Dhaka, Feb 20 (UNB) – Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka ranked fifth on Wednesday in the AirVisual Index of the world’s cities with the worst air quality. In the real-time air quality ranking, Dhaka scored 164 on Wednesday and classified as “unhealthy”,…
Category: Pollution
HC orders assessment of cow fodder, milk contamination
Dhaka, Feb 11 – The High Court on Monday directed the authorities concerned to conduct a survey to determine how much cow milk, dairy products and cow fodder containing bacteria, antibiotic, lead and pesticides are supplied across the country, which…
Highest mobile malware infections in Bangladesh?
Dhaka, Feb 10 (UNB) – Bangladesh is on top of the countries having the risk of mobile malware infections with 35.91 percent of users being affected, according to a study. The study conducted by US-based Comparitech on 60 countries, however,…
90 pc people in Dhaka victims of air pollution: Poba
Dhaka, Feb 9 – Green activists on Saturday voiced deep concern that around 90 percent dwellers in Dhaka city are affected by serious dust pollution and urged the authorities concerned to take effective steps to check it. Speaking at a…
Canada implements new guidelines on food, not food waste
By Stephen Leahy ONTARIO, Canada, Feb 8 2019 (IPS) – Canada introduced a new healthy eating food guide in January 2019 and, for the first time, the meat, dairy and processed food and beverage industries were not involved. Based on…
News on ‘plastic rice’ baseless: Minister
Dhaka, Feb 6 (UNB) – Agriculture Minister Abdur Razzak on Wednesday trashed reports on the manufacturing of so-called plastic rice in Bangladesh, saying it was impossible. “News reports on plastic rice are baseless. The rice in question has been cooked…
Removing arsenic from groundwater: Let’s use the tools
HAMILTON, Canada, Feb 1 2019 (IPS) – Cost-effective technologies are available to remove arsenic in groundwater. Why then do tens of millions still fall ill to this chronic problem? High natural levels of arsenic are characteristic of the groundwater supply in…
‘Plastic-like rice’ seized in Gaibandha
Gaibandha, Feb 4 (UNB) – Police in a drive seized ‘plastic-like rice’ from a shop in the town on Monday morning. Police said that one Rony Miah identified the rice as plastic while cooking it. Later, he went to Gaibandha…
Bd govt mulls E-waste management policy: Minister
Dhaka, Feb 2 – Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Minister Mustafa Jabbar on Saturday said a policy on managing e-waste was at its final stage. “It is currently with the law ministry,” he said at a roundtable discussion on ‘E-waste…
Bringing greener pastures back home
UNITED NATIONS, Jan 22 2019 (IPS) – One month on since the Global Compact for Migration was approved, civil society has highlighted the need to turn words into action, supporting those who have been displaced or forced to migrate as…
Operate mobile court to stop air pollution: HC
Dhaka, Jan 28 (UNB) – The High Court on Monday ordered the Department of Environment (DoE) to conduct mobile court drives twice a week to take legal action against those responsible for air pollution in the capital. The bench of…
Bd anti-graft body demolishes four illegal brick kilns
Dhaka, Jan 20 – The Anti-Corruption Commission on Sunday demolished four illegal bricks kilns and freed 20 acres of farmland from the illegal occupants at Mujibnagar under Meherpur district.
Climate change worsen soil salinity across Bangladesh coasts
As a country with a large coastline, the adverse impacts of saltwater intrusion are significant in Bangladesh. Salinity mainly affects land and water in the coastal areas.
Delhi smog: Business offer tech hope to reuse crop biomass
by Nupur Roopa on 16 January 2019 Like in the winters of the previous years, this year too the smog is smothering Delhi and the surrounding areas in north India. Burning of the agricultural residue by farmers is considered as…
Effluent treatment unit at Savar Tannery to work soon
Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun on Tuesday said the work on the Central Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) at Savar Tannery Estate will complete soon for smooth management of solid waste.
Lower cancer risk seen among high organic food consumers
One of the first large-scale studies on organic food consumption and cancer risks involving 68,946 French adults found a 25% lower overall cancer risk among those consuming organic food most regularly compared to those who reported very little or no…
Agroecology has full potential for sustainable food systems
Alarming rates of food insecurity and malnutrition persist alongside the growing crises of biodiversity loss and climate change. Food systems are at a critical juncture and a dramatic transition to agroecology is urgently needed. Agroecology’s profile in the national and…
25pc Khulna brick kilns illegal
More than one-fourth brick kilns in Khulna district are operating illegally as 45 of them did not renew their licences.
Big economic option to clean up industries: Bertrand Piccard
Bertrand Piccard, Solar Impulse Foundation A UN Goodwill Ambassador and the first person ever to complete a round-the-world flight powered by solar energy, he launched a project to collect 1000 green and profitable solutions so the private sector had no…
Fashionably sustainable plus shaping Cop24 outcome
The apparel industry has a climate problem and it wants to do something about it. In fact, textiles, it has been suggested, cause more carbon emissions than international flights and maritime shipping combined. Now global fashion brands are joining to…
Holy men fasting to death keep The Ganges alive
Over the past two decades, holy men in India have gone on dozens of fasts demanding governments honour their promise to revive the polluted Ganges, a river revered by Hindus. The recent death of one of the most prominent hunger…
Global carbon pollution up in 2018
Washington, Dec 6 (AP/UNB) — After several years of little growth, global emissions of heat-trapping carbon dioxide experienced their largest jump in seven years, discouraging scientists.
COP24: 1m lives could be saved by 2050 thru climate action
Taking bold climate action now could help save a million lives and a lot of money by the middle of the century, said the World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday, launching a special report as part of the ongoing COP24…
‘Dhaka’s micro climate degrading fast for lack of action’
Speakers at a workshop on Wednesday opined that due to lack of proper action plan Dhaka city’s micro climate situation is rapidly degrading which has a big impact on its development and habitation.
California wildfires death toll rises to 25
The death toll in the wildfires raging through California has risen to 25, according to officials. This comes after 14 more bodies were discovered in or near the decimated town of Paradise in the state’s north, bringing the number of…
‘Control 10 rivers including Ganga to oceans plastic-free’
Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus has called upon all to feel the urgency of controlling 10 rivers in the world, including the Ganges, which are shockingly contributing 80 to 90 percent of plastic pollution to the world’s oceans.
A radically realistic climate vision
By Barbara Unmüßig Berlin – According to the latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the world’s main scientific authority on global warming, keeping global temperatures from rising more than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels is a feasible goal.…
The Green Lobby’s misdirected anger
By Yossi Sheffi Boston – In August, when US President Donald Trump proposed to freeze fuel-efficiency standards for cars and trucks, environmentalists and their supporters were outraged. Now, the temperature of the debate has risen again, following a special report…
Is hothouse earth avoidable?
By Johan Rockström , Jørgen Randers, and Per Espen Stoknes Stockholm – Nearly 50 years ago, the Club of Rome’s report “Limits to Growth” warned that if economic growth continued apace without regard for the environment, the world could face…
Stop making petrol, diesel cars: Mayors warn manufacturers
“The health of our children is more important than the health of your profits,” they say New WHO report finds 630 million children under 5 years old are exposed to unsafe air globally Children are at greater risk than adults…