Monday Feature: Green News and Media Roundup for Week 02, 2015

Weekly environmental news roundup from across different media networks for week 52 (starting January 05, 2015) 2015.

1. TAXING ISSUE – Asola monkeys must be weaned off feed: Experts

The forest department in Delhi spends most of its funds not on protecting endangered species or on reviving the leopard population but on feeding monkeys.

2. Capital’s polluted air may force Obama to stay indoors

Amid reports that the US may curb President Barack Obama’s early morning schedule during his visit to Delhi later this month, air pollution monitoring agencies said the levels of `PM2.5′ or fine, respirable particles that get lodged in the lungs are likely to be in the range of moderate to high in the period while he’s here.

3. Govt screens ideas to sync green norms with growth

A number of steps have been taken in the past six months to speed up green clearances but the government is also examining 55 additional suggestions to achieve its twin goals of economic growth and environment protection.

4. PSUs’ JV procuring LED bulbs in bulk

The Prime Minister on Monday called for a national energy conservation movement by kicking off a campaign called “Prakash Path”.

5. NDMC to use only LED bulbs

Days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a national campaign for energy conservation, NDMC has launched the Palika Nav Jyoti campaign under which it plans to switch to LED lights in all its buildings.

6. Citizens’ charter votes against linking rivers

A group of independent activists, NGOs and researchers working on rivers have come up with what they call the Delhi declaration on rivers.

7. NEW VIEW – Not cars, dust pollutes Delhi most: MoEF

The major source of pollution in the capital is dust particles and not vehicular emissions, the ministry of environment and forest submitted before Supreme Court on Wednesday.

8. Govt puts off plan to retire 15-yr-old pvt cars

Car owners need not worry as the Centre appears to have dropped a proposal to scrap 15-year-old private vehicles in Delhi as a measure to contain the rising pollution in the capital.

9. Govt misled court on Delhi’s pollution, say green activists

The government’s submission before the Supreme Court on Wednesday that the major source of pollution in the capital was dust particles, and not vehicular emissions, was dismissed on Thursday by environmental activists as ridiculous, with some even questioning the intent behind the environment ministry’s stand.

10. DMRC bicycle scheme for green cause

Delhi Metro on Thursday announced a unique initiative under which commuters will be able to rent a bicycle from a residential area to reach the nearest Metro station and the vice versa.The scheme has been launched to provide pollution-free last-mile connectivity to Metro commuters.

11. NTPC seeks Rs 190cr to maintain old power plant

Discoms have been demanding for long that precious coal and gas allocated to old plants be diverted to newer and more efficient ones to control rising power purchase costs, but a petition sent by NTPC to CERC seeking Rs 190 crore for maintenance and operation of three units of the 705MW Badarpur thermal station has sent them in a tizzy.

12. After 21 years of SC monitoring, Yamuna still stinks like a sewer

Central Pollution Control Board on Thursday told the Supreme Court why the Yamuna in its 22-km course through Delhi mostly stinks like a sewer drain ­ as against the norm of 5,000 MPN coliform per 100 ml of water, Yamuna water in Delhi had between 4 lakh to 16 crore coliform per 100 ml.

13. NGOs oppose panel report

Environmental NGOs voiced opposition to the report of the high-level committee (HLC) on environmental laws during a hearing of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment and Forests here on Friday.

14. Solar subsidy: Centre plans cut, Haryana may give more

The Centre has decided to reduce by half its subsidy on rooftop solar power panels that are now mandatory in Haryana’s buildings, an early hurdle for a scheme the state government wants implemented by September this year.

15. Govt planning to introduce logo for green buildings: Javadekar

Noting that sustainable development practices are necessary to reduce effects of climate change, Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar today said the government is mulling to create a logo for green buildings to differentiate them from the rest.

16. Chilika Lake Attracts 7.61 lakh birds this year from Siberia, Caspian Sea, Himalayas

A record 7.61 lakh migratory birds from all the Caspian Sea, Lake Baikal, Russia, central and South East Asia, Ladakh and Himalayas have landed for their annual winter sojourn in Chilika lake area and the surroundings in Odisha.

17. Fears of man-made global warming are exaggerated’

Two of three scientists at a session on climate change and society at the Indian Science Congress on Tuesday felt that fears of man-made global warming were greatly exaggerated.

18. Solar plane to begin round-the-world trip

A sun-powered plane was loaded onto a cargo carrier in Switzerland late on Monday heading for the Middle East from where it will attempt a revolutionary round-the-world trip.

19. Why we must leave fossil fuels untouched

To Prevent Warming, 80% Of Coal, 50% Of Gas & 30% Of Oil Reserves Mustn’t Be Used Till ’50-British scientists have warned that most of the world’s fossil fuel reserves need to stay in the ground if dangerous levels of global warming are to be avoided.

20. Changing ocean conditions threatening coral reef

A new study has revealed that lowering of the ocean’s pH is making it harder for corals to grow their skeletons and easier for bio-eroding organisms to tear them down.

Shilpi Chakravarty

Shilpi Chakravarty is an environmental professional with a master's degree in environmental studies from the University of Delhi. She works to use her professional skills for making the planet a better place to live on.

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