Source: Mathrubhoomi, 26-05-2011
Showing posts with label environment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label environment. Show all posts
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Monday, May 2, 2011
Giant African snails invade Konni
PATHANAMTHITTA: With the onset of summer rain, the giant African snail menace has become a major environmental as well as health and hygiene problem at Konni and surrounding areas.
The fast multiplication of snails has become a major problem facing the villagers residing in the forest fringes of Pathanamthitta district.
The worst-affected areas are wards 11, 12, 14, 16 and 17 in Konni panchayat. These creatures creep into houses to feed on cement and lime as they require large amount of calcium. They also feed on vegetation posing threat to forest environs.
The snails even creep into kitchens and rooms. The menace is fast spreading to the adjoining panchayats.
Experts say snails cannot survive in hot climate, especially above 30 degree centigrade.
Burrows on trees and rocks are the day-time hideout of these creatures. Their movement in clusters, riding on each other's back, has become a common scene during night in the infested areas.
The fast multiplication of snails has become a major problem facing the villagers residing in the forest fringes of Pathanamthitta district.
The worst-affected areas are wards 11, 12, 14, 16 and 17 in Konni panchayat. These creatures creep into houses to feed on cement and lime as they require large amount of calcium. They also feed on vegetation posing threat to forest environs.
The snails even creep into kitchens and rooms. The menace is fast spreading to the adjoining panchayats.
Experts say snails cannot survive in hot climate, especially above 30 degree centigrade.
Burrows on trees and rocks are the day-time hideout of these creatures. Their movement in clusters, riding on each other's back, has become a common scene during night in the infested areas.
The Konni grama panchayat and the Kudumbasree self-help group had jointly launched a snail eradication campaign in the panchayat on Thursday. Members of the team sprinkle common salt and spray a liquid mixture of tobacco, copper sulphate, and salt at their hideouts for mass eradication. The snails killed thus are buried in different localities.
Villagers said the snails were found perching on giant coconut trees to feed on tender palm leaves. They also feed on tender leaves of papaya, tapioca, banana trees and all sorts of vegetable during night, ultimately destroying the farm.
The eradication drive would continue, the panchayat authorities said.
It is believed that African snails had reached Konni along with timber consignments from Malaysia as early as 2005.
Source: The Hindu May 01, 2011
Villagers said the snails were found perching on giant coconut trees to feed on tender palm leaves. They also feed on tender leaves of papaya, tapioca, banana trees and all sorts of vegetable during night, ultimately destroying the farm.
The eradication drive would continue, the panchayat authorities said.
It is believed that African snails had reached Konni along with timber consignments from Malaysia as early as 2005.
Source: The Hindu May 01, 2011
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Building houses using straw?
Think of a straw-bale house and you might imagine a tumbledown shack that leaks, creaks, and slumps.
But step into BaleHaus, a startlingly contemporary looking prototype home that has been built on the Bath campus, and there's nary a wisp of straw to be seen.
The straw bales are all packed tightly inside a series of prefabricated rectangular wooden wall frames, which are then lime-rendered, dried and finally slotted together like giant Lego pieces, called ModCell panels.
The benefits of straw, points out Professor Peter Walker, director of the University of Bath's BRE Centre for Innovative Construction Materials, are that “it's cheap, widely available and a good insulator. It's been used in building houses for hundreds of years”.
Unlike conventional building materils, straw offers a welcome solution to housing's greenhouse gas emissions.
The results now being published. The researchers spent the last 18 months testing the BaleHaus against an exhaustive list of risk factors that could rot it, burn it or blow it down, so far seem to be reassuring.
The ModCell unit was strapped to a fiery furnace with temperatures of over 1000 degrees C but it did not end up as ashes.
It took an hour-and-a-half of being in direct contact with the flames, says Dr. Katherine Beadle, a research partner, before the lime render began to drop off, “and then the straw did start to burn back, but because it's so compacted it suffered more charring than actual disintegration.”
Hydraulic jacks were placed against the walls to replicate wind forces pushing against the bales — the ModCell panels moved a few millimetres, but stayed within the tolerances allowed for by the computer modelling carried out prior to its construction.
“It means the house is stiffer than it needs to be, so we now have the option of taking away some of that stiffness — ie, reduce its internal timber — and that could reduce the cost,” says Dr. Walker.
In the airtightness test that was carried out, BaleHaus came in way under the building regulations threshold.
In the flood test the researchers are going to stand a panel in a metre of water, gauge how long it takes to dry and assess whether industrial driers cause damage to the straw. — © Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2010
Source:The Hindu 15 July 2010
But step into BaleHaus, a startlingly contemporary looking prototype home that has been built on the Bath campus, and there's nary a wisp of straw to be seen.
The straw bales are all packed tightly inside a series of prefabricated rectangular wooden wall frames, which are then lime-rendered, dried and finally slotted together like giant Lego pieces, called ModCell panels.
The benefits of straw, points out Professor Peter Walker, director of the University of Bath's BRE Centre for Innovative Construction Materials, are that “it's cheap, widely available and a good insulator. It's been used in building houses for hundreds of years”.
Unlike conventional building materils, straw offers a welcome solution to housing's greenhouse gas emissions.
The results now being published. The researchers spent the last 18 months testing the BaleHaus against an exhaustive list of risk factors that could rot it, burn it or blow it down, so far seem to be reassuring.
The ModCell unit was strapped to a fiery furnace with temperatures of over 1000 degrees C but it did not end up as ashes.
It took an hour-and-a-half of being in direct contact with the flames, says Dr. Katherine Beadle, a research partner, before the lime render began to drop off, “and then the straw did start to burn back, but because it's so compacted it suffered more charring than actual disintegration.”
Hydraulic jacks were placed against the walls to replicate wind forces pushing against the bales — the ModCell panels moved a few millimetres, but stayed within the tolerances allowed for by the computer modelling carried out prior to its construction.
“It means the house is stiffer than it needs to be, so we now have the option of taking away some of that stiffness — ie, reduce its internal timber — and that could reduce the cost,” says Dr. Walker.
In the airtightness test that was carried out, BaleHaus came in way under the building regulations threshold.
In the flood test the researchers are going to stand a panel in a metre of water, gauge how long it takes to dry and assess whether industrial driers cause damage to the straw. — © Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2010
Source:The Hindu 15 July 2010
Sea levels rising in parts of Indian Ocean: study
Newly detected rising sea levels in parts of the Indian Ocean, including the coastlines of the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea, Sri Lanka, Sumatra and Java, appear to be at least partly a result of human-induced increases of atmospheric greenhouse gases, says a study led by the University of Colorado at Boulder.
The study, which combined sea surface measurements going back to the 1960s and satellite observations, indicates anthropogenic climate warming likely is amplifying regional sea rise changes in parts of the Indian Ocean, threatening inhabitants of some coastal areas and islands, said CU-Boulder Associate Professor Weiqing Han, lead study author.
May aggravate flooding
The sea level rise — which may aggravate monsoon flooding in Bangladesh and India — could have far-reaching impacts on both future regional and global climate, according to a University of Colorado-Boulder press release.
The key player in the process is the Indo-Pacific warm pool, an enormous, bathtub-shaped area of the tropical oceans stretching from the east coast of Africa west to the International Date Line in the Pacific.
The warm pool has heated by about or 0.5 degrees C, in the past 50 years, primarily caused by human-generated increases of greenhouse gases, said Han.
“Our results from this study imply that if future anthropogenic warming effects in the Indo-Pacific warm pool dominate natural variability, mid-ocean islands such as the Mascarenhas Archipelago, coasts of Indonesia, Sumatra and the north Indian Ocean may experience significantly more sea level rise than the global average,” said Han of CU-Boulder's atmospheric and oceanic sciences department.
A paper on the subject was published in a recent issue of Nature Geoscience.
While a number of areas in the Indian Ocean region are showing sea level rise, the study also indicated the Seychelles Islands and Zanzibar off Tanzania's coastline show the largest sea level drop. Global sea level patterns are not geographically uniform, and sea rise in some areas correlate with sea level fall in other areas.
The patterns
The patterns of sea level change are driven by the combined enhancement of two primary atmospheric wind patterns known as the Hadley circulation and the Walker circulation.
The Hadley circulation in the Indian Ocean is dominated by air currents rising above strongly heated tropical waters near the equator and flowing poleward, then sinking to the ocean in the subtropics and causing surface air to flow back toward the equator.
The Indian Ocean's Walker circulation causes air to rise and flow westward at upper levels, sink to the surface and then flow eastward back toward the Indo-Pacific warm pool. “The combined enhancement of the Hadley and Walker circulation form a distinct surface wind pattern that drives specific sea level patterns,” said Han.
The international research team used several different sophisticated ocean and climate models for the study, including the Parallel Ocean Program — the ocean component of NCAR's widely used Community Climate System Model. In addition, the team used a wind-driven, linear ocean model for the study.
All-season records
Han said based on all-season data records there is no significant sea level rise around the Maldives. But when the team looked at winter season data only, the Maldives show significant sea level rise, a cause for concern. The smallest Asian country, the Maldives is made up of more than 1,000 islands.
The complex circulation patterns in the Indian Ocean may also affect precipitation by forcing even more atmospheric air down to the surface in Indian Ocean subtropical regions than normal, Han speculated.
“This may favor a weakening of atmospheric convection in the subtropics, which may increase rainfall in the eastern tropical regions of the Indian Ocean and increase drought in the western equatorial Indian Ocean region, including east Africa,” he said.
Along the coasts of the northern Indian Ocean, seas have risen by an average of about 13 mm per decade. — Our Bureau
Source:The Hindu 15 July 2010
The study, which combined sea surface measurements going back to the 1960s and satellite observations, indicates anthropogenic climate warming likely is amplifying regional sea rise changes in parts of the Indian Ocean, threatening inhabitants of some coastal areas and islands, said CU-Boulder Associate Professor Weiqing Han, lead study author.
May aggravate flooding
The sea level rise — which may aggravate monsoon flooding in Bangladesh and India — could have far-reaching impacts on both future regional and global climate, according to a University of Colorado-Boulder press release.
The key player in the process is the Indo-Pacific warm pool, an enormous, bathtub-shaped area of the tropical oceans stretching from the east coast of Africa west to the International Date Line in the Pacific.
The warm pool has heated by about or 0.5 degrees C, in the past 50 years, primarily caused by human-generated increases of greenhouse gases, said Han.
“Our results from this study imply that if future anthropogenic warming effects in the Indo-Pacific warm pool dominate natural variability, mid-ocean islands such as the Mascarenhas Archipelago, coasts of Indonesia, Sumatra and the north Indian Ocean may experience significantly more sea level rise than the global average,” said Han of CU-Boulder's atmospheric and oceanic sciences department.
A paper on the subject was published in a recent issue of Nature Geoscience.
While a number of areas in the Indian Ocean region are showing sea level rise, the study also indicated the Seychelles Islands and Zanzibar off Tanzania's coastline show the largest sea level drop. Global sea level patterns are not geographically uniform, and sea rise in some areas correlate with sea level fall in other areas.
The patterns
The patterns of sea level change are driven by the combined enhancement of two primary atmospheric wind patterns known as the Hadley circulation and the Walker circulation.
The Hadley circulation in the Indian Ocean is dominated by air currents rising above strongly heated tropical waters near the equator and flowing poleward, then sinking to the ocean in the subtropics and causing surface air to flow back toward the equator.
The Indian Ocean's Walker circulation causes air to rise and flow westward at upper levels, sink to the surface and then flow eastward back toward the Indo-Pacific warm pool. “The combined enhancement of the Hadley and Walker circulation form a distinct surface wind pattern that drives specific sea level patterns,” said Han.
The international research team used several different sophisticated ocean and climate models for the study, including the Parallel Ocean Program — the ocean component of NCAR's widely used Community Climate System Model. In addition, the team used a wind-driven, linear ocean model for the study.
All-season records
Han said based on all-season data records there is no significant sea level rise around the Maldives. But when the team looked at winter season data only, the Maldives show significant sea level rise, a cause for concern. The smallest Asian country, the Maldives is made up of more than 1,000 islands.
The complex circulation patterns in the Indian Ocean may also affect precipitation by forcing even more atmospheric air down to the surface in Indian Ocean subtropical regions than normal, Han speculated.
“This may favor a weakening of atmospheric convection in the subtropics, which may increase rainfall in the eastern tropical regions of the Indian Ocean and increase drought in the western equatorial Indian Ocean region, including east Africa,” he said.
Along the coasts of the northern Indian Ocean, seas have risen by an average of about 13 mm per decade. — Our Bureau
Source:The Hindu 15 July 2010
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Kuravilangad grama panchayat turns waste into power
KURAVILANGAD (KOTTAYAM): When the urban swathe spreads disgorging large quantities of solid waste everyday, it is time for local self-government institutions to sit up and take note. The nightmarish consequences of waste left uncared for became a reality for the Kuravilangad grama panchayat when a quarry in disuse in the locality got filled up and the neighbourhood became increasingly restive.
When the problem began to acquire the dimensions of a local-level crisis, the panchayat decided to set up a bio-waste treatment plant in November 2006. “When we found that the people in the neighbourhood were beginning to feel agitated about mounting solid waste, we decided to go in for a decentralised system of waste disposal and simultaneously go in for a bio-waste treatment plant,” says panchayat president P.C. Kurian.
Under the plan, the people were encouraged to dispose of at source the waste collected from houses, schools, hospitals and other buildings. The panchayat also put in place a mechanism to collect market waste for conversion into biogas. The panchayat also imposed a ban on use of plastic with less than 30 micron thickness. “Soon, we began thinking about making a productive use of the biogas. This prompted us to think in terms of using the biogas to power the streetlights in the panchayat,” says Mr. Kurian.
The fallout was the setting up of an electricity-generation unit attached to the biogas plant within six months of its establishment. The power generation facility became operational on May 26, 2007, and it now provides power for 100 CFLs.
The plant, which gets roughly 250 kg of waste a day, is operated by a panchayat employee. Prior to treatment, proper care is taken to segregate plastic materials from the biodegradable matter.
The treated waste, after a process of repeated recycling, gets converted into biogas, which fuels the electricity generator.
The project, which was flagged off during the outbreak of chikungunya , had a positive cascading effect on the health of the local people. “The project led to a drop in the number of reported fever cases in the panchayat. Moreover, we were able to control the recent wave of dengue to a large extent thanks to our solid waste management system,” claims Mr. Kurian.
The project had an initial cost of Rs.19 lakh, funded by the panchayat from its own resources. In 2009, the plant came in for appreciation when Kuravilangad bagged the Nirmal Gram Puraskar, the Central government award for implementation of sustainable total-sanitation projects by local bodies.
source:The Hindu 13 July 2010
When the problem began to acquire the dimensions of a local-level crisis, the panchayat decided to set up a bio-waste treatment plant in November 2006. “When we found that the people in the neighbourhood were beginning to feel agitated about mounting solid waste, we decided to go in for a decentralised system of waste disposal and simultaneously go in for a bio-waste treatment plant,” says panchayat president P.C. Kurian.
Under the plan, the people were encouraged to dispose of at source the waste collected from houses, schools, hospitals and other buildings. The panchayat also put in place a mechanism to collect market waste for conversion into biogas. The panchayat also imposed a ban on use of plastic with less than 30 micron thickness. “Soon, we began thinking about making a productive use of the biogas. This prompted us to think in terms of using the biogas to power the streetlights in the panchayat,” says Mr. Kurian.
The fallout was the setting up of an electricity-generation unit attached to the biogas plant within six months of its establishment. The power generation facility became operational on May 26, 2007, and it now provides power for 100 CFLs.
The plant, which gets roughly 250 kg of waste a day, is operated by a panchayat employee. Prior to treatment, proper care is taken to segregate plastic materials from the biodegradable matter.
The treated waste, after a process of repeated recycling, gets converted into biogas, which fuels the electricity generator.
The project, which was flagged off during the outbreak of chikungunya , had a positive cascading effect on the health of the local people. “The project led to a drop in the number of reported fever cases in the panchayat. Moreover, we were able to control the recent wave of dengue to a large extent thanks to our solid waste management system,” claims Mr. Kurian.
The project had an initial cost of Rs.19 lakh, funded by the panchayat from its own resources. In 2009, the plant came in for appreciation when Kuravilangad bagged the Nirmal Gram Puraskar, the Central government award for implementation of sustainable total-sanitation projects by local bodies.
source:The Hindu 13 July 2010
Mangrove survey spots a centenarian in Kollam
KOLLAM:The sighting of a mangrove tree estimated to be over 100 years old has been projected as one of the most remarkable discoveries of a mangrove survey undertaken by an expert team in Kollam district on Saturday and Sunday. The survey is part of an exercise to prepare a database on the surviving mangrove forests in the State.
Former chairman of the Kerala State Biodiversity Board V.S. Vijayan led the survey conducted by the Kerala Sastra Sahithya Parishad. Convener of the team V.K. Madhusudanan said the centenarian mangrove tree from the Sonneretia caseolarisspecies was seen surviving in a healthy condition at a private property on the banks of Ashtamudi Lake at Kureepuzha in Kollam city.
The team plans to name it ‘Mother Mangrove' and make recommendations to the city corporation for providing a regular incentive to the property owner for the upkeep of the tree. The tree has a girth of 50 inches and its roots cover an area of more than 50 sq ft.
All known major mangrove pockets in private and public land in the district were surveyed. While government data showed that the district had 58 hectares of true mangrove forests, the two-day survey found that the district had a true mangrove forest coverage of more than 100 hectares and another 20 hectares of mangrove associates.
source: The Hindu 12 July 2010
Former chairman of the Kerala State Biodiversity Board V.S. Vijayan led the survey conducted by the Kerala Sastra Sahithya Parishad. Convener of the team V.K. Madhusudanan said the centenarian mangrove tree from the Sonneretia caseolarisspecies was seen surviving in a healthy condition at a private property on the banks of Ashtamudi Lake at Kureepuzha in Kollam city.
The team plans to name it ‘Mother Mangrove' and make recommendations to the city corporation for providing a regular incentive to the property owner for the upkeep of the tree. The tree has a girth of 50 inches and its roots cover an area of more than 50 sq ft.
All known major mangrove pockets in private and public land in the district were surveyed. While government data showed that the district had 58 hectares of true mangrove forests, the two-day survey found that the district had a true mangrove forest coverage of more than 100 hectares and another 20 hectares of mangrove associates.
source: The Hindu 12 July 2010
Monday, July 12, 2010
Pithampur locals to be consulted on Bhopal waste disposal: Ramesh
Facing protests over a plan to incinerate toxic waste of Union Carbide plant in Bhopal at a disposal unit at Pithampur, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has assured villagers that a study will be conducted and locals taken into confidence before a final view is taken.
Local residents, mainly those from Tarpura village in Pithampur industrial area in Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh, are up in arms over the proposal to dispose of about 350 tonnes of waste at a treatment, storage and disposal facility (TSDF) run by a private firm there.
As Ramesh visited the TSDF site yesterday, villagers took to streets and raised slogans, demanding that it be shut down. Surrounded by protestors, the minister said the disposal will not be done without taking into account its impact on environment and people residing in the area
The villagers and NGOs claim the groundwater has been contaminated after 40 tonnes of lethal waste were "secretly" dumped in the incinerator site in 2008. Ramesh said, "I did not know that Union Carbide waste was brought during night hours here two years ago. I assure you that this will not recur."
He said the final decision on incineration of toxic waste at the site has not been taken as yet and the concerns over its effects on environment "cannot be ignored".
"The disposal of Union Carbide waste will be done in coordination between the Centre and the state and the locals will be taken into confidence," Ramesh said.
The minister said an independent study will be conducted to assess what was the impact of disposal of toxic waste in the soil and environment in the areas concerned. "The study will be completed in four months and its results will be made public," he said.
The TSDF is run by private firm Ramky Enviro Engineers. Some NGOs are alleging that its unit lacks several necessary facilities, a charge denied by the company which said it is "not only capable of undertaking the disposal but specialises in such works".
Protesting villagers of Tarpura, 30 kms from here, had on July 8 damaged two vehicles carrying waste from a textile factory to the unit.
Trials at the facility began on May 14 and the Bhopal waste was supposed to be incinerated after three months of such an exercise.
source :Decan Herald 12 July 2010
Local residents, mainly those from Tarpura village in Pithampur industrial area in Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh, are up in arms over the proposal to dispose of about 350 tonnes of waste at a treatment, storage and disposal facility (TSDF) run by a private firm there.
As Ramesh visited the TSDF site yesterday, villagers took to streets and raised slogans, demanding that it be shut down. Surrounded by protestors, the minister said the disposal will not be done without taking into account its impact on environment and people residing in the area
The villagers and NGOs claim the groundwater has been contaminated after 40 tonnes of lethal waste were "secretly" dumped in the incinerator site in 2008. Ramesh said, "I did not know that Union Carbide waste was brought during night hours here two years ago. I assure you that this will not recur."
He said the final decision on incineration of toxic waste at the site has not been taken as yet and the concerns over its effects on environment "cannot be ignored".
"The disposal of Union Carbide waste will be done in coordination between the Centre and the state and the locals will be taken into confidence," Ramesh said.
The minister said an independent study will be conducted to assess what was the impact of disposal of toxic waste in the soil and environment in the areas concerned. "The study will be completed in four months and its results will be made public," he said.
The TSDF is run by private firm Ramky Enviro Engineers. Some NGOs are alleging that its unit lacks several necessary facilities, a charge denied by the company which said it is "not only capable of undertaking the disposal but specialises in such works".
Protesting villagers of Tarpura, 30 kms from here, had on July 8 damaged two vehicles carrying waste from a textile factory to the unit.
Trials at the facility began on May 14 and the Bhopal waste was supposed to be incinerated after three months of such an exercise.
source :Decan Herald 12 July 2010
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Green Dandi project to be launched today
Ahmedabad: The Centre has embarked on yet another ambitious project to build a green memorial at Dandi to immortalise the salt march by Gandhi in 1930.
With an aim to rejuvenating Gandhi principles, a Rs 25-crore green project will be launched at Dandi on Wednesday to transform the area into an eco-friendly tourist destination.
Society of Integrated Coastal Management (SICOM), along with Gujarat Vidyapith and Gujarat Ecology Commission (GEC), will implement the unique project aimed at overall development and conservation of the environment of Dandi and its surrounding villages.
To celebrate 75 years of the Dandi march, the UPA government had announced a project to develop the 376-km Ahmedabad-Dandi route into the ‘Heritage Road and Corridor’ in 2005, work for which is on. The Centre allocated Rs 10 crore as corpus fund for this project.
The green project for Dandi called Green Action for National Dandi Heritage Initiative (GANDHI) will be executed by SICOM, an agency working under the Union ministry of environment and forests, in two years.
The project will be implemented by applying Gandhian principles for environment conservation and village development. Union minister of environment and forest Jairam Ramesh and Gopal Krishna Gandhi, chairman, Dandi Memorial Committee, will inaugurate it on Wednesday
E Balagurusamy, IFS, member secretary, GEC, said, “Various activities to be undertaken as part of the project include mangrove afforestation and bio-shield development, beach nourishment, conservation of coastal features and wetlands, harnessing and encouraging use of renewable energy sources such as solar and wind, conservation of water, waste management, transformation of target villages into carbon neutral areas, improvement in source of livelihood among others”.
source: DcanHerald 8July2010
With an aim to rejuvenating Gandhi principles, a Rs 25-crore green project will be launched at Dandi on Wednesday to transform the area into an eco-friendly tourist destination.
Society of Integrated Coastal Management (SICOM), along with Gujarat Vidyapith and Gujarat Ecology Commission (GEC), will implement the unique project aimed at overall development and conservation of the environment of Dandi and its surrounding villages.
To celebrate 75 years of the Dandi march, the UPA government had announced a project to develop the 376-km Ahmedabad-Dandi route into the ‘Heritage Road and Corridor’ in 2005, work for which is on. The Centre allocated Rs 10 crore as corpus fund for this project.
The green project for Dandi called Green Action for National Dandi Heritage Initiative (GANDHI) will be executed by SICOM, an agency working under the Union ministry of environment and forests, in two years.
The project will be implemented by applying Gandhian principles for environment conservation and village development. Union minister of environment and forest Jairam Ramesh and Gopal Krishna Gandhi, chairman, Dandi Memorial Committee, will inaugurate it on Wednesday
E Balagurusamy, IFS, member secretary, GEC, said, “Various activities to be undertaken as part of the project include mangrove afforestation and bio-shield development, beach nourishment, conservation of coastal features and wetlands, harnessing and encouraging use of renewable energy sources such as solar and wind, conservation of water, waste management, transformation of target villages into carbon neutral areas, improvement in source of livelihood among others”.
source: DcanHerald 8July2010
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Whither giant trees? Harini Nagendra
Having trees on the road around a building can reduce AC and cooling costs by as much as 30 pc. A study conducted on ten major conduits with high traffic density in Bangalore showed that surface air temperatures were significantly cooler under the shade of street trees. In an era of increasing climate change, we cannot afford to ignore this data, writes Harini Nagendra
Reeling under the impact of the heat in Bangalore these past few months? You’re not the first to complain. As far back as 1868, a fascinating account is provided of sepoys reporting that “in Bangalore, some twenty years ago their fingers were so benumbed with cold on early morning parades, that they found some difficulty in holding their muskets, whereas they cannot now complain of the cold being in any degree unpleasant.”
Fortunately, later in the 19th and 20th centuries, planners recognised the need for shade, planting trees that brightened Bangalore with their vivid blossoms of multiple shades, and screened the city from the worst of the sun’s fury. Old planting schemes were dominated by giant trees, each of which could shade as much as half an acre! Sadly, our recent studies indicate that most of these large-growing species are being slowly replaced by smaller-sized, fast growing species. There is even talk of completely phasing out the planting of trees on city roads, and replacing these with shrubs – as many of you can see on some of the city’s new arterial roads.
Why should we care? As urban ecologists, we have studied the biodiversity and environmental services provided by Bangalore’s street trees, and held a number of discussions with a range of audiences and viewpoints. One discussant expounded a widely held view recently, saying, “Who doesn’t like trees? But the fact is that we need roads in the city, more than we need trees.” This seems to reflect opinions held by several of the city’s planners and policy makers, many of whom say that having trees on streets cannot be an effective argument against road widening, since each tree will be replaced by planting several saplings.
Global studies on street-trees
Opinions on this issue can, and do differ widely. Facts, however, are incontrovertible. Let’s therefore take a look at some of the studies around the world that have identified a number of very important reasons to have trees on roads. In harsh city environments, street trees help people stay healthy for a number of reasons. Psychologically, of course, looking at greenery induce a sense of well being. But it is much more than that. Trees reduce asthma, by lowering pollution levels. They help to reduce heatstrokes and the other ill effects of extreme heating. People walk and cycle more on when wooded streets, resulting in greater exercise and reduced obesity. The benefits of street trees don’t stop there. They support a vast amount of biodiversity, from noisy capering squirrels to chattering, cheeping birds and gloriously coloured butterflies. They provide opportunities for street vendors, street food, and all the human activity on streets that gives a city its character. Street trees also reduce the likelihood of road accidents, by making drivers more aware of their surroundings.
Much of these insights come from other cities. In an effort to understand how much this is actually relevant to Bangalore, we have conducted an assessment of the impact of street trees on pollution and climate. The study itself was quite simple - the results are dramatic, and provide a striking illustration of just how hot and polluted our city is, and the dramatic ability of street trees to make the city more livable.
Study on ten Bangalore roads
We selected ten major conduits with high traffic density - Assaye Road, Bannerghatta Road, Bellary Road, ITPL Road, Jeevanbhimanagar Road, Magadi Road, Outer Ring Road (Hennur Junction), Outer Ring Road (Kamakhya), Sarjapur Road, and Siddapura Road. On each of these roads, we compared a 200 meter stretch with and without trees, looking at variations in temperature, humidity, and air pollution levels. Our first study was in August-September 2009, with a follow up study in May-June 2010.
Surface air temperatures were significantly cooler under the shade of street trees. To take an example, on the Outer Ring Road in Banashankari close to Kamakhya, afternoon temperatures went up to 33 C in the shade – under the exposed sun, the temperature climbed to a heatstroke-inducing 38 C. Even worse, while road surface temperatures only reached 35 C in the shade, under the sun road surfaces reached temperatures of 60 C.
Overheated roads contribute greatly to urban heat island effects, taking a long time to cool down, and acting as sources of heat that make the evenings and nights as unbearable as the day. This is when you turn on the air-conditioning in your car, or crank up the cooling in your office building. Even a modest reduction of 3 C can cut cooling costs by 10 per cent, and having trees on the road around a building can reduce air conditioning and cooling costs by as much as 30 per cent! Trees also act to increase humidity, by as much as 20 per cent compared to exposed stretches of the same road. Thus, if you find your throats more parched this summer, or your skin more dry than you remember from past years in Bangalore, blame it on the loss of trees!
We found distressingly high levels of air pollution. Perhaps the most important indicator of air pollution is the amount of Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM), small particles of soot, dust and other material suspended in the air, largely due to emissions by road vehicular traffic. High levels of SPM give rise to a number of very serious health issues, from asthma to cardiovascular disease, and even lung cancer. In a majority of the roads we surveyed, SPM levels far exceeded permissible safety limits. On Sarjapur road, for instance SPM levels were four times the permissible limits when there were no trees, but reduced to safety levels with some tree cover!
In an era of increasing climate change, we cannot afford to ignore this data. In the past three years alone, thousands of the city’s largest trees have been felled to make way for the Metro, for underpasses and flyovers, and high speed no-signal highways. With plans for widening another 600 km of roads underway, the authorities appear largely indifferent to this issue. Our research indicates that this tree loss is not random but systematic – the streets selected for tree felling contain the city’s largest and oldest trees. An unrecognised tragedy, but a tragedy nevertheless! It is shortsighted, even foolish, to think that the environmental services provided by an 80-90 year old tree can be replaced by planting 10 saplings, which will take decades to reach anywhere near the same size or provide the same services.
source:Decan Herald,6July
Reeling under the impact of the heat in Bangalore these past few months? You’re not the first to complain. As far back as 1868, a fascinating account is provided of sepoys reporting that “in Bangalore, some twenty years ago their fingers were so benumbed with cold on early morning parades, that they found some difficulty in holding their muskets, whereas they cannot now complain of the cold being in any degree unpleasant.”
Fortunately, later in the 19th and 20th centuries, planners recognised the need for shade, planting trees that brightened Bangalore with their vivid blossoms of multiple shades, and screened the city from the worst of the sun’s fury. Old planting schemes were dominated by giant trees, each of which could shade as much as half an acre! Sadly, our recent studies indicate that most of these large-growing species are being slowly replaced by smaller-sized, fast growing species. There is even talk of completely phasing out the planting of trees on city roads, and replacing these with shrubs – as many of you can see on some of the city’s new arterial roads.
Why should we care? As urban ecologists, we have studied the biodiversity and environmental services provided by Bangalore’s street trees, and held a number of discussions with a range of audiences and viewpoints. One discussant expounded a widely held view recently, saying, “Who doesn’t like trees? But the fact is that we need roads in the city, more than we need trees.” This seems to reflect opinions held by several of the city’s planners and policy makers, many of whom say that having trees on streets cannot be an effective argument against road widening, since each tree will be replaced by planting several saplings.
Global studies on street-trees
Opinions on this issue can, and do differ widely. Facts, however, are incontrovertible. Let’s therefore take a look at some of the studies around the world that have identified a number of very important reasons to have trees on roads. In harsh city environments, street trees help people stay healthy for a number of reasons. Psychologically, of course, looking at greenery induce a sense of well being. But it is much more than that. Trees reduce asthma, by lowering pollution levels. They help to reduce heatstrokes and the other ill effects of extreme heating. People walk and cycle more on when wooded streets, resulting in greater exercise and reduced obesity. The benefits of street trees don’t stop there. They support a vast amount of biodiversity, from noisy capering squirrels to chattering, cheeping birds and gloriously coloured butterflies. They provide opportunities for street vendors, street food, and all the human activity on streets that gives a city its character. Street trees also reduce the likelihood of road accidents, by making drivers more aware of their surroundings.
Much of these insights come from other cities. In an effort to understand how much this is actually relevant to Bangalore, we have conducted an assessment of the impact of street trees on pollution and climate. The study itself was quite simple - the results are dramatic, and provide a striking illustration of just how hot and polluted our city is, and the dramatic ability of street trees to make the city more livable.
Study on ten Bangalore roads
We selected ten major conduits with high traffic density - Assaye Road, Bannerghatta Road, Bellary Road, ITPL Road, Jeevanbhimanagar Road, Magadi Road, Outer Ring Road (Hennur Junction), Outer Ring Road (Kamakhya), Sarjapur Road, and Siddapura Road. On each of these roads, we compared a 200 meter stretch with and without trees, looking at variations in temperature, humidity, and air pollution levels. Our first study was in August-September 2009, with a follow up study in May-June 2010.
Surface air temperatures were significantly cooler under the shade of street trees. To take an example, on the Outer Ring Road in Banashankari close to Kamakhya, afternoon temperatures went up to 33 C in the shade – under the exposed sun, the temperature climbed to a heatstroke-inducing 38 C. Even worse, while road surface temperatures only reached 35 C in the shade, under the sun road surfaces reached temperatures of 60 C.
Overheated roads contribute greatly to urban heat island effects, taking a long time to cool down, and acting as sources of heat that make the evenings and nights as unbearable as the day. This is when you turn on the air-conditioning in your car, or crank up the cooling in your office building. Even a modest reduction of 3 C can cut cooling costs by 10 per cent, and having trees on the road around a building can reduce air conditioning and cooling costs by as much as 30 per cent! Trees also act to increase humidity, by as much as 20 per cent compared to exposed stretches of the same road. Thus, if you find your throats more parched this summer, or your skin more dry than you remember from past years in Bangalore, blame it on the loss of trees!
We found distressingly high levels of air pollution. Perhaps the most important indicator of air pollution is the amount of Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM), small particles of soot, dust and other material suspended in the air, largely due to emissions by road vehicular traffic. High levels of SPM give rise to a number of very serious health issues, from asthma to cardiovascular disease, and even lung cancer. In a majority of the roads we surveyed, SPM levels far exceeded permissible safety limits. On Sarjapur road, for instance SPM levels were four times the permissible limits when there were no trees, but reduced to safety levels with some tree cover!
In an era of increasing climate change, we cannot afford to ignore this data. In the past three years alone, thousands of the city’s largest trees have been felled to make way for the Metro, for underpasses and flyovers, and high speed no-signal highways. With plans for widening another 600 km of roads underway, the authorities appear largely indifferent to this issue. Our research indicates that this tree loss is not random but systematic – the streets selected for tree felling contain the city’s largest and oldest trees. An unrecognised tragedy, but a tragedy nevertheless! It is shortsighted, even foolish, to think that the environmental services provided by an 80-90 year old tree can be replaced by planting 10 saplings, which will take decades to reach anywhere near the same size or provide the same services.
source:Decan Herald,6July
Friday, July 2, 2010
Plea for total ban on plastic bags
‘International Plastic Bag free Day' to be observed on Saturday
Thiruvananthapuram: On Saturday, the capital city joins the rest of the world in observing International Plastic Bag free Day, even as environmental groups here have raised the demand for a total ban on plastic bags to check the environmental hazards caused by the material.
The slogan for this year's International Plastic Bag free Day is ‘Get the Bag out of your head.' The highlight of the day's programme in the city is a meeting of various groups producing paper bags, cloth bags and other eco-friendly options to plastic bags. The event is being organised by Thanal and the Zero Waste Centre.
The two organisations have urged the government for a total ban on plastic carry bags. Recently, Kanyakumari district imposed such a ban through local bodies, they point out. “Sustainable materials and products to replace plastic carry bags are available in the market. Many groups across the State are producing paper bags, cloth bags and bags made of various natural fibres. But these will never find a proper market till there is a ban on plastic bags,” says R. Sridhar, coordinator, Thanal.
The organisations are also demanding social and governmental support to manufacture products to substitute plastic bags. International Plastic Bag free Day is observed every year to focus attention on the hazards caused by the ubiquitous plastic carry bags. A pressnote issued here said plastic carry bags had become representative of all the destructive characteristics of the synthetic material. “From deep deserts to middle of the great oceans; from soil to intestines of animals it is present and is challenging the balance of nature.”
The pressnote observed that carry bags not only replaced sustainable materials but services and livelihoods as well. “By substituting cloth, leather, wood, mud, bamboo, reed and natural fibres, it has destroyed the livelihood of marginal, tribal and lower income groups in society.”
A million plastic bags are being consumed every minute across the globe. This amounts to 150 bags a year for every person on earth. The annual global consumption pattern of plastic carry bags is estimated to be one trillion. India produces two million tonnes of plastic carry bags and the per capita consumption is 150 bags a year. By 2011 this is expected to go up to 200 bags, bringing the country to the third position, behind the U.S. and China, in consumption of plastic carry bags.
Source: The Hindu, 2 June 2010
Thiruvananthapuram: On Saturday, the capital city joins the rest of the world in observing International Plastic Bag free Day, even as environmental groups here have raised the demand for a total ban on plastic bags to check the environmental hazards caused by the material.
The slogan for this year's International Plastic Bag free Day is ‘Get the Bag out of your head.' The highlight of the day's programme in the city is a meeting of various groups producing paper bags, cloth bags and other eco-friendly options to plastic bags. The event is being organised by Thanal and the Zero Waste Centre.
The two organisations have urged the government for a total ban on plastic carry bags. Recently, Kanyakumari district imposed such a ban through local bodies, they point out. “Sustainable materials and products to replace plastic carry bags are available in the market. Many groups across the State are producing paper bags, cloth bags and bags made of various natural fibres. But these will never find a proper market till there is a ban on plastic bags,” says R. Sridhar, coordinator, Thanal.
The organisations are also demanding social and governmental support to manufacture products to substitute plastic bags. International Plastic Bag free Day is observed every year to focus attention on the hazards caused by the ubiquitous plastic carry bags. A pressnote issued here said plastic carry bags had become representative of all the destructive characteristics of the synthetic material. “From deep deserts to middle of the great oceans; from soil to intestines of animals it is present and is challenging the balance of nature.”
The pressnote observed that carry bags not only replaced sustainable materials but services and livelihoods as well. “By substituting cloth, leather, wood, mud, bamboo, reed and natural fibres, it has destroyed the livelihood of marginal, tribal and lower income groups in society.”
A million plastic bags are being consumed every minute across the globe. This amounts to 150 bags a year for every person on earth. The annual global consumption pattern of plastic carry bags is estimated to be one trillion. India produces two million tonnes of plastic carry bags and the per capita consumption is 150 bags a year. By 2011 this is expected to go up to 200 bags, bringing the country to the third position, behind the U.S. and China, in consumption of plastic carry bags.
Source: The Hindu, 2 June 2010
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Karukutty dons a green garb
KARUKUTTY (ERNAKULAM): Change, whatever its magnitude, can happen only with hard work on the ground. Or else, ideas will remain what they are: ideas. The Karukutty grama panchayat is aggressively pursuing an imaginative idea and an ambitious dream: former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam's dream of seeing a billion trees being planted all over India as part of the global ten billion trees programme.
It was during his visit here to inaugurate the second phase of the Haritha Keralam project this June 5 (World Environment Day) that Mr. Kalam put forth the mission of a billion trees for billion people of India over the coming three years as part of the global ten billion tree programme. Happy to note that eight million trees are proposed to be planted as part of the second phase of Haritha Keralam, the former President said: “Today, I can see the momentum of the movement in Karukutty panchayat.”
Now two years into its implementation, jointly by the panchayat and the Forest Department, the afforestation programme has evolved into a massive people's initiative in sustainable development.
From school students to women members of Kudumbasree units, hundreds are participating in the green mission of the panchayat, thereby setting an admirable example in ecological conservation involving the local community.
Pointing out that the panchayat had planted roughly 25,000 saplings under Haritha Keralam during 2009-10, Karukutty panchayat president K.K. Shibu says that the mission became a success because of the enthusiastic support extended by Kudumbasree units, school students, voluntary organisations and libraries.
“Households too have taken enthusiastically to the project and have planted around 7,000 saplings so far,” Mr. Shibu says. Karukutty Naipunya Public School Principal Fr. Benny Maramparampil is happy that the eco-club members of his school are contributing their mite to greening the panchayat, a dry region for several years.
Adopting trees
Anupriya Babu, a student of Class X and an active eco-club member, is all pride as she points out that the students have adopted the newly planted trees on the campus. “We students bring manure from our homes and tend each sapling well,” she says. Jacob Paulson, another nature lover in the school, puts the number of saplings planted on the campus at 120.
Students have not stopped there, says Lailamma Zacharia, headmistress of the Government Upper Primary School, Pallissery, who points out that the students of her school have also begun raising a vegetable garden besides planting the tree saplings.
With the panchayat offering all support, the school has plans to launch many more environment protection programmes in the new academic year, she says.
Source: The Hindu, 30th June 2010
It was during his visit here to inaugurate the second phase of the Haritha Keralam project this June 5 (World Environment Day) that Mr. Kalam put forth the mission of a billion trees for billion people of India over the coming three years as part of the global ten billion tree programme. Happy to note that eight million trees are proposed to be planted as part of the second phase of Haritha Keralam, the former President said: “Today, I can see the momentum of the movement in Karukutty panchayat.”
Now two years into its implementation, jointly by the panchayat and the Forest Department, the afforestation programme has evolved into a massive people's initiative in sustainable development.
From school students to women members of Kudumbasree units, hundreds are participating in the green mission of the panchayat, thereby setting an admirable example in ecological conservation involving the local community.
Pointing out that the panchayat had planted roughly 25,000 saplings under Haritha Keralam during 2009-10, Karukutty panchayat president K.K. Shibu says that the mission became a success because of the enthusiastic support extended by Kudumbasree units, school students, voluntary organisations and libraries.
“Households too have taken enthusiastically to the project and have planted around 7,000 saplings so far,” Mr. Shibu says. Karukutty Naipunya Public School Principal Fr. Benny Maramparampil is happy that the eco-club members of his school are contributing their mite to greening the panchayat, a dry region for several years.
Adopting trees
Anupriya Babu, a student of Class X and an active eco-club member, is all pride as she points out that the students have adopted the newly planted trees on the campus. “We students bring manure from our homes and tend each sapling well,” she says. Jacob Paulson, another nature lover in the school, puts the number of saplings planted on the campus at 120.
Students have not stopped there, says Lailamma Zacharia, headmistress of the Government Upper Primary School, Pallissery, who points out that the students of her school have also begun raising a vegetable garden besides planting the tree saplings.
With the panchayat offering all support, the school has plans to launch many more environment protection programmes in the new academic year, she says.
Source: The Hindu, 30th June 2010
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Mass hatching of Olive Ridley eggs begins
RUSHIKULYA ROOKERY (ORISSA): Mass hatching of Olive Ridley turtle eggs has begun at this major nesting site under the shroud of environmental degradation caused by oil spill from a ship recently.
The mass hatching, which started on Saturday night, is expected to continue for next two to three days.
Berhampur Divisional Forest Officer Ajay Kumar Jena, who is monitoring the protection of the hatchlings till Monday morning, said eggs in around 30,000 nests on the coast had hatched.
Around 1,55,000 Olive Ridleys nested along the coastline near the Rushikulya Rookery in March and the eggs have started hatching after 45 days. More than 100 eggs were laid into every nest. On an average, however, around 80 hatchlings came out of each nest, Mr. Jena said.
Nearly 24,00,000 hatchlings had entered the sea and lakhs will follow in the coming days.
The mortality of the hatchlings is usually quite high. Experts say only one in a 1,000 survives to become an adult. Environmental activists like Soumya Tripathy of Greenpeace feel the oil spill that occurred on April 13 may increase the mortality of the hatchlings this year.
Mr. Jena said though the surface of the sea near the nesting site was monitored, no residue of the oil spill was found. However, marine scientist and Vice-Chancellor of Berhampur University Bijay Kumar Sahu said the oil spill would have had be a serious impact on the marine flora and fauna near the rookery, especially on plankton and small organisms that were the food of the turtle hatchlings.
Mr. Sahu and Mr. Tripathy said there was immediate need for a detailed multi-discipline faculty study on the long-term impact of the oil spill on the marine environment.
As part of measures to protect the hatchlings, the bright lights of the industrial units and townships near the area have been ordered to be shut down during the hatching period. The hatchlings get attracted to light sources. Nylon nets were in place over a distance of three km at the nesting beach to stop hatchlings from straying towards the land.
Volunteers of the Rushikulya Sea Turtle Protection Committee — an organisation comprising people from villages near the rookery involved in turtle protection — collected stray hatchlings and released them into the sea.
Source: The Hindu, Tuesday, May 04, 2010
The mass hatching, which started on Saturday night, is expected to continue for next two to three days.
Berhampur Divisional Forest Officer Ajay Kumar Jena, who is monitoring the protection of the hatchlings till Monday morning, said eggs in around 30,000 nests on the coast had hatched.
Around 1,55,000 Olive Ridleys nested along the coastline near the Rushikulya Rookery in March and the eggs have started hatching after 45 days. More than 100 eggs were laid into every nest. On an average, however, around 80 hatchlings came out of each nest, Mr. Jena said.
Nearly 24,00,000 hatchlings had entered the sea and lakhs will follow in the coming days.
The mortality of the hatchlings is usually quite high. Experts say only one in a 1,000 survives to become an adult. Environmental activists like Soumya Tripathy of Greenpeace feel the oil spill that occurred on April 13 may increase the mortality of the hatchlings this year.
Mr. Jena said though the surface of the sea near the nesting site was monitored, no residue of the oil spill was found. However, marine scientist and Vice-Chancellor of Berhampur University Bijay Kumar Sahu said the oil spill would have had be a serious impact on the marine flora and fauna near the rookery, especially on plankton and small organisms that were the food of the turtle hatchlings.
Mr. Sahu and Mr. Tripathy said there was immediate need for a detailed multi-discipline faculty study on the long-term impact of the oil spill on the marine environment.
As part of measures to protect the hatchlings, the bright lights of the industrial units and townships near the area have been ordered to be shut down during the hatching period. The hatchlings get attracted to light sources. Nylon nets were in place over a distance of three km at the nesting beach to stop hatchlings from straying towards the land.
Volunteers of the Rushikulya Sea Turtle Protection Committee — an organisation comprising people from villages near the rookery involved in turtle protection — collected stray hatchlings and released them into the sea.
Source: The Hindu, Tuesday, May 04, 2010
Lok Sabha passes Green Tribunal Bill
NEW DELHI: The Lok Sabha on Friday adopted the National Green Tribunal (NGT) Bill, 2009. It envisages the setting up of a national tribunal, a judicial body exclusively to deal with environmental laws and to provide citizens a right to environment.
The main Bench of the tribunal will be set up in Bhopal, “the site of humanity's one of the worst industrial tragedies.” This way the government and Parliament could show some sensitivity to the people of Bhopal, said Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh, replying to a debate.
The Tribunal would have four circuit Benches. It would deal with all environmental laws on air and water pollution, the Environment Protection Act, the Forest Conservation Act and the Biodiversity Act. With this effort, India would join Australia and New Zealand, which have such specialised environment tribunals.
Mr. Ramesh said a Bill to set up the National Environment Protection Authority would be introduced in the monsoon session. It would monitor the implementation of environment laws.
The Tribunal members would be chosen by a committee.
Source: The Hindu, Saturday, May 01, 2010
The main Bench of the tribunal will be set up in Bhopal, “the site of humanity's one of the worst industrial tragedies.” This way the government and Parliament could show some sensitivity to the people of Bhopal, said Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh, replying to a debate.
The Tribunal would have four circuit Benches. It would deal with all environmental laws on air and water pollution, the Environment Protection Act, the Forest Conservation Act and the Biodiversity Act. With this effort, India would join Australia and New Zealand, which have such specialised environment tribunals.
Mr. Ramesh said a Bill to set up the National Environment Protection Authority would be introduced in the monsoon session. It would monitor the implementation of environment laws.
The Tribunal members would be chosen by a committee.
Source: The Hindu, Saturday, May 01, 2010
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Pay attention to green issues, says Binoy Viswam
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, April 23 -- Forest Minister Binoy Viswam has said that all political parties will have to formulate an unambiguous policy on issues related to environment. He was speaking at the World Earth Day 2010 observance organised by the Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment (KSCSTE) at the Sasthra Bhavan here on Thursday.
"A time will come in the near future when all political parties will be forced to take a clear stand on issues relating to relating to relating to environment. When it comes to protecting the environment, the Left parties should take the initiative. They should take greater responsibility and promote accountability in working out solutions to environmental problems. Only then would Left would really become Left,'' he said.
The Minister said that there was a trend to ridicule those who talk of earth, environment, flora and fauna as being 'anti-developmental'. "They are not against development, they just insist that we should consider environment and people at large before taking decisions. They also want development, but development should be for the benefit of society,'' he said. A nation cannot be termed as developed when 70 percent of the population earns less than Rs 20 per day, he said.
Echoing the Minister's view, KSCSTE executive vice-president C T S Nair said that GDP alone cannot be a scale for measuring development. "It will be just like looking at the speed of a car and not the fuel efficiency or stock of resources. We need to produce more goods to meet the basic needs and we really need to move towards a green economy,'' said Nair.
Energy Management director S.K. Khanduri talked of the importance of observing 'Earth Day' in sensitising society on issues like global warming global warming, the gradual increase of the temperature of the earth's lower atmosphere as a result of the increase in greenhouse gases since the Industrial Revolution and energy conservation. He was quick to point out the unnecessary use of electrical lights in the Sasthra Bhavan Auditorium which had quite a lot of daylight coming in through the windows. "The behaviour of society should change to promote sustainable living Sustainable living might be defined as a lifestyle that could, hypothetically, be sustained without exhausting any natural resources. The term can be applied to individuals or societies. ,'' he said.
KSCSTE Member Secretary in-charge in his talk said that while air-conditioners were used to fight heat, this itself contributes to global warming and thus the vicious cycle continues.
The highlight of the technical session was the talk by Dr Thamban Meloth on his experiences in Antarctica. A scientist with the National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research, Goa, he focused his talk on 'Climate Change in Antarctica and its Global Implications'. C. Jayakumar of the Marine and Coastal Survey Division of the Geological Survey of India Geological Survey of India (GSI), established in 1851 is a government organization in India for conducting geological surveys and studies. It is one of the oldest of such organizations in the world. , Mangalore, also gave an interesting presentation on 'Earth and Climate Change'.
There was a group discussion for students in the afternoon co-ordinated by Ajith Venniyoor of the Kerala Sustainable Urban Development Project (KSUDP).
Source: New Indian Express, 23rd April 2010
"A time will come in the near future when all political parties will be forced to take a clear stand on issues relating to relating to relating to environment. When it comes to protecting the environment, the Left parties should take the initiative. They should take greater responsibility and promote accountability in working out solutions to environmental problems. Only then would Left would really become Left,'' he said.
The Minister said that there was a trend to ridicule those who talk of earth, environment, flora and fauna as being 'anti-developmental'. "They are not against development, they just insist that we should consider environment and people at large before taking decisions. They also want development, but development should be for the benefit of society,'' he said. A nation cannot be termed as developed when 70 percent of the population earns less than Rs 20 per day, he said.
Echoing the Minister's view, KSCSTE executive vice-president C T S Nair said that GDP alone cannot be a scale for measuring development. "It will be just like looking at the speed of a car and not the fuel efficiency or stock of resources. We need to produce more goods to meet the basic needs and we really need to move towards a green economy,'' said Nair.
Energy Management director S.K. Khanduri talked of the importance of observing 'Earth Day' in sensitising society on issues like global warming global warming, the gradual increase of the temperature of the earth's lower atmosphere as a result of the increase in greenhouse gases since the Industrial Revolution and energy conservation. He was quick to point out the unnecessary use of electrical lights in the Sasthra Bhavan Auditorium which had quite a lot of daylight coming in through the windows. "The behaviour of society should change to promote sustainable living Sustainable living might be defined as a lifestyle that could, hypothetically, be sustained without exhausting any natural resources. The term can be applied to individuals or societies. ,'' he said.
KSCSTE Member Secretary in-charge in his talk said that while air-conditioners were used to fight heat, this itself contributes to global warming and thus the vicious cycle continues.
The highlight of the technical session was the talk by Dr Thamban Meloth on his experiences in Antarctica. A scientist with the National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research, Goa, he focused his talk on 'Climate Change in Antarctica and its Global Implications'. C. Jayakumar of the Marine and Coastal Survey Division of the Geological Survey of India Geological Survey of India (GSI), established in 1851 is a government organization in India for conducting geological surveys and studies. It is one of the oldest of such organizations in the world. , Mangalore, also gave an interesting presentation on 'Earth and Climate Change'.
There was a group discussion for students in the afternoon co-ordinated by Ajith Venniyoor of the Kerala Sustainable Urban Development Project (KSUDP).
Source: New Indian Express, 23rd April 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Sensor devices to predict freak weather
When the town of Cockermouth, Cumbria, northern England, was hit by floods late last year, the freak weather led to deaths and serious injuries, and caused huge damage to thousands of homes and businesses. People from all around the U.K. watched the disaster and called for greater prioritisation of flood defences.
Now, a team of scientists from Southampton University has stepped up to the challenge. Led by Dr Kirk Martinez, a senior lecturer at the university's school of electronics and computer science, the group has created a new sensor device that can help to reduce the unpredictable factor of flash flooding, as well as making other geographical phenomena such as landslides much easier to forecast.
Under glaciers
The technology was developed in 2003, when Martinez began working on a sensor probe that was placed under glaciers to measure climate change. Scientists, Martinez says, “weren't making the most of all the newly available technology”. He adds: “Most research involved trying to insert sensors on a long wire into the ice. The wires tended to break a lot and the researchers had to regularly go out to the site with a laptop to download all the data. I thought there had to be a way of using wireless technology to develop a new measuring technique.” There was: Martinez was able to design small, fist-sized wireless glacier probes, which have a small, low-power computer and radio inside that enables them to regularly take, store and send measurements to a web server accessible from anywhere in the world.
After developing the probes, the researchers used a jet-powered steam “drill” to position the sensors 70 metres deep at various positions in the Skalafellsjokull glacier in Iceland — part of the largest ice cap in Europe.
They were set to record temperature, pressure, movement and the quantity of water in their surroundings to help scientists get an accurate picture of glacial behaviour and predict future movements.
Now, the probes are still in place and able to “talk” to each other, so if a range of readings have been the same for a period of time, some of the devices hibernate to save power. If conditions begin to change, one of the probes “wakes up” the rest of them.
The success of the pilot led Martinez to think bigger. “Initially, it was very difficult to develop the probes,” he explains. “No one had done it before, so we had to design several versions of everything, from the programmes and electronics to the waterproof cases, before we perfected them enough to venture out to other areas. But once they were in place and working, they sent through data reliably and usefully.
“In Iceland, they have already shown us interesting things, like the fact that the glacier began to warm up in February, even though the land on top of it was still very wintry. So we thought there would be other uses for these sensors.” Martinez took the Southampton-designed probes to the Los Laureles Canyon in Mexico, to see if they would collect data that could help to understand landslides as well as studying melting ice caps.
“The canyon area has no proper drainage system, and very poor-quality housing that faces massive flooding problems,” he says. “The streets are not paved and when water flows, it picks up sediment and becomes quite aggressive. So we put our probes in place to measure the ground's tilt, how moist it is, the temperature, and the crushing pressure, to help local scientists prevent landslides.
The probes measure every 10 minutes. Put together with meteorological predictions for rainfall and storms, the data can show how and why things are moving, and indicate the start of a landslide.
It means that the local experts are receiving regular, accurate data and are working on preventative slope management.”
Martinez and his fellow researchers are now looking at ways to make the sensors cheap and easy to install. “At the moment, the probes are handmade so they cost up to GBP200 each, but this could be cut a lot with mass production,” Martinez says.
Non-profit basis
“We're producing them on a non-profit basis right now, but we see environmental monitoring companies buying them to help with their contracts, as well as researchers who want to measure things in remote areas.”
Anticipating floods In the future, Martinez believes the sensors could be used around the world, from flood - monitoring in Cockermouth to landslide — prediction in South America and Asia. “In Britain, they could have a huge impact on how we anticipate flooding.
The sensors' data could not only be used by local environment agencies to trigger an evacuation, but also be directed to a website, so people facing coastal erosion or flooding could check the safety of their homes.
“The exciting thing is that the probes don't need a huge chunk of concrete or a power station to get them to run, they're small, and contain batteries that run for many years.”
Common man benefits
Although they were conceived to fulfil a need of recording data in hard-to-reach environments, Martinez believes one day individual homeowners could buy the sensors to check things such as how fast cliffs are receding, as well as water-monitoring to help people in places like Cockermouth to prepare in advance for flash floods.
“Climate change is happening and we need the combined efforts of measuring what's happening with efforts to prevent it,” Martinez says.
“It's a great time to be working in this field — the technology is ripe to make a huge difference.” — © Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2010
Source: Thursday, Apr 22, 2010
Now, a team of scientists from Southampton University has stepped up to the challenge. Led by Dr Kirk Martinez, a senior lecturer at the university's school of electronics and computer science, the group has created a new sensor device that can help to reduce the unpredictable factor of flash flooding, as well as making other geographical phenomena such as landslides much easier to forecast.
Under glaciers
The technology was developed in 2003, when Martinez began working on a sensor probe that was placed under glaciers to measure climate change. Scientists, Martinez says, “weren't making the most of all the newly available technology”. He adds: “Most research involved trying to insert sensors on a long wire into the ice. The wires tended to break a lot and the researchers had to regularly go out to the site with a laptop to download all the data. I thought there had to be a way of using wireless technology to develop a new measuring technique.” There was: Martinez was able to design small, fist-sized wireless glacier probes, which have a small, low-power computer and radio inside that enables them to regularly take, store and send measurements to a web server accessible from anywhere in the world.
After developing the probes, the researchers used a jet-powered steam “drill” to position the sensors 70 metres deep at various positions in the Skalafellsjokull glacier in Iceland — part of the largest ice cap in Europe.
They were set to record temperature, pressure, movement and the quantity of water in their surroundings to help scientists get an accurate picture of glacial behaviour and predict future movements.
Now, the probes are still in place and able to “talk” to each other, so if a range of readings have been the same for a period of time, some of the devices hibernate to save power. If conditions begin to change, one of the probes “wakes up” the rest of them.
The success of the pilot led Martinez to think bigger. “Initially, it was very difficult to develop the probes,” he explains. “No one had done it before, so we had to design several versions of everything, from the programmes and electronics to the waterproof cases, before we perfected them enough to venture out to other areas. But once they were in place and working, they sent through data reliably and usefully.
“In Iceland, they have already shown us interesting things, like the fact that the glacier began to warm up in February, even though the land on top of it was still very wintry. So we thought there would be other uses for these sensors.” Martinez took the Southampton-designed probes to the Los Laureles Canyon in Mexico, to see if they would collect data that could help to understand landslides as well as studying melting ice caps.
“The canyon area has no proper drainage system, and very poor-quality housing that faces massive flooding problems,” he says. “The streets are not paved and when water flows, it picks up sediment and becomes quite aggressive. So we put our probes in place to measure the ground's tilt, how moist it is, the temperature, and the crushing pressure, to help local scientists prevent landslides.
The probes measure every 10 minutes. Put together with meteorological predictions for rainfall and storms, the data can show how and why things are moving, and indicate the start of a landslide.
It means that the local experts are receiving regular, accurate data and are working on preventative slope management.”
Martinez and his fellow researchers are now looking at ways to make the sensors cheap and easy to install. “At the moment, the probes are handmade so they cost up to GBP200 each, but this could be cut a lot with mass production,” Martinez says.
Non-profit basis
“We're producing them on a non-profit basis right now, but we see environmental monitoring companies buying them to help with their contracts, as well as researchers who want to measure things in remote areas.”
Anticipating floods In the future, Martinez believes the sensors could be used around the world, from flood - monitoring in Cockermouth to landslide — prediction in South America and Asia. “In Britain, they could have a huge impact on how we anticipate flooding.
The sensors' data could not only be used by local environment agencies to trigger an evacuation, but also be directed to a website, so people facing coastal erosion or flooding could check the safety of their homes.
“The exciting thing is that the probes don't need a huge chunk of concrete or a power station to get them to run, they're small, and contain batteries that run for many years.”
Common man benefits
Although they were conceived to fulfil a need of recording data in hard-to-reach environments, Martinez believes one day individual homeowners could buy the sensors to check things such as how fast cliffs are receding, as well as water-monitoring to help people in places like Cockermouth to prepare in advance for flash floods.
“Climate change is happening and we need the combined efforts of measuring what's happening with efforts to prevent it,” Martinez says.
“It's a great time to be working in this field — the technology is ripe to make a huge difference.” — © Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2010
Source: Thursday, Apr 22, 2010
Monday, April 5, 2010
Gene bank to promote traditional rice farming
KALPETTA: Scientists of the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) at Puthurvayal in Kalpetta are getting ready to implement a novel project — a community gene bank to promote and propagate the seeds of traditional rice, vegetables and yam varieties of Malabar region in association with select farmers, including the tribal farming communities in the district. We are planning to conserve and multiply the lost traditional rice varieties with the help of tribal and other traditional rice farmers in the Malabar region, Dr. Anilkumar, director, MSSRF, told The Hindu on Sunday.
Climate change is posing a challenge to the farming community. There is need to preserve and multiply traditional rice seed varieties in view of the likelihood of climate change impact, as the seed varieties have innate drought-resisting and light sensitive nature, he added.
The project will be implemented by Seed Care, a farmers' collective formed to promote traditional seed cultivation, with technical support of the scientists of MSSRF. The project envisages providing seeds of as many as 50 lost varieties of rice crops, which have been preserved in the gene bank of the MSSRF in Chennai under the leadership of M. Geetharani, to select group of farmers to promote the cultivation. They, in turn, will hand over the seeds to farmers.
In the preliminary stage, the MSSRF will provide the samples of traditional seeds free to members of Seed Care. Apart from the rice varieties, Seed Care will promote the cultivation of different traditional varieties.
Source: The Hindu, 5th April 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Tree census yet to begin in Kochi
KOCHI: Tree census, a project to prepare a database of trees announced a couple of years ago, is yet to take place even as the civic authorities have announced more green projects in its annual budget.
Protecting trees
The census was announced a couple of years ago on the realisation that the civic body lacked baseline data on the number of trees located in public places in the city.The authorities thought of evolving a strategy for protecting the trees based on the data as the instances of illegal felling shot up in the city. There were also incidents of miscreants destroying the saplings planted along the roads including the National Highway that passes through the city.
Recently, a few trees located in the central median of the National Highway at Vyttila were destroyed.
It was in January 2009 that the Town Planning Committee of the Kochi corporation cleared the project. Though the Kochi Corporation council too cleared the proposal for assigning the task to Rajagiri College of Social Sciences, the project could not be launched following some objections from a senior official of the civic body, said E.M. Sunilkumar, chairman of the Town Planning Standing committee of the corporation.
Later, the civic authorities included the proposal in People's Plan programme with an estimate of Rs. 6 lakh and the District Planning Committee cleared the project on March 26. The project can be implemented if an agreement is signed between the Kochi corporation and the College before March 31, Mr. Sunilkumar said.
The Deputy Mayor, while stating that the global warming and climate change were the inevitable signs of decline of a social system based on profit and class differentiation, said that one lakh saplings would be planted in the city.
The open spaces, parks, sideways of main roads and crematoriums would be used for the purpose, the budget proposal said.
The formation of a monitoring committee headed by K. Sukumaran, former judge of the Kerala High Court, was announced in the budget for protecting the existing trees and planting saplings.
Silent zone
The area between Fine Arts Hall junction and the High Court junction would be notified as a silent zone and the area will be protected as green belt, the budget announced.
Source: The Hindu, dated: 29th march 2010
Protest against tourism project at Metran Kayal
KOTTAYAM: The controversy over the tourism project at the 417-acre Metran Kayal also known as Seminary Kayal is snowballing, with environmentalists and agriculturists joining hands against the project.
On Monday, Fr. Thomas Peeliyanickel, executive director, Kuttanad Vikasana Samithy; N. K. Sukumaran Nair, general secretary, Pamba Parirakshana Samithy; Unnikrishnan of Kottayam Nature Club; and M.J. Sivadas, president of Vembanad Kayal Samrakshana Samithy; joined hands to launch what they termed a sustained agitation. In a symbolic act, the protestors held harvested paddy spikes close to their heart and took a pledge to protect the paddy fields at Metran Kayal and called upon all sections of the people to join hands to protest against the large scale destruction of rich paddy fields in Kuttanad.
Speaking on the occasion, Fr. Peeliyanickel said they would soon form units of environmentalists across Kerala to fight for the ‘kayal.' The fight will signify the future of paddy cultivation in Kerala, he said.
According to him, protection of environment and paddy were part of the developmental efforts and not against society's growth.
There are very clear laws against alienation of paddy fields for other uses but authorities seem to turn a blind eye to it. Fr. Peeliyanickel called upon the authorities to take immediate action to cancel the title deeds issued to the new owners for using the land for purposes other than paddy cultivation.
Fr. Peeliyanickel said the State was facing a crisis in food security and today the State produces only 15 per of its needs. The paddy cultivation area which stood at eight lakh hectares in 1965 has dwindled to just 2.64 lakh hectares in 2007.
Metran Kayal, one of the richest paddy tracks in Kuttanad area, was bought by developers from 153 farmers at very low prices and they had kept the kayal fallow for three years.Now they are going to build a high cost tourism facility after reclamation of the ‘kayal.' This would mark the end of paddy cultivation in Kuttanad and the death of the Vembanad Lake, he said.
Fr. Peeliyanickel alleged that the developers were making unsustainable promises to woo the local people.
Instead of tourism projects with no local moorings, the ‘kayal' should be turned into a comprehensive paddy research and farming centre which would attract tourists, he pointed out.
Source: The Hindu, dated: 30th March 2010
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Earth Hour to be observed tonight
Thiruvananthapuram: The WWF-India, Kerala State office, in association with NIMS Heart Foundation, NIMS Educational Trust, the Energy Management Centre and the Centre for Earth Science Studies, is organising the Earth Hour 2010 event at Gandhi Park here on Saturday, from 7.30 p.m. to 9.30 p.m. Earth Hour being a global event, people anywhere can express their solidarity with the global efforts to tackle climate change by switching off the lights for an hour from 8.30 p.m. Several corporates, IT majors, banks, hotel chains and institutions are joining hands to support the Earth Hour, which is an attempt to create awareness of climate change. The event began in Sydney, Australia in 2007. Last year, people in over 4,000 cities in 88 countries pledged their support to the event by turning off lights and embracing darkness for an hour.
Source: The Hindu, Dated: 27.03.2010
Source: The Hindu, Dated: 27.03.2010
World Earth Hour – Act today for a better tomorrow
Come 27 th March and the world will be in a switch off mode for an hour from 8.30 to 9.30 pm to observe World Earth Hour. The concept behind this campaign is to reduce the use of electricity thereby saving the planet from warming up further. The observation is also being made in attempt to spread awareness about better energy conservation. This year, Bollywood actor Abhishek Bachchan has been appointed as the brand ambassador of WWF's World Earth Hour observation in India. The World Earth Hour started in Sydney, Australia, in 2007, when 2.2 million homes and businesses turned off their lights for an hour as a stand against climate change. Soon after the World Earth Hour campaign went global and last year alone more than 5 million people in 4000 cities across 88 countries switched off their lights to pledge their support towards this noble cause. This year this figure is all likely to shoot up further as more and more organisations and individuals have stepped in to observe the day with due importance.
“The World Earth Hour is an event that will surely spread the message in the right direction”, feels Mathew Varghese of Good Earth in Kochi. He is also of the opinion that all such awareness programmes will have to target people at the grass root level as that can always make a big difference especially in areas like energy conservation. Today, both organisations and builders are emphasizing the importance of green buildings that will go a long way in energy conservation. Measures like the use of recycled and renewable materials, rain water harvesting, optimal use of space, application of energy efficient accessories etc are being adopted by builders who are sensitive to their environment. Architects, contractors and developers in the recent years have begun to realize the larger role they play in the struggle to conserve earth's resources. “We have expressed our social commitment and solidarity for a better earth by launching the first residential project in Kerala with coveted rating of Indian Green Building Council (IGBC)”, says John Thomas of Noel Builders in Kochi.
Source: The Hindu, Dated: 27.03.2010
“The World Earth Hour is an event that will surely spread the message in the right direction”, feels Mathew Varghese of Good Earth in Kochi. He is also of the opinion that all such awareness programmes will have to target people at the grass root level as that can always make a big difference especially in areas like energy conservation. Today, both organisations and builders are emphasizing the importance of green buildings that will go a long way in energy conservation. Measures like the use of recycled and renewable materials, rain water harvesting, optimal use of space, application of energy efficient accessories etc are being adopted by builders who are sensitive to their environment. Architects, contractors and developers in the recent years have begun to realize the larger role they play in the struggle to conserve earth's resources. “We have expressed our social commitment and solidarity for a better earth by launching the first residential project in Kerala with coveted rating of Indian Green Building Council (IGBC)”, says John Thomas of Noel Builders in Kochi.
Source: The Hindu, Dated: 27.03.2010
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