Green Investments are taking center stage for a growing number of investors. Whilst requiring good returns they want to be sure that the companies they invest in are taking a green or ethical approach to business. The strategies that companies or funds use to select their business involvement will vary. Some may look at just environmental issues whilst other may have a wider social agenda at work.
The advent of high energy prices and the need to convert to low emissions of greenhouse gases has made energy stocks one of the primary green investments available. Solar power, wind generators, hydro-electric, geothermal sources are all set to expand and provide a wealth of investment stocks and funds that are good for the environment whilst providing consistent returns.
Smaller companies can be inherently volatile so a diverse portfolio including funds that spread their investment over both large caps and smaller dynamic start-ups will smooth out the risks. As well as the energy producers the major car makers are lining up to show their green credentials. Companies such as Honda and Toyota are developing bio-plastics and hybrid-drive cars and many such cleantech companies are showing their colors.
As part of a green revolution the fair-trade movement provides opportunity to get involved in ethical investments. Food production is inevitably involved in the whole ecological issue. Witness the ongoing debate about bio-fuel production verses food shortage and rising food prices. This has led to a re-evaluation of using prime food growing land for production of bio-fuel crops. What appears a good solution can often have unseen consequences.
Deciding what you will invest in, what is green and ethical and what is not will be a personal decision. The criteria you use to select or dismiss opportunity will vary depending of the level of commitment and understanding of the issues. Discounting a large corporation because of their past activity may mean missing an investment that could have the greatest positive impact on the future. A pragmatic rather than idealistic view will no doubt be the order of the day.
Wind Power
Wind power has become a notable force in green energy generation. With cost per unit of electricity roughly the same as coal fired stations the advantage of reducing greenhouse gases gives a major incentive to the industrialized nations to promote.
Investment in wind farms will be expanding as governments try to reach emission targets giving the opportunity for the small investor to put his money into an environmentally sound investment. Offshore wind farms as well as the naturally windy central plains are set for massive expansion as the legislation catches up with the developers.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
The environmental problems in India are growing rapidly. The increasing economic development and a rapidly growing population that has taken the country from 300 million people in 1947 to over one billion people today is putting a strain on the environment, infrastructure, and the country’s natural resources. Industrial pollution, soil erosion, deforestation, rapid industrialization, urbanization, and land degradation are all worsening problems. Overexploitation of the country's resources be it land or water and the industrialization process has resulted in considerable environmental degradation of resources. The cost of environmental damage in India would shave 4 percent off of the country's gross domestic product. Lost productivity from death and disease due to environmental pollution are the primary culprits. The government agency responsible for environmental affairs is the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF). Coping with India’s industrial pollution is perhaps the agency’s top priority. MoEF recognizes the need to strike a balance between development and protecting the environment in administering and enforcing the country’s environmental laws and policies. The government heightened the Ministry’s powers with the passage of the 1986 Environment Protection Act. This act built on the 42nd amendment to India's constitution in 1976 that gave the government the right to step in and protect public health, forests, and wildlife. This amendment however had little power as it contained a clause that stated it was not enforceable by any court. India is the first country in the world to pass an amendment to its constitution ostensibly protecting the environment.
Air Pollution There are four reasons of air pollution are - emissions from vehicles, thermal power plants, industries and refineries. The problem of indoor air pollution in rural areas and urban slums has assumed significant attention lately. India’s environmental problems are exacerbated by its heavy reliance on coal for power generation. Coal supplies more than half of the country’s energy needs and is used for nearly three-quarters of electricity generation. While India is fortunate to have abundant reserves of coal to power economic development, the burning of this resource, especially given the high ash content of India’s coal, has come at a cost in terms of heightened public risk and environmental degradation. Reliance on coal as the major energy source has led to a nine-fold jump in carbon emissions over the past forty years. The government estimates the cost of environmental degradation has been running at 4.5% of GDP in recent years.The low energy efficiency of power plants that burn coal is a contributing factor. India's coal plants are old and are not outfitted with the most modern pollution controls. Given the shortage of generating capacity and scarcity of public funds, these old coal-fired plants will remain in operation for sometime. Power plant modernization to improve the plant load factor, improvements in sub-transmission and distribution to cut distribution losses, and new legislation to encourage end user energy conservation were all mentioned as part of the energy efficiency effort. The government has taken steps to address its environmental problems. As of now the use of washed coal is required for all power plants. Vehicle emissions are responsible for 70% of the country’s air pollution. The major problem with government efforts to safeguard the environment has been enforcement at the local level, not with a lack of laws. Air pollution from vehicle exhaust and industry is a worsening problem for India. Exhaust from vehicles has increased eight-fold over levels of twenty years ago; industrial pollution has risen four times over the same period. The economy has grown two and a half times over the past two decades but pollution control and civil services have not kept pace. Air quality is worst in the big cities like Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, etc. Bangalore holds the title of being the asthma capital of the country. Studies estimate that 10 per cent of Bangalore’s 60 lakh population and over 50 per cent of its children below 18 years suffer from air pollution-related ailments. CHENNAI: Exhaust from vehicles, dust from construction debris, industrial waste, burning of municipal and garden waste are all on the rise in the city. So are respiratory diseases, including asthma. At least six of the 10 top causes of death are related to respiratory disease, says Dr D Ranganathan, director (in-charge), Institute of Thoracic Medicine. Mumbai: Not only are levels of Suspended Particulate Matter above permissible limits in Mumbai, but the worst pollutant after vehicular emissions has grown at an alarming rate. The levels of Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter (RSPM), or dust, in Mumbai’s air have continued to increase over the past three years. The air pollution in Mumbai is so high that Mumbai authorities have purchased 42,000 litres of perfume to spray on the city’s enormous waste dumps at Deonar and Mulund landfill sites after people living near the landfill sites complained of the stench. The Deonar landfill site, one of India’s largest, was first used by the British in 1927. Today, the festering pile covers more than 120 hectares and is eight story's high. These cities are on the World Health Organization's list of top most polluted cities. Vehicle exhaust, untreated smoke, and untreated water all contribute to the problem. Continued economic growth, urbanization, and an increase in the number of vehicles, together with lax enforcement of environmental laws, will result in further increases in pollution levels. Concern with New Delhi's air quality got so bad that the Supreme Court recently stepped in and placed a limit on the number of new car registrations in the capital.
The effects of air pollution are obvious: rice crop yields in southern India are falling as brown clouds block out more and more sunlight. And the brilliant white of the famous Taj Mahal is slowly fading to a sickly yellow. In the famous “Tajmahal Case” a very strong step was taken by Supreme Court to save the Tajmahal Case being polluted by fumes and more than 200 factories were closed down. In the case of Shatistar of 1990, AIR 1990 SC 630 (pp.8 to 13), Supreme Court declared in a clear tone that a citizen has right for a decent environment in his living area
River water Pollution Fully 80 percent of urban waste in India ends up in the country's rivers, and unchecked urban growth across the country combined with poor government oversight means the problem is only getting worse. A growing number of bodies of water in India are unfit for human use, and in the River Ganga, holy to the country's 82 percent Hindu majority, is dying slowly due to unchecked pollution. New Delhi's body of water is little more than a flowing garbage dump, with fully 57 percent of the city's waste finding its way to the Yamuna. It is that three billion liters of waste are pumped into Delhi's Yamuna (River Yamuna) each day. Only 55 percent of the 15 million Delhi residents are connected to the city's sewage system. The remainder flush their bath water, waste water and just about everything else down pipes and into drains, most of them empty into the Yamuna. According to the Centre for Science and Environment, between 75 and 80 percent of the river's pollution is the result of raw sewage. Combined with industrial runoff, the garbage thrown into the river and it totals over 3 billion liters of waste per day. Nearly 20 billion rupees, or almost US $500 million, has been spent on various clean up efforts
The frothy brew is so glaring that it can be viewed on Google Earth. Much of the river pollution problem in India comes from untreated sewage. Samples taken recently from the Ganges River near Varanasi show that levels of fecal coliform, a dangerous bacterium that comes from untreated sewage, were some 3,000 percent higher than what is considered safe for bathing.
Groundwater exploitation Groundwater exploitation is a serious matter of concern today and legislations and policy measures taken till date, by the state governments (water is a state subject) have not had the desired effect on the situation. Plastic Pollution Plastic bags, plastic thin sheets and plastic waste is also a major source of pollution. See in detail: Plastic Bag Pollution in the country Municipal solid waste India’s urban population slated to increase from the current 330 million to about 600 million by 2030, the challenge of managing municipal solid waste (MSW) in an environmentally and economically sustainable manner is bound to assume gigantic proportions. The country has over 5,000 cities and towns, which generate about 40 million tonnes of MSW per year today. Going by estimates of The Energy Research Institute (TERI), this could well touch 260 million tonnes per year by 2047. Municipal solid waste is solid waste generated by households, commercial establishments and offices and does not include the industrial or agricultural waste. Municipal solid waste management is more of an administrative and institutional mechanism failure problem rather than a technological one. Until now, MSW management has been considered to be almost the sole responsibility of urban governments, without the participation of citizens and other stakeholders. The Centre and the Supreme Court, however, have urged that this issue be addressed with multiple stakeholder participation. Cities in India spend approximately 20% of the city budget on solid waste services. Pollution due to Mining New Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) on December 29, 2007 said mining was causing displacement, pollution, forest degradation and social unrest. The CSE released its 356-page sixth State of India’s Environment report, ‘Rich Lands Poor People, is sustainable mining possible?’ According to the Centre for Science and Environment ( CSE) report the top 50 mineral producing districts, as many as 34 fall under the 150 most backward districts identified in the country. The CSE report has made extensive analysis of environment degradation and pollution due to mining, wherein it has said, in 2005-06 alone 1.6 billion tonnes of waste and overburden from coal, iron ore, limestone and bauxite have added to environment pollution. With the annual growth of mining at 10.7 per cent and 500-odd mines awaiting approval of the Centre, the pollution would increase manifold in the coming years. In Orissa state, in the next five to 10 years, Jharsuguda will be home to production of 3.1 million tonne aluminum. This, however, will generate 3,100 tonne of fluoride every year. Similarly, the State is gearing up for power projects - mostly coal-based - targeting 20,000 mega watt energy. This will require 3.2 lakh tonne of coal daily which in turn can lead to generation of 1,200 tonne ash a day. Besides, there is emission of sulphur dioxide. The emissions at Jharsuguda alone will be higher than that of all refineries in India put together. Jharsuguda will also see 12 million tonne steel annually being produced when the projects go on stream. This will mean generation of 20 million tonne of solid waste every year. In Jharkhand there are abundant coalmines, most of the coalmines are situated in Hazaribag, Chatra, Palamau, Rajmahal, Dhanbad and Ranchi district. Mighty Damodar River and its tributaries flow through these coalmines. Due to extensive coal mining and vigorous growth of industries in this area water resources have been badly contaminated. The habitants have, however, been compromising by taking contaminated and sometimes polluted water, as there is no alternative source of safe drinking water. Thus, a sizeable populace suffers from water borne diseases. Besides mining, coal based industries like coal washeries, coke oven plants, coal fired thermal power plants, steel plants and other related industries in the region also greatly impart towards degradation of the environmental equality and the human health. Pollution due to biomedical waste Pollution due to biomedical waste is likely to spread disease dangerous to life and making atmosphere noxious to health. On February 27, 2009 Modasa’s in Gujarat deadly hepatitis-B trail has led investigators to a major medical waste recycling racket in Ahmedabad’s own backyard where a whopping 50 tonne biological waste, including syringes, needles, IV sets and vials, was impounded. This illegally procured waste stored in godowns could expose the city and the whole state to the threat of not just hepatitis-B but other deadly infections spread through intravenal treatments. Usually such waste has to be segregated and destroyed in an incinerator. But the huge quantity of waste found in the godowns were being probably repackaged and sold. Delhi's air is choking with pollutant PM 2.5 PM 2.5 is only 2.5 microns in diameter is very very small particle. The diameter of a human hair strand is around 40-120. Being so small, it escapes emission apparatus prescribed by Euro II and III. Any kind of combustion, especially of vehicular origin, contains this particle. If PM 2.5 is not regulated it will ensure major health hazards. The number of Asthma patients will rise and in future there may huge rise of lung cancer cases also. The toxic value of PM 2.5 is such that metals like lead present in the PM 2.5 get inhaled deeper into lungs which deposits there. The children are most affected by depositing lead due to inhaling the poisonous air. The increasing amount of PM 2.5 is like a poison in the air we breathe. Researchers believe particulates, or tiny particles of soot, interfere with the respiratory system because they are so small they can be breathed deeply into the lungs. Toxic smog is set to engulf New Delhi once again this winter after a six-year respite because of the huge number of new cars clogging the roads. New Delhi adds nearly 1,000 new cars a day to the existing four million registered in the city, almost twice as many as before 2000. Pollution levels are up to 350 micrograms per cubic metre in 2006-2007 and the levels of nitrogen oxides have been increasing in the city to dangerous levels, which is a clear sign of pollution from vehicles. Of these it is the diesel cars that are responsible for the pollution. Diesel- run vehicles constituted just two percent of the total number of cars on Delhi's roads seven years ago compared to more than 30 percent today and a projected 50 percent by 2010.Diesel is being increasingly used because it is a cheaper fuel. Diesel emissions can trigger asthma and in the long run even cause lung cancer. A survey by the Central Pollution Control Board and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences survey showed that a majority of people living in Delhi suffered from eye irritation, cough, sore throat, shortness of breath and poor lung functioning. One in 10 people have asthma in Delhi. Worse, the winter months bring respiratory attacks and wheezing to many non-asthmatics who are old, who smoke, have respiratory infections or chronic bronchitis. Across the national capital and its suburbs, polluted air is killing people, bringing down the quality of life, and leaving people feeling ill and tired. Some studies show children are among the worst-affected by the dense haze that often shrouds the city, and doctors frequently tell parents to keep their children indoors when smog levels are particularly high. In a survey of almost 12,000 city schoolchildren late last year, 17 percent reported coughing, wheezing or breathlessness, compared to just eight percent of children in a rural area. Greenhouse Gas Emissions India emits the fifth most carbon of any country in the world. At 253 million metric tons, only the U.S., China, Russia, and Japan surpassed its level of carbon emissions in 1998. Carbon emissions have grown nine-fold over the past forty years. In this Industrial Age, with the ever-expanding consumption of hydrocarbon fuels and the resultant increase in carbon dioxide emissions, that greenhouse gas concentrations have reached levels causing climate change. Going forward, carbon emissions are forecast to grow 3.2% per annum until 2020. To put this in perspective, carbon emissions levels are estimated to increase by 3.9% for China and by 1.3% for the United States. India is a non-Annex I country under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and as such, is not required to reduce its carbon emissions. An historical summary of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from fossil fuel use in India is increasing rapidly and causes global warming. All inhabitants of our planet have an equal right to the atmosphere, but the industrialized countries have greatly exceeded their fair, per-capita share of the planet’s atmospheric resources and have induced climate change. The most developed countries possess the capital, technological and human resources required for successful adaptation, while in the developing countries, a large proportion of the population is engaged in traditional farming, that is particularly vulnerable to the changes in temperature, rainfall and extreme weather events associated with climate change. According to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol , the most industrialized countries are mainly responsible for causing climate change. Thus equity requires that they should sharply reduce their emissions in order to arrest further climate change and allow other countries access to their fair share of atmospheric resources in order to develop. Pollution of Indian Seas The first sophisticated Pollution Control Vessel to patrol the seas for oil spills and other environmental exigencies is likely to be ready by October, 2008, Vice Admiral Rusi Contractor, Director-General, Indian Coast Guard, said in the 11th National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan (NOSDCP) preparedness meeting on April 23, 2008. Mr. Contractor said the proposed induction of at least three specialised vessels by mid- 2009 would shorten the response time to an emergency. The Coast Guard chief highlighted the importance of enforcement of maritime laws. He said 90 per cent of trade was essentially sea-borne and substantial numbers of vessels were old and un-seaworthy or single-hull vessels and raised the risk of significant pollution of Indian waters. He said pollution remedy measures were being thought of following the various international conventions on environmental pollution that would also include exhaust and greenhouse gas emissions from ships and energy efficiency certification. He pointed out that none of 10 accidents involving vessels during 2007 in Indian waters had resulted in an oil spill. NASA research findings Latest research findings by NASA and Stanford University indicate that aerosol pollution will slow down winds, impacting normal rainfall pattern in tropical countries. The unique combination of meteorology, landscape (relatively flat plains framed by the Himalayas to the north and open ocean to the south), and the large population maximize the effects of aerosol pollution in India. The skies over North India are seasonally filled with a thick soup of aerosol particles all along the southern edge of the Himalayas, streaming southward over Bangladesh and the Bay of Bengal. Most of this air pollution comes from human activities. Accumulation of aerosol particles in the atmosphere also makes clouds last longer without releasing rain. This is because atmospheric water forms deposits on naturally occurring particles, like dust, to form clouds. But if there is pollution in the atmosphere, the water has to deposit on more particles. Thus it causes lesser rain.
Environmental Pollution and chronic diseases In an Indo-US joint workshop, on September 05, 2008 at Chandigarh, Prof S K Jindal said it has been globally recognised that environmental factors, have important links with infectious as well as non-infectious diseases of both acute and chronic nature. “The WHO estimates that 24 per cent of global disease burden and 23 per cent of all deaths can be attributed to environmental factors. The burden is more on the developing than the developed countries.” He said: “In developing countries, an estimated 42 per cent of acute lower respiratory infections are caused by environmental factors.” The major burden of these hazards is borne by the lungs. Bronchial asthma and other allergies; chronic obstructive lung disease, respiratory infections including tuberculosis and occupational lung diseases are some of the common problems with a strong environmental risk which, account for a large disease burden all over the world, including in India. “There is a need for extensive studies to gauge the effects of environmental factors on the human health.” According to New England Journal of Medicine, 2007, even a short exposure to traffic fumes can increase your chances of heart disease, including heart attack. People who exercise in areas where there is heavy traffic may be especially at risk, researchers say.
Invasive alien species Invasive alien species are species whose introduction and/or spread outside their natural habitats threatens biological diversity. They occur in all groups, including animals, plants, fungi, bacteria and viruses, and can affect all types of ecosystems. They can directly affect human health. Infectious diseases are often traced to IAS imported by travellers or vectored by exotic species of birds, rodents and insects. IAS also have indirect health effects on humans as a result of the use of pesticides and herbicides, which pollute water and soil. They may look harmless but are dangerous, mainly causing flu, allergies, respiratory disorders and even infertility among humans and animals. Sometimes they manifest themselves as bird flu and at other times as foot-and-mouth disease and mad cow disease and lead to massive destruction of livestock populations. The biggest casualty of such species has been our rich biodiversity, and threats to food security. MIKANIA MICRANTHA, is of the most prominent invasive aliens in India.It is a major threat in many parts of the country, it grows 8 to 9 cm a day and muzzles small plants and chokes larger trees such as coconut and oil palm. Parthenium: Parthenium Hystrophorous a poisonous plant The parthenium now occupies 50 lakh hectares in the country and has become a major health hazard for people and animals.
PROSOPIS JULIFLORA: Vilayati babul(prosopis juliflora) was introduced in India in the last century as a very promising species for the afforestation of dry and degraded land. But over the years, it has emerged as a noxious invader that can grow in diverse ecosystems, enable it to wipe out other plant species in its surroundings.
Parthenium Hystrophorous
Anti-Pollution Uniform by Schools The hundreds of youngsters, ranging from age five to 18, who trooped into the Park Street campus of Apeejay School, Kolkata faces covered in anti-pollution masks in April is now a regular routine. “It is part of our school uniform now. It will protect us from the pollution that is killing the children of Kolkata,” said a student. The anti-pollution mask has been made a part of the uniform from this academic session by Apeejay School in a bid to safeguard the health of its students and boost attendance. “We realised that a lot of our students had health problems that kept them away from school. Watery eyes, blocked noses or breathing problems, it all stems from pollution and we realised that we needed to do something to help ourselves,”said the principal and administrator, Reeta Chatterjee.
Students entering school in blue-and-white uniform, with a yellow mask covering mouth and nose.
The most polluted places in India Vapi in Gujarat and Sukinda in Orrisa is among the world's top 10 most polluted places, according to the Blacksmith Institute, a New York-based nonprofit group. Vapi : Potentially affected people: 71,000 -Pollutants: Chemicals and heavy metals due to its Industrial estates. Sukinda: Potentially affected people: 2,600,000. -Pollutants: Hexavalent chromium due to its Chromite mines. The most polluted cities in India As many as 51 Indian cities have extremely high air pollution, Lucknow, Raipur, Faridabad and Ahmedabad topping the list. An environment and forest ministry report, released on September 14, 2007 has identified 51 cities that do not meet the prescribed Respirable Particulate Matter (RSPM) levels, specified under the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). In 2005, an Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI) placed India at 101st position among 146 countries. Taking a cue from the finding, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) formulated NAAQS and checked the air quality, which led to the revelation about air quality in leading cities. According to the report, Gobindgarh in Punjab is the most polluted city, and Ludhiana, Raipur and Lucknow hold the next three positions. Faridabad on the outskirt of Delhi is the 10th most polluted city, followed by Agra, the city of Taj Mahal. Ahmedabad is placed 12th, Indore 16th, Delhi 22nd, Kolkata 25th, Mumbai 40th, Hyderabad 44th and Bangalore stands at 46th in the list. The Orissa town of Angul, home to National Aluminium Company (NALCO), is the 50th polluted city of the country.Emissions of gaseous pollutants: satellite data Scientists and researchers from around the world gathered at ESRIN, ESA’s Earth Observation Centre in Frascati, Italy, recently to discuss the contribution of satellite data in monitoring nitrogen dioxide in the atmosphere. Using nitrogen dioxide (NO2) data acquired from 1996 to 2006 by the Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment (GOME) instrument aboard ESA’s ERS-2 satellite, Nitrous oxide emissions over India is growing at an annual rate of 5.5 percent/year. The location of emission hot spots correlates well with the location of mega thermal power plants, mega cities, urban and industrial regions. Emissions of gaseous pollutants have increased in India over the past two decades. According to Dr Sachin Ghude of the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), rapid industrialization, urbanization and traffic growth are most likely responsible for the increase. Because of varying consumption patterns and growth rates, the distribution of emissions vary widely across India. Is nuclear energy a solution of global warming? India a country of 1.1 billion people currently gets only a fraction of its electricity from nuclear power. Now the US atomic trade pact with India and an atomic energy pact with France, India can fight global warming with clean nuclear energy. Nuclear energy has been recognized as a clean as CO2 to the atmosphere after its reaction that could damage our environment. It's also known that nuclear energy has reduced the amount of greenhouse gas emission, reducing emissions of CO2for about 500 million metric tons of carbon. Despite the advantage of nuclear as a clean energy, the big concern is the waste resulted from nuclear reaction, which is a form of pollution, called radioactivity. Nuclear waste is also a problem with nuclear power, in that spent nuclear fuel has no safe place to be stored right now. Perhaps the greatest problem with nuclear power is the price to taxpayers. Each new nuclear plant built in the United States will cost at least one billion dollars in federal subsidies. Reduce pollutions: suggestions Reduce tax on incomes and institute a tax on pollution was a suggestion environmental crusader Al Gore had for India to tackle the issue of global warming effectively. "Reduce tax on employees and employers and put a tax on pollution. The more carbon dioxide one emits the more he pays in taxes," said Gore in an interactive session at the India Today Conclave here on March 16, 2008. Replying to a question by Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma, Gore also suggested subsidising clean energy generation instead of carbon fuels like kerosene. AGRA, December 12, 2008: Now Tulsi an ayurveda wisdom to help Taj Majal retain its pristine allure. The forest department has come up with a quick-fix project -- plant a Tulsi drive in Agra. The recommended complexion care regimen, officers claim, has full backing from ancient texts which hold Tulsi to be the panacea for all problems from cosmic to cosmetic. The department is all set to launch the Tulsi plantation drive from January 2009. The public-private joint venture is expected to provide an eco-protection cover to sensitive Taj trapezium zone surrounding the 17th century monument as well as the other two world heritage monuments -- Agra Fort and Aitma-ud-Daula tomb. Tulsi (Occinum sanctum) chosen for its anti-pollutant anti-oxidation and air-purifying properties making it an ideal ornamental shrub in the vicinity of the Taj Mahal. By the initiatives of the Delhi Metro and the Delhi Bicycling Club, which encourage people to use bicycles for short distances, pedaling a cycle is increasingly and becoming routine for people. On bicycle, one can change destination without hassles and it’s cheap.Taking to pedal, Delhiites choose an eco-friendly saddle.
Air Pollution There are four reasons of air pollution are - emissions from vehicles, thermal power plants, industries and refineries. The problem of indoor air pollution in rural areas and urban slums has assumed significant attention lately. India’s environmental problems are exacerbated by its heavy reliance on coal for power generation. Coal supplies more than half of the country’s energy needs and is used for nearly three-quarters of electricity generation. While India is fortunate to have abundant reserves of coal to power economic development, the burning of this resource, especially given the high ash content of India’s coal, has come at a cost in terms of heightened public risk and environmental degradation. Reliance on coal as the major energy source has led to a nine-fold jump in carbon emissions over the past forty years. The government estimates the cost of environmental degradation has been running at 4.5% of GDP in recent years.The low energy efficiency of power plants that burn coal is a contributing factor. India's coal plants are old and are not outfitted with the most modern pollution controls. Given the shortage of generating capacity and scarcity of public funds, these old coal-fired plants will remain in operation for sometime. Power plant modernization to improve the plant load factor, improvements in sub-transmission and distribution to cut distribution losses, and new legislation to encourage end user energy conservation were all mentioned as part of the energy efficiency effort. The government has taken steps to address its environmental problems. As of now the use of washed coal is required for all power plants. Vehicle emissions are responsible for 70% of the country’s air pollution. The major problem with government efforts to safeguard the environment has been enforcement at the local level, not with a lack of laws. Air pollution from vehicle exhaust and industry is a worsening problem for India. Exhaust from vehicles has increased eight-fold over levels of twenty years ago; industrial pollution has risen four times over the same period. The economy has grown two and a half times over the past two decades but pollution control and civil services have not kept pace. Air quality is worst in the big cities like Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, etc. Bangalore holds the title of being the asthma capital of the country. Studies estimate that 10 per cent of Bangalore’s 60 lakh population and over 50 per cent of its children below 18 years suffer from air pollution-related ailments. CHENNAI: Exhaust from vehicles, dust from construction debris, industrial waste, burning of municipal and garden waste are all on the rise in the city. So are respiratory diseases, including asthma. At least six of the 10 top causes of death are related to respiratory disease, says Dr D Ranganathan, director (in-charge), Institute of Thoracic Medicine. Mumbai: Not only are levels of Suspended Particulate Matter above permissible limits in Mumbai, but the worst pollutant after vehicular emissions has grown at an alarming rate. The levels of Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter (RSPM), or dust, in Mumbai’s air have continued to increase over the past three years. The air pollution in Mumbai is so high that Mumbai authorities have purchased 42,000 litres of perfume to spray on the city’s enormous waste dumps at Deonar and Mulund landfill sites after people living near the landfill sites complained of the stench. The Deonar landfill site, one of India’s largest, was first used by the British in 1927. Today, the festering pile covers more than 120 hectares and is eight story's high. These cities are on the World Health Organization's list of top most polluted cities. Vehicle exhaust, untreated smoke, and untreated water all contribute to the problem. Continued economic growth, urbanization, and an increase in the number of vehicles, together with lax enforcement of environmental laws, will result in further increases in pollution levels. Concern with New Delhi's air quality got so bad that the Supreme Court recently stepped in and placed a limit on the number of new car registrations in the capital.
The effects of air pollution are obvious: rice crop yields in southern India are falling as brown clouds block out more and more sunlight. And the brilliant white of the famous Taj Mahal is slowly fading to a sickly yellow. In the famous “Tajmahal Case” a very strong step was taken by Supreme Court to save the Tajmahal Case being polluted by fumes and more than 200 factories were closed down. In the case of Shatistar of 1990, AIR 1990 SC 630 (pp.8 to 13), Supreme Court declared in a clear tone that a citizen has right for a decent environment in his living area
River water Pollution Fully 80 percent of urban waste in India ends up in the country's rivers, and unchecked urban growth across the country combined with poor government oversight means the problem is only getting worse. A growing number of bodies of water in India are unfit for human use, and in the River Ganga, holy to the country's 82 percent Hindu majority, is dying slowly due to unchecked pollution. New Delhi's body of water is little more than a flowing garbage dump, with fully 57 percent of the city's waste finding its way to the Yamuna. It is that three billion liters of waste are pumped into Delhi's Yamuna (River Yamuna) each day. Only 55 percent of the 15 million Delhi residents are connected to the city's sewage system. The remainder flush their bath water, waste water and just about everything else down pipes and into drains, most of them empty into the Yamuna. According to the Centre for Science and Environment, between 75 and 80 percent of the river's pollution is the result of raw sewage. Combined with industrial runoff, the garbage thrown into the river and it totals over 3 billion liters of waste per day. Nearly 20 billion rupees, or almost US $500 million, has been spent on various clean up efforts
The frothy brew is so glaring that it can be viewed on Google Earth. Much of the river pollution problem in India comes from untreated sewage. Samples taken recently from the Ganges River near Varanasi show that levels of fecal coliform, a dangerous bacterium that comes from untreated sewage, were some 3,000 percent higher than what is considered safe for bathing.
Groundwater exploitation Groundwater exploitation is a serious matter of concern today and legislations and policy measures taken till date, by the state governments (water is a state subject) have not had the desired effect on the situation. Plastic Pollution Plastic bags, plastic thin sheets and plastic waste is also a major source of pollution. See in detail: Plastic Bag Pollution in the country Municipal solid waste India’s urban population slated to increase from the current 330 million to about 600 million by 2030, the challenge of managing municipal solid waste (MSW) in an environmentally and economically sustainable manner is bound to assume gigantic proportions. The country has over 5,000 cities and towns, which generate about 40 million tonnes of MSW per year today. Going by estimates of The Energy Research Institute (TERI), this could well touch 260 million tonnes per year by 2047. Municipal solid waste is solid waste generated by households, commercial establishments and offices and does not include the industrial or agricultural waste. Municipal solid waste management is more of an administrative and institutional mechanism failure problem rather than a technological one. Until now, MSW management has been considered to be almost the sole responsibility of urban governments, without the participation of citizens and other stakeholders. The Centre and the Supreme Court, however, have urged that this issue be addressed with multiple stakeholder participation. Cities in India spend approximately 20% of the city budget on solid waste services. Pollution due to Mining New Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) on December 29, 2007 said mining was causing displacement, pollution, forest degradation and social unrest. The CSE released its 356-page sixth State of India’s Environment report, ‘Rich Lands Poor People, is sustainable mining possible?’ According to the Centre for Science and Environment ( CSE) report the top 50 mineral producing districts, as many as 34 fall under the 150 most backward districts identified in the country. The CSE report has made extensive analysis of environment degradation and pollution due to mining, wherein it has said, in 2005-06 alone 1.6 billion tonnes of waste and overburden from coal, iron ore, limestone and bauxite have added to environment pollution. With the annual growth of mining at 10.7 per cent and 500-odd mines awaiting approval of the Centre, the pollution would increase manifold in the coming years. In Orissa state, in the next five to 10 years, Jharsuguda will be home to production of 3.1 million tonne aluminum. This, however, will generate 3,100 tonne of fluoride every year. Similarly, the State is gearing up for power projects - mostly coal-based - targeting 20,000 mega watt energy. This will require 3.2 lakh tonne of coal daily which in turn can lead to generation of 1,200 tonne ash a day. Besides, there is emission of sulphur dioxide. The emissions at Jharsuguda alone will be higher than that of all refineries in India put together. Jharsuguda will also see 12 million tonne steel annually being produced when the projects go on stream. This will mean generation of 20 million tonne of solid waste every year. In Jharkhand there are abundant coalmines, most of the coalmines are situated in Hazaribag, Chatra, Palamau, Rajmahal, Dhanbad and Ranchi district. Mighty Damodar River and its tributaries flow through these coalmines. Due to extensive coal mining and vigorous growth of industries in this area water resources have been badly contaminated. The habitants have, however, been compromising by taking contaminated and sometimes polluted water, as there is no alternative source of safe drinking water. Thus, a sizeable populace suffers from water borne diseases. Besides mining, coal based industries like coal washeries, coke oven plants, coal fired thermal power plants, steel plants and other related industries in the region also greatly impart towards degradation of the environmental equality and the human health. Pollution due to biomedical waste Pollution due to biomedical waste is likely to spread disease dangerous to life and making atmosphere noxious to health. On February 27, 2009 Modasa’s in Gujarat deadly hepatitis-B trail has led investigators to a major medical waste recycling racket in Ahmedabad’s own backyard where a whopping 50 tonne biological waste, including syringes, needles, IV sets and vials, was impounded. This illegally procured waste stored in godowns could expose the city and the whole state to the threat of not just hepatitis-B but other deadly infections spread through intravenal treatments. Usually such waste has to be segregated and destroyed in an incinerator. But the huge quantity of waste found in the godowns were being probably repackaged and sold. Delhi's air is choking with pollutant PM 2.5 PM 2.5 is only 2.5 microns in diameter is very very small particle. The diameter of a human hair strand is around 40-120. Being so small, it escapes emission apparatus prescribed by Euro II and III. Any kind of combustion, especially of vehicular origin, contains this particle. If PM 2.5 is not regulated it will ensure major health hazards. The number of Asthma patients will rise and in future there may huge rise of lung cancer cases also. The toxic value of PM 2.5 is such that metals like lead present in the PM 2.5 get inhaled deeper into lungs which deposits there. The children are most affected by depositing lead due to inhaling the poisonous air. The increasing amount of PM 2.5 is like a poison in the air we breathe. Researchers believe particulates, or tiny particles of soot, interfere with the respiratory system because they are so small they can be breathed deeply into the lungs. Toxic smog is set to engulf New Delhi once again this winter after a six-year respite because of the huge number of new cars clogging the roads. New Delhi adds nearly 1,000 new cars a day to the existing four million registered in the city, almost twice as many as before 2000. Pollution levels are up to 350 micrograms per cubic metre in 2006-2007 and the levels of nitrogen oxides have been increasing in the city to dangerous levels, which is a clear sign of pollution from vehicles. Of these it is the diesel cars that are responsible for the pollution. Diesel- run vehicles constituted just two percent of the total number of cars on Delhi's roads seven years ago compared to more than 30 percent today and a projected 50 percent by 2010.Diesel is being increasingly used because it is a cheaper fuel. Diesel emissions can trigger asthma and in the long run even cause lung cancer. A survey by the Central Pollution Control Board and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences survey showed that a majority of people living in Delhi suffered from eye irritation, cough, sore throat, shortness of breath and poor lung functioning. One in 10 people have asthma in Delhi. Worse, the winter months bring respiratory attacks and wheezing to many non-asthmatics who are old, who smoke, have respiratory infections or chronic bronchitis. Across the national capital and its suburbs, polluted air is killing people, bringing down the quality of life, and leaving people feeling ill and tired. Some studies show children are among the worst-affected by the dense haze that often shrouds the city, and doctors frequently tell parents to keep their children indoors when smog levels are particularly high. In a survey of almost 12,000 city schoolchildren late last year, 17 percent reported coughing, wheezing or breathlessness, compared to just eight percent of children in a rural area. Greenhouse Gas Emissions India emits the fifth most carbon of any country in the world. At 253 million metric tons, only the U.S., China, Russia, and Japan surpassed its level of carbon emissions in 1998. Carbon emissions have grown nine-fold over the past forty years. In this Industrial Age, with the ever-expanding consumption of hydrocarbon fuels and the resultant increase in carbon dioxide emissions, that greenhouse gas concentrations have reached levels causing climate change. Going forward, carbon emissions are forecast to grow 3.2% per annum until 2020. To put this in perspective, carbon emissions levels are estimated to increase by 3.9% for China and by 1.3% for the United States. India is a non-Annex I country under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and as such, is not required to reduce its carbon emissions. An historical summary of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from fossil fuel use in India is increasing rapidly and causes global warming. All inhabitants of our planet have an equal right to the atmosphere, but the industrialized countries have greatly exceeded their fair, per-capita share of the planet’s atmospheric resources and have induced climate change. The most developed countries possess the capital, technological and human resources required for successful adaptation, while in the developing countries, a large proportion of the population is engaged in traditional farming, that is particularly vulnerable to the changes in temperature, rainfall and extreme weather events associated with climate change. According to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol , the most industrialized countries are mainly responsible for causing climate change. Thus equity requires that they should sharply reduce their emissions in order to arrest further climate change and allow other countries access to their fair share of atmospheric resources in order to develop. Pollution of Indian Seas The first sophisticated Pollution Control Vessel to patrol the seas for oil spills and other environmental exigencies is likely to be ready by October, 2008, Vice Admiral Rusi Contractor, Director-General, Indian Coast Guard, said in the 11th National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan (NOSDCP) preparedness meeting on April 23, 2008. Mr. Contractor said the proposed induction of at least three specialised vessels by mid- 2009 would shorten the response time to an emergency. The Coast Guard chief highlighted the importance of enforcement of maritime laws. He said 90 per cent of trade was essentially sea-borne and substantial numbers of vessels were old and un-seaworthy or single-hull vessels and raised the risk of significant pollution of Indian waters. He said pollution remedy measures were being thought of following the various international conventions on environmental pollution that would also include exhaust and greenhouse gas emissions from ships and energy efficiency certification. He pointed out that none of 10 accidents involving vessels during 2007 in Indian waters had resulted in an oil spill. NASA research findings Latest research findings by NASA and Stanford University indicate that aerosol pollution will slow down winds, impacting normal rainfall pattern in tropical countries. The unique combination of meteorology, landscape (relatively flat plains framed by the Himalayas to the north and open ocean to the south), and the large population maximize the effects of aerosol pollution in India. The skies over North India are seasonally filled with a thick soup of aerosol particles all along the southern edge of the Himalayas, streaming southward over Bangladesh and the Bay of Bengal. Most of this air pollution comes from human activities. Accumulation of aerosol particles in the atmosphere also makes clouds last longer without releasing rain. This is because atmospheric water forms deposits on naturally occurring particles, like dust, to form clouds. But if there is pollution in the atmosphere, the water has to deposit on more particles. Thus it causes lesser rain.
Environmental Pollution and chronic diseases In an Indo-US joint workshop, on September 05, 2008 at Chandigarh, Prof S K Jindal said it has been globally recognised that environmental factors, have important links with infectious as well as non-infectious diseases of both acute and chronic nature. “The WHO estimates that 24 per cent of global disease burden and 23 per cent of all deaths can be attributed to environmental factors. The burden is more on the developing than the developed countries.” He said: “In developing countries, an estimated 42 per cent of acute lower respiratory infections are caused by environmental factors.” The major burden of these hazards is borne by the lungs. Bronchial asthma and other allergies; chronic obstructive lung disease, respiratory infections including tuberculosis and occupational lung diseases are some of the common problems with a strong environmental risk which, account for a large disease burden all over the world, including in India. “There is a need for extensive studies to gauge the effects of environmental factors on the human health.” According to New England Journal of Medicine, 2007, even a short exposure to traffic fumes can increase your chances of heart disease, including heart attack. People who exercise in areas where there is heavy traffic may be especially at risk, researchers say.
Invasive alien species Invasive alien species are species whose introduction and/or spread outside their natural habitats threatens biological diversity. They occur in all groups, including animals, plants, fungi, bacteria and viruses, and can affect all types of ecosystems. They can directly affect human health. Infectious diseases are often traced to IAS imported by travellers or vectored by exotic species of birds, rodents and insects. IAS also have indirect health effects on humans as a result of the use of pesticides and herbicides, which pollute water and soil. They may look harmless but are dangerous, mainly causing flu, allergies, respiratory disorders and even infertility among humans and animals. Sometimes they manifest themselves as bird flu and at other times as foot-and-mouth disease and mad cow disease and lead to massive destruction of livestock populations. The biggest casualty of such species has been our rich biodiversity, and threats to food security. MIKANIA MICRANTHA, is of the most prominent invasive aliens in India.It is a major threat in many parts of the country, it grows 8 to 9 cm a day and muzzles small plants and chokes larger trees such as coconut and oil palm. Parthenium: Parthenium Hystrophorous a poisonous plant The parthenium now occupies 50 lakh hectares in the country and has become a major health hazard for people and animals.
PROSOPIS JULIFLORA: Vilayati babul(prosopis juliflora) was introduced in India in the last century as a very promising species for the afforestation of dry and degraded land. But over the years, it has emerged as a noxious invader that can grow in diverse ecosystems, enable it to wipe out other plant species in its surroundings.
Parthenium Hystrophorous
Anti-Pollution Uniform by Schools The hundreds of youngsters, ranging from age five to 18, who trooped into the Park Street campus of Apeejay School, Kolkata faces covered in anti-pollution masks in April is now a regular routine. “It is part of our school uniform now. It will protect us from the pollution that is killing the children of Kolkata,” said a student. The anti-pollution mask has been made a part of the uniform from this academic session by Apeejay School in a bid to safeguard the health of its students and boost attendance. “We realised that a lot of our students had health problems that kept them away from school. Watery eyes, blocked noses or breathing problems, it all stems from pollution and we realised that we needed to do something to help ourselves,”said the principal and administrator, Reeta Chatterjee.
Students entering school in blue-and-white uniform, with a yellow mask covering mouth and nose.
The most polluted places in India Vapi in Gujarat and Sukinda in Orrisa is among the world's top 10 most polluted places, according to the Blacksmith Institute, a New York-based nonprofit group. Vapi : Potentially affected people: 71,000 -Pollutants: Chemicals and heavy metals due to its Industrial estates. Sukinda: Potentially affected people: 2,600,000. -Pollutants: Hexavalent chromium due to its Chromite mines. The most polluted cities in India As many as 51 Indian cities have extremely high air pollution, Lucknow, Raipur, Faridabad and Ahmedabad topping the list. An environment and forest ministry report, released on September 14, 2007 has identified 51 cities that do not meet the prescribed Respirable Particulate Matter (RSPM) levels, specified under the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). In 2005, an Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI) placed India at 101st position among 146 countries. Taking a cue from the finding, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) formulated NAAQS and checked the air quality, which led to the revelation about air quality in leading cities. According to the report, Gobindgarh in Punjab is the most polluted city, and Ludhiana, Raipur and Lucknow hold the next three positions. Faridabad on the outskirt of Delhi is the 10th most polluted city, followed by Agra, the city of Taj Mahal. Ahmedabad is placed 12th, Indore 16th, Delhi 22nd, Kolkata 25th, Mumbai 40th, Hyderabad 44th and Bangalore stands at 46th in the list. The Orissa town of Angul, home to National Aluminium Company (NALCO), is the 50th polluted city of the country.Emissions of gaseous pollutants: satellite data Scientists and researchers from around the world gathered at ESRIN, ESA’s Earth Observation Centre in Frascati, Italy, recently to discuss the contribution of satellite data in monitoring nitrogen dioxide in the atmosphere. Using nitrogen dioxide (NO2) data acquired from 1996 to 2006 by the Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment (GOME) instrument aboard ESA’s ERS-2 satellite, Nitrous oxide emissions over India is growing at an annual rate of 5.5 percent/year. The location of emission hot spots correlates well with the location of mega thermal power plants, mega cities, urban and industrial regions. Emissions of gaseous pollutants have increased in India over the past two decades. According to Dr Sachin Ghude of the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), rapid industrialization, urbanization and traffic growth are most likely responsible for the increase. Because of varying consumption patterns and growth rates, the distribution of emissions vary widely across India. Is nuclear energy a solution of global warming? India a country of 1.1 billion people currently gets only a fraction of its electricity from nuclear power. Now the US atomic trade pact with India and an atomic energy pact with France, India can fight global warming with clean nuclear energy. Nuclear energy has been recognized as a clean as CO2 to the atmosphere after its reaction that could damage our environment. It's also known that nuclear energy has reduced the amount of greenhouse gas emission, reducing emissions of CO2for about 500 million metric tons of carbon. Despite the advantage of nuclear as a clean energy, the big concern is the waste resulted from nuclear reaction, which is a form of pollution, called radioactivity. Nuclear waste is also a problem with nuclear power, in that spent nuclear fuel has no safe place to be stored right now. Perhaps the greatest problem with nuclear power is the price to taxpayers. Each new nuclear plant built in the United States will cost at least one billion dollars in federal subsidies. Reduce pollutions: suggestions Reduce tax on incomes and institute a tax on pollution was a suggestion environmental crusader Al Gore had for India to tackle the issue of global warming effectively. "Reduce tax on employees and employers and put a tax on pollution. The more carbon dioxide one emits the more he pays in taxes," said Gore in an interactive session at the India Today Conclave here on March 16, 2008. Replying to a question by Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma, Gore also suggested subsidising clean energy generation instead of carbon fuels like kerosene. AGRA, December 12, 2008: Now Tulsi an ayurveda wisdom to help Taj Majal retain its pristine allure. The forest department has come up with a quick-fix project -- plant a Tulsi drive in Agra. The recommended complexion care regimen, officers claim, has full backing from ancient texts which hold Tulsi to be the panacea for all problems from cosmic to cosmetic. The department is all set to launch the Tulsi plantation drive from January 2009. The public-private joint venture is expected to provide an eco-protection cover to sensitive Taj trapezium zone surrounding the 17th century monument as well as the other two world heritage monuments -- Agra Fort and Aitma-ud-Daula tomb. Tulsi (Occinum sanctum) chosen for its anti-pollutant anti-oxidation and air-purifying properties making it an ideal ornamental shrub in the vicinity of the Taj Mahal. By the initiatives of the Delhi Metro and the Delhi Bicycling Club, which encourage people to use bicycles for short distances, pedaling a cycle is increasingly and becoming routine for people. On bicycle, one can change destination without hassles and it’s cheap.Taking to pedal, Delhiites choose an eco-friendly saddle.
E-Cigarette Support Gaining Ground For Being Green, Clean, and Cheap
Despite import bans and negative statements made by public health officials, both the use and support of e-cigarettes is rising. "People are finding out about the e-cigarette at a faster pace than expected," says George Archer, Public Relations Manager of Electroniccigarettesusa.info. "A smoker simply finding out this product exists is the first step toward a better smoking experience. You don't have the hacking and the coughing that tobacco cigarettes give you and you can feel good about buying them because they're cheaper and even greener than the tobacco version."While most smokers aren't switching to e-cigarettes only because they're greener, the environmental impact could be phenomenal. Cigarette butts are the most frequently littered item in the world, with approximately 4.5 trillion butts cast to the ground worldwide every year. Not only that, but when cigarette butts come into contact with water, the chemicals are leeched out of them. This can be dangerous because the average cigarette butt contains lead, cadmium, acetone, and other hazardous chemicals."With all the pharmaceuticals and chemicals that have been found in our water supply within the past few years, it's a wonder we're not all walking around with three eyes and flippers," says Archer. "Removing one of the largest sources of litter in the United States would affect the environment in a very positive way."Depending on a smoker's habit, the average e-cigarette cartridge can last up to the equivalent of a pack of cigarettes after they become accustomed to using them. The cost ends up being around $2 a cartridge, which is much cheaper than the typical cost of at least $5 per pack of cigarettes.Another reason many are making the switch is due to the lack of the need for an ash tray or other way to dispose of the ashes, because there are none. Getting rid of the tobacco odor is also a factor in the switch."They are definitely cleaner than traditional cigarettes," Archer states. "Who wants to walk around smelling like an ash tray?"E-cigarette http://www.Electroniccigarettesusa.info is your one stop shop for all your e-cigarette needs.
Does global warming effects the rain patterns in India?
The prevailing scientific opinion on climate change is that "most of the warming observed over the last 50 years is attributable to human activities" [1].An increase in global temperatures can in turn cause other changes, including a rising sea level and changes in the amount and pattern of precipitation. These changes may increase the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, such as floods, droughts, heat waves, hurricanes, and tornados. Other consequences include higher or lower agricultural yields, glacier retreat, reduced summer streamflows, species extinctions and increases in the ranges of disease vectors. Warming is expected to affect the number and magnitude of these events; however, it is difficult to connect particular events to global warming. Although most studies focus on the period up to 2100, warming (and sea level rise due to thermal expansion) is expected to continue past then, since CO2 has a long average atmospheric lifetime. [3].Only a small minority of climate scientists discount the role that humanity's actions have played in recent warming. However, the uncertainty is more significant regarding how much climate change should be expected in the future, and there is a hotly contested political and public debate over what, if anything, should be done to reduce or reverse future warming, and how to deal with the predicted consequences.The term 'global warming' is a specific case of the more general term 'climate change' (which can also refer to 'global cooling', such as occurs during ice ages). In principle, 'global warming' is neutral as to the causes, but in common usage, 'global warming' generally implies a human influence. However, the UNFCCC uses 'climate change' for human-caused change, and 'climate variability' for other changes [4]. Some organizations use the term 'anthropogenic climate change' for human-induced changes
Ozone protecting HFCs may increase global warming
new research has suggested that hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), which are good for protecting the ozone layer from destruction, could increasingly contribute to global warming.
The research was conducted by scientists from NOAA's Earth System Research Laboratory and their colleagues.
HFCs, which do not contain ozone-destroying chlorine or bromine atoms, are used as substitutes for ozone-depleting compounds such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in such uses as refrigeration, air conditioning, and the production of insulating foams.
The researchers took a fresh look at how the global use of HFCs is expected to grow in coming decades.
Using updated usage estimates and looking farther ahead than past projections (to the year 2050), they found that HFCs, especially from developing countries, will become an increasingly larger factor in future climate warming.
"HFCs are good for protecting the ozone layer, but they are not climate friendly," said David W. Fahey, a scientist at NOAA and second author of the new study.
"Our research shows that their effect on climate could become significantly larger than we expected, if we continue along a business-as-usual path," he added.
HFCs currently have a climate change contribution that is small (less than 1 percent) in comparison to the contribution of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
The researchers have shown that by 2050, the HFCs contribution could rise to 7 to 12 percent of what CO2 contributes, and if international efforts succeed in stabilizing CO2 emissions, the relative climate contribution from HFCs would increase further.
Though the HFCs do not deplete the ozone layer, they are potent greenhouse gases.
Molecule for molecule, all HFCs are more potent warming agents than CO2 and some are thousands of times more effective.
The new study factored in the expected growth in demand for air conditioning, refrigerants, and other technology in developed and developing countries.
The Montreal Protocol's gradual phasing out of the consumption of ozone-depleting substances in developing countries after 2012, along with the complete phase-out in developed countries in 2020, are other factors that will lead to increased usage of HFCs and other alternatives.
Decision-makers in Europe and the United States have begun to consider possible steps to limit the potential climate consequences of HFCs.
According to John S. Daniel, a NOAA coauthor of the study, "While unrestrained growth of HFC use could lead to significant climate implications by 2050, we have shown some examples of global limits that can effectively reduce the HFCs' impact."
The research was conducted by scientists from NOAA's Earth System Research Laboratory and their colleagues.
HFCs, which do not contain ozone-destroying chlorine or bromine atoms, are used as substitutes for ozone-depleting compounds such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in such uses as refrigeration, air conditioning, and the production of insulating foams.
The researchers took a fresh look at how the global use of HFCs is expected to grow in coming decades.
Using updated usage estimates and looking farther ahead than past projections (to the year 2050), they found that HFCs, especially from developing countries, will become an increasingly larger factor in future climate warming.
"HFCs are good for protecting the ozone layer, but they are not climate friendly," said David W. Fahey, a scientist at NOAA and second author of the new study.
"Our research shows that their effect on climate could become significantly larger than we expected, if we continue along a business-as-usual path," he added.
HFCs currently have a climate change contribution that is small (less than 1 percent) in comparison to the contribution of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
The researchers have shown that by 2050, the HFCs contribution could rise to 7 to 12 percent of what CO2 contributes, and if international efforts succeed in stabilizing CO2 emissions, the relative climate contribution from HFCs would increase further.
Though the HFCs do not deplete the ozone layer, they are potent greenhouse gases.
Molecule for molecule, all HFCs are more potent warming agents than CO2 and some are thousands of times more effective.
The new study factored in the expected growth in demand for air conditioning, refrigerants, and other technology in developed and developing countries.
The Montreal Protocol's gradual phasing out of the consumption of ozone-depleting substances in developing countries after 2012, along with the complete phase-out in developed countries in 2020, are other factors that will lead to increased usage of HFCs and other alternatives.
Decision-makers in Europe and the United States have begun to consider possible steps to limit the potential climate consequences of HFCs.
According to John S. Daniel, a NOAA coauthor of the study, "While unrestrained growth of HFC use could lead to significant climate implications by 2050, we have shown some examples of global limits that can effectively reduce the HFCs' impact."
Industrialisation or environmental colonialism?
times of corporate totalitarianism such as ours, there is an unchallenged consensus, promoted by the media, that India needs economic development, that rapid economic growth is the most reliable way to achieve it (through the infamous ‘trickle-down’ effect), that this in turn is best achieved through breakneck industrialisation and that anyone who stands in the way of such ‘development’ needs to have her patriotic credentials examined. This may include, for instance, those who (following the latest warnings of the IPCC) are pointing to dangerously threatened, rapidly melting Himalayan glaciers.
Nothing is in fact farther from the truth, especially when one keeps reminding oneself that the free press is city-based and is anything but free. People have by now heard of Nandigram and Singur – perhaps because they happen to be in communist-ruled West Bengal, the hypocrisy of the government all too transparent there. However, as a National Convention held in New Delhi recently revealed, there are fires of protest growing in number, frequency and intensity against the large-scale acquisition of land for purposes of industrial/infrastructural/real-estate ‘development’ all across India. The question is whether city-based media outlets are reporting the facts adequately and accurately and whether urban elites have the integrity and courage to face the monstrous injustices that their leaders are busy inflicting on the countryside and its hapless populations.
Orissa: A plain enough case of environmental colonialism
Consider just one of many cases: Orissa. In addition to the massive bauxite mining (which has already disrupted the traditional livelihoods of dozens of local tribal communities), thanks to huge iron ore deposits under the forests, as many as 45 steel plants are on the anvil in this small state alone! Importantly, the people of the state have not asked for them. No democracy there, no plebiscite or referendum.
On the contrary, human rights are being routinely violated under a regime of extractive-colonialist globalisation, whose competitive cost-cutting pressures, led by totalitarian, environmentally destructive China, are creating a lethal race to the bottom, undermining chances of sustainable development and of course, substantive democracy. Constitutional provisions and state tribal and environmental laws are both being routinely violated by the state government to override tribal and community rights to land and resources.
After visiting the joint venture project of Birla and Alcan, Utkal Alumina (UAIL), in Baphlimali (Kashipur), and reviewing the consequences of Sterlite’s aluminium project at Lanjigarh , the Indian People’s Tribunal recommended in October 2006 that the Orissa government “abandon the UAIL project with immediate effect”. Voices of protest from local tribes “are being met by repressive measures in the form of large-scale arrests, disruption of public meetings by force, violent beatings to disperse gatherings, official encouragement to the employment of private goons by UAIL, midnight raids by the police, unmitigated violence on women and children. Deposing before the Tribunal Bhagban Majhi stated “instead of answering our concerns, they are replying with bullets and lathis.” What is even more shocking is that even minors like Pradip Majhi (aged 14) who deposed before the Tribunal spoke of being physically stripped and humiliated by the Police.”
People have expressed their displeasure and dissent in the tens of thousands: places like Kashipur, Kalinganagar, Jagatsinghpur and Gopalpur have been under siege for months (and often, years) by the police and paramilitaries on account of the angry political ferment over the past decade. The war between the corporate state and the people is on. The lands and water sources of farmers and forest-dwellers in these areas are being taken over through the powerful offices of the state government in order to make way for the steel and aluminium plants (and the associated coal, iron ore and bauxite mines) of business interests like Tatas, Jindals, POSCO, Mittal, Birlas, Alcan, Alcoa and Vedanta (Sterlite). Hundreds of thousands of acres of agricultural land have already been destroyed. Comparable areas of reserve forests have been torn out of the earth. Water sources are being polluted by mining and the industrial sludge. The air around the mines and factories is full of cancerous gases. After all, who has time to think of clean-up measures when Chinese competition is breathing down the necks of global players?
On many occasions peasants and tribals have been killed in police firing while resisting the takeover of their lands, forests and water resources. The defence of Jal, Jungle, Zameen, Zindagi – and not the treacherous hope of compensation, resettlement, rehabilitation, employment and ‘modernisation’ – are the issues as far as local populations are concerned. If ‘development’ implies displacement from their lands and forests, the rural communities of Orissa have declared in no uncertain terms – often through the sacrifice of human lives – that they want none of it.
So if such ‘development’ is not for the people of Orissa, who is the break-neck industrialisation in the state for? (Orissa attracted over 10% of the foreign direct investment in India in 2006.) It is for the many companies who have been gouging the earth to extract the abundant mineral wealth from the region (most of it lying under thick forests or farmed fields) for the price of dirt and make huge profits by selling abroad. (If a company can get away by paying Rs 100-150 per tonne of iron ore to the state and fetch a price of Rs 1,500-3,000 abroad – depending upon the grade of the ore – there is little surprise that there is a growing queue of foreign investors.)
Such profits will make it a lot easier and faster for companies like the Tatas to pay off the astronomical debt (of close to $10 billion: more than Orissa’s entire GDP) that they have taken on recently in order to acquire the Anglo-Dutch steel major, Corus. Importantly, it will enable the rich countries to derive the benefits of cheap steel (for construction, transport and industry) and aluminium (so critical to aeroplanes and soda-cans alike) while keeping ‘dirty’ industries and mining away from their own environmentally sanitised shores (the reason why companies like Corus and Novelis have been selling out so readily – and at exorbitant prices – to Tatas and Birlas: the cleaner the industry the less likely it is to be auctioned off to bidders from countries like India or Brazil. On the other hand, service sector businesses are being taken over by multinationals from rich countries: notice the recent acquisition of the Indian company Hutch-Essar by the British multinational Vodafone – the fact that it is led by an Indian CEO is of little import here.
The morality of such a pattern of industrialisation in Orissa – fitting snugly and conveniently into a socially and ecologically unfair global division of labour and pollution – is that the beneficiaries from it (barring the few netas and babus who get cuts from each business contract) are not from Orissa but are scattered around urban India and the rest of the world. It is a thinly disguised form of environmental colonialism orchestrated by the comprador government of the state, only too happy to sell off both their people and nature to outsiders.
Such a pattern of industrialisation has less to do with development (understood as lasting change and transformation in the quality of people’s lives, reflected but minimally in such measures as life expectancy, literacy rate and growth of real per capita income) than it has to do with the imperative to compete and win at any cost that Indian and global industrial business interests feel at this uncertain juncture of history. “Orissa is not there to enrich the rich and strengthen the economies of America and the West,” one activist from Orissa argues.
However, the Patnaik government of Orissa continues on its merry path, inviting investment recently from NRIs, among many others. The Korean steel giant POSCO has already planned on investing $12 billion in the state (though its tax breaks and other incentives amount, if it is possible to imagine, to an even greater sum). The same is true for Laxmi Mittal’s Mittal-Arcelor group (the world’s largest steel conglomerate) which signed an MoU with the Orissa government in December 2006, agreeing to invest $ 9 billion in Keonjhar district (and deriving tax benefits of comparable magnitude). Mittal has asked for 8,000 acres of land (2,000 acres more than POSCO) for the project. He has also asked that (just like the concession to POSCO) the land be classified as a Special Economic Zone (SEZ), with all the attendant privileges, tantamount to a de jure suspension of the Indian Constitution.
Only the ecological future – global and local climate change, to name only one of dozens of environmental ailments brought on by mindless industrialisation – will reveal the ultimately suicidal nature of this putatively ‘free market’ economics – which is in fact a case of active promotion of private corporate profit by the state, even if it means rampant exploitation of the poor citizens (who are citizens for one day and subjects for five years) of a famous democracy, in addition to the rapid accretion to the ecological debt of the region.
The Indian People’s Tribunal reported last year in October “that the bauxite-mining project proposed by UAIL will have adverse environmental and health effects: water sources and agricultural land will be contaminated by toxic wastes, grasslands and forest land will be destroyed, and pollution including the release of cancerous gases that will create a health hazard for those living in proximity of the alumina refinery. Further the location of the mine in the Eastern Ghats will cause irreversible loss of plant genetic material and biodiversity of this region.”
Let us forget any other ideals or values and come together to challenge the brutally flawed corporate vision – itself in accord with the so-called “neo-liberal” economics purveyed by Washington and its multilateral agencies – which imperils today the very basis of human survival in India.
by Aseem Shrivastava
Nothing is in fact farther from the truth, especially when one keeps reminding oneself that the free press is city-based and is anything but free. People have by now heard of Nandigram and Singur – perhaps because they happen to be in communist-ruled West Bengal, the hypocrisy of the government all too transparent there. However, as a National Convention held in New Delhi recently revealed, there are fires of protest growing in number, frequency and intensity against the large-scale acquisition of land for purposes of industrial/infrastructural/real-estate ‘development’ all across India. The question is whether city-based media outlets are reporting the facts adequately and accurately and whether urban elites have the integrity and courage to face the monstrous injustices that their leaders are busy inflicting on the countryside and its hapless populations.
Orissa: A plain enough case of environmental colonialism
Consider just one of many cases: Orissa. In addition to the massive bauxite mining (which has already disrupted the traditional livelihoods of dozens of local tribal communities), thanks to huge iron ore deposits under the forests, as many as 45 steel plants are on the anvil in this small state alone! Importantly, the people of the state have not asked for them. No democracy there, no plebiscite or referendum.
On the contrary, human rights are being routinely violated under a regime of extractive-colonialist globalisation, whose competitive cost-cutting pressures, led by totalitarian, environmentally destructive China, are creating a lethal race to the bottom, undermining chances of sustainable development and of course, substantive democracy. Constitutional provisions and state tribal and environmental laws are both being routinely violated by the state government to override tribal and community rights to land and resources.
After visiting the joint venture project of Birla and Alcan, Utkal Alumina (UAIL), in Baphlimali (Kashipur), and reviewing the consequences of Sterlite’s aluminium project at Lanjigarh , the Indian People’s Tribunal recommended in October 2006 that the Orissa government “abandon the UAIL project with immediate effect”. Voices of protest from local tribes “are being met by repressive measures in the form of large-scale arrests, disruption of public meetings by force, violent beatings to disperse gatherings, official encouragement to the employment of private goons by UAIL, midnight raids by the police, unmitigated violence on women and children. Deposing before the Tribunal Bhagban Majhi stated “instead of answering our concerns, they are replying with bullets and lathis.” What is even more shocking is that even minors like Pradip Majhi (aged 14) who deposed before the Tribunal spoke of being physically stripped and humiliated by the Police.”
People have expressed their displeasure and dissent in the tens of thousands: places like Kashipur, Kalinganagar, Jagatsinghpur and Gopalpur have been under siege for months (and often, years) by the police and paramilitaries on account of the angry political ferment over the past decade. The war between the corporate state and the people is on. The lands and water sources of farmers and forest-dwellers in these areas are being taken over through the powerful offices of the state government in order to make way for the steel and aluminium plants (and the associated coal, iron ore and bauxite mines) of business interests like Tatas, Jindals, POSCO, Mittal, Birlas, Alcan, Alcoa and Vedanta (Sterlite). Hundreds of thousands of acres of agricultural land have already been destroyed. Comparable areas of reserve forests have been torn out of the earth. Water sources are being polluted by mining and the industrial sludge. The air around the mines and factories is full of cancerous gases. After all, who has time to think of clean-up measures when Chinese competition is breathing down the necks of global players?
On many occasions peasants and tribals have been killed in police firing while resisting the takeover of their lands, forests and water resources. The defence of Jal, Jungle, Zameen, Zindagi – and not the treacherous hope of compensation, resettlement, rehabilitation, employment and ‘modernisation’ – are the issues as far as local populations are concerned. If ‘development’ implies displacement from their lands and forests, the rural communities of Orissa have declared in no uncertain terms – often through the sacrifice of human lives – that they want none of it.
So if such ‘development’ is not for the people of Orissa, who is the break-neck industrialisation in the state for? (Orissa attracted over 10% of the foreign direct investment in India in 2006.) It is for the many companies who have been gouging the earth to extract the abundant mineral wealth from the region (most of it lying under thick forests or farmed fields) for the price of dirt and make huge profits by selling abroad. (If a company can get away by paying Rs 100-150 per tonne of iron ore to the state and fetch a price of Rs 1,500-3,000 abroad – depending upon the grade of the ore – there is little surprise that there is a growing queue of foreign investors.)
Such profits will make it a lot easier and faster for companies like the Tatas to pay off the astronomical debt (of close to $10 billion: more than Orissa’s entire GDP) that they have taken on recently in order to acquire the Anglo-Dutch steel major, Corus. Importantly, it will enable the rich countries to derive the benefits of cheap steel (for construction, transport and industry) and aluminium (so critical to aeroplanes and soda-cans alike) while keeping ‘dirty’ industries and mining away from their own environmentally sanitised shores (the reason why companies like Corus and Novelis have been selling out so readily – and at exorbitant prices – to Tatas and Birlas: the cleaner the industry the less likely it is to be auctioned off to bidders from countries like India or Brazil. On the other hand, service sector businesses are being taken over by multinationals from rich countries: notice the recent acquisition of the Indian company Hutch-Essar by the British multinational Vodafone – the fact that it is led by an Indian CEO is of little import here.
The morality of such a pattern of industrialisation in Orissa – fitting snugly and conveniently into a socially and ecologically unfair global division of labour and pollution – is that the beneficiaries from it (barring the few netas and babus who get cuts from each business contract) are not from Orissa but are scattered around urban India and the rest of the world. It is a thinly disguised form of environmental colonialism orchestrated by the comprador government of the state, only too happy to sell off both their people and nature to outsiders.
Such a pattern of industrialisation has less to do with development (understood as lasting change and transformation in the quality of people’s lives, reflected but minimally in such measures as life expectancy, literacy rate and growth of real per capita income) than it has to do with the imperative to compete and win at any cost that Indian and global industrial business interests feel at this uncertain juncture of history. “Orissa is not there to enrich the rich and strengthen the economies of America and the West,” one activist from Orissa argues.
However, the Patnaik government of Orissa continues on its merry path, inviting investment recently from NRIs, among many others. The Korean steel giant POSCO has already planned on investing $12 billion in the state (though its tax breaks and other incentives amount, if it is possible to imagine, to an even greater sum). The same is true for Laxmi Mittal’s Mittal-Arcelor group (the world’s largest steel conglomerate) which signed an MoU with the Orissa government in December 2006, agreeing to invest $ 9 billion in Keonjhar district (and deriving tax benefits of comparable magnitude). Mittal has asked for 8,000 acres of land (2,000 acres more than POSCO) for the project. He has also asked that (just like the concession to POSCO) the land be classified as a Special Economic Zone (SEZ), with all the attendant privileges, tantamount to a de jure suspension of the Indian Constitution.
Only the ecological future – global and local climate change, to name only one of dozens of environmental ailments brought on by mindless industrialisation – will reveal the ultimately suicidal nature of this putatively ‘free market’ economics – which is in fact a case of active promotion of private corporate profit by the state, even if it means rampant exploitation of the poor citizens (who are citizens for one day and subjects for five years) of a famous democracy, in addition to the rapid accretion to the ecological debt of the region.
The Indian People’s Tribunal reported last year in October “that the bauxite-mining project proposed by UAIL will have adverse environmental and health effects: water sources and agricultural land will be contaminated by toxic wastes, grasslands and forest land will be destroyed, and pollution including the release of cancerous gases that will create a health hazard for those living in proximity of the alumina refinery. Further the location of the mine in the Eastern Ghats will cause irreversible loss of plant genetic material and biodiversity of this region.”
Let us forget any other ideals or values and come together to challenge the brutally flawed corporate vision – itself in accord with the so-called “neo-liberal” economics purveyed by Washington and its multilateral agencies – which imperils today the very basis of human survival in India.
by Aseem Shrivastava
RETScreen Wins REEEP Funding for new MTV Tool *NEW*
The Vienna-based Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP) announced the winners of its 7th project funding cycle. In a highly competitive process, 49 projects in 25 countries were selected for funding out of a total of 694 project concepts received from around the world.
The CanmetENERGY’s RETScreen International has won funding from REEEP in this round to develop a new Monitoring, Targeting, and Verification (MTV) tool for RETScreen. A comprehensive MTV tool will be incorporated into the next major release of RETScreen (Version 5) that will be developed over the next few years. A monitoring, targeting, and verification tool is an important part of energy efficiency analysis, essential to ensuring the most efficient functioning of energy efficiency projects.
The RETScreen Clean Energy Project Analysis Software is a unique decision support tool developed with the contribution of numerous experts from government, industry, and academia. The software, provided free-of-charge, can be used worldwide to evaluate the energy production and savings, costs, emission reductions, financial viability and risk for various types of Renewable-energy and Energy-efficient Technologies (RETs). The software (available in multiple languages) also includes product, project, hydrology and climate databases, a detailed online user manual, and a case study based college/university-level training course, including an engineering e-textbook.
Implementing such capabilities into RETScreen will help a user understand how energy is consumed in an organization; understand the opportunities available to save energy; and achieve cost savings, greenhouse gas emissions reductions, and the expansion of markets for energy efficiency projects.
The CanmetENERGY’s RETScreen International has won funding from REEEP in this round to develop a new Monitoring, Targeting, and Verification (MTV) tool for RETScreen. A comprehensive MTV tool will be incorporated into the next major release of RETScreen (Version 5) that will be developed over the next few years. A monitoring, targeting, and verification tool is an important part of energy efficiency analysis, essential to ensuring the most efficient functioning of energy efficiency projects.
The RETScreen Clean Energy Project Analysis Software is a unique decision support tool developed with the contribution of numerous experts from government, industry, and academia. The software, provided free-of-charge, can be used worldwide to evaluate the energy production and savings, costs, emission reductions, financial viability and risk for various types of Renewable-energy and Energy-efficient Technologies (RETs). The software (available in multiple languages) also includes product, project, hydrology and climate databases, a detailed online user manual, and a case study based college/university-level training course, including an engineering e-textbook.
Implementing such capabilities into RETScreen will help a user understand how energy is consumed in an organization; understand the opportunities available to save energy; and achieve cost savings, greenhouse gas emissions reductions, and the expansion of markets for energy efficiency projects.
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