"India generated 3.3 lakh tonnes of e-waste in 2007"

Bangalore (PTI): India generated 3.3 lakh tonnes of e-waste in 2007 as dumping from developed countries and informal recycling added to environmental degradation, a new study released on Thursday revealed.E-waste is expected to touch 4.7 lakh tonnes in India by 2011, according to the study unveiled by MAIT together with GTZ, the German Technical Cooperation Agency.MAIT is the apex body representing India's IT hardware, training and R&D services sectors.Electronic waste or "Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment" (WEEE), according to the WEEE directive of the European Commission, is defined as waste material consisting of any broken or unwanted electrical or electronic appliances. However, the MAIT-GTZ assessment study focussed only on the waste stream of computers, televisions and mobile handsets.The study, said to be a first-of-its kind to inventorise e-waste in the country, revealed a total of 3.3 lakh tonnes of e-waste is generated annually in India, while an additional 50,000 tonnes is illegally imported into the country.However, only 19,000 tonnes of this is recycled due to high refurbishing and reuse of electronics products in the country and also due to poor recycling infrastructure.

 

Currently, e-waste recycling, especially processing, remains concentrated in the informal sector, which due to poor processing technologies and very small capacities, contributes significantly to pollution and environmental degradation.

 

The Hindu, December 14^th 2007

 

Study: Sea lice from salmon farms sending wild fish to extinction

The more salmon that growers pack into farms near rivers and streams, the greater the harm done to wild salmon populations, new research suggests.

The problem is sea lice, natural parasites that normally attach to adult salmon with little ill effect and have little contact with vulnerable juvenile salmon.That changes when the fish farms move in, according to a study to be published Friday in the journal Science.In natural conditions, the adult salmon that carry the sea lice are not in the migration channels and rivers at the same time as young pink and chum salmon, so the little fish are rarely exposed.When fish farms move in, hundreds of thousands of adults are raised in floating net pens anchored year-round in the channels where the young wild fish migrate. The study suggested that the density of fish farms reached a tipping point in 2001 that triggered a killer sea lice infestation.Principally funded by the Canadian Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, the peer-reviewed study is the latest in a series by a group of scientists trying to push the Canadian government to place more strict regulations on salmon farms to control sea lice.

 

When West Coast salmon catches in the United States crashed in the 1990s, farmed salmon filled the gap in supermarket coolers. Global production has been growing ever since.Canada trails Chile, Norway and Scotland in farmed salmon production. British Columbia, in western Canada, reports 120 salmon farms in the province produced 78,000 tons in 2006, the bulk of it going to nearby U.S. markets.Based on government stream surveys, the study used a computer model to analyze pink salmon returns in 64 rivers without exposure to salmon farms and seven rivers where young fish must migrate past at least one salmon farm. The study considered returns before and after sea lice infestations were noticed in wild fish in 2001.The study found that sea lice infestations around salmon farms in British Columbia's Broughton Archipelago, north of Vancouver Island, have reached a density so high they are killing juvenile wild pink salmon at a rate fast enough to drive local runs to extinction within another four years.

 

``This is the first time scientists have had enough detailed data to actually measure the impact of sea lice on wild salmon populations,'' said Martin Krkosek, lead author of the study and a doctoral candidate at the Center for Mathematical Biology at the University of Alberta.

 

 

The Hindu, December 14^th 2007

Clues from Antarctica aid in search for water on Mars

In recent years, scientists have examined images of several sites on Mars where water appears to have flowed to the surface and left behind a trail of sediment.Those sites closely resemble places where water flows today in the McMurdo Dry Valleys in Antarctica, a new study has found. Researchers have used the Dry Valleys as an analogy for Mars for 30 years, explained Berry Lyons, professor of Earth Science a nd director of the Byrd Tolar Research Center at Ohio State University.

 

Notion bolstered

 

Lyons is the lead principal investigator for the Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network. The new study bolsters the notion that liquid water could be flowing beneath the surface of Mars.And since bacteria thrive in the liquid water flowing in the Dry Valleys, the find suggests that bacterial life could possibly exist on Mars as well.Scientists have thus gathered more evidence that suggests flowing water on Mars — by comparing images of the red planet to an otherworldly landscape on Earth, according to an Ohio State University press release.One of the LTER sites is in the Dry Valleys, a polar desert in Antarctica with year-round saltwater flowing beneath the surface. With temperatures that dip as low as negative 85 degrees Fahrenheit, it's as cold as the Martian equator, and its iron-rich soil gives it a similar red colour.

 

"If you looked at pictures of both landscapes side by side, you couldn't tell them apart," Lyons said. In the new study, LTER scientists did just that — they compared images of water flows in the Dry Valleys to images of gullies on Mars that show possible evidence of recent water flow.Team member Peter Doran of the University of Illinois at Chicago presented the results Tuesday, at the American Geophysical Union meeting at San Francisco.

 

High salinity

 

The water in the Dry Valleys can be very salty — it's full of calcium chloride, the same kind of salt we sprinkle on roadways to melt ice. That's why the water doesn't freeze.

 

Natural springs form from melted ground ice or buried glacier ice, and the saltwater percolates to the surface."Even in the dead of winter, there are locations with salty water in the Dry Valleys," Lyons said."Two months a year, we even have lakes of liquid water covered in ice." But after the water reaches the surface, it evaporates, leaving behind salt and sediment. The same thing would happen on Mars, he added.

 

Close resemblance

 

Because the suspected sediment sites on Mars closely resemble known sediment sites in the Dry Valleys, Lyons and his colleagues think that liquid saltwater is likely flowing beneath the Martian surface.Lyons, who has led many expeditions to Antarctica, said that his team will continue to compare what they learn on Earth to any new evidence of water uncovered on Mars.As they walk across the Dry Valleys, they can't help but compare the two."There's just something about that landscape, about being so far from civilization, that makes you think about other worlds," he said.The scientists' conclusion: the Martian sites closely resemble sites in the Dry Valleys where water has seeped to the surface

 

The Hindu, December 13^th 2007

India expresses concern over effects of climate change

India on Tuesday asked industrialised nations to set effective timeframes for significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions to deal with climate change. It also expressed "extreme concern" over climate change as developing countries will bear a "disproportionately severe" impact of the adverse effects of the phenomenon."We are extremely concerned about climate change ... as developing countries will bear a disproportionately severe impact of its adverse effects even as responsibility lies with those nations that have been emitting since industrialisation," external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee said addressing the Second Sustainability Summit: Asia-2007 here.He said the need of the hour for developing countries is adapting to the inevitability of climate change.

 

"We need to have necessary financial and technological support," Mukherjee said.India is very clear about the adherence to the principle of common differentiated responsibility to address the effects of climate change, he said.Mukherjee noted that India was home to 17% of the world's population and its greenhouse gas emissions were 4% of the total global emissions.

 

He said India's emissions will not increase beyond those of the industrialised nations in the future. Mukherjee said India was pursuing various other sources of energy, including nuclear power. "Strong efforts are being made by the government to increase the share of nuclear power in the total power generation in the country," he said.

 

New Indian Express, December 11^th 2007

Climate change could increase tensions

Even as the Nobel Peace Prize was presented to Al Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change on Monday, the U.N. agency which is the "father of the IPCC" released a new report explaining why "climate change mitigation policy is a policy for peace."

Resources shortage. Climate change could exacerbate tensions and trigger conflicts across the world by worsening food, water and land resource shortages and increasing the number of environmental refugees, according to "Climate Change as a Security Risk," a new report released by the U.N. Environment Programme and the German Advisory Council on Global Change at the ongoing conference of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change in Bali.

 

Glacial retreat

 

The Indian subcontinent is listed as a potential hotspot, along with African regions, including the troubled Darfur area, central Asia, China and the Andes and Amazon regions of South America."Glacial retreat in the Himalayas will jeopardise the water supply for millions of people, changes to the annual monsoon will affect agriculture and sea-level rises and cyclones will threaten human settlements around the populous Bay of Bengal," said the report, pointing out that these dynamics could increase the crisis potential of a region already faced with unstable governments in Bangladesh and Pakistan, as well as several cross-border conflicts."If people are displaced by sea level rise in South Asia, millions could be forced to migrate. And where will they go,?" asked UNEP executive director Achim Steiner.While recognising the devastating impact of climate change on the region, sources in the Indian delegation downplayed the linkage to conflict, pointing out that there was a world of difference between any threat to international security and the clear need for risk management.The Indian position is that there are huge risks being created, and vulnerabilities that need to be dealt with, but they would not reach the point where conflicts result.

 

Risks are huge

 

India's neighbours also feel that the risks are huge. A senior official of the Bangladesh delegation pointed out that the recent cyclonic floods that devastated his low-lying nation were proof that adaptation was critical.Entire coastal communities in the Bay of Bengal along both sides of the border are being affected by climate change impacts such as sea level rise and climate disasters, and they will be forced to migrate inland in large numbers, he said.

 

Immense pressure

 

Meanwhile, a member of Nepal's delegation said the melting of the Himalayan glaciers would put immense pressure on the Gangetic river system and expressed Kathmandu's concern that India's plans to link its rivers would aggravate problems."This is not a prediction that the world will end up in flames," clarified Mr. Steiner. "In trying to link climate change and security, we are not laying out an inevitable path, but we are trying to help countries understand the linkages and be prepared to deal with conflict situations.

DevelopmentIndia agrees that being prepared is a key to successful risk management, and feels that rapid development is essential to such preparedness.There is no doubt that in the next 20 years, we need the wherewithal to cope with these risks, said sources in the Indian delegation, pointing out that this is the reason India is arguing against any binding emission-reduction commitments that can affect its developmental goals.South Asian delegates felt that working together to achieve development throughout the region could help.

 

Declaration hailed

 

Delegates from both India and Bangladesh welcomed last week's SAARC joint declaration on climate change in New Delhi.As the U.N. Environment Programme report points out, while climate change can trigger conflicts, it can also unite global communities which recognise a common threat and work toward common goals.

 

The Hindu, December 11^th 2007

Attappady all set to tap wind energy

The tribal heartland of Attappady, the most backward area in the district which lacks infrastructure and basic amenities like roads and drinking water, is all set to produce power from wind energy.A wind farm, to produce 20 MW of power, is coming up on three hills of Attappady at Kadampara, Nallasinga and Kaundikal.In all, 33 wind turbine generators with a total capacity of 19.8 MW are under construction. Each generator will have a capacity of 600 KW. Two 33 kV transmission lines from the wind farm to the Agali substation of the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) is also under construction.The work on the wind farm by 'Suzlon' started in June this year. It is expected to start power generation from March next year.

 

Areas like Kottathara, Kadampara, Nallasinga, Sholayur and Kaundikal are witnessing brisk activities. Wind energy is considered a green power source. It is also the cleanest energy mode.India ranks first in Asia and fourth in the world among wind power producing countries. India added 1700 MW to the installed capacity in 2006-07 to aggregate an installed capacity of more than 7200 MW. The State has now made a beginning in tapping wind potential (assessed as around 650 MW).But, some have raised doubts about its impact on the environment. Suzlon has rubbished all such allegations. "Wind farms, by its very design do not act as a solid obstruction. Therefore, they do not induce enough vertical velocities to result in any appreciable change in precipitation," a company official said.

 

 

The Hindu, December 11^th 2007

Allnationsmustjoinclimatefight-Balidraft

All nations must do more to fight climate change, with deep cuts in greenhouse gases by rich nations to avoid the worst impacts, a draft proposal at U.N. talks said .

 

The four-page draft, written by delegates from Indonesia, Australia and South Africa as an unofficial guide for delegates at the Dec. 3-14 190-nation talks, said developing nations should at least brake rising emissions as part of a new pact.

 

It said there was "unequivocal scientific evidence" that "preventing the worst impacts of climate change will require (developed nations) to reduce emissions in a range of 25-40 percent below 1990 levels by 2020."

 

The draft is the first outline of how to launch talks on a new global deal to replace the Kyoto Protocol, which binds 36 developed nations to cut emissions of greenhouse gases by 5 percent below 1990 levels by 2008-12.

 

"Current efforts...will not deliver the required emissions reductions," according to the text, obtained by Reuters, that lays out a roadmap to averting ever more droughts, floods, heatwaves and rising seas.

 

"The challenge of climate change calls for effective participation by all countries," it said. The United States is outside the Kyoto pact and developing nations led by China and India have no 2012 goals for limiting emissions.

 

And it said global emissions of greenhouse gases would have to "peak in the next 10 to 15 years and be reduced to very low levels, well below half of levels in 2000 by 2050."

 

It lays out three options for a "roadmap" of what should happen after Bali -- ranging from non-binding talks over the next two years to a deadline for adopting a new global pact at a U.N. meeting in Copenhagen in late 2009.

 

For rich nations, it says that they should consider ways to step up efforts to curb emissions of greenhouse gase by setting "quantified national emission objectives".

 

And poor countries should take "national mitigation actions...that limit the growth of, or reduce, emissions," it says. It adds that "social development and poverty eradication are the first and overriding priorities" for poor nations.

 

Delegates will report back on Monday with reactions to the text.

High-rises threatening the Periyar

 Illegal occupation of the Periyar has become rampant thanks to the increasing number of high-rise buildings coming up on either side of the river.More than 20 private groups and real-estate developers have announced their "river-view" building projects.

Studies conducted by agencies such as the State Pollution Control Board found that the natural lifeline of the river was under threat following large-scale encroachments upon its banks. High-rise buildings are coming up violating all provisions of the Kerala River Protection Act.Revenue Department sources said a few real estate builders had violated the provision that construction activities should be taken up only 50 metres from the riverbank. Some of the projects had been set up at a distance of 10 metres from the river line.

 

Studies found that illegal occupation of the riversides had been rampant on the stretch from Vandiperiyar to the Kadamakudy panchayat area. The river had narrowed considerably from the Idukki arch dam to Karimban following unchecked encroachment. The Periyar Action Plan prepared in 1997 estimated the maximum width of the river at 405 metres in Kalady. In one of the latest cases, it was reported that several areas of the riverside from Malayatoor had been encroached upon. Encroachments had been reported at Poornakadavu in Kalady.Similar cases had been reported from Veliyathunattukara in Aluva taluk, Thadikakadavu, Varanattukadavu, Puthenchalilkadavu, Kanjirathumparambukadavu and Parambukadavu.

 

The Hindu, November 26^th 2007

Butterfly garden to be commissioned in December

The butterfly garden being set up under Thenmala ecotourism initiative, the first planned ecotourism destination in the country, at a cost of Rs.25 lakh will be thrown open to visitors by the end of the year.Housed behind the musical fountain in the cultural zone, the park is being set up on 2 hectares of forest land handed over by the government to the Thenmala Ecotourism Promotion Society.The Entomology Department of Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI) has been entrusted with the job of setting up of the park.

The garden is set up in such a way by the KFRI authorities that the patch of forest has been preserved intact.

In addition to seeing the colourful winged insects at close quarters, the visitors will be able to see Hornbills and other birds in the garden. Children will also be able to see the winged insects in natural habitat.The entrance to the garden is through a gate modelled on the lines of a giant Ficus tree. It will lead to the Facilitation Centre and Information Centre constructed in Kerala style.The information centre will have a souvenir shop, office and a display room.There is a 500-metre-long nature trail on either side of which appropriate butterfly host plants have been planted.An artificial stream with pebbles and water plants are to be laid to lend a natural touch.Two major phases exist in the lifecycle of a butterfly – the caterpillar phase which feeds on foliage of specific host plants and adult or butterfly stage which feeds on nectar.

 

Ixora, Clerodendrum, Mussaenda, Lantana and Cassia are nectar sources for butterflies.

Curry leaf, Citrus, Mussaenda, Cinnamom, Cherry, Ficus, Wattakakka, Tylophora and Aristolochia indica are larval host plants of specific butterfly species.The planting of the host plants is on in full swing."By introducing these host plants, we can attract and sustain butterflies," says George Mathew, scientist-in-charge (Facility) Entomology Forest Protection Division, KFRI.Hundreds of Dark Blue Tiger butterflies have started aggregating on Crotalaria plants in the garden.As many as 30 big models of butterflies with brief description and photographs, a 15-metre-long caterpillar and display boards in rocks are also being set up in the garden.In addition, three resting points and two make-shift bridges have also been created inside the garden."Spotting the butterflies in the open environment will be the added attraction at Thenmala. The works are nearing completion and the garden will be thrown open before the year end," Director, Ecotourism, T.P. Narayanankutty told The Hindu.

 

Around 40 species have been spotted in the garden at Thenmala.The Palmking butterfly, a variety rarely found in the country, was sighted at the Shenduruny Wildlife Sanctuary by lepidopterists in June. KFRI has already two model parks – on the KFRI campus at Peechi and on the Teak Museum campus, Nilambur.

 

The Hindu, November 26^th 2007

India sets terms for a cap on greenhouse gas emissions

 India has offered to place a "cap" on the "per-person greenhouse gas emissions" at a level equivalent to a "cap" that the developed countries would be willing to agree upon.

Conveying this to the leaders of the East Asia Summit (EAS)  Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said his "first priority is India's economic growth" and climate change issues would be looked at under that prism. India's greenhouse gas emissions were now "much smaller" than those of the developed countries, especially when measured on a "per-person basis."

 

Eloquent presentations

 

India being "entitled" to the same standards as those that the developed bloc applied to itself, he would be prepared to match any commitments that might be made by the industrially advanced nations within the framework of economic growth.

 

Summing up India's stance on these lines, EAS Chairman and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said, at a post-summit press conference, that he did "not know whether that is the position which will be negotiated in an international agreement" on climate change.

 

China and India made "eloquent presentations" on why economic development was a priority for them, Mr. Lee pointed out. The leaders of the 16 EAS countries later signed a Declaration on Climate Change, Energy and the Environment. At the signing ceremony, Mr. Lee was flanked by Dr. Singh and Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, as if to convey the political symbolism of the relevance of these two countries to the global discourse on climate change.

 

Mr. Lee described the EAS document on this issue as "a declaration of intent, not a negotiated treaty."

 

On the cross-linkages between economic development, energy security and climate change, Mr. Lee quoted Dr. Singh as having told his EAS colleagues that he had "no time to worry about global warming" after reading headlines suggesting that Venezuela would like crude oil prices to double from the current level of $100 a barrel.

 

The issue of civilian nuclear energy was discussed during the in-camera EAS meeting, but the United States-India agreement on this issue did not figure, according to Union Commerce Minister Kamal Nath, who was with Dr. Singh during the deliberations.

 

Of some resonance to this U.S.-India issue was a comment that Mr. Lee made at his press conference while outlining the need for ratification of the new charter of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).

 

He said: "Some of the legislatures do not always ratify everything which the executive puts before them."

 

The leaders of the EAS, a forum that links India with China as also Japan among others, declared their intention to cooperate for "the development and use of civilian nuclear power." This would apply to "those EAS participating countries which are interested."

 

 The Hindu, November 22^nd   2007

IPCC issues warning on global warming

The Nobel winning Inter Governmental panel on Climate Change (IPCC) group of climate scientist issued their starkest warning yet on global warning. IPCC declared that the impact of global warming could be "abrupt or irreversible" and no country would be spared. The new report is intended to act as a guide to policy makers for years to come. It summarizes three massive assessments publishes this year on the evidence for global warming its impact and the options for tackling the emissions that causes it. Retreating glaciers and loss of alpine snow, thinning arctic summer sea ice and thawing permafrost show that climate change is already on the march.

By 2100 global average surface temperature could rise by between 1.1C and 6.4C compared to 1980-99 levels. Sea level will rise by atleast18 centimeters. An earlier estimate of an upper limit of 59 centimeters does not take into account "uncertainties" about the impact of disrupted carbon cycles and melting ice-sheets in Greenland and the Antarctic, the new report says. Heat waves, rainstorms, tropical cyclones and surges in sea level are among the events expected to become more frequent, more widespread or more intense this century. "All countries" will be affected by climate change but those in the forefront are poor nations especially small island states and developing economies where hundreds of millions of people live in low-line deltas.

 

The Hindu, November 19^th  2007

Species in Western Ghats to be barcoded

 The Kerala State is set to join the global race to identify and distinguish biological species in threatened natural habitats, such as rainforests and tropical ecosystems.

 

The State Council for Science, Technology and Environment is preparing to embark on an ambitious project for DNA barcoding of life forms in the Western Ghats and Kerala.

 

Similar to the barcode that recognises an item at a supermarket, a DNA barcode is a molecular tool to identify plant and animal species. It is widely used in taxonomy research, biodiversity studies and government regulation.

 

Each of the world's estimated 1.8-million species is genetically unique — its unique identity is carried in its DNA molecules. DNA barcoding rapidly sequences the DNA from a single, standardised gene on the molecule.

Master key

 

A short DNA sequence is an abbreviated digital label for the genome of the species, and hence considered a master key to knowledge about a species. A library of digital barcodes will provide crucial reference material to identify species invading and retreating across the globe and through centuries of life on the planet.

 

Scientists describe DNA barcoding as a way of democratising the ability to identify species because it enhances public access to biological knowledge. It also obviates the need for a taxonomist to identify a named organism. In fact, few taxonomists can critically identify more than 0.01 per cent of the estimated 10-million species on earth. According to E.P. Yesodharan, Executive Vice-President of the council, the DNA barcoding initiative is one of the priority projects identified by the council for launch this year. "The rich diversity of flora and fauna in the Western Ghats made it a natural choice for us. The project involves the establishment of a barcoding centre of life for species identification and documentation. It will be developed as a centre of excellence," he says.

 
A database of DNA barcodes will allow scientists to rapidly and cheaply identify species from samples.

 
TheHindu Monday, November 19, 2007

New technology for garbage plant

In a move aimed at improving the functioning of the garbage treatment plant at Vilappilsala, the city corporation  is planning ti introduce Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) technology. The proposal involves the manufacture of compact fuel pellets from  combustible material in residual garbage. The segregation of non combustible elements ensures high calorific value of the pellets which can replace coal in thermal power plants and also be used in specially designed stoves after gasification. The proposal is a part of eth project report, prepared fro sanitation schemes, to be submitted to the central government for assistance under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission. The report proposes two pellatisation plants with the capacity of 500Kg an hour. Another major proposal that is expected to net funds under the JNNURM is an engineered sanitary landfill with a capacity of 24,000 cubic meters.

 

India to promote green buildings

The government agencies along with The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) have decided to introduce the concept of green buildings and a three tier rating system.

According to the World council for Sustainable Development figures, 40 % of the global energy demands are from buildings. Being a rising economic power, India's energy demands are expected to overtake the energy demands of china by 2050. Green buildings are designed to minimize demand on non renewable resources and maximize utilization efficiency through reuse, recycling and use of renewable energy sources like sun, water and wind. According to the chairman of the Nobel prize winning Intergovernmental panel on Climate change (IPCC) Dr.R.K.Pachauri, who also heads Teri, energy efficient buildings and utility systems can reduce energy demands by as much as 40%. Commercial and residential buildings in India accounts for more than 30% of the countries total electricity consumption.

The Ministry of Non – Conventional Energy Sources (MNES) and Teri are expected to sign a rating system soon that would initially be implemented on a voluntary basis for upcoming building projects, especially offices, retail malls, institutions, residences and family high rise buildings.  The government is also thinking of giving sops to stakeholders, at a later stage, who conform to the green buildings standards and get good credit points.  A nodal agency comprising officials and experts from MNES, Bureau of Energy Efficiency, Bureau of Indian standards, Ministry of Environment and Forest and Teri would grant the ratings after making a thorough evaluation.

 The  New Indian Express, November 1^st 2007