EQ: From Pollution to Ink, New Rules for GM, Smart Crows, and More

EQ: Your weekly environment quotient.

Crows are among the most intelligent animals. (Photo: iStock)

E-India 

• Ocean warming harms Indian food production: A new report has suggested that rising sea temperatures may negatively impact crops in India by altering expected weather and rain patterns.
  

Already, many parts have faced below-average rainfall during the monsoon. (Photo: iStock)

• Changed field trials norms for GM crops? New rules for GM field trials from the GEAC committee are likely to spark protests – they shorten the timeframe within which states must grant consent for field trials.
  

• Alternative for “Super” Greenhouse Gases: The environment ministry has announced a new and ambitious effort to find substitutes for the so-called super greenhouse gases, many of which are commonly used in fridges.
  

Fridges and air conditioning units contain some really dangerous greenhouse gases to keep things cool. (Photo: iStock)

E-Innovation

• Pollution to ink? A Bangalore start-up has hit upon a novel way to convert the carbon in vehicle emissions into usable ink.
  

E-Renewables

• Fish waste to energy: Scientists at Jadavpur University have successfully converted fish scales into biodegradable energy harvesters. The scientists anticipate that the device could eventually replace pacemakers.
  

Fish scales don’t need to go to waste any more. (Photo: iStock)

E-Agriculture

• Free power to farmers fuelling water crisis: The environment minister has stated that free power to cultivators is an important reason for the rising water stress in the country.
  

Also Read: Unpacking the Water Crisis: Was the Environment Minister Right?

Depletion of groundwater could lead to a future water crisis. (Photo: iStock)

E-Law

• Should the SC have refused to hear the Cauvery dispute? A new article questions whether the SC was the proper forum to resolve the decades long river water dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
  

Also Read: Crisis Aside, Bengaluru Wastes 50% Water Supply From Cauvery

People stage a protest against the release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu, 7 September 2016. (Photo: IANS)

E-Stat

• 7.69%: The percentage of GDP India lost to indoor and outdoor pollution related impacts
  

Air pollution takes a toll on the economy. (Photo: iStock)

E-International

• Hawai’i World Conservation Congress 2016: The IUCN WCC has agreed upon the global conservation agenda for the next 4 years. The Hawai’i Commitments are entitled “Navigating Island Earth” and were shaped by 10 of debates at the WCC.
  

Hawai’i is known for its biodiversity. (Photo: iStock)

E- Nature

• Tool-using crows: The endangered Hawaiian crow has joined the short list of animal species (which includes octopuses and elephants) which use tools – the bird uses sticks to find food.
  

Very few animals are capable of using tools for food. (Photo Courtesy: US Fish and Wildlife Service)

E-Video

• “Be part of the action”: Watch the IUCN WCC 2016 video here:
  

E-Quiz

• In which of the following states would you find the Orang National Park? (a) Punjab (b) Goa (c) Uttarakhand (d) Assam
  
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Shalini Iyengar is an environmental lawyer and Faculty at Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology.