General Awareness

ENVIRONMENT - March 2017

Mar 2017

Jan 29, 2020

Endangered Cheetahs can Return to Indian Forests

India's top court said cheetahs can be reintroduced in the country, 70 years after they were wiped out.
Responding to a plea by the government, the Supreme Court said African cheetahs could be introduced to the wild in a "carefully chosen location".
Cheetahs are an endangered species, according to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites).
Only 7,100 cheetahs are left in the wild, almost all of them in Africa.
The Asiatic cheetah, which once roamed parts of India, is now only found in Iran, where there are thought to be about 50 left.

Jan 28, 2020

Poonch Project to Explore Indus Valley Links

The limits of the Indus Valley civilisation could stretch to Poonch in Jammu and Kashmir, if a new excavation project of the Centre yields such findings. The Union ministry of culture approved an excavation project of the Archaeological Survey of India to explore archaeological possibilities in the region.
The Poonch excavation, and another in Masol in Chandigarh's Mohali district, are two projects which were given additional permission for excavation and exploration for the 2019-20 field season by the ASI's apex advisory body, the Central Advisory Board of Archaeology (CABA). A list of nine projects was permitted in the first list released in October 2019.

Sainsbury's Pledges £1bn to Cut Emissions to Zero

Sainsbury's promised to reduce its net carbon emissions to zero over the next 20 years.
The second largest supermarket chain in the UK will spend £1bn to reach the target.
It pledged to reduce emissions from areas like refrigeration and transport.
But, while the 2040 target puts Sainsbury's ahead of rivals, critics noted that it does not extend to the supermarket's supply network, which accounts for most of its emissions.
Currently, Sainsbury's produces one million tonnes of carbon each year, although, the supermarket said that figure had fallen by a third in the last 15 years.

Jan 27, 2020

Search for Relatives of Galapagos Tortoise

A scientific expedition to the Galapagos Islands will spend ten days searching for relatives of two tortoise species believed to be extinct, including those of the archipelago's Lonesome George.
George, the last known member of the Pinta tortoise species, died in 2012 at over 100 years of age after refusing to mate in captivity with females from related subspecies.
Park rangers and scientists from the Galapagos National Parks (PNG) and Galapagos Conservancy will tour the Wolf Volcano on Isabela Island in hopes of locating and removing a group of giant tortoises with partial lineage to the extinct Pinta and Floreana species.

Nearly 50 Dead in Brazil Storms

At least 46 people have died in Brazil and more than 25,000 have been displaced due to widespread flooding following storms and heavy rains that have swept across the south east of the country. Most of the casualties were in the state of Minas Gerais, including the capital Belo Horizonte, which had its heaviest rainfall over a 24-hour period on 24-01-2020 since records began 110 years ago.

Jan 26, 2020

In Spain, Toll Rises to Nine Dead As Storm Gloria Ebbs

The death toll from a violent storm which has wrought havoc on huge swathes of Spain's eastern and southern coastline rose to nine as rescuers pressed the hunt for at least five missing people. The latest death was that of a man whose body was found in a flooded river near Jorba, some 70 kilometers (45 miles) northwest of Barcelona.
Rescuers in Catalonia had been searching for a missing person in the same area but said it was too early to confirm if it was him. Catalan rescuers found another body of a man who died after falling into the water in Palamos, a port town about 100 kilometers up the coast from Barcelona.
They are also searching for a man who went missing from a merchant ship in the same area, as well as a person in Cadaques near the French border.
Storm Gloria hit the region on Sunday, bringing strong winds, torrential rains, and heavy snow, battering Spain's southern and eastern flanks before moving north. Gale-force winds and huge waves smashed into seafront towns, with dramatic images showing massive flooding that has damaged shops, houses, and restaurants.

Jan 25, 2020

Four New Species of 'Walking Sharks' Found

According to a recent study, several new species of sharks have been discovered in the waters off northern Australia and Indonesia.
The news species is found to have evolved to use their four side fins to propel themselves across the seafloor thus earning the name "walking sharks".
According to Dr. Christine Dudgeon of the University of Queensland, a 12-year study into these species of sharks was conducted jointly with the CSIRO, Florida Museum of Natural History, the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, and Indonesian Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries.
Though this is not the first time the "walking sharks" have been found but the study helped in identifying four news species, doubling the number previously known.

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