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“Smell is a potent wizard that transports you across thousands of miles and all the years you have lived”.

-          Helen Keller (Blind and deaf educator, 1880–1968)

My children often smile indulgently on our visits to the local library, not because they accept my love of reading (they are avid readers also), but because they find it amusing when I tell them that the library we frequent in Mumbai reminds me of the University department I studied at miles away in Canada more than a decade ago. How? Not because of the books, but because of the smell of the room. They probably think I am quirky, but as researchers have long recognized, smell can trigger many memories, some good, some bad. Many of us instantly recognize the “foreboding” smell of a hospital or the “warm and fresh” smell of a bakery.

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The role of smell in our lives

Humans can reportedly distinguish about 10,000 different smells, each encoded by a different gene and each recognizing a particular smell. Smell is so subjective that no two humans smell anything exactly the same; after all, a person's perceptions (including how they perceive smells) are based on experiences that they have had throughout their life. Several factors determine how we smell a smell: genes, skin type, diet, age, gender, pregnancy, the weather, and even the time of day. When we are hungry, our sense of smell becomes keener. Many a time, foul odours are an indicator of safety issues (e.g. leaking gas or sour milk). Insects and animals communicate their requirements and emotional states to other animals (and sometimes, humans; think “skunk”) through changes in their body odours. Doctors have reported encouraging success in diagnosing lung cancer by benefiting from the ability of dogs to detect very low concentrations of the alkanes and aromatic compounds generated by the tumours. It is said that a baby recognizes and bonds with its mother through her smell. Indeed, our memory of smells is so potent that performing an undesirable or boring task in a scented room decreases the performance of other similar tasks in the presence of the same smell in a different place and at a different time. As the website of a leading ambient air scenting and scent marketing company reports, smells have also be used in a “deliberate and controlled manner”. Technicians at New York City’s Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre are known to spray vanilla-scented oil in their MRI rooms, to help patients cope with the claustrophobic effects of the testing. I know someone who would leave his unwashed socks lying about in his room just to deter people from entering it (and it worked).

As any Grade 2 student can tell you, humans are endowed with five senses—the sense of sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell. Of these, the sense of smell is often ignored, except perhaps when we suffer from a bad cold and miss smelling the aromas of the food we eat (scientists say 80 percent of the flavours we taste are dependent on our sense of smell). The sense of smell is a stepchild of sorts in the environmental sense as well. Take for instance, air pollution. The health effects of air pollution are keenly felt. The smog that envelopes cities is rightly blamed as causing many health issues, such as asthma and other respiratory tract infections. Airlines are forced to cancel flights due to heavy smog, thus causing major inconvenience to passengers and throwing travel schedules out of gear. Noise pollution has also made headlines in the past, particularly during festivals. High noise levels can contribute to cardiovascular effects in humans. In animals, noise can interfere with reproduction and navigation. We understand these effects as clearly as night and day.

“Odour Pollution” and What it Means for Us and the Environment

But smell is not something we associate easily with environmental issues. This omission is deleterious to health—not just ours but also that of other creatures. Take, for instance, the bee. Recent studies suggest that commonly used pesticides (such as lindane, organophosphorus insecticides and neonicotinoids) block that part of the brain that bees use for learning, rendering some of them unable to perform the essential task of associating scents with food. In 2013, scientists discovered that reactive pollutants in diesel destroyed key chemicals in the smell of oilseed flowers, thus destroying the bees’ ability to smell and identify the flowers. The team zeroed in on the highly reactive nitrogen oxides (NOx) as the pollutant of concern; NOx chemically alters the bees’ sense of smell by removing key chemicals the bee uses to recognize the flower by its distinctive scent within as little as a minute of exposure. The researchers suggest that these effects could make it harder for bees to forage among flowers for food, thereby threatening their survival and reducing the pollination of crops and wild plants. Typically, crops bear flowers that may only be pollinated during a short period. If such a crop is not pollinated during that time, the flowers will eventually be shed and the next generation of seeds and fruit will not develop. More than 50 percent of the world’s needs for fat and oil is derived from oilseeds such as cotton, sunflower, coconut, groundnut and oil palm, all of which are dependent to some extent on bees for pollination. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported an interesting experiment in Russia. Crop areas of the white clover plant (an excellent forage crop for livestock) were covered during blooming, so that no bees could enter. Only one gram (!) of seed could be harvested in the covered area. Conversely, uncovered bee-pollinated areas of the same size reported an average harvest of 331 grams of seeds. A report from India mentions a 100 percent increase in the coconut harvest because of bee pollination. 

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Hudoodh & its causes

Dear Friends,

The Recent Hudoodh Cyclone of Andhrapradesh damaged the Vizag very badly and at the same time taught us a lesson by giving message that the development should in accordance with the law of the nature.
As a environmental person i think due to cutting of Mada trees(Mangrooves) all along the Coast for various purposes and not following the CRZ rules and Replacing the Mada adavulu (Mangroove Forest) area for Various purposes mainly in the angle of Business purpose.

The Mangroove is the natural gift (wall and protection force for the coasts) by the god. and we as a human beings we should respect and protect this most valued gift of god by name nature. but we are going on destroying nature in the name of Development and industrialization and so on.....by utilizing our miraculous brains for how to over come from the laws and how to bypass for our small tiny business gains.

Yes Development is needed but no the virtue of damaging our natural resources and other water ,air and other limited sources

I request our Center & state governments to implement the laws strictly and take the help of experts and others for effective utilization of our natural resources and sustainable development without damaging the nature.

I request all my friends and respectable elders to share your opinions and give valuable suggestions for the benefit our coasts and India

The recent cyclone damaged not only the infrastructure also the valuable flora,fauna species etc.

can anybody have the data of how much we lost our valuable resources please share and help the mankind.

Thanks and waiting for your good comments

Fasikhan

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Marine oil spills on coastline

 

A workshop was conducted on 16th Sep at Tiruvananthapuram to discuss potential spill risks from accidental break up of large oil tankers passing by the coast.  The workshop was jointly hosted by ILDM (Dept of revenue, Govt of Kerala), SWIRE ERS and AlphaMERS.

 

The workshop discussed the risks, technology for detection, containment, challenges specific to the coastline, the revenue model and such related issues. Prominent experts attending the workshop were Director of International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation, Secretary of Indian Mangrove Society, officials of SWIRE ERS -  a major international player in spill response, MD of AlphaMERS an Indian spill responder, besides senior officials - ACS and Home Secretary Ms.Nivedita Haran, Retired secretary Ministry of Shipping Mr.Mohandas,  Retired VCNS and DG of Coast Guard Vice Admiral.P.J.Jacob attended te event. Representatives of district disaster management authority, oil companies, coast guard, media and other entities interested in the subject also attended the event. 

 

Though the core subject was oil spills, there were interesting inputs on subjects ranging from Hazardous chemical spills to disaster management preparedness as a whole.

 

Few important messages that came from the workshop -

There should be a common platform between agencies to share information in case of Hazardous material spills with regards to identification and dangers.

Various agencies must work in good co-ordination in the immediate aftermath of a spill.

The preparation to deal with an incident must start now.

A demo of Drone for oil spill detection formed a highlight of the event. 

Brdgs

 

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Ambient Science 2nd Issue Released

Dear Friends, 
Second issue of Ambient Science http://www.caves.res.in/journal/c.htm the journal devoted to cave science, published by “National Cave Research and Protection Organization”, India. is released. The focused articles are:

[*]Species diversity and food-web complexity in the caves of Malaysia 
[*]A Summary of Some Microbes Identified from Different Indian Caves and Their Possible Role in Mineral Formations
[*]Occurrence and Distribution of Cave Dwelling Frogs of Peninsular India
[*]Tracing the Sources of Pollution of Wells and Karst springs Supplying Water to the City of Ragusa, South-Eastern Sicily
[*]First Report of Mesocyclops parentium Holynska, 1997 (Copepoda : Cyclopidae) from Subterranean Water Source of Kerala, India and a Checklist of such Copepods

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The journal publishes both, the print version as well as e-version ISSN- 2348 5191(Print version) & ISSN- 2348 8980 (Online). Currently the journal is accepting papers for its next issue. 

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Started my Blog

Dear Colleague

 

Greetings

 

You may know that I have started writing posts on my blog at http:// prasadmodak.com

 

Some of the recent posts are

 

Environmental Clearance in India – Fast Track or Change of Track?

Many faces of Biodegradability

Think out of the Box

The Mobile Mines

Dwarfs with Tall Shadows

Can you ever be 100% Compliant to Environmental Standards on 24×7 basis?

 

Would like to invite you to view these posts and contribute. If you get interested, click the follow button so that you will receive the blog updates

 

Regards and look forward to your participation

 

Prasad Modak

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Chlorophyll Environment Foundation

About CEF

 Chlorophyll Environment Foundation (CEF) is a research, analysis and implementation oriented organization, working towards conservation of environment using sustainable long-term approaches.

CEF believes in advocating the critical role played by environment in human well-being and its significance in every sphere of growth and development. It will try to influence policy and practices on conservation of nature, management of natural resources, and sustainable development.

 

Inception of CEF

It was founded by some like-minded friends in the March 2014.

Headquartered in Kolkata, CEF plans to expand its root across India raising environment awareness among all and fighting against basic problems that leads to degradation and vulnerability of environment.

CEF aims to work with the youth at its centrality who will be the future citizens to hold the key for a better tomorrow. Hence originated the name Chlorophyll, the most vital plant molecule that helps in its’ sustenance.

 

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Dilemna of an Environmental Professional

The Environmental Professionals work mostly for their clients and employers. Many a times, they have to compromise for getting their salaries/ payments. Environment is taking its own course. It needs tough decisions. There is a crying need for environmental professionals to get united and work for the ENVIRONMENT in a pro-active manner.

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World Ozone Day

World Ozone Day is back !!!

This year the theme is "Ozone Layer Protection: The Mission Goes On". According to UNEP The Montreal protocol has been successful in meeting out the set targets to phase out ODS. Eventually the ozone layer is reviving and is about to recover by the middle of the next century. All this is possible by the sound contributions from all the stakeholders including the policy makers, planners, scientists, environmentalists and of course informed citizens. Hope to see positive news coming from other crucial environmental issues as well.

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Dear All
We would like to inform you that the Editorial Board of the Global NEST Journal (JRC, ISI) has agreed on producing a special issue on CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS AND SOCIETAL ADAPTATION IN THE INDIAN SUBCONTINENT. This special issue is focused on water sector and will include some high quality papers presented at the International Workshop on Climate Change Impacts and Societal Adaptation (CCISA2013), performed at 6-8 November 2013 in Rajasthan, India, as well as some papers of invited distinguished researchers in this field. Please note that the final acceptance of the manuscripts will be subjected to the decision of the peer review panel and editors.
Considering your research and expertise in related areas, we cordially invite you to submit a paper to the special issue of Global NEST Journal (JRC, ISI): “CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS AND SOCIETAL ADAPTATION IN THE INDIAN SUBCONTINENT”.
If you are interested in having your paper included in the reviewing process for this special issue, you are kindly requested to submit your paper and produce a full manuscript of your paper according to Journal’s instruction (http://journal.gnest.org/node/23).
The full manuscripts should be submitted to the Journal or the guest editors via e-mail no later than 30 September 2014. 
In order to proceed with the online submission of your paper, you should first register to the Global NEST Journal’s website. After logging-in, you will be able to submit your manuscript. Please make sure to choose “S.I.: Climate Change Impacts and Societal Adaptation” in the Topic field.
Should you have any question, please do not hesitate to contact me (devesh.water@gmail.com).
With Best Regards,
Assoc. Editors
Dr Devesh Sharma, Dr. Ilias Pechlivanidis, & Dr Demetris Lekkas
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Requirement of 01 JRF

Position is vacant for 01 JRF at  Gujarat Institute of Desert Ecology (GUIDE), Bhuj, Gujarat. The fellowship will be Rs. 12,000/- consolidated per month and the project duration is around 03 - 04 years. The project involves phytoremediation and analysis of several matrices (soil, plant and water). The study also involves field based experiments (near Bangalore, Karnataka) in the later phase of the study.

 

Student should be well versed with laboratory basic techniques and calculations involved in Environmental Sciences. A good command over English will be an added advantage. Further, fellow should be keen to learn advance analytical techniques ad would be sincere at work. Suitable candidate will be encouraged to register for Ph.D. 

Suitable candidate may immediately contact me at rachnaeia@gmail.com or 09428248622

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Environmental Protection Index

Dear All
Greetings from IDSAsr
 
We are in the process of constructing Environmental Protection Index for different states of Indian Union.  It will be highly appreciated if you please favour us with your valuable comments/suggestions etc regarding EPI.
 
In case you have some literature on the same copy of the same may be supplied, at kainthgs@yahoo.com
 
With warm personal regards
Dr Gursharan Singh Kainth
Director
Guru Arjan Dev Institute of Development Studies
14-Preet Avenue, Majitha Road
PO Naushera, Amritsar 143008
M No 91- 9914703461
Tel. No 91-183-2426045
website: www.idsasr.org
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We all talk about global warming, marine pollution, climate issues & biological pollutants from time to time. But, rarely do we see electronic waste issues among the top atmospheric troubles being discussed worldwide. Though the issues we talk or hear about have also not been solved yet. But, the question is, ‘how e-waste affects human life and poses great threat to future generations?’  Are we all aware of this truth?   

While going through an article online (referring to United Nations Environmental Program) I came across the horrendous figure of 40 million metric tons i.e. the supposed amount of e-waste being produced globally every year. 60-80 percent of it is handled by China, India, Pakistan, Vietnam, and the Philippines, while Guiyu (a town in China) is the largest site for e waste recycling in world.

The electronic waste is dismantled in Guiyu to extract metals that are hazardous to human health. A study has found that 80% of its children are affected with the presence of lead in their blood. There are various damages that can lead to a human body like brain hurt, numbness, fertility problems and low growth in children etc.

This is just a small preview of how dangerous e-waste can prove to our environment. The changes that it makes to our surroundings by adding devastating matter to atmosphere tend to damage soil, air, water, animals, humans and everything around us.

My purpose of sharing the hazardous impacts of electronic waste is not to glorify the figures but to spread the word that we need to be equally considerate about its aftereffects like we are doing about other environmental issues.

Technology has become an inseparable part of us, so tossing it away once and for all is not the solution. But, what else? If not this then how the environmental problem can be brought to light and solved at grass-roots level.

Share your views and possible solutions on this issue, so that it can contribute in spreading awareness about current scenario of e-waste in the world. 

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Environment Clearance Requirement

Dear All,

Can anyone focus and help me for Environment Clearance.....

We are mfg. speciality catalyst and have all relevant permission from pollution control board.
Now we are planning for expansion by introducing 2-3 new reactor within existing premises with new products which is not mentioned in EC,NOC as well CC&A. There is no any additional pollution load due to proposed expansion.

Can anyone help me applicability of EC in this kind of scenario??? also share if have any circular related to exemption in EC criteria...

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Centre for Science and Environment recognises Social Impact Assessment (SIA) as an important tool to inform decision makers, regulators and stakeholders about the possible social and economic impacts of a development project. To be effective, SIA requires the active involvement of all concerned stakeholders. CSE has developed a five-day training programme aimed at giving practical exposure to participants on SIA with specific reference to infrastructure, mining and other industrial projects.

The programme is designed based on the new Act, “The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013”, and will be relevant and effective for SIA practitioners, officials from state land department, municipality, district collector, sub-divisional magistrate, developers, academician, students, NGOs etc.

The objective of this programme is to build a cadre of trained professional who can conduct and review SIA reports. The programme will also impart understanding of the issues and challenges in land acquisition, enhance skills in socio-economic surveys, public consultations, data collection, planning land acquisition and rehabilitation and resettlement plan. The course would also discuss applicable central/state laws such as Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA), The Forest Rights Act, 2006, and the Companies Acts, 2013.

What participants will learn

  1. Land conflicts, land classification, land rights and governance
  2. Better understanding of SIA
    • How to make Term of References (ToRs)
    • Reconnaissance and baseline survey — data need, data collection, collation and interpretation
    • Development of tools and instruments to conduct SIA surveys
    • Effective assessment and reporting methodologies
  3. Filling the Socio-Economic survey questionnaire
  4. Asset evaluation
  5. Preparation of entitlement matrix
  6. Review of SIA reports
  7. CSR framework, its reporting and case studies
  8. Post monitoring.

 

Course Fees

Rs 15,000 for developers, government officials and consultants, Rs 10,000 for academicians, NGOs and researcher, Rs 7,500 for students

Course Duration

Date: September 8-12, 2014
TIMING: 10.00 am to 5.30 pm

Course Venue

CSE, 41, Tughlakabad Institutional Area,
New Delhi – 62

Last date for applying

August 21, 2014

Open for all

SIA practitioners, officials from state land department, municipality, district collector, sub-divisional magistrate, developers, academician, students, NGOs

 

For details contact:

Swati Singh Sambyal, Senior Research Associate
Industry & Environment Unit
Centre for Science and Environment
41, Tughlakabad Institutional Area,
New Delhi-110062

Email: swati@cseindia.org
Mobile: 91 9910496283 
Ph: 91-11-2995 5124 / 6110 (Ext. 251);
Fax: 91-11-2995 5879

 

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