Waste free city
toronto , the largest city in Canada, will become a zero waste city by 2010, according to Mel Lastman, the city's mayor. Task Force 2010, set up for the purpose, will recommend a comprehensive waste diversion plan to Toronto City Council by June 2001, in consultation with the people …
Community initiative
after three years of drought and the government's indifferent attitude, villagers in Rajasthan are gearing up to combat the situation through intensive water conservation. Two meetings were recently held under the aegis of Alwar-based Tarun Bharat Sangh (tbs), a non-governmental organisation. On December 23, 2000 at Khoili, around …
Nature s whims and fancies
have been aware of weather changes now for about 14 to 15 years. I started studying the agricultural system of a part of the Western Ghats, the western part of Ambegaon tehsil of Pune district. Here, I learnt about the rain constellations and their associated rain patterns. The local …
6.9 7.9 or 8.1?
The debate continues. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) puts the magnitude at 6.9 on the Richter scale, and France, China and the US measure it at 7.9, later upgraded to 8.1. The National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) and the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) endorse the US assessment. The US …
CHEAP DEAL
Two Norwegian companiesTree Farms and Norwegian Afforestation Groupare leasing several thousand hectares of land in east Africa from the respective governments to plant trees and make profits through sale of credits based on carbon dioxide stored in the plantations to industrialised countries.
The companies lease the areas for a 50-year …
The companies lease the areas for a 50-year …
Killing them softly
as the long, sleek-bodied dolphins break the surface of water to rise ten metres in air and swoop down again to its depths, children break into squeals of joy while adults gasp at the swiftness of their motion. But how many dwell on the painful and rigorous training that …
Declared arrival
| Stage | How an earthquake develops | What symptoms does it leave behind for study and observation |
| I | In the first stage of an earthquake, the two sides of a fault move. Elastic strain slowly builds up in the rocks as a result … |
Handle with care and prudence
The convention cannot solve all global problemsbut the developing world should use all opportunities of forest conservation
Shaky business
T he Gujarat earthquake has proved that even in the highly seismic zones like Bhuj, Uttarakhand and the Northeast, our preparedness and crisis management is a monumental failure. Bhuj is one of the 13 hotspots on India's seismic hazard map that was prepared three years ago. The assessment was that …
PARK IN JEOPARDY
Nine environmental organisations in Pakistan have filed a petition in the Sindh high court against the multinational oil giant, Shell, to stop the construction of a pipeline for mineral and gas exploration in the Kirthar National Park. The park, located in the Sindh province, is Pakistan's oldest and biggest national …