Posted by
Susan Sharma
on
November 02, 2021
#TeamSeas
https://teamseas.org is cleaning the oceans of plastic in a systematic way through two major NGOs of USA. Each dollar donated will remove one pond of waste.
Here is IndianWildlifeClub tribute to this global effort
https://youtu.be/IiEFi72Kt_I
Team IndianWildlifeClub
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Posted by
Susan Sharma
on
October 06, 2021
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Posted by
Susan Sharma
on
July 12, 2013
"Nature is far more imaginative than we are," Stamatios Krimigis, the eminent Johns Hopkins physicist, said when readings from the Voyager spacecraft failed to match expectations for what it would find at the far edge of the solar system. That kind of
humility in the face of data is tough for today's environmentalists, who have staked so much on their own models, predictions and certitudes.
It's a pity. The world needs a credible environmental movement. Conservation matters. So does the quality of water and air. In China and Russia today environmentalists have mounted the most effective (and often the most courageous) critique of the toxic
combination of coercive states and corrupt businesses. In the developed world, urban life has been massively improved thanks to a keener environmental awareness.
Read more at
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323368704578593562819939112.html
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Posted by
rohit
on
December 01, 2011
PLIGHT FOR INHABITANTS
A study by WWF named VOICES OF CHANGE interviewed many people from Sundarbans and Laddakh regarding changes they have observed during their life time in their surroundings and climate.
In Sundarbans, the most common and generalised problem was the erosion of the islands foot by foot as they are pushed more in land to prevent their fields from infertility bestowed by sea water that too for many coming years .
Few older chaps from the community recalls with fear in their eyes those horrible when their homes been swept away by sea waters, instead of having embankments with good enough height.
REASON : In early days , these embankments used to be entangled with the vegetation around them(mangroves) which gave support to them , which today as a result of habitat degradation and deforestation by the people themselves for preparing agricultural fields
are completely gone and these naked embankments are as week as deck of cards and standing just for name sake.
In the recent years many new embankments have been made after repeated collapsing but because of lack of that man groove vegetative support , people are erecting them to collapse once more.
A NEW STUDY GIVING STARTLING RESULTS
Queen’s University, Belfast, and Institute of Environment Studies & Wetland Management (IESWM) researchers are going to give a new dimension to the climate related concerns in sundarbans.
They postulate that uninhabited islands are higher in level than inhabited islands. They support this fact by the observation that in inhabited islands the embankments prevent the sea waters form coming in and hence their is no new sedimentation over the islands
where as in uninhabited islands they are abundant CREEKS and no restrictive embankments so facilitating sedimentation.
Now this study group is planing to take on radiocarbon study of sediments deep in soil to find out the rate of sedimentation and then comparing it to rate of rise in sea level to find out that is this sedimentation really competingwith the sea level rise
and thereby have prevented the uninhabited islands from inundation and submerging .
If this goes in favor the hypothesis then the researchers would go upto advice that we can depopulate the islands to help them survive the rising sea level.
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Posted by
Dr.Susan Sharma
on
September 29, 2011
Economic Policy Instruments for Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Dr. David Harrison, Andrew Foss, Per Klevnas, and Daniel Radov
Experts from NERA's Environment Group -- Senior Vice President and Environment Group Head Dr. David Harrison, Consultant Andrew Foss, Senior Consultant Per Klevnas, and Associate Director Daniel Radov -- have authored a chapter in
The Oxford Handbook of Climate Change and Society, a new book from Oxford University Press. The chapter, "Economic Policy Instruments for Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions," considers the use of economic instruments to address climate change, including
lessons from previous experience as well as a list of the key design elements. The authors focus on the cap-and-trade approach and complementary credit-based programs, as these have been most prominent in existing policies and proposals. The chapter begins
with an overview of the conceptual similarities and differences between cap-and-trade programs and carbon taxes. The authors then summarize experiences with emissions trading and taxes that provide lessons on how the programs work in practice. The authors
also describe key policy issues that arise in designing a greenhouse gas cap-and-program, many of which apply to carbon taxes as well.
The Oxford Handbook of Climate Change and Society is available for purchase on the Oxford University Press
website.
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Posted by
Susan Sharma
on
August 20, 2011
The presence of Ruddy Shelduck (Tadorna ferruginea) from Arunachal
Pradesh is known so far but there was no information on the breeding ecology of this species from the high altitude wetlands of western Arunachal
Pradesh. So, far in India eastern Ladakh and Sikkim is the only two
known high altitude breeding site of this species in conjunction with
selected sites in Nepal and Bhutan (BirdLife International, 2011).
Arunachal Pradesh, WWF-India team has done the first photographic and
videographic documentation of a breeding pair of Ruddy shell duck along
with 7 ducklings on 29th June 2011 from Tsomgo Ama wetland situated at
an altitude of 4535 m altitude covering an area of 0.27 sq. km. within
Thembang Bapu Community Conserved Area Wetland Complex, West Kameng district.
http://www.zoosprint.org/ZooPrintMagazine/2011/August/9-10.pdf
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Posted by
Susan Sharma
on
May 24, 2011
.............very high amounts of rain, snowmelt, or both lead to floods. All the land that drains downhill into rivers—or into the streams and tributaries that eventually join the river—is called a watershed. When that watershed receives a lot of rain,
the river will rise higher than its banks and spread out into the floodplain, which is the name for low lying areas along a river.
But what most people don’t realize is that floods are not some departure from the way a river is “supposed” to behave – witness the common description in the press of a river “bursting from its banks” during a flood, like a convict breaking out of jail.
The river and floodplain are actually one single highway for moving water downstream (and not just water, but also sediment, which is why the Missouri River is nicknamed the “Big Muddy.”) It’s just that the floodplain part of this highway is dry much or most
of the time...............
....on average, natural rivers will spread out onto their floodplains anywhere from once a year to once every 3 years....Floodplains themselves are part of the solution............
Strategic designation of such floodways, with policies that compensate people who live within them, can be critical to reducing the damage of massive floods. We also need to make these floodways more “flood-proof.” For example, there may be ways to develop
crops that are more tolerant of floodwater. ......Read more at
http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/habitats/riverslakes/why-rivers-flood-andhow-to-reduce-risk.xml
or at
http://tinyurl.com/4y6as9s
[Open in new window]
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Posted by
Susan Sharma
on
May 06, 2011
"Most glaciers are melting, they are retreating; some glaciers, like the Siachen glacier, are advancing. But overall one can say incontrovertibly that the debris on our glaciers is very high, the snow balance is very low. We have to be very cautious because
of the water security, particularly in north India, which depends on the health of the Himalayan glaciers," says Jairam Ramesh, Minister for Environment, India.
The new National Institute of Himalayan Glaciology is based in Dehradun, in Uttarakhand, and will monitor glacial changes and compare results with those from glaciers in Pakistan, Nepal and Bhutan.
India has launched the Indian Network on Comprehensive Climate Change Assessment (INCCA)," the Minister said. It will bring together 125 research institutions throughout India, work with international bodies and operate as a "sort of Indian IPCC," he added.
The body will publish its own climate assessment in November, 2011, with reports on the Himalayas, India's long coastline, the Western Ghat highlands, and the north-eastern region close to the borders with Bangladesh, Burma, China and Nepal.
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Posted by
amit sharma
on
March 25, 2011
mere doston,
laakh koshish karne ke bad bhi hamari sarkarain aur log jungalon aur tiger ko bachane me asafal ho rahe he,,,kyonki kuch log apne matlab ke liye jungal kaatne me lage huain hain..wo log bhavushya ki us tasveer ko nahin dekh paa rahain jab charon taraf viraan
aur banjar dharti ka nazara hoga jaise koi vidhwa aurat dikhti hain,,isliye har nagrik ko apna kartavya samajh kar is vishya par gambhir vichar karna chaiye...jaldi bahut jaldi kyonki abhi hamare paas samay aur sampada dono he.......save trees and tigers..
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Posted by
Susan Sharma
on
March 07, 2010
Sinking Island-Majuli
Majuli in upper Assam is the largest river island on the Brahmaputra River . It is a pollution free fresh water island. Total area of the island was 1250 sq.km., now it is about 650 sq.km, having lost significantly to erosion. Only 26 percent of total land
area of Majuli is suitable for cultivation.
In the 16th century a sage called Shankardev founded a new sect of Vaishnavism here, which has flourished healthily in the last five hundred years. Today, the ‘sattras’ play a major role in the religious and social lives of every inhabitant of Majuli. Every
family sends one son to be a monk, usually from the age of six; the belief is that if one son becomes a monk, then the whole family will be blessed by God. With pilgrims flocking here every year in numbers matched only by the migratory birds for which the
island is also a haven, Majuli is known in some circles as the ‘Vatican of Vaishnavism’.
Performed by the monks of the Bhogpur Sattra at the Birla Mandir, New Delhi on 20th February, 2010, the dance clip below, has no song or words but strangely resonates with the uncertain future of this island.
The island today is separated from the mainland of Assam by 2.5 KM. Apart from the ferry connecting Majuli to mainland, an “e-Sethu” or e-governance project of Government of India connects the village to Assam. A wetland, Majuli is a hotspot for flora
and fauna, harbouring many rare and endangered avifauna species including migratory birds that arrive in the winter season. Among the birds seen here are: the Greater Adjutant Stork, Pelican and Whistling Teal. The island is almost pollution - free owing
to the lack of polluting industries and factories and also the chronic rainfall.
A UNDP study reports that the island is under threat due to the extensive soil erosion of its banks. The reason for this magnitude in erosion is the large embankments built in neighbouring towns upriver to prevent erosion there during the monsoon season
when the river distends its banks. The upshot is a backlash of the tempestuous Brahmaputra’s fury on the islet, eroding most of the area. According to reports, in 1853, the total area of Majuli was 1,150 km² and about 33% of this landmass has been eroded in
the latter half of 20th century. Since 1991, over 35 villages have been washed away. Surveys show that in 15–20 years from now, Majuli may cease to exist.
Here is another evocative clip, a dance by Sattriya Dancers of Kalabhumi- one of complete surrender to fate?
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