EQ: Tiger Reserves, Amur Falcons, Electric Cars, Idols & More

EQ: Your weekly environment quotient.

When idols are submerged, they can have a major impact on river ecosystems. (Photo: iStock)

E-India

Post-festival immersions choking rivers: As India celebrates festival season, the country’s holiest rivers are set to become a “dump” due to idol immersions.  Officials are concerned about the increase in pollution in the rivers and their banks.

A Durga idol is submerged in Kolkata. (Photo: Biswarup Ganguly/Wikimedia)

Goa declares tiger reserves: In a sweeping move, the Goa government has decided to upgrade all of Goa’s existing wildlife sanctuaries to the status of a tiger reserve.

The tiger population has gone up by 30 percent in last 4 years. (Photo: iStock)

The Amur falcons have arrived: The incredible Amur falcons have returned to their winter sites in Nagaland and Manipur on the same day as they did the year before. Known for their incredible migratory routes, the bird’s numbers represent a success story for community-centric conservation.

A female Amur Falcon. (Photo: Bernard Dupont/Wikimedia)

E-Tech

Drones to monitor sharks: Australia has announced plans to use drones to track shark activities. This is expected to also aid in mitigating the danger of shark attacks along the country’s coastline.

Drones are being used for a wide range of conservation efforts. (Photo: iStock)

E-Energy

World’s smallest floating nuclear reactor: China is developing what is supposedly the world’s smallest nuclear reactor for deployment in the South China Sea. Environmentalists have expressed serious concerns about such a plan given the hazards of nuclear energy.

Nuclear energy is an alternative to fossil fuels, but when radiation leaks it can wreak havoc. (Photo: iStock)

E-Transport

2 million e-cars sold by 2016: New data has revealed that around 2 million electric cars will have been sold worldwide by 2016 end. While this is tiny compared to traditional cars, it does show that electric cars are increasingly coming of age.

The BMW i3 is one of the most popular electric vehicles sold by the German automaker. (Photo: BMW)

E-Law

Amaravathi construction can continue: The NGT has clarified that there is no stay on construction at the site of Andhra Pradesh’s new proposed capital. However, the builders would need to abide by the Court’s final order.

The National Green Tribunal in Delhi. (Photo: Sanjoy Deb)

E-Stat

109: The number of glacial lakes formed in Himachal Pradesh in just two years.

When glacier lakes burst, they can cause devastating flooding. (Photo: iStock)

E-International

Rampal Power Project troubles? A proposed Indo-Bangladesh coal power project has raised the ire of environmentalists who have pointed at its proximity to the fragile Sunderbans ecosystem.

Miners work at the Gevra coal mines in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh, Asia’s largest opencast coal mine. Image for representational purposes. (Photo: Reuters)

E- Nature

Extinct no more! In a rare piece of good news for biodiversity, the iconic Chinese freshwater dolphin, believed to have become extinct, might have been sighted in the river. Locally known as the “baiji”, the dolphin is a sign of the river ecosystem’s overall health.

The dolphin was declared functionally extinct about a decade ago. (Photo Courtesy: takoradee/Wikimedia)

E-Video

Watch an video on the toll that climate change takes worldwide here:

E-Quiz

Which state is the Mhadei wildlife sancturary located in? (a) Goa (b) Maharashtra (c) Karnataka (d) Madhya Pradesh

Shalini Iyengar is an environmental lawyer and Faculty at Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology.