Source: Mathrubhumi, 29th April 2009
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Friday, April 24, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Friday, April 17, 2009
Rare shark caught, eaten
A megamouth shark, one of the world's most elusive species, was caught carved up and eaten by fishermen from a town in the Philippines, the environmental conservation group WWF said. So rare are megamouth shark sightings that each find is given a number. This one, caught by fishermen off Donsol, was only the 41st ever seen in the world. A WWF representative said it was butchered ad its meat sautéed in coconut milk as a local delicacy, against the organisation's advice. The four metre, half tonne mega mouth was snared by fishermen trawling for mackerel off he Bicol peninsula on Luzon island. The species, named for its metre-wide mouth, is a recent scientific discovery. The first specimen was caught off Oahu, Hawaii in 1976, the WWF said. The scientific community had failed it as 20th century's most significant marine find.
The Hindu, 8th April 2009
Antarctic iceberg ‘set to collapse’
The massive Antarctic iceberg is "set to collapse" as the ice bridge which links the two islands on the peninsula has started melting dramatically."The Wilkins Ice Shelf is at risk of partly breaking away from the Antarctic Peninsula as the ice bridge that connects it to Charcot and Latady islands looks set to collapse," the European Space Agency (ESA) has said. "The melting began this week when new rifts forming along its centre axis resulted in a large block of ice breaking away," it said referring to ESA's satellite images acquired on April 2.Scientists are currently investigating the reasons and processes of the recent ice shelf break-ups. For many, the situation is linked to the global warming during the past 50 years, during which the Antarctic temperature has increased by 2.5 degree Celsius — far more than the global average. In February last, 425 square kilometres of ice calved away, narrowing the ice bridge down to a 6-km strip. At the end of May, a 160-sq-km chunk of ice broke away and reduced the ice bridge to just 2.7 km.
The Hindu, 6th April 2009
Plan to decentralise solid waste management
The City Corporation is preparing to take up a pilot project for household-level solid waste management to reduce the quantum of garbage reaching the treatment plant at Vilappilsala. The participatory project seeks to treat solid waste at source by installing mini waste-processing plants on the premises of houses. The Corporation is planning to select around 2,500 houses for the implementation of the pilot phase of the project. There will be three options for waste processing — vermicomposting, natural composting and biogas plant. "In the initial phase, biogas plants will be set up at SMV School and the Government Hospital, Peroorkada, with the support from the Agency for Non-Conventional Energy and Rural Technology (ANERT). Later, this will be extended to select households within the Corporation limits," Deputy Mayor V. Jayaprakash said here. The project, to be implemented in the first phase of the People's Plan campaign of the Corporation for the year 2009-10, will be primarily funded under the Kerala Sustainable Urban Development Project (KSUDP), Mr. Jayaprakash said. The household-level units will get a Corporation subsidy of up to 50 percent. The non-biodegradable waste will be collected by sanitation workers. Corporation Health Officer D. Sreekumar said Kudumbasree sanitation workers would be deployed for maintaining the bio-degradation plants in the select households. "Although the Corporation had attempted source- level waste management in some wards earlier, it was found that the residents were not very keen to maintain the units. So we have decided to deploy Kudumbasree sanitation workers for the purpose," Dr. Sreekumar said. This would also help in retaining the jobs of Kudumbasree workers, he said. The Corporation was now in the process of identifying households willing to participate in the pilot project, Dr. Sreekumar said. "Some residents' associations in the Muttada ward have expressed their willingness. Once the households are identified it will require some ground work before the processing units are set up," he said. The pilot project is estimated to cost around Rs.20 lakh. Meanwhile, the Corporation is going ahead with a project to modernise and enhance the capacity of the treatment plant at Vilappilsala.
The Hindu, 6th April 2009
The Hindu, 6th April 2009
Sniff of life outside earth
The recent discovery of new micro-organisms in the earth's upper stratosphere by Indian scientists has focussed attention on the possible existence of extraterrestrial life forms, astrophysicist Jayant V. Narlikar has said on Thursday. Addressing a function organised by the Kerala State Science and Technology Museum (KSSTM) and the University of Kerala in connection with the International Year of Astronomy 2009, he said three new species of bacteria, which are not found on the Earth and which are highly resistant to ultra-violet radiation, had been discovered in the upper stratosphere by Indian scientists under a research project involving the Inter University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), ISRO, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) and the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB). The experiment, he explained, was conducted using a balloon carrying a scientific payload that collected air samples from different heights in the earth's atmosphere. On analysing the samples, scientists at the CCMB, Hyderabad, and the National Centre for Cell Science (NCCS), Pune, detected 12 bacterial and six fungal colonies. Three of the bacterial colonies comprised totally new species and had significantly higher UV resistance compared to their counterparts known to scientists. The samples shared with Cardiff University and Sheffield University also returned the same results. "While the study does not conclusively establish the extraterrestrial origin of micro-organisms, it does provide encouragement to continue the quest," said Mr. Narlikar, who was the principal investigator of the project. Mr. Narlikar said the samples collected under the project would be subjected to nuclear isotope analysis to ascertain their origin outside the earth. "That will be our next attempt," he said."Millimetre wavelength astronomy has revealed the existence of molecules in outer space. Comets are considered to be carriers of micro-organisms in frozen state. These micro-organisms are released when the comets' tails brush the earth's atmosphere," he explained.
The Hindu, 3rd April 2009
The Hindu, 3rd April 2009
MS Swaminathan agro-biodiversity centre achieves success in Wayanad
The community Agrobiodiversity Centre (CAbC) under M.S.Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), that has been operating in the Wayanad district for a decade, seems to have been successful in conserving traditional varieties in crop plants of food value, and rare endemic and threatened species in wild flowering plants.The MSSRF expanded its activities under a broader programme to provide infrastructure to empower communities in agro biodiversity conservation and thereby, enhancing rural livelihoods, by establishing CABC in Wayanad 1997.The 10 years of work in conservation has provided ample baseline information on wild foods, yams and RET plant species seen in the Western ghats, Dr.N.Anil Kumar, Director of the centre in Wayanad, told Business Line.What is significant is that a large number of people have learned to manage their natural resources such as soil and water and improve their food security by managing their home-gardens and semi-wilderness habitats in a better way, he said. Over 500 women have been trained in the production and use, and marketing of primary health care products. Besides, a sizeable number of children had been educated on the importance of biodiversity and traditional knowledge.This has resulted in the emergence of core teams of educated youth, women and men farmers in villages and they engaged in spreading the message of sustainable resource management methods across their regions. The role played by the CAbC in slowing down the pace of conversion of paddy fields into banana fields and revival of homestead farming by promoting marginal foods such as yams and taros, and revitalisation of traditional health care practices is significant in the district and invited wider attention from the whole of Kerala, he said. Promotion of organic and LEISA farming methods and education in biodiversity aimed at tribal and rural children were the other areas of achievements, he said.However, there are grey areas in our targeted goals and achievements he conceded. For instance, he said reaching the men and women living in poverty with the goal of improving their livelihoods in s sustainable manner is still a challenging goal for us", Much more needs to be done to address various dimensions of livelihoods and poverty of the district, particularly the tribal communities such as Paniya, Kuttunaikka and Adiya.The households food and health security initiatives and income generation process by commercialising biodiversity products and ecosystem services without undermining their other values such as culture, production opportunities can prove to be a majopr improvement in the lives of the pooresr in CAbC's intervention sites.The strategic area of action, he said, is to implement four integrated packages under a strategic framework during 2008-2012.Among the packages, conservation gets high attention at the levels of in situ on farm conservation, ex situ consideration involving seed bank, in vitro cultures in the case of vegetatively propagated plants such as yams and the cultural landscapes like sacred groves etc.
The Business Line, 2nd April 2009
The Business Line, 2nd April 2009
Movement against global warming
The Bharatiya Vichara Kendram (BVK) has announced plans to launch a movement to counter the impact of global warming. A press note issued by the kendram on Monday said the movement titled Matha Prithvi or Mother Earth would try to network with other organisations to preserve and protect the Earth from exploitation. "Global warming is reaching alarming proportions and is threatening the very survival of mankind. The onus of countering this menace rests on the global family. Various initiatives have been launched to create awareness among the people and forestall the imminent danger. The kendram seeks to play a key role in this global effort," the note said. The press note identified unbalanced industrialisation, burning of fossil fuels, increased use of thermal power and deforestation as the main cause for global warming. "Acute climate changes adversely affecting the life of plants and animals are already being felt. Countries like the Mali islands, Australia, Bangladesh and the coastal areas of Kerala are facing the threat of submergence due to rising sea level. On a slower scale, the destruction of biodiversity on our planet is bound to set off a chain reaction leading to crop loss, new strains of diseases and other calamities," it said. The press note highlighted the need to invoke cultural traditions and value systems that are eco-friendly and help bond with nature. "An attitudinal change based on the organic relationship of man with nature has to be rekindled," it said. As the first step, BVK joined hands with other like- minded organisations to observe Earth Hour on March 28. The note said Matha Prithvi would comprise a wider campaign and would have seminars, discourses and awareness workshops to sensitise various segments of society.
The Hindu, 31st March 2009
The Hindu, 31st March 2009
Landmines to be sniffed out? Enter the rat pack
Highly trained sniffer rats could become the latest weapon against landmines after one was taught to smell out explosive devices.Staff at porfell Wildlife park and sanctuary near Liskead, Cornwall, have been teaching Gambjan poached rat kofi to alert handlers when he detects a mine. Kofi is too alert handlers when he detects a mine. Kofi is too small to set off the booby-traps but his acute sense of smell can pick up the scent of the bomb casing.Rats have been trained in Africa to hunt for land mines but kofi is the first to undergo the programme in Britain. Handler Wendy Winstanley now plans to contact the Army and the police anti terror unit to offer her rats services for use both home and abroad.The bomb sniffing training process begins when rats are five weeks old and are weaned from their mothers. Trainers begin socialising the young rats to the sights, sounds, and textures of the world by walking them on wet grass, going for a ride in a lorry and interacting with humans. Then the sniffer rats are taught to recognize the smell of metal land mine casings in return for a food reward. Thirty sniffer rats are already being used in Mozambique, Africa and have proved incredibly successful for the detection and removal of land mined. The rodents are fitted to a leash before scrambling their way over a piece of ground, sniffing out any explosives.
The New Indian Express, 31st march 2009
The New Indian Express, 31st march 2009
Spurt in elephant deaths at Periyar reserve
A recent spurt in death of wild elephants, including a calf, in the Periyar Tiger Reserve (PTR), Thekkady, has raised concern. It is believed that eight elephants died in a month, though officials have confirmed only five cases. The reason for the deaths is yet to be identified. The authorities attributed the fatalities to "attack by a rogue elephant which had turned violent." It was found in the post-mortem reports that four elephants died from wounds caused by fighting. The image of a rogue elephant was captured near the area.However, an environmental expert says that the chances of a rogue elephant attacking a calf are slim. The carcass of the two-day-old female calf was found at Ottamaram in the Vallakkadavu range on Saturday. The range alone has reported the death of five elephants. In Srampical range, two female elephants died. An eight-year-old tusker was found dead in the Thekkady range. "Only a detailed inquiry can confirm the reason. We have tried to give the animals maximum protection. Poaching on the Tamil Nadu border has been effectively countered," said a wildlife official of the PTR. He added that elephant census had not been taken in the PTR since 2002. About 90 per cent of the PTR is evergreen with abundant source of perennial streams. Unlike other sanctuaries, there is no concern for man-animal conflict in the 800-sq km zone, he added.Georgy P. Mathachen, Deputy Director, PTR, told The Hindu on Sunday that of the five elephants, the death of four was confirmed as due to fighting. The fifth one died of an infection from an injury, apparently caused by the sharp end of bamboo.He said that a team deputed to trace the rogue elephant confirmed that it was in 'musth' and was returning to normal condition. An expert team will be formed to enhance protection for the animals, he said.It is believed that PTR has 600 to 700 elephants with a 1:5 male-female ratio. No outbreak of disease had been noticed in the PTR, said the official.
The Hindu, 30th March 2009
The Hindu, 30th March 2009
Swift action needed to protect Great hornbills
Recently the Kerala assembly was told that the state bird, the magnificent Great Hornbill, was among 31 threatened bird species in the state. Not that it created much flutter in government circles. But now, international attention is being directed on India-lead Western Ghats and North –East –which is formed to 9 varieties of Hornbills.Speakers at the fifth international Hornbill conference held in Singapore from March 22 to 25th have called for deeper research on Hornbill and effective conservation measures in the Indian and African regions. This has special significance for Kerala which is home to four Hornbill types; and the alarm bells are ringing loud and clear for two of them- the great Hornbill, aka the Great Indian Hornbill (Buceros bicornis) and the Malabar pied Hornbill (Anthracoceros coronatus).The last mentioned is largely endemic to the Western Ghats and Srilanka. The Great Hornbill known locally as 'Malamuzhakki Vezhambal' , is also the state bird of Arunachal Pradesh. The conference attended by renowned experts such as Allen Kemp –emphasis the need for more studies in the Indian and African region.Amithabachan presented a paper at the Singapore convention on the conservation of Great Hornbill and the Malabar Pied Hornbill by involving the 'Kadar" tribe.
"We've had a conservation programme going at Vazhachal, Thrissur, since 2004 involving the Kadar tribe. They are an important factor; as much as the protection of trees in which these birds nest is," he said.In 2004, when the Hornbill Conservation Programme started at vazhachal, only one Malabar Pied Hornbill nest were detected. Now four Malabar Pied Hornbill nest 57 Great Hornbill ones are being monitored. The conservation programme is to be extended to Nelliyampathy, Edamalayar and parambikkulam. According to Forest Minister Binoy Viswam's written reply to a question in the State Assembly ('Last Flight?' Expresso- February 17), the Great Hornbill and the Malabar Pied Hornbill are listed as 'Near Threatened' (IUCN Red List).Monogamous by nature, the Great Hornbills – which are large birds as their name suggests prefer tall, huge trees to nest. And they nest at heights of up to 30 meters. As for the Malabar Pied Hornbill, the riparian forests at Vazhachal are the only available nesting places now in Kerala. A plea has been made to upgrade the status of this bird from 'Near Threatened' to 'Endangered'
The New Indian Express, 30th March 2009
"We've had a conservation programme going at Vazhachal, Thrissur, since 2004 involving the Kadar tribe. They are an important factor; as much as the protection of trees in which these birds nest is," he said.In 2004, when the Hornbill Conservation Programme started at vazhachal, only one Malabar Pied Hornbill nest were detected. Now four Malabar Pied Hornbill nest 57 Great Hornbill ones are being monitored. The conservation programme is to be extended to Nelliyampathy, Edamalayar and parambikkulam. According to Forest Minister Binoy Viswam's written reply to a question in the State Assembly ('Last Flight?' Expresso- February 17), the Great Hornbill and the Malabar Pied Hornbill are listed as 'Near Threatened' (IUCN Red List).Monogamous by nature, the Great Hornbills – which are large birds as their name suggests prefer tall, huge trees to nest. And they nest at heights of up to 30 meters. As for the Malabar Pied Hornbill, the riparian forests at Vazhachal are the only available nesting places now in Kerala. A plea has been made to upgrade the status of this bird from 'Near Threatened' to 'Endangered'
The New Indian Express, 30th March 2009
Earth Hour, a big success: ecologists
For environmental activists, the message was clear: Earth Hour was a huge success. Now they say nations have a mandate to tackle climate change. "The world said yes to climate action, now governments must follow," said the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) a day after hundreds of millions of people worldwide followed its call to turn off lights for a full hour. From an Antarctic research base and the Great Pyramids of Egypt, from the Colosseum in Rome to the Empire State building in New York, illuminated patches of the globe went dark on Saturday night to highlight the threat of climate change. Time zone by time zone, nearly 4,000 cities and towns in 88 countries dimmed nonessential lights from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. WWF called the event, which began in Australia in 2007 and grew last year to 400 cities worldwide, "the world's first-ever global vote about the future of our planet". "Last night's message from the masses was loud and clear: Delay no more, real action now!" said Kim Carstensen, leader of WWF's Global Climate Initiative, in a statement. Negotiators from 175 countries gathered on Sunday in Bonn for the latest round to craft a deal to control emissions of the heat-trapping gases responsible for global warming. German boy and girl scouts on Sunday presented the top U.N. climate official, Yvo de Boer, with a blue "ballot box" symbolically representing the world's vote the night before to save the earth. "If the world keeps polluting ... we will lose our future," a young Girl Scout told Mr. de Boer. The climate chief thanked the young people as well as the WWF for mobilising the massive show of support. "I wouldn't be surprised if that was actually the largest public demonstration that there has ever been on an issue like this," he said. "Earth Hour has always been a positive campaign," said Earth Hour executive director Andy Ridley.
The Hindu, 30th March 2009
The Hindu, 30th March 2009
Computers adding to global warming
Greenhouse gases produced by big computer warehouses, including those powering the Internet, threaten to overtake those by the airline industry by year 2012-2015, adding significantly to global warming/climate change. The best energy management practices demand data centre energy efficiency and sustained interface between the IT professionals and energy management professionals, according to Mr S. Kumar Deepa, a member of the Society of Energy Engineers and Managers (SEEM) and an Energy Technologist at the Energy Management Centre, Kerala. Computer data centres, the vast collection of computers that power everything from online banking to data entry operations, consume an incredible amount of energy. Each of those large cabinets standing tall in these centres represent a rack of processing power, which generates a lot of heat. This heat is sought to be controlled by air-conditioning, which in turn involves use of huge amounts of energy. On an average, every kWh of electricity used for processing IT loads translates into another kWh of electricity for the supporting physical infrastructure such as UPS (uninterrupted power supplies), PDUs (power distribution units), chillers, air handlers, pumps and other devices. Power demand in 2005 (including for additional infrastructure) was equivalent in capacity terms to about five 1,000 MW power plants for the US and 14 such plants for the rest of the world. Total electricity bills for operating these servers and associated infrastructure in 2005 was about $2.7 bn and $7.2 bn for the US and the world respectively, Mr Kumar Deepa says. Reports suggest that the energy consumed by data centre servers and related infrastructure equipment worldwide has doubled between 2000 and 2005. Energy managers need to create a strategic road map for reducing energy consumption in data centres and IT firms. Data centres are a relatively easy target due to the very high density of energy consumption and ease of measurement in comparison to other, possibly more significant areas of IT energy use. Policy makers have identified IT and specifically data centre energy use as one of the fastest rising sectors. The flaring of energy prices in the recent past had one unintended but salutary impact on data centre managers – it substantially impacted their business models and triggered changes in the way data centre capacity is charged for commercially. The use of best energy management practices and the best available technology to process digital information, such as energy efficient computer servers and visualisation server software apart from removing the heat rejected from the data centre equipment in an energy efficient manner, provides an opportunity to improve data centre energy efficiency significantly. Environmental impact of data centres has become a significant issue for both operators and policy makers. Data centre operators are now grappling with the issues of energy security, costs and energy availability like never before. This is especially so given the pressures of fossil fuel availability, generation and distribution capacity and uncertainties surrounding the environmental energy policy.
The Hindu, 30th March 2009
The Hindu, 30th March 2009
Eco-friendly initiatives by an airline
SriLankan Airlines has commenced transforming its worldwide operations into environment-friendly 'Green Flights,' becoming the first airline in South Asia to 'make a full and unconditional commitment to environmental conservation.' Flight UL 557 from Colombo's Bandaranaike International Airport to Frankfurt on March 21 was the first 'Green flight' in the region, a press release by the airline said. The concept involves a comprehensive range of measures to make flights as environment-friendly as possible by minimising fuel consumption, carbon emissions and noise levels. For the passengers, the experience began with a special 'Green counter' at the airport and paperless ticketing. Even the vehicles used for support services were certified as environment friendly. FlySmiLes, a loyalty programme, surprised some members and non-member passengers with gifts and offers of bonus miles for environmentally friendly travel practices. On board, the cabin crew carried the message of conservation. Maximum use of recyclable materials including biodegradable plastic and segregation of waste in the aircraft are some of the steps being adopted. Even the weight of magazines carried had been reduced, it said. As part of reducing use of aviation fuel, the aircraft was pushed back from the terminal and towed as far as possible. While boarding passengers, its air-conditioning and other systems were powered from ground power sources; the takeoff was on reduced flaps to burn less fuel. The aircraft itself had been prepared further by a full wash of its fuselage and engines to reduce wind drag while in flight. The flight also took a direct route at an optimum height for fuel conservation. It carried out a 'continuous descent approach,' landed with reduced flaps and was taxied with a single engine. It made use of the used 'idle reverse thrust' after landing as opposed to the 'full reverse thrust' and used a preferential runway, all to conserve fuel.
The Hindu, 29th March 2009
The Hindu, 29th March 2009
Vote against global warming
Tens of thousands of homes in Kerala switched off lights for an hour from 8.30 p.m. on Saturday joining the global 'Earth Hour' observance to highlight the need for energy conservation to combat global warming. The hour from 8.30 p.m. to 9.30 p.m. witnessed a drop of around 100 MW of load in the electricity grid in the State, according to a preliminary assessment by the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB). KSEB chief engineer K. Radhakrishnan said around 20 per cent of the domestic power consumers would have responded to the call to switch off lights. Lights also went off at government buildings such as the Secretariat in the capital city. Actor Suresh Gopi and Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment executive vice-president E.P. Yesodharan participated in a function held at the Gandhi Park here to mark the 'Earth Hour' observance. Participants lit candles over a map of Kerala printed on a flex-board and a folk troupe conducted a musical programme during the one-hour vigil.
The Hindu, 29th March 2009
The Hindu, 29th March 2009
Monday, April 13, 2009
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