General Awareness

ENVIRONMENT - March 2020

Mar 2020

Oct 01, 2021

US Declares 23 Bird, Fish and other Species Extinct

The ivory-billed woodpecker is among 23 species declared extinct by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS).
The service has proposed removing them from the Endangered Species Act (ESA), which protects species under threat.
In all, 11 birds, one bat, two fish, one plant and eight types of mussel have been declared extinct.
The FWS said that it had made the determination based on rigorous reviews of the best available science for each of these species.
"Each of these 23 species represents a permanent loss to our nation's natural heritage and to global biodiversity," said Bridget Fahey, who oversees species classification for the Fish and Wildlife Service

Sep 30, 2021

Secret Cave Chamber May be One of the Last Neanderthal Hideouts

A cave chamber sealed off by sand for some 40,000 years has been discovered in Vanguard Cave in Gibraltar, a finding that could reveal more about the Neanderthals who lived in the area around that time.
Given that the sand sealing the chamber was 40,000 years old, and that the chamber was therefore older, it must have been Neanderthals, who lived in Eurasia from about 200,000 to 40,000 years ago and were likely using the cave.

Sep 29, 2021

Uttarakhand's First Palmetum

The Uttarakhand Forest Department inaugurated the first Palmetum of the state. It has been developed in Haldwani area of Nainital district.
This Palmetum is the biggest one in North India, comprising of 110 species of palms.
It has been established in an area of three acres.
It was developed in over three years under the CAMPA scheme at a cost of Rs. 16 lakh.
It was inaugurated by Prof Lalit Tiwari, a professor of Botany from Kumaon University.
This Palmetum was inaugurated with the aim promoting conservation & research and creating awareness regarding the importance and ecological role of various palm species.

Italy's 'Smart Bay' Seeks to Tackle Mediterranean Climate Change

On Italy's Ligurian coast, biologists and environmentalists are working to tackle the effects of climate change in the Mediterranean with help from a so-called "Smart Bay". Marine biologists fear the Mediterranean is becoming hotter and more acidic, which would affect the habitat of many native species and also lead to violent changes in weather systems such as more frequent tornadoes.
The Santa Teresa Smart Bay, in an area on the northwestern coast noted for tourism and diving, is Italy's first underwater "living" laboratory where scientists use aquatic invertebrate animals known as bryozoans and other organisms as live sensors.
Researchers from the Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA) and the National Research Council (CNR) chose the small bay as a perfect location to monitor the seawater. It provides data for the study of extreme weather events that are becoming more frequent in countries such as Italy, Greece, Spain, and France.

Sep 28, 2021

Tata Steel World's First Steel Company to Pledge Pruning of Sea Trade Emissions

Tata Steel, the country's oldest steel producer, has joined Sea Cargo Charter (SCC) as part of its sustainability objectives and initiatives on reduction of Scope 3 greenhouse gas emission in ocean trade.
The company is the 24th organisation to join the association working to reduce environmental impacts of global seaborne cargo and is the world's first steel producer to become the signatory of SCC.
The Sea Cargo Charter (SCC) is a global framework for assessing and disclosing the climate alignment of chartering activities. Launched in October 2020, there are currently already 24 signatories as part of this organisation.
SCC establishes a common, global baseline to quantitatively assess and disclose whether chartering activities are in line with climate goals set by UN maritime agency, the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

Sep 25, 2021

India Added at Least 800 species of Plants, Animals in 2020

India added at least 800 new species of plants and animals, including those which were earlier not known to man, in 2020 despite being a pandemic year.
However, the number of discoveries dropped due to the Covid-19 pandemic from the average number of discoveries made by the Botanical Survey of India (BSI) and Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) in the past five years.
On an average, the BSI has been identifying around 350 species of plants every year in the last five years at least.
The BSI released its list of new discovery of plant species in September, while that of the ZSI was out last month. Both have their headquarters in Kolkata.

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