Roundup – World Environment News (15th August, 2017)

Air pollution, plastic waste and climate change continue to dominate headlines. The effect on animals is truly distressing but environmentally conscious citizens attempt to find ways to reduce waste and fight pollution. Read more below-

Plastic trash is finding its way into the digestive system of wildlife

The Alaskan Department of Fish and Game has been studying the digestion of a number of rescued moose and caribou and found that all of them have plastic waste like grocery bags, sandwich bags and rope in their system. This plastic remain undigested and often block their digestive tract leading to their death.

Read more here.

Sea snakes are turning black to deal with pollution

Sea snakes that live in polluted waters have evolved to ‘fill in’ their light stripes, darkening their skins to cope with pollution. These turtle-headed sea snakes (Emydocephalus annulatus) have been added to the diverse list of creatures that exhibit ‘industrial melanism’, when darker animal varieties become dominant in polluted environments. Researchers found that the black variety was most common in industrial populations, whereas only a few lived in non-industrial areas.

To read more about these snakes, head here.

Restaurants and pubs in Bombay are replacing plastic straws with biodegradable materials

Bombay has joined the global campaign to #refusethestraw in order to raise awareness about its damaging effects. Several pubs have replaced their plastic straws with biodegradable alternatives and are raising awareness through posters, menus and coasters.

Read about this great initiative here.

Courts in India continue to fight against pollution

The National Green Tribunal has passed an interim order to ban the sale of plastic bags with thickness of less than 50 microns due to the damaging effect on the environment and difficulty in recycling. The Supreme Court has also passed an order directing the no insurance can be provided to a car owner without a pollution under control (PUC) certificate in an attempt to control rising pollution in the country.

Read more here and here.

Japanese Environment Minister expresses concern over coal plant

Japan’s environment minister urged that Chubu Electric Power Co’s plans for a major new coal-fired power plant be reconsidered, or even scrapped, amid growing concerns that Japan may miss emissions reductions targets. The statement complicates life for Japan’s power industry as it seeks to build new coal-fired power capacity to compensate for its nuclear sector being still mostly shut down in the wake of the 2011’s Fukushima disaster.

Read more here.

Climate change linked to thousands of farmer suicides in India

Warming due to climate change has triggered over 59,000 farm-related suicides in the past three decades. A study has revealed that high temperatures and low rainfall during growing season substantially impact annual suicide rates. The study also finds the southern region of India tends to have the most severe increase in suicide for a given change in temperature.

Read here.

Beijing files first public lawsuit against polluting plant

In the first case of its kind, the city’s public prosecutor is suing a steel factory for not complying with the national environmental standards. The government office filed a public interest litigation against Duocai Group on Thursday at the Beijing Intermediate People’s Court, for discharging industrial waste hazardous to the environment and human health.

Read about it here.

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• All EcoRight products are made from fabrics that are durable, kind to the environment and in ethical manufacturing facilities (audited by SEDEX)
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