Pollution in news on May 1
Here’s a round-up of today’s news reports and developments on pollution
In some places, you have to dig 130 feet down to get groundwater; that's how bad it is
With 44 per cent probability of below-normal monsoon this year, groundwater situation is likely to aggravate
All that crap: How can faecal sludge be reused
If more people in India’s rural areas are building septic tanks, there must be effective ways of managing faecal sludge. Here are some ways …
Look at disasters from a broader perspective, urges new report
It analyses past trends and says India has to be prepared for catastrophes even if they are not defined as natural disasters
Cholera cases reported in India this summer
Situation similar across the globe as experts predict a spurt in disease due to climate change
Three rivers are now legally people – but that's just the start of looking after them
Giving legal rights to non-human entities doesn’t mean much if they can’t be enforced
Ganga is a living entity, says Uttarakhand High Court
The only other place in the world to have given rights to a river at par with humans is New Zealand
Athens Declaration adopted by 21 countries
Marking the 40th anniversary of Barcelona Convention, the declaration commits to reduce pressure on marine environment
Research finds toxins in fracking fluid and wastewater
Out of the 240 chemicals analysed, 157 were associated with either developmental or reproductive toxicity
UN 2023 Water Conference: I am hopeful Great Salt Lake won’t go the Aral Sea and Lake Urmia way, says Kevin Perry
Down To Earth speaks to Kevin Perry from the University of Utah on the Great Salt Lake in the American West
No plan to desilt Kosi: Bihar govt
There is no technique to desilt the Kosi, Bihar water resources minister told the assembly on March 4, 2020
ODF status will mean nothing without faecal sludge & septage management
With faecal sludge treatment still in nascent stage in India, toilets will add to the load of untreated sewage being disposed in water bodies
Everyone loves an overflowing dam
Even as the government raced to fill up the reservoir of the Sardar Sarovar Dam by September 15 (one-and-a-half months ahead of the schedule as …
New membrane to help remove oil, dyes from industrial waste water
The membrane, developed by team from IIT-G, using graphene oxide, cotton fibre and dopamine removed around 98 per cent of oil from the water
India has 20 river basins, all over-exploited
Over 60 years after the country got its first plan to rejuvenate the rivers, not a single basin has been spared from overexploitation
As temperatures continue to rise, birds struggle to survive
Record-breaking temperatures reduce bird population and are behind absence of insectivorous birds
Yamuna highly polluted in many stretches beyond Delhi too
Scientists monitored the river’s pollution load at 12 points from Poanta in Himachal Pradesh to Pratappur in Uttar Pradesh
Hydropower dams can harm coastal areas far downstream
A study in Mexico on four rivers finds that damming rivers has measurable negative ecologic and economic effects on coastal regions more …
India's marine meadows
Tape seagrass, which has the longest leaves among its kind found in Indian waters, is a major carbon sink. A recent study has some useful …
World Water Day: Solving water issues key to achieving ODF status
Here’s an example of a village in Nagaland that journeyed from being one of the most backward districts in India to being open defecation free
New web-based platform to help with micro irrigation
Researchers have come up with a web-based application that helps design customised micro-irrigation systems for individual agricultural fields
UP village demanding compensation for riverine erosion stops fast
The residents of Kamhariya in Sitapur district had been on a 48-hour hunger strike, demanding measures against erosion by the Sharda river. They …
How climate change-induced glacial melt affects people in the Himalayan region
Climate change-induced glacial melt can seriously affect half a billion people in the Himalayan region.If the warming trend continues, most …
86-year-old Gandhian GD Agarwal fasts unto death to save the Ganga
Noted Gandhian and environmentalist GD Agarwal has fasted many times before to save the Ganga. But this time he will give up water too if the …
Early sowing can increase cotton yield: study
It was found, through simulations, that early sowing (mid May) always yielded better cotton production as compared to late sowing (June)