Mountains of discarded computers and mobile phones could soon pose serious threats to public health and the environment in developing countries without swift action, the UN said on Monday. “Sales of electronic products in countries like China and India and across continents such as Africa and Latin America are set to rise sharply in the next 10 years,” the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) said in a report. “And unless action...
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Cold wave in northern India claims over 326 lives
The cold wave continues to disrupt normal life across north India, and the death toll is now reported to be over 326. Another 38 deaths were reported from Uttar Pradesh, taking the death toll in the state to almost 300. The fresh casualties were reported from Barabanki and Sitapur (5 each), Gonda and Varanasi (4 each), Etah and Orai (3 each), Lucknow, Muzaffarnagar, Kheri, Kushinagar, Balia and Chandauli (2 each)...
More »Call for moratorium on GM food by Dennis Marcus Mathew
ALAPPUZHA: Noted scientist and founder of the Hyderabad-based Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, P.M. Bhargava, has called for a moratorium of at least eight years on genetically modified (GM) food products in India. Inaugurating a national seminar on Bt. Brinjal and Alternatives in Agriculture at the Mararikulam Brinjal Festival here on Saturday, Dr. Bhargava said the moratorium period should be used to set up an independent laboratory in the...
More »Why did Copenhagen fail to deliver a climate deal? by Richard Black
After Copenhagen, there is no “developing world” — there are several. About 45,000 travelled to the U.N. climate summit in Copenhagen — the vast majority convinced of the need for a new global agreement on climate change. So why did the summit end without one? Key governments do not want a global deal: Until the end of this summit, it appeared that all governments wanted to keep the keys to...
More »Basic instincts by Darryl D’Monte
Reading the lines that Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh delivered in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday and between them, the message is evident. “We have been successful in defending India’s national interests,” he said. “I didn’t go to Copenhagen with the mandate of saving the world or humanity. My mandate was to defend India’s right to develop at a faster rate. For Western countries, it is an environmental issue but for...
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