July-19: Environment Snippets
- Posted by CERC India
- Posted in July
Pollution claims 9 million lives a year  Â
 A heavy toll 
Environmental pollution is responsible for the premature deaths of nine million people globally. A report from the UN’s Global Environment Outlook (GEO) has revealed a quarter of all premature deaths and diseases worldwide are due to pollution and environmental damage.
It cites emissions, polluted drinking water and the destruction of ecosystems as major issues. The report says air pollution alone causes 6-7 million early deaths annually.
Action required
Small batteries pollute air and water    Â
Deadly threat  Â
Lack of segregation and disposal norms mean most zinc-carbon AA batteries, the most widely used batteries in the country, end up in landfills. Over time, the heavy metals inside them mix with the soil contaminating ground and surface water and entering the food chain, a report by Toxic Link says. Some of the metal gets burnt in landfills and pollutes the air.
Consumption of heavy metals may have neurological impacts, damage the kidney and even cause cancer. The non-recycling of batteries is also an economic loss as recycling could help retrieve precious materials.
Need for recycling
CERC-ENVIS centre felicitated
At a national review meet of the ENVIS Secretariat, Dr Anandi Subramanian, Principal Advisor, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, presented a certificate of appreciation to the CERC-ENVIS centre for successful organisation and completion of the Green Skill Development Programme (GSDP).
Gujarat govt asks Uber, Ola to launch electric taxis
Big Push
The Gujarat government is planning a big push for use of electric vehicles in Ahmedabad and other major cities. It is creating an electric vehicle (EV) promotion policy focusing on developing infrastructure network for battery swapping and charging facilities at affordable rates, and provide incentives for EV use.
State energy minister, Saurabh Patel, said: “To promote the use of electric vehicles by private owners, we had a meeting with taxi service providers like Ola and Uber and have asked them to start electric vehicle services.†The government will announce incentives for recharge stations, where charged batteries are made available in a few minutes, no longer than an ordinary car takes to refuel at a petrol pump.
Eco friendly step Â
