Order of the National Green Tribunal (Eastern Zone Bench, Kolkata) in the matter of Dinesh Prasad Chaurasia & Others Vs State of Bihar & Others dated 12/04/2024. The matter related to improper disposal of fly ash by the thermal power station run by National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), Kanti, Muzaffarpur, …
WITH the production of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) coming to a slow stop as a consequence of the Montreal Protocol of 1987, efforts are now directed towards its disposal. Large amounts of this ozone depleting chemical are being collected from aerosols, insulation foams and cooling units for its final denouement. Breaking down …
SEPTEMBER 16 this year, as recommended by the United Nations General Assembly, marks the first International Day for Preservation of the Ozone Layer -- the thin layer of gaseous stratospheric ozone which screens most of the sun's ultra-violet radiation. Eight years ago, on this day the Montreal Protocol on Substances …
The fourth UN world conference on women has been underway (September 4-15) in Beijing, China. Weighty -issues being discussed in the conference include action to alleviate poverty, abolishing slavery and prostitution, stopping violence against women, equality under the law and equal access to health care, education and jobs. Around 24,000 …
India faced 2 threats at the open meeting of the parties to the Montreal Protocol: the 1st was the increasing possibility of the fund to assist developing countries to phase out their ozone depleting substances (ods), like the gas used in refrigerators; the 2nd was the threat to illegalise the …
The international community may agree to do without chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) -- the chemicals identified as being primarily responsible for the depletion of the earth's ozone shield -- but the state of Arizona is not about to be bullied into doing so. The state legislature has passed a law allowing the …
European scientists have found evidence of ozone levels over the Arctic declining by about 50 per cent between the altitudes of 16 and 18 km (Nature, Vol 374, No 6522). The Second European Stratospheric Arctic and Mid-latitude Experiment also revealed that ozone levels fell by about 0.7 per cent per …
PROVISIONAL data gathered from over 95 Earth-based stations of the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) reveal record low ozone levels during most of January and the first half of February over Siberia and western Europe. Ozone deficiencies during the second half of January, says Rumen Bojkov, special advisor to the WMO …
The ozone layer over the Antarctica was nearly as severely depleted in November last year as it was in 1993, when it reached a record low, reveal several airborne and space sensors. According to Richard Bevilacqua of the US Naval Research Laboratory, ozone levels began falling in May 1994, and …
THE ozone layer protects the earth's surface from the harmful effects of the sun's ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Ozone depletion would therefore imply an increase in UV radiation which, scientists fear, could lead to an increase in skin cancer and cataracts, and perhaps adversely affect agricultural systems. But now climatologists point …
AT A halt in Geneva during a recent globetrotting trip, Union environment minister Kamal Nath figuratively explained his view of the uneven environmental realities of the world. He asserted that the much-blamed population of the South, with "4 children per family" hardly taxed the earth's resources as much as the …
Mexico is fighting hard to correct its ozone levels on ground. According to the Metropolitan Commission for the Prevention and control of Mexico City Pollution, lead levels have decreased by almost 90 percent a and CO levels are "with in norms equivalent to those of the US environment protection agency". …
GLOBAL warming, depletion of the ozone layer and loss of biodiversity have become the most terrifying bogeys of the world community in recent years) and have spawned a series of international conferences and workshops. The book under review is a selection of some of the papers presented at one such …
DEVELOPING countries have reiterated their demand for more support from industrialised nations in their efforts to phase out the production and consumption of ozone depleting substances. At the 6th meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol, held in Nairobi from October 3 to 7, developing country representatives said they …
GLOBAL levels ofozone, which shields the from the Sun's harmful ultraviolet radiations, have fallen to a record over the past 2 years. But the worst R to come, according to the report of an international scientific panel. However, a redeeming feature of the 1994 Assessment Panel report, mandated under the …
The ozone layer, which shields life on earth from the Sun's harmful ultraviolet radiation, is slowly disappearing from the upper reaches of the atmosphere, especially over the South Pole. Hence the need to monitor this loss. However, there are problems with the ozone-measuring devices. Satellites and ground-based instruments, for instance, …
Methyl bromide, which is used to fight plant diseases, is known to destroy the ozone layer. Now, Kamlesh Miglani of the directorate of plant protection's plant quarantine and fumigation section, has found a way of preventing the chemical from escaping into the atmosphere during its use in the fumigation of …
UNDER the guise of concern for the environment and public health, Western governments continue to push the private agendas of large multinational interests. Experts advising international green funds and banks offer obsolete high-cost, energy-intensive technologies to developing countries, ensuring that old markets are preserved and new ones opened up. Cheaper, …
RAVINDER Kaul, chief projects manager of Sriram Refrigeration and Fertilisers Ltd (SRF), spends most of his working hours nowadays poring over official documents of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). S L Wadhwa, head of marketing in Gujarat Fluorochemicals, has put his company's products on the backburner and now concentrates …
PEA-SOUP smog-ridden skies don't usually make news in the UK: they are a part of life. However, when pollutants, primarily ground-level ozone, registered a steep increase in July this year, the uk's department of environment (DOE) issued an air quality alert: try not to use cars, jog, or even exercise …
IN INDIA, the determination and articulation of the country's stands on international issues have been the exclusive mandate of diplomats and bureaucrats. No matter how critical an issue, the people have had little say in influencing the government's position. In the '80s, and more so during the '90s, when some …
