India must take lead in controlling climate change: Centre for Science and Environment

• Reacting to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)’s special report on global warming,  the Centre for Science and Environment said on Monday that India must take the lead in forming a global coalition to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5°C world to save its poor and vulnerable population
• The report outlines climate change impacts that can be avoided by limiting global warming to 1.5ºC compared to 2°C, or more. According to the summary of the report, the global sea level rise would be 10 cm lower with global warming of 1.5°C compared with 2°C by 2100.According to the report, regionally differentiated multi-sector risks are already apparent at 1.5°C warming. 
• This is more prevalent in south Asia, especially in India, Pakistan and China where vulnerable people live. As the temperatures rises, the world’s poorest will be more disproportionately impacted, points out the report. The report also highlights how India is at a risk of experiencing annual conditions equivalent to the deadly 2015 heatwaves.
• However, it would be disastrous for the poor and for developing countries, the Center for Science and Environment pointed out.

Plant to convert e-waste into bio fuel to be made operational soon

• Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan said Saturday a plant to covert plastic waste into bio-diesel will soon be made operational at the Indian Institute of Petroleum in Dehradun. 
• He was speaking at the International E-Waste Day event organised by the International Finance Corporation  
• "The plant has been set up at Dehradun and it will be operational by January end. The facility, which will be run on pilot basis, is capable of converting plastic waste into bio-diesel. The model will then be replicated across the country," Vardhan said. 
• The plant has the capacity to convert one tonne of plastic waste into 800 liters bio fuel which will be of highest quality and it can be used in any diesel automotive vehicle, according to a government official. 
• Vardhan said the whole country was concerned about the problem of e-waste and the government had amended the existing rules to ensure better management of e-waste and bio-medical waste through.

India Joins Hands with Finland for Environmental Cooperation

• The Union Cabinet has approved an agreement between India and Finland on environmental corporation. 
• The memorandum of cooperation will bring in the latest technologies and best practices that will further help in bringing about better environment protection, better conservation, and better management of climate change and wildlife protection and conservation.
• The memorandum of cooperation will include partnership between two countries in air and water pollution prevention and purification, waste management, climate change, cooperation in promotion of circular economy, low-carbon solutions, sustainable management of natural resources, conservation of marine and coastal resources and integrated water management of oceanic or sea islands.

Goa’s environment faces problems from infrastructure boom

• Mining is considered the major environmental issue in Goa. In the recent years there are many other issues that have potential for serious environmental consequences.
• There is an emphasis on road and coastal infrastructure development through the Bharatmala and Sagarmala programmes.
• There is also a construction boom and pressure on ecologically sensitive zones and private forests.
• Since Goa shares an environment similar to that of Kerala, environmentalists question whether it is wise to push for unbridled development, considering the havoc that Kerala faced in the recent floods.

SOURCE : MONGABAY

Microsoft and Niti Aayog partner to deploy AI solution

• Microsoft India will support Niti Aayog by combining the cloud, AI, research and its vertical expertise for new initiatives and solutions across several core areas including agriculture and healthcare and the environment. 
• Microsoft will also accelerate the use of AI for the development and adoption of local language computing, in addition to building capacity for AI among the workforce through education.
• Under the agreement, Microsoft will provide Niti Aayog advanced AI-based solutions such as farm advisory services, healthcare screening models at primary health centers along with building capacity for AI through education. 
  
  
  SOURCE : economic times

Indian Railways to use 'green' composite sleepers

• Aiming to become more eco-friendly, Indian Railways has decided replace wooden sleepers with composite sleepers that are not only lighter but also stronger.
• The Railways has decided to use the composite sleepers in a limited way. It is being used mainly on girder bridges.
• Railways preferred them over wooden sleepers because of environmental issues that cropped up over the cutting of trees.
• The green and sustainable element is what attracts people, but people now realise its durability is beneficial because there`s no maintenance with this product once it`s installed.
• It doesn`t have to be repainted, re-oiled, re-sanded... and it will last between two and three times longer than timber.

SOURCE : ZeeBusiness

In Mali, donkeys help with the fight against waste

In the Malian capital of Bamako, donkey carts driven by young men including 19-year-old Arouna Diabate play a vital role battling the fast-growing city’s waste problem.

Every morning before dawn, Diabate hitches his donkey to a cart and sets off on his rounds, going door-to-door to collect household garbage that he delivers to a local waste transfer station for a monthly salary of about £27.

Mali is one of the poorest countries in the world and the authorities struggle to provide adequate public services in the capital. Bamako’s population more than quadrupled from the mid-1970s to 1.8 million as of 2009, according to census data.

The population boom has made the issue of waste disposal in Bamako more acute, requiring Diabate’s boss, Moustapha Diarra, to deploy eight donkey carts in his district instead of the two he managed a decade ago.

Scientists get ready to begin Great Pacific Garbage Patch cleanup

A team of scientists and engineers will on Saturday begin an ambitious cleanup of plastics in the Pacific Ocean targeting a stretch of water three times the size of France known as the Great Pacific garbage Patch.

A 600m-long floating barrier will be launched off the coast of San Francisco and, powered by currents, waves and wind, will aim to collect five tonnes of plastic debris each month.

The marine apparatus known as System 001 is the brainchild of the Dutch inventor Boyan Slat who founded The Ocean Clean Up at the age of 18 in 2013.

Govt to launch air pollution prediction system for Delhi on Oct 15

The Centre will on October 15 launch an air pollution prediction system for Delhi, making it easier for government’s pollution watchdogs to alert stakeholders and general public about air quality 48 hours in advance. The move will give them adequate time to take precautionary measures. 

The system - called Air Quality Early Warning System - will have an in-built web-based dissemination tools to inform public and enforcement agencies about episodic high pollution events in advance. Such information may be helpful for general public in planning their outdoor activities. 

EU forests can't help climate fight: study

Europe cannot rely on its forests to help ward off the effects of climate change, experts warned Wednesday, calling instead for nations to protect their natural resources against the warming planet. 

The world's current roadmap to mitigate climate disaster encourages EU nations to use their forests to help suck greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere. 

But European scientists now say no approach to forest management complies with the goals of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, which aims to limit global temperature rises to "well below" two degrees Celsius (36 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels. 

"The amount of carbon captured over the next 90 years by trees — around 2 parts per million (ppm) — would be low compared to the amount of carbon released into the atmosphere under the most likely scenario — 500 ppm," Guillaume Marie, a climate and environment scientist at the University of Paris-Saclay, told AFP. 

New World Bank fund to insure against climate disasters

The World Bank on Friday launched a new $150 million fund intended to help insure vulnerable countries against natural disasters and the increasing risk of climate change-linked crises.The announcement follows a string of recent natural disasters across the world including record storms and a series of deadly quakes in Indonesia, where the Bank and International Monetary Fund are currently meeting. 

The so-called Global Risk Financing Facility (GRiF), set up with money from Germany and Britain, will finance the creation of disaster insurance and other risk mechanisms so funds are available immediately when crises hit

Cyclone Titli

Cyclone Titli - Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik conducts the aerial survey, announces a relief package

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik conducted an aerial survey of flood-hit Ganjam, Gajapati and Rayagada districts of the state on Saturday. Following the survey, he announced a monetary relief to be paid for 15 days to people affected by the cyclone and resultant flooding in Ganjam and Gajapati districts and Gunupur sub-division of Rayagada district. “On an average, a family of four will be assisted with more than Rs 3,000 as a relief,” Patnaik told reporters in Bhubaneswar. He said the relief amount will be provided at the rate of Rs 60 per adult and Rs 45 per child per day for 15 days.

The depression over Odisha has moved East-Northeastwards in the past six hours and is likely to maintain as a depression for the next 12 hours and weaken thereafter, according to India Meteorological Department (IMD). The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and Orissa Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) have rescued 1,27,262 people and sheltered them in 963 relief camps. Putting a damper on Durga Puja festivities, the MeT department Friday issued a warning of heavy to very heavy rainfall in Gangetic West Bengal till Saturday. The incessant rain has affected Bengal’s Jhargam and Paschim Medinipur districts adjoining Odisha.

New Cases Of Zika Virus

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18 New Cases Of Zika Virus Detected In Rajasthan, Taking Total To 50

18 more people in Rajasthan's Jaipur district have tested positive for Zika virus. Figures were issued after a review meeting chaired by Rajasthan Health department's Additional Chief Secretary, Medical and Health, Veenu Gupta on Friday. The first case had surfaced on September 22. Fogging and other anti-larvae activities are being carried out in the Shastri Nagar area to prevent the spread of the virus. Earlier, a department official had said that 30 of the total cases were doing fine after treatment.

A control room has been activated at the National Centre for Disease Control to monitor the situation. The number of monitoring teams in Jaipur has been increased from 50 to 170 and a special isolation ward has been created at the Hira Bagh Training Centre to treat the Zika virus-affected patients. Dr. Neena Valecha, the NIMR director, had earlier said the virus appears to be locally transmitted. The state government has been provided information, education, and communication (IEC) material prepared to create awareness about Zika virus and prevention strategies.

The Zika virus, transmitted through Aedes aegypti mosquito, causes fever, skin rashes, conjunctivitis, muscle, and joint pain. It is harmful to pregnant women, as it can lead to microcephaly, a condition in which a baby's head is significantly smaller than expected, in newborn children.

In India, the first outbreak was reported in Ahmedabad in January 2017 and the second was reported in Tamil Nadu's Krishnagiri district in July that year. Both these outbreaks were successfully contained through intensive surveillance and vector management, the ministry had said earlier.

Nestlé and Unilever spearhead food industry coalition on animal welfare

The members of the Global Coalition for Animal Welfare (GCAW) are Aramark, Compass Group, Elior Group, Ikea Food Services, Nestlé, Sodexo and Unilever, which jointly serve 3.7 bn customers daily, and have combined revenues of $165bn (£124bn). The five companies alongside Nestlé and Unilever are food service firms with an extensive global reach. Sodexo, a French food services company, works across 80 countries. The American food service giant Aramark has a huge influence in the US, with clients spanning prisons and public schools.

Over the coming month's representatives from the seven member companies will meet animal welfare experts to discuss ways to improve standards further down the supply chain, focusing on cage-free policies, conditions for broiler chickens and farmed fish, antimicrobial resistance and the transportation and slaughter of animals.

The member companies are committed to the coalition for just three years, during which time they will release a report outlining potential commitments – for example, determining maximum journey times for the transfer of animals. No global industry standards are expected to be set. The increasing demand for meat (production needs to double by 2050 to meet demand) means that animals will continue to be farmed at an industrial scale.

Some of the companies involved have been caught up in animal welfare rows in the past. In 2015 Nestle was accused of experimenting on animals, and last year campaigners claimed Ikea was rolling back on its animal welfare commitments.

NHRC important to achieve sustainable development goals

NHRC important to achieve sustainable development goals: PM Modi

The National Human Rights

 Commission has an important role to play in government's efforts to achieve sustainable development goals, Prime Minister Narendra Modi

 said.

Addressing an event in New Delhi to mark the 25th anniversary of the founding of theNHRC

, Modi said the government is committed to improving the lives of people by ensuring their rights.

He cited various steps taken by government in this regard and said the triple talaq legislation is a part of the effort to provide justice to the oppressed.

"I am confident that this key legislation will be accorded approval by Parliament soon," he said.

The bill is pending before Rajya Sabha 

with Lok Sabha having already passed it.

He also hailed the Ayushmaan Bharat health insurance scheme, saying 50,000 people have benefited from it within two and a half weeks of its launch.

Delhi air quality deteriorates, haze envelopes Mumbai

Delhi-National Capital Region has been reeling from bouts of pollution for the last few days due to stubble burning in the neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana.
The Air quality index between the range of 51 to 100 is considered as satisfactory, 101-200 is moderate, 201-300 comes under the poor category, whereas 401-500 range is severe.
the latest report circulated on October 8 by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has predicted that if climatic change continues for next several years, then people will be at a greater risk of injury, disease and even death due to more intense heat waves and fires.

Everything you've been told about plastic is wrong

Everything which was told about plastics is wrong

Recycling is not the best way to treat plastic, it is poisoning the planet. Recycling is the last resort. Recycling is the grown-up version of squeezing our eyes shut, sticking our fingers in our ears and shouting “lalalalalala!”. Meanwhile our marine life is fast becoming extinct, our air is so polluted, natural disasters are more devastating than ever and, of course, the planet is hurtling ever closer to a disastrous level of global warming. Of all that plastic you found in your house, two third cannot be recycled. Even the thermal paper your shopping receipts are usually printed on contain BPA and cannot be recycled.

Recycling is not something that governments or charities do out of the goodness of their hearts. 70% of potentially recyclable plastic in Europe ends up in a landfill, in oceans or are incinerated, leading to the release of devastatingly harmful toxins into the environment. Plastic will take centuries to degrade. One single water bottle will remain on the planet in some form for a minimum of 450 years. Governments must focus on stopping its production entirely. The impact of climate change is largely irreversible, but not unstoppable.