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Grand Canyon as old as the dinosaurs: Study

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 30 November 2012 | 22.33

CHICAGO: People can be startled at the depth of the Grand Canyon. Now, scientists say dinosaurs may have been, too -- the mighty gouge in the earth is that old.

Scientists have long argued over the age of the multicolored canyon, which is over a mile deep (nearly two kilometers) as many as 18 miles wide (29 kilometers) and 280 miles long (450 kilometers.)

Most believe it was carved out about five or six million years ago, based on the age of gravel washed downstream by the ancestral Colorado River.

But new dating methods which harness the radioactive decay of uranium showed it is far, far older, according to a study published Thursday in the journal Science.

"Our research implies that the Grand Canyon was directly carved to within a few hundred meters of its modern depth by about 70 million years ago," said co-author Rebecca Flowers of the University of Colorado Boulder.

Researchers believe the canyon was likely carved at different times and paces.

Flowers and her colleagues has previously shown that parts of the eastern section of the Grand Canyon likely developed about 55 million years ago and have subsequently eroded much further.

This latest study examines mineral grains from the bottom of the western part of the canyon.

"An ancient Grand Canyon has important implications for understanding the evolution of landscapes, topography, hydrology and tectonics in the western US and in mountain belts more generally," Flowers said in a statement.


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Giving new life to vultures to restore a human ritual of death

MUMBAI: Fifteen years after vultures disappeared from Mumbai's skies, the Parsi community here intends to build two aviaries at one of its most sacred sites so that the giant scavengers can once again devour human corpses.

Construction is scheduled to begin as soon as April, said Dinshaw Rus Mehta, chairman of the Bombay Parsi Punchayet. If all goes as planned, he said, vultures may again consume the Parsi dead by January 2014.

"Without the vultures, more and more Parsis are choosing to be cremated," Mr. Mehta said. "I have to bring back the vultures so the system is working again, especially during the monsoon."

The plan is the result of six years of negotiations between Parsi leaders and the Indian government to revive a centuries-old practice that seeks to protect the ancient elements — air, earth, fire and water — from being polluted by either burial or cremation. And along the way, both sides hope the effort will contribute to the revival of two species of vulture that are nearing extinction. The government would provide the initial population of birds.

The cost of building the aviaries and maintaining the vultures is estimated at $5 million spread over 15 years, much less expensive than it would have been without the ready supply of food.

"Most vulture aviaries have to spend huge sums to buy meat, but for us that's free because the vultures will be feeding on human bodies — on us," Mr. Mehta said.

Like the vultures on which they once relied, Parsis are disappearing. Their religion, Zoroastrianism, once dominated Iran but was largely displaced by Islam. In the 10th century, a large group of Zoroastrians fled persecution in Iran and settled in India. Fewer than 70,000 remain, most of them concentrated in Mumbai, formerly known as Bombay, where they collectively own prime real estate that was purchased centuries ago.

Among the most valuable of these holdings are 54 acres of trees and winding pathways on Malabar Hill, one of Mumbai's most exclusive neighborhoods. Tucked into these acres are three Towers of Silence where Parsis have for centuries disposed of their dead.

The stone towers are open-air auditoriums containing three concentric rings of marble slabs — an outer ring for dead men, middle ring for deceased women and inner ring for dead children. For centuries, bodies left on the slabs were consumed within hours by neighborhood vultures, with the bones left in a central catchment to leach into the soil.

Modernity has impinged on this ancient practice in many ways. That includes the construction of nearby skyscrapers where non-Parsis could watch the grisly scenes unfold. But by far the greatest threat has been the ecological disaster visited in recent years on vultures.

India once had as many as 400 million vultures, a vast population that thrived because the nation has one of the largest livestock populations in the world but forbids cattle slaughter. When cows died, they were immediately set upon by flocks of vultures that left behind skin for leather merchants and bones for bone collectors. As recently as the 1980s, even the smallest villages often had thousands of vulture residents.

But then came diclofenac, a common painkiller widely used in hospitals to lessen the pain of the dying. Marketed under names like Voltaren, it is similar to the medicines found in Advil and Aleve; in 1993 its use in India was approved in cattle. Soon after, vultures began dying in huge numbers because the drug causes them to suffer irreversible kidney failure.

Diclofenac's veterinarian use has since been banned, which may finally be having an effect. A recent study found that for the first time since the drug's introduction, India's vulture population did not decline over the past year.

Still, the numbers for three species have shrunk to only a few thousand, a tiny fraction of their former levels. With so few vultures left, the Parsi community set up mirrors around the Towers of Silence to create something akin to solar ovens to accelerate decomposition. But the mirrors are ineffective during monsoon months. So an increasing number of Parsis are opting for cremation, a practice many Parsi priests believe is an abomination since fire is sacred and corpses unclean.

Desperate to maintain one of their most important rituals, Parsi leaders have created detailed plans to build the aviaries near the Towers of Silence, each housing 76 vultures. Parsi leaders say they are waiting for formal approval from community members, doctors and priests before beginning construction, approvals they expect to receive over the next several weeks.

But Homi B. Dhalla, president of the World Zarathushti Cultural Foundation, has promised to fight the plans. He helped to develop the tower solar collectors and said they were working well. And he is worried that once the government provides vultures for Parsi aviaries, bureaucrats will try to seize the land.

"Why endanger our property?" Dr. Dhalla asked. "Who is going to fight the government?"

Another concern is whether Parsis can be persuaded to stop using diclofenac. Nearly all of the roughly 800 bodies brought annually to the towers come from two Parsi hospitals, and doctors and family would have to certify that the deceased had not been given diclofenac in the three days before death. There is no simple test to detect the drug, and if vultures in the aviaries die from diclofenac poisoning after eating Parsi corpses the government has promised to end the effort.

Parsi medical leaders were cautious in their comments about the vulture program. "As a hospital," said Dr. SK Dhingra, superintendent of BD Petit Parsee General Hospital, "we cannot tell our patients, 'You can do this, or you can do that.'"

Khurshed Dastoor, one of five Parsi high priests, said that he was not sure members would adhere to a diclofenac ban.

"For 10 years, I have been trying to educate the community to turn off their cellphones before they go inside our most sacred fire temples, and I have failed," he said. "And now we think the community will give up diclofenac in a couple of months?"

Other Parsi leaders, however, said they were pushing ahead because of the importance of restoring the tradition.

"We must hope for the best," Mr. Mehta said.


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Action plan aims to minimise bear-human conflicts

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 29 November 2012 | 22.33

NEW DELHI: The National Bear Conservation and Welfare Action Plan for India focuses on ensuring stable status for all bear species and minimising bear-human conflicts through conservation efforts.

Launched last week by minister of environment and forests Jayanthi Natarajan, the plan aims to build a "green lawyer network" and to ban bear hunting in northeastern states using local communities from 2013 onwards. A separate section on the management of bear-human conflicts aims to create wildlife rapid action and rescue teams at district levels between 2013 and 2016, and even a "non-lapsable corpus fund" to meet plastic surgery costs for victims of bear attacks.

The national action plan had been in the making for over the last one year, and compiles 26 state action plans under it. "All the conservation requirements will be covered in the state action plans. Time-bound activities will be chalked out later. Currently the national action plan has to be synchronized with state action or local management plans," says Dr S K Khanduri, Khanduri Inspector General of Forests (Wildlife), MoEF.

Vivek Menon of the Wildlife Trust of India, one of the NGOs that contributed to the plan, says that costing of plans have to be forwarded by the states to the center. "What is listed under the national action plan is very broad. States will develop action plans with details of costs," he says.


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US rubbishes principle of atmospheric space sharing with other countries

DOHA: US chief negotiator Jonathan Pershing rubbished the principle of sharing the atmospheric space with other countries in a closed door meeting of which TOI accessed a secretly done recording.

The principle is fundamental demand of India which requires the carbon space in the atmosphere for its economic growth. Currently the developed world occupies roughly 70% of the atmospheric space and unless countries like the US vacate it partially by reducing their emissions, poor countries would not be able to up their growth levels without tipping the climate change into an irreversible and extreme level.

Pershing was speaking off the record to a group of international NGOs in a closed door meeting at Doha when he ripped into the principle of equity that underlies the sharing of atmospheric space. His reason: he said that he could not sell the idea to his domestic audience therefore the world would need a compromise between what is needed and what US can sell back home politically.

Pershing said, "It's a vision you can say that the atmosphere can take an X quantity of coal emissions and therefore what you do is you divide that number into percentages. The obligation it states is that you (the US) would have to reduce its emissions down to negative 37 per cent (below 1990 levels) . And the obligation of China will be a tiny bit, but India can still grow quite a lot. The politics of that quite frankly really don't work. I can't really sell that to the US Congress."

Suggesting that the US prefered to decide back home how much it was willing to do and just pledge that and not look at what is required as per science, he said, "One way to think about it is what could you deliver. You say what you are going to do and you will be held to that. So how do you marry the reality of what you are doing with the reality of what is needed. To me, it's going to be a hybrid. It's going to be something between those two."

Unlike the Kyoto Protocol approach where the UN convention first decides how much reduction is required and then apportions the burden, Pershing suggested, in what is not a new US position, that each country decide independently what it wants to do and just bring it to the global table.

Reiterating that US domestic political situation was paramount, he added, "Because if we can't take it home and sell it at home, in whatever political economy we are living in, we won't do it."


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Anamalai Tiger Reserve reopens for tourism

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 28 November 2012 | 22.33

COIMBATORE: After four months of indecisiveness, Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR) was reopened for 'regulated and low impact tourism' on Tuesday facilitating entry for nature lovers to key attractions like Topslip, Monkey Falls, Chinnakallar Falls, Nallamudi View Point and Meenparai. Lifting of the ban on tourism in ATR also facilitates entry of visitors to Kerala's famous Parambikulam Tiger Reserve, which is accessible only through Top Slip.

Tourists can also access Chinnar Water Falls and Panchalinga Aruvi at Thirumoorthy, given that the ban has been revoked. Two forest guest houses located in Sheikalmudi and Sethumadai can also be accessed as the ATR has started implementing fresh guidelines on tourism approved by the Supreme Court.

"The Supreme Court has permitted tourism in 20 percent of the core area. In our case, we are just using about six percent of the core area for tourism,'' said the ATR field director Rajiv Srivastava. However, the elephant safari at Top Slip has been discontinued as all the elephants are at the Kozhikamuthi rejuvenation camp.

In Topslip, nature lovers can enjoy a 17 km vehicle safari conducted by the forest department. Bookings can be made on the spot at Topslip and advance bookings can be made at the forest office in Pollachi. Three trekking routes have also been resumed at Pandaravara, Manampally and Aliyar. In Top Slip, two dormitories are available with 30 beds. In addition, there are 18 guest houses in tourism permitted areas of ATR. At Monkey Falls, located close to Valparai Road, the department is planning special parking facilities and basic amenities.

With the opening of Chinnakallar Falls and Nallamudi View Point, visitors to Valaparai can have access to all its major attractions. Travel operators and home stay providers in Valparai had waged a long legal battle to have both locations exempted from the tourism ban.

"We are in the process of ensuring active involvement of traditional forest dwellers in tourism activities. We will ensure community participation in all tourism-related activities and ensure that the benefits of eco-tourism reach the various aborigine communities that live in the periphery of the reserve,'' said Rajiv Srivastava. In ATR, About 40 tribal youths have already been trained in hospitality management and dealing with visitors. Anamalai is set to follow the Parambikulam model of involving tribals in tourism. "Only sustainable, equitable and community-based efforts which will improve the living standards of local, host communities lon the fringes of reserves will be allowed," he added.


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Brazil deforestation hits record low

BRASILIA: Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon rainforest has dropped to its lowest level in 24 years, the government said on Tuesday.

Satellite imagery showed that 1,798 square miles (4,656 square kilometers) of the Amazon were deforested between August 2011 and July 2012, Environment Minister Izabella Teixeira said a news conference. That's 27 percent less than the 2,478 square miles (6,418 square kilometers) deforested a year earlier. The margin of error is 10 percentage points.

Brazil's National Institute for Space Research said the deforestation level is the lowest since it started measuring the destruction of the rainforest in 1988.

Sixty-three percent of the rainforest's 2.4 million square miles (6.1 million square kilometers) are in Brazil.

The space institute said that the latest figures show that Brazil is close to its 2020 target of reducing deforestation by 80 percent from 1990 levels. Through July 2012 deforestation dropped by 76.26 percent.

George Pinto a director of Ibama, Brazil's environmental protection agency, told reporters that better enforcement of environmental laws and improved surveillance technology are behind the drop in deforestation levels.

Pinto said that in the 12-month period a total of 2,000 square meters of illegally felled timber were seized by government agents. The impounded lumber is sold in auctions and the money obtained is invested in environmental preservation programs. Environment Minister Teixeira said that starting next year Brazil will start using satellite monitoring technology to detect illegal logging and slash-and-burn activity and issue fines.

"Over the past several years Brazil has made a huge effort to contain deforestation and the latest figures testify to its success,'' said Adalberto Verissimo, a senior researcher at Imazon, an environmental watchdog agency. "The deforestation figures are extremely positive, for they point to a consistent downward trend.''

"The numbers disprove the argument that deforestation is necessary for the country's economy to grow, he said by telephone from his office in the Amazon city of Belem.'' Deforestation has been dropping steadily for the past four years while the economy has grown,'' he said

"But the war is far from over. We still have a lot of battles to fight and win.''

For Marcio Astrini, Greenpeace coordinator in the Amazon region, said the lower figures show that reducing deforestation is perfectly possible, but he added that "the numbers are still too high for a country that does not have to destroy one single hectare in order to develop.''


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Humans driving blue whales into Antarctica?

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 27 November 2012 | 22.33

SYDNEY: Whaling activities are driving large numbers of the Australian blue whales into Antarctica, currently on the endangered list, shows a study.

"Our genetic data unexpectedly found a higher proportion of pygmy blue whales in the Antarctic than the whaling catch data," said Catherine Attard, study co-author and doctoral candidate at Macquarie University, who is researching blue whale genetics with Flinders University.

"Our genetic analyses are based on samples collected since 1990. Previous analyses are based on non-genetic, biological data from historical whaling records, which span from 1913 to 1973," Attard was quoted as saying in the journal Molecular Ecology.

"This suggests either that climate change has recently pushed Australian whales to colder climates, or that decreases in population size from historical whaling has changed the ecology of the subspecies," said Luciana Moller of the School of Biological Sciences at Flinders University.

"Impacts from climate change or whaling are corroborated by our other genetics analyses that examine evolutionary, rather than recent, timescales," said Luciano Beheregaray, professor at Flinders.

For example, future monitoring of population numbers should now consider that not all blue whales in the Antarctic are Antarctic blue whales.


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Tropical lizard species adapts to cooler clime

WASHINGTON: A tropical lizard species native to Puerto Rico has adapted to the cooler winters of Miami, suggesting its ability to survive climate change.

"We are not saying that climate change is not a problem for lizards. It is a major problem. However, these findings indicate that the thermal physiology of tropical lizards is more easily altered than previously proposed," said Duke University biologist Manuel Leal, the co-author of the study.

Scientists previously proposed that because lizards were cold-blooded, they wouldn't be able to tolerate or adapt to cooler temperatures, the journal The American Naturalist reports.

Leal and his graduate student Alex Gunderson captured anolis cristatellus from Miami's Pinecrest area and also from northeastern Puerto Rico. They brought the animals back to their North Carolina lab, slid a thermometer in each lizard's cloaca and chilled the air to a series of cooler temperatures, according to a Duke statement.

The scientists then watched how easy it was for the lizards to right themselves after they had been flipped on their backs. These lizards flipped themselves over in temperatures that were three degrees Celsius cooler than the lizards from Puerto Rico.

Animals that flip over at lower temperatures have higher tolerances for cold temperatures, which is likely advantageous when air temperatures drop, Leal said.

Leal explained that a difference of three degrees Celsius is "relatively large and when we take into account that it has occurred in approximately 35 generations, it is even more impressive".

Most evolutionary change happens on the time scale of a few hundred, thousands or millions of years. Thirty-five years is a time scale that happens during a human lifetime, so we can witness this evolutionary change, he said.


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UN climate talks open in Qatar

Written By Unknown on Senin, 26 November 2012 | 22.33

DOHA, Qatar: UN talks on a new climate pact resumed Monday in oil and gas-rich Qatar, where negotiators from nearly 200 countries will discuss fighting global warming and helping poor nations adapt to it.

The two-decade-old talks have not fulfilled their main purpose: reducing the greenhouse gas emissions that scientists say are warming the planet.

Attempts to create a new climate treaty failed in Copenhagen three years ago but countries agreed last year to try again, giving themselves a deadline of 2015 to adopt a new treaty.

A host of issues need to be resolved by then, including how to spread the burden of emissions cuts between rich and poor countries. That's unlikely to be decided in the two-week talks in the Qatari capital of Doha, where negotiators will focus on extending the Kyoto Protocol, an emissions deal for industrialized countries, and trying to raise billions of dollars to help developing countries adapt to a shifting climate.

"We all realize why we are here, why we keep coming back year and after year," said South Africa Foreign Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, who led last year's talks in Durban, South Africa. "We owe it to our people, the global citizenry. We owe it to our children to give them a safer future than what they are currently facing."

The UN process is often criticized, even ridiculed, both by climate activists who say the talks are too slow, and by those who challenge the scientific near-consensus that the global temperature rise is at least partly caused by human activity, primarily the burning of fossil fuels like coal and oil.

The concentration of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide has jumped 20 percent since 2000, according to a U.N. report released last week. The report also showed that there is a growig gap between what governments are doing to curb emissions and what needs to be done to protect the world from potentially dangerous levels of warming.

The goal of the U.N. talks is to keep the global temperature rise under 2 degrees C (3.6 F), compared to pre-industrial times.

But efforts taken so far to rein in emissions, reduce deforestation and promote clean technology are not getting the job done. A recent projection by the World Bank showed temperatures are expected to increase by up to 4 degrees C (7.2 F) by 2100.

"Climate change is no longer some distant threat for the future, but is with us today," said Greenpeace climate campaigner Martin Kaiser, who was also at the Doha talks. "At the end of a year that has seen the impacts of climate change devastate homes and families around the world, the need for action is obvious and urgent."

Dangerous warming effects could include flooding of coastal cities and island nations, disruptions to agriculture and drinking water, the spread of diseases and the extinction of species.

Many scientists also say that extreme weather events, such as Hurricane Sandy's onslaught on the U.S. East Coast, will become more frequent as the Earth warms, although it is impossible to attribute any individual event to climate change.

The Kyoto Protocol, adopted in 1997, is the most important climate agreement reached in the U.N. process so far. It expires this year, so negotiators in Doha will try to extend it as a stopgap measure until a wider deal can be reached.

The problem is that only the European Union and a handful of other countries - that together are behind less than 15 percent of global emissions - are willing to put down emissions targets for a second commitment period of Kyoto.

The U.S. rejected Kyoto because it didn't impose any binding commitments on major developing countries such as India and China, which is now the world's No. 1 carbon emitter. The U.S. and other Western countries insist that the firewall in the climate talks between developing and developed countries must be removed so that the new treaty can apply to all nations.

China and other developing countries want to maintain a clear division, saying climate change is mainly a legacy of Western industrialization and that their own emissions must be allowed to grow as their economies expand, lifting millions of people out of poverty.

That discord scuttled attempts to forge a climate deal in Copenhagen in 2009 and risks a relapse in Doha as talks begin on a new global deal that is supposed to be adopted in 2015 and implemented in 2020.

The rich-poor divide is also deepened by arguments over climate aid meant to help developing countries convert to cleaner energy sources and adapt their infrastructure to rising sea levels and other effects of global warming.


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Emperor penguins need sea ice to rest on

TOKYO: Researchers tracking the behaviour of emperor penguins have found fresh reason to be worried about global warming -- emperor penguins want sea ice to rest as they forage.

Research by Shinichi Watanabe of Fukuyama University, Japan and colleagues, described the foraging behaviour of the emperor penguins, and tracked the birds during the chick-rearing season.

Unlike other species like Adelie penguins, emperor penguins spent much more time diving for food, and only used about 30 percent of their time at sea to take short breaks to rest on sea ice, the journal Public Library of Science ONE reports.

The birds did not travel for long distances on the ice, or use it for other activities.

The study also suggests that these short rest periods on ice help the penguins avoid predators such as leopard seal, according to a Fukuyama statement.

Though sea ice conditions are known to affect penguin populations, the relationship between ice levels and penguins' foraging has been unclear because of the difficulties of tracking the birds at sea.


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Bihar govt devises policy to encourage use of solar energy

Written By Unknown on Minggu, 25 November 2012 | 22.33

PATNA: Suffering huge power shortage, the Bihar government has devised a policy to encourage the use of solar energy in the state that would provide tax incentives for installing such plants on wastelands.

The state government has done a survey which revealed that there is a tremendous scope for development of solar energy, energy minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav said.

Accordingly, the state government has devised a solar energy promotion policy to popularise solar energy.

As part of this policy, the state government has decided to exempt registration and entry taxes on installation of solar energy plants on wastelands, Yadav said.

Proposals for generation of 250 MW through various solar power projects have been sent to the state Cabinet for approval, he said.

In a bid to popularise the solar energy among people, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has got installed solar power system at his official residence.

Companies engaged in sale of solar energy equipments estimate that the market for solar equipments in the state is worth more than Rs 40 crore and it is expected to grow further in future.

According to an International organisation 'WISE' (World Institute of Sustainable Energy) engaged in mapping prospects for production of solar energy, Bihar comes in the moderate solar radiation zone of the country.

Bihar witnesses 280 days of sunshine which reflects tremendous scope for developing solar energy market, WISE said.

Sanzar Ajmi, senior executive of a leading solar energy company Tata Power Solar, involved in the business in the state for the past eight years, said usage of solar equipments are moving from rural areas to urban areas of the state.

"The solar power equipments market is roughly witnessing around 15 per cent growth in the state every year," he said.

According to Bhupendra Roy, senior manager of ALPEX Solar, which exports solar equipments and photovoltaic cell based solar plate, there is sale of solar instruments worth Rs 3-4 crore every year in the state.

He said the company manufacture solar power system ranging fro 3 KW to 10 KW.

Roy said the company has installed solar power system to generate 22 MW of electricity at headquarters of East Central Railway (ECR) at Hajipur. Besides, solar power system of 25 MW potential would be installed at Samastipur Railway division soon.


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International conference on bear conservation begins from Monday in Delhi

NEW DELHI: Wildlife experts from several countries will assemble here tomorrow to discuss the opportunities and challenges of conservation of bears.

The International Conference on Bear Research and Management (IBA), being held for the first time in India, is the largest conference focused on conservation and research of all eight bear species found in the world.

The conference is held alternately in the Americas and Eurasia on an 18-month rotation.

Officials said bear experts from 35 countries will present their latest research findings on the animal at the conference being hosted by the Union Environment Ministry in collaboration with the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Central Zoo Authority and Wildlife Trust of India (WTI).

The conference will provide opportunities to share learnings and build collaborations for conservation and welfare of all species of bears found worldwide, they said.

"India is unique in having four of the eight species of bears in the world," said S Sathyakumar, scientist, WII.

"With this conference, a new chapter has been initiated in Indian wildlife conservation. Not just are we hosting an international conference on bears for the first time in south Asia, this also brings a much-needed action plan and focus for similar other species in addition to our popular flagships," he said.

About 180 research papers will be presented during the five-day conference.

The participants include 350-400 persons including members of the International Association for Bear Research and Management, IUCN-SSC Bear Specialist Group, bear experts, field researchers, students and managers of bear populations and habitats.

"There is so much research being done on bears across the world. The IBA conferences provide a platform for the researchers to share their findings, so that these can be put into use to save bears," said Vivek Menon, Executive Director, WTI.


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Kolar should not become nuclear dumpyard: Activists

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 24 November 2012 | 22.33

CHENNAI: People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE) Friday said dumping spent nuclear fuel in Kolar gold mines could lead to disastrous health consequences.

"When all the national roads transport deadly nuclear cargo to Kolar (Kolar gold mines), millions and millions of our people in Karnataka, Andhra (Pradesh) and Tamil Nadu will be exposed to all kinds of threats and dangers. Nuclear waste management is much more expensive and dangerous than nuclear power plants and even most developed countries such as the United States and Germany are not able to handle the waste effectively," PMANE said in a statement.

"The Indian government should not go against the anti-nuclear trend of the world to promote the interests of the United States, Russia and France and expose the people of our country to nuclear dangers in Kudankulam, or Kolar or anywhere else," the statement said.

According to the PMANE, the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) had not shared any basic information on storing the spent fuel of Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KNPP) at Kolar in Karnataka.

"The ad-hoc nature of the DAE's decision-making and the short shrift given to science and public opinion are so glaring and, in fact, very disturbing," PMANE said.


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Climate talks resume in Doha from Monday amid warnings of looming calamity

PARIS: Nearly 200 nations gather in Doha from Monday for a new round of climate talks as a rush of reports warn extreme weather events like superstorm Sandy may become commonplace if mitigation efforts fail.

Negotiators will converge in the Qatari capital for two weeks under the UN banner to review commitments to cutting climate-altering greenhouse gas emissions.

Ramping up the pressure, expert reports warned in recent days that existing mitigation pledges are not nearly enough to limit warming to a manageable 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 deg Fahrenheit) from pre-industrial levels.

"A faster response to climate change is necessary and possible," UN climate chief Christiana Figueres said ahead of the talks.

"Doha must make sure the response is accelerated."

The UN Environmental Programme said this week the goal of keeping planet warming in check has moved further out of reach and the world was headed for an average 3-5 deg C temperature rise this century barring urgent action.

And the World Bank said a planet that is four degrees warmer would see coastal areas inundated and small islands washed away, food production slashed, species eradicated, more frequent heat waves and high-intensity cyclones, and diseases spread to new areas.

"Time is clearly not on our side," Marlene Moses, chairwoman of the Alliance of Small Island States told AFP.

Topping the agenda in Doha is the launch of a followup commitment period for the Kyoto Protocol, the world's only binding pact for curbing greenhouse gas emissions.

Delegates must also set out a work plan for arriving in the next 36 months at a new, global climate deal that must enter into force by 2020.

Negotiators will be under pressure to raise pre-2020 emission reduction targets, and rich nations to come up with funding for the developing world's mitigation actions.

The planet has witnessed record-breaking temperatures in the past decade and frequent natural disasters that some blame on climate change -- recently superstorm Sandy which ravaged Haiti and the US east coast.

Yet countries disagree on several issues, including the duration of a "second commitment period" for the Kyoto Protocol, which binds about 40 rich nations and the EU to an average five percent greenhouse gas reduction from 1990-levels.

That commitment runs out on December 31.

The EU, Australia and some small Kyoto parties have said they would take on commitments in a followup period, but New Zealand, Canada, Japan and Russia will not.

Small island countries under the most imminent threat of warming-induced sea level rises, demand a five-year followup period, believing this will better reflect the urgency.

The EU and others want an eight-year period flowing over into the 2020 deal.

Poor countries also want rich states to raise their pledges to curb warming gases, including the EU from 20 from 30 percent.

"The biggest historical emitters have a responsibility to do more, much more, than they have to date," said Moses.

The developed world has already agreed to boost funding for the developing world's climate plans to a level of $100 billion a year from 2020 -- up from a total $30 billion over the period 2010-2012.

But no numbers have been decided for the interim, nor is it clear where the new money will come from.

"If no agreement is achieved in Doha, we will enter 2013... with no support to help many developing coutries in reducing their emissions," said Wael Hmaidan, director of the NGO Climate Action Network.f

Delegates will be joined by more than 100 government ministers for the final four days of talks, notorious for dragging out way past their programmed close as negotiators hold out to the last in a poker-like standoff.

"Doha... will send important signals about whether the world can still manage to keep warming within tolerable limits, or if we are headed for severe climate chaos," said Kelly Rigg, executive director of the Global Campaign for Climate Actions.


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Cabinet nod for tough stand at Doha climate meet

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 23 November 2012 | 22.33

NEW DELHI: India won't enhance its pledge of reducing emissions intensity of its economy at the Doha round of climate talks, which will be held between November 26 and December 7.

The Cabinet on Thursday cleared the red-lines for Union environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan and her team of negotiators for the UN talks.

With the European Union (EU) shifting the goal post yet again for ratifying the Kyoto Protocol's second phase (KP2), which is to start next year, the Cabinet approved the environment ministry's proposal as endorsed by the external affairs ministry to push for operationlizing the protocol that puts binding targets on developed countries to cut their greenhouse gas emissions.

Last year at Durban talks the EU had agreed to operationlize the Kyoto Protocol as a trade-off against the start of talks for a new post-2020 global climate regime. But this year, it shifted the goalpost again, and instead demanded that emerging countries first agree to a framework for the new regime before it kick-starts KP2.

In the closed door talks as a run-up to Doha round of negotiations, the EU had expressed its inability to even make a provisional ratification of the protocol in time.

Natarajan briefed the Cabinet about the state of play within the UN climate talks, and also explained how the developed world was attempting to make the poor countries pay twice for the same bargain.

Sources at the meeting said she was supported by Union communications and information technology minister Kapil Sibal and the finance minister P Chidambaram. Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia suggested a flexible negotiating strategy, but the concern was settled in Natarajan's favour, thanks to PM Manmohan Singh's seal of approval.

The Cabinet has also decided that any new obligation to reduce emissions through 'supplementary actions' should only be undertaken in adherence to the existing UN climate conventions and on availability of funds and technologies.

Now, the Cabinet has empowered Natarajan to secure an unconditional operationalizing of KP2 without conceding to more issues of national importance.

The government has reiterated the earlier stand that equity, IPR and unilateral trade actions remain firmly embedded in the talks even as negotiations move on to shaping the post-2020 regime and close the other parallel tracks - Ad Hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action under the Convention (AWG-LCA)

India is expected to work closely with the G77 plus China group, the BASIC formation and the new configuration called the Like Minded Developing Countries - a forum of 15-20 stronger developing economies.


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Massive deforestation threatens to turn Somalia into desert

JALELO: Hassan Hussein cuts down 40 trees every month to fuel his charcoal business, fully aware of the impact his action has on the environment.

But for the livestock keeper, the forests are the last remaining resource. And he is not alone.

Hundreds of thousands of Somalia's traditional pastoralist herders do the same, putting their impoverished country on a path of heavy deforestation that risks turning large swathes of it into desert.

"I used to keep animals, but I lost my herd to famine and disease and am the eldest in the family," said Hussein, 27, adding that he had 10 mouths to feed back home -- two children, seven brothers and his mother.

Four years ago, Hussein had 25 camels and 300 goats. Now, only three camels and 15 goats from his once respectable sized herd are left.

Every morning, with an axe slumped over his shoulder, he sets off in search of wood for charcoal.

Once he locates and cuts down a tree, it takes two days of burning, and two more days of cooling the smouldering heaps before he can sell the charcoal, at six dollars (five euros) for a 20 kilogramme sack.

The village of Jaleo, in the northern self-declared state of Somaliland, once prided itself on being at the heart of the savannah.

British explorer Harald Swayne recounted, in his 19th century memoirs, the adventures he had while tracking and hunting "a large herd of elephants."

But the last elephant was killed in 1958, and were Swayne to retake his journey today, he would only find the smallest of game in a rocky landscape dotted with shrubs and charred tree stumps.

"Twenty percent of the forest has disappeared in the last ten years -- definitely this country is turning into a desert," Ahmed Derie Elmi, director of forests in Somaliland's environment ministry, told AFP.

"If the deforestation continues at this pace, this country will be a desert in two or three decades," said Ahmed Ibrahim Awale of the Candlelight organisation, which tackles environmental and health issues in Somaliland.

Charcoal burning has not always been preferred in Jalelo.

Three years ago an outbreak of Rift Valley Fever in the Horn of Africa forced Gulf states to suspend importation of animals or animal products from the region, forcing the herders to look for alternative sources of income.

But it is urbanisation and a population explosion that are the biggest threats to the country's environmental well-being.

Somaliland's capital Hargeisa has a population of 850,000 people, six times its population in the 1970s, which consumes approximately 250 tonnes of charcoal daily.

Elmi says that charcoal is the main source of energy, as electricity is rare and expensive for many.

The rampant deforestation is not unique to Somaliland. In southern Somalia, Al Qaeda-linked Shebab insurgents turned charcoal burning and exportation into one of their major sources of income.

In a report, the UN monitoring group on Somalia and Eritrea says the Islamist group made up to 25 million dollars every year from charcoal trade.

Several regions of southern Somalia were declared famine zones by the United Nations last year, with the deforestation contributing to an extreme drought.

In a bid to put an end to rampant deforestation, Somalia's newly elected President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud in one of his first official duties banned all exportation of charcoal, in line with a UN embargo in February.

However, much more than a UN declaration and a presidential decree are needed to bring the deforestation to an end.

"The underlying causes of poverty and the general decline of the size of livestock herds have to be addressed," said Awale.

Alternative sources of energy must be harnessed to cater for the population, massive reforestation campaigns need to be initiated and some of the pastoralists need to switch to agriculture.

In a country where the government faces numerous challenges, environmental matters are not a priority.

"The Ministry of Environment has the smallest budgetary allocation that only covers the salaries of 187 employees," said Elmi.

"All the mature trees have disappeared.... In the past one could get six or seven 25 kilogramme sacks of charcoal from a tree. Today, maybe one or two," Awale said.

As a consequence, charcoal prices in Somaliland have doubled in the past four years, to 10 dollars a sack.

"Each time I cut down a tree, I am left with a bitter taste in my mouth," Hussein said. "The future is bleak.... All the trees will have disappeared."


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Australia approves plan to save vital river system

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 22 November 2012 | 22.33

SYDNEY: Australia approved an "historic" plan on Thursday to save an ailing river system vital to the nation's food bowl by returning the equivalent of five Sydney Harbour's worth of water to the network each year.

Environment minister Tony Burke said he signed into law the final draft of a water reform plan for the Murray-Darling Basin, a river network sprawling for one million square kilometres (400,000 square miles) across five Australian states.

The scheme will see 2,750 gigalitres of water, equivalent to five Sydney Harbours, returned annually as environmental flows to the system -- short of the 4,000 gigalitres sought by conservationists but more than wanted by farmers.

Burke said the figure could reach 3,200 gigalitres with infrastructure improvements to which the government had committed Aus$1.77 billion (US$1.83 billion).

Two million tonnes of salt -- enough to fill the Melbourne Cricket Ground -- would also be flushed out every year under the plan, which he described as "historic".

"The foundation and reason for the reform is unequivocally and unapologetically to restore the system to health," Burke told reporters

"Consistent over-allocation and mismanagement (have) seriously degraded the health of the system."

The rivers and their basin stretch thousands of kilometres from Queensland state to South Australia and cross various climates, affecting the livelihood of millions of people, but it has been over-exploited for years.

It has also been seriously depleted by years of drought while suffering from increased salt concentrations due in part to low rainfall.

Burke said the system had been existing in a state of drought even before the last El Nino weather event triggered a crippling 10-year dry spell that devastated farming communities across southeastern Australia.

"By the time the last drought hit, the basin's ecosystems had essentially been living in drought conditions and had no resilience to cope," he said.

The government has been torn between irrigators and farmers in the key food-growing area who have urged against removing too much water from industry, and environmental groups who argue the basin needs a huge boost.

Burke said the government had done "everything we can to minimise the impact on communities short of saying we will make a compromise on the health of the system".

"There will be more magnificent waterbirds and native fish, and people will be able to visit river tourist locations to experience the stunning natural ecosystems of the basin," he said.


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China opposes European Union's carbon emission tax

BEIJING: China has opposed the European Union's emissions trading scheme, which seeks to tax non-EU international airlines for carbon emissions.

However, it clarified that Beijing is willing to seek a solution to the carbon emission issue through multilateral mechanisms, the China Daily reported Thursday.

The ETS goes against international conventions and rules, and is thus opposed by most non-EU countries, Xie Zhenhua, deputy head of the national development and reform commission, said at a press conference here Wednesday.

The ETS system requires all airlines flying in EU airspace to pay a tax on 15 percent of their total carbon emissions for 2012, a move that has triggered global opposition.


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Targets for limiting global warming further out of reach: UN

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 21 November 2012 | 22.33

PARIS: The gap has widened between countries' pledges for reducing climate-altering greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 and what is needed to keep planet warming in check, the UN warned on Wednesday.

Based on current pledges, global average temperatures could rise by three to five degrees Celsius (5.4 to 9.0 degrees Fahrenheit) this century -- way above the two degree Celsius being targeted, said a UN Environment Programme (UNEP) report.

Urgent and decisive action could still see the world get back on track, but this would mean cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 14 percent to about 44 billion tonnes in 2020 from an estimated 50.1 billion tonnes per year now.

"If no swift is taken by nations, emissions are likely to be at 58 gigatonnes (billion tonnes) in eight years' time," said a statement on the report compiled by 55 scientists from more than 20 countries.

"The opportunity for meeting the 44 Gt (gigatonne) target is narrowing annually," added UNEP executive director Achim Steiner.

Even if all countries adhered to the most ambitious level of their commitments, under the strictest rules, the gap between what has been pledged and what is needed will amount to at least 8.0 billion tonnes by 2020.

"This is 2 Gt higher than last year's assessment, with yet another year passing by," the statement said.

The agency said the concentration of warming gases like carbon dioxide (Co2) in the atmosphere had increased by 20 percent since 2000, picking up recently after a slump during the economic downturn of 2008-9.

And several countries have adjusted their non-binding reduction pledges, made under the Copenhagen Accord in 2009 -- lowering their ambition in most cases, UNEP officials said.

The report, the agency's third on the topic, comes just days before the opening of UN climate talks in Doha, Qatar that will discuss an agenda for work to adopt a global pact by 2015 to enter into force by 2020.

"The sooner countries will do what they promised, the better the situation will be. But even if they do all the things they promised to do, it's still not enough if you want to stay on the path to the two degrees," UNEP expert John Christensen said.


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PETA wins award for its work to stop cosmetics testing on animals

MUMBAI: Lush Cosmetics has announced the winners of the first-ever global Lush Prize to help bring an end to animal testing and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India is one of the winners for its work with Indian regulators to ban cosmetics testing on animals.

Lush granted PETA the prize of 5,000 British pounds in the Lobbying category. That's because PETA has worked to modernize product testing by working with the Bureau of Indian Standards and persuading its relevant committees to accept non-animal methods approved by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in place of animal tests, including a non-animal skin-sensitisation test. The organization was also recognized for its efforts to encourage the Indian Ministry of Health & Family Welfare to consider a complete ban on cosmetics testing on animals.

PETA India is grateful to Lush for supporting us in our efforts to bring painful and unreliable cosmetics testing on animals to an end,'' said PETA India's science policy adviser, Dr Chaitanya Koduri. Not only blinding and injuring rabbits and other animals to test lipstick and mascara in the 21st century cruel it's also bad science,'' he added.

The EU's phased ban on the testing of cosmetics and their ingredients on animals is scheduled to take full effect in 2013. PETA is calling on the Indian government to base its ban on the EU model. PETA's call for an end to cosmetics tests on animals has also gained support from the Indian Council of Medical Research. More than 1,000 companies around the world have banned all animal tests, but many still choose to subject animals to painful tests in which substances are smeared onto their skin, sprayed in their faces or forced down their throats. Because of the vast physiological differences between humans and the animals used in these tests, the results are often misleading.

None of Lush's products or ingredients are tested on animals, and vegan items (products that contain no animal-based ingredients) are conveniently marked with a bright green "V".


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'Greenland losing 200 million tonnes ice every year'

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 20 November 2012 | 22.33

WASHINGTON: Glacier-covered Greenland has had an average net loss of 200 million tonnes of ice every year since 2003, scientists who are studying the changing mass of the island using satellite data have confirmed.

The latest analysis backs up the previously reported trend without even including the last two summers of record-breaking ice melts.

"Greenland is really the place where everyone agrees that (the ice melt) is definitely accelerating with time and there is a big contribution to sea level rise," Discovery News quoted researcher Isabella Velicogna from the University of California at Irvine (UCI) as saying.

Velicogna is an expert at analyzing the same kind of data used in this most recent study: from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) which can detect mass changes on the surface of the Earth over time.

GRACE does this by detecting subtle increases and decreases in gravity, which is directly related to the mass below the two orbiting GRACE satellites.

In the latest work, Princeton University researcher Chris Harig and Frederik Simons applied a new method to analyzing the GRACE data.

They found that during 2003 and 2004, mass loss was centered along the eastern coast of Greenland. From 2005 to 2006 mass loss dropped in the northeast but rose in the southeast. Meanwhile, more mass was lost along the northwest coast, especially from 2007-2010.

"The study confirms what we already knew," Eric Rignot, an Earth Systems Science Professor at UCI and scientist at Nasa's Jet Propulsion Lab, said.

"The authors use a new decomposition, but the sources of error and corrections are essentially the same as for other studies," Rignot added.

The study has been published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.


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Two third of marine life still unknown: Study

NEW DELHI: At least two-third of the species that live in the world's oceans are completely unknown, according to latest research published last week in the journal Cell Biology. Researchers estimate that the oceans may be home to as many as one million species in all. About 226,000 of those species have so far been described. There are another 65,000 species awaiting description in specimen collections.

These details are revealed in the first comprehensive register of marine species of the world—a massive collaborative undertaking by hundreds of experts around the globe. The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is an open-access, online database (see www.marinespecies.org) created by 270 experts representing 146 institutions and 32 countries. It is now 95% complete and is continually being updated as new species are discovered.

"For the first time, we can provide a very detailed overview of species richness, partitioned among all major marine groups. It is the state of the art of what we know—and perhaps do not know—about life in the ocean," says Ward Appeltans of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission ( IOC) of UNESCO, who led the research. The findings provide a reference point for conservation efforts and estimates of extinction rates, the researchers say. They expect that the vast majority of unknown species—composed disproportionately of smaller crustaceans, molluscs, worms, and sponges—will be found this century.

Earlier estimates of ocean diversity had relied on expert polls based on extrapolations from past rates of species descriptions and other measures. Those estimates varied widely, suffering because there was no global catalog of marine species.

"Building this was not as simple as it should be, because there has not been any formal way to register species," says Mark Costello from the University of Auckland, who was part of the research team.

A particular problem is the occurrence of multiple descriptions and names for the same species—so called "synonyms," Costello says. For instance, each whale or dolphin has on average 14 different scientific names.

As those synonyms are discovered through careful examination of records and specimens, the researchers expect perhaps 40,000 "species" to be struck from the list. But such losses will probably be made up as DNA evidence reveals overlooked "cryptic" species.

While fewer species live in the ocean than on land, marine life represents much older evolutionary lineages that are fundamental to our understanding of life on Earth, Appeltans says. And, in some sense, WoRMS is only the start.

"This database provides an example of how other biologists could similarly collaborate to collectively produce an inventory of all life on Earth," Appeltans says.


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China launches third environment monitoring satellite

Written By Unknown on Senin, 19 November 2012 | 22.33

BEIJING: China on Monday sent the third satellite in its "Environment I" family into the sky, sharpening its abilities in environmental monitoring and disaster forecasting.

The launch marks the completion of a plan initiated by China in 2003 to create a small environmental monitoring satellite constellation, according to north China's Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center.

The radar satellite will join the other two operating optical satellites "Environment I" satellites, which were launched in Sept. 2008, to form a network covering most of China's territory.

This "2+1" formula will help provide scientific evidence for assessing natural disaster situations, emergency aid and reconstruction as well as enable China to monitor and forecast ecological changes, pollution and natural disasters around the clock, the center said.

The satellite was carried by a Long March 2C rocket.

The rocket also carried two additional satellites designed to run tests and carry out in-orbit experiments for new-type aerospace equipment, materials, methods and miniature satellite platforms.


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India to host first-ever international conference on bears

NEW DELHI: India will host its first international Conference on Bear Research and Management in Delhi next week. The conference, held every 18 months, had its last two editions in Ottawa ( Canada) and Georgia (USA).

The five-day conference starts Nov 26 and will be hosted by the Ministry of Environment and Forests in collaboration with three wildlife conservation NGOs ,Wildlife Institute of India and the Central Zoo Authority. A National Bear Conservation and Welfare Action Plan will be launched at the conference.

The national plan is a compilation of 26 state welfare action plans. "The national bear action plan outlines directions for conservation of bears in the country. Whether or not it becomes a standalone project depends on the ministry," says Rahul Kaul, chief ecologist, Wildlife Trust of India, one of the NGOs involved in formulating the bear conservation plan.

Close to 170 paper presentations by national and international bear experts from 35 countries are expected to take place in the conference on themes ranging from bear-human interactions and bear rescue and habilitation. A pre-conference workshop will look at developing a "conflict mitigation toolkit" in Srinagar.

There are currently four species of bears in the country. Of these, black bears are on the endangered list of the IUCN ( International Union for Conservation of Nature). Bears are poached for body parts in north and central India. Bear bile is a constituent of traditional medicine. In the north-east, they are also poached for meat.


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Smog delays flight, Sheila blames it on stubble burning

Written By Unknown on Minggu, 18 November 2012 | 22.33

LUDHIANA: Poor visibility due to smog in Ludhiana on Saturday delayed Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit's flight and fuelled another round of blame game on pollution caused by paddy stubble burning in Punjab.

The private Bombardier BD-700 Global Express carrying Dikshit and a leading telecom industrialist family was scheduled to arrive at 9.45am but landed at 12:24pm due to low visibility at Halwara airport near here.

Later Dikshit told mediapersons, "Now, I completely believe what Nasa experts found out on burning of paddy straw in Punjab. In their own state, there is so much smoke and pollution that our flight was held up for so long before we got clearance from the Halwara airport."

Dikshit, who holds the environment portfolio, also said her government had enough facts to present a case in the Supreme Court that the smog crisis in Delhi was not because of vehicular pollution. On November 9, the apex court had expressed concern over the rising pollution and smog in the Capital. It had asked the Delhi government to find ways to deal with it. However, Dikshit had blamed the stubble burning in Punjab for pollution in Delhi.

Following the delay, Dikshit, who was supposed to first visit a school for underprivileged kids at Mohi near Halwara, had to skip the event and rush to Nehru Sidhant Kender Trust, for another programme.

Stubble burning in lakhs of agricultural fields by Punjab farmers had caught the attention of Nasa recently when its Aqua satellite sent images of the state's agri farms in which entire Punjab appeared to be literally on fire.


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World's largest land crabs tracked using GPS

WASHINGTON: Using GPS technology, scientists have tracked 55 huge robber crabs on Christmas Island, south of Indonesia.

They found that these land crabs, which have a leg span of up to 3.3 feet (1 meter), typically stay within a small home range, living in crevices or between tree roots.

Crabs are arthropods, an enormous group of animals defined by their exoskeletons; the group includes insects, arachnids and crustaceans.

The crabs can also travel more than two miles in search of water, food and mates, according to the new study.

They mainly move between the island's inland rainforest and the coast. Males, previously thought to remain in the forest, were instead found to migrate toward the ocean as females do, possibly to drink the saltwater, which they prefer over freshwater.

The researchers also played a prank on the crabs, carrying them in an opaque bag up to 0.6 miles (1 kilometer) from their home territory. If released along their migratory route, the crabs could usually find their way home, the first demonstration of long-distance homing behavior in land crabs, according to the study.

Released outside of this path, however, the crabs became lost, and never returned "home."

The study was published this week in the journal PLoS ONE.


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Population of Africa's mountain gorillas rises

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 17 November 2012 | 22.33

AP Nov 16, 2012, 08.37PM IST

(Uganda is now home to nearly…)

KAMPALA: The population of Uganda's mountain gorillas has grown to 400, up from 302 in 2006, according to a census conducted last year, bringing the total number of mountain gorillas in Africa to 880 and giving hope to conservationists trying to save the critically endangered species.

Uganda is now home to nearly half of the world's mountain gorillas remaining in the wild, a source of confidence for a country that has come to depend heavily on the popular apes for substantial tourism revenue. The rest of the surviving mountain gorillas â€" the species Gorilla beringei beringei â€" are in Congo and Rwanda.

"The increase in the population of mountain gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is testimony to the sound natural resource management policies that are being implemented in the protected areas," Uganda's Ministry of Tourism said in a statement received on Friday. "This result confirms beyond reasonable doubt that Uganda's conservation efforts are paying off."

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, a network of forested jungle deep in the country's southwestern frontier, is recognized by Unesco as a heritage site of world value. A permit to track gorillas there costs at least $500 and the World Wildlife Fund estimates that each gorilla brings in up to $1 million in revenue each year for the east African country.

The census shows a stunning recovery for a species that once faced a real threat of extinction. Mountain gorillas in the wild still face threats ranging from habitat loss to poaching, especially in Congo, where lawlessness in the country's vast eastern territory has allowed illegal hunters to prosper. Mountain gorillas are hunted for their meat in Congo, according to the World Wildlife Fund.

Even a common cold can kill a mountain gorilla, as species is particularly vulnerable to respiratory diseases usually associated with humans.

The conservation group Gorilla Doctors said the population growth was partly due to "extreme conservation" methods such as daily ranger monitoring in the forest. Ugandan wildlife officials have been able to build successful partnerships with local communities in part by pouring some of the revenue into local projects, converting previously hostile groups into friendly advocates for the gorillas' survival.

"The mountain gorilla is the only non-human great ape that is actually growing in number," said Mike Cranfield of Gorilla Doctors. "The growth of the mountain gorilla population can be attributed to the intensive conservation and collaboration between multiple conservation groups and government authorities."


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MoEF against dilution of park buffer zones,says move will hamper wildlife conservation

NEW DELHI: The environment ministry has opposed the recommendations of the Centrally Empowered Committee (CEC) of the Supreme Court and the amicus curiae's suggestions that the ring of limited-industrialization zone around the 600 plus national parks and sanctuaries be diminished.

The ministry has said that the suggestions to reduce and pre-fix the area of the eco-sensitive zones around wildlife sanctuaries were devoid of objective and scientific criteria and were delinked from the primary aim of conserving wildlife.

In a process running over years and marked by objections from states, the Centre had first decided in 2002 that a 10 km area around all national parks and sanctuaries would be demarcated as eco-fragile zones where some industrial activities would be banned and others regulated. But with several states protesting that it was not feasible, the government amended its decision to create eco-sensitive zones under the Environment Protection Act, 1972 on a case-to-case basis based on a list of criteria.

In the meanwhile, the apex court ordered that if states did not demarcate eco-sensitive zones, all projects falling within a 10 km periphery of wildlife areas would require clearance from the National Board of Wildlife -the highest body under the Wildlife Protection Act. In February 2011, the centre provided detailed guidelines on how states could prepare proposals for the protective zones.

Later, apex court's green committee classified the country's 102 national parks and 515 wildlife sanctuaries into four categories based on geographical spread. The CEC suggested that safety zones for these categories of protected areas be fixed at 2 km, 1 km, 500 metres or 100 metres from the park boundaries.The amicus curiae, furthermore suggested, that these should be complete no-go areas for industry.


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Australia creates world's largest marine reserves

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 16 November 2012 | 22.33

SYDNEY: Australia on Friday created the world's largest network of marine reserves, protecting a huge swathe of ocean environment despite claims it will devastate the fishing industry.

The announcement, after years of planning and consultation, will significantly expand the protection of creatures such as the blue whale, green turtle, critically endangered populations of grey nurse sharks, and dugongs.

The scale of the plan, which will cover more than 2.3 million square kilometres (890,000 square miles) in six marine regions, was first made public in June.

Environment minister Tony Burke said of 80,000 submissions received, the vast majority supported the proposal.

"There are very few countries in the world that are as responsible for as much of the ocean as Australia is. And our oceans are under serious threat," he said.

"There are a range of actions that need to be taken to turn the corner on the health of our oceans. Establishing national parks in the ocean is a big part of that total picture."

Burke added that his decision was important for future generations.

"We need to appreciate that in the years to come we don't want people to only know the magnificence of their oceans through aquariums or by watching 'Finding Nemo'," he said, referring to the animated Disney film.

But fishermen are furious, claiming coastal communities would be ruined, thousands of jobs lost and the Aus$2 billion (US$2 billion) aquaculture industry seriously impacted.

The Australian Marine Alliance, which conducted a cost analysis, claimed 60 regional communities would be affected, 36,000 jobs lost and 70-80 trawler operators displaced, while the cost of seafood imports would soar.

Burke said he understood his decision would have an impact, but claimed it would only affect one percent of the commercial fishing industry nationally.

To compensate, he said businesses hurt by the changes would be able to access Aus$100 million in assistance.

"Even though the new marine reserves have been designed in a way to minimise impacts on industry and recreational users, the government recognises that there will be impacts on some fishers and we will support those impacted," he said.

The Commonwealth Fisheries Association criticised the amount of compensation on offer and Queensland's Fisheries Minister John McVeigh said the plan, which will lock up huge areas off the state's central and north coast, was "madness".

"The impact right across our fishing communities will be enormous," he said, warning of job losses.

"There will be a marked shift to imported seafood -- that will rape fragile reef and other marine environments overseas where there is no proper management."

While some limits will be placed on where energy companies can work, tracts of coast off Western Australia, where Shell and Woodside Petroleum recently won permits, will remain open to oil and gas exploration.

The Australian Conservation Foundation welcomed the initiative, saying it would "go down in Australian history as an economically and environmentally sustainable decision".

But the foundation's Paul Sinclair said more could still be done.

"Although the national marine reserve network is an achievement for Australians to celebrate, there is more work to be done to protect our coastal way of life," he said.

"While the reserve network bans oil and gas exploration in the Coral Sea and off Margaret River in Western Australia, protecting nearby beaches from oil spills, the northwest region, including the Kimberley coast, is still vulnerable."


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Population of Africa's mountain gorillas rises

KAMPALA: The population of Uganda's mountain gorillas has grown to 400, up from 302 in 2006, according to a census conducted last year, bringing the total number of mountain gorillas in Africa to 880 and giving hope to conservationists trying to save the critically endangered species.

Uganda is now home to nearly half of the world's mountain gorillas remaining in the wild, a source of confidence for a country that has come to depend heavily on the popular apes for substantial tourism revenue. The rest of the surviving mountain gorillas — the species Gorilla beringei beringei — are in Congo and Rwanda.

"The increase in the population of mountain gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is testimony to the sound natural resource management policies that are being implemented in the protected areas," Uganda's Ministry of Tourism said in a statement received on Friday. "This result confirms beyond reasonable doubt that Uganda's conservation efforts are paying off."

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, a network of forested jungle deep in the country's southwestern frontier, is recognized by Unesco as a heritage site of world value. A permit to track gorillas there costs at least $500 and the World Wildlife Fund estimates that each gorilla brings in up to $1 million in revenue each year for the east African country.

The census shows a stunning recovery for a species that once faced a real threat of extinction. Mountain gorillas in the wild still face threats ranging from habitat loss to poaching, especially in Congo, where lawlessness in the country's vast eastern territory has allowed illegal hunters to prosper. Mountain gorillas are hunted for their meat in Congo, according to the World Wildlife Fund.

Even a common cold can kill a mountain gorilla, as species is particularly vulnerable to respiratory diseases usually associated with humans.

The conservation group Gorilla Doctors said the population growth was partly due to "extreme conservation" methods such as daily ranger monitoring in the forest. Ugandan wildlife officials have been able to build successful partnerships with local communities in part by pouring some of the revenue into local projects, converting previously hostile groups into friendly advocates for the gorillas' survival.

"The mountain gorilla is the only non-human great ape that is actually growing in number," said Mike Cranfield of Gorilla Doctors. "The growth of the mountain gorilla population can be attributed to the intensive conservation and collaboration between multiple conservation groups and government authorities."


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Kerala bird race on Sunday

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 15 November 2012 | 22.33

KOCHI: The sixth edition of the Kerala Bird Race will be organized by the Cochin Natural History Society with the support of Yuhina eco-media at Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode on November 18.

The event will help the birdwatchers understand more about the diverse bird species living in the three cities and surrounding places as well as their modes of existence.

More than 350 bird lovers participated in the event last year and this year the organizers are expecting more participation. At the end of the day all the teams will meet up, share information and finally the adjudicators will declare which team had spotted the maximum number of species.

The participants will be divided into groups consisting of 3 to 4 members.

Vishupriyan Kartha of the Cochin Natural History Society said, "The event helps in spreading awareness and also cultivates a deep interest among youngsters".

The Kerala bird race is supported by WWF Kerala, Kottayam nature society, Malabar natural history society and nature education society, Thrissur.


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Obama vows climate push for 'future generations'

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama on Wednesday vowed a new push for action on climate change, saying the United States had a duty to come together to curb emissions in the wake of megastorm Sandy.

In his first news conference since his decisive re-election on November 6, Obama said he planned a "conversation across the country" in the coming months to find common ground after a failed effort on climate change at the start of his term.

"I am a firm believer that climate change is real, that it is impacted by human behavior and carbon emissions. And as a consequence, I think we've got an obligation to future generations to do something about it," Obama said.

Obama acknowledged that his stance on climate change would require an "education process" and "tough political choices" but insisted that his push was compatible with efforts to bring more jobs to the still-wobbly US economy.

If "we can shape an agenda that says we can create jobs, advance growth and make a serious dent in climate change and be an international leader, I think that's something that the American people would support," Obama said.

"You can expect that you'll hear more from me in the coming months and years about how we can shape an agenda that garners bipartisan support and helps move this agenda forward," he said.

After Obama's first election, much of the rival Republican Party adamantly opposed proposals on climate change, saying they would hurt the economy.

Some lawmakers took issue with the view of most scientists that industrial emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are causing the planet to warm.

Climate change played little role in the election campaign until days before the vote, when massive storm Sandy tore through the East Coast and the Caribbean, killing more than 110 people in the United States alone.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, an independent, made a last-minute endorsement of Obama due to his stance on climate change. Obama's Republican rival, Mitt Romney, had earlier mocked Obama for trying to "heal the planet."

Obama declined to attribute Sandy to climate change, but noted that average temperatures were rising and Arctic ice was melting at rates that are even faster than predicted in recent years.

"There have been an extraordinarily large number of severe weather events here in North America, but also around the globe," Obama said.

Obama's top allies in Congress have backed calls on climate change.

Nancy Pelosi, the top Democrat in the House of Representatives, on Wednesday welcomed statements by Obama and called climate "a priority for me."

With Democrats in control in 2009, the House approved the first nationwide "cap-and-trade" plan that, similar to a system in place in Europe and recently launched in California, would restrict carbon emissions and offer a market incentive for cuts.

But the plan died in the Senate, even with Democrats in charge.

Obama, who also vowed to fight climate change in his Election Day victory rally in Chicago, has not made clear his future initiatives.

After the defeat of cap-and-trade, the Obama administration used regulatory power to tighten standards for power plants and vehicles, leading the White House to insist that the United States is on track to meet its pledges to a UN body to cut emissions by 17 percent by 2020 from 2005 levels.

One proposal that has gained traction in think tank circles is to set an outright tax on carbon, which could also assist the United States find a solution in a politically charged dispute over its debt.

Mark Muro and Jonathan Rothwell of the Brookings Institution recently proposed a $20-per-ton tax on carbon emissions -- slightly less than a tax recently adopted in Australia -- that would raise an estimated $150 billion annually over 10 years.

Of the revenue, the government would invest $30 billion each year to green energy and development, with the rest going to tax cuts, deficit reduction and rebates to low-income people most affected by potentially higher energy bills.

While conventional wisdom has long held that new taxes would be political suicide in Washington, the conservative American Enterprise Institute held an event Tuesday on the idea and called for more discussion, with one speaker arguing that a carbon tax could reduce corporate taxes elsewhere.


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Big cities are gasping for fresh air; air pollution worsens in metros

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 14 November 2012 | 22.33

NEW DELHI: Along with your tablet, smartphone and car keys, get ready to pack a gas mask. And if you thought the recent smog in Delhi and the more-than-usual pollution levels (20% higher) in the last fortnight were due to the burning of residual crop in Punjab and Haryana, you are wrong.

After a steady improvement since the late-1990s, the air in Delhi — and all other Indian cities — has been getting worse in the last five years. The reason: differential norms in large and small cities. Overloading of trucks, time lag in emission norms and poor quality of fuel also contribute.

Some hard facts: particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5) levels in Delhi have gone up by 47% between 2000 and 2011, while nitrogen dioxide has gone up by 57%. PM10 is one-fifth of the human hair's diameter, small enough to penetrate the lungs. In IT hub Bangalore, PM10 has shot up 41% between 2005 and 2010.

In Kolkata, nitrogen dioxide emissions have increased 59% from the 2005 levels. In Mumbai, PM10 increased 18% between 2005 and 2010. And there aren't enough carbon monoxide emission detection centres, even in big cities. "We have multi-polluter crisis situation," says Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, Centre for Science & Environment.

"Ozone, sulphur, carbon monoxide, NO2 (nitrogen dioxide), PM10, PM2.5, air toxicity are contributing to a deadly cocktail. Even tier-II cities like Nagpur, Kanpur, Mysore are seeing rising pollution — small cities are the new air pollution hot spots." While Roychowdhury paints a grim situation, the air quality had actually improved between 1998 and 2006, due what she calls "first generation" action.

"Supreme Court orders in 1990s relocate industries outside cities helped. There was a lot of improvement in air quality, but we lost that initiative and polluters have come closer to people. That's due to more than 100 increase in the number of vehicles on the road in 5-6 years," says Roychowdhury . Specific incidents aside, it's the cars you drive in, galloping population of low-technology two-wheelers and trucks that are contributing to the deteriorating air quality.

5 years behind europe in emission norms

According to the Society of Indian Automobiles Manufacturers (SIAM), 2.5 million cars are sold every year and 12 million twowheelers — more than double the numbers sold per year six years ago. With petrol almost 40% dearer than diesel, buyers opt for diesel cars, comprising 60% of the total car sales. The share of diesel cars has jumped from 4% of all cars sold in 2000 to 50% of all cars sold in 2010.

While more diesel vehicles are sold in Europe as well, the difference lies in poor quality of both the engines and the fuel burnt in India. Says Vishnu Mathur, director general, SIAM: "We are five years behind Europe when it comes to acceptable levels of vehicular emission norms."

In India, 13 cities follow Bharat Stage IV (BS4) emission norms (used in India from 2010; equivalent to Euro IV, which became outdated in Europe in 2006) and, for rest of the country, it is BS III, the equivalent of Euro III, which was discontinued in Europe more than a decade back. Europe now has Euro V norms and India looks nowhere near getting there.

"That only adds to worsening air quality," says Ganesh Guruswamy, vice-president & country manager, Freescale Semiconductor, the world's largest maker of computer chips for automobiles. The various norms set the acceptable levels of pollutants. For example, under BS III, sulphur in diesel is 350 ppm (parts per million ) and in BS IV, it's 50 ppm. Euro V or BS V (not implemented in India ) brings down sulphur levels to 10 ppm. In India, dual norms — both BS III and BS IV are accepted — creates a situation that is difficult to control.

A car driven outside any of the 13 cities where BS IV is valid gets fuel that's of BS III level, contributing to the high levels of pollution. Says Mathur, "BS IV should be implemented across the country so that we have a single emission norm. Oil companies say BS IV fuel will be available only in 50 cities by 2015, and that doesn't help."

Dual norms also mean that trucks, the worse polluters due to their higher diesel consumption and rampant misuse (overloading), can be bought in Delhi or Mumbai or Chennai, but registered under BS III norms as they have a national permit to ply. Says Roychowdhury: "In big cities, the highest pollution is between 1 am and 5 am. That's because of the trucks going through the cities in these hours. So, you wake up breathing the most polluted air."


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Delhi smog lifts somewhat, but pollution stays

NEW DELHI: A day after Diwali, the smog situation in Delhi saw a slight improvement with bright sunny on Wednesday as the level of dust particles in the air came down and the visibility turned near normal.

According to India Meteorological Department (IMD), the visibility level Wednesday morning was 1,000 metres.

"Visibility was normal at 1,000 metres and there was a slight smog cover which enveloped the city Tuesday and early Wednesday morning as fire crackers were burst for Diwali, but the air cleared later as the sun went up," an IMD official said.

"It was a near clear morning a day after Diwali, with the level of dust particles in the air going down and the visibility level improved, which had dipped Tuesday evening due to pollution caused by bursting of fire crackers," the official said.

Delhi was in the grip of smog from Oct 27 to Nov 8 due to drastic increase in fine particulate matter suspended over the city skies.

"With the pollutants dispersing two days before Diwali, the smog situation in Delhi has seen an improvement. But that doesn't mean air pollution levels are low in the national capital," Anumita Roy Choudhary, an environmental scientist at Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), told IANS.

"Smog or not, crackers with dangerous toxic levels will add to the air pollution and will prove to be dangerous," Choudhary said.

She also said people in the national capital celebrated Diwali with a bang and many burst crackers only after 10 p.m. and this level of smoke is dangerous in Delhi's winter.

"While the Supreme Court had in 2005 put a ban on the use of firecrackers after 10 p.m. on Diwali night, many people burst crackers only after 10 p.m. With the nip in the air increasing in the night, the inverse condition gets worse from the smoke from cracker-bursting," Choudhary said.

However, there has been a dip in the sale of firecrackers this year, as awareness about pollution and wastage of money has increased.

"Two extreme pollution episodes back-to-back, would have had a worst impact on Delhiites. Though we don't know the exact air pollution levels post Diwali, efforts were made to minimise use of firecrackers that give rise to huge smoke. Exact data on pollution levels in the capital will be expected later in the day," said a senior environment department official said.

"This year, we had strict norms to check crackers sale. Only 804 retail cracker outlets were allowed in Delhi and even the noise levels of crackers were strictly monitored," the official added.


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President urges nation to celebrate pollution-free Diwali

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 13 November 2012 | 22.33

IANS Nov 12, 2012, 05.28PM IST

(Light decorations are pictured…)

NEW DELHI: Conveying his greetings on the occasion of Diwali, President Pranab Mukherjee Monday urged the countrymen "to try and celebrate a pollution-free Diwali".

In his message, President Mukherjee said: "On the joyous occasion of Diwali, I extend my warm greetings and good wishes to my countrymen in India and around the world... I urge all Indians to try and celebrate a pollution-free Diwali."

"Diwali is a time for festivity and happiness cutting across all faiths and cultures. It is an occasion to share our joy with those who are needy and deprived. The diyas (earthen lamps) lit on the moonless night of Diwali signify the end of the darkness of ignorance and the beginning of light that enlightens all," he added.

The president urged people to channelise their energies towards vanquishing want and suffering and strive hard for the collective growth of the country on the auspicious occasion.

"May this festival of lights dispel darkness and bring joy and prosperity to all," he said.


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Two great Indian bustards sighted near Umred

NAGPUR: At a time when the Great Indian Bustard (GIB), the majestic grassland bird popularly called as Maldhok, is facing extinction, the sighting of two GIBs in Mandwa near Bhiwapur tehsil has thrilled bird lovers and conservationists.

The sightings triggered a wave of excitement, as these birds have been sighted after a gap of four years (2009). Honorary district wildlife warden for Nagpur, Rohit Karoo claimed that the birds were very much there but they could not be caught on camera as these very shy birds.

Nagpur forest division claimed that during its annual GIB monitoring exercise since 2009, not a single GIB was sighted. However, on Monday, Gajanan Ingle, a farmer, sighted a male and a female.

Ingle, who has been regularly monitoring these birds, informed Karoo and GIB conservationist Gopal Thosar. While the male flew away, Era Wegad, an avid bird watcher, could photograph the female.

Karoo denied claims that the there was no sighting of GIBS in the area. "The department needs to change the annual monitoring exercise from August to November, the month when these birds have been sighted," Karoo said.

"In last four years, I've sighted GIBs in the area six times. As grasslands have vanished, these birds have made farmlands their homes. We plan to felicitate Ingle for his contribution," Karoo added.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has classified GIBS as a critically endangered bird.

Thosar said that human interference is causing problems for GIBS. Since 2006, there have been no reports of breeding of these birds. The GIB lays only one egg in a year and that too on the ground. "The female may not incubate the egg due to disturbance. Also, since the egg is laid on the ground other animals eat it," said Thosar.

"The lifespan of a GIB is 15-17 years and no breeding of these endangered birds may lead to its extinction. Addition of new population is necessary for their long-term survival," said Thosar. He called for regular monitoring of the birds.


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President urges nation to celebrate pollution-free Diwali

Written By Unknown on Senin, 12 November 2012 | 22.33

Light decorations are pictured at a shop ahead of Diwali in Amritsar. Electric lights and traditional lamps are in heavy demand for the forthcoming Hindu festival of lights, Diwali, which falls on November 13 this year marking the victory over evil and commemorating the time when the Hindu god Lord Rama achieved victory over Ravana and returned to his kingdom Ayodhya.


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Smoke from field fires can travel up to 1,000km: Study

NEW DELHI: Plumes of smoke and pollutants rising from the burning fields of north India can spread through the air to places as much as 1,000km away, cause persistent fog over the region and could even be playing a part in depressing rice yields, various scientific studies on the phenomenon have found.

The fires that raged through Punjab since the last week of October — deliberately caused by farmers to clear paddy stubbles and ready the fields for the rabi crop — were seen as a major cause of the 11-day spell of dense smog in the capital and surrounding areas. Biomass-burning is rampant, practiced in around 90% of Punjab's paddy fields, and has continued unabated for decades despite its obvious role in emitting greenhouse and a toxic mix of gases, and destroying soil nutrients.

The practice has been studied by atmospheric and earth scientists for more than a decade and many of these have thrown up more grim facts. A 2009 study by KVS Badarinath of Indian Remote Sensing Centre and others reported that aerosols and trace gases from crop-burning in north India had been found over Hyderabad and Arabian Sea.

"Particles from these fires can travel up to 1,000km," said Prof SN Tripathi of IIT Kanpur's chemical engineering department. "While smoke plumes usually clear out in a week's time, and particles rise higher in the atmosphere and can 'burn' clouds."

Fires from biomass burning are also a major cause of winter fog in north India as suspended pollutants attract moisture. "We have found a direct link between fires and winter fog in north India," said Dr MM Sarin, senior professor of geosciences at Ahmedabad's Physical Research Laboratory.

Sarin's team also found that biomass emissions contain a preponderance of organic carbon, a class of sticky particulates whose properties are different from soot, or black carbon. The proportion of black carbon — which absorb heat and light, and were linked to glacier melting — was earlier thought to be higher in these emissions.

"Our studies also found another class of possible carcinogenic compounds called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the biomass emissions," Sarin said.

In another paper published last year, Tripathi's team showed that once fog forms over north India, it gives rise to more particles — called secondary organic aerosols — which become seeds for more fog. "This becomes a vicious cycle and explains why winter fog persists for so long," he said.

Given the scale of burning across north India — an estimated 17 million tonnes of paddy stubble is set afire in Punjab alone — one study has indirectly linked the practice to slowing growth rate of rice yields. In a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (USA), Maximilian Auffhammer of UC-Berkeley and others used statistical models to show that a joint reduction in brown haze (partly caused by biomass burning) and greenhouse gases would result in a rise in rice harvests.

The results imply that adverse climate changes due to the winter brown haze and the rise in greenhouse gases have contributed to a slowdown in growth rate of rice yields in the past two decades.


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Population of critically endangered vultures stable: Report

Written By Unknown on Minggu, 11 November 2012 | 22.33

The survey shows that the population of the three critically endangered vulture species of long-billed, slender-billed and white-backed ones have remained stable in the last couple of years.

KOLKATA: After years of relentless efforts to save vultures in south Asia, numbers of the most critically endangered species have stabilised across India and Nepal, according to a latest study.

Published in the science journal PLoS ONE, researchers have reported the results of long-term monitoring of vultures across India and Nepal.

The survey shows that the population of the three critically endangered vulture species of long-billed, slender-billed and white-backed ones have remained stable in the last couple of years.

The surveys for vultures were undertaken across more than 15,000 km roads in western, central and eastern states of India by Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) and Bird Conservation Nepal (BCN) in the lowland regions of Nepal.

The study, however, warned that while the stabilisation in vulture numbers is encouraging, only a small number of the birds remain and they are still extremely vulnerable.

Vultures, which feed on carcasses of animals to survive, die because of the banned diclofenac drug which is still administered to livestock illegally.

Classified as critically-endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the population of vultures has been declined by an alarming rate of over 99 per cent during the last two decades.

Commenting on the positive development, Dr Vibhu Prakash, the lead author of the study and Deputy Director, BNHS said, "The stabilisation of vulture numbers across India for all the three critically endangered species is the first sign that the government's ban on veterinary diclofenac is having its desired impact".


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China surveys Yangtze dolphin as extinction looms

SHANGHAI: Chinese scientists on Sunday began a survey of the dwindling population of an endangered porpoise in the country's longest river, as the animal edges towards extinction from man-made threats.

Researchers will spend more than a month tracking the finless porpoise -- known as the "river pig" in Chinese -- in the Yangtze River, China's longest waterway at more than 6,000 kilometres (3,700 miles), organizers said.

It marks the most comprehensive survey of the species, found only in China, since 2006, when a similar expedition found only 1,800. The current number could be far lower, they said.

"Our expectation is maybe only 1,000 of them are left, but we have to see how it turns out from the survey," said Wang Ding, a research professor at the Institute of Hydrobiology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

"People have started to think of the finless porpoise as the symbol of the Yangtze River which also indicates the current status of the river," Wang, who is leading the expedition, told AFP.

The earlier 2006 expedition declared another species, a freshwater dolphin called the "Baiji", to be extinct.

The finless porpoise, which has only a small dorsal ridge rather than a fin, has been hurt by human intrusion and environmental degradation, said global conservation organisation WWF, which is supporting the expedition.

Deaths of the creature have been caused by boat strikes and fishing gear accidents as well as degradation of rivers -- and dolphin food sources -- due to pollution and severe droughts blamed on climate change.

"If we are going to save the Yangtze finless porpoise... we must take immediate action to keep the Yangtze River and its lakes healthy," Lei Gang, director of WWF China's freshwater programme, said in a statement.

"This means better laws and enforcement -- we need to see harmful fishing practices stop, sand-dredging better controlled and new reserves developed."

The WWF has said the porpoise could become extinct in 15 years if no action is taken.

Waterways in China have become heavily contaminated with toxic waste from factories and farms -- pollution blamed on more than three decades of rapid economic growth and lax enforcement of environmental protection laws.

Environmental activists have also blamed China's huge Three Gorges Dam and other hydropower projects on the Yangtze for upsetting the delicate ecological balance and harming aquatic life in the river.

The government-backed expedition set sail Sunday from the central Chinese city of Wuhan aboard two boats equipped with sonar and acoustic surveying equipment, organisers said.

They will travel upstream to Yichang, gateway to the Three Gorges Dam, before heading back downstream all the way to China's commercial hub of Shanghai at the mouth of the Yangtze, they said.


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Take immediate steps to cut pollution: EPCA tells to 4 states

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 10 November 2012 | 22.33

In a meeting, the Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA) headed by bureaucrat Bhure Lal told senior officials of the three governments to work in tandem to ensure improvement of air quality in Delhi and the two states.

NEW DELHI: Taking a serious note of the drop in air quality and smog cover that has engulfed the city, a Supreme Court-appointed body today asked Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh governments to take immediate steps to cut pollution.

In a meeting, the Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA) headed by bureaucrat Bhure Lal told senior officials of the three governments to work in tandem to ensure improvement of air quality in Delhi and the two states.

Officials of all the three governments told EPCA that they will crack down on polluting vehicles, particularly the diesel vehicles, so that they cannot enter Delhi from neighbouring states.

The Supreme Court had on Tuesday expressed concern over the rising pollution and smog in the national capital.

The EPCA, which called the meeting, asked Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab to restrain farmers from burning paddy stubbles. The Delhi government had blamed "massive" burning of farm wastes by farmers of Punjab, UP and Haryana for the smog.

The Delhi government on Friday had decided to punish those found burning leaves and garbage.

Officials present in the meeting said the EPCA asked Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to extend certain incentives to their farmers who refrain from burning of farm wastes. The EPCA told the states to encourage the farmers to compost their farm wastes.

The EPCA has told the states that it will independently monitor compliance of its direction. Officials said vehicles coming from neighbouring states will be monitored at five entry points.

Concerned over the smog cover, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit had decided to seek intervention of the Union Environment Ministry to direct the neighbouring states to refrain their farmers from burning paddy stubbles.


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