsequent frosts, leading to large agricultural losses in certain areas, according to the researchers. There is some evidence that early-season heat events are more hazardous to humans than heat events later in the season. When people are not acclimatized to hotter temperatures, they are more vulnerable to negative health impacts, especially the elderly, infants, young children, and people with chronic health problems or disabilities, according to the researchers. The study clearly underlines the importance of not just looking at high temperatures in the summer but also looking at relative temperatures, said Kristie Ebi, professor of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences at the University of Washington, who was not involved in the study. "Using information generated in the study on regional patterns in extreme weather events, particularly relative extremes in temperature, early warnings could be issued that include information on what people can do to protect themselves and to protect crops and ecosystems," Ebi said.

Thriving reef fisheries continue to provide food despite coral bleaching

The unexpected results of a 20-year study into reef fisheries published in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution this week showed fisheries being maintained despite extreme coral bleaching. Remarkably, the rapid proliferation of fishes with low dependence on corals led to catches remaining stable or even increasing. But the results also showed a fishing success was 'patchy' and more dependent on fewer species. Around six million people fish on coral reefs. Each year their catch -- estimated to be between 1.4 and 4.2 million tonnes -- provides a critical source of food and income for many millions more. But climate change-driven coral bleaching events, caused by warming seas, are damaging coral habitat and depleting fish biodiversity, which has sparked fears that these vibrant ecosystems will no longer support productive fisheries. A Lancaster University-led study set out to test this, using 20 years of fish abundance, catch and habitat data to assess the long-term impacts of climate-driven coral mass mortality and changes in artisanal coral reef fisheries in Seychelles. As part of their study, they looked at more than 45,000 daily fishery landing records from 41 different sites. They also conducted 960 underwater surveys at 12 locations. After the mass coral bleaching event in 1998, which caused substantial loss of coral habitat across Seychelles, reef fish catches have either remained the same and even increased. Although many reefs became overgrown with seaweeds, increases in algal-feeding fish communities such as rabbitfish are enabling local fishers to continue harvesting food. Dr. James Robinson of Lancaster University's Environment Centre said:

"Bleaching in 1998 caused mass coral mortality, habitat collapse, and shifts to seaweed dominance on some reefs, and so we expected the fishery to be in decline. But we overlooked the potential for algal-feeding fish to benefit from higher algal productivity." "With coral bleaching events becoming more frequent and more intense as the climate warms, the unexpected news was that these fisheries continued to provide benefits for people." Calvin Gerry of the Seychelles Fishing Authority, a co-author of the study, said: "We focussed on the inshore trap fishery in this study, as it is an important sector in Seychelles and a common gear on coral reefs globally." "Most of the fish from the trap fishery are sold and consumed locally, rather than exported internationally. Therefore, changes to this fishery have the potential to influence both fishers and consumers domestically." The study focused on short- and medium-term impacts of climate change. But the researchers have warned that these fisheries may be more unpredictable and variable than before because the fishes contributing to catches were much more patchily distributed. Declines in healthy coral habitat reduced the diversity of species in catches, and fishers were more reliant on a few highly productive rabbitfish species. Professor Nicholas Graham of Lancaster University, a co-author of the study, added: "Although we saw that after coral bleaching the average fish catch rose or remained stable, fishing success was patchy. After bleaching, catches became either much larger or much smaller than the average." "These data from Seychelles forewarn of changes likely for coral reef fisheries in other countries. While the news for fishers is better than we might expect, the algal-covered reefs are in marked contrast to the complex coral habitats which once hosted myriad and diverse coral reef fishes." While the rabbitfish boost was shown to give fishers a few years of respite from the effects of widespread coral bleaching, the authors caution that the longer-term outlook for reef fisheries remains uncertain. 

Growing pile of human and animal waste harbors threats, opportunities

Now researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are highlighting another effect from animals raised for food and the humans who eat them: the waste they all leave behind. In a paper published November 13 in Nature Sustainability, the research team put forth what they believe is the first global estimate of annual recoverable human and animal fecal biomass. In 2014, the most recent year with data, the number was 4.3 billion tons and growing, and waste from livestock outweighed that from humans five to one at the country level. "Exposure to both human and animal waste represent a threat to public health, particularly in low-income areas of the world that may not have resources to implement the best management and sanitation practices," said Joe Brown, an assistant professor in Georgia Tech's School of Civil and Environmental Engineering. "But estimating the number of recoverable feces in the world also highlights the enormous potential from a resource perspective." Metals, phosphorus, nitrogen, and potassium are all among the resources that could be recovered from human and animal waste. The researchers pointed to an earlier analysis that estimated the value of recoverable metals alone reaches $13 million a year from the waste of one million people. The researchers looked at data from 2003 to 2014 as well as projections through 2030. The study combined global animal population data from the United Nations, human population data from the World Bank as well as earlier research on animal-specific estimates of fecal production. From 2003 to 2014, the amount of waste biomatter produced grew annually by more than 57 million tons as both human and livestock populations grew. The researchers estimated that by 2030, the total amount of global fecal biomass produced each year would reach at least five billion tons, with livestock waste outweighing that from humans six to one at the country level. "This paper demonstrates that building more latrines in developing parts of the world isn't going to solve all of our waste management problems," Brown said. "Animal waste has the potential to negatively impact health in many of the same ways as with human waste, from spreading enteric infections to hurting growth and cognitive development of the humans exposed." While chickens were the most plentiful livestock globally, cattle, with their larger body mass, produced the most fecal waste on the planet. As a result, countries with high numbers of cattle, such as those in the Americas, produced the most waste by mass. The researchers estimated that by 2030, the planet's total annual fecal and urinary biomass could contain as much as 100 million tons of phosphorus, 30 million tons of potassium, 18 million tons of calcium, and 5.5 million tons of magnesium, to name a few recoverable materials. While much of the attention on reducing disease transmission has focused through the decades on pathogens associated with human waste, much less attention has been given to animal waste, the researchers wrote, despite livestock accounting for 80 percent of the global fecal biomass generated. "Ultimately, shining a light on the amount of waste that we produce is the first step toward shaping policies and regional planning geared toward maximizing public health and resource recovery," Brown said. "This is an area where there's a huge need for attention and investment -- to help develop next-generation waste management innovations, for both large-scale and small-scale animal husbandry operations, that will enable us to maximize human health and meet the global demand for natural resources." As demand for meat and dairy products increases across the world, much attention has landed on how livestock impact the environment, from land usage to greenhouse gas emissions. Now researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are highlighting another effect from animals raised for food and the humans who eat them: the waste they all leave behind. In a paper published November 13 in Nature Sustainability, the research team put forth what they believe is the first global estimate of annual recoverable human and animal fecal biomass. In 2014, the most recent year with data, the number was 4.3 billion tons and growing, and waste from livestock outweighed that from humans five to one at the country level.

Climate change and air pollution damaging health and causing millions of premature deaths

IIASA researchers have contributed to a major new report in The Lancet medical journal looking at the effects of climate change on human health, and the implications for society. The 2018 Report of the research coalition The Lancet Countdown: Tracking Progress on Health and Climate Change shows that rising temperatures as a result of climate change are already exposing us to an unacceptably high health risk and warns, for the first time, that older people in Europe and the East Mediterranean are particularly vulnerable to extremes of heat, markedly higher than in Africa and SE Asia. The risk in Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean stems from aging populations living in cities, with 42% and 43% of over-65s respectively vulnerable to heat. In Africa, 38% are thought to be vulnerable, while in Asia it is 34%. The report also states that ambient air pollution resulted in several million premature deaths from ambient fine particulate matter globally in 2015, a conclusion from IIASA researchers confirming earlier assessments. Since air pollution and greenhouse gases often share common sources, mitigating climate change constitutes a major opportunity for direct human health benefits. Leading doctors, academics and policy professionals from 27 organizations have contributed analysis and jointly authored the report. Alongside IIASA, the partners behind the research include the World Bank, World Health Organization (WHO), University College London and Tsinghua University, among others. IIASA researcher Gregor Kiesewetter led a team from the Air Pollution and Greenhouse Gase's research program that estimated the dangers of air pollution to human health. A new and important finding this year was the global attribution of deaths to a source. Kiesewetter and the team found that coal alone accounts for 16% of pollution-related premature deaths, around 460,000, which they state makes phasing out coal-use a "crucial no-regret intervention for public health." Kiesewetter and the team used the GAINS Model, developed at IIASA, which calculates the emissions of precursors of particulate matter based on a detailed breakdown of economic sectors and fuels used. Large contributions to ambient air pollution come from the residential sector, mostly from solid fuels like biomass and coal. Industry, electricity generation, transport, and agriculture are also important contributors. While coal should be a key target for early phase-out in households and electricity generation as it is highly polluting, it is not all that should be done. "The attribution shows that unfortunately, an approach targeting a single sector or fuel won't solve the problem -- air pollution is a multi-faceted issue that needs integrated strategies cutting across many sectors, which will differ from country to country. This is what we typically do with the regional and local GAINS model: giving advice to policymakers on the most effective approaches to tackle air pollution in their specific settings," says Kiesewetter.

The report contains a number of other headline findings: -

• 157m more vulnerable people were subjected to a heatwave in 2017 than in 2000, and 18m more than in 2016.
• 153bn hours of work were lost in 2017 due to extreme heat as a result of climate change. China alone lost 21bn hours, the equivalent of a year's work for 1.4% of their working population. India lost 75bn hours, equivalent to 7% of their total working population.
• Heat greatly exacerbates urban air pollution, with 97% of cities in low- and middle- income countries not meeting WHO air quality guidelines.
• Heat stress, an early and severe effect of climate change, is commonplace and we and the health systems we rely on are ill-equipped to cope.
• Rising temperatures and unseasonable warmth are responsible for cholera and dengue fever spreading, with vectorial capacity for their transmission increasing across many endemic areas.
• The mean global temperature change to which humans are exposed is more than double the global average change, with temperatures rising by 0.8°C versus 0.3°C.

Hugh Montgomery, co-chair of The Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change and director of the Institute for Human Health and Performance, University College London says: "Heat stress is hitting hard -- particularly amongst the urban elderly, and those with underlying health conditions such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes or chronic kidney disease. In high temperatures, outdoor work, especially in agriculture, is hazardous. Areas from Northern England and California, to Australia, are seeing savage fires with direct deaths, displacement, and loss of housing as well as respiratory impacts from smoke inhalation." The report, which looks at 41 separate indicators across a range of themes, says urgent steps are needed to protect people now from the impacts of climate change. In particular, stronger labor regulations are needed to protect workers from extremes of heat and hospitals and the health systems we rely on the need to be better equipped for extreme heat so they are able to cope. But the report also stresses that there are limits to adapting to the temperature increases, and if left unabated, climate change and heat will overwhelm even the strongest of systems, so the need for reducing greenhouse gas emissions is critical.

2018 has been an even hotter year in many parts of the world and the World Weather Attribution Study for northern Europe showed this summer's heat wave was twice as likely to have happened as a result of man-made climate change. Of the 478 global cities surveyed in the report, 51% expect climate change to seriously compromise their public health infrastructure.

"The world has yet to effectively cut its emissions. The speed of climate change threatens our, and our children's lives. Following current trends, we exhaust our carbon budget required to keep warming below two degrees, by 2032. The health impacts of climate change above this level above this level threaten to overwhelm our emergency and health services," says Anthony Costello, co-chair of The Lancet Countdown.

Other findings of the report include a new indicator mapping extremes of precipitation that identify South America and Southeast Asia among the regions most exposed to flood and drought and, on food security, the report points to 30 countries experiencing downward trends in crop yields, reversing a decade-long trend that had previously seen global improvement. Yield potential is estimated to be declining in every region as extremes of weather become more frequent and more extreme.

Greenhouse gas 'detergent' recycles itself in atmosphere

A simple molecule in the atmosphere that acts as a "detergent" to break down methane and other greenhouse gases has been found to recycle itself to maintain a steady global presence in the face of rising emissions, according to new NASA research. Understanding its role in the atmosphere is critical for determining the lifetime of methane, a powerful contributor to climate change. The hydroxyl (OH) radical, a molecule made up of one hydrogen atom, one oxygen atom with a free (or unpaired) electron is one of the most reactive gases in the atmosphere and regularly breaks down other gases, effectively ending their lifetimes. In this way, OH is the main check on the concentration of methane, a potent greenhouse gas that is second only to carbon dioxide in contributing to increasing global temperatures. With the rise of methane emissions into the atmosphere, scientists historically thought that might cause the number of hydroxyl radicals to be used upon the global scale and, as a result, extend methane's lifetime, currently estimated to be nine years. However, in addition to looking globally at primary sources of OH and the amount of methane and other gases it breaks down, this new research takes into account secondary OH sources, recycling that happens after OH breaks down methane and reforms in the presence of other gases, which has been observed on regional scales before. "OH concentrations are pretty stable over time," said atmospheric chemist and lead author Julie Nicely at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. "When OH reacts with methane it doesn't necessarily go away in the presence of other gases, especially nitrogen oxides (NO and NO₂). The breakdown products of its reaction with methane react with NO or NO₂ to reform OH. So OH can recycle back into the atmosphere." Nitrogen oxides are one set of several gases that contribute to recycling OH back into the atmosphere, according to Nicely's research, published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres. She and her colleagues used a computer model informed by satellite observations of various gases from 1980 to 2015 to simulate the possible sources for OH in the atmosphere. These include reactions with the aforementioned nitrogen oxides, water vapor, and ozone. They also tested an unusual potential source of new OH: the enlargement of the tropical regions on Earth. OH in the atmosphere also forms when ultraviolet sunlight reaches the lower atmosphere and reacts with water vapor (H₂O) and ozone (O₃) to form two OH molecules. Over the tropics, water vapor and ultraviolet sunlight are plentiful. The tropics, which span the region of Earth to either side of the equator, have shown some evidence of widening farther north and south of their current range, possibly due to rising temperatures affecting air circulation patterns. This means that the tropical region primed for creating OH will potentially increase over time, leading to a higher amount of OH in the atmosphere. This tropical widening process is slow, however, expanding only 0.5 to 1 degree in latitude every 10 years. But the small effect may still be important, according to Nicely. She and her team found that, individually, the tropical widening effect and OH recycling through reactions with other gases each comprise a relatively small source of OH, but together they essentially replace the OH used up in the breaking down of methane. "The absence of a trend in global OH is surprising," said atmospheric chemist Tom Hanisco at Goddard who was not involved in the research. "Most models predict a 'feedback effect' between OH and methane. In the reaction of OH with methane, OH is also removed. The increase in NO₂ and other sources of OH, such as ozone, cancel out this expected effect." But since this study looks at the past thirty-five years, it's not guaranteed that as the atmosphere continues to evolve with global climate change that OH levels will continue to recycle in the same way into the future, he said. Ultimately, Nicely views the results as a way to fine-tune and update the assumptions that are made by researchers and climate modelers who describe and predict how OH and methane interact throughout the atmosphere. "This could add clarification on the question of will methane concentrations continue rising in the future? Or will they level off, or perhaps even decrease? This is a major question regarding future climate that we really don't know the answer to," she said.

New catalyst produces cheap hydrogen fuel

Professor Anthony O'Mullane said the potential for the chemical storage of renewable energy in the form of hydrogen was being investigated around the world. "The Australian Government is interested in developing a hydrogen export industry to export our abundant renewable energy," said Professor O'Mullane from QUT's Science and Engineering Faculty. "In principle, hydrogen offers a way to store clean energy at a scale that is required to make the rollout of large-scale solar and wind farms as well as the export of green energy viable. "However, current methods that use carbon sources to produce hydrogen emit carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that mitigates the benefits of using renewable energy from the sun and wind. "Electrochemical water splitting driven by electricity sourced from renewable energy technology has been identified as one of the most sustainable methods of producing high-purity hydrogen." Professor O'Mullane said the new composite material he and Ph.D. student Ummul Sultana had developed enabled electrochemical water splitting into hydrogen and oxygen using cheap and readily available elements as catalysts. "Traditionally, catalysts for splitting water involve expensive precious metals such as iridium oxide, ruthenium oxide, and platinum," he said. "An additional problem has been stability, especially for the oxygen evolution part of the process. "What we have found is that we can use two earth-abundant cheaper alternatives -- cobalt and nickel oxide with only a fraction of gold nanoparticles -- to create a stable bi-functional catalyst to split water and produce hydrogen without emissions. "From an industry point of view, it makes a lot of sense to use one catalyst material instead of two different catalysts to produce hydrogen from water." Professor O'Mullane said the stored hydrogen could then be used in fuel cells. "Fuel cells are a mature technology, already being rolled out in many makes of vehicle. They use hydrogen and oxygen as fuels to generate electricity -- essentially the opposite of water splitting. "With a lot of cheaply 'made' hydrogen we can feed fuel cell-generated electricity back into the grid when required during peak demand or power our transportation system and the only thing emitted is water."

Oumuamua

NASA Learns More About Interstellar Visitor 'Oumuamua

An artist's concept of interstellar asteroid 1I/2017 U1 ('Oumuamua) as it passed through the solar system after its discovery in October 2017. Observations of 'Oumuamua indicate that it must be very elongated because of its dramatic variations in brightness as it tumbled through space.

Planting more hedgerows and trees could hold the key to helping UK bees thrive once again, a new study argues.

Moreover, researchers suggest artificial intelligence could be used as a tool to design our landscapes so that trees, hedgerows, and wildflowers are planted in the right place and the right numbers to ensure our pollinators have enough food. It is well known that bees and other important insects, which are vital for pollinating our plants and food crops, are in long-term decline across Europe. One of the major causes of the reduction of our pollinators, such as honeybees, bumblebees, solitary bees, and hoverflies, is the degradation of suitable habitats. A process that scientists claim is accelerated by modern farming practices. Efforts, including the planting of large strips of wildflowers on the margins of agricultural land, are underway to try to reverse this long-term decline. However, researchers believe that tree and hedgerow planting could be a more efficient and cost-effective tactic, alongside the planting of wildflowers. Trees are preferable to bees, and other pollinators, because they offer greater food density -- there are more flowers within a relatively small area on a blooming tree, compared with flower meadows. This makes trees a more efficient foraging ground for bees, and scientists have found bees show preference to trees -- collecting a large proportion of their diet from woody species. Trees and hedgerows also have a secondary benefit. They provide physical landmarks, like points on a map, which pollinators use to navigate their way across the landscape from their hive to foraging grounds. Trees and hedgerows also provide nesting, overwintering, and sheltered habitat -- offering shelter during wind and rain. Unfortunately trees and hedgerow cover has declined in the UK over the last 500 years.

Indian Scientists Develop World’s First Low Temperature Thermal Desalination Plant

Scientists at the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Chennai have developed world’s first low temperature thermal desalination plant, which could address drinking water problems in India’s ocean island territories and even offshore urban centres along the coastline.

Low temperature thermal desalination (LTTD) is one process that uses the availability of a temperature gradient between two water bodies or flows to evaporate the warmer seawater at low pressures and condense the resultant vapour with the colder seawater to obtain fresh water. 

“The 12-13oC cold water available at about 400m depth within 600m from the island is used along with the surface water at about 28oC to produce potable water in the Lakshadweep Islands,” Dr Ramana Murthy, Scientist at NIOT told Indian Science Journal.

Magic Mushrooms

A psilocybin mushroom is one of a polyphyletic group of fungi that contain any of various psychedelic compounds, including psilocybin, psilocin, and baeocystin.

Common, colloquial terms for psilocybin mushrooms include psychedelic mushrooms, magic mushrooms, shrooms, and mush.

Psychedelics and ecology ?

Researchers have noted the relationship between psychedelics and ecology, particularly in relation to the altered states of consciousness (ASC) produced by psychedelic drugs and the perception of interconnectedness expressed through ecological ideas and themes produced by the psychedelic experience. This is felt through the direct experience of the unity of nature and the environment of which the individual is no longer perceived as separate but intimately connected and embedded inside.

Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann, the first person to synthesize LSD, believed that the drug made one aware and sensitive to "the magnificence of nature and of the animal and plant kingdom" and the role of humanity in relation to nature.Stanley Krippner and David Luke have speculated that "the consumption of psychedelic substances leads to an increased concern for nature and ecological issues". As a result, American psychologist Ralph Metzner and several others have argued that psychedelic drug use was the impetus for the modern ecology movement in the late 1960s.

Medical Cannabis

Medical cannabis, or medical marijuana, is cannabis and cannabinoids that are recommended by doctors for their patients.The use of cannabis as medicine has not been rigorously tested due to production restrictions and other governmental regulations.Limited evidence suggests that cannabis can reduce nausea and vomiting during chemotherapy, improve appetite in people with HIV/AIDS, and reduce chronic pain and muscle spasms.

Shrinking Ice cap - Time lapse video by NASA

NASA posted this video to YouTube with this description, “Arctic sea ice has not only been shrinking in surface area in recent years, it’s becoming younger and thinner as well. In this animation, where the ice cover almost looks gelatinous as it pulses through the seasons, cryospheric scientist Dr. Walt Meier of NASA Goddard Space Flight Center describes how the sea ice has undergone fundamental changes during the era of satellite measurements.”

https://youtu.be/Vj1G9gqhkYA

New Water treatment inspired through sea creature

Inspired by Actinia, a sea organism that ensnares its prey with its tentacles, a team of researchers has developed a method for efficiently treating water.

The research, a collaboration of the labs of Yale's Menachem Elimelech and Huazhang Zhao of Peking University, used a material known as a nanocoagulant to rid water of contaminants. By removing a broad range of contaminants in a single step, the discovery promises to significantly improve on the centuries-old use of coagulants for water treatment. The results are published today in Nature Nanotechnology.

When added to water, conventional coagulants such as aluminum sulphate and other metallic salts remove larger particles from water by causing them to group together into larger formations and settle. Because these coagulants don't remove smaller particles dissolved in water, additional treatment methods are necessary. Employing multiple technologies for water treatment, however, is costly, energy-intensive and can require a large amount of land. Creating an efficient and easy-to-operate technology to remove all contaminants from water is key to addressing global water scarcity..

Newly discovered deep-sea microbes gobble greenhouse gases and perhaps oil spills.

Scientists at The University of Texas at Austin's Marine Science Institute have discovered nearly two dozen new types of microbes, many of which use hydrocarbons such as methane and butane as energy sources to survive and grow -- meaning the newly identified bacteria might be helping to limit the concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and might one day be useful for cleaning up oil spills.

In a paper published in Nature Communications this week, researchers documented extensive diversity in the microbial communities living in the extremely hot, deep-sea sediments located in the Guaymas Basin in the Gulf of California. The team uncovered new microbial species that are so genetically different from those that have been previously studied that they represent new branches in the tree of life. Many of these same species possess keen pollutant-eating powers, like other, previously identified microbes in the ocean and soil.

New federal climate assessment for U.S. released Report highlights impacts, risks and adaptations.

A new federal report finds that climate change is affecting the natural environment, agriculture, energy production and use, land and water resources, transportation, and human health and welfare across the U.S. and its territories.

Key findings of the NCA4, Vol. II Communities

• Human health and safety, our quality of life, and the rate of economic growth in communities across the U.S. are increasingly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.
• The cascading impacts of climate change threaten the natural, built and social systems we rely on, both within and beyond the nation's borders.
• Societal efforts to respond to climate change have expanded in the last five years, but not at the scale needed to avoid substantial damages to the economy, environment, and human health over the coming decades.
• Without substantial and sustained global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and regional initiatives to prepare for anticipated changes, climate change is expected to cause growing losses to American infrastructure and property and impede the rate of economic growth over this century.

Seismic study reveals huge amount of water dragged into Earth's interior

Slow-motion collisions of tectonic plates under the ocean drag about three times more water down into the deep Earth than previously estimated, according to a first-of-its-kind seismic study that spans the Mariana Trench.

The observations from the deepest ocean trench in the world have important implications for the global water cycle, according to researchers in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis.

"People knew that subduction zones could bring down water, but they didn't know how much water," said Chen Cai, who recently completed his doctoral studies at Washington University. Cai is the first author of the study published in the Nov. 15 issue of the journal Nature.

"This research shows that subduction zones move far more water into Earth's deep interior -- many miles below the surface -- than previously thought," said Candace Major, a program director in the National Science Foundation's Division of Ocean Sciences, which funded the study. "The results highlight the important role of subduction zones in Earth's water cycle."