Chemicals and biofuel from wood biomass

A method developed at Aalto University in Finland makes it possible to use microbes to produce butanol suitable for bio fuel and other industrial chemicals from wood biomass. Butanol is particularly suited as a transport fuel because it is not water soluble and has higher energy content than ethanol. Most commonly used raw materials in butanol production have so far been starch and cane sugar. In contrast to this, the starting point in the Aalto University study was to use only lignocellulose, otherwise known as wood biomass, which does not compete with food production. Another new breakthrough in the study is to successfully combine modern pulp- and biotechnology. Finland's advanced forest industry provides particularly good opportunities to develop this type of bioprocesses. Wood biomass is made up of three primary substances: cellulose, hemicelluloses, and lignin. Of these three, cellulose and hemicelluloses can be used as a source of nutrition for microbes in bioprocesses. Along with cellulose, the Kraft process that is currently used in pulping produces black liquor, which can already be used as a source of energy. It is not, however, suitable for microbes. In the study, the pulping process was altered so that, in addition to cellulose, the other sugars remain unharmed and can, there fore, be used as raw material for microbes.

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Threat of hazardous waste to mother nature

Environmental protection has become a major concern these days, thanks to the various hazardous activities carried out mainly by industries. In India, haphazard dumping of harmful and dangerous substances/wastes have become very common. This not only results in severe environmental damage but also effects the lives of several organisms and their supporting systems. Rapid growth of industries in India has resulted in the generation of an increasing volume of hazardous wastes. Both indigenously generated and imported from other countries for recycling or reprocessing, need scientific treatment and disposal. However, only a few secured landfill sites are available in the country for disposal of hazardous wastes in a environmentally sound manner. Illegal dumping of hazardous wastes by industries may cause severe environmental pollution., The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has promulgated Hazardous Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules, 1989, and amended the same in 2000 and 2003 for proper management and handling of hazardous wastes in the country. India had also ratified the Basel Convention on transboundary movement of hazardous wastes in 1992, which is a significant tool for controlling and monitoring of import and export of hazardous wastes and its proper management. However, various issues and the regulatory framework for hazardous waste management in the country should be viewed in proper perspective by regulatory agencies and industries to help the government develop an environmentally sound management system.

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Panel recommends Bhendi Bazaar (Mumbai) redevelopments for environmental mod

Giving a boost to what will be the first major cluster redevelopment project to take off in the city, the state-level expert panel has decided to recommend the Bhendi Bazaar proposal for environmental clearance.
The State Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC) screens proposals for construction projects spread over 20,000 m²and recommends them for clearance to the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA). The latter, headed by the environment secretary, will now accord approval to Bhendi Bazaar redevelopment, which will be spread over a plot of 66,264.74m²

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Newly discovered fish named after Barack Obama

A newly discovered species of colourful, freshwater fish has been named after US President Barack Obama due to "global vision of environmental protection and conservation", said scientists. Five new species of freshwater fish called darters have been discovered in river drainage in eastern North America and named after four US presidents and a Vice-President, Scientific American Running Ponies blog reported.

Darters are the smallest members of the perch family, and are named after their ability to zip around, under, into rocks and sediment on the beds of clean, fast-moving waterways. Almost 200 darter species have so far been discovered, most of which live in the rivers and creeks of northern Alabama and eastern Tennessee.

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New doubt cast on link between global warming and increased drought

There have been devastating droughts in the past few years in places like Africa, Australia, and the US. Last summer, the drought in the central US caused the loss of massive crops and a major economic hit for the country. The seeming increasing relevance of droughts has some announcing the effects of climate change coming to friction.

However, a new study from researchers at Princeton University in New Jersey and the Australian National University in Canberra has cast doubt on this premise. Their work indicates that the development of drought is much more complex than formerly believed and that the recent droughts were more an aberration than an overall drying trend.

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Multiple threats to the ancient Amazon forest other than climate change

A new genetic analysis has revealed that many Amazon tree species are likely to survive human-caused climate change warming in the coming century, contrary to previous findings that temperature increases would cause them to die out. However, the authors of the new study warn that extreme drought and forest fires will impact Amazonia as temperatures rise, and the over-exploitation of the region's resources continues to be a major threat to its future. Conservation policy for the Amazon should remain focused on reducing global greenhouse-gas emissions and preventing deforestation, they said.

The study by University of Michigan evolutionary biologist Christopher Dick and his colleagues demonstrates the surprising age of some Amazonian tree species- more than 8 million years- and thereby shows that they have survived precious periods as warm as many of the global warming scenarios forecast for the year 2100.

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Gir's plastic heap worries foresters

The day is not far when an Asiatic lion chokes on a plastic bag in the only place it calls home- the Gir forest. Environment activists have removed six tonnes of plastic from around Mount Girnar, which is home to 24 lions on the edge of Gir sanctuary. Every year, lakhs of devotees come for the four-day "Lili Parikarma" that begins and ends at the Bhavnath temple on Mount Gimar. In the process, devotees leave behind pouches of country liquor, gutkha packets, water bottles and wrapping of water and biscuits. The fair, organized by local people, sadhus, police and forest department officials, has now been curtailed to 9.6 km from the original 19.3 km that it was spread across. But, the mountain of plastic only seems to be growing in size every year, especially since it has become a huge tourist attraction due to the "Kushboo Gujarat Ki" ad campaigns. M A Kant, the Junagadh range forest officer, said they loaded more than 15 tractors with garbage after clearing the forest.

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In Varanasi, incense is lost in garbage stink

The pleasing incense filling the atmosphere during arati and other rituals has been overcome by the strong odour of garbage. This is the scene at one of the most spectacular ghats in Varanasi, the Dasawamedh Ghats. The Ghats, which is centrally located and witnesses round the year activities, has started to crumble , as reflected in its broken steps and ruptured platforms. While the receding Ganga had left heavy deposition oil silt and mud on the embankments, the dumping of leftovers of puja and other rituals on the ghat had turned the embankments murky. Loads of rotten flowers, garlands, and plastic bags can be found floating near the embankments and wastes from other ghats are also carried along river banks. "The renovated steps and platforms have started to rupture, unable to withstand even two bouts of monsoon season. The stone slabs that were fixed to the steps and platforms have started to crumble, some of them already uprooted from their original place", said Vinod Majhi, one of the local boatmen and residents of the locality.

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Indian metro cities among those facing highest climate change risks: Maplecroft

Maplecroft's Climate Change Vulnerability Index (CCVI), which forms a central pillar of the Atlas, classifies seven cities at 'extreme risk', out of a list 50 that were chosen for their current and future importance to global business.

Multinational companies operating in the Asian growth economies will be exposed to spiraling environmental risks over the coming decades, according to Maplecroft's 5th annual Climate Change and Environmental Risk Atlas, which identifies Dhaka, Manila, Bangkok, Yangon, Jakarta, Ho Chi Minh City, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai as the ten cities facing the maximum risk from the onset of climate change.

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