Judgment of the Supreme Court in the matter of In Re: Zudpi Jungle Lands. A batch of applications involved a peculiar issue concerning the situation prevailing in the six districts of eastern Vidarbha region namely Nagpur, Wardha, Bhandara, Gondia, Chandrapur and Gadchiroli. The issue pertains to the status of the …
Ministry of Environment and Forests (MEF) officials are angered at the ineffectiveness of the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), which has been functioning since 1991 as a statutory body under Delhi Administration. MEF's stringent reprimand was issued to DPCC even as MEF minister Kamal Nath denied in a written reply …
TEMPTED by projections that the number of air passengers will double in the next 10 years, but daunted by the US $10 billion price tag of a super jumbo jet with a carrying capacity of 800 passengers, Boeing of USA is negotiating collaboration with Europe's Airbus Industrie consortium. Boeing's latest …
THE TAMIL Nadu government's decision to encourage private industries to set up wind turbines has received a good response and with an increasing number of industries rushing to buy land, prices, have boomed in the two areas developed for wind farming - Muppandal in Kanniya-kumari di'strict and Kayattar in Chidambaranar …
MEASURING the radioactivity of snake venom, scientists say, can fairly accurately determine overall con7 tamination in an area. This would be particularly useful in such places as the former Soviet Union, which is contaminated by different kinds of radioactive isotopes as a result of waste released from nuclear fuel plants, …
A TIENTS who do not respond to AZT -the primary AIDS therapeutic drug produced and patented almo worldwide by Burroughs Wellcome Co -now have hope. Studies at the US Nationi Institutes of Health at Bethesd Maryland, show two other drugs . le DDC produced by Hoffmann at Roche Inc and …
EVEN THOUGH tough environmen- Indian delegation that took part in tal negotiations are still ahead in the the earlier discussions have been post-Rio Summit phase, many on the replaced. This could easily put India. at a disadvantage in forthcoming Ozone, Biodiversity and Climate Change convention and at meetings of the …
Iver- TOYOT A vehicles will soon dust equipped with a sensor to regul the air-to-fuel ratio so as to make th ual more economical and with lower emissions (Machine Design, ng a Vol64, No 21). Toyota Motor Corp says introduction of the world's first mass-produced combustion pressure sensor will improve …
AFTER the action comes the bill. The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) has filed an initial claim of Rs 13 crore for its role in cleaning up about 40,000 tonnes of oil spilt in the Andaman Sea on January 21. The spill occurred when the Danish oil tanker, Maersk Navigator, collided …
THANKS to the Bubble Space Telescope, scientists can now actually see ancient galaxies being forI The instrument, unlike earthbound telescopes, can be aimed at galaxies 4 billion light years away. Because le the light that is picked up was emitted 4 billion years ago, it provides a view of the …
A US B-52 bomber has been given a new role -launching satellites Recently, a modified B-52 dropped rocket carrying a Brazilian satellite an altitude of about 12.8 km. Five seconds later, the rocket motors fir sending the 150-kg satellite into a 515-km orbit above the earth. Orbital Sciences of Fairfax …
INEXPENSIVE and plentiful Himalayan hydroelectric power remains a dream, with Nepal's total installed capacity standing at only 250 MW. Most Nepalese lack electricity and those linked to the grid suffer periodic power cuts. However, judging by a recent seminar in Kathmandu on Cooperative Development of Himalayan Water Resources, turning the …
EVEN IN a freezing Ladakhi winter some houses stay comfortably warm, without either coal or electric heating. That's because these houses face the sun and they are well insulated, featuring heat-absorbing surfaces in dark shades. They are the products of a new architectural technique called passive solar architecture, which keeps …
Many international organisations have expressed concern for the people to be displaced by the Sardar Sarovar dam project on the Narmada in Gujarat, but the fate of those already ousted by other dams on the river goes unnoticed. Recently, one of them, 65-year-old Sunderbai, died of starvation a few months …
The West Bengal Assembly has adopted legislation barring the filling up of wetlands that exceed 0.035 ha in the state's notified urban areas. The ecological importance of these wetlands artificialIy embanked areas and naturally or artificially depressed lands holding water -has long been recognised. Large Klranmoy Nondo: Befriending tracts of …
SCIENTISTS at the Malaria Research Centre (MRC), New Delhi, say neem oil used in low concentrations effectively repels malaria-carrying mosquitoes that are resistant to pesticides. This is welcome news because malaria has re-emerged as a major public health threat because the malaria-causing microorganism, Plasmodium falciparum, is increasingly resistant to chloroquine …
Eminent immunologist G p Talwar , firing the latest salvo in the bovine somatotropin (BST) controversy, asserts there are no harmful side-effects to the artificial growth hormone whose use can dramatically increase the milk yield of the country's bovine population. Talwar maintains BST can increase milk yield by 20 per …
INDIA'S miracle neem (Azadirachta indica) is moving from the laboratory to the market and many US and Australian firms are getting involved in manufacturing neem-based pesticides. Says Michael O'Shea, managing director of Neemoil Australia Pvt Ltd, "Indian suppliers have been swarming about us like flies around honey." In USA, a …
ENVIRONMENTAL issues are making their mark on Indian television. Doordarshan features the science and environment programme Turning Point each week in a prime-time slot, hitherto reserved for Hindi serials. News programmes such as The World This Week and Parakh also frequently spotlight coverage of environmental conflicts. A recent edition of …
THE PEOPLE'S level of education is considered an index of development and a nation's potential for growth. The concept of education needs to be defined in the context of its ability to meet the challenge of social change. The growing concern over the erosion of values and increasing cynicism in …
THE DUNKEL draft on the renegotiated GATT is finally becoming a public concern in India and farmers are taking the issue to the streets. Several industrial sectors, too, have expressed concern about some of its provisions. Nevertheless, the government continues to fight shy of revealing either its stand or its …
