Sustainability Outlook Headlines

US says it's committed to cutting greenhouse gases

The United States has assured international negotiators it remains committed to reducing carbon emissions over the next 10 years, despite the collapse of efforts to legislate a climate bill.
U.S. delegate Jonathan Pershing told a climate conference in Bonn, Germany, that Washington is not backing away from President Barack Obama's pledge to cut emissions 17 percent from 2005 levels.
Pershing said legislation is the preferred way to control greenhouse gases, but the administration "will use all the tools available" to reach its target.
Obama made the pledge at a climate... Read more..

India's Adani eyes Australia's coal reserves

India's Adani Group Ltd is set to announce it has bought a coal tenement in Queensland's Galilee Basis from Australia's Linc Energy Ltd, news reports said Monday.

The deal could be worth more than 1 billion Australian dollars (900 million US) dollars and be the first time an Indian company has bought a coal seam rather than invested in a coal mining company.
Adani is India's largest coal importer and a key player in India's plans to double power generation over the coming decade. There are 28 coal-fired plants under construction and another 28 on the drawing board.

The... Read more..

Three major rivers near Mumbai polluted: MPCB report

The Kundalika, Amba and Vashishti rivers near Mumbai are polluted with a high content of organochlorines and other persistent organic pollutants, as per the pre-monsoon tests undertaken by the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) on the rivers. The contamination is a result of industries letting out their untreated water into the rivers.

“We will also conduct a post-monsoon test on these rivers to see the change in level of pollutants during rains. These rivers are used by villagers and tourists for swimming. The pollutants are harmful and can even cause cancer in few cases,”... Read more..

At 32 percent, Meghalaya's power deficit highest in India

Once a power surplus state, Meghalaya today has earned the dubious distinction of having the highest electricity deficit in the country at 32 percent.

According to a quarterly Central Electricity Authority (CEA) report released recently, the figures for the April-June period showed that the northeast state had a power demand of 281 MW but could generate only 190 MW -- a deficit of over 91 MW.

Power Minister A.T. Mondal told IANS that the deficit was due to growing demand for power in the state. Meghalaya spent about Rs.224 crore in purchasing power during 2009-10.

'We... Read more..

Women's college shortlisted for setting up new solar plant.

A women's college in the city is the only educational institution short-listed for government funding for a solar energy research centre on its premises.

Meenakshi college for women had applied for a grant to set up a solar power plant under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) and was shortlisted by the Tamil Nadu Energy Development Agency (TEDA) last week.

TEDA received nearly 70 applications, of which 29 were shortlisted. Meenakshi college was the only educational institution to make the list. If the Centre's Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency... Read more..

Waste recycling to begin at Mumbai schools

The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) has initiated the second phase of its waste management project after recently signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the state government on assessing the vulnerability of the state to climate change. For the second phase, TERI plans to involve students, teachers and the larger school community in the city. The project is called SEARCH and was launched across the country in 2009 to create awareness amongst educational institutes on waste and the habit of reducing, reusing and recycling.

TERI has involved around 40 schools in the... Read more..

TERI organises waste management campaign in Chandigarh.

The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) launched a waste management campaign in collaboration with a private company in Punjab’s Chandigarh city to make students aware about recycling waste, and the benefits of carton packaging for food products.

The students as well as the teachers were made aware about the need to recycle goods and inculcating the habit of reusing.

“The idea why did we target only students, it’s just that students are young, and it’s better if we catch them young, so that they are sensitized and in turn they sensitize their parents, and other people who... Read more..

The best in green design

According to a poll released July 27 America has nine of the most important green buildings in the world; constructions in London, India and Malaysia also featured on the list.

The results of a poll conducted by design publication Architect Magazine listing the ‘most important green buildings since 1980' were released on July 28. The poll was conducted amongst 150 leading green building experts including architects, engineers, critics and environmental education specialists from the US, the UK, Europe and Asia.

Green buildings and design is becoming increasingly important... Read more..

Ahmedabad's ‘Solid’ management of waste

Thanks to the long-established tradition of recycling and reuse, per capita generation of waste is quite low in India compared to most developed countries. However, due to large population, the volume of generated waste even in India remains very sizeable. Total waste generated from the urban centres of India is 27.4 million metric tonnes every day.

But, there is a basic difference in the composition of waste. Developed country’s waste contains nearly two third of inorganic waste (mainly packaging material and papers). While in India, as paper, plastic, glass etc gets recycled,... Read more..

The World is Getting Warmer Indeed.

A report has revealed ten different ways of measuring alterations in the climate, and said that there is confirmed proof of the world getting warmer.

The ten indicators of climate change revealed by the Met Office and its US equivalent-National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) include measurements of sea level rise taken from ships, the temperature of the upper atmosphere taken from weather balloons and field surveys of melting glaciers.

The new technology also means it is possible to measure the temperature of the oceans, which absorb 90 per cent of the world's... Read more..

Carbon2Green: Report of the Organization of the United Nations on the Jatropha

Carbon2Green Corporation (TSX VENTURE: CGN) ("Carbon2Green" or the "Corporation") announces that the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations ("FAO") and the International Fund for Agricultural Development ("IFAD") have published a recent report, (http://www.fao.org/news/story/fr/item/44324/icode/), on the possible role of the development of jatropha in reducing poverty. It is undeniable that this report supports the assizes of Carbon2Green's business Plan. The report points out that as the fruit of Jatropha... Read more..

India and US pledge to co-lead global energy initiative

In the recently concluded Global Ministerial Meet on Clean Energy in Washington D.C. on July 19-20, India, along with other nations, took on a leading role towards future efforts to achieve greater global energy efficiency. An important initiative launched in this conference was the Super-efficient Equipment and Appliance Deployment (SEAD) Initiative, for which India and the United States will be co-leaders at the international level. In the Ministerial, India also contributed on-ground experiences of the Bureau of Energy Efficiency, a statutory body under the Ministry of Power, on... Read more..