Plastic Overshoot Day marks the point when the amount of plastic waste generated exceeds the world’s capacity to manage it, resulting in environmental pollution. In 2024, the global Plastic Overshoot Day is projected to occur on September 5th. Each country has its own Plastic Overshoot Day, which is determined by …
RAINFALL Aerosols may be reducing rainfall and threatening the Earth's fresh water supplies, according to the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, San Diego. "Initially we thought that aerosols were mainly a cooling agent, offsetting global warming. Now we find that these have a big impact on the water budget of the …
Scientists are yet to unravel all the mysteries about the tiny and yet complex three-dimensional particles. Key details about their properties and their effects remain elusive. So far, it has not been possible to make reliable measurements to determine their distribution and properties on a global scale. Large uncertainties remain …
Residents of Chajjupur, Shahdara, New Delhi, are very angry. But they are also scared. Although they have been fighting the polluting industries in their area, they refuse to come out in the open with their struggle. "We do not want to take on the industry,' explains a local shopkeeper. Residents …
Every once in a way, one comes across an instance that reestablishes faith in the tools of the establishment. Take the case of the Behala public interest litigation (pil), for example. About a hundred housewives from Behala, situated in the southern part of the city of Kolkata, approached the green …
Trade a new thermometer for an old one. This is the message that a bill approved by the US senate seeks to give. While it bans mercury thermometers, it has provided US $20 million for the exchange programme. There is one gramme of mercury in a traditional fever-measuring device. However, …
battlelines are drawn over the setting up of a polyvinyl chloride (pvc) plant at Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu. While environmentalists and local residents are pitted against the project promoter, the state authorities are yet to make their stand clear on the issue. The plant, being set up by Chennai-based Chemplast …
Call it paranoia or plain silliness. But it is amazing. The Centre for Science and Environment (cse) has been studying gas pricing in the country to assess how environmentally acceptable fuels can be promoted. My young colleague went to collect information from the Indraprastha Gas Limited - the compressed natural …
the South African government seems to be in reverse gear in context of their environmental policies. While countries the world over are increasingly prohibiting the use of thin plastics, South Africa has modified its proposed ban on polythene bags by reducing their thickness from 80 microns to 30 microns. Reducing …
industrialists in Delhi could soon be forced to pay up for common effluent treatment plants (cetps) in their area. A proposal to tax erring industrialists, who refuse to foot the bill for the construction of cetps, was put forth by state industry and environment minister Deep Chand Bandhu. He announced …
safe inside the warm womb of the mother, a child kicks and turns. This is the third time that Sarah Connell is pregnant, but she has never reached her second trimester of pregnancy. She aborted twice earlier. This time she has moved houses, cleaned up her home, and taken every …
Waterborne diseases, caused by the intake of chemicals and contaminated water, affects around 3.4 million people globally. In India, around 563,000 people are affected annually, one fourth of which are children, according to the Union ministry of health and family welfare. Water gets contaminated due to sewage from households, industrial …
Indians are at great risk of lifestyle diseases. Inactivity alone claims two million lives globally every year, warns a recently-published who report. Indians, particularly the younger generation, are increasingly facing problems due to overweight, blood pressure, stress, high cholesterol and diabetes, all of which are a fallout of physical inactivity. …
Some chemicals can affect brain development and function. They also have serious effect on children's learning and behavioural abilities. Compared to other organs, the human brain develops over a long period of time
Open the recent National Human Development Report (nhdr), or any glossy document of the World Bank and its ilk, and it will reveal how the world is a much better place. Death rates have declined, people live longer, fewer children are dying and incomes are increasing. Of course, forget the …
Paediatricians are worried about rising cancer rates among children. Like Anupam Sachdeva and A K Dutta, head of department of paediatrics at Lady Hardinge Medical College, New Delhi. They have been witness to a rise in the incidences of brain cancer and acute lymphocytic leukaemia, commonly found among children. In …
Pregnant women exposed to common pollutants may give birth to babies with heart deformities, indicates a recent study conducted by researchers from Los Angeles-based University of California. During their study, the researchers collected daily air pollution measurements from 30 locations around Los Angeles and correlated them to local birth registries. …
Radiation from cellular phones is a well-known risk. Now there is another type of pollution from the wireless device which has raised a wave of worry. A study conducted by Inform, an environmental research organisation, says that within three years the us will discard about 130 million cellular telephones a …
The biggest garbage dump in Mumbai will be closed now, courtesy the Supreme Court. Acting on a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by the resident welfare association of Chincholi Bunder area where the dumpyard is located, the court ordered its closure as it was posing a serious health hazard. The …
