The World Meteorological Organization’s State of the Climate in Asia 2024 report warns that the region is warming nearly twice as fast as the global average, driving more extreme weather and posing serious threats to lives, ecosystems, and economies. In 2024, Asia experienced its warmest or second warmest year on …
an estimated 2,750 Bangladeshi villagers who lost their homes in heavy floods last May, have petitioned the World Bank ( wb ) for redress. They opine that the floods in central Bangladesh were more due to the digging of a diversion channel in the area and the construction of new …
a clear message has been handed out to east and central European countries wishing to join the European Union ( eu ) : clean up first. With concern for the environment in the forefront, eu deli-vered its missive quietly yet forcefully, at the recent environment ministers meeting in Brussels on …
After several years of hostile talks and skirmishes, the cold and quiet expanse of the Arctic has become an area of joint concern by the nations bordering it - Canada, Denmark (it owns Greenland), Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia and United States. These countries signed an agreement recently at Ottawa, …
an unusual problem is plaguing the Norwegian rivers. Wild salmon returning to native habitats for spawning face an unexpected threat: salmon escapees that are either bred in fish farms or raised in special metal tanks with artificial lighting to speed up reproduction. These escapees are also vaccinated against infections and …
The controversial Nam Theun ii hydro dam project has run into trouble. The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand ( egat ) has cancelled plans to purchase electricity from the dam. The cancellation has dealt a final blow to the dam's developers, who have poured us $30 million into the project …
SAURABH BHATTACHARYA a stinging slap on the face of the mini stry of environment and forests ( mef) . That is precisely how one should term the report of the present Parliamentary Standing Committee (psc) on Science and Technology, Environment and Forests, on the ministry’s demands for grants for 1996-97. …
startling expressions of possible environmental degradation have been found in Minnesota, us . Deformed frogs have been seen in more than 100 sites in 54 of Minnesota's counties. At a recent conference of scientists convened by the Environmental Protection Agency ( epa ) in Duluth, Minnesota, the recurring thought was …
In the summer of 1995, the hills of Pauri Garhwal and Kumaon were witness to extensive forest fires. The conflagration decimated a massive forest area and at the same time, underscored the total collapse of the so-called Modern Forest Fire Control project and the hi-tech Air Operation Wing ( aow …
the controversial rabbit calicivirus will be let loose on purpose in Australia, end of September, to decimate the rabbit population which has caused havoc in the island continent. Amidst fears that the virus could jump species, the Australian government announced that the virus would be released once the approval of …
in a study published in the Proceedings of the us National Academy of Sciences , researchers from the University of Georgia report that they have developed a plant capable of absorbing highly toxic mercury ions from a growth medium and reducing them to less toxic and relatively inert metallic mercury. …
there seems to be some good news regarding the most imperilled marshlands on earth, the Florida Everglades. The South Florida Water Management District, which undertook studies of the delicate eco-system, reports that farmers have achieved a 68 per cent reduction in the amount of phosphorus fertiliser discharged from their fields. …
Large tracts of tropical peat forests will be cleared to make way for rice-fields, horticulture and plantations as part of a huge rice development project initia-ted by the government. The short-sighted and ill-planned project, aimed at boosting the government's popularity, totally ignores the grave consequences on environment and the local …
the ministry of environment and forests seems to be keen on acquiring a people-friendly image. It has decided to make public all conditionalities laid down while granting environmental clearance to new industries. The decision comes on the heels of a recent notification by the ministry which makes it mandatory for …
in order to better understand and deal with the negative environmental impact associated with refugee situations, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees ( unhcr ) has come out with a document titled unhcr Environmental Guidelines . The guidelines are the first of the Commission’s three initiatives to mitigate environmental …
a new study conducted on 212 children in Michigan, us , has revealed that exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls ( pcb ), a common pollutant, while in their mothers' womb has led to a modest lowering of their intelligence quotient ( iq ) level. Most of these 11-year-old children in the …
last fortnight, the French organised a mega-meeting of over 400 people, not to discuss 'Liberty, Equality and Fraternity' but 'Democracy, Governance and Sustainability'. Alain Lipietz, the French Green Party's economic ideologue, says the conference was first being organised with the provocative title of 'Is Democracy capable of managing the long-term?' …
Gandhiji's environmentalism was based on the following ethical principles: non-violence, truth and persevering the truth; shunning the use of materials obtained by illegitimate means and so on. Gandhiji said that we can use the bounties of nature but not with an element of greed.
the presence of an unusually high number of bluefin tuna off the western coast of Ireland has invited a large fleet of Japanese tuna boats and a lot of trouble. Ireland's tiny maritime patrol fleet had to employ everything in its means to keep the Japanese tuna boats off its …
