Saturday, September 26, 2009

DARWIN NOW……EXCELLENT EXHIBITION

When the world is facing with climate change. Population of the world is facing adaptation problems with climate change. Remembering the work of Darwin, the father of evolution is necessary, on his 200th anniversary of Darwin’s birth and the 150th anniversary of the publication of his book ‘The Origin of Species’.The British Council has organized exhibitionDARWIN NOW”in Hyderabad.

Darwin theory, “the survival of the fittest”, Struggle for Existence” “Natural Selection” are important and played significant role in past, present and will play significant role in future also.


Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species, published 24 November 1859, is a seminal work of scientific literature considered to be the foundation of evolutionary biology. Its full title was On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life. For the sixth edition of 1872, the short title was changed to The Origin of Species. Darwin's book introduced the theory that populations evolve over the course of generations through a process of natural selection, and presented a body of evidence that the diversity of life arose through a branching pattern of evolution and common descent. He included evidence that he had accumulated on the voyage of the Beagle in the 1830s, and his subsequent findings from research, correspondence, and experimentation.


This theory was updated in the twentieth century through the incorporation of Gregor Mendel's theory of inherited characteristics, now called genes. The combination of Darwin's theory of natural selection and Mendel's theory of genetics is called the modern synthesis. In the modern synthesis, "evolution" means a change in the frequency of an allele within a gene pool. This change may be caused by a number of different mechanisms: natural selection, genetic drift or changes in population structure (gene flow).

Darwin Now is a stunning exhibition created by the British Council to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Darwin’s birth and the 150th anniversary of the publication of his book ‘On the Origin of Species’. The exhibition explores the origins of Darwin’s book origin of Species, outlines his central ideas and explains how those ideas are as important to us today as they were when they were first published.

The exhibition at Hyderabad was inaugurated by Smt Amala Akkineni, eminent film actress and founder Blue Cross, Sri Charles Walker, Director Programmes British Council.

The British Council, Hyderabad has done excellent job by organizing the exhibition in the heart of Hyderabad City Centre mall, Banjara Hills, so that people of all walks of life can visit the exhibition.

Don’t miss the Darwin Now exhibition from 25 September to 5, October 2009, at City Centre mall, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad.


Friday, September 25, 2009

Climate biggest issue in US's ties with India, China: Obama

President Barack Obama warned time is running out to fight global warming but said the US was determined to act and that climate was the biggest issue in its ties with countries like India and China often blamed for the stalled talks. Addressing a gathering of 100 world leaders at the UN climate change summit, Obama also pressed rapidly growing developing nations to "do their part as well", a veiled reference to emerging economies like India and China. He said no country alone can meet the challenges on climate change.


Obama however offered no new proposals that could serve as a catalyst to push the stalled talks on a UN climate pact. "We have put climate at the top of our diplomatic agenda when it comes to our relationships with countries as varied as China and Brazil, India and Mexico from the corner of Africa to the corner of Europe," he said.

His comments came shortly after the UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon said talks were moving too slowly and admonished the countries ahead of the Copenhagen summit of 190 countries in December aimed at sealing a deal to slow climate change. "Failure to reach broad agreement in Copenhagen would be morally inexcusable, economically short-sighted and politically unwise," Ban said.

Continuing, Obama said, "We understand the gravity of the climate threat. We are determined to act and we will meet our responsibility to future generations." He also warned there would be tough talking ahead of the Copenhagen climate change conference. "There should be no illusions that the hardest part of our journey is in front of us."

"But those rapidly growing developing nations that will produce nearly all the growth in global carbon emissions in the decades ahead must do their part as well," Obama said.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

If not here then where, if not us then who?


A 13-year-old Indian girl, speaking on behalf of the world’s three billion children, asked world leaders here, including the Presidents of United States and China, for urgent action on climate change.

“I am so much concerned about climate change because I don’t want our future generations to question us just as I am questioning the need of more concrete action on climate change today,” Yugratna Srivastava from Lucknow said at the Summit on Climate Change in the United Nations.

“The Himalayas are melting, polar bears are dying, 2 of every 5 people don’t have access to clean drinking water, earth’s temperature is increasing, we are losing the untapped information and potential of plant species, Pacific’s water level has risen, Is this what we are going to hand over to our future generations? Please......no!”

The ninth grader from St Fidelis College spoke at the high-level summit convened by the U.N. Chief Ban Ki-moon. India was represented by Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna and Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh.

The summit is being held to mobilise political will ahead of the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December, which is expected to yield a climate treaty to succeed the Kyoto Protocol.

“We need to call for an action now. We have to protect the earth not just for us but for our future generations,” Ms. Srivastava told an audience consisting of U.S. President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao.

“If not here then where, if not now then when and if not us then who?” she asked.

The student from Lucknow is also on the youth advisory board of United Nations Environment Program’s (UNEP) youth organisation called ‘Tunza ‘(to nurture).

Noting that climate change knew no political or geographical boundaries she said, “When you all make policies sitting in air conditioned rooms, please think of a child suffering in greenhouse heat and think of the species craving to survive.”

“Mahatma Gandhi said Earth has enough to satisfy everyone’s need but no one’s greed,” she added.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

GREEN DOMESTIC PRODUCT FOR HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT....

National income and total output of economy of a country is measured with Gross Domestic Product (GDP) or Gross Domestic Income (GDI). GDP is measured total market value of goods and services at a given time, yearly basis. GDP growth rate is percentage increase or decrease in GDP from earlier measurement cycle. GDP growth rate is determined by exports, government spending, retail expenditures, and inventory levels. Growth can be negatively affected by increase in imports. Rate of growth is one of most important indicators reflecting a nation’s economic health. If there is growth in GDP, there will also be growth in personal income, business, and jobs. With a decreasing GDP growth rate, businesses will stop new recruitment and investing in new purchases till economy improves. But this can further reduce GDP and there will be less money with consumers to purchase. If GDP growth rate becomes negative, then economy is moving towards a recession. Growth rate can affect stock markets as investors get information about a country’s economic health.
So far while measuring the GDP growth, factors like environmental degradation for achieving the economic growth is not taken into consideration. To achieve economic growth in the name of development natural ecosystems are destroyed, the pollution levels are increased. With the growing population there is much stress on natural resources of a country. The Earth's natural systems like forests, seas, rivers, all natural ecosystems provide many essential goods and services that ensure our survival and enhance our lifestyles and well-being - such as food, fibre, fuel, medicines, building materials, climate regulation, control of flood and recreation facilities. The ecosystems that provide these services are rapidly depleting to the point of collapse. Anthroponic induced climate change, infrastructure development, the loss of natural forests, ecosystems and agricultural production are primary drivers of these losses. The prevailing economic model that exacerbates these problems, rather than counteracts them, is fundamentally flawed. The green gross domestic product (green GDP) is an index of economic growth with the environmental consequences of that growth factored in.
In 2004, Wen Jiabao, the Chinese premier, announced that the green GDP index would replace the Chinese GDP index itself as a performance measure for government. The first green GDP accounting report, for 2004, was published in September 2006. It showed that the financial loss caused by pollution was 511.8 billion yuan ($66.3 billion), or 3.05 percent of the nation's economy. As an experiment in national accounting, the Green GDP effort collapsed in failure in 2007, when it became clear that the adjustment for environmental damage had reduced the growth rate to politically unacceptable levels, nearly zero in some provinces. In the face of mounting evidence that environmental damage and resource depletion was far more costly than anticipated, the government withdrew its support for the Green GDP methodology. Independent estimates of the cost to China of environmental degradation and resource depletion have for the last decade ranged from 8 to 12 percentage points of GDP growth. These estimates support the idea that, by this measure at least, the growth of the Chinese economy is close to zero. Statisticians caution that key methodological problems in calculating the GGDP, such as the monetary value of biodiversity loss and the impacts of climate change and carbon dioxide emissions. Many barometers are currently in use, particularly indices such as Waste Per Capita or Carbon Dioxide Emissions Per Annum. One must also acknowledge how poorly represented true growth or sustainable development is with the anachronic GDP.
"GDP is unfit to reflect many of today's challenges, such as climate change, public health, education and the environment," was the conclusion of Beyond GDP, an international conference on gross domestic product held in Brussels in November 2007. Many governments in the world have spent trillions of dollars last year to get out of "recession" to keep economy on track and get back to GDP growth at any cost, it seems as if the main goal is simply to maintain the current ailing market system and stimulate continued unsustainable consumption.
Presiding over the Convention on Biological Diversity, organised by the United Nations at the MCR Human Resources Development Institute, Hyderabad, the Union Minister said "Our economic future will be in danger, if we do not improve green cover at least to one-third of our land area. Let us recognise the enormous threats to our biodiversity. We need to achieve a 9 per cent green domestic product as well, along with economic growth. I think it is possible if we demonstrate greater sensitivity towards ecology. In fact, ecology and economy can go hand-in-hand," Sri Jairam Minister for Environment and Forests said.
Some environmental experts prefer physical indicators (such as "waste per capita" or "carbon dioxide emissions per year"), which may be aggregated to indices such as the "Sustainable Development Index"
Every country should measure both economic growth and environmental growth. For this GDP for economic growth and Green Domestic Product for status of Environment of a country should be measured. Then only the real picture of growth i.e economy vs environment or development vs sustainability will emerge.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Birth control could help combat climate change

Giving contraceptives to people in developing countries could help fight climate change by slowing population growth, experts said More than 200 million women worldwide want contraceptives, but don't have access to them, according to an editorial published in the British medical journal, Lancet. That results in 76 million unintended pregnancies every year.


If those women had access to free condoms or other birth control methods, that could slow rates of population growth, possibly easing the pressure on the environment, the editors say. "There is now an emerging debate and interest about the links between population dynamics, sexual and reproductive health and rights, and climate change," the commentary says.

In countries with access to condoms and other contraceptives, average family sizes tend to fall significantly within a generation. Until recently, many US-funded health programs did not pay for or encourage condom use in poor countries, even to fight diseases such as AIDS. The world's population is projected to jump to 9 billion by 2050, with more than 90% of that growth coming from developing countries.

It's not the first time lifestyle issues have been tied to the battle against global warming. Climate change experts have previously recommended that people cut their meat intake to slow global warming by reducing the numbers of animals using the world's resources.

The Lancet editorial cited a British report which says family planning is five times cheaper than usual technologies used to fight climate change. According to the report, each $7 spent on basic family planning would slash global carbon dioxide emissions by more than 1 ton.

Experts believe that while normal population growth is unlikely to significantly increase global warming that overpopulation in developing countries could lead to increased demand for food and shelter, which could jeopardize the environment as it struggles with global warming.

Monday, September 14, 2009

World's Biggest Solar Plant in China

Chinese government officials signed an agreement with First Solar, an American solar developer based in Tempe, Ariz., for a 2,000-megawatt photovoltaic farm to be built in the Mongolian desert.

Set for completion in 2019, the project represents the world’s biggest photovoltaic power plant project to date, and is part of an 11,950-megawatt renewable energy park planned for Ordos City in Inner Mongolia. The agreement calls for ground to be broken on the first 30-megawatt phase of the project by June 1, 2010, followed by 100-megawatt and 870-megawatt additions to be completed by the end of 2014. A final 1,000-megawatt phase is scheduled to go online by Dec. 31, 2019.

When completed, the Ordos solar farm would generate enough electricity to power about 3 million Chinese homes, according to First Solar. The deal could open a potentially vast solar market in China and follows the Chinese government’s recent moves to accelerate development of renewable energy.

First Solar, the globe’s largest photovoltaic cell manufacturer, will also likely build a factory in China to manufacture thin-film solar panels, according to Mike Ahearn, the company’s chief executive. “It is significant that a non-Chinese company can land something like this in China,” said Mr. Ahearn in an interview.“This is nuclear power-size scale,” said Mr. Ahearn added.

China is home to a burgeoning solar industry thanks to generous government support. But Chinese companies like Suntech, the world’s third-largest solar cell maker after First Solar and Q-Cells of Germany, export most of their products. Suntech last year formed a venture to build solar power plants in the United States and has announced plans to open a factory in the Southwest United States.

‘‘Discussions with First Solar about building a factory in China demonstrate to investors in China that they can confidently invest in the most advanced technologies available,’’ Cao Zhichen, vice mayor of Ordos Municipal Government, said in a statement. A high-ranking Chinese official, Wu Bangguo, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, attended the signing of the agreement in Arizona. The memorandum of understanding is just the first step in what is likely to be a long and complicated process to build such a gargantuan solar power plant in a country with little experience in constructing such projects.

Link Newyork Times

Saturday, September 12, 2009

France set to impose carbon tax

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has announced plans for a new carbon tax aimed at combating global warming. The tax will be introduced next year and will cover the use of oil, gas and coal, he said. The new tax will be 17 euros (£15) per tonne of emitted carbon dioxide (CO2). It will be phased in gradually. It will apply to households as well as enterprises, but not to the heavy industries and power firms included in the EU's emissions trading scheme. Most electricity in France - excluded from the new carbon tax - is nuclear generated.

Mr Sarkozy said revenues from the new tax would be ploughed back into taxpayers' pockets through cuts in other taxes and "green cheques". The carbon tax plans have already encountered stiff opposition across the political spectrum. France's Le Monde newspaper says the tax will cover 70% of the country's carbon emissions and bring in about 4.3bn euros (£3.8bn) of revenue annually.

Mr Sarkozy insists the new tax is all about persuading the French to change their habits and cut energy consumption, the BBC's Emma Jane Kirby reports from Paris. Critics say it is just a ploy to boost ailing state finances. Two-thirds of French voters say they are opposed to the new levy, fearing they will struggle to pay higher bills.Prime Minister Francois Fillon had previously set the new tax rate at 14 euros per tonne of CO2

Link BBC


Friday, September 11, 2009

UN climate chief: Big greenhouse gas cuts needed

Rich countries must commit to deeper cuts in greenhouse gas emissions if they want China and India to sign onto an accord to curb global warming, the top U.N. climate official said on Friday.

"We need to see that leadership from rich countries," said Yvo de Boer, executive secretary of the U.N. Climate Change Secretariat, at the World Economic Forum. "Without rich country leadership, we will not get developing country engagement."

Global leaders hope to reach agreement at a U.N. climate summit in Copenhagen in December, but de Boer said negotiations are moving so slowly that it will be impossible to reach a comprehensive deal by then. He said the Copenhagen meeting should aim instead to agree on "key cornerstones" of emissions cuts and how to finance them.

Key sticking points are how much the United States and other industrialized countries can cut emissions and how much developing economies can be expected to reduce the rapid growth of their own. Washington has said it is committed to reaching a deal as long as other major polluters such as China and India do their part as well.

"We need to get clarity in Copenhagen on what developing countries, especially major developing countries like China and India, will do to limit the growth of their emissions," de Boer said at a news conference. "Without developing country engagement, it is impossible for countries like the United States to ratify a Copenhagen agreement."

On Thursday, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao indicated Beijing might take a tough line in Copenhagen. In a speech at the World Economic Forum, Wen told foreign business leaders that rich economies have a "historical responsibility" to cut emissions and that any deal should take into account countries' levels of development.

Government leaders are expected to discuss the pact at a special U.N. meeting in New York next month, followed by a gathering of the Group of 20 major economies hosted by President Barack Obama in Pittsburgh.

Scientists say carbon dioxide and other industrial gases are trapping the sun's heat in the atmosphere, causing changes in weather that could lead to crop damage, the spread of deserts and flooding in low-lying countries.

The Copenhagen meeting is meant to create a successor to the Kyoto Protocol, which bound 37 industrial countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 5.2 percent from 1990 levels by 2012.

Kyoto placed no obligations on developing countries. In this round, wealthier nations want developing countries, especially China and India, to share the burden and agree to slow their explosive emissions growth.

Offers of emissions cuts from wealthy countries so far total 15 percent to 21 percent below 1990 levels, according to de Boer's agency. The United States has yet to make a formal offer.

De Boer said bigger cuts of 25 percent to 40 percent are required, and below that, "I think the public of the world will not feel that governments have stood up to the challenge."

The world's poorest, most vulnerable countries banded together at a meeting last month in Bonn, Germany, to press industrialized economies for bigger cuts.

The poor states said climate change is outpacing the best estimates of a few years ago, when scientists warned that the maximum safe increase in the planet's average temperature was 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) from pre-industrial levels.

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a climate bill that would impose trade penalties on countries that do not accept emissions limits. President Barack Obama has opposed attaching trade issues to climate and energy legislation.

India has criticized the U.S. lawmakers' approach and proposed a clause that would forbid any government from erecting trade barriers to punish a nation that refused to accept limits on its carbon emissions.

Link AP

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Green Buildings : To Save Environment.....

Environment has no boundaries and environment is apolitical. India's per capita greenhouse gas emissions are expected to nearly triple in the next two decades, but will still remain below the current global average.

The current per capita rate at around 1.2 tonnes per year, compared to the global average of 4.22 tonnes. Five different studies released by independent institutions concluded that India's per capita emissions of carbon dioxide equivalent would reach 2.1 tonnes in 2020 and 3.5 tonnes in 2030. India's per capita output is one of the lowest globally, but given its massive population it is one of the top polluters in the world.

What individual has to do to live clean and green?

The green building concepts we can see in ancient civilisation. Many old monuments if you see are constructed based on the green concepts. The panchaboothas air, light, agni, water, earth are balancing the forces in the house for healthy living. Many modern buildings are not environment friendly. To protect environment the Green house concepts were revived, many new buildings are constructed based on the concepts of eco friendly.

The benefits of green buildings are

  • · Energy savings by 30-40% using much of natural light by orienting the building at right direction. More doors and ventilators for natural lights. This will save lot of energy used for lighting and heating. Using of renewable energy like solar heaters, solar lights etc. Usingof energy efficient bulbs and appliances.

  • · Water saving nearly 20-30%, modern water saving devices used in kitchen and bathrooms and waste water treatment and rain water harvesting system will help reducing water usage

  • · Indoor air quality will be increased because of cross ventilation which will cool the building

  • · Planting trees surrounding areas of the building and landscaping will create microclimate and the building will have cooling effect. Plants also will lessen the carbon foot prints because plants are sink to Co2.

  • · The three mantras reduce, reuse, recycle are commonly practiced in green building concepts.

  • · The long term recurring expenditure on electricity bill will be decreased.
  • · The fly ash bricks, High performance glass, Wall & Roof insulation, Low VOC paints, adhesives & sealants, CRI certified carpets, FSC Certified wood, high albedo roofing material, Fly ash blocks, Eco-friendly chemicals waterless urinals, high COP chillers, CO2 sensors, root zone treatment plants, wind towers and eco friendly paints are some of the eco friendly material available in the market.
  • · The aesthetic value of green bulding will be increased, inmates of the house live serene life and increase productivity.

According to study Green building will reduces 12000-15000 tons of Co2 per million square feet. Indian Green Buiding Council desires to register two billion square feet of areas under green building concepts by 2012.

Until and unless the present buildings are also brought under green building concepts(by altering the building or using energy efficient techniques and educating the inmates of the buildings) the desirable emission can not be achieved. For this there should be awareness programmes all over the country and every individual should be responsible for reducing carbon foot prints or reaching zero foot prints level.

Green building concepts should not be restricted to elite society, green concepts should go down to the bottom of the society , common man.


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Wednesday, September 9, 2009

India carbon emissions to triple by 2030

India's per capita greenhouse gas emissions are expected to nearly triple in the next two decades, but will still remain below the current global average, a government backed report said.

The data released late on Wednesday showed the current per capita rate at around 1.2 tonnes per year, compared to the global average of 4.22 tonnes.

Five different studies released by independent institutions concluded that India's per capita emissions of carbon dioxide equivalent would reach 2.1 tonnes in 2020 and 3.5 tonnes in 2030. India's per capita output is one of the lowest globally, but given its massive population it is one of the top polluters in the world.

Speaking at the launch, environment minister Jairam Ramesh said the data would help to inform debate at global climate change talks in Copenhagen in December. "India should be seen to be part of the solution," he said. But Ramesh cautioned that the numbers were "open to peer review" and that the government did not agree with all of them.

The studies found that India's total emissions are estimated to reach between four billion and 7.3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2031.

India has long rejected binding carbon emission targets on the grounds that they would hinder economic growth and development.

More than 180 nations are due to negotiate an agreement to replace the Kyoto Protocol climate treaty in Copenhagen in December. Ramesh reiterated a promise by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that India's per capita emissions would never exceed those of developed nations, but credited energy efficiency options rather than mitigation strategies for the projections.

Friday, September 4, 2009

G-20 demands emission cuts from India

The G-20 finance ministers' meet has become the new forum for cornering India and other developing countries into taking climate change commitments. An overview paper distributed by the G-20 secretariat has ignored India's submissions and demanded that the latter impose carbon taxation and reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by `deviating significantly from business as usual' scenario.

The document, while putting little onus on industrialised nations to provide substantial funding to developing and poor countries, has recommended steps that would break the existing UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and hurt India's economic growth, the government has contended.

The overview paper has been provided by the G-20 secretariat as a base for a report that the member countries' finance ministers are expected to agree to before the crucial final round of negotiations under the UNFCCC in December.

The G-20 climate change finance report originates out of the controversial Major Economies Forum statement that India signed on to recently in Italy. Signing the statement, India had significantly deviated from its `non-negotiable' positions on climate change negotiations. Later, at the UN meet held in August in Bonn, India had to fight hard to keep the Italy declaration from influencing the formal negotiations.

The G-20 has yet again opened a front against developing countries outside the UN process, with the industrialised countries hoping to achieve here what they have been unable to so far in the more democratic UNFCCC.

But unlike the case at Italy, the Indian government has strongly opposed provisions in the G-20 document that stand contrary to its positions.

The G-20 secretariat had earlier sent three base documents to the member countries that were prepared without any consultation with Indian and most other developing world officials. The base documents contained several proposals and recommendations that India has for years successfully opposed at the UN climate negotiations. Even though India was given merely a week to reply, it strongly opposed the base documents and along with Brazil, South Africa and China, presented a more `developing country' view to be included in the G-20 report.

"Despite strong opposition from key developing countries, including India, the G-20 secretariat has sent this overview which more or less mimics the base papers we had rejected as not representative of the views and concerns of all G-20 member countries," a senior Indian official told TOI.

The government has yet again countered the latest overview document, which demands that developing countries too should take strong mitigation action, impose carbon taxes, reduce subsidies and look primarily at only market-driven solutions to climate change.

Indian officials have also noted how the G-20 document does not demand any firm commitments from the industrialised nations to provide funds to compensate for the excess carbon budget they occupy.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Climate change killing corals, costing billions






Climate change is killing valuabl cora reef systems, a UnitedNations-backed report published warned. The reportentitled "The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity" -- unveiled in Berlin, concluded: "We face the imminent loss of coral reefs due to climate change, with all the serious ecological, social and economic consequences this will entail."

It said coral reef systems were worth up to 172 billion dollars per year in terms of economic activity. The research, hosted by the UN's Environment Programme and sponsored by the European Commission, Germany and Britain, is intended to inform policymakers' thinking ahead of a crunch climate change summit in Copenhagen in December. Presenting the report, the project's head, Pavan Sukhdev, stressed the importance of coral reefs to the global environment, saying: "The existence of half a billion people depends on them." "Over a quarter of all fish species are also dependent on the coral reefs," he added.

To secure the survival of the coral reefs, atmospheric carbon dioxide levels need to be "significantly below 350 parts per million (ppm)" but current levels are 387 ppm. The report recommended increased investment in "ecological infrastructure" -- conservation of forests, mangroves, river basins and wetlands -- as a means of adapting to climate change. The report is a draft version of a fuller document that will be presented to world leaders in November ahead of the Copenhagen conference in December that aims to agree a new global climate pact to succeed the expiring Kyoto Protocol.

A second study published earlier in Sydney found that Australia's Great Barrier Reef is in serious jeopardy as global warming and chemical runoff threatened to kill marine species and cause serious outbreaks of disease. The inspiration for the report is the landmark 2006 assessment by British economist Sir Nicholas Stern that sparked awareness about the economic cost of global warming. Stern said that climate change could shrink the global economy by as much as 20 Return to list of posts percent, but if action were taken immediately, the bill would be only one percent of global gross domestic product (GDP)

Tuesday, September 1, 2009


Air pollution reducing 'good' rains in China: Study

Air pollution has over the past 50 years led to a reduction of the light rainfall in China essential for the country's agriculture and water resources, a Chinese researcher.

A recent study conducted in Sweden, the United States and China showed that the number of days with light rainfall (less than 0.1 millimetre per day) dropped by 23 percent in China from 1956 to 2005.

That was because of air pollution particles that reduced the formation of rain clouds, researcher Deliang Chen of Gothenburg University said. "The particles of air pollution, named aerosols, make the drops of water considerably smaller and that makes them more difficult to aggregate into rain clouds that can release rain," he said.

While the amount of rain has remained stable over the years, the reduction of light rainfalls, or "good rainfalls", poses a threat to China as the country drags its feets on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, he said. "Light rains in a country like China are counted upon because they're easy for the soil to absorb. But heavy rains make the soil run off and the water is not absorbed and can cause problems such as erosion or floodings," he said.

"Now we have evidence that air pollution is not only bad for the climate but also for the agriculture and the economy," he added. The study, entitled "Heavy pollution suppresses light rain in China," was published recently in the US Journal of Geophysical Research.

Northern China is the region most exposed to drought. It is currently experiencing its worst drought in 60 years, leaving nearly five million people short of water, state media have reported.