Wednesday, 19 June, 2013

Latest Updates

Lizard named after Obama was wiped out by climate change

Well it was just a matter of time before some commie scientists named an extinct animal after the 44th president of the United States. Obamadon gracilis is the name, and the foot-long creature — which was discovered in a fossil bed in Montana — has been extinct for about 65 million years. And ironically, its extinction may indicate that paleolithic changes in climate affected animals differently than previously believed. Paleontologist Nicholas Longrich explains that scientists are now rethinking the idea that the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs spared smaller lizards like Obamadon:....

Ten Years of the Biological Diversity Act

India’s Biological Diversity (BD) Act was enacted in 2002. There is now a decade of its existence to reflect on.The genesis of the law can be traced to the Convention on Biological Diversity(CBD), which was signed at the Rio Summit in 1992. While assessing the 10 years of the Act, one has to be mindful of how India itself has undergone change in these years. By the time the Act came into force, trade imperatives had begun to influence environmental law and policy making both at the national and global level. The final shape of the Act and the manner of its implementation through the BD rules issued by the Ministry of Environment and Forests....

Endow-Bio, Inc., the First National Endowment for Biodiversity

This is the birth announcement of Endow-Bio, Inc., the First National Endowment for Biodiversity. Please help us to publicize our brand new, all-volunteer, 501(c)(3) public charity. Endow-Bio, Inc. operates wholly within the U.S. Our current crises of nature, conservation and culture call for an audaciously hopeful response in the form of this new public charity. Our mission is to further conservation of biodiversity of native species and their habitats in the U.S., to expose the full breadth of our environmental problems, to show there are good-hearted people working to solve these problems who would ....

Protecting Livestock and Wildlife through Transfrontier Conservation Areas: An Interview with Steve Osofsky

“We are looking to make wildlife and livestock more compatible by dealing with diseases, by dealing with human/wildlife conflict, and at the same time seeking economic opportunity in both of these arenas.” Steve Osofsky, director of wildlife health policy for the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), developed the Animal & Human Health for the Environment And Development (AHEAD) program at WCS and served as the first wildlife veterinary officer for the Botswana Department of Wildlife and National Parks. In an interview with Worldwatch Research Fellow Molly Theobald, Dr. Osofsky discusses how farmers can both help and benefit from wildlife c....

Feature

After the Himalayan blunder

Building local research capability on climate change is sensible IPCC has been forced to apologise for improper application of clear and well-established standards of evidence, which led its fourth assessment report to proclaim that Himalayan glaciers were receding faster than in any other part of the world and, at present rates, they would disappear by 2035 if not sooner. India’s environment and forests minister Jairam Ramesh, ever since taking charge in May last year, has questioned IPCC’s glacier predictions, characterising them as alarmist. ...
Read more...

Friday,22 January, 2010 | Hits: 168

India to discuss climate pact with Basic group

With the Copenhagen Accord setting a January 31 deadline for the nations to specify 2020 emission targets and other steps, India will hold discussion with other Basic group members comprising China, South Africa and Brazil in New Delhi to discuss their climate strategy. ...
Read more...

Sunday,10 January, 2010 | Hits: 3069

Cities choking, only 8 treating 50% sewage: CPCB

Thirty five cities in India are pumping as much as 7,604 million litres of sewage daily straight into rivers, notably the Ganga, and the sea.A new report by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) on water consumption and sewage disposal patterns shows that the biggest cities in India are only treating 50 per cent of the sewage they generate. Not only is the rest going back to rivers, the source of drinking water, but it is also polluting the sea. The study suggests that if an economic value were to be assigned to the fertilising potential of this wastewater, Rs 1,091 million is being lost annually. ...
Read more...

Sunday,10 January, 2010 | Hits: 215

UN, Denmark get active on ‘Hagen deal’

Ask All Countries To Submit Emission Reduction Targets And Sign On Accord With the January 31 deadline drawing close, the United Nations and Denmark have stepped up the effort to get all countries to sign the Copenhagen Accord. UN Secretary-General ban ki-Moon and Danish prime minister Lars Locke Rasmussen have written to heads of state and government asking them to submit their emission reduction commitments and to take steps to get all countries to get on board. ...
Read more...

Monday,11 January, 2010 | Hits: 137

Glaciergate 2035

Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Like so many other sayings that have stood the test of time, this one has also seen plenty of exceptions. Not all powerful people or institutions are crooked. Not all the accusations planted against them are creditable. But what remains cross-contextually proper is that powerful people and institutions must be subjected to constant, close scrutiny. And no one can deny that a lot of power is floating around in the climate change orbit today, especially with the stars of the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. ...
Read more...

Wednesday,20 January, 2010 | Hits: 185

Climate Change - Planet B

How the underwhelming Copenhagen accord could yet turn into a useful document Faced with the undoubted grandeur of climate change, a grand response seems in order. But, to the immediate disappointment to most of those participating and watching, the much anticipated UN climate conference held in Copenhagen in December led to no such thing. ...
Read more...

Tuesday,05 January, 2010 | Hits: 203

Cultivating dry lands to help environment

The International Centre for Agriculture Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA), which began its three-day strategic coordination meeting here on Saturday, is expected to adopt an aggressive agenda for converting more dry lands into cultivable land. ...
Read more...

Saturday,12 December, 2009 | Hits: 164

Climate change and energy issues

The change in the dynamics of the energy sector could solve its deep-rooted problems. Environmental concerns arise rationally. Our society is built upon the ability to generate energy. Obviously, depletion of fossil fuels is a concern. So are broader issues of pollution, and potential climate change. ...
Read more...

Saturday,12 December, 2009 | Hits: 120

Climate Change and Climategate

Thousands of politicians, bureaucrats and environmental activists have arrived in Copenhagen for the COP15 global climate summit with all the bravado - and self-regard - of a group of commandos who are convinced that they are about to save the world. And, although the political differences between them remain huge, delegates are nonetheless congratulating themselves for having the answers to global warming. ...
Read more...

Tuesday,15 December, 2009 | Hits: 185

Hard times for climate scientists

Peer-review and data-sharing processes need strengthening Anthropogenic global warming (AGW) and consequent climate change is perhaps the most contentious issue in the world today. At the centre of it all is the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which collates the work of thousands of scientists, assessed through peer-review and approved by 192 governments. IPCC’s findings have led to consensus on the potential for disaster. But nations remain deeply divided on the actions necessary to mitigate AGW. The policies mooted involve enormous, unevenly-spread expenses and opportunity costs. ...
Read more...

Saturday,23 January, 2010 | Hits: 238

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25