EQ: Green News and Green Views, Build Environment Quotient

EQ: The Quint’s green newsletter. Read about climate change, alternate energy, raise your environment quotient

E-India

• The wolves are back!
After decades of being hunted, the Indian Grey wolf is finally staging a comeback in Karnataka. The wolf plays a critical role in ecosystems but challenges such as man-animal conflict will continue to be a concern.
• Indian climate change policy declared:
Ahead of the December 2015 climate meet in Paris, the government has announced its proposed climate policy. The plan envisages an energy efficient economy and includes a strong focus on renewable energy.

• Could wastewater be converted into a resource?
Dr. Kartik Chandran’s pioneering work in transforming wastewater to useful products like energy, clean water and fertilisers has won him a MacArthur “Genius Grant”.

E-Mage

• Leopard’s head trapped inside a metal pot:
A leopard’s head got stuck inside a metal pot accidentally, while it was trying to drink water in Rajasthan’s Rajsamand district. The forest department officials later came to his rescue and removed the pot off its head.

E-Video

• What would it sound like if 133 years of climate data was transformed into music? Watch here:

E-Business

• VW’s troubles are far from over:
Joining countries around the world, the Indian government has asked the Automotive Research Association of India to investigate whether Volkswagen cheated on emissions tests in India.

E-Case

• Toddlers versus pollution:
Asserting their right to a clean and pollution-free environment, three children aged between six and fourteen months have moved the Supreme Court against the unregulated use of firecrackers in Delhi. Delhi’s notorious spike in air and noise pollution during the festival season has an extremely negative impact on vulnerable groups like children.

E-Nature

• 31% of Natural World Heritage sites are threatened by extractive industries:
A new WWF report highlights the threats that the mining and fossil fuel industries pose to some of the world’s most stunning sites.

E-Waste

• From kitchen waste to biomass – three cheers for recycling!
Our homes produce vast quantities of waste each day and environmentalists are trying create “green waste” by converting this to clean fuel and other recycled products.

E-International

• Historic or Unworkable?
193 countries unanimously adopted the new Sustainable Development Goals or Agenda 2030 this week. While supporters praise its vision for the future, critics point out that the vast number of goals means that very few of them will actually be achieved.

E-Innovation

• Tracking wildlife just got easier:
A new app called Hejje has made wildlife patrolling easier. The app helps rangers access and update add real-time forest data and could help jungle patrollers on the ground.

E-Architecture

• Green norms for city construction:
State governments have agreed to comply with environmentally friendly norms for urban buildings - these include using renewable energy, rain-water harvesting, afforestation and waste management.

E-Design

• From ghost town to eco-village:
A group of environmentalists have transformed an abandoned Spanish mining village into an eco-village that lives off the grid.

E-Quiz

• Which Indian state has the maximum number of wildlife sanctuaries?
(a) Assam
(b) Andaman and Nicobar Islands
(c) Madhya Pradesh
(d) Karnataka

(Shalini Iyengar is a lawyer and researcher working in India.)