EQ: Toxic Waste in Bhopal, Cigarettes, Climate Justice and More

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

E-India

• “We want climate justice”:
India’s environment minister has asked developed nations to shoulder their responsibilities and free up “carbon space” so that developing nations can grow.

E-Mage

• Toxic waste in Bhopal still not cleaned:
31 years after the Bhopal gas tragedy, citizen’s groups are calling upon the government to finally clean the chemical waste that continues to poison the city.

E-Video

• With all the talk of how El Nino impacts India’s weather, watch a video of what it all means here:

E-Business

• Flight levy for climate funds:
French economists Piketty and Chancel have proposed a tax on flight tickets to help raise money to fight climate change. The economists believe that a €180 charge on business class and a €20 charge on economy class tickets could raise the €150 billion needed for climate adaptation every year.

E-International

• 2015 is the warmest year on record:
As global temperatures continue to rise, 2015 looks set to be the warmest year in recorded climate history. To make matters worse, the years between 2011 and 2015 have recorded the warmest five-year span since temperature measurements started in 1860.

E-Law

• “Go to Agra and get things cleaned”:
Shocked at the rampant dumping of waste in the Yamuna River near the Taj, the NGT said that it was “disgusted” and directed the authorities to clean it immediately.

E-Nature

• 50% of marine pollution caused by sea-traffic:
Countering a belief that land-based pollution was the primary cause, a new study has held hazardous nanoparticle emissions from sea traffic responsible for half the pollution in our oceans.

E-Waste

• Declare cigarette butts as toxic waste:
With cigarette litter becoming a major concern, a group of doctors and NGOs want the government to take note of the problem. This litter contains over 4000 harmful chemicals and could pose a significant threat to public health in addition to the risk of causing forest fires.
The number of cigarette butts discarded in India each year is 100 billion.

E-Renewables

• Could a fossil fuel free world actually become a reality?
Sweden is challenging the world to stop using fossil fuels and embrace a renewable energy fuelled future.

E-Quiz

• Which state in India is famous for its living root bridges?
(a) Kerala
(b) Meghalaya
(c) Goa
(d) Telengana

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