Environment of Kerala

Climate change action should transcend divides: Minister

2010-01-08T12:45:00.000+05:30

Thrissur: Forest Minister Benoy Viswam has said that action against climate change should rise above political divides. He was addressing a seminar on ‘Climate change: science, politics and resistance’, organised by Costford, here on Thursday. “Debates on climate change will point the finger at the U.S., which is the biggest polluter in the world. The anti-U.S. stand in such discussions should

National Seminar on Role of Women in Combating Climate Change

2010-01-07T12:17:00.000+05:30

A national seminar was organized by Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment (KSCSTE) in association with Department of Science and Technology, Govt of India at Sasthra Bhavan on 'Role of women in combating climate change' during 7th and 8th January 2010. The Seminar was inaugurated by Smt. P.K. Sreemathy Teacher, Hon'ble Minister for Health, Family and Social Welfare, Govt.

Call to fight for climate justice

2010-01-06T15:06:00.000+05:30

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: As many as 97 mango saplings were planted on Tuesday on the Karyavattom campus of the University of Kerala which is hosting the ongoing 97th Indian Science Congress. Education Minister M.A. Baby inaugurated the drive by planting and watering the first sapling along with scientist M.G.K. Menon. In his inaugural address, Mr. Baby said the best way to protect the environment was

Weather forecast to feature monsoon phases

2010-01-06T15:05:00.000+05:30

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The India Meteorological Department is set to introduce an additional feature to its forecasts during monsoon. Shailesh Nayak, Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences, said here on Tuesday that from this year, farmers would also get forecasts of active and break phases of monsoon 10-15 days in advance. Till now, the Department has been issuing forecasts for five days and an

Experts warn of ‘climate refugees’

2010-01-06T15:04:00.000+05:30

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Rise in temperature by 1 to 2 degrees Celsius will result in Kerala witnessing large-scale influx of ‘climate refugees’ from the coastal areas to the hinterlands, say experts. According to the ‘Thiruvananthapuram Declaration’ adopted by the Policy Makers’ Consultation on ‘Effective Community Management of Agro-biodiversity in an Era of Climate Change,’ organised under the

Greater Cochin area ‘critically polluted’

2010-01-05T16:22:00.000+05:30

KOCHI: The Greater Cochin industrial cluster area is critically polluted, according to the Comprehensive Environmental Pollution Index (CEPI) of the Central Pollution Control Board. The area has been ranked as the 24th polluted industrial cluster with an aggregate CEPI score of 75.08 out of 100. The area was also among the “existing critically polluted areas.” The indexing was carried out in

The Dutch disappointed with climate deal: MP

2010-01-05T11:32:00.000+05:30

NEW DELHI: People in The Netherlands are disappointed with the outcome of the climate deal at Copenhagen, Anja Timmer, Member of the Dutch Parliament, said here on Monday. Ms. Timmer told The Hindu that there was a general sense of disappointment over the deal as hopes were raised with the arrival of the world leaders. “Expectations were too high but we should carry these hopes for the next

‘Earth, Moon & Mars will form a single entity’

2010-01-05T11:30:00.000+05:30

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The former President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, said here on Monday that the Earth, which was rapidly exhausting its resources, would not remain an independent entity in the future, but form a “single economic entity” with the Moon and Mars. He said this after inaugurating the Children’s Science Congress organised as part of the 97th Indian Science Congress on the Kerala University

Dhaka, New Delhi begin river water-sharing talks

2010-01-05T11:18:00.000+05:30

DHAKA: Bangladesh and India on Monday began Secretary-level talks here on river water-sharing to lay the groundwork for the coming summit talks between their Prime Ministers. Bangladesh Water Resources Secretary Sheikh M. Wahiduzzaman, who leads the home side, said the sharing of the waters of the Teesta and Feni and the construction of embankments were on the agenda of the two-day discussion.

Housing schemes: survey in CRZ areas soon

2010-01-04T12:00:00.000+05:30

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The city Corporation will soon launch a survey in the coastal wards to identify families and potential beneficiaries of government-sponsored mass housing schemes currently living within the area falling under the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ).The Corporation has taken up the survey following an order issued by the Department of Local Self-Government directing local

Boost to renewable energy in China

2010-01-04T11:32:00.000+05:30

BEIJING: China’s top legislature has adopted an amendment to the renewable energy law mandating electricity grid companies to buy all the power produced by renewable energy generators.The amendment says the State Council energy department and the state power regulatory agency should supervise the purchases. The amendment, approved by lawmakers after it was heard the second time at a five-day

Cusat plans centre for climate change study

2010-01-02T16:29:00.000+05:30

KOCHI: The Cochin University of Science and Technology (Cusat) has sought the support of the Union Ministry of Human Resources Development for setting up a centre for modelling of regional climate change.The objective of the centre is to conduct research programmes on the impact of climate change with special reference to the Kochi region. University officials said that the centre will initiate a

Quake shakes northeast

2010-01-02T16:21:00.000+05:30

Shillong: An earthquake of 5.5 magnitude shook parts of the northeast on Thursday, the second in two days, officials here said.The quake, which occurred at 3.28 p.m. has its epicentre somewhere in Bhutan, about 183 km North West from here and occurred at a depth of 7 km below the earth’s surface, officials at the Central Seismological Observatory here said.There were no reports of injuries to

Awareness programme on coastal regulation zone

2010-01-02T15:07:00.001+05:30

KOCHI: Over 150 representatives and officials from various panchayats in Alappuzha, Ernakulam and Kottayam participated in a one-day awareness training programme on coastal regulation zone (CRZ) conducted by the Centre for Earth Science Studies (CESS) here on Wednesday. District Collector M. Beena inaugurated the programme at the Ernakulam Town Hall in the morning. Urging the stakeholders to

Outcome good, but not adequate: Pachauri

2009-12-24T10:24:00.001+05:30

The outcome of the Conference of Parties at Copenhagen is “good” but not “adequate,” R.K. Pachauri, chairperson of the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change, said on Wednesday.Talking to reporters here, he said the Copenhagen Accord provided a framework for working out a binding agreement, incorporating the details of the specific commitments by all countries, especially the developed

Pointing fingers at soot

2009-12-24T10:21:00.000+05:30

It is no longer just greenhouses gases and their ability to produce global warming that scientists worry about. Concern has been growing over the role played by soot.Fine particles of soot result from the incomplete burning of fossil fuels and biomass. Soot is produced by diesel engines, the burning of coal, forest fires, burning of crop residues and when firewood and dung is used as household

Dangerous cosmic rays are increasing: NASA

2009-12-23T15:44:00.000+05:30

Cosmic rays from outer space that can harm astronauts and spacecrafts significantly are increasing and now at a "space age" high, NASA researchers have said. The cosmic ray intensity in 2009 is at a "space age" high, said Richard Mewaldt, one of the scientists analysing data received from NASA's Advanced Composition Explorer spacecraft which is in solar orbit about a million miles from the earth.

Climate: Grim signs of deadly change

2009-12-23T15:36:00.000+05:30

Way above us in the Himalayan cloud are jagged, snowbound peaks – Annapurna, Damodar, Gangapurna, Dhalguri. Below us is the Thulagi glacier, a river of ancient ice snaking steeply down the Marshyangdi valley from near the top of Mount Manasulu. The small plane banks and skims a lonely pass and we find what we have been looking for: at Thulagi's snout is a milk-blue lake marked on few maps. It has

Climate documents spark rich vs poor clash

2009-12-23T14:47:00.000+05:30

Developing nations who face huge climate change burdens are demanding that wealthy nations shoulder more of the costs, as a leaked Danish document and fresh evidence of a hotter planet raised temperatures at the UN climate conference.A globe is projected as...Negotiators on Wednesday were trying to bridge the difficult gaps among 192 nations and stem a growing chasm between rich and poor on the

Climate summit- Island countries against India & China

2009-12-23T14:34:00.000+05:30

climate change

2009-12-23T14:27:00.000+05:30

Source:Deepika, Dated:12.12.2009.

Climate change science complex, effects clear

2009-12-23T13:05:00.001+05:30

The surface temperature of Venus is around 460 degree C. In the case of Mars, the temperature can dip to as low as – 140 degree C. The reason: apart from the distance factor, the amount of carbon dioxide present in the atmosphere plays a crucial role.The atmosphere of Venus is comprised mostly of CO{-2} that prevents the heat from escaping, thus turning the planet into an oven. In the case of

2000-2009: warmest decade on record

2009-12-23T13:03:00.001+05:30

The past 10 years have been the warmest in recorded history, according to the UK Meteorological (Met) Office.Figures released at the UN climate talks in Copenhagen show despite 1998 being the warmest year on record, the noughties has been the warmest decade recorded in 160 years.In a separate announcement, the World Meteorological Organisation in Geneva said today that 2009 will be one of the 10

India to draw road map for low-carbon growth

2009-12-23T12:59:00.002+05:30

Getting down to implement a comprehensive domestic agenda of adaptation and mitigation and seeking to reduce the emission intensity of gross domestic product by 20-25 per cent by 2020, Environment and Forests Minister Jairam Ramesh on Tuesday asked the Planning Commission to set up a group of experts to draw a road map for low-carbon growth.Addressing a press conference here, he said the terms of

India, China agree to cooperate on climate change

2009-12-23T12:59:00.001+05:30

Fresh from the solidarity displayed at the Copenhagen Summit on climate change, India and China on Tuesday agreed to continue cooperating on the issue in the coming months in order to safeguard the interests of developing countries.In a telephonic conversation, Foreign Ministers of both countries, S.M. Krishna and Yang Jiechi discussed India-China cooperation on climate change including possible