General Awareness

ENVIRONMENT - December 2018

Dec 2018

May 25, 2019

Petition against Yettinahole Project Dismissed

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) gave the go-ahead for the Yettinahole Project.
It directed the State Forest Department and the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests and Climate Change to monitor the project and said that they were at liberty to commission a new study on the impact of the project on the Western Ghats or take appropriate action if they found any violation.

May 16, 2019

Centre seeks to replace green clearance norms

Preparing a key proposal for the new government, the Union environment ministry has decided to "reengineer" its existing environment impact assessment (EIA) notification and bring a completely revamped one by factoring in various amendments to it drawing from the experience gained by authorities during its implementation over the years.
The existing EIA, notified in 2006, currently governs green clearance for all kinds of projects - mining, infrastructure, thermal, hydro, irrigation and industries - across the country.
In order to bring new EIA notification, the ministry, in April, issued a proposed version of it - called 'Zero Draft' - and sought comments from all states and concerned pollution control boards by mid-May.
The draft provides for rules allowing district-level authorities, headed by district magistrate, to seek exemption from public hearing (consultations) while granting green clearance for sand mining in areas up to five hectares of land.
It proposes to exempt irrigation projects having less than 2,000 hectares of command area and industrial projects dealing with non-toxic chemicals from EIA.

May 11, 2019

Four New Mouths in Chilika Lake

The extremely severe cyclone Fani has created four new mouths in Chilika Lake, Asia's largest brackish water lake, connecting to the Bay of Bengal.
Chilika lagoon had only two active mouths, the point where it meets the sea before Fani hit the Odisha coast on May 3.
Three new mouths have come up between the two functional mouths near Sanpatna and Arakhakuda, a smaller mouth has been noticed on the northern side.
In the meantime, a lot of sea water is entering Chilika Lake. The salinity level is being monitored at different stations.
If sea water ingression goes up, fish migration will increase and the biodiversity will get richer.

May 08, 2019

Illegal Sand Mining in India and China

India and China top a list of countries where illegal sand mining has become a major environmental problem, according to a report released by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
While we cannot do without sand, responsible mining should be incentivised, said the report, 'Sand and Sustainability: finding new solutions for environmental governance of global sand resources'.
Unsustainable sand mining was mainly being fed by the growth of construction work in China, followed by India, the report said.
In 2017, China recorded the highest use of cement (which includes sand aggregates) in the world, at an estimated 2.4 billion tonnes.
India came second, with 270 million tonnes, followed by the US (86.3 million tonnes), the report said. Global demand for sand and gravel is about 50 billion tonnes a day, according to the report.
To put the amount in perspective, that's an average of 18 kg per person per day. Other countries where illegal coastal sand extraction is a problem include Morocco, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam.
Unchecked mining of sand from coasts and riverbeds adversely affects not only marine life, but can also lead to drought and flooding, and a drop in the quality of water.

3-Foot Relative of T-Rex Discovered

Scientists have discovered a new relative of the Tyrannosaurus rex — much smaller than the huge, ferocious dinosaur made famous in books and films.
The newly named tyrannosauroid dinosaur — Suskityrannus hazelae — was only marginally longer than the skull of a fully grown T-rex.
Suskityrannus hazelae is believed to have weighed between 45 and 90 pounds.
The typical weight for a fullgrown Tyrannosaurus rex is roughly nine tonnes. Its diet likely consisted of the same as its larger meat-eating counterpart, with Suskityrannus hazelae hunting small animals, although what it hunted is unknown.
The dinosaur was at least three years old at death based on an analysis of its growth from its bones. The fossil dates back 92 million years to the Cretaceous Period, a time when some of the largest dinosaurs ever found lived.

Maharashtra on 'Save Donkey' Drive

The Maharashtra state animal husbandry department has written to all collectors alerting them about the dwindling donkey population and asked them to take preventive measures.
According to the animal census in 2012, the latest year for which figures are available, there were 29,135 donkeys in Maharashtra, a fall of over 9% from 32,070 in 2007.
The circular issued on May 4 says if steps are not taken, one day donkeys may become extinct.
In a meeting, Union minister Maneka Gandhi, who is also an animal rights activist, had raised the issue of illegal slaughter of donkeys.
The circular mentions that there have been cases in which donkeys have been illegally slaughtered and their blood and organs used in animal feed.
Also, their skin and blood are used in some countries to treat cancer and for other medicinal purpose.

May 03, 2019

First Country to Declare a Climate Emergency

A bipartisan UK Parliament passed an extraordinary measure: a national declaration of an Environment and Climate Emergency.
The UK is the first national government to declare such an emergency. The decision marks a renewed sense of urgency in tackling climate change, following a visit to Parliament by teenage activist Greta Thunberg, the broadcast of David Attenborough's documentary Climate Change: The Facts and 11 days of protest by environmental group Extinction Rebellion that paralysed parts of London.
There are now some 49 million people living under national, city and local declarations of a climate emergency around the world.

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