EQ: Solar Power, Oil Cleaning Bacteria, Green Cess & More

EQ: Read About All Things Green, Build Your Environment Quotient

Bacteria could hold the key to addressing oil spills. (Photo: iStock)

E-India

• Coastal regulation norms to be diluted? A new government report has recommended changes in the current regime, including easing the existing restrictions on construction.
  

The coastal beauty of Goa. (Photo: Facebook/Goa)

• Green cess in forest policy: The government has mooted the idea of a green cess in its new draft policy on forest management in order to promote “ecologically responsible behaviour”.
  

Saving forests is one part of the puzzle of addressing climate change. (Photo: iStock)

• Ken-Betwa river link damages the ecosystem: Echoing what environmentalists have been arguing, a government report has acknowledged that the river linking project will harm the ecosystem of the rivers.
  

The Betwa River would be linked to the Ken River to help alleviate drought, according to Uma Bharti. (Photo: iStock)

E-Renewables

• A new report by the International Renewable Energy Agency had predicted that the share of solar power in the global electricity mix could rise to 13 percent by 2030 from its current 2 percent level.
  

Solar panels. (Photo: iStockphoto)

E-Law

• Three weeks to clean water bodies: The NGT has given the Delhi government three weeks to ensure that all natural water bodies are restored to full health. Among other things, this will ensure that they are able to receive water from the monsoon rains.
  

Solar panels installed at a solar plant in Guna district of Madhya Pradesh. (Photo: Reuters)

E-Stat

• 185: The number of environmental defenders killed in 2015, a 59 percent increase from 2014
  

Many environmental activists died for their beliefs. (Photo: iStock)

E-International

• Curbing pollution in Bangladesh: Read an inspiring account of how a Bangladeshi city achieved the biggest global drop in particulate emission through a number of initiatives and policies.
  

Curbing air pollution is important for addressing health issues in major cities. (Photo: iStock)

E-Nature

• Bacteria to clean up oil spills: New research adds to an existing body of studies indicating that bacteria might be efficient in cleaning up oil spills and mitigating  their long-term impact.
  

Researchers look to bacteria to deal with oil spills. (Photo: Flickr/USGS)

E-Video

Watch a beautiful piano performance on a glacier here:

E-Quiz

Which country does the Manas National Park border? (a) Bangladesh (b) Bhutan (c) Nepal (d) Myanmar

Shalini Iyengar is a lawyer and Research Associate at the International University College of Turin.