OUIKTOMS ozone monitoring instrument prepared for lunch
NASA soon will launch its latest ozone-monitoring instrument, which will allow scientists to continue their long-term measurements of global ozone levels.The QUIKTOMS or Quick Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer is scheduled to lift off on September 21.
RNA asked to protect forest
Jhapa District Forest Office has requested the Charaali-based Royal Nepal Army Office to help prevent the destruction of the famous forest of Nichajhoda in the middle of the Jhapa district of Nepal.
SC lifts ban on felling of trees
A panel constituted on directives of the Supreme Court to monitor illegal logging, has decided to lift the ban on felling of six species of trees on private land. The exempted species are eucalyptus, subabul, cassurina, prosopis, israeli babul and poplar.
Delhi Govt, transporters blamed for CNG crisis
The Indian Foundation of Transport Research and Training (IFTRT) flayed efforts to deflate CNG as clean fuel and termed the long queues at CNG filling stations in the Capital as a "man-made crisis" on Wednesday. The IFTRT criticised the Centre and the Delhi Government, petroleum lobby, vehicle manufacturers and transport …
Centre to explore alternative fuels
Ministers of the Delhi Government and Congress MLAs met petroleum minister Ram Naik to sort out their differences on the ongoing CNG crisis. It was decided in the meeting that efforts would be made to explore alternative fuels and this would be conveyed to the Supreme Court at the next …
Biodiversity facing extinction threat
The re-eruption of the earlier controversy over the threat of extinction of a rich biodiversity of the Western Ghats region in the wake of the Kerala Government's move to revive the Silent Valley hydro-electric throws up a number of important issues. The first one is : What could have induced …
Oceanographers find undersea world
Oceanographers patrolling the mid-Atlantic in a miniature research submarine have stumbled onto a spectacular deep-sea garden of hot springs and towering spires they nicknamed the "Lost City." "If this were on land," Duke University geologist Jeff Karson said, "it would be a national park."The scientists spotted the formations on Dec. …
STF gets satellite to help catch Veerappan
Operation Veerappan has gone hi-tech with the unified command of the Special Task Forces of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka and the Border Security Force contingent receiving inputs on the brigand's position in the deep jungles through satellite imagery and helicopter surveillance.
Research says native trees disappearing from W. Ghats
A large number of native trees have disappeared from the thick green vegetation on the hills and Western Ghats of Dakshina Kannada. The vegetation has been exploited by the people without any effort to replace it, many researchers from DK district have observed.
Fire destroys Blue Pine forest
Fanned by fierce winds, a forest fire devoured by a whole ridge at Ramtokto, Thimphu (Bhutan) on the afternoon of December 10, destroying between 250 to 300 acres of blue pine forests. According to reports the fire, described by forestry officials as the "worst" this year had started in an …
Be ozone-friendly, Govt. tells industry
In connection with the World Ozone Day (September 16), the Tamil Nadu Government has urged entrepreneurs and individual consumers to play their role in protecting the ozone layer.
Forest cover shrinking in Himachal
About 440 sq km of dense forests in Himachal Pradesh have vanished in the past three years, whereas over 245 sq km of forest cover in the four districts of Shimla, Kulu, Kangra and Hamirpur has been lost during the period.
Centre does a U-turn on CNG
The Centre has taken a U-turn on CNG and appealed to the Supreme Court to allow diesel vehicles to ply on city roads. The appeal has been made as the Centre has come to the conclusion that CNG is "not sustainable in the long run." The Centre's action has come …
City will have 85 CNG stations by September: IGL chairman
The Indraprastha Gas Limited has prepared a comprehensive plan to deal with the CNG crisis in the city. The plan includes installation of imported equipment at the filling stations to ensure swift gas dispensation, setting up new stations and carrying out experiments like making some station "vehicle specific.'New IGL chairman …
Assam Gas, US Co tie up for CNG project
The Assam Gas Company Ltd (AGCL), a State sector enterprise engaged in transportation of natural gas through pipelines, is setting up a Rs 8-crore project at Duliajan for production and marketing of compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) to be used by vehicles in the North East …
Environment ministry to seek directions
The Supreme Court permitted the Ministry of Environment and Forests to file its application seeking several directions in an ongoing pollution suit filed by environmentalist lawyer, Mr M C Mehta, wherein it had directed conversion of Delhi's bus fleet to Compressed Natural Gas by 30 September, 2001.
Expert panel to suggest auto fuel policy set up
The Government has constituted an expert committee headed by R A Mashelkar, director-general of CSIR, to recommend the auto fuel policy for the country with specific reference to major cities and devise a roadmap for its implementation. The committee will take into account the vehicular emission norms recommended by the …
Krishna to meet PM, pour water on TN demand
After Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalitha, it is now her Karnataka counterpart S. M. Krishna's turn to lead an all-party delegation to Prime Minister A. B. Vajpayee on the Cauvery issue.
M.P. move to legalise forest encroachment
The Madhya Pradesh Government is determined to give ownership rights to the landless who have illegally occupied more than 90,000 hectares of forest land in the State. To retain the entire initiative and exclude the Government of India's role in this regard there is even talk of diluting the Forest …
Plant more trees to save ecology : Mayor
People from all walks of life should come forward and plant saplings to maintain the ecological balance and to reduce the pollution in the town, said Warangal Mayor T Rajeswara Rao. He called upon the people to make the 'Harita Mitra' programme a success.
