Sustainability Outlook Headlines

Make vehicle scrapping mandatory, start with heavy vehicles: FM Arun Jaitley

In order to check pollution, a new policy will be framed to make scrapping of 15-year old vehicles mandatory, bringing heavy vehicles in its ambit to begin with, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari today said.

The Finance Ministry has suggested putting the proposed policy before a Committee of Secretaries, the Road Transport and Highways Minister said after holding a meeting with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on... Read more..

Bio-inspired tire design: Where the rubber meets the road

The fascination with the ability of geckos to scamper up smooth walls and hang upside down from improbable surfaces has entranced scientists at least as far back as Aristotle, who noted the reptile's remarkable feats in his History of Animals.

But it wasn't until about 15 years ago, when researchers were definitively able to attribute the gecko's powers of adhesion to nanoscale threads in the gecko's toes,... Read more..

Microplastics should be banned in cosmetics to save oceans

Cosmetics companies must be banned from using plastic microbeads in scrubs, toothpaste and beauty products because of the marine pollution they are causing, say a group of MPs.

Members of the environmental audit committee have called for a ban within 18 months after hearing that trillions of tiny pieces of plastic are accumulating in the world’s oceans, lakes and estuaries, harming marine life and entering... Read more..

India adds 3.6 GW to solar capacity

India's total installed solar capacity has grown by over 80% in the last 12 months to reach 8.1 GW. Out of the 3.6 GW capacity added in this period, 2.7 GW has come from four southern states with Tamil Nadu alone adding over 1.2 GW. These six states account for 80% of the capacity added in India. 

Data compiled by Bridge to India indicates that Tamil Nadu now ranks number 1 for commissioned capacity in both... Read more..

CPCB report shows need for urgent action in the Eloor-Edayar contaminated area

Even as the National Green Tribunal (NGT) is expected to hear two different batches of petition related to Periyar pollution next week, there is growing evidence to support the demand for an authority to monitor and protect it.

A report submitted by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) before the NGT on action to be undertaken in the Eloor-Edayar contaminated area, says remediation measures are being... Read more..

This company is turning car exhaust into inks and paints

For the past few years, teams of researchers have been figuring out how to transform carbon dioxide emissions into diamonds, solid rocks, and clean energy.

Turns out they can also create art from it. Graviky Labs, a spinoff group from the MIT Media Lab, developed a way to capture air pollution and make art supplies - pens, oil-based paints and spray paints - from the carbon soot.

... Read more..

Need to re-envisage renewable energy potential in NE

India is battling with a two-pronged problem of environment as well as energy crisis.Together with its prolonged struggle to remove the evils of inequality, poverty and improvement of the human development indicators, a constant degradation of environment and ecological destruction has become a runaway problem, leaving a large section of the population in the country as energy poor.
According to a study conducted by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) New Delhi, about 300 million people have no... Read more..

India’s Largest Sustainability Leadership Search Begins

Sustainability Outlook has unveiled the 6^th edition of Parivartan Sustainability Leadership Awards (www.ParivartanAwards.in).  The awards are India’s biggest sustainability awards and cover enterprises, innovators and business leaders. Over five editions, Parivartan Awards have uncovered more than 300 path breaking sustainability innovations from Indian industry.

... Read more..

Supreme Court orders installation of radio kits for green cess in New Delhi

The Supreme Court Monday ordered the Delhi government to install radio-frequency identification devices (RFIDs) to facilitate imposition of green cess on commercial vehicles entering the capital.

A bench led by Chief Justice of India T S Thakur expressed displeasure at the reluctance of the government to get the advance technology installed on its own to make sure correct numbers of commercial vehicles are... Read more..

National electricity plan to be ready by September 2016

A national electricity plan, which provides a road map for the power sector for the next five years, will be ready by next month, Central Electricity Authority (CEA) Chairman S.D. Dubey said on Monday.

He was speaking to mediapersons on the sidelines of a conference on ‘Smart-reliable-sustainable power’, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here.

... Read more..

Aerial mapping of Bengaluru city’s solar energy prospects

A small aircraft will soon be going around Bengaluru to map the rooftop area available for generation of solar energy. The Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (Bescom) has entered into an agreement with Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Limited (... Read more..

Exxon scientists develop energy efficient plastic manufacturing system

Scientists from oil giant ExxonMobil and the Georgia Institute of Technology claim to have developed a "revolutionary" new technology which can boost energy efficiency and reduce emissions produced during the process of manufacturing plastics.

According to ExxonMobil, if deployed at an industrial scale the breakthrough could reduce global industrial CO2 emissions by up to 45 million tonnes, the equivalent to... Read more..