Order of the National Green Tribunal in the matter of In Re: News Item titled "Nayar river is vanishing - a yatra reveals conservation goes beyond science and policy" appearing in ‘The Down To Earth’ dated 03.06.2025. The original application was registered suo-motu based on the news item titled "Nayar …
during the last 10 years, largescale mortalities of bottlenose dolphins ( Tursiops truncatus ) have been reported along the Atlantic coast of the us . For the first time, large amounts of tributyltin ( tbt ) - organotin compounds used as an anti-fouling agent in paints (for painting ships and …
under unfavourable - oxygen-deprived - conditions, brine shrimps shut down their energy processes and enter a death-like state; but when favourable conditions are restored, perhaps years later, these animals rise up, hatch and swim away, says James Clegg, a biochemist at the University of California's Bodega Marine Laboratory in Bodega …
It is dangerous and expensive to reclaim munition sites (dumping sites for disused ammunition). However, John Huges of George R Brown University in Houston, Texas, us, has unveiled the potential of plants
John Heyning and James Mead from the American National Museum of Natural History in Washington, US, have analysed the eating habits of whales. They found that the female beaked whales or Ziphiidae are toothless, while the males have just one or two pairs of teeth. These whales can barely open …
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ornl) researchers in the US have theorised that mercury in soil gas is absorbed by plants when the plants ' mercury level is low. But when their mercury level rises and the level present in the air decreases, plants release some of their mercury into the …
climatologists have always regarded carbon dioxide (co2) as dangerous since it is supposed to be one of the principle causes of global warming. But then co2 also performs the valuable function of enhancing floral growth. Rise in atmospheric co2 concentration and possible concomitant climate change has been seen to affect …
"Nitrogen enrichment is pushing us towards a weedier world,' says David Wedin of the University of Toronto, Canada. Burning fossil fuel releases nitrogen oxides, which ecologists believe could act as fertilisers and promote luxuriant growth of weeds. This shift in vegetation could hinder the earth's ability to moderate global warming, …
skyscrapers could soon be one of the solutions to urban pollution problems. A proposal to that effect has been introduced by Melvin Prueitt, a scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, us, who has been awarded four patents for several tower configurations. These towers will transform hundreds of …
contaminated soils can be cleaned if exposed to bacterial action. But the effectiveness of any such clean-up operation can seriously get hampered if the population of protozoa, which eat these bacteria, is not controlled. Bryan Travis and his team at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, us, have discovered …
the rivalry between mongooses and snakes is legion. What has always puzzled researchers has been the mongoose's ability to counter deadly snake-venom. Now a team of scientists in Israel has discovered that it is not the quick reflexes of these mammals that saves them from the lethal bite of snakes …
the phenomenon of global warming is surely not confirmed as yet. An area may have become warmer not because of an increase in global warming but because of certain natural variations. But whatever be the cause, it is time we took note. For Earth as a whole, 1996 ranked among …
The damage that textile production causes to the environment has been a bone of contention for environmentalists. Pollutants from textile production (zinc, sulphides or copper salts) are non bio-degradable. But now, a French fashion designer, Olivier Lapidus, is all set to launch a collection of clothes made from eco-friendly fibres …
Janalee Cadwell of the University of Oklahoma, US, has been investigating South American frogs whose poisonous secretions are used to tip arrows and darts. Her researches have led to the conclusion that these amphibians are toxic not because of some biochemical synthesis within them, but because they eat a deadly …
Apternotus albifrons , a fish that continuously emits electricity at a frequency of about 1,000 hertz can be used as a detector of pollutants, say scientists at the International Water Centre in Nancy, France. The electric signals given out by the fish are very stable under normal conditions, but vary …
it is, in fact, nitrogen's extraordinary usefulness to life which is at the heart of the damage it can cause. It ranks fourth as the most common chemical in living tissues, after oxygen, carbon and hydrogen. It is important for plant nutrition, and thus for animal life as well. It …
on the face of it, fire is damaging. But as far as ecology goes, it may prove to be constructive. One of the products of fire, charcoal, is an inert addition to soil that has more of physical rather than chemical effects. Yet it is well known that charcoal can …
RECYCLERS turn old cans and bottles into new ones and old newspapers into today's daily. Now it is the turn of waste tyres in the country? Robert Romine, working at Rouse Rubber Industries, Mississippi, us, has introduced an eco-friendly technique for processing old tyres by using microorganisms (Environmental Health Perspectives, …
improved lifestyles in both rural and urban areas necessarily mean better availability and use of water. The emphasis for our planners should, therefore, be on providing the required amount of water at affordable costs in a manner that does not deplete or degrade the source. Akshyadhara , meaning undecayed water, …
