Melbourne Australia has been ranked as the seventh top polluter mainly due to carbon emissions, a report said.

Conservation group World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in its report said the spiralling global population and over-consumption are threatening the future health of the planet, ABC news reported. WWF released this year's Living Planet report, which has estimated humans are using 50 per cent more resources than the planet can provide.

West Bengal has the highest number of red category industries causing high pollution, followed by Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, while 43 industrial clusters have been identified as “critically polluted”, the Lok Sabha was informed on Monday.

The Union Minister for Environment and Forests, Ms Jayanthi Natarajan, said during Question Hour that the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and IIT-Delhi had conducted a survey based on Comprehensive Environmental Pollution Index (CEPI) for assessment of pollution load of industrial areas.

Taking a tough stand on environmental issues, the Gujarat High Court has directed steelmaker Electrotherm (India) Ltd to close down its manufacturing plant in Kutch district and quashed the environmental clearance granted to it by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest without holding a public hearing as per rules.

Electrotherm's 36,000 tonne per annum (tpa) facility for producing structural steel, alloy steel and stainless steel at Samkhiali in Bhachau taluka of Kutch district is also known for making of Yo-bikes, India's first battery-run two-wheelers.

The World Bank urged global governments Thursday to heed the environment when pursuing prosperity, rejecting what it called a myth that green growth is a luxury most countries cannot afford.

The bank in a report said political considerations, entrenched behaviour and a lack of appropriate financing systems are the chief obstacles to environmentally friendly development.

It urged governments to rethink their approach to growth, measuring not only what is being produced but what is being used up and polluted in the process.

For Bangaloreans perennially at the mercy of power disruptions, the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) could come out with a solar solution. The Mayor has issued a note to formulate an action plan to electrify all government and ‘private buildings’ that would be under construction within its limits, through solar energy.

With the demand for power surging by 18 per cent annually, as indicated by the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (Bescom), the Palike could make the use of solar energy mandatory for the buildings owned by State Government, BBMP and private buildings.

National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (NIIST) here has developed a compact digester for treating biomass wastes at origin.

NIITST is a constituent laboratory under the Council of Science and Industrial Research (CSIR).

The digester doesn't cause environmental pollution but recovers biogas. It also converts biomass wastes to compost slurry with a higher content of stable solids.
SOIL MANURE

The stabilised compost slurry from this biogas plant is excellent soil manure for agriculture applications.

PANJIM: Goa State Pollution Control Board on Tuesday decided to re-inspect the mining project of Pandurang Timblo Industries in Shigao after its mines manager made a statement on Tuesday before the former informing that the company had stopped mining operations recently.

GSPCB had issued a show-cause notice to the company after villagers had complained mining operation was polluting a nullah which leads to the Dudhsagar waterfalls.

Himachal Pradesh-based environmental organisations are elated over the recent High Court judgment against cement majors Jaiprakash Associates Limited for flouting environmental norms and illegally acquiring land for setting up their mega business ventures.

Non-governmental organisation Him Parivesh that had filed the petition in the High Court had said: “The years of struggle of the communities and their stand against the Jaypee power project and cement plant has been vindicated by the High Court's decision.”

Chevron Corp went to federal court in Miami on Friday seeking to force an Ecuadorean bank to release records of alleged bribes the company says were paid to an independent expert in a multi-billion dollar environmental lawsuit against the oil company.

The company is seeking records of eight bank accounts at the Banco Pichincha, an Ecuadorean bank with a branch in Miami that Chevron says was a conduit for $360,000 in "illicit payments" to the independent expert, Richard Cabrera.

South Korea's lawmakers approved a national emissions trading scheme on Wednesday to tackle its growing greenhouse gas emissions, overcoming strong industry opposition and joining a growing number of nations to put a price on carbon.

Of the 151 lawmakers who voted, 148 approved the scheme, underscoring bipartisan support for a cap on carbon emissions, in stark contrast with the United States and Australia where emissions trading has been deeply divisive.