November 2013 India Newsletter -additions

CLEAN AIR ASIA INDIA NEWSLETTER

AIR POLLUTION

Noise pollution down, air pollution up this DiwaliPATNA: Patnaites seem to have become aware of the health hazards of noise pollution, as they opted for less noisy crackers this Diwali. However, the air pollution created by them was higher. According to the data of Bihar State Pollution Control Board (BSPCB), this Diwali there was a decrease in noise pollution level compared to previous Diwali, but air pollution level saw a rise than normal days. The lower noise pollution is a matter of some comfort, the data for air pollution, especially Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter (RSPM), is a matter of concern as it was five times above the standard set from 2pm to 10pm of 100 micro gram per meter cube Read more: http://cleanairinitiative.org/portal/node/12109

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/Noise-pollution-down-air-pollution-up-this-Diwali/articleshow/25236248.cms

20% lung cancer caused by air pollutionHYDERABAD: Around 20% of lung cancer patients who eventually die in the city are exposed to high levels of air pollution, city doctors said, weeks after the WHO classified pollution as carcinogenic to humans and leading to lakhs of deaths globally.At the Chest Hospital, at least 25 new cases of lung cancer are reported every month, while individual oncologists in the city receive up to 10 cases on an average."The particulate matter of diesel has got mutation changes capacity. It can cause changes in the DNA and RNA and also cause changes in the cell metabolism," said pulmonologist Dr Vyaykarnam Nageshwar.Read more: http://cleanairinitiative.org/portal/node/12117

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/20-lung-cancer-caused-by-air-pollution/articleshow/25614900.cms

http://cleanairinitiative.org/portal/node/12109






Panel to study air pollution causes in Chandrapur: DeotaleCHANDRAPUR: A study of various pollutions in the district and factors that attribute to air pollution has been taken up by a panel of scientists from NEERI and IIT Mumbai, to work out a sustainable solution to the issue. "During a survey of various areas around Chandrapur and Wani in Yavatmal district by the team of scientists, it was observed that most of the air pollution was caused due to transportation of various materials by heavy vehicles plying on roads, adulteration of diesel in vehicles, apart from industries and domestic use of coalRead more: http://cleanairinitiative.org/portal/node/12117

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/pollution/Panel-to-study-air-pollution-causes-in-Chandrapur-Deotale/articleshow/24323612.cms

SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT

Free DTC bus travel for women on Bhai DujNew Delhi: Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit Monday said Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) buses would offer free travel to women on the occasion of Bhai Duj festival Nov 15. "The lady passengers would be allowed free travel in non-AC DTC buses operating within Delhi or destined to towns within the national capital region between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.

http://zeenews.india.com/news/delhi/free-dtc-bus-travel-for-women-on-bhai-duj_810817.html

Read more: http://cleanairinitiative.org/portal/node/12117








Traffic chaos due to poor facilities, fundsPUNE: The city's traffic woes continue to worsen and senior traffic cops say there is little hope for improvement unless public transport service is stepped up, road infrastructure improved and the traffic branch is given more funds and manpower.The city traffic police has compared Pune's poor road and transport infrastructure with that of other important cities such as Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore, and pointed out in its comparative data .


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/Traffic-chaos-due-to-poor-facilities-funds/articleshow/25193669.cms

Sheila Dikshit now willing to scrap BRT pilotNEW DELHI: With both BJP and AAP making chief minister Sheila Dikshit's pet project, the Bus Rapid Transit Corridor, a poll issue.Dikshit, in an interview to TOI earlier this year, had accepted that the concept had not been successful. "I am sorry, we have not been able to have a success in that. Therefore, all other BRTs we had thought of have been put on hold . The BJP has been demanding scrapping of the BRT corridor, promising that it would dismantle it if voted to power.


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Sheila-Dikshit-now-willing-to-scrap-BRT-pilot/articleshow/26486538.cms







New routes fail to boost BRTS user numbersAHMEDABAD: The Bus Rapid Transit System(BRTS) may have won many awards but it has failed to attract the large number of passengers it was supposed to get. Despite the addition of 30 km of new routes in little over one year, the number of passengers has failed to increase substantially.


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/New-routes-fail-to-boost-BRTS-user-numbers/articleshow/26468926.cms

CLIMATE

India among world economies at risk of climate change impactIndia is among the "extreme risk" countries of the world where economic impacts of climate change will be most keenly felt by 2025, according to new research released .Kolkata and Mumbai are among the cities where the economic exposure to the impacts of extreme climate related events will be highest over the next 30 years, the report found.According to the Climate Change Vulnerability Index (CCVI), which forms a central part of the Atlas, this includes 67 countries whose estimated combined output of $44 trillion will come under increasing threat from the physical impacts of more frequent and extreme climate-related events, such as severe storms, flooding or drought.

Read more : http://cleanairinitiative.org/portal/node/12117 http://www.siliconindia.com/news/business/India-Among-World-Economies-At-Risk-Of-Climate-Change-Impact-Study-nid-156254-cid-3.html

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/global-warming/Delink-business-from-global-warming-issues/articleshow/26171876.cms






Experts to find ways to counter climate changeSURAT: The vulnerability of Surat city to climate change will be assessed by a two-member team of Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network(ACCCRN) project. The team will be in the city for a week from November 29 to meet stakeholders from all sections at one-to-one discussions, seminars and workshop to develop indicators needed to develop Surat's resilience to climate change. Flood-prone Surat is one of the 10 cities from Kenya, South Africa, the USA, Colombia, Chile, Indonesia and India identified by ACCCRN for the project. An urgent need is felt for an early warning system to forecast floods in the city.

Read more : http://cleanairinitiative.org/portal/node/12117

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-11-25/surat/44449120_1_climate-change-flood-prone-surat-surat-city

Climate change shifting Arctic landscape: HagelWASHINGTON: Climate change is shifting the landscape in the Arctic more rapidly than anywhere else in the world, "While the Arctic temperature rise is relatively small in absolute terms, its effect are significant, transforming what is a frozen desert into an evolving, navigable ocean, given rise to an unprecedented level of human activity. "Traffic in the northern sea route is reportedly expected to increase tenfold this year compared to the last year efforts.


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/global-warming/Climate-change-shifting-Arctic-landscape-Hagel/articleshow/26239658.cm







‘Delink business from global warming issues’WARSAW: Hitting out at developed countries for backtracking on their commitments to fight climate change, India on Thursday used the UN climate talks' platform to tell the rich nations not to treat global warming issues with a "business perspective of providing markets to domestic companies". New Delhi also expressed dismay at decision of some of the rich nations like Japan, Canada and Australia to scale down ambition and lowering of targets of emissions of greenhouse gases .Articulating the country's stand over climate change, environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan appealed to rich nations to take lead in fighting climate change, specifically when nothing concrete has emerged so far from the ongoing talks. Read more: http://cleanairinitiative.org/portal/node/12117


New Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology climate model to increase forecast accuracyENERGYPUNE: The Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), one of the premier research institutes under the ministry of earth sciences (MoES), has developed a new climate model of its own, which aims at providing a fair assessment of the impact of climate change over a period of 100 years on the behaviour of monsoon.







http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/New-Indian-Institute-of-Tropical-Meteorology-climate-model-to-increase-forecast-accuracy/articleshow/26433963.cms

Lower tariffs drive big solar dreamsNEW DELHI: The sun is literally shining bright for India's green energy sector. And the government is taking a leap of faith by conjuring up unheard of mega-scale solar power plants as tariffs head south since the launch of Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) in January, 2010. Solar power tariffs have come down to Rs 8.50 per unit from Rs 18 a few years ago, removing one of the major impediments to the sector's growth. Rates are expected to drop further as projects gain economy of scale. Even at current tariffs, the non-conventional and renewable energy ministry (MNRE) considers solar power viable when bundled with electricity from conventional sources.


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Lower-tariffs-drive-big-solar-dreams/articleshow/24560626.cms

INNOVATIVE EFFORTS

Twitter can help solve transport problems: StudyWASHINGTON: Researchers have suggested a new method to collect information on transportation problems following mass events, like football matches, using the tweets made by citizens on Twitter. Dr. Tsvi Kuflik, Head of the Information Systems Department at the University of Haifa and one of the authors of this study, which was







conducted by the researchers from Israel, Britain and Italy, said that the ability of social networks to produce information on heavy traffic, road hazards, quality of service of public transportation and more is valuable to decision makers.


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/social-media/Twitter-can-help-solve-transport-problems-Study/articleshow/22432294.cms




Buses to run on ‘chip fat’ in pilot scheme120 buses being run on diesel made from used chip fat and other food waste were launched in a new pilot scheme being spearheaded by the Mayor of London.All of the buses that run from the Barking depot will now run on a blend of 80 per cent regular diesel and 20 per cent biodiesel, an environmentally friendly fuel which will help cut carbon emissions of each bus by about 15 per cent. London's bus network is one of the largest in the world, carrying 2.3 billion passengers a year. With this figure set to increase significantly over the coming years it is important to make the fleet as environmentally friendly as possible


https://www.google.com/#q=Buses+to+run+on+%E2%80%98chip+fat%E2%80%99+in+pilot+scheme

NTPC, IOC use algae to check carbon emissionNEW DELHI: Country's largest generation utility NTPC and the R&D wing of biggest refiner-marketer IndianOil have launched an innovative project to use the humble micro algae to minimize carbon emission from power projects. The companies have launched a pilot project at NTPC's Faridabad power plant near Delhi. Two conjoining algae ponds have been constructed in the area to draw CO2 (carbon dioxide) from smoke stacks at the project. Emissions from the stacks, containing besides CO2, nitrogen oxides and other gases from industrial plants, would be fed into the artificial ponds for absorption. The gases would help micro-algae to grow which can then be harvested and processed into ethanol, bio-diesel or fertilizer. "This project is part of NTPC's plan to meet environment challenges and the company also plans to adopt latest environment




practices and protection systems to minimize the impact of power generation on environment," the company said in a statement


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/pollution/NTPC-IOC-use-algae-to-check-carbon-emission/articleshow/26172171.cms

IIT experts list pollutants affecting Golden TempleCHANDIGARH: Main building of the Golden Temple in Amritsar is adversely affected due to pollution caused by industries, vehicles, generators, 'tandoors' (clay ovens) of restaurants around the shrine and burning of crop stubble by farmers. This was stated by experts from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi in their interim report submitted on Tuesday to the Punjab and Haryana high court. IIT, Delhi was assigned to carry out a study on the effect of environmental pollution on marble metal used in the structure of the holy Sikh shrine. Experts had focused on a 10-km radius around the Golden Temple to collect data about pollutants affecting sheen of the structure.


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/pollution/IIT-experts-list-pollutants-affecting-Golden-Temple/articleshow/25667325.cms

INTERNATIONAL








Walking and cycling on rise in LondonLondon's greenways have experienced a walking and cycling boom, with a 23 per cent increase in the number of users since 2010. New figures show a 3 per cent increase in the number of users between 2011-12, with 1,394,575 people walking or cycling on the capital's greenways last year. Greenways - established by Sustrans and Transport for London (TfL) - are quiet routes through side streets and parks, built to provide safe and sustainable travel ways for pedestrians and cyclists.Read more: http://cleanairinitiative.org/portal/node/12112 http://www.securingthefuture.co.uk/sustainable-transport-news/17195-walking-and-cycling-on-rise-in-london

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Urban Mobility India (UMI) ConferenceThis 6th Urban Mobility India (UMI) Conference and Expo, an annual event is held on 3rd to 6th December 2013 at "Manekshaw Centre" .

http://www.securingthefuture.co.uk/sustainable-transport-news/17195-walking-and-cycling-on-rise-in-london

http://www.securingthefuture.co.uk/sustainable-transport-news/17195-walking-and-cycling-on-rise-in-london


The mission of the Clean Air Asia is to promote better air quality and livable cities by translating knowledge to policies and actions that reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from

transport, energy and other sectors. It was established in 2001 by ADB, the World Bank and USAID as part of a global initiative that also includes Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa.

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November 2013 India Newsletter -additions