General Awareness

ENVIRONMENT - October 2017

Oct 2017

Jun 17, 2019

G20 Agrees to Tackle Ocean Plastic Waste

Group of 20 environment ministers agreed to adopt a new implementation framework for actions to tackle the issue of marine plastic waste on a global scale.
Environment and energy ministers of the Group of 20 major economies met in Karuizawa, northwest of Tokyo, ahead of the G20 summit in Osaka, western Japan, on June 28-29.
One of the top issues was ocean plastic waste as images of plastic debris-strewn beaches and dead animals with stomachs full of plastic have sparked outrage, with many countries banning plastic bags outright.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said he wants his country to lead the world in reducing marine plastic trash, including developing biodegradables and other innovations.
The new framework is aimed at facilitating further concrete action on marine waste, though on a voluntary basis, after the G20 Hamburg Summit in Germany adopted the "G20 action plan on marine litter" in 2017.
Under the new framework, G20 members will promote a comprehensive life-cycle approach to prevent and reduce plastic litter discharge to the oceans through various measures and international cooperation.

Jun 16, 2019

Greenland Lost 2bn tons of Ice in One Day

In a sign that this year could set record loss of Greenland ice, researchers have found that on June 13, the island's ice sheet lost more than two gigatons (a gigaton is equal to one billion tons) of ice in just a day due to a widespread melting event.
Researchers found that the epic Greenland melt event was caused primarily by an atmospheric circulation in the Arctic and North Atlantic.
The sudden spike in melting on June 13 is comparable to some spikes seen seven years ago.
The Greenland melt season started very early this season, on April 30, which is the second earliest in a record that stretches back to 1980. On average, the melt season starts around May 26.
Scientists say one reason why melting has spiked this year is that Greenland experienced a dry and cold winter.

Jun 15, 2019

Russia Uncovers 40,000 Year-old Wolf Head

About 40,000 years ago, a wolf died in what we know as Siberia. Now its severed head was found, and because of the freezing conditions, it is so well preserved that its fur, teeth, brain and facial tissue are largely intact.
A Yakutia resident, Pavel Yefimov, found the head last summer on the banks of the Tirekhtyakh River, close to the Arctic Circle in the region of Yakutia.
The head was shown in public this week in footage provided to Reuters TV by the academy.

Jun 14, 2019

The Golden Cat Wears New Colours

Scientists have discovered that golden is no longer the only colour the elusive Asiatic golden cat can be associated with. Its coat comes in five other shades in Arunachal Pradesh.
The Asiatic golden cat (Catopuma temminckii) is listed as near threatened on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of threatened species.
It is found across eastern Nepal through north-eastern India to Indonesia.
Indian scientists from the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), an international conservation charity, and University College London (UCL) have discovered six colour morphs of the golden cat in Dibang Valley of Arunachal Pradesh.
The findings have contributed to an evolutionary puzzle because no other place on earth has so many colours of wild cats of the same species.

Jun 13, 2019

CPCB Orders to Shut Export Units

The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) ordered closure of nine major export and dyeing units in Panipat for flouting environmental norms.
The units are Pan Overseas, Textile World, Shiva Furnishing, Aggarwal Processors, Great Eastern, Shree Balaji Woolen, Raj Overseas, Pan Foods, and Hand Fab Living.

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