Agriculture is multi-functional, producing economic goods including food, feed, fibre, and fuel, as well as providing several intangible or non-tradable services to society free of cost. Non-tradable services, unlike economic goods, remain unpriced; as a result, farmers are not compensated monetarily for the benefits of the several non-tradable services they …
The terrestrial biosphere can release or absorb the greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O), and therefore has an important role in regulating atmospheric composition and climate. Anthropogenic activities such as land-use change, agriculture and waste management have altered terrestrial biogenic greenhouse gas fluxes, and the …
Colour codes are expected to prompt sector to adopt cleaner technologies, resulting in fewer pollutants PANJIM: Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) will re-classify all industries in the State. Non-polluting industries will be categorized as White and will not require Consent to Operate under the Air and Water pollution Acts. …
In what could bring the much-needed breathing space to the coal-based power producers, the government on Wednesday said it would extend the timeline for these plants to comply with the stringent environment regulation governing emission norms as the country lacked the domestic capacity to overhaul nearly 180 gigawatt (GW) of …
Air pollution is associated with morbidity and premature mortality. Satellite remote sensing provides globally consistent decadal-scale observations of ambient nitrogen dioxide (NO2) pollution. The researchers determined global population-weighted annual mean NO2 concentrations from 1996 through 2012. Original Source
Chronic nitrogen deposition has measureable impacts on soil and plant health. We investigate burning emissions from biomass grown in areas of high and low NO x deposition. Gas and aerosol-phase emissions were measured as a function of photochemical aging in an environmental chamber at UC-Riverside. Though aerosol chemical speciation was …
Very little is currently known about air pollutants’ adverse effects on neurodegenerative diseases even though recent studies have linked particulate exposures to brain pathologies associated with Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease. In the present study, we investigated long-term exposure to traffic-related air pollution and Parkinson’s disease. Original Source
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said on Monday it had not opened an official investigation into Daimler's luxury car brand Mercedes-Benz but had only requested information to explain emissions levels in some of its cars. A spokesman for Daimler said on Sunday it was fully cooperating with the request for information, …
This analysis examines the environmental risks of the commercialization of diesel passenger cars in Brazil, including a potential increase in NOX and PM2.5 emissions, both of which contribute to poor air quality and negatively impact human health, as well as greenhouse gases and other species that contribute to climate change. …
Emissions from solid fuels used for cooking cause ~4 million premature deaths per year. Advanced solid-fuel cookstoves are a potential solution, but they should be assessed by appropriate performance indicators, including biological effects. Objective: The researchers evaluated two categories of solid-fuel cookstoves for 8 pollutant- and 4 mutagenicity-emission factors, correlated …
Brazil typifies the land use changes happening in South America, where natural vegetation is continuously converted into agriculturally used lands, such as cattle pastures and croplands. Such changes in land use are always associated with changes in the soil nutrient cycles and result in altered greenhouse gas fluxes from the …
This study investigated modelled air pollution concentrations at residence for 1971, 1981, 1991 (black smoke (BS) and SO2) and 2001 (PM10) in relation to mortality up to 2009 in 367 658 members of the longitudinal survey, a 1% sample of the English Census. Outcomes were all-cause (excluding accidents), cardiovascular (CV) …
Need to control both PM and NOx emission while leapfrogging Car makers will have to race against time by tweaking their product plans to meet the 2020 deadline for the highest emission norm of Bharat Stage VI (BS-VI). Manufacturers are required to control particulate matter emission and reduce nitrogen oxide …
The government is set to tighten emission norms for two-wheelers, the highest selling motor vehicle category which collectively contributes significantly to air pollution. The stricter standards are likely to be announced this week. At least 80% of all types of vehicles sold annually in India are two-wheelers, which emit nearly …
More than half the European passenger fleet is diesel-powered. Although the European Union has been progressively tightening vehicle emissions for decades, new diesel cars still produce on-road nitrogen oxide emissions that far exceed the current standard. Efforts to reduce diesel emissions would likely make the cars more costly, but experts …
Delhi’s air may be more toxic than previously imagined: a study by IIT Kanpur found traces of a deadly chemical among the pollutants in the city. Called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), the toxin is a product of emissions of diesel vehicles that, even in small quantities — such as the …
In January 2016 the EU Parliament will evaluate the RDE proposal from the European Commission's Technical Committee on Motor Vehicles (TCMV). This brief notes five things that could strengthen the regulation.
Moving towards stricter emission norms to minimise pollution, the Union environment ministry has notified revised norms of emission standards for coal-based thermal power plants in the country and made it mandatory for the existing plants to meet those parameters within two years. Besides tightening the emission norms, the ministry through …
New Delhi: The national capital is facing a more serious pollution crisis from secondary particles, in addition to tiny pollution particles (PM2.5) being emitted from various sources like transport, waste burning or dust. The recent draft IIT Kanpur report has flagged that secondary particles which are formed from chemical reactions …
KOLKATA: The real extent of pollution in the city remains undetected in the absence of enough monitoring devices, admits the West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB). While all the 11 monitoring stations in Kolkata and 12 in the rest of the state are supposed to be armed with PM2.5 samplers …
Question raised in Lok Sabha on Notification on Environmental Protection, 22/12/2015. Comments were received from different stakeholders including general public on the draft notification on Standards for Thermal Power Plants (TPPs) issued in April, 2015 under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. The Standards for TPPs were finalized also considering the …
