EQ: Tigers, Diamonds, Solar Planes and More

EQ: Your weekly environment quotient.

Last week was International Tiger Day. (Photo: iStock)

E-India

• Tigers before diamonds? A diamond mining project which would have led to the cutting of 5 lakh trees and damaged the Tiger Corridor next to Panna National Park has been put on hold by the environment ministry.
  

Diamond mines can really destroy their surrounding environments. (Photo: iStock)

• CAMPA gets passed: Last week the Rajya Sabha finally passed the compensatory afforestation bill which could potentially unlock an estimated Rs. 42,000 crores of funds for forest related purposes.
  

Jageshwar forest in the Kumaon region. (Photo Courtesy: Nitin Das)

• India’s an avian powerhouse: Good news for bird lovers – a recent report notes that India is home to 1263 bird species. This means that India is effectively home to 12% of the world’s bird species.
  

A flock of migratory birds fly across a wetland in Hokersar, north of Srinagar. (Photo: Reuters)

E-Energy

• Solar Impulse 2 touches down! The world’s first renewable energy powered plane has completed its historic 17 month flight around the globe. A big step for aviation and hopefully a great sign for a greener future.
  

Solar Impulse is seen on flight after taking off at Al Bateen airport in Abu Dhabi. Photo: Reuters

E-Law

• Green fine for hospital: A Dwarka hospital which failed to take environmental clearances prior to starting construction has been fined Rs. 15 crore by the NGT. The fine amount will be used for “restoration and restitution of environment and ecology”.
  

The National Green Tribunal (Photo: Sanjoy Deb)

E-Stat

• 73: The number of dead tigers in India since January 2016
  

Though they are an endangered species, tigers continue to be poached. (Photo: iStock)

E-International

• Montreal Protocol amendment on track: In a significant development parties to the Montreal Protocol have made “significant progress” towards reaching a global agreement on phasing out HFCs (one of the so-called “super” greenhouse gases).
  

HFC’s go into fridge manufacturing. (Photo: iStock)

E- Nature

• Human-Avian Cooperation: Scientists have documented the incredible story of a bird in Mozambique which has learned to work with humans to find honey. In a nutshell, the birds find the beehives and the humans reach them!
  

When humans collaborate with nature, they get straight to the honey! (Photo: iStock)

E-Tech

• Human Pollution Sensors: In a great example of art meeting science, a collaboration between scientists and artists has resulted in the development of wearable sensors which turn different colours depending on pollution levels in the different city areas.
  

E-Video

• Round the world trip – check! Watch this amazing time lapse video of the solar-powered plane Solar Impulse 2 finally completing its trip around the world.
  

E-Quiz

• Which is India’s largest National Park? (a) Hemis National Park (b) Kaziranga National Park (c) Eravikulam National Park (d) Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park
  

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