Global warming is the term used to describe a gradual increase in the average temperature of the Earth's atmosphere and its oceans, a change that is believed to be permanently changing the Earth’s climate forever.
While many view the effects of global warming to be more substantial and more rapidly occurring than others do, the scientific consensus on climatic changes related to global warming is that the average temperature of the Earth has risen between 0.4 and 0.8 °C over the past 100 years. The increased volumes of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases released by the burning of fossil fuels, land clearing, agriculture, and other human activities, are believed to be the primary sources of the global warming that has occurred over the past 50 years.
Scientists from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate carrying out global warming research have recently predicted that average global temperatures could increase between 1.4 and 5.8 °C by the year 2100. Changes resulting from global warming may include rising sea levels due to the melting of the polar ice caps, as well as an increase in occurrence and severity of storms and other severe weather events.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Global Warming is an International Issue
GLOBAL WARMING AWARENESSGlobal Warming Skeptics - Skeptics of global warming think that global warming is not an ecological trouble.Global Warming Facts - 8 Facts about Global Warming Causes of Global Warming - The Green house gases are the main culprits of the global warming. The green house gases like carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide are playing hazards in the present times.Green House Gasses are the ingredients of the atmosphere that add to the greenhouse effect. Al Gore Global Warming Initiative - Gore has written a book that archives his advice that Earth is dashing toward an immensely warmer future.
The average facade temperature of the globe has augmented more than 1 degree Fahrenheit since 1900 and the speed of warming has been almost three folds the century long average since 1970. This increase in earth’s average temperature is called Global warming. More or less all specialists studying the climate record of the earth have the same opinion now that human actions, mainly the discharge of green house gases from smokestacks, vehicles, and burning forests, are perhaps the leading power driving the fashion.
The gases append to the planet's normal greenhouse effect, permitting sunlight in, but stopping some of the ensuing heat from radiating back to space. Based on the study on past climate shifts, notes of current situations, and computer simulations, many climate scientists say that lacking of big curbs in greenhouse gas discharges, the 21st century might see temperatures rise of about 3 to 8 degrees, climate patterns piercingly shift, ice sheets contract and seas rise several feet. With the probable exemption of one more world war, a huge asteroid, or a fatal plague, global warming may be the only most danger to our planet earth.
Global Warming Causes As said, the major cause of global warming is the emission of green house gases like carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide etc into the atmosphere.
The major source of carbon dioxide is the power plants. These power plants emit large amounts of carbon dioxide produced from burning of fossil fuels for the purpose of electricity generation. About twenty percent of carbon dioxide emitted in the atmosphere comes from burning of gasoline in the engines of the vehicles. This is true for most of the developed countries. Buildings, both commercial and residential represent a larger source of global warming pollution than cars and trucks.
Building of these structures require a lot of fuel to be burnt which emits a large amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Methane is more than 20 times as effectual as CO2 at entrapping heat in the atmosphere. Methane is obtained from resources such as rice paddies, bovine flatulence, bacteria in bogs and fossil fuel manufacture. When fields are flooded, anaerobic situation build up and the organic matter in the soil decays, releasing methane to the atmosphere. The main sources of nitrous oxide include nylon and nitric acid production, cars with catalytic converters, the use of fertilizers in agriculture and the burning of organic matter. Another cause of global warming is deforestation that is caused by cutting and burning of forests for the purpose of residence and industrialization
Global Warming is Inspiring Scientists to Fight for Awareness
Scientists all over the world are making predictions about the ill effects of Global warming and connecting some of the events that have taken place in the pat few decades as an alarm of global warming. The effect of global warming is increasing the average temperature of the earth. A rise in earth’s temperatures can in turn root to other alterations in the ecology, including an increasing sea level and modifying the quantity and pattern of rainfall. These modifications may boost the occurrence and concentration of severe climate events, such as floods, famines, heat waves, tornados, and twisters. Other consequences may comprise of higher or lower agricultural outputs, glacier melting, lesser summer stream flows, genus extinctions and rise in the ranges of disease vectors. As an effect of global warming species like golden toad, harlequin frog of Costa Rica has already become extinct. There are number of species that have a threat of disappearing soon as an effect of global warming. As an effect of global warming various new diseases have emerged lately. These diseases are occurring frequently due to the increase in earths average temperature since the bacteria can survive better in elevated temperatures and even multiplies faster when the conditions are favorable. The global warming is extending the distribution of mosquitoes due to the increase in humidity levels and their frequent growth in warmer atmosphere. Various diseases due to ebola, hanta and machupo virus are expected due to warmer climates. The marine life is also very sensitive to the increase in temperatures. The effect of global warming will definitely be seen on some species in the water. A survey was made in which the marine life reacted significantly to the changes in water temperatures. It is expected that many species will die off or become extinct due to the increase in the temperatures of the water, whereas various other species, which prefer warmer waters, will increase tremendously. Perhaps the most disturbing changes are expected in the coral reefs that are expected to die off as an effect of global warming. The global warming is expected to cause irreversible changes in the ecosystem and the behavior of animals
A group of scientists have recently reported on the surprisingly speedy rise in the discharge of carbon and methane release from frozen tundra in Siberia, now starting to melt because of human cause increases in earth’s temperature. The scientists tell us that the tundra is in danger of melting holds an amount of extra global warming pollution that is equivalent to the net amount that is previously in the earth's atmosphere. Likewise, earlier one more team of scientists reported that the in a single year Greenland witnessed 32 glacial earthquakes between 4.6 and 5.1 on the Richter scale. This is a disturbing sign and points that a huge destabilization that may now be in progress deep within the second biggest accretion of ice on the planet. This ice would be enough to raise sea level 20 feet worldwide if it broke up and slipped into the sea. Each day passing brings yet new proof that we are now in front of a global emergency, a climate emergency that needs instant action to piercingly decrease carbon dioxide emissions worldwide in order to turn down the earth's rising temperatures and avoid any catastrophe.
It is not easy to attach any particular events to global warming, but studies prove the fact that human activities are increasing the earth’s temperature. Even though most predictions focus on the epoch up to 2100, even if no further greenhouse gases were discharged after this date, global warming and sea level would be likely to go on to rise for more than a millennium, since carbon dioxide has a long average atmospheric life span
You Can Help Fight Global Warming
Many efforts are being made by various nations to cut down the rate of global warming. One such effort is the Kyoto agreement that has been made between various nations to reduce the emissions of various green house gases. Also many non profit organizations are working for the cause. Al Gore was one of the foremost U.S. politicians to heave an alarm about the hazards of global warming. He has produced a significantly acclaimed documentary movie called "An Inconvenient Truth," and written a book that archives his advice that Earth is dashing toward an immensely warmer future. Al Gore, the former vice president of United States has given various speeches to raise an awareness of global warming. He has warned people about the ill effects of Global warming and its remedies.
But an interesting side of the global warming episode is that there are people who do not consider global warming as something that is creating a problem. Skeptics of global warming think that global warming is not an ecological trouble. According to the global warming skeptics, the recent enhancement in the earth's average temperature is no reason for alarm. According to them earth's coastlines and polar ice caps are not at a risk of vanishing. Global warming skeptics consider that the weather models used to establish global warming and to forecast its impacts are distorted. According to the models, if calculations are made the last few decades must have been much worse as compared to actually happened to be. Most of the global warming skeptics believe that the global warming is not actually occurring. They stress on the fact the climatic conditions vary because of volcanism, the obliquity cycle, changes in solar output, and internal variability. Also the warming can be due to the variation in cloud cover, which in turn is responsible for the temperatures on the earth. The variations are also a result of cosmic ray flux that is modulated by the solar magnetic cycles.
Global Warming Skeptics
The global warming skeptics are of the view that the global warming is a good phenomenon and should not be stopped. There are various benefits of global warming according to them. According to the skeptics, the global warming will increase humidity in tropical deserts. Also the higher levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere trigger plant growth. As predicted, due to the global warming the sea levels will rise. But this can be readily adapted. Another argument of global warming skeptics is that earth has been warmer than today as seen in its history. The thought is that global warming is nothing to get afraid of because it just takes us back to a more natural set of environment of the past. Animals and plants appeared to do just fine in those eras of warm climate on the earth. According to few skeptics, the present chilly climate on the earth is an abnormality when judged over the geographical scale. Over geologic time, the earth’s mean temperature is 22 degrees C, as compared to today's 15.5 degrees C.
The average facade temperature of the globe has augmented more than 1 degree Fahrenheit since 1900 and the speed of warming has been almost three folds the century long average since 1970. This increase in earth’s average temperature is called Global warming. More or less all specialists studying the climate record of the earth have the same opinion now that human actions, mainly the discharge of green house gases from smokestacks, vehicles, and burning forests, are perhaps the leading power driving the fashion.
The gases append to the planet's normal greenhouse effect, permitting sunlight in, but stopping some of the ensuing heat from radiating back to space. Based on the study on past climate shifts, notes of current situations, and computer simulations, many climate scientists say that lacking of big curbs in greenhouse gas discharges, the 21st century might see temperatures rise of about 3 to 8 degrees, climate patterns piercingly shift, ice sheets contract and seas rise several feet. With the probable exemption of one more world war, a huge asteroid, or a fatal plague, global warming may be the only most danger to our planet earth.
Global Warming Causes As said, the major cause of global warming is the emission of green house gases like carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide etc into the atmosphere.
The major source of carbon dioxide is the power plants. These power plants emit large amounts of carbon dioxide produced from burning of fossil fuels for the purpose of electricity generation. About twenty percent of carbon dioxide emitted in the atmosphere comes from burning of gasoline in the engines of the vehicles. This is true for most of the developed countries. Buildings, both commercial and residential represent a larger source of global warming pollution than cars and trucks.
Building of these structures require a lot of fuel to be burnt which emits a large amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Methane is more than 20 times as effectual as CO2 at entrapping heat in the atmosphere. Methane is obtained from resources such as rice paddies, bovine flatulence, bacteria in bogs and fossil fuel manufacture. When fields are flooded, anaerobic situation build up and the organic matter in the soil decays, releasing methane to the atmosphere. The main sources of nitrous oxide include nylon and nitric acid production, cars with catalytic converters, the use of fertilizers in agriculture and the burning of organic matter. Another cause of global warming is deforestation that is caused by cutting and burning of forests for the purpose of residence and industrialization
Global Warming is Inspiring Scientists to Fight for Awareness
Scientists all over the world are making predictions about the ill effects of Global warming and connecting some of the events that have taken place in the pat few decades as an alarm of global warming. The effect of global warming is increasing the average temperature of the earth. A rise in earth’s temperatures can in turn root to other alterations in the ecology, including an increasing sea level and modifying the quantity and pattern of rainfall. These modifications may boost the occurrence and concentration of severe climate events, such as floods, famines, heat waves, tornados, and twisters. Other consequences may comprise of higher or lower agricultural outputs, glacier melting, lesser summer stream flows, genus extinctions and rise in the ranges of disease vectors. As an effect of global warming species like golden toad, harlequin frog of Costa Rica has already become extinct. There are number of species that have a threat of disappearing soon as an effect of global warming. As an effect of global warming various new diseases have emerged lately. These diseases are occurring frequently due to the increase in earths average temperature since the bacteria can survive better in elevated temperatures and even multiplies faster when the conditions are favorable. The global warming is extending the distribution of mosquitoes due to the increase in humidity levels and their frequent growth in warmer atmosphere. Various diseases due to ebola, hanta and machupo virus are expected due to warmer climates. The marine life is also very sensitive to the increase in temperatures. The effect of global warming will definitely be seen on some species in the water. A survey was made in which the marine life reacted significantly to the changes in water temperatures. It is expected that many species will die off or become extinct due to the increase in the temperatures of the water, whereas various other species, which prefer warmer waters, will increase tremendously. Perhaps the most disturbing changes are expected in the coral reefs that are expected to die off as an effect of global warming. The global warming is expected to cause irreversible changes in the ecosystem and the behavior of animals
A group of scientists have recently reported on the surprisingly speedy rise in the discharge of carbon and methane release from frozen tundra in Siberia, now starting to melt because of human cause increases in earth’s temperature. The scientists tell us that the tundra is in danger of melting holds an amount of extra global warming pollution that is equivalent to the net amount that is previously in the earth's atmosphere. Likewise, earlier one more team of scientists reported that the in a single year Greenland witnessed 32 glacial earthquakes between 4.6 and 5.1 on the Richter scale. This is a disturbing sign and points that a huge destabilization that may now be in progress deep within the second biggest accretion of ice on the planet. This ice would be enough to raise sea level 20 feet worldwide if it broke up and slipped into the sea. Each day passing brings yet new proof that we are now in front of a global emergency, a climate emergency that needs instant action to piercingly decrease carbon dioxide emissions worldwide in order to turn down the earth's rising temperatures and avoid any catastrophe.
It is not easy to attach any particular events to global warming, but studies prove the fact that human activities are increasing the earth’s temperature. Even though most predictions focus on the epoch up to 2100, even if no further greenhouse gases were discharged after this date, global warming and sea level would be likely to go on to rise for more than a millennium, since carbon dioxide has a long average atmospheric life span
You Can Help Fight Global Warming
Many efforts are being made by various nations to cut down the rate of global warming. One such effort is the Kyoto agreement that has been made between various nations to reduce the emissions of various green house gases. Also many non profit organizations are working for the cause. Al Gore was one of the foremost U.S. politicians to heave an alarm about the hazards of global warming. He has produced a significantly acclaimed documentary movie called "An Inconvenient Truth," and written a book that archives his advice that Earth is dashing toward an immensely warmer future. Al Gore, the former vice president of United States has given various speeches to raise an awareness of global warming. He has warned people about the ill effects of Global warming and its remedies.
But an interesting side of the global warming episode is that there are people who do not consider global warming as something that is creating a problem. Skeptics of global warming think that global warming is not an ecological trouble. According to the global warming skeptics, the recent enhancement in the earth's average temperature is no reason for alarm. According to them earth's coastlines and polar ice caps are not at a risk of vanishing. Global warming skeptics consider that the weather models used to establish global warming and to forecast its impacts are distorted. According to the models, if calculations are made the last few decades must have been much worse as compared to actually happened to be. Most of the global warming skeptics believe that the global warming is not actually occurring. They stress on the fact the climatic conditions vary because of volcanism, the obliquity cycle, changes in solar output, and internal variability. Also the warming can be due to the variation in cloud cover, which in turn is responsible for the temperatures on the earth. The variations are also a result of cosmic ray flux that is modulated by the solar magnetic cycles.
Global Warming Skeptics
The global warming skeptics are of the view that the global warming is a good phenomenon and should not be stopped. There are various benefits of global warming according to them. According to the skeptics, the global warming will increase humidity in tropical deserts. Also the higher levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere trigger plant growth. As predicted, due to the global warming the sea levels will rise. But this can be readily adapted. Another argument of global warming skeptics is that earth has been warmer than today as seen in its history. The thought is that global warming is nothing to get afraid of because it just takes us back to a more natural set of environment of the past. Animals and plants appeared to do just fine in those eras of warm climate on the earth. According to few skeptics, the present chilly climate on the earth is an abnormality when judged over the geographical scale. Over geologic time, the earth’s mean temperature is 22 degrees C, as compared to today's 15.5 degrees C.
Some good reasons to sweat climate change
The U.S. Global Change Research Program’s climate change report, released by the Obama administration earlier this month, outlines concrete climate change impacts for U.S. society and the economy. According to the findings we could be in for much more severe summers across the country. One example cited: in 1995, Chicago suffered a heat wave that killed more than 700 people. By the end of this century, Chicagoans could experience that kind of relentless heat up to three times a year.
Eleven EarthShare member charities, including American Rivers, Earthjustice and Natural Resources Defense Council, are urging America to reduce emissions quickly to prevent the worst consequences of climate change. Read the report and check out a video of the White House releasing the new climate change bill. Learn more about climate change and global warming in our issues section.
Got trails? With summer upon us, now is the perfect time to grab some friends and head out to discover a new outdoor adventure. The Sierra Club has launched a new resource, Sierra Club Trails , to help you locate a trail, find a community trip or take a national or international excursion into the wilderness. Can’t find any trails near you? Check out EarthShare member charity Rails-to-Trails’ trail-building toolbox – it offers resources to help you build a trail in your own community!
Good news about lighter, fuel-efficient cars. The Rocky Mountain Institute is unraveling the misconception that lighter, more fuel-efficient vehicles are less safe than heavier ones. Their research indicates that while there is a connection between car size and safety, there is no such connection between automobile weight and highway safety. So, what type of car is the best for safety and the environment? Vehicles designed to be both lightweight and large fit the bill. With new federal standards set to begin in 2012, this guidance will prove useful to an auto industry tasked with increasing fuel efficiency. But don’t wait until the new efficiency standards kick in when you can help reduce your car’s carbon footprint now! Check out our green tips for saving energy on the road.
Bored with the beach? Be a summer volunteer!
President Obama wants YOU – for his Summer of Service initiative, that is. The program is a call to make volunteerism and community service part of our daily lives and the life of this nation. The Student Conservation Association is inviting you to get involved and take action for the envirionment and the nation by signing their Conservation Declaration. Sign the declaration , agree to take one of many environmental actions (including planting a native tree , volunteering , or entering their Green Your School contest ), and you’ll be automatically entered to win a National Parks Annual Pass! In the words of our leader: “…we need everyone, as America’s new foundation will be built one community at a time, and it starts with you.”
Eleven EarthShare member charities, including American Rivers, Earthjustice and Natural Resources Defense Council, are urging America to reduce emissions quickly to prevent the worst consequences of climate change. Read the report and check out a video of the White House releasing the new climate change bill. Learn more about climate change and global warming in our issues section.
Got trails? With summer upon us, now is the perfect time to grab some friends and head out to discover a new outdoor adventure. The Sierra Club has launched a new resource, Sierra Club Trails , to help you locate a trail, find a community trip or take a national or international excursion into the wilderness. Can’t find any trails near you? Check out EarthShare member charity Rails-to-Trails’ trail-building toolbox – it offers resources to help you build a trail in your own community!
Good news about lighter, fuel-efficient cars. The Rocky Mountain Institute is unraveling the misconception that lighter, more fuel-efficient vehicles are less safe than heavier ones. Their research indicates that while there is a connection between car size and safety, there is no such connection between automobile weight and highway safety. So, what type of car is the best for safety and the environment? Vehicles designed to be both lightweight and large fit the bill. With new federal standards set to begin in 2012, this guidance will prove useful to an auto industry tasked with increasing fuel efficiency. But don’t wait until the new efficiency standards kick in when you can help reduce your car’s carbon footprint now! Check out our green tips for saving energy on the road.
Bored with the beach? Be a summer volunteer!
President Obama wants YOU – for his Summer of Service initiative, that is. The program is a call to make volunteerism and community service part of our daily lives and the life of this nation. The Student Conservation Association is inviting you to get involved and take action for the envirionment and the nation by signing their Conservation Declaration. Sign the declaration , agree to take one of many environmental actions (including planting a native tree , volunteering , or entering their Green Your School contest ), and you’ll be automatically entered to win a National Parks Annual Pass! In the words of our leader: “…we need everyone, as America’s new foundation will be built one community at a time, and it starts with you.”
Know-how at whose cost?
While much of the negotiations at the UN climate change meet in Bonn (28 March to 8 April) centred around targets for reducing carbon dioxide emissions - mainly, but by no means exclusively by industrial countries, and funding developing countries to follow suit - the transfer of energy-efficient technologies was also hotly debated.
This follows in the wake of the negotiations in Bali in 2007, where developing countries, among some 190 present, agreed to take "nationally appropriate" mitigation actions in the context of sustainable development, supported and enabled by technology, financing and capacity-building, in a "measurable, reportable and verifiable" manner. The proviso was that such actions would take into account "differences in their national circumstances".
In Bonn, Greenpeace called for developing countries to reduce their projected emissions by 15-30 per cent by 2020, with support from industrialised countries. As it stated: "Countries in this group range from the very poor nations which have scarcely contributed to climate change, to those that are richer than some industrialised countries and clearly cannot all be treated the same. In order to be fair, the level of action should be based on a country's historical responsibility for emissions and its capability and potential."
After eight years in the wilderness, the US - which has not signed the Kyoto Protocol which expires in 2012 and will be renegotiated in Copenhagen this December - has returned to the table. President Obama's Special Envoy on Climate Change (India's equivalent is Shyam Saran), Todd Stern made no secret of his country's continuing antipathy to the Kyoto Protocol, which does not require developing countries to commit to reducing their energy emissions. Stern is a Washington lawyer who was a former Clinton While House official.
"We all have to do this together," he told the Bonn conference. "We don't have a magic wand. I don't think anybody should be thinking that the US can ride on a white horse and make it all work ... Let me speak frankly here: it is in no one's interest to repeat the experience of Kyoto by delivering an agreement that won't gain sufficient support at home [in the US] ... Too much time has been lost in sterile debates ... America itself cannot provide the solution, but there is no solution without America."
He also thought that the development challenge was making sure that developing countries have the opportunity to follow a cleaner path forward. "I like to tell the story that earlier this decade, India had only about 55 million people with phone service, but, rather than insist on following the industrialised countries' path of wired service, India leap-frogged to cell phones, with the result that a few years later 350 million Indians have phones. We need a similar leap-frogging of fossil fuels in the world of energy."
India itself, however, said that industrialised countries presented five problems. They ignored their historical responsibility; made unsubstantiated projections of likely future emissions from the developing world; created new categories such as 'more advanced developing countries' [including China, India and Brazil]; demanded that developing countries should deliver low carbon pathways without enabling financial, technological and capacity-building support; and drew unsubstantiated marginal abatement cost curves that showed large low cost abatement options even in the bottom 50 per cent of the world, which includes India, that has negligible historical responsibility and together accounts for only 11 per cent of the current carbon dioxide emissions.
The problem is that energy-efficient technologies are by no means cost-free, and developed countries - which have caused global warming in the first place - haven't put their money where their collective mouths are, despite repeated promises to this effect. In Bonn, developing countries called for relaxation of patents on climate-friendly technologies and products. India, in fact, stressed the need for removing barriers to technology transfer, including a "restructuring of the global Intellectual Property Rights regime".
Shyam Saran specifically referred to India's proposal that the UN climate control regime should set up "innovation centres" for research and development. During a plenary session, Dr Ajay Mathur, who heads the Bureau of Energy Efficiency in Delhi, cited an instance of such potential cooperation by holding up India's first commercially available LED (light emitting diodes) bulb, which had been launched by Crompton Greaves in Pune on 28 March. As Dr Mathur said, "It produces as much light as a 40 Watt incandescent bulb or an 8 Watt CFL (compact fluorescent). This has been introduced by an Indian company, which has entered into an agreement with the Dutch company which designed this LED bulb.
"The engineering and manufacturing of this bulb has been carried out in India, and it is estimated that if all Indians were to replace one incandescent bulb with this bulb, it would save 56 billion kWh of electricity, and 44 million tonnes of CO2 emissions, which would be equal to planting 140 million trees.
"The problem is that this LED bulb costs $24 [Rs.1200], compared to $0.30 for a 40 Watt incandescent bulb. We will, of course, encourage the aggressive adoption of this technology, but it will be limited unless supported by a global regime for the accelerated adoption of climate-friendly technologies. We believe that a network of climate innovation centres would be an effective way to achieve this goal."
Dr Mathur told India Together that while the capital cost of the Pharox bulb was high, it had a five-year warranty. It had a life of 50,000 hours, as against a life of only a fifth of this for a CFL. Even CFL bulbs cost Rs.1000 when they were first introduced. The glass bulb has been manufactured in Firozabad, which is a traditional glass industry centre. Such technology could earn carbon credits because of its low consumption of energy.
Although the Kyoto Protocol ends in 2012, the EU has till 2015 to purchase carbon credits, which may not exist after then. In the current financial meltdown, the price of Certified Emission Reductions or CERs - the traded cost of reducing a tonne of carbon dioxide - has dropped in the international carbon market but should stabilise in the long term at around 8 Euros, which would work in such a deal without grants or subsidies. "We are working on upscaling this technology even without international support," Dr Mathur said. "The only way to reduce our emissions by half is by the massive transfer of technologies."
India's innovation centres were required for developing such products and also marketing them - virtually creating markets in some instances. The Electricity Act here didn't permit private operators to generate power but there was a huge opportunity for decentralised energy systems to provide electricity and cooking fuel to some 700 million Indians who had to make do without these two basic necessities. For cooking fuel, biomass, which is widely available in rural areas, would be energy-efficient and received a 60 per cent subsidy.
The Bush administration and Obama's too have preferred entering into bilateral environmental agreements with India and China instead of committing to international treaties. Thus Bush had launched the Asia-Pacific Partnership for Clean Development and Climate, with Australia, China, India, Japan and South Korea. At the end of the Bonn conference, the US Deputy Special Envoy on Climate, Dr Jonathan Pershing, told Indian reporters that senior US and Indian officials and businessmen were meeting each other and that there was "enormous support" to facilitate such opportunities.
Flaring landfill gas
For example, according to America.gov, the official website, U.S. and Indian organizations are exploring ways to use methane gas from Indian landfills for fuel, heating and electricity with the Mumbai office of the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, NEERI. Landfills, decomposing food and paper release gas, including methane gas, which is 23 times worse in trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Methane is also the primary component of natural gas, used as a fuel and energy source.
The trick is to capture the methane before it leaves the landfill and escapes into the atmosphere so that its energy can be harnessed for positive uses," Joe Zietsman, project manager of one Indian landfill investigation, told America.gov. Zietsman is director of the Center for Air Quality Studies at the Texas Transportation Institute, which is part of Texas A&M University.
Zietsman's group is leading a study in Mumbai to investigate the feasibility of converting landfill gas to vehicle fuel or energy sources. Other partners in the study include NEERI, the Texas State Energy Office and Mack Trucks Inc. The investigations are funded by EPA as part of the agency's Methane to Markets partnership - an international initiative advancing cost-effective methane recovery and use as a clean energy source. (See "International Partners Reduce Methane Greenhouse Gas Emissions").
"India is one of 27 partner governments, plus the European Commission, who have joined the partnership to voluntarily reduce methane emissions," Rachel Goldstein, EPA team leader for the landfill methane outreach program, told America.gov. According to Kumar, operating vehicles with LNG would reduce vehicular emissions considerably. This option "could be more relevant for cities like Mumbai, which has a large population and generates about 6,000 tonnes of waste per day."
EPA's Goldstein said the next step "is for each municipality running a landfill to assess their options," including estimating the revenue anticipated from generating electricity and selling the gas. For one Mumbai landfill, the choice has been made. "The Gorai dumpsite will soon be the first landfill in India, as far as we know, to begin flaring landfill gas, when this begins at the end of April," Goldstein said. Worldwide, millions of tonnes of municipal solid waste are discarded daily into sanitary landfills and dumpsites. Landfills are the third-largest human-induced source of methane gas, accounting for about 12 per cent of global emissions.
Developing countries wary
One reason why India and other developing countries may be wary of such deals is that after such technologies are demonstrated on the ground, they may be commercially exploited in the international market. In other words, such pilot projects may be testing grounds to see how this know-how works in tropical conditions. By entering into such deals, the US may seek to avoid parting with patented technologies under a global climate regime.
It has, for example, been pursuing the "carbon capture and sequestration" method of scrubbing carbon dioxide from the chimneys of coal-fired power plants, which would reduce the emissions by up to 80-90%. This carbon dioxide can then be buried deep in the earth or in storage tanks in ocean beds. However, this is extremely expensive and untested technology, which however could conceivably be cost-effective in the long run when the cost of reducing a tonne of carbon rises prohibitively. But right now, there are a range of existing technologies which would help developing countries, but industrial nations have shown extreme reluctance to part with them without a fee
Darryl D'Monte
This follows in the wake of the negotiations in Bali in 2007, where developing countries, among some 190 present, agreed to take "nationally appropriate" mitigation actions in the context of sustainable development, supported and enabled by technology, financing and capacity-building, in a "measurable, reportable and verifiable" manner. The proviso was that such actions would take into account "differences in their national circumstances".
In Bonn, Greenpeace called for developing countries to reduce their projected emissions by 15-30 per cent by 2020, with support from industrialised countries. As it stated: "Countries in this group range from the very poor nations which have scarcely contributed to climate change, to those that are richer than some industrialised countries and clearly cannot all be treated the same. In order to be fair, the level of action should be based on a country's historical responsibility for emissions and its capability and potential."
After eight years in the wilderness, the US - which has not signed the Kyoto Protocol which expires in 2012 and will be renegotiated in Copenhagen this December - has returned to the table. President Obama's Special Envoy on Climate Change (India's equivalent is Shyam Saran), Todd Stern made no secret of his country's continuing antipathy to the Kyoto Protocol, which does not require developing countries to commit to reducing their energy emissions. Stern is a Washington lawyer who was a former Clinton While House official.
"We all have to do this together," he told the Bonn conference. "We don't have a magic wand. I don't think anybody should be thinking that the US can ride on a white horse and make it all work ... Let me speak frankly here: it is in no one's interest to repeat the experience of Kyoto by delivering an agreement that won't gain sufficient support at home [in the US] ... Too much time has been lost in sterile debates ... America itself cannot provide the solution, but there is no solution without America."
He also thought that the development challenge was making sure that developing countries have the opportunity to follow a cleaner path forward. "I like to tell the story that earlier this decade, India had only about 55 million people with phone service, but, rather than insist on following the industrialised countries' path of wired service, India leap-frogged to cell phones, with the result that a few years later 350 million Indians have phones. We need a similar leap-frogging of fossil fuels in the world of energy."
India itself, however, said that industrialised countries presented five problems. They ignored their historical responsibility; made unsubstantiated projections of likely future emissions from the developing world; created new categories such as 'more advanced developing countries' [including China, India and Brazil]; demanded that developing countries should deliver low carbon pathways without enabling financial, technological and capacity-building support; and drew unsubstantiated marginal abatement cost curves that showed large low cost abatement options even in the bottom 50 per cent of the world, which includes India, that has negligible historical responsibility and together accounts for only 11 per cent of the current carbon dioxide emissions.
The problem is that energy-efficient technologies are by no means cost-free, and developed countries - which have caused global warming in the first place - haven't put their money where their collective mouths are, despite repeated promises to this effect. In Bonn, developing countries called for relaxation of patents on climate-friendly technologies and products. India, in fact, stressed the need for removing barriers to technology transfer, including a "restructuring of the global Intellectual Property Rights regime".
Shyam Saran specifically referred to India's proposal that the UN climate control regime should set up "innovation centres" for research and development. During a plenary session, Dr Ajay Mathur, who heads the Bureau of Energy Efficiency in Delhi, cited an instance of such potential cooperation by holding up India's first commercially available LED (light emitting diodes) bulb, which had been launched by Crompton Greaves in Pune on 28 March. As Dr Mathur said, "It produces as much light as a 40 Watt incandescent bulb or an 8 Watt CFL (compact fluorescent). This has been introduced by an Indian company, which has entered into an agreement with the Dutch company which designed this LED bulb.
"The engineering and manufacturing of this bulb has been carried out in India, and it is estimated that if all Indians were to replace one incandescent bulb with this bulb, it would save 56 billion kWh of electricity, and 44 million tonnes of CO2 emissions, which would be equal to planting 140 million trees.
"The problem is that this LED bulb costs $24 [Rs.1200], compared to $0.30 for a 40 Watt incandescent bulb. We will, of course, encourage the aggressive adoption of this technology, but it will be limited unless supported by a global regime for the accelerated adoption of climate-friendly technologies. We believe that a network of climate innovation centres would be an effective way to achieve this goal."
Dr Mathur told India Together that while the capital cost of the Pharox bulb was high, it had a five-year warranty. It had a life of 50,000 hours, as against a life of only a fifth of this for a CFL. Even CFL bulbs cost Rs.1000 when they were first introduced. The glass bulb has been manufactured in Firozabad, which is a traditional glass industry centre. Such technology could earn carbon credits because of its low consumption of energy.
Although the Kyoto Protocol ends in 2012, the EU has till 2015 to purchase carbon credits, which may not exist after then. In the current financial meltdown, the price of Certified Emission Reductions or CERs - the traded cost of reducing a tonne of carbon dioxide - has dropped in the international carbon market but should stabilise in the long term at around 8 Euros, which would work in such a deal without grants or subsidies. "We are working on upscaling this technology even without international support," Dr Mathur said. "The only way to reduce our emissions by half is by the massive transfer of technologies."
India's innovation centres were required for developing such products and also marketing them - virtually creating markets in some instances. The Electricity Act here didn't permit private operators to generate power but there was a huge opportunity for decentralised energy systems to provide electricity and cooking fuel to some 700 million Indians who had to make do without these two basic necessities. For cooking fuel, biomass, which is widely available in rural areas, would be energy-efficient and received a 60 per cent subsidy.
The Bush administration and Obama's too have preferred entering into bilateral environmental agreements with India and China instead of committing to international treaties. Thus Bush had launched the Asia-Pacific Partnership for Clean Development and Climate, with Australia, China, India, Japan and South Korea. At the end of the Bonn conference, the US Deputy Special Envoy on Climate, Dr Jonathan Pershing, told Indian reporters that senior US and Indian officials and businessmen were meeting each other and that there was "enormous support" to facilitate such opportunities.
Flaring landfill gas
For example, according to America.gov, the official website, U.S. and Indian organizations are exploring ways to use methane gas from Indian landfills for fuel, heating and electricity with the Mumbai office of the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, NEERI. Landfills, decomposing food and paper release gas, including methane gas, which is 23 times worse in trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Methane is also the primary component of natural gas, used as a fuel and energy source.
The trick is to capture the methane before it leaves the landfill and escapes into the atmosphere so that its energy can be harnessed for positive uses," Joe Zietsman, project manager of one Indian landfill investigation, told America.gov. Zietsman is director of the Center for Air Quality Studies at the Texas Transportation Institute, which is part of Texas A&M University.
Zietsman's group is leading a study in Mumbai to investigate the feasibility of converting landfill gas to vehicle fuel or energy sources. Other partners in the study include NEERI, the Texas State Energy Office and Mack Trucks Inc. The investigations are funded by EPA as part of the agency's Methane to Markets partnership - an international initiative advancing cost-effective methane recovery and use as a clean energy source. (See "International Partners Reduce Methane Greenhouse Gas Emissions").
"India is one of 27 partner governments, plus the European Commission, who have joined the partnership to voluntarily reduce methane emissions," Rachel Goldstein, EPA team leader for the landfill methane outreach program, told America.gov. According to Kumar, operating vehicles with LNG would reduce vehicular emissions considerably. This option "could be more relevant for cities like Mumbai, which has a large population and generates about 6,000 tonnes of waste per day."
EPA's Goldstein said the next step "is for each municipality running a landfill to assess their options," including estimating the revenue anticipated from generating electricity and selling the gas. For one Mumbai landfill, the choice has been made. "The Gorai dumpsite will soon be the first landfill in India, as far as we know, to begin flaring landfill gas, when this begins at the end of April," Goldstein said. Worldwide, millions of tonnes of municipal solid waste are discarded daily into sanitary landfills and dumpsites. Landfills are the third-largest human-induced source of methane gas, accounting for about 12 per cent of global emissions.
Developing countries wary
One reason why India and other developing countries may be wary of such deals is that after such technologies are demonstrated on the ground, they may be commercially exploited in the international market. In other words, such pilot projects may be testing grounds to see how this know-how works in tropical conditions. By entering into such deals, the US may seek to avoid parting with patented technologies under a global climate regime.
It has, for example, been pursuing the "carbon capture and sequestration" method of scrubbing carbon dioxide from the chimneys of coal-fired power plants, which would reduce the emissions by up to 80-90%. This carbon dioxide can then be buried deep in the earth or in storage tanks in ocean beds. However, this is extremely expensive and untested technology, which however could conceivably be cost-effective in the long run when the cost of reducing a tonne of carbon rises prohibitively. But right now, there are a range of existing technologies which would help developing countries, but industrial nations have shown extreme reluctance to part with them without a fee
Darryl D'Monte
Winning the battle against poaching
Policing protected areas (PAs) means scanning through every centimetre of wildlife habitat: checking every tree, shrub, branch, leaf and twig for rope snares and preventing smuggling of all kinds of forest produce: be they timber, animals or products. Policing implies patrols to scan through every centimetre of soil to check for foot traps, and to peer through every water body, rock, crevice and cliff to protect the roaming wildlife 24X7X365.
“One is proper surveillance network has to be established; secondly people residing in the core and periphery must cooperate with field staff, collection of evidence is tedious because material decomposes after a while, scattered evidence might not be easy to connect to poaching case in question” says P S Somashekar, the field director of the Sariska Tiger reserve.
Protection of forest wealth calls for effective roster systems of patrol duty, accountable staff, state of the art equipment, latest communication facilities, intelligence gathering, and rewarding informers, providing incentives to committed personnel, foolproof investigations, effective enforcement and prosecution, and sealing borders to prevent smuggling of wildlife derivatives.
The reality: poor working conditions, low budgets
India’s forest staff operate in appalling working conditions: Guards use open toed footwear, they lack simple facilities like torch… jeep, wireless sets or gun. When they are posted in anti poaching camps in the desolate interiors of the forests, they lack both sanitation and protection against elements and wildlife. Forest guards often get their salary in arrears, and they live far away from their families. Forest officers rue that there is no foolproof system in place.
There is atleast a 50 per cent vacancy; trained personnel need to be recruited in all the PAs in the country. Those in service are aged, lacking motivation. Each guard gets Rs. 350 per month (apart from salary) as project allowance in Tiger Reserves, not in other PAs; commuting from their dwelling quarters to remote stations in the tiger reserves is onerous. “Maintaining their families in two areas is virtually impossible” says Manoj Kumar the Deputy Conservator of Forests at the Dandeli Anshi Tiger Reserve.
The budget for patrolling the Corbett Tiger Reserve last year was a measly Rs 60,000 per annum! With that meager amount, the former field director of the Reserve - Rajeev Bhartari had to quite literally indulge in fire fighting: motivate the anti poaching staff, maintain the watch towers every few hundred square metres, compensate the anti poaching staff, prevent outbreak of forest fires, maintain patrol fleet and rations in the anti poaching camps, and administer 24X7 vigil.
Perceptively, the forest department has employed locals for foot patrol and offers them food rations, nutrition supplements, livelihood options in return for their vigilance inside the Protected Area. “In a footnote to the tragedy in Sariska, Corbett has proven that policing can be effective if there is will and direction in the management” says Bhartari, now deputy director in the Uttaranchal Tourism department.
“In reserves where protection comprising foot patrols, permanent anti poaching camps at strategic locations alongwith mobile patrols are active 24X7X365, poaching activities can be controlled”, agrees Praveen Bharghav of the Wildlife First. “It is not only realistic but essential to employ local people with jungle skills in wildlife protection work… The prevailing recruitment rules of the forest department emphasize scholastic learning over jungle craft and local origin, which does not facilitate hiring them except as temporary labourers. This is unfortunate and needs to change” says Ullas Karanth, wildlife biologist of the Wildlife Conservation Society.
That the tiger is at the head of biodiversity is quantified by the documented crimes against wild boars, peacocks, hyenas, Sambhars, crocodiles, jungle cats, palm civets, mongoose, panthers, hares and jackals, in more than 75 wildlife crime cases booked in Sariska alone between 2002 and 2005. Bio piracy of insects, butterflies and leeches by well equipped and well informed foreign researchers is going on unchecked; legally - customs officials cannot check outbound goods, - thus, bio piracy is not even discovered much less prosecuted in India. Policing is even more challenging when it comes to protection of the minute faunal spectrum under the tiger’s stride.
Bemoaning the inefficacy of policing, a senior forest official in Rajasthan, speaking on condition of anonymity, attributes a series of errors causing the inevitable Sariska fiasco. “During the peak of the poaching in Sariska in summer and monsoon months of 2004 the entire staff went on French leave; the system collapsed not top down but from bottom up. We need to address the problems of the staff: inadequate compensation and training, low motivation, and infrastructure”.
There is also the original human-tiger conflict issue that impacts the value of policing. (See other articles in this series). On the 1st of September 2008, villagers of Chaan village on the periphery of the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve poisoned the carcass of the cow killed by a tigress; the tigress died. What kind of policing can possibly prevent anthropogenic conflict? “Wherever half eaten carcasses of livestock because of carnivore depredation are reported, such carcasses should be incinerated in the presence of a gazetted officer to eliminate the possibility of poisoning for revenge killing by local people” according to the Guidelines for preparation of Tiger Conservation Plan.
“It is only by sterilising Protected Areas inviolate can we protect the wildlife. I fully agree that people are alienated but the problems of the periphery villagers have to be addressed” says the senior forest officer.
Prosecuting poachers
The Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI) says it is aware of 10 tiger cases in which the accused were convicted.
One of the prominent and recent convictions is that of Sansar Chand. Chand is the most notorious wildlife trader in India having to his dubious distinction more than 45 cases filed by the forest and police departments in many states in India. He came out of prison in May 2004 by submitting fake medical certificates, and it is widely believed that he hired villagers in and around Sariska to vengefully kill all the 22 tigers in the monsoon months of that year.
Sansar Chand was convicted for 5 years and a fine of Rs. 60,000 was levied by additional chief judicial magistrate (Railways) Ajmer. Chand served the sentence in the Ajmer jail till his 1st February 2008. He is serving term in another case in Jaipur Jail presently.
Sharing the political will that helped successful prosecution of Chand, the then Superintendent of Police of the Government Railway Police in Ajmer Rajasthan, Hemant Priyadarshi who is presently DIG CBI, in Bhopal, says “once involvement of Sansar Chand in this case became known, we put this case on highest priority, collected previous criminal record against Sansar Chand, and opposed any move for anticipatory bail right upto the Supreme Court”. Priyadarshi’s team went the extra mile to collect chain of evidence to prove to the court the import of the arrest of Chand.
Other recent wildlife conviction cases, according to the WPSI, are as follows:
October 2008: 20 persons were convicted to 3 years RI and Rs 10,000 fine in connection with lions poaching in Gir National Park on March and April 2007.October 2008: 1 person convicted to 3 years imprisonment, 2nd person to 1 and a half month and third person to two and a half months imprisonment for electrocuting lions in Gir. September 2008: 1 Czech national sentenced to 3 years imprisonment in connection with butterfly smuggling in the Singalila National Park in Darjeeling. July 2008: 1 person was convicted to 3 years RI and Rs 10,000 fine in Haridwar in connection with leopard bone smuggling.
Foolproof policing means administrative cohesion, transparent jurisprudence, effective prosecution, a sound land use policy, pooling intelligence, effective customs controls, inviolate protected areas, and a responsible civil society that rejects wildlife derivatives. Necessary infrastructure include state of the art equipment, all-terrain jeeps and boats, helicopter gunships, legal immunity for dutiful personnel, adequate fuel supply, wireless sets and satellite phones, binoculars, intelligence network, training, forensic skills, accountability, liaison with Interpol and scientific monitoring of data.
Lastly, media scrutiny of effective enforcement and successful prosecution serves the purpose of deterrence. All of these can be telling only if enforcement and prosecution serve as the deterrent it is meant to be. Media scrutiny is critically significant. Only a democratic ethos affords this kind of an elaborate institutional support, even as it, ironically, also offers rights to people charged with wildlife crime
“One is proper surveillance network has to be established; secondly people residing in the core and periphery must cooperate with field staff, collection of evidence is tedious because material decomposes after a while, scattered evidence might not be easy to connect to poaching case in question” says P S Somashekar, the field director of the Sariska Tiger reserve.
Protection of forest wealth calls for effective roster systems of patrol duty, accountable staff, state of the art equipment, latest communication facilities, intelligence gathering, and rewarding informers, providing incentives to committed personnel, foolproof investigations, effective enforcement and prosecution, and sealing borders to prevent smuggling of wildlife derivatives.
The reality: poor working conditions, low budgets
India’s forest staff operate in appalling working conditions: Guards use open toed footwear, they lack simple facilities like torch… jeep, wireless sets or gun. When they are posted in anti poaching camps in the desolate interiors of the forests, they lack both sanitation and protection against elements and wildlife. Forest guards often get their salary in arrears, and they live far away from their families. Forest officers rue that there is no foolproof system in place.
There is atleast a 50 per cent vacancy; trained personnel need to be recruited in all the PAs in the country. Those in service are aged, lacking motivation. Each guard gets Rs. 350 per month (apart from salary) as project allowance in Tiger Reserves, not in other PAs; commuting from their dwelling quarters to remote stations in the tiger reserves is onerous. “Maintaining their families in two areas is virtually impossible” says Manoj Kumar the Deputy Conservator of Forests at the Dandeli Anshi Tiger Reserve.
The budget for patrolling the Corbett Tiger Reserve last year was a measly Rs 60,000 per annum! With that meager amount, the former field director of the Reserve - Rajeev Bhartari had to quite literally indulge in fire fighting: motivate the anti poaching staff, maintain the watch towers every few hundred square metres, compensate the anti poaching staff, prevent outbreak of forest fires, maintain patrol fleet and rations in the anti poaching camps, and administer 24X7 vigil.
Perceptively, the forest department has employed locals for foot patrol and offers them food rations, nutrition supplements, livelihood options in return for their vigilance inside the Protected Area. “In a footnote to the tragedy in Sariska, Corbett has proven that policing can be effective if there is will and direction in the management” says Bhartari, now deputy director in the Uttaranchal Tourism department.
“In reserves where protection comprising foot patrols, permanent anti poaching camps at strategic locations alongwith mobile patrols are active 24X7X365, poaching activities can be controlled”, agrees Praveen Bharghav of the Wildlife First. “It is not only realistic but essential to employ local people with jungle skills in wildlife protection work… The prevailing recruitment rules of the forest department emphasize scholastic learning over jungle craft and local origin, which does not facilitate hiring them except as temporary labourers. This is unfortunate and needs to change” says Ullas Karanth, wildlife biologist of the Wildlife Conservation Society.
That the tiger is at the head of biodiversity is quantified by the documented crimes against wild boars, peacocks, hyenas, Sambhars, crocodiles, jungle cats, palm civets, mongoose, panthers, hares and jackals, in more than 75 wildlife crime cases booked in Sariska alone between 2002 and 2005. Bio piracy of insects, butterflies and leeches by well equipped and well informed foreign researchers is going on unchecked; legally - customs officials cannot check outbound goods, - thus, bio piracy is not even discovered much less prosecuted in India. Policing is even more challenging when it comes to protection of the minute faunal spectrum under the tiger’s stride.
Bemoaning the inefficacy of policing, a senior forest official in Rajasthan, speaking on condition of anonymity, attributes a series of errors causing the inevitable Sariska fiasco. “During the peak of the poaching in Sariska in summer and monsoon months of 2004 the entire staff went on French leave; the system collapsed not top down but from bottom up. We need to address the problems of the staff: inadequate compensation and training, low motivation, and infrastructure”.
There is also the original human-tiger conflict issue that impacts the value of policing. (See other articles in this series). On the 1st of September 2008, villagers of Chaan village on the periphery of the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve poisoned the carcass of the cow killed by a tigress; the tigress died. What kind of policing can possibly prevent anthropogenic conflict? “Wherever half eaten carcasses of livestock because of carnivore depredation are reported, such carcasses should be incinerated in the presence of a gazetted officer to eliminate the possibility of poisoning for revenge killing by local people” according to the Guidelines for preparation of Tiger Conservation Plan.
“It is only by sterilising Protected Areas inviolate can we protect the wildlife. I fully agree that people are alienated but the problems of the periphery villagers have to be addressed” says the senior forest officer.
Prosecuting poachers
The Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI) says it is aware of 10 tiger cases in which the accused were convicted.
One of the prominent and recent convictions is that of Sansar Chand. Chand is the most notorious wildlife trader in India having to his dubious distinction more than 45 cases filed by the forest and police departments in many states in India. He came out of prison in May 2004 by submitting fake medical certificates, and it is widely believed that he hired villagers in and around Sariska to vengefully kill all the 22 tigers in the monsoon months of that year.
Sansar Chand was convicted for 5 years and a fine of Rs. 60,000 was levied by additional chief judicial magistrate (Railways) Ajmer. Chand served the sentence in the Ajmer jail till his 1st February 2008. He is serving term in another case in Jaipur Jail presently.
Sharing the political will that helped successful prosecution of Chand, the then Superintendent of Police of the Government Railway Police in Ajmer Rajasthan, Hemant Priyadarshi who is presently DIG CBI, in Bhopal, says “once involvement of Sansar Chand in this case became known, we put this case on highest priority, collected previous criminal record against Sansar Chand, and opposed any move for anticipatory bail right upto the Supreme Court”. Priyadarshi’s team went the extra mile to collect chain of evidence to prove to the court the import of the arrest of Chand.
Other recent wildlife conviction cases, according to the WPSI, are as follows:
October 2008: 20 persons were convicted to 3 years RI and Rs 10,000 fine in connection with lions poaching in Gir National Park on March and April 2007.October 2008: 1 person convicted to 3 years imprisonment, 2nd person to 1 and a half month and third person to two and a half months imprisonment for electrocuting lions in Gir. September 2008: 1 Czech national sentenced to 3 years imprisonment in connection with butterfly smuggling in the Singalila National Park in Darjeeling. July 2008: 1 person was convicted to 3 years RI and Rs 10,000 fine in Haridwar in connection with leopard bone smuggling.
Foolproof policing means administrative cohesion, transparent jurisprudence, effective prosecution, a sound land use policy, pooling intelligence, effective customs controls, inviolate protected areas, and a responsible civil society that rejects wildlife derivatives. Necessary infrastructure include state of the art equipment, all-terrain jeeps and boats, helicopter gunships, legal immunity for dutiful personnel, adequate fuel supply, wireless sets and satellite phones, binoculars, intelligence network, training, forensic skills, accountability, liaison with Interpol and scientific monitoring of data.
Lastly, media scrutiny of effective enforcement and successful prosecution serves the purpose of deterrence. All of these can be telling only if enforcement and prosecution serve as the deterrent it is meant to be. Media scrutiny is critically significant. Only a democratic ethos affords this kind of an elaborate institutional support, even as it, ironically, also offers rights to people charged with wildlife crime
Panipat power plant pollutes with impunity
In early January last year, The Indian Express had reported on the health hazards caused by Haryana Power Generation Corporation (HPGC) owned Panipat thermal plant. The story stated that at least one person in each family living in nearby Khukhrana village suffered either from skin diseases or respiratory ailment thanks to air and water pollution caused by thermal power plant. HPGC is a public sector undertaking under Haryana state government, formerly the Haryana State Electricity Board.
A year later, in February 2009, the latest Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) audit report that contains a detailed performance audit of the plant. It records how Panipat Thermal power station failed to monitor pollution levels and failed to ensure compliance of norms. Scrutiny of the records of Panipat Thermal power station with regard to environmental safeguards and pollution control and monitoring found a plethora of issues:
- Deficiency in keeping the concentration of Suspended Particulate Matter [SPM] and Particulate Matter [PM] under the prescribed limit.- Failure in disposal of 10-12 dumps of mill reject coal that caused frequent fire hazards, an abysmally poor disposal of fly ash produced during 2003-’08 even after lapse of more than eight years. - Failed to develop green belt by the extent of 60 per cent compared to what it committed and targeted for.
The concentration of SPM in ambient air
The concentration of SPM in ambient air, as prescribed by Ministry of Environment and Forests [MoEF] in April 1996 should have been maximum of 500 micrograms per cubic metre. However, the scrutiny of records found that during October 2006 to March 2007 – except during March and July 2007 – concentration of SPM ranged between 600 to 1494 micrograms per cubic metre.
The CAG has indicted the company for having failed to take effective measures to control the concentration of SPM. This could be done by regular tuning of electrostatic precipitators, proper stacking of crushed coal, proper dumping/disposal of mill rejected coal and making sprinklers functional in coal handling areas.
Further the audit scrutiny noticed that the authorities had failed to provide online monitoring system to record SPM levels in Units I to V. The online monitoring system provided in unit VI was not in working condition and the company was getting monitoring done through outsourcing on a year to year basis, although to provide online monitoring system to record SPM levels is mandatory for thermal power station as per existing environmental governance under Environment Protection Act, 1986.
After this deficiency was pointed out by CAG auditors, the HPGC management responded in August 2008 with this: “..efforts are being made to control the concentration of SPM in ambient air and online monitoring system is being introduced”. HPGC's chairman is Ashok Lavasa, and Managing Director is Sanjeev Kaushal.
The concentration of PM
The concentration of PM for thermal power plant should have been maximum of 150 mg per Nm3 (Nm3 is a measure of volume, normal cubic metre, under specific conditions of temperature and pressure), as prescribed by MoEF in May 1993. However, it was found in the audit scrutiny that the PM level of stack emission of units I to IV was higher than the prescribed limit since June 2006 (except in units I and II during August 2006 and for unit II during March 2008) which ranged between 157 and 1276 mg and was the highest at 570 mg in units I and II during April 2007 and 1276 mg in units II and IV in January 2007.
In October 2007, Central Electricity Authority had communicated to authorities its concern over excessive PM level in the stack emission and advised the company to initiate remedial measures to bring down the PM level at stack to or below the prescribed norm
The CAG audit report for the year ending March 31, 2008 also notes that the PM level had not been brought under control till March 2008 and even to this finding the response of authorities in August 2008 was identical, “Unit I is under renovation and modernisation and efforts are being made to bring down the PM level of units III and IV”.
The use of present continuous tense in the language of these replies – ‘being made’, ‘being introduced’ – is a giveaway, in the light of the CAG findings. The plant managers have failed to keep pollution under legally enforceable prescribed limits.
Dumps of mill reject coal not disposed
But this is not all. The CAG audit notes that representatives of MoEF, Chandigarh and CPCB, Kanpur during their visit in October 2007 had observed 10-12 dumps of mill reject coal lying around which caused regular fire hazards and asked plant authorities at HPGC to dispose them. However, not only did authorities failed to dispose those dumps, the mill reject coal had accumulated to 2.04 lakh MT as on March 31, 2008.
Not only this, CAG report shockingly notes that mill reject coal was even used for generation at times!
To this observation, plant management replied in August 2008 stating that sale order for disposal of mill reject coal of unit V had been issued and for disposal in remaining units, tenders had been floated. However, this audit findings leaves one wondering whether representatives of MoEF, Chandigarh and CPCB, Kanpur during their visit in October 2007 looked into the SPM level in ambient air and PM level in the stack emission and had there been any follow up on their observation and advise on the matter of disposal of mill reject coal between October 2007 and March 2008.
Similarly, one wonders whether CEA followed up on what action was taken up by plant authorities after its communication in October 2007.
Abysmally poor record on disposal of fly ash
MoEF had notified in September 1999 that brick kilns within a radius of 50 kms around thermal power plant (by a revision in August 2003 this was enhanced to 100 kms radius) would use at least 25 per cent of coal ash on weight to weight basis and thermal power plants were asked to submit an action plan to the Central/State Pollution Control Board and regional office of MoEF by March 2000 for full utilisation of the ash within a period of nine years. Audit scrutiny found that the said report has not been submitted as of March 2008. Audit of the records of ash produced and disposed during 2003-’08 revealed that the disposal of ash ranged from 1.80 per cent to 11.26 per cent indicating lack of efforts by the authorities.
To this observation, management replied in August 2008 stating that dry fly ash evacuation system was in the process of installation. Again, note the use if the language ‘in the process of’.
Merely 40 per cent plantation in ‘green belt’
MoEF had asked the authorities in August 2002 to develop green belt on 44 hectares of land. The audit scrutiny revealed that it took the company 20 months to come out with a scheme of development of green belt [May 2004] in next three year getting 153 thousand [1.53 lakh] trees planted and raised by forest department by spending Rs.1.59 crores. Although the estimated cost was revised to Rs 1.95 crore subsequently, the forest dept could plant just 61,245 trees upto August 2007, there by submitting utilisation certificates for Rs.1.01 crores, as against the advance worth Rs.1.10 crores released to it by the company.
Thus, even after the expiry of three years, the plantation coverage stood only at 40.03 percent. The audit report doesn’t give details on field visit observation of the said green belt and survival rates of plantation.
Let us go back to what the one-year-old news item ended with. It had stated, “Fed up with lackadaisical attitude of Haryana government and the district administration to the problem, the villagers have formed a Gaon Sudhar Samiti to fight a legal battle in the Punjab and Haryana High Court”. It is not clear whether a legal petition has been filed in courts, but can one hope that the judiciary will take suo moto cognizance of this indictment of Panipat thermal power plant.
A year later, in February 2009, the latest Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) audit report that contains a detailed performance audit of the plant. It records how Panipat Thermal power station failed to monitor pollution levels and failed to ensure compliance of norms. Scrutiny of the records of Panipat Thermal power station with regard to environmental safeguards and pollution control and monitoring found a plethora of issues:
- Deficiency in keeping the concentration of Suspended Particulate Matter [SPM] and Particulate Matter [PM] under the prescribed limit.- Failure in disposal of 10-12 dumps of mill reject coal that caused frequent fire hazards, an abysmally poor disposal of fly ash produced during 2003-’08 even after lapse of more than eight years. - Failed to develop green belt by the extent of 60 per cent compared to what it committed and targeted for.
The concentration of SPM in ambient air
The concentration of SPM in ambient air, as prescribed by Ministry of Environment and Forests [MoEF] in April 1996 should have been maximum of 500 micrograms per cubic metre. However, the scrutiny of records found that during October 2006 to March 2007 – except during March and July 2007 – concentration of SPM ranged between 600 to 1494 micrograms per cubic metre.
The CAG has indicted the company for having failed to take effective measures to control the concentration of SPM. This could be done by regular tuning of electrostatic precipitators, proper stacking of crushed coal, proper dumping/disposal of mill rejected coal and making sprinklers functional in coal handling areas.
Further the audit scrutiny noticed that the authorities had failed to provide online monitoring system to record SPM levels in Units I to V. The online monitoring system provided in unit VI was not in working condition and the company was getting monitoring done through outsourcing on a year to year basis, although to provide online monitoring system to record SPM levels is mandatory for thermal power station as per existing environmental governance under Environment Protection Act, 1986.
After this deficiency was pointed out by CAG auditors, the HPGC management responded in August 2008 with this: “..efforts are being made to control the concentration of SPM in ambient air and online monitoring system is being introduced”. HPGC's chairman is Ashok Lavasa, and Managing Director is Sanjeev Kaushal.
The concentration of PM
The concentration of PM for thermal power plant should have been maximum of 150 mg per Nm3 (Nm3 is a measure of volume, normal cubic metre, under specific conditions of temperature and pressure), as prescribed by MoEF in May 1993. However, it was found in the audit scrutiny that the PM level of stack emission of units I to IV was higher than the prescribed limit since June 2006 (except in units I and II during August 2006 and for unit II during March 2008) which ranged between 157 and 1276 mg and was the highest at 570 mg in units I and II during April 2007 and 1276 mg in units II and IV in January 2007.
In October 2007, Central Electricity Authority had communicated to authorities its concern over excessive PM level in the stack emission and advised the company to initiate remedial measures to bring down the PM level at stack to or below the prescribed norm
The CAG audit report for the year ending March 31, 2008 also notes that the PM level had not been brought under control till March 2008 and even to this finding the response of authorities in August 2008 was identical, “Unit I is under renovation and modernisation and efforts are being made to bring down the PM level of units III and IV”.
The use of present continuous tense in the language of these replies – ‘being made’, ‘being introduced’ – is a giveaway, in the light of the CAG findings. The plant managers have failed to keep pollution under legally enforceable prescribed limits.
Dumps of mill reject coal not disposed
But this is not all. The CAG audit notes that representatives of MoEF, Chandigarh and CPCB, Kanpur during their visit in October 2007 had observed 10-12 dumps of mill reject coal lying around which caused regular fire hazards and asked plant authorities at HPGC to dispose them. However, not only did authorities failed to dispose those dumps, the mill reject coal had accumulated to 2.04 lakh MT as on March 31, 2008.
Not only this, CAG report shockingly notes that mill reject coal was even used for generation at times!
To this observation, plant management replied in August 2008 stating that sale order for disposal of mill reject coal of unit V had been issued and for disposal in remaining units, tenders had been floated. However, this audit findings leaves one wondering whether representatives of MoEF, Chandigarh and CPCB, Kanpur during their visit in October 2007 looked into the SPM level in ambient air and PM level in the stack emission and had there been any follow up on their observation and advise on the matter of disposal of mill reject coal between October 2007 and March 2008.
Similarly, one wonders whether CEA followed up on what action was taken up by plant authorities after its communication in October 2007.
Abysmally poor record on disposal of fly ash
MoEF had notified in September 1999 that brick kilns within a radius of 50 kms around thermal power plant (by a revision in August 2003 this was enhanced to 100 kms radius) would use at least 25 per cent of coal ash on weight to weight basis and thermal power plants were asked to submit an action plan to the Central/State Pollution Control Board and regional office of MoEF by March 2000 for full utilisation of the ash within a period of nine years. Audit scrutiny found that the said report has not been submitted as of March 2008. Audit of the records of ash produced and disposed during 2003-’08 revealed that the disposal of ash ranged from 1.80 per cent to 11.26 per cent indicating lack of efforts by the authorities.
To this observation, management replied in August 2008 stating that dry fly ash evacuation system was in the process of installation. Again, note the use if the language ‘in the process of’.
Merely 40 per cent plantation in ‘green belt’
MoEF had asked the authorities in August 2002 to develop green belt on 44 hectares of land. The audit scrutiny revealed that it took the company 20 months to come out with a scheme of development of green belt [May 2004] in next three year getting 153 thousand [1.53 lakh] trees planted and raised by forest department by spending Rs.1.59 crores. Although the estimated cost was revised to Rs 1.95 crore subsequently, the forest dept could plant just 61,245 trees upto August 2007, there by submitting utilisation certificates for Rs.1.01 crores, as against the advance worth Rs.1.10 crores released to it by the company.
Thus, even after the expiry of three years, the plantation coverage stood only at 40.03 percent. The audit report doesn’t give details on field visit observation of the said green belt and survival rates of plantation.
Let us go back to what the one-year-old news item ended with. It had stated, “Fed up with lackadaisical attitude of Haryana government and the district administration to the problem, the villagers have formed a Gaon Sudhar Samiti to fight a legal battle in the Punjab and Haryana High Court”. It is not clear whether a legal petition has been filed in courts, but can one hope that the judiciary will take suo moto cognizance of this indictment of Panipat thermal power plant.
Cancer crisis, Punjab officials fiddling
A high powered committee constituted by Punjab Government on the issue of pesticides and health was scheduled to meet on 19 September at Chandigarh. The committee was to meet to take a decision regarding the high incidence of cancer and its relation with pesticides and traces of pesticides in found in human blood in Punjab. The Chief Minister, Capt. Amarinder Singh, is the chairman of this committee. The meeting was postponed to 28 September.
The committee came into being in June this year after New Delhi based Centre for Science and Environment brought out its report on abnormally high traces of pesticides in blood samples taken from villages of Talwandi Sabo block of Bathinda district. Also, an earlier study conducted by the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, and sponsored by the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) showed that the same villages were recording abnormally high numbers of cancer patients. The PPCB-PGIMER study concluded that pesticides used and detected in the Malwa region could be one of the main reasons for the high incidence of cancer there. The study itself was initiated on the personal interest of the Chief Minister Capt. Amarinder Singh, about two years back.
Apart from the state's Health Minister and Health Secretary, other members of the committee include Dr S S Johl, Vice Chairman, Punjab State Planning Board, Dr G S Kalkat, Chairman Punjab State Farmers Commission, Dr T P Rajinderan, Assistant Director General of the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR).
The postponement of the 19 September meeting is the continuation of a series. The committee has had no meeting since its inception. It's notification was issued on June 27 and the first meeting was fixed for 22 July, but this was then postponed to August. Again the meeting was postponed to 19 September, then again to the 20th, and now for the 28th. Clearly the committee does not have time to look into crisis of environmental health in Punjab.
Underlying this is a deeper cause of concern. The Health and Family Welfare Department and some experts from Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) have taken virtually a pro-pesticides stance. Soon after the CSE's results were released, a new study emerged in July from the health department which disputed the findings of the CSE study. On 25 July 2005, in a meeting of the expert group held at PGIMER, Chandigarh, the department declared that no pesticides were found in blood samples of their own survey. The department claimed it had procured 235 blood samples and tested for at least four groups of pesticides. It also appears that health department tried to create confusion about the PPCB-PGIMER study by saying that its sample size is not adequate, when the latter study had surveyed a population of 183,243.
Ironically, the same department was part of whole process during the original PPCB-PGIMER study. This study was a scientifically planned (and executed) cancer-prevalence epidemiological study in selected high pesticide-exposure geographic areas of Punjab. It's results are a clear indicator of the grave situation Punjab has fallen into. The study was reviewed periodically by a expert group which include eminent scientists. It was accepted by this group before being made public. Even a representative of the heath department had signed the report. The findings became a consensus document binding on all, including state's health department.
But the health department took a u-turn in July. The department has gone to the extent of questioning the findings of Industrial Toxicology Research Centre, Lucknow (a CSIR institute, which is the nodal centre for the UNEP sponsored Regionally-Based Assessment of Persistent Toxic Substances and also the nodal centre for the National Implementation Plan for the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants) and the Quality Control Laboratory for Processed Food, Department of Post Harvest Technology, PAU, which had done laboratory tests on behalf of PGIMER.
It is also important to note that within five days of the CSE report, the officials of the state government's Patiala laboratory had gone to the press claiming "No pesticides in human blood, urine and vegetables". The CSE study was released on 7 June 2005. By 12 June, the Chief Chemical Examiner had made his counter claim that was reported in the print media on 13 June. On the very same day the State Chemical Examiner released press statement from Chandigarh, the chairman of Agro-Chemical Promotion Group Mr Salil Singhal had also addressed a press conference refuting the CSE study's findings.
Many questions raised remain unanswered about the Patiala laboratory's counter study. First, it was done very secretively. According to the department, they study had covered four districts - Mansa, Bathinda, Faridkot and Muktsar comprising of nearly 1000 habitats and villages beside towns in just three days! It is not clear what methodology was adopted for this survey. The study methodology and results were not revealed even in the expert group meeting held at PGIMER in Chandigarh on 25 July.
Other questions: From where did they collect their samples? Did they take samples from farmers, their families and farm workers or others who had long term occupational exposure? What tests were carried out and what was the protocol followed? What instruments and equipments were used? Do they have an accredited lab for pesticide residual analysis? From available information, it is doubtful whether the Patiala laboratory is capable of undertaking this exercise. Every epidemiological study has a requisite protocol to be followed and a scientific methodology to be adopted. What systems were followed in the study? What was the study design? What was the implementation mechanism? What was the time frame? Who was the Principal Investigator?
To these and other questions, the Director of Health & Family Welfare has not given an answer. It is clear that there were no proper surveys undertaken. In the meantime, if no further postponements happen, the high powered committee chaired by the Chief Minister is scheduled to meet 28 September.
The committee came into being in June this year after New Delhi based Centre for Science and Environment brought out its report on abnormally high traces of pesticides in blood samples taken from villages of Talwandi Sabo block of Bathinda district. Also, an earlier study conducted by the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, and sponsored by the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) showed that the same villages were recording abnormally high numbers of cancer patients. The PPCB-PGIMER study concluded that pesticides used and detected in the Malwa region could be one of the main reasons for the high incidence of cancer there. The study itself was initiated on the personal interest of the Chief Minister Capt. Amarinder Singh, about two years back.
Apart from the state's Health Minister and Health Secretary, other members of the committee include Dr S S Johl, Vice Chairman, Punjab State Planning Board, Dr G S Kalkat, Chairman Punjab State Farmers Commission, Dr T P Rajinderan, Assistant Director General of the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR).
The postponement of the 19 September meeting is the continuation of a series. The committee has had no meeting since its inception. It's notification was issued on June 27 and the first meeting was fixed for 22 July, but this was then postponed to August. Again the meeting was postponed to 19 September, then again to the 20th, and now for the 28th. Clearly the committee does not have time to look into crisis of environmental health in Punjab.
Underlying this is a deeper cause of concern. The Health and Family Welfare Department and some experts from Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) have taken virtually a pro-pesticides stance. Soon after the CSE's results were released, a new study emerged in July from the health department which disputed the findings of the CSE study. On 25 July 2005, in a meeting of the expert group held at PGIMER, Chandigarh, the department declared that no pesticides were found in blood samples of their own survey. The department claimed it had procured 235 blood samples and tested for at least four groups of pesticides. It also appears that health department tried to create confusion about the PPCB-PGIMER study by saying that its sample size is not adequate, when the latter study had surveyed a population of 183,243.
Ironically, the same department was part of whole process during the original PPCB-PGIMER study. This study was a scientifically planned (and executed) cancer-prevalence epidemiological study in selected high pesticide-exposure geographic areas of Punjab. It's results are a clear indicator of the grave situation Punjab has fallen into. The study was reviewed periodically by a expert group which include eminent scientists. It was accepted by this group before being made public. Even a representative of the heath department had signed the report. The findings became a consensus document binding on all, including state's health department.
But the health department took a u-turn in July. The department has gone to the extent of questioning the findings of Industrial Toxicology Research Centre, Lucknow (a CSIR institute, which is the nodal centre for the UNEP sponsored Regionally-Based Assessment of Persistent Toxic Substances and also the nodal centre for the National Implementation Plan for the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants) and the Quality Control Laboratory for Processed Food, Department of Post Harvest Technology, PAU, which had done laboratory tests on behalf of PGIMER.
It is also important to note that within five days of the CSE report, the officials of the state government's Patiala laboratory had gone to the press claiming "No pesticides in human blood, urine and vegetables". The CSE study was released on 7 June 2005. By 12 June, the Chief Chemical Examiner had made his counter claim that was reported in the print media on 13 June. On the very same day the State Chemical Examiner released press statement from Chandigarh, the chairman of Agro-Chemical Promotion Group Mr Salil Singhal had also addressed a press conference refuting the CSE study's findings.
Many questions raised remain unanswered about the Patiala laboratory's counter study. First, it was done very secretively. According to the department, they study had covered four districts - Mansa, Bathinda, Faridkot and Muktsar comprising of nearly 1000 habitats and villages beside towns in just three days! It is not clear what methodology was adopted for this survey. The study methodology and results were not revealed even in the expert group meeting held at PGIMER in Chandigarh on 25 July.
Other questions: From where did they collect their samples? Did they take samples from farmers, their families and farm workers or others who had long term occupational exposure? What tests were carried out and what was the protocol followed? What instruments and equipments were used? Do they have an accredited lab for pesticide residual analysis? From available information, it is doubtful whether the Patiala laboratory is capable of undertaking this exercise. Every epidemiological study has a requisite protocol to be followed and a scientific methodology to be adopted. What systems were followed in the study? What was the study design? What was the implementation mechanism? What was the time frame? Who was the Principal Investigator?
To these and other questions, the Director of Health & Family Welfare has not given an answer. It is clear that there were no proper surveys undertaken. In the meantime, if no further postponements happen, the high powered committee chaired by the Chief Minister is scheduled to meet 28 September.
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