EQ: Tigers, Diamonds, Solar Planes and More

EQ: Your weekly environment quotient.

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.
  

• 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.
  

• 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.
  

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.
  

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”.
  

E-Stat

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

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).
  

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!
  

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.)