Feature Article

The joint committee on endosulfan, in its interim report submitted to the Supreme Court, has favoured export of the pesticide. “The industry has no experience in disposing pesticides and the Ministry of Environment and Forest has not provided any definite procedure for the purpose,” the committee noted in its reply to the Court.

The Madhya Pradesh government envisions Singrauli district, a part of the coal belt it shares with Uttar Pradesh, as the Singapore of Central India. But protection of the environment in the region has taken a back seat because of the race between power companies to set up coal-based thermal power projects in the region. Despite recommendations of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to control pollution from coal-fired power plants, more and more forest areas are being opened up for open cast coal mines in Singrauli, says a report by a fact finding team of Greenpeace, an international non-profit.

Mining major Vedanta Aluminum Limited's (VAL) plans of expanding its one million tonnes per annum refinery at Lanjigarh in Odisha has hit an environmental road block. An expert committee of the Ministry of Environment and Forest ((MoEF) has asked the company to carry out a fresh environmental impact assessment (EIA) for expanding the plant's capacity.

The Union minister for tribal affairs and panchayati raj, V Kishore Chandra Deo, says he does not want public sector companies (PSUs) to undertake mineral exploration in Scheduled Areas or tribal-dominated areas as listed in the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution. These areas enjoy special powers and privileges. In an interview to Down To Earth (DTE), Deo pointed out that the Constitution does not allow private companies to mine in Scheduled Areas. But mining by PSUs for trade purposes also violates the Constitutional provision in 'spirit', he says.

On September 16, German chemical giant Bayer CropScience announced it would withdraw all the toxic pesticides from the markets. The phasing out would be completed by the end of 2012. "With this commitment we fulfil our promise to end the production and marketing of class I pesticides," said Sandra E Peterson, CEO of Bayer CropScience, in a press release.

With 4 years until 2015, it is essential to monitor progress towards Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 4 and 5. Although estimates of maternal and child mortality were published in 2010, an update of estimates is timely in view of additional data sources that have become available and new methods developed. Our aim was to update previous estimates of maternal and child mortality using better data and more robust methods to provide the best available evidence for tracking progress on MDGs 4 and 5.

n 2008, 36 million people died from non-communicable diseases (NCDs). 1 By 2020, NCDs are projected to cause almost three quarters as many deaths as communicable, maternal, perinatal, and nutritional diseases, and by 2030 to exceed them as the most common causes of death. 2 On Sept 19, 2011, the UN will take an important step towards modification of the future course of NCDs at the High-level Meeting on Non-communicable Diseases.

A major earthquake, measuring 6.9 on the Ritcher scale, rocked Sikkim and parts of Nepal and Tibet in the Himalaya on Sunday. The death toll, reported till late night on Monday was over 70. The United States Geological Survey reports that the earthquake centred 20.7 km below the earth's surface, around 68 km northwest of Gangtok. Two aftershocks of mediocre intensity—5.7 and 5.3 on the Richter scale—followed the quake. Heavy rain in the region trigerred landslides and hampered rescue operations.

Since 2008, there has been a drastic drop in prices of silicon-based solar modules and the material needed to produce it. This has now come to a point where there is a major shake-up in the solar manufacturing industry, and end-users are benefiting by way of cheaper solar electricity.

It is often said that if you see someone in the Lion City (Singa-pura) with oriental features and in good humour, he or she must be either a Filipino or a Filipina. The average Singaporean does not emote freely. They ensure their intentions are not misinterpreted; rarely do they smile, or acknowledge an unknown person. And often they are accused of being staid and boring, yet envied the world over as they strive for perfection on all counts. This clinical obsession is deep-rooted in their psyche and extends to how they look at water.