In 2007, The Energy and Resource Institute (TERI) undertook a bold, first-of-its-kind initiative-the organisation pledged to illuminate a million lives in an eco-friendly and sustainable manner, thereby ushering in an era of green energy in rural India. And if that was not ambitious enough, the organisation soon expanded its target to a billion from the earlier million, spawning the 'Lighting a Billion Lives' programme.
TERI's initiative could hardly come at a better time. Today, even as urban India is embracing greener technologies with enthusiasm, as many as 61 million families in the rural countryside still rely on kerosene and wick lamps for illumination. In addition to being a highly restrictive means of lighting, these traditional lamps spew close to 5.5 million tonnes of harmful CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. And as the world wakes up to the need to monitor and control these polluting emissions, cutting down on the use of these lamps is undoubtedly a good way to ingrain sustainability into the rural framework. Read more
Source : economictimes.indiatimes.com
Quarry workers are more than eager to send their children to her school
Striking a chord: Jeny says that once the children get an idea of what a school is, they never want to look back. Photo: Satish Badiger
What strikes you about Jeny Verma, the co-founder of Lovedale Foundation, is the clarity of her intentions and precision in communication. Cradling the dreams of the people of Anagalapura, three kilometres from Horamavu, Jeny and her not-for-profit organisation work towards building a sustainable life for the children of quarry workers that live in and around the area.
Her foundation nurtures ‘The Cherish Home', a home for the elders, ‘The Littlewoods', a children's home, and a school called ‘The Banyan'. Read more
Source : thehindu.com
ICAR says knowledge of climate change impact in India is 'fragmentary'
Genetics mode: Researchers working with transgenic groundnut plants engineered for drought resistance at the glasshouse facility of the Genetic Transformation Lab at ICRISAT in Hyderabad. Photo: K. Gajendran
A recent international conference on climate change and sustainable agriculture in New Delhi brought forth the shocking realisation that there are no conclusive studies in India on the prospective impact of climate change on the agriculture sector including livestock and fisheries.
Much of the country's understanding comes from global data provided by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the World Meteorological Organisation and other world bodies. Read more
Source : thehindu.com
NEW DELHI (AlertNet Climate) - India's rural development minister has slammed a United Nations report which includes reducing C02 emissions as a development target agreed by poor countries, saying it was a "mistake" and that the international body was "sending the wrong signal".
In this 2010 file photo, India's former Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh gestures during a news conference at the U.N. headquarters in New York. REUTERS/Jessica Rinaldi
Jairam Ramesh, a former environment minister, was India's voice - echoing that of many developing nations - in refusing to commit to legally binding targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions in international climate change negotiations. Read more
Source : trust.org
Leaders from across the world gathered in Durban in December last year to find common ground on what is currently the most important challenge facing humanity: climate change. With virtually no headway made since the Kyoto Protocol, there is precious little time left for all nations to act before we reach the point of no return. Governments across the world must give a clear signal that they are committed to a legal deal on climate change that puts the world on track to a low-carbon economy.
While both developed and developing nations put forth their arguments keeping in mind their respective economic interests, it is important to note that businesses can, and must, play a vital role in building a greener world. Today, businesses across the world are committed to green growth and building a 'sustainable' global economy as it will ensure their future growth. There is a unique opportunity for businesses from developed and developing nations to collaborate and develop low-carbon technologies and business models. Read more
Source : economictimes.indiatimes.com
New Delhi: A specialised body for promoting sustainable development of the Indian auto sector,dubbed the National Automotive Board,is likely to be set up by April.
"The proposed National Automotive Board (NAB),which is being finalised by the Department of Heavy Industry,is likely to be cleared by the Cabinet in a month," an official said. Read more
Source : zeenews.india.com
Villagers discover that it is easier to store water in ice than in a reservoir, and less is lost to evaporation.
This story is part of a National Geographic News series on global water issues.
A remote Indian village is responding to global warming-induced water shortages by creating large masses of ice, or "artificial glaciers," to get through the dry spring months. (See a map of the region.)
Located on the western edge of the Tibetan plateau, the village of Skara in the Ladakh region of India is not a common tourist destination. Read more
Source : news.nationalgeographic.com
The population of Indian cities, already more than 340 million, is projected to reach nearly 600 million by 2030. By then daily passenger trips among 87 of the country's major cities will have doubled to roughly 482 million a day. In other words, embracing sustainable urban transport will quickly become an urgent need, and a key to doing so, according to a new report by EMBARQ India, may rest not in an emerging travel mode but an old reliable one: the rickshaw.
Private vehicle ownership in India is on the rise — climbing 85 percent during the 2000s to 110 million cars and motorcycles by the end of the decade. Meanwhile public transit ridership has fallen over that same period, in part because it hasn't kept up with demand. Bicycle riding is down too, as the length of trips grows longer with urban sprawl. In an extremely crowded country, that's a transportation recipe for high emissions, poor public safety, and massive congestion, among other social problems. Read more
Source : theatlanticcities.com
Delhi : Germany, India pledge funds for environmental urban infrastructure development
The agreement with Germany will help towards a better NCR. Photo: Shanker Chakravarty
To boost the environmental sustainability of fast-growing towns in India's National Capital Region (NCR), the German Government-owned development bank KfW has signed a loan agreement worth 100 million euros (approximately Rs. 700 crore) and a financing agreement for project development and capacity building grant of 1 million euro (approximately Rs. 7 crore) with the National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB).
The Agreement was signed in New Delhi by Naini Jayaseelan, Member Secretary, NCRPB and Mr. Uwe Ohls, Director General Europe and Asia of KfW, in the presence of Prabodh Saxena, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs and Cord Meier-Klodt, acting Ambassador of Germany to India. Read more
Source : thehindu.com
As I traveled through Mumbai and Delhi over the past few days, I’ve been awed by the rapid growth taking place in Indian cities. Statistics about urbanization abound, but experiencing the dynamic, jammed-packed streets firsthand is much more revealing.
India’s leaders are committed to helping cities keep pace with this growth, but many do not stop there. They are also working to ensure that cities grow as sustainably as possible. Read more
Source : switchboard.nrdc.org
New Delhi: A top climate scientist today asked India to adopt sustainable ways of farming which is under pressure due to water crisis caused by global warming.
UN Secretary General's Special Advisor Jeffrey D Sach also underlined the need for adopting green technology to deal with the issue of climate change in various sectors including agriculture. Read more
Source : zeenews.india.com
New Delhi: The second day of the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit opened with a special session on biodiversity that brought together a panel of leading experts, including India’s environment minister, Jayanthi Natarajan.
In her keynote address, Natarajan shared a quote by the Buddha, "I do not believe in a fate that falls upon men however they act, but I do believe in a fate that befalls if you do not act." Read more
Source : zeenews.india.com
On January 31st, 2012, MWH Global (Broomfield, Colorado, U.S.) announced that it donated USD 50,000 to The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) to help bring solar lighting to rural areas in India. TERI is a non-profit research organization that focuses on finding solutions for critical energy, environmental and sustainable development issues.
TERI brings solar lighting to rural areas in India
The funding, which was made through the MWH Caring Foundation Inc., will directly support TERI’s Lighting a Billion Lives program that aims to bring light into the lives of rural communities through solar lighting. Read more
Source : solarserver.com
New Delhi: Farmers in the South-Indian state of Tamil Nadu are switching from paddy cultivation to panning for salt. On the other extreme of the sub-continent, hundreds of thousands of people live in harm’s way in the event of a glacial lake outburst-triggered flood, or GLOFs as they are called.
Something sinister connects the two disturbing happenings – amplifying the vulnerabilities of people from the northern Hindu-Kush-Himalayan range to India's southernmost tip, Kanya Kumari, a whopping 1.5 billion people and counting. The least common denominator exasperating the vulnerabilities is the phenomenon of climate change. Read more
Source : zeenews.india.com
Mumbai: Time seems not too far when diesel would be extracted from plastic waste in India.
A Mumbai-based firm has drawn up plans to set up a plant to convert plastic waste into light diesel, calorific value combustible gas and carbon pellets. Read more
Source: daily.bhaskar.com
More than half the world’s population lives in cities, a percent that is estimated to increase to 70% by 2050. Much of the urban growth will be in the emerging economies like China and India where a new middle-class wants Western conveniences … like cars. But there are huge costs to owning and driving cars in cities: (i) cars are gas-guzzlers that pollute the environment; (ii) they are big and bulky, adding to congestion; (iii) individual ownership again leads to more congestion and air pollution. This tension between the need and unsustainability of the automobile calls for a new approach to urban mobility.
Most environmentalists agree that the best solution is for everyone to walk and cycle more and take more public transport. But let’s be honest: most people don’t like walking home from the train station after a long day’s work. They want a form of transportation that takes them right to their front door, i.e. that covers what is known as “the last mile”. Bike and car sharing schemes offer the best solution: transportation vehicles that have numerous drop-off points around the city and can be rented to take you very close to your home. This multiple use of transportation types for one journey is known as inter-modal transport. But in the case of cars, we still have two additional problems: pollution from gasoline combustion and congestion due to bulk. Cities need a micro sharable inter-modal transport that relies on renewable energy. Read more
Source : bigthink.com
Bangalore: With one-third of the global population living in India and China by 2025, the region will face imminent water scarcity unless there is action. Now experts from the two countries as well as US, Britain, Germany and other places are set to deliberate on water-related issues at a meet here from Tuesday. Billed as the first World Water Summit in India's IT hub, the summit is aimed at generating innovative ideas to meet the challenge of managing scarce water sources.
With one-third of the global population in India and China by 2025, the region will face imminent water scarcity.
"Ensuring adequate and safe water to all sections of the population, particularly the poor is a big challenge. The objective of the summit is to deliberate on issues and generate ideas," former Karnataka chief secretary A. Ravindra, the brain behind the meet, told IANS. Ravindra is now advisor to the chief minister and also heads the Centre for Sustainable Development (CSD), a non-profit organisation he started in 2003. Read more
Source : ibnlive.in.com
Mysore : ‘Hassle-free system will reduce cost of building houses’
“We have destroyed what is priceless. It would be no surprise if the next generation inherits a earth sans birds, animals or plants. It is the legacy what we leave to our children. Children should become ambassadors for any movement and adopt what is right, only then can Earth be preserved,” said founder of Spectral Service Consultants Prem C Jain after releasing a technical volume of Buildtech at NIE indoor stadium here on Saturday. Read more
Source : deccanherald.com
The country's status as a developing nation may actually prove to be a blessing in disguise for the green power sector
A yawning rural-urban divide, exploding population, inadequate facilities, low standard of living-these are only but a few of the many challenges that lie ahead before India as it forges up on a steep, development gradient. On the other hand, the world at large is confronted by the urgent need to make industry, business and lifestyles greener and more environmentally responsible. Read more
Source : economictimes.indiatimes.com
Very soon, residents can apply for road cut permissions online. The Chennai Corporation will develop and test the application, said its Commissioner P.W.C. Davidar on Monday. He said that an analysis of road cut permission process showed that the file passed by 25 – 30 officials before getting the required sanction.
Andre Dzikus, Chief, Water and Sanitation Section, UN Habitat Photo : S.S.Kumar
“At times, the file would be going in circles even. We are thinking of how the system can be re-engineered to make it hassle-free. It will be ready in a couple of weeks,” he said speaking at a session on ‘efficient and effective ULBs and Parastatals – Institutional governance framework' at the three-day Municipalika conference that got underway at the Chennai Trade Centre. Read more
Source : thehindu.com
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