Rodrigo de Oliveira Andrade • Around three billion people cook and heat their homes with polluting solid fuels • The resulting lung diseases can cause early death and stunt children’s development • Women and children can be most at risk…
Category: Pollution
Another oil spill in Chittagong, oil tankers plunge down bridge
Two tankers of an oil train plunged into a canal as a bridge broke down with the tankers on Chittagong-Dohazari rail track at Benguira in Boalkhali upazila on Friday noon. Officer-in-charge of Boalkhali Police Station Samsul Islam said the 24…
Maggi noodles sale ban likely
Commerce minister Tofail Ahmed yesterday hinted to ban selling of Maggi noodles in Bangladesh. “Further experiment is required to take final decision to ban selling magi noodles in Bangladesh,” he added while taking with the reporters at secretariat.
Media in ‘motivated campaign against chemicals in fruits’: Matia
Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury has criticised the Bangladesh media for what she termed “a motivated campaign” on the use by unscrupulous traders of the carcinogen, formalin, in fruits. “It is said in case of some people (in this case, the…
‘Greener’ alternatives may be harmful too
Transitioning from fossil fuels to electric-powered technology is widely believed to be the best way to lower carbon emissions.But is that the real solution? Certainly not, especially in India and China, warns a new study.”Knowing where the electricity comes from…
Air conditioner use trend to put Dhaka on polluters’ rank
The use of air conditioning may rise dramatically by the end of the century, requiring far more electricity and sending pollutants into the atmosphere at unprecedented rates, researchers warned Monday. Refrigerators and air conditioners release hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), which can be…
High level’ of radiation detected in Tokyo park
Japanese authorities have detected an unusually high level of radiation around playground equipment in a Tokyo park, report local media. The park, in the Toshima ward in central Tokyo, has been fenced off.
Pollution an underrated factor in new dev goals
By Stephen Leahy Uxbridge, Canada, Mar (IPS) – Pollution is likely to be the most pressing global health issue in the coming years without effective prevention and clean-up efforts, experts say. Air, water and soil pollution already kills nearly nine…
‘Long struggle’ warning on climate
America’s chief climate negotiator has warned of the long battle ahead to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Coffee pod craze brewing an environmental disaster?
Vaidehi Shah A normal day at the office turns apocalyptic when a Godzilla-like monster made of coffee capsules invades a city, destroying property and crushing citizens underfoot. Alien spaceships bearing an uncanny resemblance to coffee pods shoot citizens and armies…
Citizens’ rights body wants Sunderban oil spill reports
The National Committee to Protect Shipping, Roads & Railways (NCPSRR) and Citizen Rights Movements on Saturday demanded immediate submission of reports by two probe bodies formed to investigate the Sundarbans oil spill incident over two months back. The leaders of…
Chevron wins dubious Award for dreadful environmental record
Chevron Corporation has received a dubious “Lifetime Achievement” award for its terrible environmental record at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Swiss environmental groups have awarded Chevron Corporation a “Lifetime Achievement” award for its terrible environmental record, which has…
UN experts for halting water vessel movement thru Sunderbans
UN experts on Wednesday recommended halting plying water vessels through the Sundarbans to avert further environmental disasters. Considering the environmental aspects, the movement of water vessels through the mangrove forest should not be continued, they said while sharing the preliminary…
BNP probe finds govt faltering about Sunderbans
Although international donor agencies are concerned about the Sunderbans, the government is still reluctant about protecting the mangrove forest and it is indeed taking steps to destroy it, said a BNP probe body in Bagerhat on Monday. “Even though the…
UN experts reach Sunderbans to assess oil-spill impacts
An expert team of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) reached Mongla Port, Bagerhat on Monday afternoon to assess the impacts of the oil spill caused by the oil tanker crash to the Sundarbans, the world’s largest mangrove forest. “The…
Nature body for impact study, BNP forms its team on Sunderbans
WildTeam, a nature conservation organisation based in Bangladesh, has urged the authorities concerned to prepare a baseline report on the immediate impact of the oil spill on the Sunderbans which would help assess the ecosystem recovery in the long term.…
Environ minister tones down oil spill impact on Sunderbans
Environment and Forests Minister Anwar Hossain Manju on Friday said the oil-spill impacts on the Sundarbans’ biodiversity are not as adverse as it was feared. “The biodiversity and the aquatic animals have surely been affected by the oil slick caused…
Environmental disaster set in motion in the Sunderbans
The furnace oil that spilled in the Sundarbans’s Chandpai range from an oil tanker is gradually being absorbed in the ground leading to a reduction in the volume of the oil in the water, locals have said. The oil spread…
No permanent shutting Shela River route: Shipping Minister
Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan has shot down an environment ministry recommendation to permanently shut down Sundarbans Shela River route. “We are not thinking about closing the route yet,” he said after an inter ministerial meeting Sunday. Ministry of Environment and…
Is the batle to recover Sunderbans spilled oil lost?
The Forest Department looks fighting a losing battle to manually clean up the spilt-oil from rivers in the Sundarbans as it has already dissolved in river waters. “Most of the oil has already dissolved or spread faraway,” Divisional Forest Officer…
Locals collect spilled oil with tubs, experts for using soaking fibre
Five days after oil tanker ‘OT Southern Star 7’ capsized in the Shela River, the authorities on Saturday started removing the spilled oil from 30 cannels of the Sundarbans engaging 200 workers. Amir Hossain, divisional forest officer (DFO) of Sundarbans…
Missing likns to the oil tanker capsize baffle experts
Khulna – Some missing links in the movement of the oil tanket – ‘OT Southern Star 7’- from mongla depot to the Shela River have surprised concerned quarters in Khulna, highly placed sources have said. It is gathered that the…
Sunderbans in distress: Spilled oil clean up bid remains distant cry
The authorities’ plan to clean up the spilled oil of ‘OT Southern Star 7’ by local people using foam and other oil-sucking materials got poor response as the furnace oil collection has become difficult due to its continuous spread to…
Sunken tanker pulled ashore, oil spill damages to Sunderbans huge
Officials warned Thursday that oil spill from a crashed tanker is threatening endangered dolphins and other wildlife in the massive Sundarbans mangrove region, branding the leak an ecological “catastrophe”. The tanker carrying an estimated 350,000 litres (75,000 gallons) of oil…
Climate change performance index: CO2 emissions rise at lower rates
Lima–Global emissions have reached a new peak, but recent developments indicate a new readiness for action on climate protection. This is the message of the 10th edition of the Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI); a ranking of the climate protection…
Four dead after toxic leak at Texas chemical plant
Four workers were killed and one was injured during a hazardous chemical leak at a DuPont industrial plant in suburban Houston, company officials said. The chemical, methyl mercaptan, began leaking from a valve around 4 a.m. Saturday in a unit…
India, not China, has the world’s worst urban air pollution
From: Jeremy Hance, MONGABAY.COM ,Breathing in urban India is hard: of the world’s top twenty cities with the worst air, 13 of them are found in India, according to a new analysis by the World Health Organization (WHO). Despite the…
Litter reaches seafloor before man
For the first time in the history of human exploration, scientists have found litter is now arriving before man himself. A 10-year large-scale seafloor survey off the European coast has found the widespread presence of bottles, plastic bags, fishing nets…
“Close the door to landfilling.” says EC’s environment DG
From: Editor, ENN In a passionate call for change, Karl Falkenberg, European Commission Director-General for Environment calls for a closure of landfilling, as we know it. “Separate collection is very much at the heart of this circular economy – [but]…
Scottish universities given funding for low carbon projects
Three Scottish universities are to receive £20m as part of a scheme to help Scotland meet its carbon emission reduction targets.