India to participate in Abu Dhabi environment show     Abu Dhabi, August 11, 2008:  India will be among over 25 countries taking  part in an environment exhibition to be held in this capital city of the United Arab Emirates  (UAE) in January next year.The exhibition, Environment 2009, will be held Jan 19-21, 2009. Apart from India and hosts UAE, among the other  participants are Australia, Bahrain, China,  France, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Britain  and the US. It will be the fifth edition of the exhibition.    According to the WAM report, Environment 2009  will cover the following sectors - water, waste, air pollution treatment, recycling, protection and preservation of nature and cultural  resources, sustainable development and services such as risk prevention and management, audit,  consultancy, training and education.  Source: Asian News

Taj Mahal vicinity to be kept free from vehicles   Agra, July 10, 2008 (ANI): Authorities of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) have barred vehicles from getting close to the portals of the Taj. The latest step has been taken following the Supreme Court's directives to protect white-marbled historical monument from pollution. Barricades have been put in place 500 metres from the main entrance to prevent traffic.     Even Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)-run vehicles and cycle rickshaws have been disallowed to get close to the main gate. Pollution has been a matter of concern and also its security aspect, a fact that has compelled the authorities to restrict vehicles from nearing the Taj Mahal.

Environmentalists  have demanded concrete measures to control heavy traffic movement in and around the Taj Mahal.

Describing Reva as "a little cute car", Sheila Dikshit said her government was committed to taking steps to improve the city's environment.

India's first electric car Reva launched in Delhi   New Delhi, June 25, 2008 (IANS): After 13 years of research and development, India's first electric car 'Reva' was launched in the national capital by Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit Wednesday morning. Describing Reva as "a little cute car", Sheila Dikshit said her government was committed to taking steps to improve the city's environment.    To popularize the battery-operated car, the government announced a 15 percent subsidy on its base price, 12.5 percent exemption of value-added tax (VAT), and a refund of road tax and registration charges.   The subsidy and exemptions would bring down price of Reva's base model to Rs.299,000, and it would cost users 40 paise per kilometre. Asked about their target in the first year, Reva Electric Car Co's president of India operations Girish M. Rakhe said: 'We will be very happy if we sell 3,000 cars in the national capital in our first  year.'

Leave ocean beds alone   June 23, 2008: What scientists like Wallace Broecker of Columbia University are advocating when they plead for experiments in deep seabed injections of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions is a dangerous policy proposal.  Instead of destroying enemy resources, we'd be killing off organisms at the bottom of the sea that could be a vital link in the chain of life on the only home we know, Planet Earth.     We're poisoning the air we breathe, the water we drink and the soil we live off. We're cutting down forests and melting down the North and South poles. We're intruding deep into millennia-old ice by drilling holes into them for experiments. We're littering outer space with trash. With global warming, ocean waters are turning acidic, bleaching coral reefs and compromising marine life.    The world's highest mountain peak, Mt Everest, is also the world's highest garbage dump. The global appetite for energy is turning monstrous, and is growing faster than our efforts to find renewable replacements for fossil fuels. Isn't it time to stop and do things differently?  Deep-sea ocean beds are probably the last frontier on earth,  relatively free of toxic human footprints. So let's just leave ocean beds alone. Let's get serious about renewable energy options and cut back emissions as much as we can instead of looking for new places to hide it.  Source: The Times of India    Canada, India join hands in $17 mn research programmes   OTTAWA, june 16, 2008: Indian and Canadian companies and researchers will carry out 10 research initiatives, valued at more than $17 million, in areas such as pollution control, aviation, bio-fuels and telecom under a bilateral pact. The initiatives were announced jointly by Science, Technology and Earth Sciences Minister Kapil Sibal, and Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade and Minister for the Pacific  Gateway David Emerson.    Eight of the initiatives will be joint research projects, while two will be aimed at generating new or expanding research and technology-based partnerships. Sibal said the Indian government had increased its planned  expenditure in science and technology by almost five times over that earmarked in the previous Five-Year Plan.  "My ministry has now joined hands with the Confederation of Indian Industry to manage and deliver India's bilateral industrial research programmes," he said.  Source: The Economic Times     Delhi's e-waste to be recycled in Haridwar    NEW DELHI, June 7, 2008: Delhi and the NCR will soon be able to ‘legally’ recycle their e-waste when a plant for the purpose is set up in Haridwar in the coming months. The plant will be the first of its kind in north India with a recycling capacity of 12,000 tonnes per annum.     With the plant based in another state, environmentalists are worried about the e-waste being carried across the state boundary, since it is both allegedly illegal and also dangerous. However, Central Pollution Control Board officials maintain that e-waste guidelines permit the waste to be carried across states for recycling purposes and only dumping is not permitted.     According to unofficial data, Delhi produces about 730 tonnes of e-waste per annum and more is brought in from other states. Delhi is especially at risk since it is the biggest centre for e-waste recycling. Waste is not only brought in from Mumbai, Kolkata and other major centres, but is also imported.    Source: The Times of India   24 most polluted places in India   NEW DELHI, May 30, 2008: Talcher, a coalmine hub in Orissa, is the most polluted place in the country, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) said. The ministry of environment and forests said CPCB has identified 24 problem areas on the basis of air and water pollution by industries. The board will prepare Environment Management Plans (EMPs) for these regions soon.    Talcher in the Angul district of Orissa is known for its vast coal reserves and also houses a major National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) plant. The district is also home to the National Aluminium Company (NALCO), one of the profit making public sector units. Following Talcher, Ankleshwar in Gujarat, Bhadravati in Karnataka, Bollaram in Karnataka, Chembur in Maharashtra and Dhanbad in Bihar are among the worst polluted places in India.    Jodhpur in Rajasthan, Durgapur and Howrah in West Bengal, Vellore in Tamil Nadu, Greater Cochin in Kerala, Vapi in Gujarat and Singrauli in Madhya Pradesh also made it to the list of 24 most polluted places in the country.  In the national capital, Najafgarh Drain Basin Area in southwest  Delhi is the 17th most polluted place in the country, CPCB said. CPCB said it has been conducting inspections to ensure compliance by industrial units of various pollution control norms. It has identified 17 categories of polluting industries located  along the rivers and lakes and in problem areas. According to the board, aluminium and cement industries are the top two polluters in the country. Source: The Economic Times    Spinneys offers jute bags to reduce use of plastic   Dubai, May 25, 2008: One of the UAE's most popular supermarkets has started selling reusable jute bags. Spinneys, which has around 30 branches across the country, has reached an agreement with Dubai-based supplier Enthusiasm as part of its commitment to reduce plastic bag usage.    Enthusiasm has been operating in Dubai for 11 years and supplies several of the city's major retailers including Carrefour, Hyperpanda and Geant. This comes as Gulf News's campaign Say No to Plastic Bags has gained momentum, prompting a broader Go Green campaign. Jute is a soft vegetable fibre that can be spun into coarse, strong threads and is 100 per cent biodegradable. Source: Gulfnews   Retailers to be fined for giving free plastic bags in China   May 16, 2008: RETAILERS may face up to a 10,000-yuan (US$1,430) fine if they offer customers plastic bags for free, according to the new rule that takes effect on June 1. Retailers are also banned from selling plastic bags at prices below cost, according to the policy jointly issued by the Ministry of Commerce, National Development and Reform Commission and the State Administration for Industry and Commerce.   People in China use 3 billion plastic bags daily, among which 1 billion were from grocery shopping. Most of the bags will never be used again. The central government has made rules to ban retailers from giving free plastic bags as a strategy to protect the environment and conserve resources.  Beijing throws away 2.3 billion plastic bags a year. Its annual plastic packaging reached 140,000 tons a year, accounting for 3 percent of the city's urban garbage.   Most of the plastic bags offered by retailers in China need at least 200 years to decompose and 1,000 years to disappear.  The Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, also known as Shangri-la,  has banned the use of plastic bags since 2001. San Francisco banned retailers from giving away plastic bags on March 27, 2007, while in other US cities, such as Los Angeles, governments have launched a plastic bag recycling movement.     Some regions in Canada, Australia and Brazil also passed bills to ban or limit the use of plastic bags. Asia countries such as Singapore, Japan and South Korea have encouraged people to use their own shopping bags or use paper bags instead.  Source: shanghaidaily

Rajasthan High court blocks felling of 47000 trees    Jaipur, April 22, 2008: Rajasthan High Court today stalled a plan to cut 47,000 trees on Jaipur’s outskirts and build a new home for Appu Ghar, gladdening environmentalists on Earth Day. The court stayed any kind of activity on the 300 acres of forest land, near Nahargarh, allotted for transplanting the amusement park that was till a few months ago located in Delhi.   Already 10,000 trees have been felled for the new park, water resort and entertainment enclave, being developed by Delhi-based International Amusement and Infrastructure Ltd. The two-judge bench issued notices to the Union forest secretary, Rajasthan urban development secretary, state principal conservator of forests, Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) commissioner and the developers for alleged violation of Section 2 of the Forest Conservation Act, 1980. The act says forest land cannot be used for non-forest purposes.

Already 10,000 trees have been felled for the new park, on the 300 acres of forest land, near Nahargarh, Jaipur.

Glaciers Are Melting Faster Than Expected, UN Reports  March 18, 2008:  The world's glaciers are continuing to melt away with the latest official figures showing record losses, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) announced today. The findings come from the World Glacier Monitoring Service (WGMS), a centre based at the University of Zurich in Switzerland and that is supported by UNEP. It has been tracking the fate of glaciers for over a century. Continuous data series of annual mass balance, expressed as thickness change, are available for 30 reference glaciers since 1980.   The Service calculates thickening and thinning of glaciers in terms of 'water equivalent'. The estimates for the year 2006 indicate that further shrinking took place equal to around 1.4 metres of water equivalent compared to losses of half a metre in 2005. "This continues the trend in accelerated ice loss during the past two and a half decades and brings the total loss since 1980 to more than 10.5 metres of water equivalent," said Professor Haberli. During 1980-1999, average loss rates had been 0.3 metres per year. Since the turn of the millennium, this rate had increased to about half a metre per year.  Achim Steiner, UN Under- Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director, said: "Millions if not billions of people depend directly or indirectly on these natural water storage facilities for drinking water, agriculture, industry and power generation during key parts of the year."

The world's glaciers are continuing to melt away with the latest official figures showing record losses, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) announced today.

POLLUTION IN DAMODAR RIVER   LOK SABHA, March 12, 2008: As per the information provided by Central Pollution Control Board, the coal mines, coal washeries, thermal power plants, chemical factories, located in the vicinity of the river Damodar, discharge their wastewater into the river Damodar after necessary treatment. The effluent discharged by these industries is regularly monitored by the respective State Pollution Control Board of Jharkhand and West Bengal to check compliance with the prescribed standards. Action is taken against the defaulting units as per the provisions of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and Environment (Protection)  Act, 1986.   Conservation of rivers is a dynamic activity with the ever increasing pollution load due to rapid urbanization and increase in population. Review of the strategies of conservation policy and identification of additional towns and rivers is a continuous process. Due to continuous increase in the population of the towns located along the banks of the rivers resulting in increased pollution load, and gap in the availability of financial resources to take up works commensurate with the requirements, there is likely to be persistent divergence between the tackled pollution load and the actual pollution load.     This information was given by the Minister of State for Environment and Forests Shri Namo Narain Meena, in a written reply to a question by Shri Tek Lal Mahto in the Lok Sabha today.    Forbes magazine listed Mumbai as the seventh dirtiest city in the world   New York, March 03, 2008: Mumbai and Delhi are among the 25 dirtiest cities in the world while the four Indian metros and Bangalore are among the 20 densest cities, according to the US Forbes magazine. The US business magazine also lists Sukinda in Orissa and Vapi in Gujarat among the 10 most polluted places globally. In an earlier Forbes list of the 20 densest urban areas in the world, Mumbai and Kolkata occupied the top two slots, packing in over 23,000 people per square kilometre.   While listing Mumbai as the seventh dirtiest, the magazine also cites a recent private sector proposal, Vision Mumbai, which seeks $1 billion government aid for infrastructure, pollution control and economic growth strategy.    Delhi at No.24 fares little better but gets drubbing for the pollution in Yamuna river, which is devoid of marine life and where "garbage and sewage flow freely, creating a rich environment for the growth of water-borne diseases contributing to extremely high rates of infant morbidity."

India to ensure less carbon emissions  NEW DELHI, February 25, 2008: India is willing to ensure that its green- house gas emissions will not exceed the per capita emissions of developed countries at any time, President Pratibha Patil said on Monday. The government is also planning a 'National Action Plan on Climate Change', she said in her maiden address to the joint sitting of the Budget session of the Parliament. "India is willing to ensure that its per capita emissions shall at no time exceed the average per capita emissions of developed countries," she said.    The government acted with "urgency" on the issue of climate change and established a 'Prime Minister's Council on Climate Change' to plan and implement appropriate strategies for mitigating and adapting to climate change, she said.  She said India "constructively" engaged with the international community at the recent Bali Conference on climate change to launch a comprehensive process on long-term cooperative action to deal with this issuance in accordance with the UN Framework  Convention on Climate Change.    Taking a serious note of the pollution of water bodies, the President said that the 'River Conservation Programme' will be revamped to focus on cleaning of major rivers in the country.

President Pratibha Patil

Air pollution is blotting sunlight in India MONACO, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Air pollution is blotting out a tenth of China's sunlight and a similar amount in India, a leading U.S. climate scientist said on Wednesday. The soot, called black carbon and produced by burning coal, dung, wood and diesel, rises in the upper atmosphere, where it traps the sun's heat and blots out the light, raising the temperature at higher altitudes but cooling the earth below.   Veerabhadran Ramanathan, an atmospheric scientist at the University of California, said that as a result the soot is contributing to the melting of the glaciers and weakening Indian monsoons. Himalayan glaciers supply water to hundreds of millions of people in China and India, and melting attributed to climate change is expected to affect supplies within 20 to 30 years.   "We found it (soot) was responsible for about half the warming," Ramanathan told Reuters on the fringes of the Monaco meeting of 100 environment ministers, hosted by the U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP). The soot is also landing on the glaciers as a dark dust which makes the ice less reflective, speeding up melting. Himalayan glaciers are warming twice as fast as Indian plains, he added. One way to tackle the problem is to replace wood or dung for cooking with biogas or shiny metallic solar cookers.

No proper guidelines  on e-waste disposal   CHENNAI, February 12, 2008: Chennai ranks third among the top 10 cities in the country that generate e-waste, according to the Central Pollution Control Board. It generates roughly 10,000 to 20,000 tonnes of e-waste a year with no proper facility to recycle them. e-waste includes discarded computers, phones, cell phones, fax machines, printers and copiers and their components. Experts say that only 10 per cent of e-waste is recycled properly. The remaining 90 per cent is broken down in a crude manner in the unorganised sector.    There are no guidelines yet for e-waste management and disposal and only the draft guidelines have been prepared. There are five e-waste recyclers around Chennai, who have been recognised by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board. Chennai’s e-waste includes what is imported from other countries. A lot of e-waste is imported under the guise of donations or second-hand computers.  Source: The Hindu

e-waste includes discarded computers, phones, cell phones, fax machines, printers and copiers and their components.

Cold wave in India attributed to global warming Mumbai, February, 2008: The recent cold wave sweeping across Mumbai and other parts of India could be attributed to global warming, experts said on Tuesday here at an environmental conference. Addressing the ‘Combat Global Warming’ conference at the Indian Merchants Chamber (IMC) here, former Union minister for power and environment Suresh Prabhu said global warming was primarily a problem created and induced by human beings. He said the increase in emission of green house gases like carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide and methane had resulted in the situation, which could prove catastrophic if unchecked.    Prabhu said the cold wave that swept Maharashtra and other parts of India recently could be attributed to the  phenomenon of global warming. He said global warming had already affected agriculture and water availability in various parts of the country. "A recent study revealed that 70 percent of India's water bodies are polluted," Prabhu said. The former minister said India was one of the world's top five polluters, which also include the US, European nations and Japan.    IMC president Niraj Bajaj said the fluctuating climatic conditions due to global warming posed a threat to the  very survival of the planet. To drive home his point, he quoted Mahatma Gandhi: "You must be the change you wish to see in the world." Environmental scientist Emmanuel D'Silva said Mumbai and Kolkata were among the ten worst cities in the world with regard to environmental pollution and sanitation. "It is estimated by the year 2050, another seven million persons are expected to take refuge in Mumbai after global warming leads to either a drought or deluge in their village or city elsewhere in the country," D'Silva said.  IIM-C students focus  Kolkata, February 6, 2008: The students of Indian Institute of Management-Calcutta have undertaken a project on safety monitoring of the environment. It is aimed at design, development and implementation, on a pilot basis, of a sensor based wireless network with gas sensors, to continuously monitor harmful effluents. The project on “Pollution monitoring and evaluation system using sensor based wireless mesh networks” lead by Prof Somprakash Bandyopadhyay, MIS Group, IIM-C, is funded by department of IT, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology.     IIM-C in collaboration with PervCom Consulting Private Limited and Confederation of Indian Industries, conducted a one-day workshop at its campus in the last week of January. The workshop served as a common platform for the exchange of opinions of experts from various industrial sectors on pollution monitoring and hazards caused by toxic gas emissions. Representatives from the companies like Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd., Hindalco Industries Ltd., Exide Industries Ltd. and Tata Chemicals Ltd. took part in the workshop.  Source: Statesman News Service

Spreading awareness the only way to check pollution  February 01, 2008:  The spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shanakr  believes that the only way to check climate change is to spread awareness about pollution. According to the founder of the international Art of Living Foundation, measures to prevent environmental degradation range from planting more trees to saving water and using chemical free fertilisers on the fields. However, he insists that before putting any safeguard mechanism in place, people need to know about climate and the way it is changing.    Pollution, explains Sri Sri, is not just physical. "There is pollution of stress. People just sit in a place and think negative. It can bring anger, frustration and even frenzy and all those who are vulnerable can catch the anger in their minds. The mind just goes crazy. It sends out negative vibes that harm the ambience, including the environment. "One of the best ways to prevent polluting oneself and the surrounding environment is to remain joyful and stress free. Source: IANS

Born in 1956 in Papanasham in Tamil Nadu, Sri Sri is at the forefront of several social campaigns, including environmental protection, disaster and trauma relief and poverty alleviation.

Meet on air pollution at Bangalore Bangalore, January 22, 2008: A workshop is being organised by Cerana Foundation in association with Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) on Tuesday and Wednesday to discuss the deteriorating situation of air pollution in Bangalore. Studies estimate that 10 per cent of Bangalore’s 60 lakh population and over 50 per cent of its children below 18 years suffer from air pollution-related ailments. This workshop is part of an environmental health workshop series initiated two years ago in affiliation with the United Nations  Environment Programme. The workshop will bring together various stakeholders - from asthma and other air pollution affected persons, government and non-government and professional organisations, and individuals.  In India, air pollution is estimated to cause, at the very minimum, 1 lakh excess deaths and 25 million excesses illnesses every year.    PM blames industrialised nations for climate change  VISAKHAPATNAM, January 3, 2008: Observing that industrialised countries have the "biggest" responsibility for the impact on climate, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday put the onus on them to correct the damage.    Addressing the 95th Indian Science Congress here, he said the world cannot walk down the path of environmentally harmful development that developed industrial economies have pursued thus far. "They bear the biggest responsibility for what has happened and must bear the greatest responsibility for correcting the damage," Singh said adding climate change posed a great and a new challenge to the development prospects and to the livelihood of the people.     Noting that India has adopted a "pro-active and pragmatic approach" to the problem of environmental degradation, he said "we cannot replicate the western model of wasteful consumption and environmentally harmful industrialisation. "We need an alternative approach more mindful of our resource endowments, and also of the need to avoid damage to the environment", the Prime Minister said adding "we need a global  response, a national response and a local response."     An expert committee headed by R Chidambaram had come forward with a research agenda to study the impact of climate change in the country, he said adding the government was in the process of identifying a centre of national excellence on climate change. - PTI  Fishermen say pollution is posing a serious threat by Pharma City  VISAKHAPATNAM, January 1, 2008: The 2,120-acre Jawaharlal Nehru Pharma City, though far from  completion, is proving to be the major venture for 2008, even as its contemporaries bauxite mining and alumina refinery putter along under opposition resistance. The project is touted as an AP Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) initiative, the government has come under fire for allowing Ramky group to conduct bidding for the land at exorbitant rates. “The land was given to Ramky at subsidised prices and the farmers who owned them were paid Rs 2 lakh and less per acre. But they were sold to companies for Rs 40 lakh and more,” CPM district secretary Narsinga Rao said.   However, fishermen say pollution is posing a serious threat to their livelihood as a large number of fish are dying. “The units will dump toxic effluents indiscriminately into the ocean. The blanket eco clearance is a thoughtless move,” Forum for Better Vizag founder EAS Sarma says.  Source: Times of India  Rich Lands Poor People, is sustainable mining possible? December 29, 2007:  New Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) on Friday said mining was causing displacement, pollution, forest degradation and social unrest. The CSE released its 356-page sixth State of India’s Environment report, ‘Rich Lands Poor People, is sustainable mining possible?’  According to the Centre for Science and Environment ( CSE) report the top 50 mineral producing districts, as many as 34 fall under the 150 most backward districts identified in the country. Besides, three states with substantial dependence on minerals - Jharkhand, Orissa and Chhattisgarh - are today characterised by low per capita income, lower growth rates and higher levels of poverty and food insecurity. While 19 districts out of the total 22 are identified as backward in Jharkhand, in Orissa 27 districts out of the total 30 are backward and in Chhattisgarh as many as 15 out of the total 16 districts are backward.    The CSE report has made extensive analysis of environment degradation and pollution due to mining, wherein it has said, in 2005-06 alone 1.6 billion tonnes of waste and overburden from coal, iron ore, limestone and bauxite have added to environment pollution. With the annual growth of mining at 10.7 per cent and 500-odd mines awaiting approval of the Centre, the pollution would increase manifold in the coming years.  Salt turns black in Kutch due to industrial pollution  Kutch, December 26, 2007: The salt in the Kutch district is turning black and salt manufactures and the local industry body say it is due to rampant pollution from the new industries.  The salt manufactures say the polluted salt has forced serious financial losses and many small manufacturing units employing thousands of people may have to shut down.    Kutch in Gujarat is India's biggest producer of salt. It made 1.37 crore tonnes last year of the 1.8 crore tonnes produced in the 11 salt making states. There are more than 30 steel plants in Kutch district. Steel plants were supposed to have ESP units to control smoke emissions. But the industries may not using them, hence the carbon gets deposited inside the crystals during crystallization.  Officials say the are investing the matter.

The pollution impacts by cheap cars allowed to run on cheap diesel fuel.  December 21, 2007: The World Energy Outlook 2007 of the International Energy Agency (IEA) has alerted that India has just crossed the tipping point of per capita GDP of $ 3,000. Once this threshold is reached, vehicle ownership rates will escalate rapidly. And the IEA has not yet factored in the implications of the Indian car industry racing to the bottom to compete on costs to shorten the fuse further.  The new price strategy plans to create a new class of buyers across cities and suburbs. The rising GDP has boosted purchasing power across India. In fact, the demand estimated for rural households in the next one year is 1.5 lakh cars. That equals the total number of cars sold during 2006-07 in the country. Market watchers anticipate that additional 30 million households will be able to buy a car by 2010. Cheap cars will make it easier. The industry argument is that frugal engineering, low cost skills and material, and volumes can make production of very low cost cars possible in India. It is an opportunity at a time when car penetration is as low as seven cars per 1,000 persons. Build volumes at the lower end, at a lesser margin and still remain profitable ,that’s the strategy of the cheap car. But what can the abnormally low price mean in terms of emissions performance, durability and safety? The industry meets the law of the land, but the law of the land itself is weak. Scheduled to hit the market in 2008, these cars will hit the roads much before Euro IV emissions standards are in place.  But more than half of our cities have critical levels of deadly particulates. Thirty per cent of our cities have nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels that have moved up from low to moderately high. Small cities and towns, now scaling the pollution peaks, are most vulnerable to the explosive increase in cheap cars.     The pollution impacts can be much more severe if cheap cars are also allowed to run on cheap diesel fuel. Emissions data available from the Pune-based vehicle certification agency, Automotive Research Association of India, shows that the actual emissions levels of even Euro III diesel cars are enormously higher than petrol cars. Diesel cars emit 7.5 times more particulate matter, seven times more air toxins and treble the amount of NO2. Personal cars are taking unfair advantage of the official policy of keeping taxes on diesel fuel low for agricultural and freight use. Without clean diesel, vehicles that run on diesel should not be allowed to proliferate.   Buyers still do not know if the Rs 1 lakh tag dream can survive once the key safety requirements for cars become mandatory. These include the full body crash test that determines how the car crumples at the time of collision to minimise harm to the riders, impact-absorbing features like air bags, anti-lock braking systems etc. Currently, Indian buyers are not even informed of the safety status of the cars as is done in Europe.

The Rs 1 lakh Tata billion cars for a billion people. But the pollution impacts can be much more severe if cheap cars are also allowed to run on cheap diesel fuel.   More than half of our cities have critical levels of deadly particulates. Thirty per cent of our cities have nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels that have moved up from low to moderately high. Small cities and towns, now scaling the pollution peaks, are most vulnerable to the explosive increase in cheap cars.

German Chancellor Merkel asks India to do more on climate change NEW DELHI , October 30, 2007 (Reuters):  German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged India, one of the world's biggest polluters, to do more to combat climate change on Tuesday, saying her country was willing to help New Delhi make progress.Merkel, a former environment minister who has pushed global warming to the top of her international agenda, said rich nations and emerging economies needed to strike a balance over the amount of responsibility they need to shoulder to prevent climate change and not fight over it.    "We have to prove that we are willing to strike a balance," Merkel, who began a four-day visit to India on Monday, told business leaders in New Delhi. Germany could help India become a more efficient user of energy by sharing technology to avoid "mistakes we made in the industrial countries", she said. "Climate change, beyond the substantive issue that it is, is a very good issue for us to learn to shoulder common responsibilities," she said, referring to growing trade and business ties between the two countries.    Emerging economies like China and India, also major polluters, are opposed to strict, new environmental regulations or energy constraints as they fear such steps could strangle their economic growth. They demand that industrialised nations, traditionally the chief polluters, bear the brunt of emission cuts. Nigeria dumping high-grade lead paint on India  Washington, September 28, 2007: A multinational team of environmental and occupational health researchers has reported that Nigeria is dumping consumer paints with very high levels of lead on developing countries like India and China. The researchers found that 96 percent of the consumer paints available in Nigeria contained higher than the recommended levels of lead.    According to Scott Clark, Professor of Environmental Health at the University of Cincinnati and Sandy Roda, a study co-author who oversaw sample analysis, one paint manufacturer in Nigeria sold high-lead paint in India, but offered a low-lead version in Singapore, a country that enforces a lead standard similar to the United States.  Pollution is the major cause of Global Deaths   Water, air and soil pollution, along with other environmental factors, contribute to 40 percent of deaths worldwide each year, a new study concludes. In a review of research into the effects of environmental pollutants and other sources of environmental degradation, Cornell University ecologist David Pimentel estimates that 62 million deaths per year (40 percent of all that occur) can be attributed to environmental factors, particularly organic and chemical pollutants that accumulate in the air we breathe and the water we drink. Dirty water with an estimated 1.1 billion people in the world lacking access to clean water (according to WHO estimates). Water contaminated with untreated sewage and fecal matter can facilitate the transmission of diarrheal diseases such as cholera, intestinal infections and other diseases—all of which kill millions every year, especially children.    Thick smoke Air pollution is another big killer. The WHO ranks it as the eighth most important risk in the burden of disease and deems it responsible for 3 million deaths each year through diseases such as pneumonia, chronic bronchitis and lung cancer. In developing countries, indoor air pollution is a major problem because most people rely on open stoves fueled by dung, wood, crop waste or coal to cook and heat poorly-ventilated homes. Outdoor air pollution, on the other hand, accounts for some 800,000 deaths per year—about half as many as for indoor air—because the pollutants are much less concentrated. Chemical exposures including DDT can contribute to cancers, birth defects, immune system defects, behavioral problems, altered sex hormones and dysfunctions in specific organs.

World's 10 most polluted places   September 14, 2007: (Reuters)  The world's top 10 most polluted places, according to the Blacksmith Institute, a New York-based nonprofit group, who could face problems ranging from asthma to premature death. The annual list was compiled with help from specialists at Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, Hunter College in New York, India's ITT, University of Idaho, Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York and others. Below are the worst polluted places listed alphabetically.  Sumgayit, Azerbaijan :  Potentially affected people: 275,000 - Pollutants: Heavy metals, organic chemicals - Sources: Petrochemical and industrial complexes  Linfen, China:  Potentially affected people: 3,000,000 - Pollutants: Fly-ash, volatile organic compounds, lead - Sources: Car and industrial emissions from coal industry  Tianying, China:  Potentially affected people: 140,000 - Pollutants: Lead and heavy metals  - Sources: Mining and processing  Sukinda, India:  Potentially affected people: 2,600,000 - Pollutants: Hexavalent chromium  - Sources: Chromite mines  Vapi, India:  Potentially affected people: 71,000 - Pollutants: Chemicals and heavy metals  - Sources: Industrial estates  La Oroya, Peru:  Potentially affected people: 35,000 - Pollutants: Lead, copper, zinc -  Sources: Heavy metal mining  Dzerzhinsk, Russia:  Potentially affected people: 300,000- Pollutants: Sarin, lead, phenols  - Sources: Cold War-era chemical weapons, manufacturing  Norilsk, Russia: Potentially Affected People: 134,000 - Pollutants: Heavy metals, phenols  - Sources: Nickel mining  Chernobyl, Ukraine:  Potentially affected people: 5.5 million - Pollutants: Radioactive dust including uranium, other metals - Sources: Nuclear meltdown of reactor core in 1986 Kabwe, Zambia - Potentially affected people: 255,000 - Pollutants: Lead, cadmium

ETP dicharge at Vapi    Vapi Indsurial estate  Pollutants: Chemicals and heavy metals

Taj Mahal getting dirty by pollution NEW DELHI, India (AP) Taj Mahal  India's most iconic structures and one of the world's most visited landmarks is getting dirty by pollution. Taj Mahal, is renowned for the paleness of its marble, but these days it looks more yellow than white.  A report Monday by a parliamentary panel blamed air pollution, saying the Taj Mahal is encrusted with "suspended particulate matter," or granules of dirt and soot found in high levels in the air around the site in the city of Agra.  "The deposition of SPM on the shimmering white marble of the Taj Mahal imparts yellow tinge to the marble surface," the report said. To restore the monument to its pristine glory, the panel recommended packing it in mud, a process used on the Taj Mahal in the past. The treatment takes about two months and involves caking the domed edifice in mud and letting it dry before washing the clay off. As the mud dries, it absorbs the dirty buildup. The restoration costs $230,000 and will need to be repeated every two or three years, said P. Dayalan, superintendent of the Archaeological Survey of India in Agra, which maintains the monument.  The Taj Mahal was built by the Mogul Emperor Shah Jahan between 1632 and 1654 for his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. It houses their graves and a mosque, as well as several other graves of lesser Mogul royalty. Some 3 million tourists visit the mausoleum every year.

Taj Mahal

World’s Earth Day 2007  The April 22, 2007 is the World’s Earth Day celebration. The first Proclamation of Earth Day was by San Francisco, the City of Saint Francis, patron saint of ecology. Designating the First Day of Spring, March 21, 1970 to be Earth Day, this day of nature’s equipoise was later sanctioned in a Proclamation signed by Secretary General U Thant at the United Nations where it is observed each year. Earth Day was firmly established for all time on a sound basis as an annual event to deepen reverence and care for life on our planet.”

Since April 22, 1970, Earth Day has become an annual celebration of environmental protection and it's impact  on the world’s habitats. Today, we face the challenges of safeguarding the beauty of our natural world for our present generation as well as for the future. Human habitats and habitation are constantly threatening the ecological balance  of the mother earth. Earth Day gives us an opportunity to observe our environment and encourages us to protect it in  a most sensible way.    The celebration of Earth Day does not have to be on April 22nd of each year; in stead, it could be on every day.  If we use our common sense and pay a little more attention to our daily activities, the chances of preserving our  planet earth would be much more than you ever can dream about. You can motivate people through awareness  programs such as: Sponsor essay, poster and photography contest Conduct "teach-in" local schools and colleges Participate in town meetings to encourage public about recycling, carpooling and discuss issues that affect the environment.  Awareness about Pollution Prevention: Create public awareness about proper handling of household chemicals, engine/lawn mower oils, pesticide  containers etc. Encourage the recycling habits and eliminate unnecessary packaging/storing of rarely used materials Celebration via Recreation Organize environmental exhibits, picnics, beach clean ups Encourage planting of trees and ensure they survive through the years. Conservation of Natural Resources Save water by turning off the faucets when not in use. Clean and wash vegetables in a large bowl of water instead  of washing under the running faucet. Take showers instead of baths and run the dishwashers with a full load. Collect rain water for watering the plants and shrubs. Use organic fertilizers instead of inorganic chemicals to provide nutrients to the soil. Protect the beneficial insects (such as ladybugs, bees, spiders etc.) around the gardens. Leave the grass clippings, leaves etc. on the ground because they make excellent mulches and provide nutrition to the soil. Promote the protection of endangered, threatened species and wildlife across the country and around the world. Besides these, there are so many other simple tips that we all can follow on a day to day basis. Always remember, ‘Nature’ is our most trusted friend around us. Ruthless destruction of the nature via unplanned construction activities, pollution and overexploitation of resources will continue to affect our future generations. The sooner we activate our protective thoughts, the better would be the chances of a "pollution free" planet earth for today and a  brighter tomorrow!

The Price of Pollution   Sunday, Nov. 26, 2006 Hong Kong residents are accustomed to seeing their city's famous skyline shrouded by smog. Now the haze could be casting a pall on the city's business climate as well. Last week, investment bank Merrill Lynch downgraded three of the city's biggest property companies, warning in a separate report that pollution could dampen demand for real estate and blunt the city's economic edge. "If we get to the point where it's so noxious you can't live here, people will start walking out the door," says Merrill Lynch strategist Spencer White.   For now, Hong Kong's economy is thriving, with GDP predicted to grow by an impressive 6.5% this year. But concern is mounting that the city's pollution woes are ruining its attraction as a place to live and work. One fear is that multinational firms that have made Hong Kong their Asian base will increasingly decamp for cleaner  locales - particularly Singapore, dubbed the best city for Asian expatriates in a recent quality-of-life survey by human-resources consultant ECA International. Hong Kong dropped from 20th to 32nd in the study, largely due to pollution.

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