Sunday, June 21, 2009
KPCL defends power plants at Yedlapur, Yeramaras
KPCL MD S M Jaamdar said on Thursday that even though the land allotted to construct the plant in Yeramaras belonged to Karnataka Industrial Development Board (KIADB), they would still be providing jobs to one member per family to about 250 families. “The land was not purchased for our needs, but by the KIADB for setting up an industrial park in 1980.They had acquired 3,600 acres and have now given us 865 acres. Not only will we be providing jobs to one member each of the 250 families who have given up their land, but we will also be employing 2000 people for direct employment and 3000 people for ancillaries.”He dismissed claims of fly ash from the chimneys polluting the environment and also causing silicosis, a form of lung disease, saying that independent authorities had submitted a report stating that there was no proof of increase in the levels of silicosis. Saying that they were ready to discuss and negotiate, Jaamdar said that there was no point in calling a bundh.Protests galoreProtests have marked the announcement and the foundation laying of the project. Different parties have gathered under the umbrella organisation Raichur Hitarakshana Samithi to protest the project. Some of the protesters want the project to move out of Raichur entirely, while another section wants the power plant in Raichur, but in another place called Chandrabanda. Residents are wary of increase in the amount of fly ash area, with two power plants starting in addition to the eight unit of Raichur Thermal Power Station, scheduled to be operational from November this year. A meeting will be held on Saturday to decide the future course of action. A public hearing has also been called on June 19.
Lighting Research Center assesses light pollution
Scientists at the Lighting Research Center (LRC) at Troy, NY-based Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed the first-ever comprehensive method for predicting and measuring various aspects of light pollution. Too much nighttime illumination can cause problems for stargazing and animal healthand may even compromise sleep, but light pollution may not be an issue that most facility managers and building owners consider a top priority. Balancing public and private interests for nighttime lighting has been a difficult undertaking--too little lighting may increase safety and security issues, and too much lighting may cause problems for the environment and human well being--but the LRC research hopes to simplify the problem.
The LRC method, called Outdoor Site-Lighting Performance (OSP), allows users to quantify and optimize the performance of existing and planned lighting designs and applications to minimize the amount of excessive or obtrusive light that leaves the boundaries of a property.
"Until now, the conversation about light pollution had been just that--a lot of talk with no data," says Mark Rea, LRC director and principal investigator for the project. He also says the new method "is a power tool, allowing users to address three important aspects of light pollution--sky glow, light trespass, and discomfort glare--quantitatively and at the same time."
Developed as a practical system for assessing outdoor lighting performance, the OSP method can be used with any commercial lighting software. A database of results has been created to help users compare the performance of their own projects to the glow, trespass, and glare levels measured at nighttime lighting applications across North America and Europe.
The LRC method, called Outdoor Site-Lighting Performance (OSP), allows users to quantify and optimize the performance of existing and planned lighting designs and applications to minimize the amount of excessive or obtrusive light that leaves the boundaries of a property.
"Until now, the conversation about light pollution had been just that--a lot of talk with no data," says Mark Rea, LRC director and principal investigator for the project. He also says the new method "is a power tool, allowing users to address three important aspects of light pollution--sky glow, light trespass, and discomfort glare--quantitatively and at the same time."
Developed as a practical system for assessing outdoor lighting performance, the OSP method can be used with any commercial lighting software. A database of results has been created to help users compare the performance of their own projects to the glow, trespass, and glare levels measured at nighttime lighting applications across North America and Europe.
Indonesia Forest Fires Fan Regional Haze Concern
well as being unhealthy, the smog can cause major economic disruption costing the tourism, transport and farming sectors billions of dollars.
Spurred on by the 1997-98 fires, Southeast Asian countries signed the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution in 2002, but Indonesia has yet to ratify the pact.
Areas such as Sumatra and Borneo regularly suffer from forest fires, but risks appear to have risen with the return of the El Nino weather pattern this year.
"The dry season (in Riau) will peak at the end of June to July which may increase hotspots and with wind coming from Australia to Asia, the haze could travel to Malaysia and Singapore," said Blucer Doloksaribu, head of the meteorology agency in Riau's provincial capital of Pekanbaru.
Riau, along with other parts of Sumatra, frequently suffers from forest fires.
Malaysia has already been suffering from haze this year and visibility was cut in the capital Kuala Lumpur last week while air quality in several parts of the country was deemed unhealthy.
Bustar Maitar, forest campaigner for Greenpeace Southeast Asia, said the number of fires appeared to be decreasing, but warned an anticipated long dry season could increase the numbers this year.
He also said the risk of forest fires was also being increased by the land clearing practices linked to some plantation firms and pulp-paper firms.
"Burning forests is still the cheapest way for companies to clear land although the government has prohibited it," he said.
Indonesian data showed the number of hotspots in Sumatra based on satellite surveillance had fallen to 28 as of Sunday from 99 last week after rain.
But on Borneo island the number of hot spots rose to 69 from 17 last week.
"If the weather remains dry, they (hot spots in Borneo) will gradually increase just like in Sumatra and will cause haze," Endarwin, head of extreme weather at Indonesia's meteorology agency said.
The agency has so far not issued recommendations to stop flights because visibility was still above minimum level of 1,000 meters (3,280 ft), he said.
Maitar of Greenpeace criticized a government move earlier in the year to end a moratorium on allowing palm oil plantations and pulp companies to operate in peatlands.
Environmentalists are particularly concerned over an increasing trend toward converting peatland forests.
Once these areas are drained, peat soil is highly flammable, producing more smoke and carbon emissions than other soil types.
INDONESIA NEWS
Spurred on by the 1997-98 fires, Southeast Asian countries signed the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution in 2002, but Indonesia has yet to ratify the pact.
Areas such as Sumatra and Borneo regularly suffer from forest fires, but risks appear to have risen with the return of the El Nino weather pattern this year.
"The dry season (in Riau) will peak at the end of June to July which may increase hotspots and with wind coming from Australia to Asia, the haze could travel to Malaysia and Singapore," said Blucer Doloksaribu, head of the meteorology agency in Riau's provincial capital of Pekanbaru.
Riau, along with other parts of Sumatra, frequently suffers from forest fires.
Malaysia has already been suffering from haze this year and visibility was cut in the capital Kuala Lumpur last week while air quality in several parts of the country was deemed unhealthy.
Bustar Maitar, forest campaigner for Greenpeace Southeast Asia, said the number of fires appeared to be decreasing, but warned an anticipated long dry season could increase the numbers this year.
He also said the risk of forest fires was also being increased by the land clearing practices linked to some plantation firms and pulp-paper firms.
"Burning forests is still the cheapest way for companies to clear land although the government has prohibited it," he said.
Indonesian data showed the number of hotspots in Sumatra based on satellite surveillance had fallen to 28 as of Sunday from 99 last week after rain.
But on Borneo island the number of hot spots rose to 69 from 17 last week.
"If the weather remains dry, they (hot spots in Borneo) will gradually increase just like in Sumatra and will cause haze," Endarwin, head of extreme weather at Indonesia's meteorology agency said.
The agency has so far not issued recommendations to stop flights because visibility was still above minimum level of 1,000 meters (3,280 ft), he said.
Maitar of Greenpeace criticized a government move earlier in the year to end a moratorium on allowing palm oil plantations and pulp companies to operate in peatlands.
Environmentalists are particularly concerned over an increasing trend toward converting peatland forests.
Once these areas are drained, peat soil is highly flammable, producing more smoke and carbon emissions than other soil types.
INDONESIA NEWS
Ban the two-stroke rickshaw
The just out Economic Survey of Pakistan notes that although air quality in many of our cities is bad, studies conducted in Lahore and Karachi show that carbon monoxide, cadmium and lead levels in these cities far exceed the internationally accepted threshold limits. An estimated 60 to 70 percent pollution in our cities is caused by vehicular emissions. And the biggest polluters are the 2-stroke rickshaws.While the introduction of Euro-II emission standards, starting next month, can only be welcomed, the measure by itself will not be enough to solve the problem. The government must do a lot more. First of all, there is need to create greater public awareness about the health hazards uncontrolled vehicular pollution creates. Second, the existing motor vehicle fitness regulations should be enforced effectively.Third, the rickshaws must be told to comply with cleaner air requirements or ordered off roads. The provincial governments must announce a cut-off date towards that end. In Punjab the previous government had actually given a deadline to rickshaw owners along with an offer of easy availability of loans to acquire green rickshaws, but its resolve to act fizzled out in the face of resistance from rickshaw owners. The present government has also tried and failed to do the needful.The last government had introduced green rickshaws under the president's and chief minister's schemes. These did not prove successful because of complaints about engineering defects. That is a valid issue and needs to be rectified by those concerned. But the rickshaw owners also cite economic reason to insist that if their old two-stroke vehicles are banned they would face economic hardship.Ordinarily, that should be an important consideration, not in the present case since it has to be weighed against the harm that is caused, on a continual basis, to the health of millions of city dwellers. The government, therefore, must refuse to be blackmailed into giving up doing something that is in the larger public interest. What it can, and should, do to encourage the changeover to green vehicles is to offer some sort of monetary concession - justifiable on account of its likely benefit in the form of reduced public health expenditure on pollution-related diseases.
Pakistan News
Pakistan News
Indoor air pollution 4th leading risk factor for diseases
Health and Family Welfare Minister Prof AFM Ruhal Haque has said necessary measures will be taken to reduce indoor air pollution (IAP) to minimise its dire impact on human body, preserve ecosystem and mitigate global warming.
He was speaking at the inaugural session of a workshop titled 'Indoor Air Pollution' organised jointly by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and GTZ, a German agency for technical cooperation, at a city hotel yesterday.
“We have to take measures to mitigate climate change for our survival, and to preserve our local ecosystems by ensuring maximum utilisation of our natural resources,” the minister said.
Presenting the keynote paper Dr Joseph H Graziano, professor of Environment Health Science at Columbia University, said cooking by burning biomass like charcoal, wood, agricultural residue and cow dung is primarily responsible for IAP.
At least 20 percent of global warming is caused by IAP, he said, adding that it doubles the risk of pneumonia, tuberculosis, asthma, cardiovascular diseases, low birth weight and prenatal health outcomes.
Dr Joseph said it has been estimated that in developing countries IAP is the fourth leading risk factor contributing to various diseases.
“In the urban as well as rural areas of Bangladesh, the level of indoor air pollution is higher than outdoor air pollution,” he added.
Dr Joseph said GTZ has promoted an improved stove to reduce indoor air pollution and its associated health impacts at the household levels.
A better ventilation, which has been set in the improved stoves, is the replacement of traditional three-stone or shielded open-fire cooking, he added.
Dr Joseph said the improved stoves are mainly developed by the Institute of Fuel Research and Development of Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research and further improved by its partner organisation GTZ.
To date more than 1000 young women and men have been trained, who have constructed over 1,40,000 stoves in the country under the supervision of GTZ, he added.
He also laid emphasis on creating mass awareness about the health damage caused by IAP and encouraging people to take preventive measure in this regard.
Dr Andrew Trevett, acting WHO representative to Bangladesh, Otto Gomm, programme coordinator of GTZ, and Sheikh Altaf Hossain, secretary to health and family welfare ministry were present at the workshop.
Bangladeh news
He was speaking at the inaugural session of a workshop titled 'Indoor Air Pollution' organised jointly by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and GTZ, a German agency for technical cooperation, at a city hotel yesterday.
“We have to take measures to mitigate climate change for our survival, and to preserve our local ecosystems by ensuring maximum utilisation of our natural resources,” the minister said.
Presenting the keynote paper Dr Joseph H Graziano, professor of Environment Health Science at Columbia University, said cooking by burning biomass like charcoal, wood, agricultural residue and cow dung is primarily responsible for IAP.
At least 20 percent of global warming is caused by IAP, he said, adding that it doubles the risk of pneumonia, tuberculosis, asthma, cardiovascular diseases, low birth weight and prenatal health outcomes.
Dr Joseph said it has been estimated that in developing countries IAP is the fourth leading risk factor contributing to various diseases.
“In the urban as well as rural areas of Bangladesh, the level of indoor air pollution is higher than outdoor air pollution,” he added.
Dr Joseph said GTZ has promoted an improved stove to reduce indoor air pollution and its associated health impacts at the household levels.
A better ventilation, which has been set in the improved stoves, is the replacement of traditional three-stone or shielded open-fire cooking, he added.
Dr Joseph said the improved stoves are mainly developed by the Institute of Fuel Research and Development of Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research and further improved by its partner organisation GTZ.
To date more than 1000 young women and men have been trained, who have constructed over 1,40,000 stoves in the country under the supervision of GTZ, he added.
He also laid emphasis on creating mass awareness about the health damage caused by IAP and encouraging people to take preventive measure in this regard.
Dr Andrew Trevett, acting WHO representative to Bangladesh, Otto Gomm, programme coordinator of GTZ, and Sheikh Altaf Hossain, secretary to health and family welfare ministry were present at the workshop.
Bangladeh news
Biofuels To The Fore In Fight To Reduce Emissions
Biofuels could be used to replace jet fuel in less than five years following recent tests by plane-maker Boeing, while the industry says it is putting billions of dollars into improving its environmental impact.
Boeing's director for environmental strategy Billy Glover told Reuters that results from recent test flights using biofuels such as jatropha and algae had been "better than expected," meaning a partial replacement for jet fuel could be become a reality in "three to five" years.
"It works -- no problem. We don't have to make any changes to aeroplanes or engines," he said at the Paris Air show.
"We expect to get approval for the fuel from the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) next year," he added.
The industry predicts that if 100 percent of all jet fuel was replaced with biofuels it would cut airline carbon emissions by 80 percent. This is because carbon is taken out of the atmosphere by growing plants before being put back in by planes.
Airlines including Virgin Atlantic, Continental and Air New Zealand took part in test flights for Boeing over the past year.
BIGGEST THREAT
EADS-owned rival Airbus is planning its first commercial test flight with biofuels later this year, according to Axel Krein, the company's senior vice president of research & technology. He said Airbus currently spends 2 billion euros ($2.79 billion) a year on research and development -- the bulk of which goes into fuel efficiency.
"I am confident that 100 percent of jet fuel will come from biofuels. The question is, when is that date?" he said, forecasting that 30 percent of fuel could come from plants by 2030.
Boeing and Airbus are also working on reducing carbon emissions via weight and drag reduction on new aircraft.
The importance of cutting emissions for the industry was spelled out by Airbus CEO Tom Enders earlier in the airshow.
"Concerns about the environment and what aviation does to the environment I believe are long-term. if we do not tackle them, they are one of the biggest threats to the aviation industry," he told reporters.
"Of course, given the fact that fuel is up to 40 pct of airline costs, we would be crazy if we hadn't tackled it. efficiency, cost reduction and environment benefit fall together," he added.
Boeing's Billy Glover said the next stage after approval for biofuels would be to set up commercial projects for mass production of plants.
Jatropha, a poisonous plant that produces seeds that can be refined into biofuels, and algae are seen as the most able to be produced commercially, as they do not grow on land currently used for farming foodstuffs.
"The biggest hurdle is supply of plants and getting up to scale. That's the biggest cost -- how to actually get people to produce it on a regular basis," he said.
FRANCE news
Boeing's director for environmental strategy Billy Glover told Reuters that results from recent test flights using biofuels such as jatropha and algae had been "better than expected," meaning a partial replacement for jet fuel could be become a reality in "three to five" years.
"It works -- no problem. We don't have to make any changes to aeroplanes or engines," he said at the Paris Air show.
"We expect to get approval for the fuel from the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) next year," he added.
The industry predicts that if 100 percent of all jet fuel was replaced with biofuels it would cut airline carbon emissions by 80 percent. This is because carbon is taken out of the atmosphere by growing plants before being put back in by planes.
Airlines including Virgin Atlantic, Continental and Air New Zealand took part in test flights for Boeing over the past year.
BIGGEST THREAT
EADS-owned rival Airbus is planning its first commercial test flight with biofuels later this year, according to Axel Krein, the company's senior vice president of research & technology. He said Airbus currently spends 2 billion euros ($2.79 billion) a year on research and development -- the bulk of which goes into fuel efficiency.
"I am confident that 100 percent of jet fuel will come from biofuels. The question is, when is that date?" he said, forecasting that 30 percent of fuel could come from plants by 2030.
Boeing and Airbus are also working on reducing carbon emissions via weight and drag reduction on new aircraft.
The importance of cutting emissions for the industry was spelled out by Airbus CEO Tom Enders earlier in the airshow.
"Concerns about the environment and what aviation does to the environment I believe are long-term. if we do not tackle them, they are one of the biggest threats to the aviation industry," he told reporters.
"Of course, given the fact that fuel is up to 40 pct of airline costs, we would be crazy if we hadn't tackled it. efficiency, cost reduction and environment benefit fall together," he added.
Boeing's Billy Glover said the next stage after approval for biofuels would be to set up commercial projects for mass production of plants.
Jatropha, a poisonous plant that produces seeds that can be refined into biofuels, and algae are seen as the most able to be produced commercially, as they do not grow on land currently used for farming foodstuffs.
"The biggest hurdle is supply of plants and getting up to scale. That's the biggest cost -- how to actually get people to produce it on a regular basis," he said.
FRANCE news
Carbon tax on CNG withdrawn
The government on Thursday withdrew the decision of levying carbon surcharge on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) by deleting the word "carbon" from the head of the levy. Now "surcharge" will be used for taxing petroleum products from the next financial year ie 2009-10 after severe drubbing from different quarters.Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani announced in the National Assembly to withdraw the decision of imposing carbon surcharge on CNG and directed the Finance Minister to review the levy as a whole taking into account other petroleum products.Speaking in the National Assembly, the Prime Minister said that the government has withdrawn carbon surcharge on CNG worth Rs 12 billion and "I have directed the Ministry of Finance to review the decision of carbon surcharge and come up with a transparent taxation mechanism."On the occasion, majority of members in the National Assembly lauded the decision of the government and hailed the Prime Minister's view to look into what the members termed anti-poor tax. The government has recently introduced carbon surcharge in the budget 2009-10, which was widely criticised by the lawmakers of both the Houses of the Parliament.Majority of the opposition lawmakers were of the view that the decision to impose carbon surcharge was taken to counter the verdict of the Supreme Court that directed the government to reduce petroleum prices in line with global price mechanism.Meanwhile, Advisor to Prime Minister on Finance Shaukat Tarin informed the Senate standing committee on finance that the government had taken the decision to exempt the CNG industry from the carbon surcharge.Members of the committee demanded exemption of the kerosene oil from the carbon surcharge. But the advisor said that the government feared adulteration of kerosene oil with other petroleum products if the government exempted it from the surcharge.The government has taken this decision after members of the Senate body on finance on Wednesday strongly criticised carbon surcharge saying it was to be imposed for friendly environment but use of CNG had no chance of polluting environment.Analysts are of the view that after exempting CNG from carbon surcharge and its possible imposition on petroleum products would result in price differential that would lead to increase in sale of CNG. CNG dealers are criticising the government to maintain reasonable difference between prices of CNG and petroleum products. Government has targeted collection of carbon surcharge on petroleum products at Rs 122 billion in next financial year ie 2009-10 that would possibly be used to bridge the budget deficit, one analyst said.
Pakistan news
Pakistan news
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