SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY AFFAIRS SEPTEMBER 2015
- Climate change caused decline in crocodiles
Fluctuating sea levels and global cooling caused a significant decline in the number of crocodylian species over millions of years, a new study has found. Crocodylians include present-day species of crocodiles, alligators, caimans and gavials and their extinct ancestors.
They first appeared in the Late Cretaceous period, approximately 85 million years ago, and the 250 million year fossil record of their extinct relatives shows a diverse evolutionary history.
Extinct crocodylians and their relatives came in all shapes and sizes, including giant land-based creatures such as Sarcosuchus, which reached around 12 metres in length and weighed up to eight metric tonnes.
Crocodylians also roamed the ocean – for example, thalattosuchians were equipped with flippers and shark-like tails to make them more agile in the sea.
Researchers from Imperial College London, the University of Oxford, the Smithsonian Institution and the University of Birmingham compiled a dataset of the entire known fossil record of crocodylians and their extinct relatives and analysed data about Earth’s ancient climate.
Crocodylians are ectotherms, meaning they rely on external heat sources from the environment such as the Sun.
The researchers conclude that at higher latitudes in areas we now know as Europe and America, declining temperatures had a major impact on crocodylians and their relatives. At lower latitudes the decline of crocodylians was caused by areas on many continents becoming increasingly arid.
In Africa around ten million years ago, the Sahara desert was forming, replacing the vast lush wetlands in which crocodylians thrived. - 9,000-year-old ritualised decapitation found in Brazil
Researchers have unearthed a 9,000-year-old case of human decapitation in an archaeological site in Brazil. The researchers believe this may be the oldest case of decapitation found in the New World, a name used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas.
The archaeological site of Lapa do Santo, located in east-central Brazil, contains evidence of human occupation dating back to around 12,000 years ago.
In 2007, researchers found fragments of a buried body, including a cranium, jaw, the first six cervical vertebrae, and two severed hands at the site.
The researchers found amputated hands lay over the face of the skull arranged opposite each other and observed v-shaped cut marks on the jaw and sixth cervical vertebra.
Additionally, the presentation of the remains, lead the researchers to think that this was likely a ritualised decapitation instead of trophy-taking. If this is the case, these remains may demonstrate sophisticated mortuary rituals among hunter-gatherers in the Americas during this time period, researchers said. - India's 1st dedicated astronomy research satellite 'Astrosat' launched successfully
India’s first dedicated astronomy research satellite Astrosat has been successfully launched on 28th September. The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV-C30 blasted off from the first launch pad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota at 10 am and inserted it within 22 minutes, 52 seconds into the low earth, equatorial orbit of 650 kilometre height.
The 1531 kilogram satellite has a planned lifespan of five years. With the launch, India has joined a select league of nations having their observatories in space.
According to ISRO, Astrosat has the ability to observe various celestial objects in different wavelengths simultaneously, giving it an edge over its peers. The rocket PSLV-C30 in its extended version also positioned six small satellites of foreign customers from the US, Canada and Indonesia into their orbits. This marks the first commercial launch of US payloads from India.
ISRO has been launching mostly application oriented satellites for telecommunication, broadcasting and remote sensing purposes. However, missions like Chandrayaan-1 and Mangalyaan marked significant advances in scientific studies. In the present experiment, it has laid another milestone by establishing India’s own observatory in space by successfully putting Astrosat into orbit. - Invest in clean energy projects: UN
The United Nations is making it easier for companies and people to "offset" their carbon dioxide emissions by investing in clean energy projects in developing countries. The initiative aims to minimize carbon pollution in the short-term as countries wrestle with shifting their energy mix from fossil fuels toward lower-carbon alternatives. Christiana Figueres, the U.N.'s climate change chief, said on 22nd September in meeting at U.N. headquarters in New York City, that UN would like to prove wrong the myth that 'carbon neutrality' is impossible.
The platform, called Climate Neutral Now, lets visitors calculate their personal carbon footprints. The average U.S. citizen generates nearly 20 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in a given year, although a city-dwelling vegetarian who recycles and doesn't drive a car only netted about 5 tons of carbon dioxide, according to the tool.
The platform is far from comprehensive, however. It doesn't ask visitors to tally total airline miles traveled -- a major emissions source -- or calculate emissions from purchases of consumer goods, including clothing, electronics or home decorations, all of which carry a carbon burden.
Visitors can use their carbon counts to figure out how many "certified emissions reductions," or credits, they should purchase.
For $3.50, a user can back a small-scale hydroelectric plant in Kerala, India, and offset 1 metric ton of carbon. A $2.40 credit backs a methane-capture facility at a swine waste treatment plant in Chile.
Other options include biomass solar and wind power projects, energy efficiency initiatives and reforestation programs in dozens of countries.
Climate scientists say the world's total greenhouse gas emissions must peak within 10 years and then swiftly decline in order to keep temperatures from rising above 2 degrees Celsius (3.2 degrees Fahrenheit), the level needed to avoid the most catastrophic effects of climate change, including brutal drought and widespread flooding.
By 2050, the planet must become carbon neutral, meaning any remaining emissions will be absorbed by trees and wetlands, or captured and stored underground.
Figueres is spearheading the ongoing negotiations for a global climate treaty. Nearly 200 nations have agreed to forge a plan to reduce worldwide emissions during a U.N. conference in Paris this December.
Carbon offset programs first emerged after the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, the treaty under which the European Union and other industrialized countries -- excluding the United States and China -- agreed to slash emissions.
The U.N. launched the Clean Development Mechanism to help launch environmental projects in developing countries by drawing dollars from wealthier nations and large companies.
A decade later, the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change confirmed it found "unequivocal" evidence of global warming and that human activities were mostly to blame. The findings energized the climate movement and sparked renewed interest in climate offsets.
For travelers and businesses concerned about their carbon footprints, buying credits was more realistic than staying at home to avoid airplane emissions, but still enabled them to support clean energy growth.
After peaking in 2008 at $7.3 per metric ton, the average global price for voluntary credits has dropped to $3.8 per ton of carbon dioxide, according to Ecosystem Marketplace, which tracks the industry. - Global warming evidence first appeared
A team of researchers has revealed about the first time global warming became clearly evident in the temperature record
The indications of climate change are all around earth, but now researchers have revealed for the first time when and where the first clear signs of global warming appeared in the temperature record and where those signals are likely to be clearly seen in extreme rainfall events in the near future.
The new research gives an insight into the global impacts that have already been felt, even at this very early stage, and where those impacts are likely to intensify in the coming years.
Lead author Andrew King from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate System Science said that they examined average and extreme temperatures because they were always projected to be the measure that is most sensitive to global warming.
King added that the research shows that one could already see clear signs of global warming in the tropics by the 1960s but in parts of Australia, South East Asia and Africa it was visible as early as the 1940s.
The reason the first changes in average temperature and temperature extremes appeared in the tropics was because those regions generally experienced a much narrower range of temperatures. This meant smaller shifts in the temperature record due to global warming were more easily seen.
The first signal to appear in the tropics was the change in average temperatures. Later extreme temperature events showed a global warming signal.
Closer to the poles the emergence of climate change in the temperature record appeared later but by the period 1980-2000 the temperature record in most regions of the world were showing clear global warming signals. - Asian Development Bank to double climate change funding
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on 25th September said it will double its funding to fight climate change. It will now be 6 billion US dollar by 2020.
The Manila, Philippines-based ADB said its spending on tackling global warming will rise to about 30 percent of its overall financing. The bank will dedicate 4 billion US dollar to lowering greenhouse gas emissions.
The remaining 2 billion US dollar will be spent on efforts to help vulnerable countries adapt to climate change.The announcement comes as the UN prepares to discuss sustainable development goals in New York and ahead of an envisioned global climate pact in Paris in December. - Fossils of an Australian dinosaur dating back more than 100 million years unearthed
Fossils of an Australian dinosaur dating back more than 100 million years have been unearthed for the first time since a famous discovery in the 1930s. The bones thought to be from the Austrosaurus mckillopi were found at Clutha Station near Richmond in northwest Queensland. - Cities sign climate pledge in boost to global deal
Leading cities and regions on 24th September promised ambitious cuts to emissions blamed for climate change, hoping to boost efforts for a global deal.
The commitment was the latest in a series of pledges during a week of climate events in New York aimed at building momentum for a year-end conference in Paris that seeks to draft a landmark UN agreement.
California, which is by far the most populous US state, has promised sweeping action despite political deadlock in the US Congress.
The state has spearheaded the initiative among sub-national governments to commit to keeping temperature rises to no more than two degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels, a United Nations-endorsed threshold to avoid the worst consequences of climate change.
National pledges ahead of the Paris conference are so far on track to leave temperature rises at 3 degrees Celsius
Mexico City, New York, San Francisco, Vancouver and the regions around Kathmandu and Manchester, England, were among the new signatories to the "Under 2 MOU" agreement launched last year, whose existing participants include Los Angeles. While designed as a regional movement, three countries also joined the declaration -- Italy, Luxembourg and The Netherlands.
California Governor Jerry Brown vowed that "no opposition, however well-financed" would stop his climate goals, after his drive to mandate lower gas consumption was recently gutted.
"The politics of the future is to create the conditions of a livable, sustainable home," Brown, quoting Pope Francis on climate change, told a signing ceremony at The New School in New York. With the pledges, 38 jurisdictions that cover $8.7 trillion in GDP have now signed the declaration, larger than any country except the United States and China, according to Brown`s office.
The signatories promise, although without binding penalties, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80 to 95 percent from 1990 levels by 2050. Still, the UN conference in Paris will rely on commitments by national governments that have proven elusive in previous negotiations.
Scientists say that the planet must check temperature rises at two degrees Celsius or lower to avoid the worst consequences of climate change, including a growing number of droughts and disasters.Another group of mayors signed a statement that commits more generally to the new UN Sustainable Development Goals, which include a call for action against climate change.
Signatories, some of whom attended a climate meeting initiated by Pope Francis in July, included the mayors of Bogota, Dakar, Johannesburg, Minneapolis, New Orleans, Oslo and Sao Paulo. - Italy's glaciers retreated by 40 percent: WWF
Alpine glaciers in Italy have lost an estimated 40 percent of their area over the last three decades, a recent report released by World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has said.
The Hot Ice report was unveiled, ahead of a crucial United Nations Climate Change Conference due to be held in Paris from November 30 to December 11.
The report suggested that drastic measures should be adopted at the Paris summit to prevent further deterioration of the glaciers in Italy and worldwide.
With respects to the Italian Alps, the report stated glaciers currently cover a total area of about 368 sq.kms compared to 609 sq.kms in the 1980s. The figures were compared with the 1989 World Glacier Inventory (WGI) based on data collected in the 1980s. The comparison suggested an area reduction of over 39 percent.
The melting process is affecting the Arctic and Antarctica the most, but also glaciers around the world, such as in the Himalayas, Patagonia, Alaska, the Ural Mountains, and the Alps.
Global emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), which is the main greenhouse gas produced by human activities and most responsible for global warming, have indeed risen to 35.3 billion tonnes per year in 2013 from 22.6 billion tonnes in 1990, according to the European Union Emission Database for Global Atmospheric Research (EDGAR). - Origin of Saturn’s F ring and satellites found
Saturn’s F ring and its shepherd satellites are natural outcome of the final stage of formation of the planet’s ring-satellite system, a new study has found.
Saturn, which is the second largest planet in our solar system, is known to have multiple rings and satellites. In 1979, Pioneer 11 discovered the F ring located just outside the main ring system that extends tens of thousands of kilometres.
The F ring is very narrow with a width of only a few hundred kilometres, and has two shepherd satellites called Prometheus and Pandora, which orbit inside and outside the ring, respectively.
Although the Voyager and Cassini spacecraft later made detailed observations of the F ring and its shepherd satellites, their origin has not been clarified.
According to the latest satellite formation theory, Saturn used to have ancient rings containing many more particles than they do at present, and satellites formed from spreading and accretion of these particles. During the final stage of satellite formation, multiple small satellites tend to form near the outer edge of the ring.
On the other hand, observations by Cassini indicate that the small satellites orbiting near the outer edge of the main ring system have a dense core.
The study showed that the F ring and its shepherd satellites formed as these small satellites with a dense core collided and partially disintegrated. In other words, the system of the F ring and its shepherd satellites is a natural outcome of the formation process of Saturn’s ring-satellite system.
This new finding is expected to help elucidate the formation of satellite systems both within and outside our solar system. - Scientists sequence Tulsi genome for medicinal value
A team of researchers from the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), Bangalore, has succeeded in sequencing the genome of Tulsi, a step which will help identify the genes responsible for production of compounds with potential medicinal benefits.
The team which included researchers from NCBS, in Stem and CCAMP (Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms), all members of the Bangalore Life Sciences Cluster, used five different types of Tulsi, (Ocimum tenuflorium subtype Rama, O tenuflorium subtype Krishna, O Gratissimum, O Saccharicum and O Kilmund) to collect the genomic data.
They then compared the results with well-studied species like Arabidopsis thaliana, a Eurasian plant which was first to have its genome sequenced, and is a popular tool for understanding the molecular biology of many plant traits. This helped them identify the unique compounds found in Tulsi Krishna subtype.
As part of Ministry of Science and Technology initiative, they also investigated an important metabolic pathway producing Urosolic acid, which revealed that such specialised metabolites are synthesised in the young tissues and carried onto the matured parts, while retaining their medicinal properties.
The medicinal properties of Tulsi are attributed to specialised compounds produced as a part of its defence mechanism. These compounds are called 'metabolites' because they are a by-product of the plant's metabolism.
Tulsi or Ocimum tenuiflorum, is assumed to be of Indian origin and has been under cultivation for almost 3000 years now. It has a variety of medicinal properties, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-pyretic and anti-cancer, to name a few. The herb has been widely used in the Ayurvedic system of medicine. - Cheetah, tiger embryos cloned from frozen skin cells
Argentinean scientists have successfully produced embryos of endangered species such as Asiatic cheetah, tiger and Bengal cat using frozen skin cells, in order to preserve the planet's biodiversity. The Buenos Aires zoo has a genetic data bank in which all of its species are preserved, both indigenous and exotic ones
This project began with the cloning of domestic cats before we transferred the process to wild felines. So far, we have been successful with cheetah, tiger, and Bengal cat cells. - Mount Aso, Japan's most active volcano, erupts
Mount Aso, the largest active volcano in Japan, erupted on 14th September, forcing the evacuation of 30 people and changes to flight schedules, but no injuries have been reported
The volcano began emitting smoke and ashes at 9:43 a.m., the Japan Meteorological Agency, or JMA, said, adding that a warning had been issued and urging people not to enter within a radius of two kilometers (1.2 miles).
Mount Aso, located in Kumamoto Prefecture on Kyushu Island, about 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) southwest of Tokyo, has five peaks, a maximum height of 1,592 meters (5,223 feet) and a crater around 120 kilometers (75 miles) in circumference, making it one of the largest volcanoes in the world and the most active in Japan.
In January 2014, Aso erupted for the first time in three years, an eruption far more intense than Monday's and causing a series of temblors that continue.
The eruption sent a two-kilometer (1.2-mile) plume of smoke into the sky, affecting visibility and causing the diversion of around six domestic flights heading for Kumamoto airport. In 1979, another eruption killed three people and injured a dozen others. Japan is situated on the Pacific Ring of Fire and has 110 active volcanoes. - Anti-tank guided missile test-fired
Amogha-1, an indigenously-developed second generation, Anti-Tank Guided Missile having a range of 2.8 km, was successfully test-fired at Babina Army Range, Madhya Pradesh recently. This is the first-ever design and developmental effort in respect of missiles by Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL), Hyderabad, according to a BDL.
Two missiles were fired on September 10 and both have hit the target placed at 2.6 km and 2.8 km respectively. Both the flights were without any deviation from the designed path profile and met all design parameters. - Air pollution could kill 6.6 million people a year by 2050
Air contaminated with pollutants such as ozone and tiny particles could cause the premature death of about 6.6 million people a year by 2050 if nothing is done to improve air quality, scientists warned on 16th September.
In a study published in the journal Nature, they found that outdoor air pollution already kills about 3.3 million people a year worldwide. The majority of those deaths are in Asia where residential energy emissions, such as those from heating and cooking, have a major impact. And that toll could double over the next 35 years, the researchers warned, unless clean-up measures are taken.
Air pollution deaths are most commonly from heart disease, strokes or a lung disease called chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). It is also linked to deaths from lung cancer and acute respiratory infections.
Calculating the health and mortality effects of outdoor air pollution on a global scale is not easy, partly because air quality is not monitored in every region and the toxicity of particles varies depending on their source.
In the eastern United States and in Europe, Russia and East Asia, agricultural emissions are the biggest source of the kind of fine particulate matter that gets into people's lungs, causing illness, disability and death. Oliver Wild, an atmospheric scientist at Britain's Lancaster University, said the study "really brings home the need for air quality controls", particularly in heavily populated parts of Asia. - Dinosaur nesting sites found in MP
A group of researchers have claimed to have found two new Dinosaur ‘nesting sites’ in Dhar district in Madhya Pradesh. Two new nesting sites of dinosaurs were found in Dhar district, about 125 km away from Indore.
The nests formed by the dinosaurs at these places got buried under rocks during the geographical turbulence that happened about 6.5 crore years ago. The nesting sites in Baag area of Dhar district are at a distance of about 8 kms from each other. At each of these places, there could be at least 15 fossils of dinosaur eggs. The research is on at both the places to ascertain the exact number of such fossils
The Mangal Panchayatan Parishad had drawn the attention of the whole world in 2007, when it discovered about 25 nests of dinosaurs belonging to the Jurassic period. A large number of fossilised dinosaur eggs were found in these nests.
The state government is already working to develop the 108 hectares area in Dhar district where crores of years ago the dinosaurs made nests, as ‘National Dinosaur Fossil Park’. - First 'tree of life' encompassing all of life created
Tracing back to the beginning of life on Earth more than 3.5 billion years ago, scientists have created the first "tree of life" for the roughly 2.3 million named species of animals, plants, fungi and microbes.
Tens of thousands of smaller trees have been built over the years for select branches of the tree of life--some containing upwards of 100,000 species--but this is the first time those results have been combined into a single tree that encompasses all of life
A collaborative effort among 11 institutions, the tree depicts the relationships among living things as they diverged from one another over time.
Understanding how the millions of species on Earth are related to one another helps scientists discover new drugs, increase crop and livestock yields, and trace the origins and spread of infectious diseases such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), Ebola and influenza.
Rather than build the tree of life from scratch, the researchers pieced it together by compiling thousands of smaller chunks that had already been published online and merging them into a gigantic "supertree" that encompasses all named species.
Combining the 484 trees was a painstaking process that took three years to complete, Stephen Smith, assistant professor at University of Michigan in the US, pointed out. - Environment Ministry bans multidose vial of Diclofenac for to save vultures
Based on the recommendation of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has banned the sale of Diclofenac in multidose vial. It will be sold only in single-dose vial packaging.
Keeping in view the severity of the situation and the need to conserve and protect vultures from extinction, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has requested the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to restrict the pack of Diclofenac for human use in single dose only.
The commonly-used anti-inflammatory drug for cattle is considered the chief cause for the steep decline in the number of vultures in recent years. The drug is harmless to the cattle it is administered to, but is fatal for the vultures, who routinely feed on the carcass of dead cattle. Studies have shown that the drug causes kidney and liver failure in vultures. Earlier, in 2006, the Government of India had imposed a ban on the use of Diclofenac for treating cattle. - GSAT-6 successfully positioned in orbital slot
India's latest communication satellite GSAT-6 has been successfully positioned in its orbital slot. Indian Space Research Organization, ISRO, said the positioning took place this morning after carrying out four drift arresting maneuvers.
ISRO had successfully launched GSAT-6, having an indigenous cryogenic engine, on-board GSLV-D6 rocket from the spaceport at Sriharikota on 27th of August. After the launch, ISRO had performed successive orbit raising operation of the satellite. The mission life of the satellite is nine years. - ISRO to help put railway safety back on track
The Indian Railways will join hands with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to get online satellite imagery for improving safety and enhancing efficiency. The technology involves GPS (Global Positioning System), GIS, and remote sensing.
Geospatial services would be available from satellite-assisted navigational support through the GPS-aided geo-augmented navigation (GAGAN) system of ISRO.
The MoU will facilitate getting images and communications through the satellite system. While the images will help map the area, communications will enable the introduction of Wi-Fi service in trains in a larger way. The technology will come in handy during accidents to ascertain the exact location of trains and the topography.
The satellite images will be used for geo-fencing of stations for the paperless ticketing system. Geo-fencing is a virtual barrier which uses GPS or radio frequency identification to define geographical boundaries. - First ever leopard census: India should not feel too smug too soon
The findings of India’s first ever leopard count have been released. The numbers, however, deserve closer scrutiny. The census put the total leopard population of the country at 12,000-14,-000. It did not, however, account for 12,000-14,000 leopards in the country.
Neither did it survey the entire country. It was restricted to the tiger states, except West Bengal and the North-East states. Non-tiger states — such as Himachal, Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana or Punjab — were not covered. Even within the tiger states, the census left out areas — north-west Rajasthan, for example — where chances of spotting tigers were remote. - Extinct monkey fossils found in cave
Scientists have dated the fossilised remains of an extinct monkey found in an underwater cave in the Caribbean. Researchers discovered a shin bone belonging to the Hispaniola monkey in the Altagracia Province, Dominican Republic, in 2009.
The remains of Antillothrix bernensis were embedded in limestone rock and dated using the Uranium-series technique. The Hispaniola monkey is thought to have gone extinct in the 16th century. The exact cause of the extinction is unclear, but it was probably related to the settlement of Hispaniola - now known as the Dominican Republic - by Europeans in 1492 after its discovery by Christopher Columbus.
By analysing the fossilised bone’s shape, experts confirmed that the fossilised tibia did belong to Antillothrix bernensis. - New species of ancient humans found: scientists
A huge haul of bones found in a small, dark chamber at the back of a cave in South Africa may be the remnants of a new species of ancient human relative.
Explorers happened upon the bones after squeezing through a fissure high up in the rear wall of the Rising Star cave, 50 km from Johannesburg, before descending down a long, narrow chute to the chamber floor 40 metres beneath the surface.
They recovered more than 1,500 pieces of bone belonging to at least 15 individuals. The remains appear to be infants, juveniles and one very old adult. Thousands more pieces of bone are still in the chamber, smothered in the soft dirt that covers the ground.
The leaders of the National Geographic-funded project believe the bones — as yet undated — represent a new species of ancient human relative. They have named the creature Homo naledi , where naledi means “star” in Sesotho, a local South African language. - Antarctic Ocean's carbon dioxide absorption increased
A new study has found that the Antarctic Ocean has been absorbing increasing levels of carbon dioxide over the past decade. The study dispels fears that Ocean's carbon sink might have begun to saturate. The Antarctic Ocean, also known as the Southern Ocean, seasonally absorbs vast amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and releases it back later in the year.
On an annual average the seas surrounding Antarctica absorb significantly more carbon dioxide than they release. These seas remove a large part of carbon dioxide that human activities emit into the atmosphere, thereby slowing down the growth of this greenhouse gas in the atmosphere, lessening the rate of climate change.
The Southern Ocean accounts for 40 per cent of the global oceanic uptake of that man-made carbon dioxide. Researchers found that since the beginning of the millennium, the Southern Ocean carbon sink has become much stronger, thereby regaining its expected strength. - India lacks awareness about tools to quantify green emission: Bureau of Indian Standards
Indian environment management practitioners lack awareness about systems and tools to quantify greenhouse gas emissions even as climate changes are likely to impact agriculture in hilly and coastal areas, according to the Bureau of Indian Standards said.
The projected changes such as increase in temperature and melting of glaciers are likely to influence agriculture in the hill and coastal areas. There is lack of awareness amongst the Indian environment management practitioners about the systems and tools to quantify greenhouse gas emissions and life cycle assessments.
These issues were deliberated at a seminar on 'Capacity Building Programme on Life Cycle Assessment and Greenhouse Gas Management' organised in collaboration with the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), it said
The government standards body also emphasised on the importance of greenhouse gas management, significance of life-cycle assessment, carbon foot-printing and accounting among other important issues.
With the rapid industrialisation in the last tens of decades, the impacts of environmental degradation have already begun manifesting its adverse impacts on our day to day lives, BIS said.
At the international level, efforts to address climate change in a structured manner is in place for the last several decades and acquired the centre stage with the adoption of United National Framework Convention on Climate Change in 1992, it added. - New cheaper, more efficient LED technology developed
Scientists, including one of Indian-origin, have developed a new highly efficient and low- cost light emitting diode using a combination of organic and inorganic materials.
It can potentially revolutionise lighting technology. In general, the cost of LED lighting has been a big concern thus far. Energy savings have not balanced out high costs. This could change that. Scientist, named Yu developed this new LED technology using a combination of organic and inorganic materials.
The new material, which dissolves and can be applied like paint, shines a blue, green or red light and can be used to make a light bulb. It is far simpler to manufacture than existing products on the market, the researchers claimed.
Most LED materials require engineers to put four or five layers of material on top of each other to create the desired product or effect. Yu's material only requires one layer.
Yu's research has been awarded by the US National Science Foundation to further investigate the essential materials and establish the processing platform for the development of intrinsically stretchable, active-matrix organic LED displays. Other authors on the study include Florida State University post doctoral researcher Junqiang Li and graduate students Sri Ganesh Bade and Xin Shan. - Cash Crunch for Paris Conference: UN Climate Chief
Crunch climate negotiations opened in Bonn on 31st August with a UN official urging countries to replenish coffers for the critical Paris conference tasked with sealing a global carbon-curbing pact in December. UN climate chief Christiana Figueres told delegates there was a deficit of 1.2 million euros ($1.3 million) for the November 30-December 11 UN Conference of Parties (COP 21) as well as the final pre-Paris negotiating round in Bonn in October.
Diplomats gathered in the former West German capital for the penultimate round of official negotiations to craft a workable draft of the deal that must be inked by 195 nations in just over three months.
Due to take effect in 2020, it will be the first agreement to commit all nations to reducing planet-harming greenhouse gas emissions in pursuit of the UN goal to limit average global warming to two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) over pre-Industrial Revolution levels.
Including this week's talks in Bonn, there are just 10 official negotiating days left to refine the draft pact.
Currently, it is an 83-page laundry list of contradictory proposals for dealing with the climate crisis -- sometimes with as many as 11 options listed per item.
At the opening session, negotiators set themselves the task of producing a more concise version for political leaders who will ultimately make the concessions required to make the pact a reality. But the disagreements are fundamental and deep-rooted.
Countries differ on how to divvy out responsibility for carbon cuts between rich nations -- which have polluted for much longer -- and developing countries, which need to power fast-growing populations and economies.
And developing nations are insisting that rich nations show how they intend keeping a promise made at the Copenhagen climate conference in 2009, which failed to produce a pact, of $100 billion (89 billion euros) in climate finance per year from 2020.
Now money worries are also putting pressure on the negotiations themselves. There was a shortfall of 900,000 euros, Figueres said, for the costs of one representative per negotiating party for the October talks, and three representatives per party for the COP itself.
The Paris pact will be supported by a roster of national emissions-curbing pledges, but scientists warn that based on the voluntary submissions so far, the world is on track for warming way above 2 degrees Celsius -- a recipe for ever more extreme droughts and floods, disease spread and rising sea levels. - 99% sea birds will have plastic in their guts by 2050
Nearly 60 percent of seabird species like penguins, gulls and albatrosses have plastic in their gut and by 2050 this may rise to 99 percent, a new study says.
The scientists estimate that 90 per cent of all seabirds alive at present have eaten plastic of some kind. This includes bags, bottle caps, and plastic fibres from synthetic clothes, which have washed out into the ocean from urban rivers, sewers and waste deposits. Birds mistake the brightly colored items for food, or swallow them by accident, and this causes gut impaction, weight loss and sometimes even death.
The research team drawn from the Central Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) of Australia, and Imperial College London, have published their study today in the journal PNAS.
Based on analysis of published studies since the early 1960s, the researchers found that plastic is increasingly common in seabird's stomachs.In 1960, plastic was found in the stomach of less than 5 per cent of individual seabirds, rising to 80 per cent by 2010.
The researchers found plastics will have the greatest impact on wildlife where they gather in the Southern Ocean, in a band around the southern edges of Australia, South Africa and South America. - IITs start virtual centre on biofuel technology
Five IITs have come together to set up a virtual centre spread across their campuses to develop advanced technologies in the area of biofuels. This is a joint initiative of IITs and Department of Biotechnology (DBT) under the Ministry of Science and Technology. The virtual centre, named DBT-Pan IIT Centre for Bioenergy’ has five IITs - Bombay, Kharagpur, Guwahati, Jodhpur and Roorkee involved in it. The research team from the five participating institutes has 32 investigators who will research on topics like cyanobacterial biofuels, biofuels from micro-algae etc. The centre will also work towards developing a mutually beneficial relationship with the bioenergy industry in the country.
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