Sustainability Outlook Headlines

Government Medical College and Hospital goes green

The Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) in Nagpur has installed 175 solar street lights in the college and hospital premises and solar water heaters in 14 wards and eight hostels.

""It is for the first time that the hospital will have hot water facility in 14 wards. The project costing Rs60.38 crore has been funded by the district planning committee. The water heater facility will specially benefit new born babies in the wards,"" said Dr Arun Humne, hospital superintendent and professor and head of the preventive and social medicine at the GMCH.

GMCH has a huge... Read more..

USD 1.28 million system to offer tips to farmers

A new system developed by a business school in Abu Dhabi will provide tips to poor agriculturists in India and other developing countries on how to improve the farming techniques.

The system, called Totomanagement.org, developed by Insead Abu Dhabi at a cost of USD 1.28 million has been funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, a philanthropic organisation created by the American software billionaire Bill Gates and his wife, The National reported.

The system sends out information on weather, agriculture, farming practices, planting methods and diseases in rural areas... Read more..

Rs 13k cr boost for electric, hybrid vehicles on the anvil

The government plans to invest around Rs 13,000 crore over a period of eight years to promote electric and hybrid vehicles in the country and the Department of Heavy Industries is expected to seek Cabinet approval for the same within the next three months.

According to sources, the Department of Heavy Industries has also decided to include a clause in the draft National Mission for Hybrid and Electric Vehicles (NMHEV) suggesting PSU banks to offer loans to customers for purchasing electric vehicles (EVs).

"The government will put in around Rs 13,000 crore till 2020. This is... Read more..

'Limit climate change or wait for the doomsday'

A devastating cyclone will strike the state in April 2050, inundating coastal regions of East Midnapore and the Sunderbans. This will trigger flash migration to urban centres and send Kolkata reeling. Parks will turn into slums and every inch of free space will be occupied.

In the cruel summer that will follow, the mercury will breach the 42 degree celcius mark. Radiation from sun rays reflecting off the steel and glass buildings and exhaust from AC cars and homes will push the temperature higher by another 2 degree. With lakhs of people exposed to the heat, thousands will fall ill... Read more..

ATMI Begins Commercialization of New Carbon Dioxide Capture System Co-Developed With SRI International

ATMI, Inc. (Nasdaq:ATMI) is launching commercialization of a new carbon dioxide (CO2) capture system that combines technologies from ATMI and SRI International. Under a marketing agreement, ATMI will lead commercialization efforts and is engaging potential development partners for rapid scale-up and commercial deployment of CO2 capture systems.

The system features ATMI's precision BrightBlack™ carbon adsorbent technology and a proprietary, adsorbent-based gas separation technology designed by SRI. When combined, the technologies form a unique and effective system that exhibits... Read more..

'Not enough being done to tackle drought'

With several states reeling under a drought-like situation as they await the monsoon, experts have pointed out that not enough is being done to deal with the situation arising out of scanty rainfall.

Drought management, they say, assumes significance in view of changing weather patterns.

"We are not prepared to handle the effects of climate change on agriculture. It is reflected through our management of drought situation in states like Karnataka, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh," veteran agricultural scientist M.S. Swaminathan told.

"As the effects of climate change... Read more..

Renewable energy certificates witness a record trade in June

In its 16th trading session, India energy exchange (IEX) witnessed a record trading figure of renewable energy certificates (RECs). Out of the 3, 99,865 RECs that were available for sale, 2, 48,165 RECs were issued - the highest issuance for any month till date.

In the non-solar REC segment, IEX received buy bids of 3, 13,973 certificates and sell bids of 3,30,371 certificates against which 2,23,164 non-solar RECs were cleared at Rs 2,402/REC. IEX also received buy bids of 9,489 Solar RECs and sell bids of 541 solar RECs against which 336 solar RECs were cleared at Rs 12,750/REC.... Read more..

US court absolves Union Carbide of liability in Bhopal tragedy

In a setback to 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy victims, a US court has held that neither Union Carbide nor its former chairman Warren Anderson were liable for environmental remediation or pollution-related claims at the firm's former chemical plant in Bhopal.

US district judge John Keena in Manhattan dismissed a lawsuit accusing the company of causing soil and water pollution around the Bhopal plant due to the disaster, and ruled that Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) and Anderson were not liable for remediation or pollution-related claims.

The court ruled that it was Union Carbide... Read more..

New star-rated ACs to save on power consumption

Expect eight per cent more saving on your monthly electricity bill if you are buying a new air conditioner (AC).

The existing criteria of technical standards for energy efficiency in ACs has been enhanced from January 2012 in such a way that new star-rated ACs will save eight per cent more power than they are saving now.

Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) Director General Ajay Mathur told reporters that BEE had uprgraded the requirements for star-rated split ACs in order to save more energy.

"Of course this facility will be available only with split 1.5 ton AC models... Read more..

Wartsila India to add 500 MW power in O&M division

Energy and marine power solutions company Wartsila India Ltd. will shortly beef up its operations and maintenance (O&M) portfolio by adding another 500 MW capacity, taking the division's total power capacity to around 2,000 MW, an official said.

"We are in the process of adding 500 MW gas based power plants to our O&M portfolio. The plants are located in south India," James Rajan, vice president, Services told reporters here Wednesday.

According to Rajan, sensors in the power plants will communicate the health of the machine to the company's data centre. The data will... Read more..

Co2 snuffing out your lungs

Just how much carbon dioxide do you breathe in everyday? If you are in Ahmedabad or Gandhinagar, you could well be taking in much more than what your body can take and many times over what can be absorbed by the trees around you.

An average Amdavadi today has a burden of 3.36 kg of carbon dioxide per day, while a resident in Vadodara has the highest burden of 7.3 kg a day. Theoretically, such a large dose of CO2 can kill you, but it does not as it dissipates into the upper layers of the atmosphere. A study by environmentalists at Stanford University in 2010 pointed out that an... Read more..

New pollution norms for hotel industry in Noida

To check air and water pollution and waste management in the hotel industry, the UP State Pollution Control Board has decided to make it mandatory for restaurants and hotels across Gautam Budh Nagar to get a No Objection Certificate from it to continue their operations. Restaurants and hotels will have to set up water treatment plants and use sound-free generators and chimneys in kitchens to control air and noise pollution levels.

According to Parasnath, regional manager of the Board, all medium-sized and above category hotels and restaurants with a capacity of more than 25 rooms... Read more..