EQ: Red Pandas, Solar-Powered Trains in India & Beach Cleaning

EQ: Your weekly environment quotient.

Conservation efforts to save the red panda could be working. (Photo: iStock)

E-India

The Paris Impact: How will the Paris Agreement affect the ordinary Indian? A news report takes a look at the impact the new treaty is likely to have.

A file photo of the slogan “FOR THE PLANET” projected on the Eiffel Tower as part of the COP21, United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris, France. (Photo: AP)

Indian NGO wins UN climate prize: The Swayam Shikshan Prayog is one of the 13 global winners of the 2016 award. The NGO trains women in Maharashtra and Bihar to become clean energy entrepreneurs.

Security personnel patrol the area around a solar farm in Gujarat. The solar farm is Asia’s largest, according to its developer Moser Baer Clean Energy. (Photo: Reuters)

Will GM mustard harm bees? The seed companies say no but bee-keepers aren’t convinced. 60 percent of honey production depends on mustard crops and there are concerns about the impact GM mustard might have on the honey production.

Mustard fields. (Photo: iStock)

How do you save a beach? You bring 1500 people together for a year-long cleaning project! Mumbai’s Versova beach has been cleared of an estimated 3 million tonnes of trash. There’s plenty of trash still left but the effort has made a visible change to the beach.

Over 500 people helped remove more than 284 tonnes of plastic, filth and marine debris. (Photo courtesy: Twitter/Gaurav)

E-Pollution

Stop burning stubble! The practice of setting fire to crop residues by farmers in Punjab, Haryana and UP is leading to a huge pollution problem again and the Delhi government has (again) asked the states to take steps to stop the practice.

Paddy straw being burnt in a field in Bhatinda, Punjab. (Photo: Vivian Fernandes)

E-Waste

From plastic to handicrafts: Since 2012, weavers in Chennai have been transforming polythene covers to handicrafts on modified handlooms. This excellent “upcycling” effort was inspired by the belief that waste can also become a resource.

Instead of ending up in landfill, polythene and plastics get reused. (Photo: iStock)

E-Renewables

Solar powered trains could become a reality: The railways minister has announced that efforts are on to run fully solar-powered trains – a landmark step for greener transport in the country.

Train coach with solar panels fitted on the roof. (Photo: ANI Screengrab)

E-Law

Is construction along the Mahanadi River affecting biodiversity? The NGT has issued a notice to the Odisha and Chattisgarh governments after environmentalists filed petitions indicating that rampant building along the river was damaging its rich and fragile ecology.

Evening in cuttack. (Photo: Kamalakanta777/Wikimedia)

E-Stat

1000 tonnes: The amount of greenhouse gases emitted by the aviation industry annually

Airplanes need a lot of fuel to keep them afloat. (Photo: iStock)

E-International

First global aviation emissions deal reached: The International Civil Aviation Organisation agreed on a new global deal to cut airline emissions – the first such agreement of its kind. The deal has, however, been controversial and has been heavily criticised by several countries including India.

Now the world will tackle emissions from airplanes. (Photo: iStock)

E- Nature

Conserving the red panda: In a great story celebrating community conservation, a new article showcases the efforts by Arunachal villages to protect the red panda.

Red Pandas are rare. (Photo: iStock)

E-Video

As Hurricane Matthew ravages Haiti and USA, here’s a look at how these destructive storms are formed:

E-Quiz

The red panda is the state animal of which of the following? (a) Arunachal Pradesh (b) Sikkim (c) Assam (d) Tripura

(Shalini Iyengar is an environmental lawyer and Faculty at Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology)