EARTH DAY 22.4.2013. 

THEME "THE FACE OF CLIMATE CHANGE

Earth Day 1970 capitalized on the emerging consciousness, channeling the energy of the anti-war protest movement and putting environmental concerns front and center. The idea came to Earth Day founder Gaylord Nelson, then a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, after witnessing the ravages of the 1969 massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, California. Inspired by the student anti-war movement, he realized that if he could infuse that energy with an emerging public consciousness about air and water pollution, it would force environmental protection onto the national political agenda. Senator Nelson announced the idea for a “national teach-in on the environment” to the national media; persuaded Pete McCloskey, a conservation-minded Republican Congressman, to serve as his co-chair; and recruited Denis Hayes as national coordinator. Hayes built a national staff of 85 to promote events across the land. As a result, on the 22nd of April, 20 million Americans took to the streets, parks, and auditoriums to demonstrate for a healthy, sustainable environment in massive coast-to-coast rallies. Thousands of colleges and universities organized protests against the deterioration of the environment. Groups that had been fighting against oil spills, polluting factories and power plants, raw sewage, toxic dumps, pesticides, freeways, the loss of wilderness, and the extinction of wildlife suddenly realized they shared common values. 

Earth Day 1970 achieved a rare political alignment, enlisting support from Republicans and Democrats, rich and poor, city slickers and farmers, tycoons and labor leaders. The first Earth Day led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Acts. "It was a gamble," Gaylord recalled, "but it worked." 

Green Pledge

As 1990 approached, a group of environmental leaders asked Denis Hayes to organize another big campaign. This time, Earth Day went global, mobilizing 200 million people in 141 countries and lifting environmental issues onto the world stage. Earth Day 1990 gave a huge boost to recycling efforts worldwide and helped pave the way for the 1992 United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. It also prompted President Bill Clinton to award Senator Nelson the Presidential Medal of Freedom (1995) -- the highest honor given to civilians in the United States -- for his role as Earth Day founder.THE FACE OF THE EARTH........As the 43nd Anniversary of “Earth Day2013” is being celebrated today, More than one billion people around the globe will participate in Earth Day 2013 and help Mobilize Earth. People of all nationalities and backgrounds will voice their appreciation for the planet and demand its protection. Over the past century, the world has fallen into a pattern of unsustainable economic growth. Accelerated consumption of fossil fuels and deforestation are the most visible examples of how, in the effort to support our lifestyles, we are exhausting the planet's natural resources and aggravating climate change, which in turn threatens life-sustaining ecosystems and the economy.A Green Economy not only protects ourselves and our planet, but has the potential of generating millions of jobs as we develop and install new technologies, rebuild and retrofit buildings, and devise new processes and modes of production.

Stanford researchers find electrical current stemming from plants

Stanford engineers have generated electrical current by tapping into the electron activity in individual algae cells. Photosynthesis excites electrons, which can then be turned into an electrical current using a specially designed gold electrode. This study could be the first step toward carbon-free electricity directly from plants.

BY GWYNETH DICKEY

In an electrifying first, Stanford scientists have plugged into algae cells and harnessed a tiny electrical current. They found it at the very source of energy production – photosynthesis, a plant's method of converting sunlight to chemical energy. It may be a first step toward generating high-efficiency bioelectricity that doesn't give off carbon dioxide as a byproduct, the researchers say.

"We believe we are the first to extract electrons out of living plant cells," said WonHyoung Ryu, the lead author of the paper published in the March issue of Nano Letters. Ryu conducted the experiments while he was a research associate for mechanical engineering Professor Fritz Prinz.

The Stanford research team developed a unique, ultra-sharp nanoelectrode made of gold, specially designed for probing inside cells. They gently pushed it through the algal cell membranes, which sealed around it, and the cell stayed alive. From the photosynthesizing cells, the electrode collected electrons that had been energized by light and the researchers generated a tiny electrical current.

Early research stage

"We're still in the scientific stages of the research," said Ryu. "We were dealing with single cells to prove we can harvest the electrons."

Plants use photosynthesis to convert light energy to chemical energy, which is stored in the bonds of sugars they use for food. The process takes place in chloroplasts, the cellular powerhouses that make sugars and give leaves and algae their green color. In the chloroplasts, water is split into oxygen, protons and electrons. Sunlight penetrates the chloroplast and zaps the electrons to a high energy level, and a protein promptly grabs them. The electrons are passed down a series of proteins, which successively capture more and more of the electrons' energy to synthesize sugars until all the electrons' energy is spent.

In this experiment, the researchers intercepted the electrons just after they had been excited by light and were at their highest energy levels. They placed the gold electrodes in the chloroplasts of algae cells and siphoned off the electrons to generate the tiny electrical current.

The result, the researchers say, is electricity production that doesn't release carbon into the atmosphere. The only byproducts of photosynthesis are protons and oxygen.

"This is potentially one of the cleanest energy sources for energy generation," Ryu said. "But the question is, is it economically feasible?"

Minuscule amount of electricity

Ryu said they were able to draw from each cell just one picoampere, an amount of electricity so tiny that they would need a trillion cells photosynthesizing for one hour just to equal the amount of energy stored in a AA battery. In addition, the cells die after an hour. Ryu said tiny leaks in the membrane around the electrode could be killing the cells, or they may be dying because they're losing out on energy they would normally use for their own life processes. One of the next steps would be to tweak the design of the electrode to extend the life of the cell, Ryu said.

Harvesting electrons this way would be more efficient than burning biofuels, as most plants that are burned for fuel ultimately store only about 3 to 6 percent of available solar energy, Ryu said. His process bypasses the need for combustion, which harnesses only a portion of a plant's stored energy. Electron harvesting in this study was about 20 percent efficient. Ryu said it could theoretically reach 100 percent efficiency one day. (Photovoltaic solar cells are currently about 20 to 40 percent efficient.)

Possible next steps would be to use a plant with larger chloroplasts for a larger collecting area, and a bigger electrode that could capture more electrons. With a longer-lived plant and better collecting ability, they could scale up the process, Ryu said. Ryu is now a professor at Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea.

Funding for this research came from the Global Climate and Energy Project at Stanford University and the Yonsei University Research Fund of 2009.

Other authors of the paper are Prinz, the senior author; Seoung-Jai Bai, Tibor Fabian, Rainer J. Fasching, Zubin Huang and Joong Sun Park, all researchers in the Rapid Prototyping Laboratory for Energy and Biology at Stanford University; and Jeffrey Moseley and Arthur Grossman, researchers in the Department of Plant Biology at the Carnegie Institution and the Department of Biology at Stanford.

Link Stanford

Himalayan forests at greater risk from climate change

Climate change will be an additional stress on Indian forests, especially in upper Himalayan stretches, which are already subjected to multiple challenges including over-extraction, livestock grazing and human impact, a government report said here on Wednesday. 

India's second National Communication to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, released by environment ministerJayanthi Natarajan said that the assessment of climate impacts showed that at the nationallevel, 45 per cent of forested grids are likely to undergo changes. In the report, a digital forest map of the country was used to determine spatial location of all the forested areas. 

This map was based on a high-resolution mapping, wherein the entire area of India was divided into over 165,000 grids. Out of these, 35,899 grids were marked as forested grids - along with the forest density and forest types. Vulnerability assessment showed that sensitive forested grids arespread across India. "However, their concentration is higher in the upper Himalayan stretches, parts of Central India, northern Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats," said the MoEF report towards fulfillment of reporting obligation under the convention.

Link

Windmills to power streetlights in Chennai

Imagine 15-metre towers with micro wind turbines above and four solar panels below vying with huge palm trees to create a geometrically regular pattern along the East Coast Road.

These towers, with a hybrid of wind and solar energies systems, will soon be yet another initiative in Chennai Corporation's pursuit of tapping alternative energy sources for better street lighting in the city, particularly along coastal roads that are predominantly in newly added areas.

The civic body has commissioned a study on tapping wind and solar energy with optimum hybrid models for better street lighting in added areas. Chennai, according to persons associated with the study, “is a good wind zone” but is not suitable for big wind turbines over 100 metres in height. However, the initiative using micro wind turbines is also likely to be another stepping stone towards bringing down energy consumption by 25 per cent and to save 36 lakh units in the coming year.

A group of streetlights would be connected to a tower with hybrid power generating systems. These additional street lights would fill the unusual voids between rows of 2.2-lakh streetlights in the 426 sq km of the city, mainly in the coastal zones of Tiruvottiyur, Perungudi and Sholinganallur in the added areas and Tondiarpet, Royapuram, Teynampet and Adyar of the old city limits.

Existing streetlights have been found to be inadequate in many of the expanded areas, which have a relatively low number of 88,000 streetlights. The added areas, which were earlier part of Panchayats, would be the biggest beneficiaries from the proposal for wind and solar energy-based models.

Areas such as the Marina Beach and Elliots Beach are also set to gain from the initiative. Localities in Tiruvottiyur, Sholinganallur and Marina Beach will get pilot projects that will be expanded after ascertaining their viability. In the wake of an increase in power tariff, this proposal is likely to be viable.

These new hybrid facilities would be in addition to the 25,000 solar-powered streetlights proposed in eight new zones. The Corporation has already proposed a massive programme to replace around 60,000 streetlights.

The wind and solar hybrid systems would overcome challenges pertaining to the old system of illumination adopted by many Panchayats earlier. The Corporation's norm of a minimum of a 25-metre distance between two adjacent streetlights would be adhered to during the installation of these facilities in areas such as Tiruvottiyur, Perungudi and Sholinganallur.

The Hindu
http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/article3281765.ece

“Environment protection in people's hands”

The Advisor to Ministry of Environment and Forests, G. V. Subrahmanyam, has said that people's participation in environment protection alone can bring the desired results more than any number of legislations brought by the Government.

“Protecting the environment is for our own future and not for anybody else. You can have any number of legislations…but the implementation is done by local people. Any campaign on climate change or environmental issues can be successful only when all of us come together,” he said, while speaking at the Thiagarajar College of Engineering (TCE) here on Friday.

He was in the city to participate in an ‘International Workshop on Climate Change and GIS' organised jointly by the TCE in association with Madurai Kamaraj University.

Dr. Subrahmanyam underlined that respecting the environment is nothing new to India because historically this land was known for conservation ethics which came to its people either through religion, culture or philosophy.

“Nature and humans are inseparable and historically, we Indians have been respecting nature. The same spirit must be shown now because we have to protect environment for our own future,” he appealed.

The Ministry's Advisor also mentioned about the pollution caused by small scale industries across the country and the need to sensitise them on pollution control strategies.

“Pollution, energy and climate change are all related issues. It is important for our people to understand the consequences of climate change since it will have an impact on surface temperature, seal level and vegetation,” he stressed.

Stating that the Ministry of Environment and Forests has been doing a lot in creating public awareness, Dr. Subrahmanyam said that it was also deploying Geographical Information System and Remote Sensing to implement natural resources management scheme. Himalayan glacier and wetlands besides several other areas were mapped already.

Karumuttu T. Kannan, Chairman and Correspondent, Thiagarajar College of Engineering, in his presidential address, has urged the Government of India to launch a nationwide campaign to tell people about the dangers to environment.

Daniel Ayuk Mbi Egbe, Senior Scientist, Johannes Kepler University, Linz, Austria, spoke on the importance of tapping solar energy while A. Sundaram, Head and Chairperson of School of Energy, Environment and Natural Resources, Madurai Kamaraj University, said that renewable energy revolution is the need of the hour.

Link The Hindu

They are the forest heroes

It is quite motivating the Karnataka is doing and recognising the unsung heroes of the Forest Department. Forest guards and foresters who are the foundations of the department  walks thousand of kilometers to protect the Forest ( Green Gold) Wealth of the country and the natural sinks of Carbon  dioxide for mitigating the  Climate Change. How many states have recognised their services and pat them on their back for their commendable services. Karnataka has set the example. why can't other states do this?????

Guards, Experts, Officials Feted With Jumbo Awards

 Chandrakant R Naik has explored every nook and corner of the 1,098-sqkm Anshi Dandeli Tiger Reserve in Uttara Kannada district on foot. And the treks during his 12 years of service as a forest guard have given him an encyclopaedic knowledge of the forest. The Class 12-pass Naik can identify 250 trees with their scientific names and families, 45 species of butterflies, 31 snakes and eight different types of frogs. 

    After being honoured with the title of ‘Foot Soldier of Karnataka’ at the Jumbo Wildlife Awards function held on Friday at Chowdaiah Memorial Hall here, Chandrakant said he is neither a biologist nor a botanist, but shared the passion of both. He said he had rescued 187 snakes and got his hands on as many as 21 poachers till date. 
    “Our job is very risky and narrow escapes are the order of the day. I remember rescuing a King Cobra in Dandeli a few years ago. I caught the snake by its neck, but while putting it inside the bag, my hand got entangled with the cobra. It was one of the many chilling moments I’ve had in these forests,” Chandrakant said. 
    The second edition of Kumble Foundation Jumbo Awards recognized many more reallife heroes like Chandrakant, for their outstanding contribution towards conservation of forest and wildlife. Forest minister CP Yogeshwar said the government will institute similar awards for people who contribute to the conservation of forest and wildlife. 
    The event, organized by Kumble Foundation in association with Biocon Foundation, also witnessed the IPL Bangalore cricket team attending the event and extending full support. 
    BK Singh, principal chief conservator of forests – wildlife, said the tremendous growth in human population is one of the reasons responsible for increasing man-animal conflicts. “Population growth and loss of habitat, connectivity and corridors are reasons responsible for the increasing number of such conflicts. A few years ago, we had 5m wide roads linking places like Kerala and Ooty, today we have four- or six-lane roads replacing them.” 
THE AWARDEES Foot Soldiers of Karnataka 
    C Sadashivam, forester, Kollegal Range, BRT Wildlife Sanctuary 
    Chandrakant R Naik, forest guard, Kulagi Wildlife Range, Anshi Dandeli Tiger Reserve 
    HH Venkatesha, daily wage employee, Alur taluk, Hassan 
Exemplary Range Forest Officer 
    Sangamesh N Prabhakar, RFO, Hediyala Range, Bandipur Tiger Reserve 
    GR Shashidhar, RFO, Gopalaswamy Betta Range, Bandipur Tiger Reserve 
Wildlife Leadership Award 
    Team Aranya, an NGO 
Exceptional Applied Conservation Scientist 
    Dr MD Madhusudhan, director, Nature Conservation Foundation, Mysore 
Outstanding Civil Servant 
    Bishwajit Mishra, director, e-governance, Bangalore 
Lifetime Achievement Award Dr Ullas Karanth, for his unparalleled contribution to conservation and wildlife protection 
Jumbo Award Wildlife filmmaker duo Krupakar and Senani

GOOD JOB: Jumbo Wildlife Award winners are greeted by cricketer Anil Kumble in Bangalore on Friday. Minister C P Yogeshwar and Biocon chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw look on

Link TOI

Earth Hour

In 2007, WWF-Australia inspired Sydney-siders to show their support for climate change action in the first ever Earth Hour event. It showed that everyone, from children to CEOs and politicians, has the power to change the world they live in. In Sydney, Australia, 2.2 million individuals and more than 2,000 businesses turned their lights out for one hour to take a stand against climate change.

In 2008, the plan was to take Earth Hour to the rest of Australia. But then the City of Toronto, Canada, signed up and it wasn’t long before 35 countries and almost 400 cities and towns were part of the event. It said something compelling to the world: that the climate challenges facing our planet are so significant that change needs to be global.

With the invitation to ‘switch off’ extended to everyone, Earth Hour quickly became an annual global event. It’s scheduled on the last Saturday of every March – closely coinciding with the equinox to ensure most cities are in darkness as it rolled out around the Earth.

In 2011, Earth Hour saw hundreds of millions of people across 135 countries switch off for an hour. But it also marked the start of something new – going Beyond the Hour to commit to lasting action on climate change. And with the power of social networks behind the Earth Hour message, we hope to attract even more participation so we can build a truly global community committed to creating a more sustainable planet.

Earth Hour is organised by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). With almost 5 million supporters and a global network in over 100 countries/territories, it’s one of the world's largest and most respected independent conservation organisations. WWF’s mission is to stop the degradation of the Earth's natural environment and build a future where people live in harmony with nature.

Be part of the movement

Link Earth hour

Jairam Ramesh says 33% forest cover is an unrealistic goal

India's ambitious target of bringing 33% of its area under green cover is not realistic given the population pressure and the pressure for development, said Jairam Ramesh, minister for environment and forests.

Jairam also criticised the information technology industry for not adhering to green building norms.

According to Jairam, it is better to improve the quality of green cover than to harp on quantity.

"This [the target] is unrealistic in a country like India where the population is 1.2 billion and set to become 1.6 billion by 2040. With the population pressure in our country, with the development pressure in our country, to expect that suddenly India will grow the green cover from the present 21% to 33% is totally unrealistic," Jairam said during the Green Landscape Summit 2011 organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry.

Jairam also pointed out that about 40% of Indian forest is open degraded forest land, meaning when you look up, you easily see the sun. (In forests with good tree cover, it is not possible to see the sun.)

The minister also blasted the IT industry for not adhering to green building norms.

"The IT industry is a huge guzzler for air-conditioning," he said. "IT buildings are horribly inefficient when it comes to meeting energy efficiency levels. I close my ears when the IT czars are giving long lectures on green buildings and when I see their buildings which are poor advertisements of green habitats," the minister said.

According to him, bulk of the carbon emission comes from electricity generation and power plants, to the extent of 38% of the total, followed by the industrial sector at about 23% and 17% from agriculture.

Mangroves or Mukesh? You must choose, Jairam

Is the Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance SEZ more important to the Maharashtra government than mangrove conservation?

Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has suggested that if the State government and the Union Civil Aviation Ministry want Mumbai's second airport to come up at the proposed site in Navi Mumbai, they should use some of the land allotted to the Special Economic Zone which abuts the site to the south, rather than destroying mangroves on the north.

This was among the suggestions made in pursuit of a compromise solution after the Prime Minister's Office asked for a quick decision on an environmental clearance for the airport project. On September 3, the PMO sent a note to the Environment Minister, forwarding a letter from Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan who urged a speedy clearance. Mr. Ramesh says, he replied the same day saying that “we will find a way out, providing there is cooperation from the Civil Aviation Ministry and the State government.”

The two major obstacles blocking the way to an environmental clearance are the 400 acres of mangroves that will be destroyed and the two rivers which will have to be diverted.

While land has already been acquired and allotted to the SEZ projects being developed by the Reliance and CIDCO, Mr. Ramesh says “if the State government is really serious, it can take back some of those thousands of hectares and use it for the airport, rather than destroying mangroves to the north.”

“If they really want to, they can certainly do it,” he said. “I am willing to accept their argument that no alternative site is possible…They must also give way and compromise on some of these things…I have made several suggestions.”

Another suggestion is related to the “non-essential” parts of the project be shifted to minimise the environmental damage. “What is the need for a five-star hotel at the site? What is the need for a shopping mall there?” he asked.

The developer CIDCO has been asked to come back to the clearance panel with a modified proposal incorporating the compromises on September 13. “CIDCO has finally come off its high horse,” said Mr. Ramesh. “We are now working to find a solution.”

The Minister refuted the accusation that the Environment Ministry was dragging its feet on the project. “It was only on July 6, 2010 that the final [Environment Impact Assessment] report and the [Coastal Regulation Zone] approval was submitted,” he said. “So that is when our clock starts ticking. It is just two months since then.”

He added that the timeline submitted as part of Mr. Chavan's letter to the Prime Minister was incomplete. “The project actually started in November 1997, when the Airport Authority of India's expert committee recommended Rewas Mandwa as the best site for Mumbai's second airport.” It was only in December 2000 that, on the recommendation of the State government, the Civil Aviation Ministry shifted its proposal to the Navi Mumbai site instead.

For seven years, the project proponents ignored the fact that an airport at Navi Mumbai would violate the CRZ notification of 1991. Finally, after the Cabinet approved the project in May 2007, the process of amending this notification started. On May 15, 2009 — “exactly two weeks before I took office,” said Mr. Ramesh — the amended notification was issued, permitting the airport to come up provided that measures were taken to reduce the environmental impact.

Incidentally, environmental activists point out that the notification has been amended 25 times in its two decade-existence, mostly to allow “exceptions” for various development projects.

In another obstacle facing the project, a Union government environment clearance may not be enough. According to a Bombay High Court ruling in January 2010, even if a project is cleared by the competent authority on land which includes mangroves, the State government will have to seek the permission of the Court before implementing the project.

 The Hindu

Sea level likely to rise up to 70 cm by 2100

Ocean levels could significantly rise up to 70 cm by 2100 due to climate change and even the most extreme geoengineering approaches would not be able to stop sea levels from rising, according to a new study. The study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ( PNAS) proposes that as many as 150 million people could be affected as ocean levels could rise by 30 cm to 70 cm. 

Scientists led by John Moore from Beijing Normal University, China, said that to combat global warming, people need to concentrate on sharply curbing greenhouse gas emissions and not rely too much on proposed geoengineering methods. "Substituting geoengineering for greenhouse emission control would be to burden future generations with enormous risk," said Svetlana Jevrejeva of the UK's National Oceanography Centre, a co-author of the study. 

Jevrejeva and colleagues from China, Finland and Denmark wanted to see how five geoengineering solutions will affect sea levels. Geoengineering falls into two main types: limiting the effect of the sun's rays, or changing the carbon cycle in some way. The former doesn't change atmospheric CO2 levels in any way, whereas the latter does. 

The team used a well-established model to look at the effect of firing a large amount of sulphur dioxide into the atmosphere, putting mirrors in space, planting huge numbers of trees, biochar (turning plants into a type of charcoal in soil where they boost crop productivity) and switching to bio-energy. 

They investigated how these methods would affect climate change under different CO2 emissions scenarios. They found that using bio-energy for power while capturing the emitted CO2 and storing it deep underground is likely to be the least risky and the most publicly acceptable solution to tackle climate change. This would also lead to fewer fossil fuels being burnt for energy. But this solution wouldn't be as effective as using aerosols or giant mirrors in space at slowing sea level rise.

Link PTI

Warming could reduce rainfall

Scientists have warned that global warming could reduce rainfall, contrary to the belief that rising temperatures lead to increase in overall precipitation levels.

Previous studies have shown that rainfall will increase globally by 2-3% for every degree Celsius that the Earth's surface heats up.

But, scientists at the University of Leeds who looked at a range of climate change scenarios, found that rainfall may actually decline if temperature in the atmosphere continues to increase. "Clearly there's something else going on," said lead author Timothy Andrew.

"We found that precipitation isn't just affected by temperature change at the surface. It also responds directly to increased heating in the atmosphere," Andrews said.

And because the atmosphere responds to heating much more quickly than the surface the effect on rainfall is also much faster, Andrewssaid.

Link TOI

Rs 25,000 crore kitty for tackling climate change: Ramesh

India is going to be affected "the most" by climate change but the government has made a provision for Rs 25,000 crore to mitigate its impact, environment minister Jairam Ramesh said.

Replying to a debate on a private member's resolution for setting up a fund for dealing with climate change, the minister said money is being raised through cess on coal and compulsory afforestation fund. Besides, the finance ministry has sanctioned Rs 5,000 crore as recommended by 13th Finance Commission.

"Climate change is a reality...It is a serious issue. We are going to be affected the most by climate change. But we are taking steps to mitigate it," he said. The country is witnessing Monsoon extending to the last week of August, "which is unusual".

About 220 scientists from 120 research institutions are working on assessment of the impact of climate change on agriculture, water, health and forest. The research covers impact on the Himalayan glaciers, North Eastern region, Western Ghat and coastal areas. Their report will be available in the next two months, Ramesh said.

Giving a break-up of the fund plan, he said Rs 10,000 crore is already available under the Compensatory Afforestation and Management Planning Authority (CAMPA). "The first tranche of Rs 10,000 crore will be distributed to the state government," he said. Contributions to the CAMPA come from business establishments taking up activities in forest land.

Another fund of Rs 10,000 crore would be generated by 2015 from clean energy cess on coal. The cess has become operational and Rs 3,000 crore would be available under it this fiscal. The funds (Rs 5,000 crore), recommended by the 13th Finance Commission would be released in the next five years to states according to their forest cover. Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh will be the major beneficiaries under the scheme.

Link TOI

Guruvayur shrine bids adieu to plastic bags

Pilgrims travelling to the Guruvayur shrine in Kerala's Thrissur district will be charged Rs 500 if found littering plastic on the streets. The Guruvayur Municipal Corporation (GMC) and the temple administration have joined hands to rid the temple town of plastic waste. 

"We have introduced a total plastic ban in Guruvayur. Plastic carry bags will no longer be used. Other plastic products like toys will be phased out gradually,'' said GMC chairperson Geetha Gopi. Pilgrims should not dump plastic bottles on the road, she said. GMC health squads and the police will watch out for violators. On its part, the temple has decided to forego plastic bags used in 'prasad' distribution. "For the time being, we have bought carry bags made of clothes and other bio-degradable material. We will soon float a tender to buy material for the next year,'' said Dewasom Chairman Thottathil Raveendran. 

However, plastic cans used to carry 'prasad' cannot be replaced immediately but the temple will work out a plan to introduce environment-friendly cans, he said. Everyday thousands of these cans and carry bags are used by pilgrims visiting the shrine. 

According to Gopi, "Normally, we have about 12 loads of garbage. This doubles during the pilgrimage season, a large portion of which is plastic waste.'' Last year, in spite of 140 labourers working to clean up plastic waste, the pile increased choking drains. 

"The state government had approved of a GMC garbage treatment plant over a year ago. But the plant cannot handle plastic. Around three months ago, we called a meeting of all stakeholders to decide on a plan. Everyone supported a total ban,'' said Gopi.

Link TOI

New Delhi among 10 worst cities for commuters

If you think your drive to work is bad then spare a thought for commuters in the cities of Beijing, Mexico City and Johannesburg which have come top in a global poll of the worst driving commutes in the world.

An IBM Commuter Pain Study of 8,192 motorists in 20 cities, released on Wednesday, found mostcommuters -- 67 percent -- said traffic has got worse in the past three years and it is making them sick and affecting how they do their job.

Rounding out the top 10 of the worst cities for commuters were Moscow, New Delhi, Sao Paulo, Milan, Buenos Aires, Madrid and London, with scores determined by up to 10 factors including commuting time, time stuck in traffic, and stress levels.

The survey found 65 percent of people driving to work every day say the journey makes them stressed, angry and reduces their sleep and family time while 29 percent said traffic was adversely impacting theirperformance at work or school.

Some cities came out worse than others with 22 percent of commuters in Mexico City taking more than an hour a day for a typical one-way trip to work compared to only two percent of commuters in New York or Madrid taking that long.

"Cities like Beijing and Mexico City have very long commutes and the uncertainty of the commute is high as one day it can take 45 minutes and the next day two hours," IBM's Global Lead for Intelligent Transportation Naveen Lamba told Reuters.

"This means a lot of time stuck in traffic and on occasions people just give up and go back home ... and it is not just the individuals affected but there is a cost for businesses and for the cities themselves. You have a cascading affect."

Lamba said this was the third annual commuter pain survey but this was the first global poll as the previous two had focused only on U.S. cities.

"When we focused on the United States, the cities you expect - like Los Angeles, New York and Chicago - came up as some of the worst commutes as these are cities where congestion is bad and commutes are long but in a global context they looked very efficient in terms of transportation," he said.

"Developing cities are growing so fast that you are seeing congestion building up very quickly as opposed to large cities in developed countries where congestion has taken decades to build up, giving officials more time to address the problem."

For example the number of new cars registered in Beijing in the first four months of 2010 rose 23.8 percent to 248,000, according to the Beijing municipal taxation office.

He said although Beijing topped the list, most commuters in the Chinese capital said the situation was improving after rapid growth in the city caused enormous congestion.

"In fact Beijing had the highest number of people who said the situation had got better in the past three years (48 percent)," said Lamba.

"Beijing has invested in adding to its transport infrastructure and subway system so we can see why travellers feel it is getting better."

The survey found the top frustrations among commuters were stop-start traffic, which bugged 42 percent of people, and rude drivers, who irritated 32 percent of commuters.

But despite the frustrations and the economic downturn, few commuters had changed the way they go to work with 84 percent saying the financial crisis had not stopped them driving to work.

"Even though commuters say the traffic is getting worse, for some reason people seem fond of their cars," said Lamba who hoped the information from the survey could be used by transport officials to better understand and manage traffic flow.

The other 10 cities involved in the survey were Paris, Toronto, Amsterdam, Los Angeles, Berlin, Montreal, New York, Houston, Melbourne and Stockholm.

Link:IBN