By Rudy Ruitenberg
Feb. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Sugar cane grown in Brazil and palm oil from Malaysia and Indonesia rank as the most sustainable of the current generation of biofuel crops, according to researchers at Wageningen University in the Netherlands.
Researchers at the university’s plant-science department compared nine crops on criteria including soil erosion, water use for each unit of energy produced and nitrogen usage, according to Sander de Vries, author of the comparative study.
“In terms of net energy, sugar cane has the best score of all energy crops,” Wageningen University’s De Vries said by telephone yesterday. “A crop like corn, which scores poorly, is at 10 percent of that.”
Biofuels production amounted to 83 billion liters (21.9 billion U.S. gallons) in 2008, up fourfold from 2000, and accounted for 1.5 percent of global transport fuel consumption, according to the International Energy Agency. First-generation biofuels have faced “heavy criticism” regarding their long- term effect on the environment, according to the IEA.
Sorghum in China, as well as oil palms and sugar cane, make the most efficient use of land, water, nitrogen and pesticides to produce a unit of energy, according to the study in the journal Biomass and Bioenergy. Provided no forest is cleared to grow the three crops, they produce “much less” greenhouse gases than fossil fuels, the study said.
“It takes a lot of water to grow sugar cane, but on balance you get a big return,” De Vries said. “You get back a lot of sugar cane.”
Nine Criteria
The crops were compared by ranking them against the best- performing plant on each of nine criteria, De Vries said. Sugar beet and rapeseed in Europe, cassava in Thailand and soybeans in Brazil had an average ranking, according to the study.
“In every case we looked at the dominant production area,” De Vries said. “With regards to erosion, oil palm scores well, rapeseed also. Soy doesn’t do well in terms of net energy, but does in nitrogen efficiency.”
Oil palm was most sustainable with regards to the maintenance of soil quality, according to the study, which disregarded effects on societies, economies and biodiversity.
U.S. corn and wheat in Europe, used to produce ethanol, had the worst sustainability score of the nine crops studied.
“It takes a lot of energy to process those crops,” De Vries said. “For corn it’s just positive. For wheat the balance of greenhouse-gas reductions is zero.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Rudy Ruitenberg in Paris at rruitenberg@bloomberg.net
Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20670001&sid=atgC7em.HRHg
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Baja Fresh launches 'Earth Fresh' initiative
Baja Fresh Mexican Grill has announced its 2010 "Earth Fresh" initiative. Beginning in December of 2009, Baja Fresh introduced recycled napkins, paper bags, burrito wrapping paper, and biodegradable plates in eight restaurants, including their California locations in Cypress, Westlake Village, Simi Valley, Beverly Hills, Tustin Marketplace, South Irvine and Lakewood.
All Baja Fresh paper bags in the aforementioned restaurants now contain a minimum of 40 percent postconsumer material. Papers utilized also are not made with processed chlorine or its derivatives, and converted papers are FDA compliant.
The new plates are designed to disintegrate and biodegrade swiftly and safely in a professionally managed composting facility. The plates are certified by the Biodegradable Products Institute and the natural fibers with which they are produced are a byproduct of wheat harvest. The type of renewable resource is reportedly an excellent alternative to polystyrene foam and conventional molded fiber.
Additionally, the production and use of natural, unbleached burrito wraps versus bleached paper wraps have significant impact on the world’s resources including:
* 46 percent reduction in waste water
* 21 percent reduction in wood pulp use
* 16 percent reduction in solid waste
* 10 percent reduction in green house gas production.
For every 1,000 tons of natural paper produced versus bleached paper of the same weight 6,089 trees will be saved, 15 full swimming pools of wastewater will be removed, and 13 garbage trucks of solid waste will be eliminated.
"Baja Fresh recognizes the importance of the earth’s resources and our customers’ penchant to conserve them. By offering our products in biodegradable, recycled, and recyclable packaging, not only are we meeting the requests of our guests, but also those of the environment," Baja Fresh president Charles Rink said. "We will continue to seek environmentally friendly solutions for additional products used in serving Baja Fresh menu items, and we look forward to the success of the current products in test. We hope to offer them companywide within the year."
Source: http://www.fastcasual.com/article.php?id=17327&na=1&s=2
All Baja Fresh paper bags in the aforementioned restaurants now contain a minimum of 40 percent postconsumer material. Papers utilized also are not made with processed chlorine or its derivatives, and converted papers are FDA compliant.
The new plates are designed to disintegrate and biodegrade swiftly and safely in a professionally managed composting facility. The plates are certified by the Biodegradable Products Institute and the natural fibers with which they are produced are a byproduct of wheat harvest. The type of renewable resource is reportedly an excellent alternative to polystyrene foam and conventional molded fiber.
Additionally, the production and use of natural, unbleached burrito wraps versus bleached paper wraps have significant impact on the world’s resources including:
* 46 percent reduction in waste water
* 21 percent reduction in wood pulp use
* 16 percent reduction in solid waste
* 10 percent reduction in green house gas production.
For every 1,000 tons of natural paper produced versus bleached paper of the same weight 6,089 trees will be saved, 15 full swimming pools of wastewater will be removed, and 13 garbage trucks of solid waste will be eliminated.
"Baja Fresh recognizes the importance of the earth’s resources and our customers’ penchant to conserve them. By offering our products in biodegradable, recycled, and recyclable packaging, not only are we meeting the requests of our guests, but also those of the environment," Baja Fresh president Charles Rink said. "We will continue to seek environmentally friendly solutions for additional products used in serving Baja Fresh menu items, and we look forward to the success of the current products in test. We hope to offer them companywide within the year."
Source: http://www.fastcasual.com/article.php?id=17327&na=1&s=2
Friday, February 19, 2010
Stimulus funds for clean energy largely unspent
Only 63,000 of the jobs directly created or saved by the stimulus bill last year were clean-energy jobs. That number should rise, economists say.
Making a “tremendous down payment on the clean energy transformation” of the United States was a top priority of the Obama administration’s economic stimulus package – but, despite some notable accomplishments, it remains mostly a promise at this point.
Most of the funds from the stimulus still haven’t been spent, and the clean-energy down payment is a long way from being completed. Its impact so far on those jobs has only been lightly felt in pockets across the nation, economists and others watching its impact in their regions say.
“It’s fair to say the stimulus is a down payment, but I wouldn’t call it a tremendous down payment at this point,” says Joan Fitzgerald, an expert on economic development at Northeastern University in Boston, who has analyzed the stimulus’s impact on the wind-power and other clean-technology industries.
Overall, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, or stimulus bill, has seen $263 billion spent of the $787 billion available by the end of last year. As a result, the US economy is now employing about 1.5 million to 2 million more workers, the President's Council of Economic Advisors recently reported – and other independent economists agree.
But so far, just one-third of the roughly $90 billion ($60.7 billion in direct spending and $29.5 billion in tax incentives) targeting the clean-energy sector has actually hit the street – to fund wind-farm development, solar plants, battery factories, high-speed rail, and home weatherization, among many other projects.
As a result, just 63,000 of the jobs directly created or saved by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act by the end of last year were clean-energy jobs, the president's economic council reports.
That so-far modest impact should become much more significant as the US Department of Energy ramps up its approval process and spends the remaining billions by September, David Sandalow, assistant secretary of energy for policy and international affairs, said at a press conference Wednesday.
Over the next two years, the $90 billion spent on clean energy is expected to create 720,000 job-years of employment. In addition to jobs, some 16,000 megawatts of wind, solar, geothermal, and other renewable energy capacity propelled by the stimulus will power about 4 to 5 million homes.
“Each one of [these jobs] is doing work made possible by the recovery act,” Mr. Sandalow said. “The recovery act has been crucial to unlocking financing” for new wind, solar, geothermal power projects.
High-speed rail construction in Wisconsin, new-generation plug-in hybrid vehicle battery factories in Detroit and wind farm turbines sprouting across the US landscape last year – all would not exist without the stimulus passed by Congress last year, other observers agree.
“Some folks on one end of the spectrum say the stimulus hasn’t done a darn thing,” says Rob Sargent, who tracks clean-energy for EnvironmentAmerica, a Washington-based advocacy group. “If you look around and see – it has led to investments in clean energy of a magnitude we’ve never seen.” Other expert watchers agree.
“Broadly speaking, the stimulus has helped an enormous amount,” says Alex Klein, research director for Emerging Energy Research, a market research company based in Cambridge, Mass. “Treasury grants have helped expedite wind development, manufacturing incentives have jump-started battery manufacturing – and kept wind and solar manufacturing in the US alive.”
The stimulus has expedited both project development and helped to build local supply chains, Mr. Klein says. But some note that the stimulus, while keeping the wind-power and other renewable industries from tanking in 2009, has not worked a miracle on US clean-energy manufacturers’ competitiveness.
“We’re not competitive yet with other clean-energy export nations,” says Kevin Book, managing partner with ClearView Partners, a Washington energy research and consulting firm. “There’s an argument to be made that we could become the next big manufacturer of clean tech, but we’re not the most compelling candidate right now. China and Germany are ahead of us."
News reports highlighting Texas wind-farm projects that purchased Japanese-made turbines – and others with plans to purchase turbines from China – have had congressmen throwing up their hands in protest.
So is Bob Lloyd, plant manager at Clipper Wind Power’s Waterloo, Iowa, manufacturing plant. His plant had layoffs a year ago and is still operating at less than half its capacity.
“We’re trying to build this product,” he says. “ 'Hey, we're paying taxes, and we don’t want to pay taxes to bring in foreign-made products' – that’s the feeling of folks around here.”
Clipper and General Electric are America’s only domestic wind-turbine manufacturers. But while Clipper’s business is picking up, their plight highlights a conundrum: Until US demand for clean energy grows, it will be hard to develop domestic clean-energy manufacturing that can out-compete overseas companies on price as well as quality, experts say.
The stimulus support can't produce an overnight transformation for US clean-energy manufacturers, Mr. Book says. What’s needed is a “natural demand” for clean-energy, or a “legislative demand.” And yet, a cap-and-trade climate bill that would do just that, by putting a price on carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants, is stalled in Congress.
“Unless natural demand for clean energy develops in the US – or it can become a competitive exporter to markets overseas, the spending won’t have succeeded,” he says. “We have to have a price on carbon.”
----
Source: http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2010/0218/Stimulus-funds-for-clean-energy-largely-unspent
Making a “tremendous down payment on the clean energy transformation” of the United States was a top priority of the Obama administration’s economic stimulus package – but, despite some notable accomplishments, it remains mostly a promise at this point.
Most of the funds from the stimulus still haven’t been spent, and the clean-energy down payment is a long way from being completed. Its impact so far on those jobs has only been lightly felt in pockets across the nation, economists and others watching its impact in their regions say.
“It’s fair to say the stimulus is a down payment, but I wouldn’t call it a tremendous down payment at this point,” says Joan Fitzgerald, an expert on economic development at Northeastern University in Boston, who has analyzed the stimulus’s impact on the wind-power and other clean-technology industries.
Overall, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, or stimulus bill, has seen $263 billion spent of the $787 billion available by the end of last year. As a result, the US economy is now employing about 1.5 million to 2 million more workers, the President's Council of Economic Advisors recently reported – and other independent economists agree.
But so far, just one-third of the roughly $90 billion ($60.7 billion in direct spending and $29.5 billion in tax incentives) targeting the clean-energy sector has actually hit the street – to fund wind-farm development, solar plants, battery factories, high-speed rail, and home weatherization, among many other projects.
As a result, just 63,000 of the jobs directly created or saved by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act by the end of last year were clean-energy jobs, the president's economic council reports.
That so-far modest impact should become much more significant as the US Department of Energy ramps up its approval process and spends the remaining billions by September, David Sandalow, assistant secretary of energy for policy and international affairs, said at a press conference Wednesday.
Over the next two years, the $90 billion spent on clean energy is expected to create 720,000 job-years of employment. In addition to jobs, some 16,000 megawatts of wind, solar, geothermal, and other renewable energy capacity propelled by the stimulus will power about 4 to 5 million homes.
“Each one of [these jobs] is doing work made possible by the recovery act,” Mr. Sandalow said. “The recovery act has been crucial to unlocking financing” for new wind, solar, geothermal power projects.
High-speed rail construction in Wisconsin, new-generation plug-in hybrid vehicle battery factories in Detroit and wind farm turbines sprouting across the US landscape last year – all would not exist without the stimulus passed by Congress last year, other observers agree.
“Some folks on one end of the spectrum say the stimulus hasn’t done a darn thing,” says Rob Sargent, who tracks clean-energy for EnvironmentAmerica, a Washington-based advocacy group. “If you look around and see – it has led to investments in clean energy of a magnitude we’ve never seen.” Other expert watchers agree.
“Broadly speaking, the stimulus has helped an enormous amount,” says Alex Klein, research director for Emerging Energy Research, a market research company based in Cambridge, Mass. “Treasury grants have helped expedite wind development, manufacturing incentives have jump-started battery manufacturing – and kept wind and solar manufacturing in the US alive.”
The stimulus has expedited both project development and helped to build local supply chains, Mr. Klein says. But some note that the stimulus, while keeping the wind-power and other renewable industries from tanking in 2009, has not worked a miracle on US clean-energy manufacturers’ competitiveness.
“We’re not competitive yet with other clean-energy export nations,” says Kevin Book, managing partner with ClearView Partners, a Washington energy research and consulting firm. “There’s an argument to be made that we could become the next big manufacturer of clean tech, but we’re not the most compelling candidate right now. China and Germany are ahead of us."
News reports highlighting Texas wind-farm projects that purchased Japanese-made turbines – and others with plans to purchase turbines from China – have had congressmen throwing up their hands in protest.
So is Bob Lloyd, plant manager at Clipper Wind Power’s Waterloo, Iowa, manufacturing plant. His plant had layoffs a year ago and is still operating at less than half its capacity.
“We’re trying to build this product,” he says. “ 'Hey, we're paying taxes, and we don’t want to pay taxes to bring in foreign-made products' – that’s the feeling of folks around here.”
Clipper and General Electric are America’s only domestic wind-turbine manufacturers. But while Clipper’s business is picking up, their plight highlights a conundrum: Until US demand for clean energy grows, it will be hard to develop domestic clean-energy manufacturing that can out-compete overseas companies on price as well as quality, experts say.
The stimulus support can't produce an overnight transformation for US clean-energy manufacturers, Mr. Book says. What’s needed is a “natural demand” for clean-energy, or a “legislative demand.” And yet, a cap-and-trade climate bill that would do just that, by putting a price on carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants, is stalled in Congress.
“Unless natural demand for clean energy develops in the US – or it can become a competitive exporter to markets overseas, the spending won’t have succeeded,” he says. “We have to have a price on carbon.”
----
Source: http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2010/0218/Stimulus-funds-for-clean-energy-largely-unspent
A new look at carbon offsets
Source: https://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Corporate_Finance/Capital_Management/A_new_look_at_carbon_offsets_2533
New wind power tops all other sources in 2009
Wind and solar technology made up over half of Europe’s new electricity generating capacity in 2009, as the number of new coal and nuclear facilities fell.
Wind accounted for 39 per cent of increased European energy capacity, ahead of gas (26 per cent) and solar (16 per cent). In contrast, the nuclear and coal power sectors decommissioned more megawatts of capacity than they installed in 2009, with a total of 1,393 MW of nuclear and 3,200 MW of coal decommissioned.
'It is a remarkable result in a difficult year. The figures, once again, confirm that wind power, together with other renewable energy technologies and a shift from coal to gas, are delivering massive European carbon reductions, while creating much needed economic activity and new jobs for Europe’s citizens,' said EWEA CEO Christian Kjaer.
According to the EWEA report, €13 billion has been invested in wind farms across the EU in the last year, making them capable of meeting 4.8 per cent of EU energy demands.
Spain is the country with the biggest share of new wind capacity (24%), followed by Germany (19%), Italy (19 per cent), France (11%) and the UK (10%).
The wind energy sector has grown by an average of 23 per cent over the last 15 years, with annual installations up from 472 MW in 1994 to 10,163 MW in 2009.
Commenting on prospects for 2010, Kjaer added: “I am quite optimistic about the medium-term outlook for wind power in Europe, but project finance is still tight and it is clear that more orders must be announced in the coming months for the sector to repeat the 10 GW installed this year.”
Source: http://www.greenjobs.ie/newsletters.cms.asp
Wind accounted for 39 per cent of increased European energy capacity, ahead of gas (26 per cent) and solar (16 per cent). In contrast, the nuclear and coal power sectors decommissioned more megawatts of capacity than they installed in 2009, with a total of 1,393 MW of nuclear and 3,200 MW of coal decommissioned.
'It is a remarkable result in a difficult year. The figures, once again, confirm that wind power, together with other renewable energy technologies and a shift from coal to gas, are delivering massive European carbon reductions, while creating much needed economic activity and new jobs for Europe’s citizens,' said EWEA CEO Christian Kjaer.
According to the EWEA report, €13 billion has been invested in wind farms across the EU in the last year, making them capable of meeting 4.8 per cent of EU energy demands.
Spain is the country with the biggest share of new wind capacity (24%), followed by Germany (19%), Italy (19 per cent), France (11%) and the UK (10%).
The wind energy sector has grown by an average of 23 per cent over the last 15 years, with annual installations up from 472 MW in 1994 to 10,163 MW in 2009.
Commenting on prospects for 2010, Kjaer added: “I am quite optimistic about the medium-term outlook for wind power in Europe, but project finance is still tight and it is clear that more orders must be announced in the coming months for the sector to repeat the 10 GW installed this year.”
Source: http://www.greenjobs.ie/newsletters.cms.asp
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Wipro first India company to offer 100% recyclable and toxin-free computers
BANGALORE: Information technology services corporation Wipro Infotech has claimed to be the first Indian company to build a 100 per cent
recyclable and toxin-free computer, and joins a small group of manufacturers worldwide who have developed toxic-free electronics.
According to the company, the eco-friendly Wipro Greenware desktops are completely free from harmful chemicals such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and brominated flame retardants (BFRs).
The company's range of Greenware Intel Core 2 Duo processor PCs can be easily recycled once their technology becomes obsolete and they pass their 'shelf life'.
"Wipro Infotech has taken significant strides and strong leadership in Green Computing, providing responsible and environment-sensitive computing solutions to our customers," The Independent quoted Anand Sankaran, Senior Vice President and Business Head of Wipro, as saying.
E-waste is fast becoming an environmental hazard in Asia, as expanding stockpiles of obsolete electronics and computer products have been amassing in poor neighborhoods forcing governments to discuss measures to deal with the expanding problem.
Wipro joins larger, global consumer electronics manufactures like Apple, HP and Nokia in the struggle to develop toxin-free electronics.
Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/infotech/hardware/Wipro-first-India-company-to-offer-100-recyclable-and-toxin-free-computers/articleshow/5559909.cms
recyclable and toxin-free computer, and joins a small group of manufacturers worldwide who have developed toxic-free electronics.
According to the company, the eco-friendly Wipro Greenware desktops are completely free from harmful chemicals such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and brominated flame retardants (BFRs).
The company's range of Greenware Intel Core 2 Duo processor PCs can be easily recycled once their technology becomes obsolete and they pass their 'shelf life'.
"Wipro Infotech has taken significant strides and strong leadership in Green Computing, providing responsible and environment-sensitive computing solutions to our customers," The Independent quoted Anand Sankaran, Senior Vice President and Business Head of Wipro, as saying.
E-waste is fast becoming an environmental hazard in Asia, as expanding stockpiles of obsolete electronics and computer products have been amassing in poor neighborhoods forcing governments to discuss measures to deal with the expanding problem.
Wipro joins larger, global consumer electronics manufactures like Apple, HP and Nokia in the struggle to develop toxin-free electronics.
Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/infotech/hardware/Wipro-first-India-company-to-offer-100-recyclable-and-toxin-free-computers/articleshow/5559909.cms
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Pre-Namaz in a eco-friendly way...
Kuala Lumpur: A Malaysian company has invented a machine it says will help Muslims purify themselves before prayers without excessively wasting water.
The ornate, green-coloured machine comes with automatic sensors and basins to curb water usage during wudu, an Arabic word used to describe the act of washing the face, arms and legs before prayers.
The wudu, or ablution, rite preceeds the five daily prayers Muslims are obligated to perform. There are more than 1.7 billion Muslims in the world, with the majority in Africa and the Middle East where water supplies are scarce.
Inventors AACE Technologies is counting on rich countries in these two regions to snap up the machines that will be available in the next six months and will cost $3,000-$4,000 a piece.
“Saving water is a motivation for people to adopt this system rather than the conventional methods, where there’s a lot of water wastage”, AACE chairman Anthony Gomez said while launching the product in the Malaysian capital.
The device, which also emits recorded Koranic verses, is 5 ft 5in tall. It only uses 1.3 litres of water compared to the conventional methods, which usually involve leaving faucets running for the duration of the washing ritual, which can last
for several minutes.
“During the Haj, two million people used 50 million litres water a day for wudu. If they introduce this machine they are saving 40 million litres per day”, he said.
The Gulf city of Dubai has shown interest in acquiring the product for its airport, Gomez said, adding that the machine took two years to develop at the cost of $2.5 million.
AACE also wants to target mosques and offices with wallmountable models. “The idea is good and it is built in line with Islamic teachings. But water here is cheap, so it is not worthwhile to have this machine”, an office worker, Aminuddin, said. REUTERS
Source: TOI, 2nd Feb, 2010
The ornate, green-coloured machine comes with automatic sensors and basins to curb water usage during wudu, an Arabic word used to describe the act of washing the face, arms and legs before prayers.
The wudu, or ablution, rite preceeds the five daily prayers Muslims are obligated to perform. There are more than 1.7 billion Muslims in the world, with the majority in Africa and the Middle East where water supplies are scarce.
Inventors AACE Technologies is counting on rich countries in these two regions to snap up the machines that will be available in the next six months and will cost $3,000-$4,000 a piece.
“Saving water is a motivation for people to adopt this system rather than the conventional methods, where there’s a lot of water wastage”, AACE chairman Anthony Gomez said while launching the product in the Malaysian capital.
The device, which also emits recorded Koranic verses, is 5 ft 5in tall. It only uses 1.3 litres of water compared to the conventional methods, which usually involve leaving faucets running for the duration of the washing ritual, which can last
for several minutes.
“During the Haj, two million people used 50 million litres water a day for wudu. If they introduce this machine they are saving 40 million litres per day”, he said.
The Gulf city of Dubai has shown interest in acquiring the product for its airport, Gomez said, adding that the machine took two years to develop at the cost of $2.5 million.
AACE also wants to target mosques and offices with wallmountable models. “The idea is good and it is built in line with Islamic teachings. But water here is cheap, so it is not worthwhile to have this machine”, an office worker, Aminuddin, said. REUTERS
Source: TOI, 2nd Feb, 2010
Yamuna... Drain or River???
New Delhi: We all know Yamuna water is not fit for bathing, let alone drinking. But the latest report from the Central Pollution Control Board, sure to raise a stink before the Commonwealth Games in the capital, says the river is so full of excreta that its water resembles that of a drain.
According to stipulated standards, water can be made potable with treatment if faecal coliform is less than 500 per 100ml and it’s fit for bathing if the number is less than 5,000 per 100ml. According to CPCB’s 10-month-long monitoring of the Yamuna at Nizamuddin, the lowest level of faecal coliform in the water was 4.4 lakh per 100ml, on May 4, 2009. That’s almost 100 times above the level considered safe for bathing.
Faecal coliform are bacteria that originate in excreta. Coliform levels reached as high as 1.79 crore per 100ml on February 3. Drinking water without conventional treatment but after use of disinfectant should not have a coliform count in excess of 50 per 100ml and must have a minimum DO of 6mg per litre.
Worse, the dissolved oxygen (DO) content of Yamuna water was “nil’’ on all the testing dates, though the water at Palla on all these days had a DO level of over 4 milligrams per litre, which is the standard. Palla is where the river enters Delhi, embarking on its most polluted 22-km stretch.
The monitoring took place between January 6 and October 6 last year, according to the latest report submitted to the Supreme Court by CPCB through counsel Vijay Panjwani.
Even at Palla the water quality could not be termed potable because of the high level of faecal coliform. Except for September 2, 2009, when the faecal coliform was 2,900 per 100ml, in all other months it was above the stipulated 5,000 level. The highest coliform count at Palla was 43,000, on July 7.
The alarming rise in faecal coliform content by the time it reaches Nizamuddin was mainly because of the number of drains that join it, throwing in untreated sewage and industrial effluent. “The total pollution load discharged through 25 drains in river Yamuna during the ten rounds of monitoring from January to October was between 174 tonnes per day to 330 tonnes per day,’’ CPCB said.
CPCB is monitoring the river water quality at five locations – Palla, Madanpur Khadar, Okhla, the meeting point of Shahadra drain and Nizamuddin – along with 25 drains, in compliance with a Supreme Court order and has submitted results of monitoring since 1999.
How Unclean Is Delhi’s Pride
Water can be made safe for drinking if faecal coliform is less than 5,000 per 100 ml. The lowest level on the Yamuna was 4.4 lakh per 100 ml last May
Dissolved oxygen content was nil all testing days, but at Palla, where the river enters Delhi, it was 4 mg per litre, which is the standard
Even at Palla faecal coliform content was above the stipulated 5,000 level
Source: TOI, 2nd Feb, 2010
According to stipulated standards, water can be made potable with treatment if faecal coliform is less than 500 per 100ml and it’s fit for bathing if the number is less than 5,000 per 100ml. According to CPCB’s 10-month-long monitoring of the Yamuna at Nizamuddin, the lowest level of faecal coliform in the water was 4.4 lakh per 100ml, on May 4, 2009. That’s almost 100 times above the level considered safe for bathing.
Faecal coliform are bacteria that originate in excreta. Coliform levels reached as high as 1.79 crore per 100ml on February 3. Drinking water without conventional treatment but after use of disinfectant should not have a coliform count in excess of 50 per 100ml and must have a minimum DO of 6mg per litre.
Worse, the dissolved oxygen (DO) content of Yamuna water was “nil’’ on all the testing dates, though the water at Palla on all these days had a DO level of over 4 milligrams per litre, which is the standard. Palla is where the river enters Delhi, embarking on its most polluted 22-km stretch.
The monitoring took place between January 6 and October 6 last year, according to the latest report submitted to the Supreme Court by CPCB through counsel Vijay Panjwani.
Even at Palla the water quality could not be termed potable because of the high level of faecal coliform. Except for September 2, 2009, when the faecal coliform was 2,900 per 100ml, in all other months it was above the stipulated 5,000 level. The highest coliform count at Palla was 43,000, on July 7.
The alarming rise in faecal coliform content by the time it reaches Nizamuddin was mainly because of the number of drains that join it, throwing in untreated sewage and industrial effluent. “The total pollution load discharged through 25 drains in river Yamuna during the ten rounds of monitoring from January to October was between 174 tonnes per day to 330 tonnes per day,’’ CPCB said.
CPCB is monitoring the river water quality at five locations – Palla, Madanpur Khadar, Okhla, the meeting point of Shahadra drain and Nizamuddin – along with 25 drains, in compliance with a Supreme Court order and has submitted results of monitoring since 1999.
How Unclean Is Delhi’s Pride
Water can be made safe for drinking if faecal coliform is less than 5,000 per 100 ml. The lowest level on the Yamuna was 4.4 lakh per 100 ml last May
Dissolved oxygen content was nil all testing days, but at Palla, where the river enters Delhi, it was 4 mg per litre, which is the standard
Even at Palla faecal coliform content was above the stipulated 5,000 level
Source: TOI, 2nd Feb, 2010
‘Centre’s help needed to set up desalination plant’
Mumbai:The BMC will seek financial assistance from the Centre for setting up city’s first desalination plant.
Municipal commissioner Swadheen Kshatriya, who went on a study tour to Chennai, said if BMC has to base its model on Chennai’s, then it would need some help from the central government.
It is estimated that the municipal corporation would need at least 20 acres of land along the western coastline, for which it has sought help from the Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT).
“We are exploring two possibilities; one is part financial assistance from the central government and another to seek land from the port authorities who are managing the western coastline. As soon as a proposal is prepared, we will move in these directions,’’ Kshatriya said.
About 18 firms have submitted expressions of interest to carry out a feasibility study. Their job would be to set up plants with a capacity of 10 mld at various places near the coastline. Another project in the pipeline is to set up a plant with a capacity of 10 million litres daily at a cost of Rs 125 crore on navy land at Colaba.
By setting up desalination plants, the BMC hopes to make sea water potable. This comes at a crucial time when the city is facing its worst water crisis ever.
Kshatriya said once the study is complete, BMC would identify a suitable technology for desalination, chalk out a financial framework and a distribution network for treated water.
“Though reverse osmosis (RO) is popular for desalination, we can’t rule out the use of other technologies,’’ Kshatriya said.
CIVIC NOD FOR CITIZENS’ PLAN
Additional municipal commissioner Anil Diggikar on Monday approved a plan put forward by a citizens’ group to help the BMC tide over the water crisis.
The group comprising Gerson D’Cunha of Action for Good Governance and Networking for India (AGNI), historian Sharada Dwivedi, former municipal commissioner V Ranganathan and others had met civic chief Swadheen Kshatriya a fortnight ago with immediate, short-term and long-term suggestions to tackle the water crisis. ‘‘If the crisis is not tackled soon, we would face great trouble. We have to plan at the earliest and make sure the city tides over this water crisis,’’ said Dwivedi.
The suggestions include auditing pipelines across the city, audit city wells and so on. According to members of the delegation, a sustained effort by citizens to help the BMC save water is the need of the hour.
“There should be timely audits regarding the water situation. Officials should have periodic checks on water meters. We, on our part, can spread awareness with ad campaigns and so on,’’ said D’Cunha.
Source: TOI, 2nd Feb, 2010
Municipal commissioner Swadheen Kshatriya, who went on a study tour to Chennai, said if BMC has to base its model on Chennai’s, then it would need some help from the central government.
It is estimated that the municipal corporation would need at least 20 acres of land along the western coastline, for which it has sought help from the Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT).
“We are exploring two possibilities; one is part financial assistance from the central government and another to seek land from the port authorities who are managing the western coastline. As soon as a proposal is prepared, we will move in these directions,’’ Kshatriya said.
About 18 firms have submitted expressions of interest to carry out a feasibility study. Their job would be to set up plants with a capacity of 10 mld at various places near the coastline. Another project in the pipeline is to set up a plant with a capacity of 10 million litres daily at a cost of Rs 125 crore on navy land at Colaba.
By setting up desalination plants, the BMC hopes to make sea water potable. This comes at a crucial time when the city is facing its worst water crisis ever.
Kshatriya said once the study is complete, BMC would identify a suitable technology for desalination, chalk out a financial framework and a distribution network for treated water.
“Though reverse osmosis (RO) is popular for desalination, we can’t rule out the use of other technologies,’’ Kshatriya said.
CIVIC NOD FOR CITIZENS’ PLAN
Additional municipal commissioner Anil Diggikar on Monday approved a plan put forward by a citizens’ group to help the BMC tide over the water crisis.
The group comprising Gerson D’Cunha of Action for Good Governance and Networking for India (AGNI), historian Sharada Dwivedi, former municipal commissioner V Ranganathan and others had met civic chief Swadheen Kshatriya a fortnight ago with immediate, short-term and long-term suggestions to tackle the water crisis. ‘‘If the crisis is not tackled soon, we would face great trouble. We have to plan at the earliest and make sure the city tides over this water crisis,’’ said Dwivedi.
The suggestions include auditing pipelines across the city, audit city wells and so on. According to members of the delegation, a sustained effort by citizens to help the BMC save water is the need of the hour.
“There should be timely audits regarding the water situation. Officials should have periodic checks on water meters. We, on our part, can spread awareness with ad campaigns and so on,’’ said D’Cunha.
Source: TOI, 2nd Feb, 2010
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