India currently is the fourth largest emitter of carbon in the world, and has so far resisted any binding emission targets under an international agreement. India, and the Group of 77 developing nations have been opposing such binding targets unless they come tied with financial and technological support from developed nations which have so far led in carbon emissions.

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Swine flu is spreading like wild fire in India.

Indian Yoga Guru and Herbal Specialist Swami Baba Ramdeo claims that Swine flu is caused by the lack of resistant power inside our bodies.

He has suggested some tips to save ourselves from the deadly swine flu so below is the list of remedies which claim to treat or prevent Swine flu.

Giloy / Giloy Herb

Take GILOY herb (AMTA) one foot long branch and seven leaf of TULSI and mix it and collect juice of this mixture in a vessel. Boil this juice and drink it. This herbal juice will increase our body resistant up to three times. By which we can “save” from H1N1 Flu.

Nilgiri oil

Use Nilgiri Oil drops on handkerchiefs and masks and inhale regularly as one of the preventive measures against swine flu.

The first swine flu death in Indiahas been reported in Pune, where Riya Shiekh, a 14-year old schoolgirl died at the local hospital.

The city of Pune in India

A resident of Pune’s Camp area, the little girl has been admitted to the private Jehangir hospital on July 27. Two days later she has been taken to ICU and put on a ventilator. Another two days later, on July 31, Riya tested positive for swine flu only to die on August 3.

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Major business groups in the United States have warned US Congress that it will trigger what may be called a “green trade war” if Congress passes a climate change bill which “threatens” other countries with taxes on energy-intensive goods.

In a letter to US Senate leaders, the National Foreign Trade Council, the United States Chamber of Commerce and two other groups urged the Senate to desist from including provisions that could “negatively impact US relations with key trading partners and disrupt the global trading systems.”  Climate change, the letter adds, is a global problem which requires international cooperation and not “unilateral ultimatums.”

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As the Kyoto agreement runs out in 2012, the world is getting together to make sure that they have another international treaty in place by then, to address the deteriorating environmental issues and to ensure that each nation has a certain emission cut targets set for it.

Image by lingaraj

However, developing heavyweights like India, China and Brazil, seem to have taken a hard stand when it comes to agreeing to the emission cuts they will abide to. And India’s chief climate negotiator, Shyam Saran, said that the developed world should guard itself against green protectionism and must offer greater help to developing nations to deal with their eco-problems.

Not only did he warn against a growing discord between the developing and the developed world when it comes to dealing with green issues, but also stated that nations like India could only sign on treaties with realistic goals in regards to emission control.

While Energy Secretary Steven Chu suggested slapping a tariff on imports from nations that do not require emissions cuts to “level the playing field”, Saran responded saying that the negotiations were already starting on an uneven playing field.

The sour grapes between, seems to suggest that a realistic figure when it comes to curbing carbon emissions is still a long way away from materializing and while India’s pledge of never letting its per capita emissions exceed those of rich nations, it seems a pretty fair deal in itself.

More has to be done at this point rather than worry about political brownie points …

Meanwhile, Tata Motors launched the Nano— world’s cheapest car, in India!

Via: Yahoo! Green

Cricket is a unifying religion in India, a nation of vast religious and cultural diversities and Sachin Tendulkar its undisputed demigod. The greatest modern batsman the game has ever seen— and a man carrying a billion hopes and expectations every time he walks out to the center, has come out for the first time in support of the Tiger Conservation Program in the country.

Image by waqas

Tendulkar dedicated his brilliant innings of 160 to the cause of Tiger Conservation and asked people to help restore the habitat of a vanishing Tiger. So why is one sportsperson’s call out to the people of one nation to save the Tiger that significant? He told the media that at the start of the century there were nearly 40,000 tigers in India, which were now reduced to 17,000. He compared the situation to his time in school when he was told there were once dinosaurs and hoped we dint have to tell future generations about tigers the same way.

With the savvy media already picking up on the issue in a big way and youngsters talking about it, this probably is the most meaningful step towards tiger conservation in India taken in a long, long time!

Star-power and celebrity endorsement of a green and planet-friendly cause always help propel it into spotlight, but Sachin Tendulkar is much beyond a ‘star’ in the region. He has been a model ambassador for the sport for 20 years that he has played, has stayed on the pinnacle of the sport for all those years and most importantly is one individual whose words are repeated by the media a million times over and taken to heart by everyone who is both a fan of the game and otherwise.

The Indian Cricket Team has officially endorsed the tiger conservation campaign on its tour to New Zealand and even has a poster on its dressing room that says ‘Extinction is forever’.

We’re game!

In what is being hailed as a major step towards going green in the developing world, Bharat Renewable Energy, a joint venture between Bharat Petroleum Corporation and Nandan Biomatrix, announced they will build 10 new biodiesel refineries in India.

Jatropha Field in Uttar Pradesh

Considering that green initiatives are few and far in-between in this part of the world, the announcement has already assumed great significance. The $428 million project will initially be concentrated around the Kanpur, Jhansi, Laltpur, Chitrakoot, and Sultanpur districts of Uttar Pradesh.

According to the sources in the country, the nation wants biofuel to account for 20% of its total gasoline fuel production. While that is still a long way to go, the company will use jatropha as the main source of raw material and promises that the newly added plants will contribute 270 million gallons of biofuel by 2015. And what’s even better, the production will not affect the food crops, as the plant is a common weed easily found in the region.

We can only hope that nations like India and China are really taking steps in the green direction, as both nations contribute plenty in terms of global carbon emissions each year.

[via TreeHugger]

 Not all is good news in the solar industry, and researchers are not helping …

Indian solar cell manufacturers were hanging out at the 18th International Photovoltaic Science and Engineering Conference & Exhibition. Yeah, they really do have conventions for this kind of thing. This one took place from Jan 19 to 23, 2009, in Kolkata, India.

India’s solar cell manufacturers all have plans to enhance production capacity, BUT, many of them are postponing their plans because of the ongoing global financial crisis.

Titan Energy Systems Ltd, is based in Hyderabad-based. The company makes solar modules. Plans to increase its annual production capacity from current 100MW to 500MW by the end of 2009 may have to be put on hold for about six months says the company.

Jupiter Solar Power Ltd, is a solar cell manufacturer that was established in 2007. The company originally planned to start manufacturing photovoltaic cells last year in November 2008. That date was postponed until February 2009 because of the financial crisis. Additionally, Jupiter Solar Power is delaying its production increase scheduled for 2010, until 2011.

Business is good for those in the solar industry … not so good for those trying to get in.

Veterinarians in central India carried out a blood transfusion on a 7-month old wild tiger that had been beaten by angry villagers. The blood for the female tiger was forcefully donated by captive adults in a zoo.

The reason for all the hubbub is that India’s wild tiger population is on the decline. 100,000 a hundred years ago to 3,600 six years ago and just 1,500 or so now. Chinese kill them for medicine taken from body parts and others just want a tiger rug.  Villagers attempted to kill the young tiger out of fear.

A problem faced in India is blood grouping for the animals. And this tiger, nicknamed Juhi could not share her blood type. The cub is still in serious condition.

Let’s hope the tiger makes it and stays away from other such villages, eh?

“Recycle, Reduce and Reuse”- If the planet is what is at your heart then that is the mantra for you. Different people have various ways of recycling stuff and while some ensure that the recycled products are useful, the others make sure that they are works of art that spread the message.

The giant, shiny metal skull made from recycled kitchen utensils falls in to the latter and with Halloween around the corner, it might be a really enterprising venture. Just stick a couple of glowing red LEDs in the eyes and play a horrific laugh behind and you could make yourself a cheap Hollywood flick as well!

Crafter by Indian artist Subodh Gupta, the giant skull is simply too awesome to take a pass on, and it really is as crafted to perfection. While it may not really serve any practical purpose, it stops plenty of old metal from ending up in landfills and scrap.

Moreover, what better way to promote eco-friendly attitude among kids than by scaring the hell out of them with this and “forcing” them to recycle. Another example of recycling gone right! – via EcoFriend