Weekly Green News Update for Week 26 (June 22 to 28), 2015
Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Sushri Uma Bharti launching the Bhuvan Ganga Mobile App, for use of Geospatial Technology in Clean Ganga Mission, in New Delhi on June 23, 2015.
Weekly environmental news roundup from across different media networks for week 26 (between June 22 to June 28) 2015.
1. Delhi air has high doses of most toxic pollutant
Delhi’s air pollution levels are among the worst in the world but new research is pointing at something even more worrying.
2. Delhi budget: Diesel goods vehicles will pay for air pollution
Diesel heavy vehicles plying in Delhi at night will have to pay for polluting the city’s air.
3. After NGT order, sewer work in unauthorised colonies stop
Over 1,400 unauthorised colonies that are not connected to sewer lines will have to wait a bit longer as the Delhi Jal Board has suspended all work on new projects.
4. Delhi’s first adventure cycle park to be completed in 18 months
There is good news for bicycle enthusiasts.
5. Delhi forest & tree cover highest among metros: Survey
While increasing pollution levels may have dented its image considerably, Delhi’s green cover has increased manifold over the years, gaining the distinction of being the greenest among the metros.
6. Yamuna river ‘grossly polluted’ by untreated sewage, effluent: Report
The Delhi Economic Survey report has expressed serious concern over the water quality of the Yamuna river, saying it is “grossly polluted” due to the flow of untreated sewage and discharge of inadequately-treated industrial effluent.
7. Yamuna river vicinity will be a picnic spot in 5 years: Manish Sisodia
Drawing up an ambitious plan for cleaning up Yamuna, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said the AAP government will clean the river and make its vicinity a picnic spot in next five years.
8. Yamuna clean-up committee plans to pump river water straight into Delhi households
Since the mid-1990s, Rs 1,500 crore has been spent to clean up the dying Yamuna, but it all has gone down the drain.
9. DJB takes steps to check wastage of water in south
With South Delhi witnessing a dip in water level, Delhi Jal Board has been working on a slew of measures to prevent wastage of water in the area- from providing concessions to consumers using rainwater harvesting systems to using water from Sewage Treatment Plants for parks.
10. Dying River campaign: Student group starts initiative to save Yamuna
In a bid to contribute to saving river Yamuna, a group of seven students studing in class XI has launched the “Dying River campaign”, aimed at spreading awareness about the river and the urgency of saving it.
11. Gurgaon sewage mixes with water treated for Yamuna
Pollution in the Yamuna seems to be going from bad to worse.
12. Greenhouse gases: India fourth biggest emitter, but lags far behind top three
As the global community gears up for the crucial Paris climate summit, the World Resources Institute – a global research organization — has come out with its latest analyses of the country-wise emissions of climate-damaging greenhouse gases.
13. ‘Nirmal Ganga Rating’ in works for industries along Ganga
India may soon come up with efficiency ratings for all establishments along the Ganga to assess their compliance with Narendra Modi government’s mission to clean the holy river.
14. Government Launches Android App, Web Portal to Aid Clean Ganga Mission
The Centre on Tuesday launched an Android application with which the public can upload pictures of pollution sources of the Ganga river for further action by the authorities concerned.
15. Uma: Centre to fund Ganga cleaning
Union water resources minister Uma Bharti on Monday met RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat to brief him about progress on the Ganga river rejuvenation project.
16. Islands in Ganga: Fall-out of rampant sand mining
The major rivers of Uttarakhand are under severe stress with excessive sand mining from the river bed and commercial activity along the banks.
17. Stuck for over 18 hrs, 42ft blue whale dies at Alibaug beach
A blue whale, world’s largest animal, that had washed ashore at the Revdanda beach, south of Alibaug, died after 18 hours despite efforts to push it back in the ocean failed.
18. Maharashtra gets ‘State butterfly’
Maharashtra has become the first State in the country to have a ‘State butterfly.’
19. Maharashtra to declare Thane creek area as ‘Flamingo Sanctuary’
The state government has decided to declare 17 sq km area along Thane Creek as Flamingo Sanctuary.
20. How climate change may offset 50 years of health progress
A new study has suggested that climate change can possibly erase 50 years of health advancements.
21. Corals adapting to global warming: Study
At a time when global warming is threatening the very survival of coral reefs, some coral populations already have genetic variants necessary to tolerate warm ocean waters, a new study says.
