IN WHAT could have ramifications on the ocean food web, scientists have found that rising acidity of seawaters slows down marine nitrogen cycle. Ocean acidification is the result of CO2 dissolving in seawater and lowering its pH. Scientists know that a drop in ocean pH affects carbon cycle, reducing carbonate …
2010 was a loud year for the environment. High profile projects—from Vedanta to Posco and Navi Mumbai airport to Lavasa—hit the headlines for non-compliance with environmental regulations. While 2009 was the 25th anniversary of the Bhopal gas tragedy, it was only last year that we were all outraged by the …
Why a song on mining? I am a trained environmental engineer, so I always wanted to write a song on environmental degradation caused by mining in Australia. I am not sure why I did not write it before, but it is an opportune time as mining is expanding in the …
Southeast Asia is a region of enormous social, economic, and political diversity, both across and within countries, shaped by its history, geography, and position as a major crossroad of trade and the movement of goods and services. These factors have not only contributed to the disparate health status of the …
On the night of December 10, Patricia Espinosa shed a tear and received a standing ovation. The foreign secretary of Mexico and president of the 16th Conference of Parties (CoP) on Climate Change held in Cancun had just read out her speech urging all negotiating parties to accept a draft …
World leaders applauded the Cancun agreement even though it violated the right of developing countries to grow with an equal access to global carbon space. Bolivia was the only country that pointed out the inequity. When its ambassador to the UN, Pablo Solon, called the deal a step backward, others …
Fundamentally, there is no difference between the Copenhagen Accord of 2009 and the Cancun Agreement on Long-term Cooperative Action. Both turn the principle of “common but differentiated responsibility” of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) on its head—all countries, rich and poor, have a common protocol under which …
AMID predictions by climate scientists that half the coastal marshes may not survive rising sea level, comes a glimmer of hope. A study published in Geophysical Research Letters in December says vegetated wetlands with high tidal ranges—remaining flooded for longer periods—and sediment concentration may survive sea level rise. The researchers …
The WikiLeaks revelations have made governments around the world nervous. After secret US cables released by WikiLeaks exposed American and European officials indulging in blackmail, threats and even espionage to advance their “climate” agenda, environment departments have gone jittery. The US government has offered “no comment” proclamations and strong condemnation …
IN recent times, there has been a spurt of online resources that inform people of their carbon footprints. But most of them are programmed for people in the West. Enter www.no2co2.in. The website has dedicated webspace to calculate carbon footprints from Indian cities. The site has also calculated footprints of …
Last fortnight we discussed the clandestine endgame afoot at Cancun to change the framework of the climate change negotiations to suit big and powerful polluters. Since then Cancun has concluded and a deal, in the form of a spate of agreements, has been gavelled into existence by the chair. Commentators …
Increasing sea surface temperature (SST) and its consequences on marine ecosystems are widely discussed. Andaman Sea witnessed a few bleaching events during 1998, 2002 and 2005. The present study was taken up to assess the extent of bleaching during 2010 in selected reef sites in the Andaman through line intercept …
Scaling-up adoption of renewable energy technology—such as solar home systems (SHS)—to expand electricity access in developing countries can accelerate the transition to low-carbon economic development. Using a national household survey, this study quantifies the carbon and distributional benefits of SHS programs in Bangladesh. Three key findings are generated from the …
This book released recently by the Wotld Bank contends that most countries are relatively highly dependent on natural capital initially, and the ones that progress most successfully are those that manage their assets for the long term and reinvest in human and social capital as well as in building strong …
Something is stirring in paddy fields across India. New seeds, new crop management techniques and newly minted food security policies are about to hit the countryside. Not all of the changes that are being forged in Krishi Bhawan, headquarters of the Union agriculture ministry, in the top-flight research institutions across …
BIDDING for the first phase of Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission has put a question mark on the ambitious target set to augment the country’s energy needs through the solar route. Of the 30 short-listed bidders, almost 20 have had nothing to do with solar photo voltaic (PV) power. Some …
