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दिल्ली में अक्टूबर 2020 से एक फरवरी 2021 के बीच वायु प्रदूषण का स्तर बढ़ा

नई दिल्ली [संजीव गुप्ता]। सेंटर फार साइंस एंड एन्वायरनमेंट (सीएसई) ने राजधानी दिल्ली में सर्दियों के मौसम में प्रदूषण के स्तर का अध्ययन किया है। इसमें निष्कर्ष निकाला है कि अक्टूबर से एक फरवरी तक वायु प्रदूषण का स्तर बढ़ा है, जबकि स्माग के दिन कम हुए हैं। इस बीच सूक्ष्म धूल कण पीएम 2.5 के स्तर में वृद्धि हुई है। सीएसई की कार्यकारी निदेशक अनुमिता राय चौधरी का कहना है कि यह चिंताजनक स्थिति है। दिल्ली में धूल व औद्योगिक इकाइयों से होने वाले प्रदूषण को रोकने के लिए बेहतर प्रबंधन करना जरूरी है। इस बार सर्दियों में राजधानी दिल्ली में जहांगीरपुरी को प्रदूषण का हॉट स्पाट पाया गया, जहां वायु प्रदूषण में सबसे ज्यादा वृद्धि दर्ज की गई। इस अध्ययन के मुताबिक दिल्ली में वायु प्रदूषण का स्तर लंबे समय तक खराब श्रेणी में बना रहा। राजधानी मंद प्रदूषण मापने के विभिन्न स्टेशनों में प्रदूषण स्तर में काफी अंतर पाया गया। इस भिन्नता का कारण स्थानीय कारकों को बताया गया है। सीएसई के अनुसार इस बार सर्दी में स्माग दो बार पाया गया, जो पिछले साल की तुलना में कम रहा। पहली बार तीन नवंबर से स्माग शुरू हुआ व लगातार एक सप्ताह तक छाया रहा। दूसरी बार 22 दिसंबर से शुरू हुआ और तीन दिनों तक रहा। इसकी तुलना में वर्ष 2018-19 में स्माग चार बार दस दिनों तक, दो बार छह दिनों तक और एक बार तीन दिनों तक रहा था। वायु प्रदूषण मापने के अलग-अलग स्टेशनों में प्रदूषण में कमी व बढोतरी दर्ज की गई, लेकिन समान पैटर्न नहीं पाया गया। शादीपुर स्टेशन पर प्रदूषण के स्तर में 34 फीसद सुधार दर्ज हुआ लेकिन पास के ही पूसा स्टेशन में 13 फीसद वृद्धि दर्ज की गई। द्वारका, वजीरपुर व शादीपुर में प्रदूषण के स्तर में सुधार पाया गया। पटपड़गंज, विवेक विहार एवं आरके पुरम में प्रदूषण स्तर में बढोतरी दर्ज की गई। सीएसई ने सर्दियों से संबंधित प्रदूषण को लेकर पाया कि स्थानीय कारकों का असर सबसे अधिक है, जिससे राजधानी में वायु प्रदूषण बढ़ रहा है, लेकिन औद्योगिक क्षेत्रों में साफ ईंधन के प्रयोग, कोयला आधारित बिजली प्लांट बंद होने, राजधानी में ट्रकों के प्रवेश बंद होने से व परिवहन में सीएनजी का प्रयोग होने से प्रदूषण कम हुआ है।

Seasonal average of winter pollution in Delhi-NCR higher this winter; smog episodes shorter: CSE

Most improvement was noted at NSIT Dwarka, Wazirpur and Shadipur, the CSE said, adding that the maximum increase was noted at Patparganj, Vivek Vihar and R K Puram (all residential areas). New Delhi: Seasonal average of winter pollution in Delhi-NCR in 2020-2021 was higher than in the previous year but the severity and duration of smog episodes was lower, a new analysis by environment think tank Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) said on Wednesday. For the purposes of implementation of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), winter in the region is officially demarcated as the period from October 15 to February 1, the CSE said. This winter, there were 23 days when the city-wide average of PM2.5 concentration was in the 'severe' or 'worse' AQI category -- down from 25 such days in the winter of 2019-2020 and 33 in 2018-19, the analysis said. "Technically, a smog episode is defined for the purpose of implementing emergency action under GRAP, when levels of PM2.5 remain in the 'severe' category for three consecutive days," it said. It also said that Ghaziabad was the most polluted among the four neighbouring towns of Delhi and in the national capital city, north Delhi was the most polluted with Jahangirpuri as the dirtiest hotspot. "There is always a special interest in understanding winter pollution trends -- given the extraordinary situation due to the pandemic this year, as well as the fact that winter remains the most difficult season in this region due to atmospheric conditions of inversion, calm wind, and cold weather," said Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director-research and advocacy, CSE. "The trapped winter air traps local and regional pollution in turn, and gives rise to the deadly winter smog that we, the residents of Delhi-NCR, are so familiar with," said Roychowdhury, who also heads CSE's sustainable urbanisation, air pollution and mobility programmes. The CSE said that while Delhi has been battling a serious challenge of prolonged smoggy days every winter, in the time horizon of 2015-2020, several multi-sector actions have been initiated and these have been a part of the Comprehensive Clean Air Action Plan (CCAAP) as well as GRAP. It said that 12 stations witnessed an improvement in their seasonal averages over last year. Most improvement was noted at NSIT Dwarka, Wazirpur and Shadipur, the CSE said, adding that the maximum increase was noted at Patparganj, Vivek Vihar and R K Puram (all residential areas). Stations in north and east Delhi continued to exhibit highest PM2.5 levels, while west Delhi was relatively cleaner, it said. "Winter season is always a special challenge when inversion, and cool and calm weather traps and spikes daily pollution. But this is also the bar to understand the effectiveness of round-the-year action in reducing long-term pollution in the region," Roychowdhury said. "Despite the declining trend (year-on-year basis) due to action taken over the last few years on clean fuels for industry and transport, power plants, trucks, old vehicles etc. the winter PM2.5 concentration has bounced back, unmasking the impacts of local and regional pollution. This demands quicker and more ambitious regional reforms to curb pollution from all sources with scale with speed," she said. According to Avikal Somvanshi, programme manager in CSE's urban lab team of the sustainable cities programme, on an year-on-year basis, annual average PM2.5 levels are declining in Delhi. "Is this also moderating the impact on the pollution build-up and severe peaks during winter? This analysis of winter pollution trends since 2018 helps understand the patterns of change," Somvanshi said. The think tank said that the analysis is based on publicly available data from various government agencies. "Most granular data (15-minute averages) has been sourced from the Central Pollution Control Board's (CPCB) official online portal Central Control Room for Air Quality Management. This has analysed the data recorded by 81 air quality monitoring stations (or 100 per cent of the current NCR network) under the Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring System (CAAQMS) of the CPCB," it said.

Hyderabad pollution levels rose 7% after Unlock 6.0

Hyderabad was the second-most polluted city after Visakhapatnam. HYDERABAD: The nationwide Unlock 6.0 in November 2020 that gave respite to various activities and allowed them to resume with certain riders was welcomed by all sections of the society. However, as a safety measure against Covid-19 spread, public transport and several companies were not functioning at their 100 per cent capacity in the city. Even then, the city’s winter pollution levels worsened by 7 per cent, revealed a report by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). The report added that among the Southern states, Hyderabad was the second-most polluted city after Visakhapatnam. The study was based on real-time data available from 115 cities across the country. It noted that in South India, winter air pollution in regional cities of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Kerala has increased from the winter of 2019. Good air means that the Particulate Matter (PM) 2.5 levels should be below 30 micrograms per cubic meter (μg/m3 ). PM 2.5 are tiny particles in the air and are able to travel deeply into the respiratory tract, reaching the lungs. The national 24-hour permissible level for PM 2.5 is 60 μg/m3. According to the report, Hyderabad recorded a whopping peak winter PM 2.5 level of 92 μg/m3. This was 48 per cent more than the winter of 2019. “Peak pollution is very harmful especially for the people suffering from respiratory illness,” Avikal Somvanshi, programme manager at CSE’s Urban Lab team of the Sustainable Cities programme, told Express.There were two reasons behind the rise in pollution during the winter in the city, the report revealed. When the unlocking started, the Pollution Control Board (PCB) had shown more leniency towards industries, which are emit a lot of pollutants. The second factor is that since most public transports were shut, more people started using private transport, resulting in more cars and bikes on plying the road than before and adding to the pollution. “We had anticipated less air pollution during this year’s winter, however, the data shows something else. The city recorded a 7 per cent increase in its average PM 2.5 levels,” added Avikal. Air quality remains below satisfactory levels Though winter is over, the air pollution in the city continues to remain below satisfactory levels. On March 3, the air quality index (AQI)recorded at the seven monitoring stations in the city has been in moderate category at 132. The AQI at the Zoo Park was 148.

Humans need to reset their outlook on nature

Over 60 environmental thinkers, campaigners, activists, journalists and academics from across India jointly released the 2021 State of India’s Environment report online. The SOE 2021 is the annual publication of the Down To Earth (DTE) magazine. As DTE points out, since March 2020, the virus has been pervasive, impacting every aspect of our existence. A year has passed by. In reckoning, 2021 is going to be a year of importance. The pandemic is a default template for every assessment; such has been its impact on our lives. This is the context to the SOE report. As Sunita Narain, DTE editor, writes in her opening appraisal of the year just passed by, “The crisis has no precedent. But it is a result of our progressively worsening dystopian relationship with nature.” What the 2021 annual says rings several warning bells! • The world is going to face a pandemic like the current one more frequently. We know just 0.1%of potential zoonoses. In other words, the world remains ignorant of 99.9% of potential zoonotic viruses. • The adult generation of 2040 would be stunted, with a lower human capital. • A crisis’s impacts trickle faster to the poor. It is estimated that 12,000 more people would die every day due to hunger extended by the pandemic. • India is all set to usher in a ‘pandemic generation’: 375 million children (from newborn to 14-year-olds) may suffer long-lasting impacts, ranging from being underweight, stunting and increased child mortality, to losses in education and work productivity. The pandemic also has its hidden victims — over 500 million children forced out of school globally. India accounts for more than 50% of them. • India’s air, water and land have become more polluted between 2009 and 2018. Of 88 major industrial clusters in the country, data clearly indicates a lack of action over the years to control and reduce pollution even in areas which were already identified as ‘critically’ or ‘severely’ polluted. • India ranks 117 among 192 nations in terms of sustainable development – it is now behind all South Asian nations except Pakistan. • With respect to meeting the Sustainable Development Goals, the five best performing states in India are Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Telangana. Going by the same parameter, the five worst performing states have been Bihar, Jharkhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Uttar Pradesh. • 67 million Indians died due to air pollution in 2019. The economic cost was over $36,000 million, equivalent to 1.36% of India’s GDP. • India desperately needs a vehicle scrappage policy. By 2025, we will have over 20 million vehicles nearing the end of their lives. These will add to the pollution and environmental damage. • Drinking water to all households of rural India –11 past deadlines have been missed. The Jal Jeevan Mission’s target to provide drinking water to all rural households by 2024 will need focus on making the water source sustainable; recharge of groundwater and rainwater harvesting will be critical. In all the gloom, there is one good news: since 2014-15, an average 34% of available funds have been spent on water-related works, leading to creation of almost 11 million assets in half a million villages. • India’s rivers did not see any significant improvement in their water quality during the lockdown. Of India’s 19 major rivers, five – including Ganga – ran dirtier in the COVID-19 period. • 438 plant species (of which 95% are flowering plants, including food crops) and 889 vertebrates and invertebrates are threatened. • Environmental crime cases are piling up, and disposal is slow. 34,671 crimes were registered in 2019, and 49,877 cases are pending trial. To clear the backlog in a year, courts need to dispose of 137 cases a day. • Has India’s forest cover really grown by 5188 square km since 2017, as claimed? • India has added 714 more tigers, but the area occupied by tigers has shrunk by over 17,000 square km (in the last four years). • Forestland diversion continues unabated. Over11,000 hectares were diverted in 22 states in 2019. Taking note of the Sixth Mass Extinction (Holocene extinction), the report says, “Before an extinction phase sets in, there are two signs: Loss in population and shrinking distribution areas. These two signs are evident among all species currently.” The “clean air and blue sky” during the countrywide lockdown showed our abuse of the nature. But as the SOE 2021 says, “this remained just a blip. It was probably the nature’s way of reminding us how it could be without the human-induced pollution”.

Generation doom: children of the pandemic

While global attention has been monopolized by the deaths caused by the coronavirus, the myriad plight of minors and children has been rendered invisible Covid-19 has not only taken a massive toll on people’s health; it has also destroyed the future prospects of children. A study by the Centre for Science and Environment indicated as much with its findings about the ‘pandemic generation’: 375 million children, from newborns up to the age of 14, are likely to suffer the long-term effects of the global contagion, ranging from malnutrition, stunting and increased child mortality to losses in education. While global attention has been monopolized by the deaths caused by the coronavirus — it has claimed more than 2.5 million lives around the world, with the casualties in India going beyond 1.5 lakh — the myriad plight of minors and children has been rendered invisible. The blow to the educational prospects of such ‘hidden victims’ is particularly severe: more than 500 million were forced out of school all over the world, with India accounting for over half the number. These figures bear serious implications for India, which now lags behind all South Asian nations in terms of sustainable development, save for Pakistan. Even at the best of times, the protection of children’s lives, rights and health has to be negotiated around formidable roadblocks, including State apathy. The picture becomes even bleaker for children — especially those on the margins — born or growing up during the pandemic. They are at greater risk of disease, poverty, food shortage and even sexual violence while facing poorer access to basic rights such as education and healthcare. While the global response has not been particularly encouraging — a United Nations survey of high-income economies showed that a third of them did not implement any policies designed to support children during the first wave of the pandemic — certain countries have taken some mitigatory measures. Singapore, for one, asked pre-school programmes and student care centres to cut fees by 50 per cent for a short time. But, India, seemingly, has looked the other way. The National Education Policy and the Union budget both saw the light of day during the pandemic. Yet, governmental expenditure on children came down by almost Rs 16,000 crore, while the NEP made lofty claims about online education and increasing the student enrolment ratio by 50 per cent with little clarity on how the digital divide is to be tackled. These challenges are only aggravated by health concerns — increasing air and water pollution are examples — thereby signalling the urgent need for holistic comprehension of the overlapping nature of the challenges so as to design appropriate interventions. The plight of 42 per cent of India’s population is too complex to be solved by a piecemeal approach.

With just 1 ‘satisfactory’ AQI count in Feb, air quality in city continues to nosedive

Kolkata: The air quality in the city continued to deteriorate across the six automatic air quality monitoring stations last month. There was a sharp rise in the number of ‘poor’ and ‘very poor’ days in February compared to the corresponding period last year. There was a significant drop in the number of ‘moderate’ days as well. South Kolkata saw a sharper decline in air quality and Jadavpur, particularly, was the worst-affected. In fact, there was just a single day in February when the air quality was ‘satisfactory’. During the winter months, the air around us gets vicious because pollutants hang lower for longer periods of the day because of thermal inversion. Moreover, automobile emission, emission from thermal power, tanneries, garbage burning and road dusts make it more poisonous. In fact, an analysis of the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) showed Kolkata saw the highest increase (13%) among megacities as far as the increase in PM2.5 count in the air is concerned. The study of the AQI calendar shows that the Jadavpur CAAQMS (Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Station) had three ‘satisfactory’ (AQI 51-100) days and 19 ‘moderate’ (101-200) days in February, 2020. Last year, Jadavpur showed the best air quality in the city with more than half of the month showing reasonably good readings. However, there was not a single ‘satisfactory’ day this February, with ‘moderate’ days reduced to just 11. There was a four-fold increase in the number of ‘very poor’ days (301-400). The situation at north Kolkata was no better. At Rabindra Bharati University CAAQMS, ‘poor’ days (201-300) dropped from 14 last February to 11 last month. But the number of ‘very poor’ days went up sharply from one to 14. Salt Lake (Bidhannagar) in the east of the city, which is considered to be the cleanest with a lot of greenery, also showed a decline — ‘moderate’ days dropped to 11 from 13 and ‘poor’ days increasing from 9 to 16. Fort William, the headquarters of the Eastern Command at the heart of the city, also saw a sharp decline in the number of ‘moderate’ days from 20 February last year to six last month. The number of ‘poor’ days jumped to 20 from just five. “Kolkata’s pollution, different studies indicate, is not a problem of the city alone. It is a problem of the larger area of the Indo-Gangetic plain, where trans-boundary travel of pollutants plays a huge role. We are trying our best to contain local pollution. But it requires a much bigger zonal containment action plan. Meteorology plays a major role in the betterment or worsening of AQI,” said WBPCB chairman Kalyan Rudra.

भारत में वाहनों की स्क्रैप पॉलिसी की थी सख्त जरूरत, लेकिन कबाड़ वाहन बन सकते हैं चिंता का विषय- CSE Report

नई दिल्ली (ऑनलाइन डेस्क)। पिछले दिनों सामने आई सेंटर फॉर साइंस एंड एनवायरमेंट (सीएसई) की स्टेट आफ इंडिया एनवायरमेंट रिपोर्ट 2021 में कई चौकाने वाले खुलासे किए गए हैं। भारत के मद्देनजर इस रिपोर्ट में कई चीजों की तरफ ध्यान आकर्षित किया गया है, जिसकी वजह से ये रिपोर्ट काफी खास हो जाती है। इस रिपोर्ट में वैश्विक महामारी से होने वाले नुकसान का भी जिक्र किया गया है। साथ ही वायु, जल प्रदूषण के बारे में भी बताया गया है। लोगों पर इसके प्रभाव के बारे में भी इस रिपोर्ट में बताया गया है। कोविड-19 महामारी का जिक्र कोविड-19 का जिक्र करते हुए इस रिपोर्ट में कहा गया है कि पूरी दुनिया में इसकी वजह से 50 करोड़ बच्चे प्रभावित हुए हैं। इन बच्चों को स्कूल से मजबूरन अलग होना पड़ा है। रिपोर्ट के मुताबिक इसमें आधे से अधिक अकेले भारत में हैं। इसमें कहा गया है कि इस वैश्विक महामारी ने दुनिया को और अधिक गरीब बना गया है। सीएसई प्रमुख सुनीता नारायण का कहना है कि वैश्विक महामारी की वजह से 11 करोड़ से अधिक लोग भूखमरी की चपेट में आ गए हैं। इनमें से अधिकतर दक्षिण एशिया से हैं। 2009 और 2018 में सबसे अधिक रहा प्रदूषण इसकी एक रिपोर्ट बताती है कि वर्ष 2019 में 6.70 करोड़ लोगों की मौत की वजह वायु प्रदूषण थी। गौरतलब है कि सीएसई लगातार बढ़ रहे प्रदूषण पर समय-समय पर अपनी रिपोर्ट सार्वजनिक करता रहता है और इसको कम करने के उपाय भी लगातार सुझाता रहता है। जहां तक वायु प्रदूषण की बात है तो भारत धीरे-धीरे इसको कम करने के लिए ऐसे वाहनों का उपयोग करने की तरफ आगे बढ़ रहा है जिनमें पेट्रोल और डीजल की खपत नहीं होगी। इस तरह के वाहनों को बिजली से चार्ज किया जा सकेगा। इसमें ये भी बताया गया है कि वर्ष 2009 और 2018 में भारत में वायु, जल और जमीन पर सबसे अधिक प्रदूषण फैला। स्क्रैप पॉलिसी की जरूरत सीएसई की रिपोर्ट में सरकार की नई स्क्रैप पॉलिसी का भी जिक्र किया गया है। इसमें कहा गया है कि देश में वाहनों की बढ़ती संख्या एक बड़ी समस्या है। लंबे समय तक चलने वाले वाहनों की वजह से पर्यावरण को काफी नुकसान पहुंचता है। रिपोर्ट में कहा गया है सरकार द्वारा लाई गई स्क्रैप पॉलिसी की सख्त जरूरत थी। रिपोर्ट के मुताबिक वर्ष 2025 तक करीब 2 करोड़ वाहन अपनी समय सीमा के अंत में होंगे या बेकार हो जाएंगे। कबाड़ वाहनों की इतनी बड़ी संख्या से पर्यावरण पर प्रतिकूल असर डालेगी। इससे पर्यावरण को नुकसान पहुंचेगा। भारत का स्थान सीएसई की रिपोर्ट के मुताबिक सतत विकास या सस्टेनेबल डेवलेपमेंट के मामने में भारत का विश्व के 192वें देशों में 117वां स्थान है। इस विषय पर केरल, हिमाचल प्रदेश, आंध्र प्रदेश, तमिलनाडु और तेलंगाना ने बेहतर काम किया है। वहीं बिहार, झारखंड, अरुणाचल प्रदेश, मेघालय और उत्तर प्रदेश इस मामले में सबसे अधिक पिछड़े हैं। जल जीवन मिशन इस रिपोर्ट में कहा गया है कि वर्ष 2024 तक जल जीवन मिशन के तहत सभी को पीने का साफ पानी मुहैया कराने के लिए हमें जल क्षेत्र को बढ़ाना होगा साथ ही ग्राउंड वाटर को दोबारा रिचार्ज करने के उपायों पर तेजी से काम करना होगा। बारिश के पानी को भी जमीन में पहुंचाने का जरिया तलाशना होगा। इस रिपोर्ट में इस बात पर खुशी जताई गई है कि वर्ष 2014-15 में मनरेगा के अंतर्गत करीब 34 फीसद फंड जल को बचाने और इससे संबंधित दूसरे उपायों पर खर्च किया गया। पर्यावरण संबंधित मसलों का धीमा निपटारा पर्यावरण के मुद्दे पर सामने आई इस रिपोर्ट में कहा गया है कि इससे संबंधित दर्ज मामलों की अपेक्षा इनके निपटारे की गति काफी धीमी रही है। इसमें कहा गया है कि कोर्ट को हर दिन इससे संबंधित 137 मामलों को निपटाना होगा। इसमें ये भी कहा गया है कि देश में बाघों की संख्या जरूर बढ़ी है लेकिन इनका क्षेत्र पहले के मुकाबले कम हो गया है।

Global Bodies Went Off the Rails When They Scrapped Ozone, Targeted Carbon Dioxide

Some of us old timers who grew up in Southern California recall the inversion layers of particles in the valleys that trapped smog. We later learned that the haze we saw (which was then called 'smog') was ozone, created primarily from vehicle emissions. That was “bad” ozone. There also was naturally occurring (good) ozone, generated by the sun’s reactions with naturally emitted hydrocarbons (e.g. pine trees) that one sees over the Great Smoky Mountains. Ozone is important, since its layer in the stratosphere protects us from intense UV radiation that is associated with skin cancer. So, years ago, the world’s leaders got together to stop the degradation of the ozone layer by ending use of ozone-depleting chemicals. I wrote about that at American Thinker last October, in an article titled, “What’s the Endgame with Ozone.” What I want to do now, is show that it's still the ozone-depleting chemicals, rather than the now-vaunted carbon dioxide, as what's most critical to what happens with climate. Once upon a time, the global bodies had been on the right track. On Sept. 16, 1987, 46 countries signed the Montreal Protocol to stop using ozone-depleting chemicals (ODCs). There are 200 countries that have eventually endorsed the Montreal Protocol. Developed countries were to lead the effort to roll back ODCs while developing countries were allowed a more relaxed period to stop their use. I believe that the Montreal Protocol was a trial balloon for the Kyoto Protocol, which was all about carbon dioxide emissions. Afghanistan: The 'Graveyard of Empires' Claims Another? The Kyoto Protocol was actually an international treaty which extended the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that committed state parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, based on the “scientific consensus” that (part one) global warming is occurring and (part two) it is extremely likely that human-made CO2 emissions have predominantly caused it. The Kyoto Protocol applies to the six greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide (CO2), Methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6). The Kyoto Protocol was considered unsuccessful, since developing countries were not signatory to it. They emit at least half of the world’s greenhouse gases. Then the UNFCCC tried to put lipstick on a pig (author’s opinion) by then developing the Paris accord. The Paris agreement a.k.a., the Paris accord is a legally binding international treaty on climate change. It was adopted by 196 Parties at COP 21 in Paris, on 12 December 2015 and entered into force on 4 November 2016. Its goal is to lower global warming to well below 2, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius, comparable to pre-industrial levels. To achieve this long-term temperature goal, countries aim to reach global peaking of greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible to achieve a climate neutral world by mid-century. Note the “enforcement date” was four days before the national elections when Donald J. Trump was elected our 45th President. Shortly after being elected, President Trump removed the United States from the constraints of the Paris accord. As expected, shortly after Joe Biden took office, he reversed President Trump’s actions on the Paris accord. Since this is a treaty, the Senate is required to vote on its ratification, requiring 67 senators to vote 'yes' to encumber the United States to this international treaty. Will the Senate under Chuck Schumer take this up quickly since it is such an emergency for the progressive socialists? The basic premise for these protocols a.k.a., international treaties, is that global warming, synonymous with climate change, is caused by greenhouse gas emissions. The following from Wikipedia is a simplified example of the greenhouse effect: Light energy (white arrows) emitted by the sun warms the earth's surface, which reflects the energy as heat (orange arrows) that warms the atmosphere. Much of the heat is captured by greenhouse gas molecules such as water, carbon dioxide, and methane. Solar radiation keeps the earth’s average temperature at approximately 59 degrees Fahrenheit. But the greenhouse gas molecules in the atmosphere absorb some of the incoming infrared radiation from the sun. When the sun sets, these heated gas molecules transmit heat back to earth and to space. This phenomenon is called “black body radiation.” Note that heat moves from a warmer body to a colder body according to the Second Law of Thermodynamics. Resistance to this heat flow is insulation such as other layers of gases that might impede or slow down the flow. Ask yourself what the prior to sunrise temperature is versus the high temperature for the preceding day. Now think about the outside temperature that the airline pilot tells you it is at while you are flying at nearly 40,000 feet. Does about -40 F ring a bell? The propensity of a warm object to flow to a colder object increases the greater the temperature difference, right? Let’s return to the Montreal Protocol’s purpose. The world needed to stop using ozone-depleting chemicals (ODCs) since their emission into the atmosphere destroyed the ozone layer that protects us from severe ultraviolet rays. The University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) located in Boulder, Colorado, synthesizes work done by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) under sponsorship of the National Science Foundation (NSF). NSF provides research grants (federal money) to colleges and universities to conduct atmospheric research. NCAR administers this funding. UCAR takes the results and simplifies them for redistribution to the public. UCAR issued a brief article in 2018 titled, “Some Greenhouse Gases Are Stronger than Others”. They discuss the relative heat-trapping characteristics of target substances: carbon dioxide (CO2), Methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). The relationship of heat trapping characteristics are: CO2 – 1 CH4 – 30 N2O – 300 HFCs – 23,000 According to the 2016 U.S. greenhouse gas emissions data, the distribution is: CO2 – 82% CH4 – 10% N2O – 5% HFCs – 3% Imagine yourself in a room in a house that was completely closed off. Also imagine that the relative heat characteristics are quantified as candles. Therefore, you would have 82% of 1 candle (0.82 candle) due to CO2; 3 candles due to methane (CH4 – 10% times 30); 15 candles due to N2O (5% times 300); and 690 candles due to HFCs (3% times 23,000). This means that you would have about 709 candles in the room. Do you think removing the less than one candle (CO2) would have an impact on the heat trapped in the room by the candles? What about the 3 candles represented by methane? The United States has phased out the use of hydrofluorcarbons due to agreements reached over three decades ago and yes, there is some persistence of them in the atmosphere. They just don’t disappear overnight. But the developing countries, the largest being China, were given a relaxed schedule to phase out HFCs. According to Kiran Pandey at downearth.org (in India) on May 23, 2019, China was emitting between 40% and 60% of the global emissions of CFC-11 (a.k.a., trichlorofluoromethane), one of the banned HFCs from the Montreal Protocol. Wow, and as of this writing there is an article from the India Times by Sarthak Dogra that the Earth's Ozone Layer is healing as China stops its CFC-11 Emissions. Is Joe Biden committing ourselves as a nation to economic doom with other progressive socialist leaders chasing the modern day Quixotic windmills of man-induced climate change? American Thinker published an article on Feb. 21, 2021 titled, “The irony of Texas’s massive power outrages during winter weather,” by Andrea Widburg. Andrea reports about the frozen wind turbines in west Texas that have caused power outages throughout the state. Friends in Houston and Dallas shared photos with us about rare snowfall there this past weekend. Our friends in Athens, Greece have also shared photos of recent snowfall there, too. Climate change was the evolution of human-induced global warming vis-à-vis emissions from burning fossil fuels. I do not think that I am the only “scientist” that believes that carbon dioxide’s slight rise in atmospheric concentration has extremely little to do with “climate change.” The international bodies took their eye off the ball when they quit focusing on ozone. I think it is absurd that ignorant politicians with zero grounding in science let alone critical thinking, gamble our future on the replacement of the responsible combustion of abundant fossil fuels with so called “green energy.” Protect the ozone layer, of course.

India post-COVID economic recovery may be at the cost of public health, environment

While kick-starting its post-pandemic economic recovery, India is not directing its recovery measures to support a low-pollution transition. Instead, the fiscal stimuli encourages high-carbon economic production The COVID-19 shock and resultant humanitarian crisis have reinforced the fact that economic destabilisation is inevitable, if health and environmental boundaries of development are not respected. So, has India spent enough in strengthening these boundaries in the aftermath of the pandemic? Like the rest of the world, India too has spent large amounts of money to kick-start its post-pandemic economy but the additional money has not been directed towards recovery measures to support a low-pollution transition. The various fiscal stimuli (estimated to be equal to 10 per cent of the GDP), which have been announced by the government so far have, on the contrary, been aiding high-carbon economic production. Instead of supporting green initiatives, we seem to be retreating from earlier goals on pollution, emissions and sustainability. In its ‘State of India’s Environment 2021’ report, the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) points out that public health and climate goals will slip out of reach quickly, if India misses this opportunity to turn the economic recovery packages into green recovery. Already, the cost of the pandemic has been staggering. The CSE study points towards a “pandemic generation” of 375 million children under the age of 14 years, suffering from long-lasting impacts such as being underweight and stunted and anyway, enhanced child mortality could also be on the horizon. Several Indian states had failed to ensure food continued to reach the underprivileged under designated state schemes during the lockdown. The CSE report cites the Jharkhand example, where anganwadis did not provide food for children. For many poor children, the food at anganwadi centres was the only nutritious and filling meal of the day. In Jharkhand alone, more than half a million children can become severely malnourished or underweight. Another half a million can become wasted. In the three states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, more than five million new malnourished children may be the by-product of the pandemic and the subsequent lockdown. But instead of doubling down on green development goals, aiding the fight against malnutrition and helping the underprivileged, India has gone ahead and undone some of the good work of the past. The CSE report lists some instances: Autos: The automobile industry is seeking to delay the implementation of Corporate Fuel Consumption Standards for passenger cars scheduled for implementation in 2022-23. Pushing back the timeline for implementation will impact emission goals. Also, while the government has announced a Vehicle Scrappage policy for promoting the sale of new vehicles, the “unsafe” dismantling of the population of ageing vehicles is causing huge wastage of material and contaminating water, soil and air, thereby increasing public health risks. Alongside vehicle scrapping, India also needs a sustainable scrappage infrastructure. Power: India’s power plants have already pleaded for a delayed deadline to meet the new standards beyond 2022; about 70% of the plants cannot meet the standards by that deadline. Also, the economic recovery package announced by the government for cash-strapped DISCOMs is also not linked to reforming them but to allow greater fund flow to make investment in emissions control technology for nitrogen oxides and sulphur dioxides more bankable. The Union Budget for 2020-21 has proposed retirement of old thermal power plants. Subsequently, 5.1 GW has been earmarked for shutdown. Such decommissioning can help the debt-ridden utilities with contractual fixed cost obligations and improve the utilisation of more efficient and cleaner plants. This can also avoid the cost of retrofitting old, dirty plants. But, this will have to be taken forward. Coal: The fiscal stimulus packages announced so far call for private investments and ease-of-doing business in the coal sector for accelerated commercial coal mining while removing end-use restrictions. Rules on ash content of coal have also been waived off. This will flood the market with dirtier and cheaper coal. In any case, the influx of cheap and low-quality coal can increase industrial consumption of coal, especially in small-and-medium-scale units. Resisting this trend will be tough because cleaner fuels, like natural gas, are more expensive than coal. While coal is under GST and is taxed low, natural gas attracts state taxes and is more expensive. Public Transport: India’s 14 State Road Transport Undertakings have suffered massively during the pandemic with record low ridership numbers. Then, there is now the additional burden of safety protocols and social distancing requirements, adding to cost of operations. Net losses of these SRTUs have escalated, revenue has shrunk and the annual viability gap-funding need has increased by 69 per cent. Public transport revival is a critical part of the clean air and climate solution. But without a bailout strategy, India cannot meet its target of augmenting the bus fleet to 188,500, as estimated by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development. EVs: Without a proper stimulus package, there are serious dangers of the electric vehicle (EV) programme getting derailed. Electric vehicle registrations are down, and a longer-term incentive programme is needed to lower the upfront cost and the total cost of ownership and bring cost parity between EVs and vehicles operating on internal combustion engines.

Ridge body to discuss Metro and RRTS projects on March 5

Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai approved the appointment of independent members to the board, Sohail Madan, the Delhi centre manager of the Bombay Natural History Society and Vivek Menon, chief executive officer of Wildlife Trust of India, last week. After a wait of nearly two years, the Ridge Management Board (RMB) is set to meet on March 5, with its newly appointed independent members to decide important infrastructure projects that are likely to impact the city’s green lungs. Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai approved the appointment of independent members to the board, Sohail Madan, the Delhi centre manager of the Bombay Natural History Society and Vivek Menon, chief executive officer of Wildlife Trust of India, last week. Senior officials of the forest department confirmed on Monday that the RMB, along with these newly appointed members, is scheduled to meet on March 5 to discuss important projects such as the approval of the Aerocity-Tughlakabad corridor of the Delhi Metro’s phase-4 project, Regional Rapid Transit System’s (RRTS) Delhi-Gurugram-Rewari-Alwar corridor, and the construction of a wild bird rescue centre at Rajokri. Since the tenure of the last board, which had Sunita Narain, director-general of environment NGO Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) and Vimlendu Jha, executive director of NGO Swechha, as independent members expired in March 2019, these projects have been pending approval. “The agenda for the discussion of around 14 projects have been pending for over a year. That will be the priority in this meeting,” said a senior forest department official. The RMB, a body formed in 1995 on the directions of the apex court, to preserve the Ridge, scheduled a meeting for September 18 last year to discuss these 14 projects. However, the meeting was postponed after former independent members refused to attend the meeting as “special invitees”.

Stalled projects on the table as ridge board back after a yr

New Delhi: Ridge Management Board (RMB), which last met over a year ago, has been reconstituted. It is now set to meet on March 5 to take a look at several development proposals that were halted over the last one year, including Phase-IV of the Delhi metro, which is to pass through parts of the Delhi ridge. Two independent expert members have been appointed by the board who will be taking part in the meeting on Friday, which also aims to tackle issues and proposals on better conservation of Delhi’s ridge areas. The expert members are Sohail Madan, centre manager at Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary and part of Bombay Natural History Society, and Vivek Menon, chief executive manager at Wildlife Trust of India. The board had last met in February 2020 when its tenure was officially set to expire the next month. It tried holding a meeting in September 2020 but it was opposed by its then independent expert members— Sunita Narain, director-general of environment NGO Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), and Vimlendu Jha, executive director of NGO Swechha. The two argued that since their term had finished, not only was the meeting being held without following proper rules but also that their opinions would not be legally binding. The meeting was subsequently cancelled, leaving proposals such as the construction of the campus of Indian Institute of Foreign Trade in Maidangarhi village, a skill centre and a skill university in Jaunapur, a lab complex and a storage-cum residential complex to wait longer. The DMRC is among those waiting for approval from the board to carry out construction in the southern ridge, the central ridge and parts of the morphological ridge as part of Phase-IV of the Delhi metro expansion. Among other issues, which were to be discussed, included prohibition of barbed wire in ridge areas and how to ensure availability of water for wild animals. “Fresh agenda has been prepared and all members have been asked to meet on Friday at 4.30pm. We will take a look at all construction-related proposals, which plan to use ridge land, as well as proposals to protect the ridge better,” said an official of the forest department.

Alarming revelations from CSE’s State of India’s Environment Report 2021

Many more probable pandemics may be on the way if we keep destabilising our serene Environment. Do we know? India has ranked 86th in Covid 19 performance index. Sri Lanka was the best faring nation in South Asia, ranking 10. Maldives was at 25, Pakistan at 69, Nepal at 70, and Bangladesh at 84. India bagged 117 rank amongst 192 nations in sustainable development measures based on 17 sustainable goals. This prompts us to ask: Are our efforts enough? India lies behind all countries from South Asia except Pakistan. So little we know that due to our inherent actions, perhaps inactions, 160 species have become extinct over the last decade (2009-2019). Much revelations have been enclosed within State of Environment report 2021 by CSE(Centre for Science and Environment). It aims to provide an insight on recent priority issues for India related to the status of environment and natural resources. Also deals with the pressures behind environmental changes and the impacts associated with these changes. Since 2020 proved to be the year associated with Covid, the impacts of Covid-19 on India have been elucidated in the report. Impacts on Citizenry by Covid: India has entered in a phase with “pandemic generation”. Its population being battered by the impacts of Covid. 375 million children considering age groups 0-14 yes age are prone to suffer long-lasting impacts. Their growth could get restricted by being underweight, stunting and increased child mortality, to losses in education, lesser work productivity and efficiency. Due to the imposed lockdown, over 500 million children remained out of school globally and India accounts for more than half of them, limiting their availability of food, nutrition, immunisation and above all basic education. 115 million additional people might get pushed into extreme poverty by the pandemic — and most of them live in South Asia. All about surrounding Environment: Between 2009-2018, most of the land, water and air of India has been degraded, despite our repeated attempts towards habitat safety. A few major industrial clusters were assessed in India. It was found that nearly 35 out of 88 were degradation in every respect. Source: Lancet, distribution of air pollution in India 33 pointed to constantly worsening air quality, 45 had more polluted water and 17 faced worse land pollution. Tarapur in Maharashtra listed on top to be the most polluted cluster. The report has pointed out the partial lack of action over the years to control and reduce pollution involving areas those were already identified as critically or severely polluted. The report deals with 14 chapters ranging and integrating the pandemic to sustainable development goals to poverty. The report is a loud proponent of promotion of rural development through energy enhancement. An extensive chapter on Biodiversity(global plus national) depicts our loss in terms of flora and fauna. As per the report, there are two signs of upcoming extinction: Loss in population of a specie Continuous Shrinking distribution habitats It is important to note that these two signs are evident among all species currently. The serene and polished Nature that everyone observed during the country-wide lockdown is a clear indication of our abuse of the nature. But as the State of India’s Environment 2021 says, this remained just a blip. This report incessantly reminds us of our failed promises to conserve nature and serve it till eternity. It’s important in the wake of such report that we began to rekindle our distorted relation with the Nature.

50,000 environment-linked crime cases await court hearings: CSE

About 50,000 court cases relating to wildlife and pollution were pending trial, according to a report by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) and part of the organisation’s annual State of India’s Environment (SoE) Report. In 2019 — the most updated figures available — 34,671 environment-related crimes were registered. Over 7,000 cases were pending police investigation. A similar number of cases (34,503) were reported in 2018 according to the previous edition of the SoE. Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Maharashtra accounted for a 77% of India’s wildlife crimes in 2019. Between 2018 and 2019, some States saw an increase in wildlife crimes. These included Gujarat, Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal and all the States of the Northeast. In 2019, there were 86 cases on average (under all environment and pollution-related laws) that were disposed off by the courts every day. “The maximum number of cases that courts are managing to dispose of currently come under the Cigarette and Other Tobacco Products Act and the Noise Pollution Act. We need to clear the backlog under the other laws as well. Environmental crimes — as the United Nations has pointed out — have the potential to threaten security and sustainable development of nations, and must be dealt with a heavy hand,” Richard Mahapatra, managing edditor, Down To Earth, which is the affliated to the CSE, said in a statement.

Delhi: Panel to preserve Ridge gets two new members

The new independent members will take over from Sunita Narain, the director general of the Centre for Science and Environment, and Vimlendu Jha, founder of environmental NGO Swechha, whose term had expired in March 2019. The Delhi government has appointed two new independent members to the Ridge Management Board (RMB), two years after the term of its previous members ended. The appointment of the new members — Vivek Menon, the chief executive officer of Wildlife Trust of India, and Sohail Madan, the Delhi centre manager of the Bombay Natural History Society — was approved by Environment Minister Gopal Rai last week, Delhi government officials said. The new independent members will take over from Sunita Narain, the director general of the Centre for Science and Environment, and Vimlendu Jha, founder of environmental NGO Swechha, whose term had expired in March 2019. The eight-member RMB is headed by the Delhi Chief Secretary and was formed in 1995 on directions of the Supreme Court to preserve the ridge, a reserved forest of over 7,700 hectares and the northern extension of the Aravalli Range. Board to decide on Metro Phase 4 corridor One of the major projects that the newly constituted Board will consider is a proposal to use over 82,000 square metres of the South, South-Central and Morphological Ridge for constructing the Aerocity-Tughlakabad corridor under Phase IV of the Delhi Metro. In a March 2020 letter, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) sought permission from RMB to use about 14,000 square metres of the Ridge area on permanent basis, and 68,000 square metres on temporary basis for construction of stations at Mahipalpur, Kishangarh, Ma Anandmayee Marg and the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). Details obtained under an RTI show that in August last year, Delhi’s Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Ishwar Singh had asked the DMRC to identify a parcel of non-forest land, equivalent to that being used in the Ridge, for compensatory afforestation. A Delhi government official said, “The proposal from the DMRC will first be considered by the Board. If the RMB deems it fit, it will recommend it to the Supreme Court’s Central Empowered Committee (CEC).” The official added, “The four-member CEC, which includes officials from the Environment Ministry, NGOs and advocates, will create a report on the proposal and submit it to the apex court. The court will then take a decision on the proposal.” In reply to queries by The Indian Express, a DMRC spokesperson said they have identified land for compensatory plantation but have not received permission yet to construct in the Ridge area. The spokesperson said, “DMRC has made all possible efforts to use only a minimum portion of the Ridge area. The alignment passes along the Mahipalpur–Mehrauli, and Mehrauli–Badarpur roads, which also mostly pass through the Ridge area.” He added, “The DMRC is extremely conscious of its responsibilities. However, it may be appreciated that the Ridge covers vast areas of South Delhi through which this alignment is planned and it would have been absolutely impossible to cater to the large population there without passing through the Ridge area.”