.jpg)
MOST POPULAR
- Man-made reasons for Uttarakhand disaster 1
- Dhari Devi idol goes missing 2
- Pedestrian questions 14
- Transition failure 1
- Where all did extreme events cause disasters last decade
- Rains over past three days extreme weather event: scientists 1
- Gujarat pollution board gets a makeover in efficiency 33
- Monsoon arrives early; kills over 30 people in Uttarakhand
- Rush of hydropower projects on Ganga, tributaries
- Out of turn
- Don’t just cash in on tigers 18
- Pedestrian questions 14
- Weather dice is loaded 13
- Odisha's waterman 6
- Is Ganga losing its resilience? 4
- Banking on mothers 3
- Curse of copper 3
- Dhari Devi idol goes missing 2
- Court upholds Soliga tribe’s community forest rights 2
- Almost half of doctors in US from lower-income countries 2
FOLLOW US ON
Factsheet
Dying diversity: North profits from destruction of southern hotspots
Issue Date: Apr 30, 2007
Lukewarm spots
>> Biodiversity hotspots are regions of significant diversity threatened with destruction through commercial exploitation. There are 34 hotspots in
the world, accounting for just 1.4 per cent of the world's land. These regions support 60 per cent of species on earth. A hotspot contains at least
1,500 species of endemic vascular plants
Coal-based power plants pollute most
Issue Date: Apr 15, 2007
The total installed capacity of the power sector in India is around 128,000 mw. Thermal power plants--using coal, gas or oil--together account for more than 65.6 per cent of the total power capacity in the country
Each computer leaves a toxic trail
Issue Date: Mar 31, 2007
>> Computers, the hub of modern business and lifestyle, are considered to be the vanguard of clean technology that has freed us from the use of paper and unnecessary transportation. By default, the industry that produces computer is also perceived to be clean. However, a un study reveals that each computer at its birth uses at least 240 kg fossil fuels, 22 kg of chemicals and 1.5 tonnes of water-more than the weight of a rhinoceros
A look at world urban population
Issue Date: Mar 15, 2007
Homo sapien as an urban, undeveloped species
>> From 1950 to 2000, the urban population of the world quadrupled--from 732 million to 2.8 billion. In 2006, the number of people living in urban areas was about 3.2 billion. In 2008, it is estimated that more than half the world's population will live in urban areas
Blow hot, blow cold
Issue Date: Feb 28, 2007
Climate change is real. The sheen of industrial revolution is wearing off
Water strikes the poor, says report
Issue Date: Feb 15, 2007
Water-related disasters include flood, windstorms, drought, water epidemics, famine and landslides. These combine with other water-related hazards such as pollution and chemical spills, aquifer depletion, land subsidence, salinisation of arable land, marine intrusions, sea and storm surges, coastal flooding and water-borne diseases to affect ecosystems and food and livelihood security
Findings of third National Family Health Survey
Issue Date: Jan 31, 2007
The third National Family Health Survey (nfhs) was carried out during 2005 and 2006. Preliminary findings reveal
Child
n In Madhya Pradesh, 60.3 per cent of the children under three are underweight. This is the highest in the country the problem exists in both urban and rural areas. 53.5 per cent children were underweight in the state according to nfhs-2
US attempt to promote corn ethanol challenged
Issue Date: Jan 15, 2007
The west Asian crisis, rising prices and global warming are pushing
large oil users to rethink energy alternatives and biofuel has become
the buzzword. Various options are being tried out to produce ethanol in
laboratories as well as in industry
The US with 5 per cent of global population and 25 per cent of global
Livestock production causes global warming, strains land and water resources
Issue Date: Dec 31, 2006
Livestock production has become a major envioronmental management
challenge. When its full commodity chain is included, the sector
contributes to global warming, causes stress on land by grazing,
increases demand for water for feed crop production and leads to water
pollution by animal waste and chemicals
Just talking renewable energy will not do
Issue Date: Dec 15, 2006
• The global potential for renewable energy is 20,000 times than that of the daily consumption of atomic and fossil energy. In 2005, non-hydro renewables generated only 2 per cent of world's net generation of 4.06 trillion kilowatt-hour (kwh)
• At present, there are two principle methods employed by governments worldwide to support installation systems:
