A solar powered car won a unique race amongst a fleet that ran 3,000 km through the toughest terrains of Australia, telling the world that emission cuts will not end the thrill of zip zap driving. Powered by technologies like solar, electric or hybrid, brought in by 35 teams from a dozen countries competed in the race titled, Global Green Challenge, happening every year since 1987. The solar car produced by Tokai university, Japan emerged winner. Is the auto industry tips from the tracks?
The Andhra Pradesh High court has scrapped a public interest litigation (PIL) filed against the constituting of a memorial, for late chief minister YSR Reddy within a reserve forest. Mr. B. Dashratham had filed the PIL claiming that Nallamalla is the only dense forest in the state, which houses rich flaura and fauna endemic to the area. The proposed project will disturb the habitat. The state government however claimed that no trees would be cut and that no trees would be cut and that afforestation initiatives will be taken.
The bench of Chief Justice Anil R. Dave and Justice C.V. Nagarjuna Reddy thus dismissed the PIL as arbitrary and illegal. The memorial is planned by state government on a 1,400 acre area, costing Rs 3.15 crore. It will be inside the Velugudu reserve forest (part of larger Nallamalla forest), inside the Gunda Brahmeshwara wildlife sanctuary and also adjacent to the Srisailam tiger reserve. One can only hope that the memorial doesn’t end up symbolising more deaths – that of local species.
Did you know that while you inhale that waft of polluted air containing particulate matter, your genes are coughing up diseases, by reprogramming themselves? A study authored by Andrea Baccarelli of University of Milan, suggests that in as less as three days, exposure to particulate matter affects the work of DNA. A process called “methylation”, in which genes organize themselves into different chemical groups is slowed down in rate. Fewer groups, means fewer genes are expressed, therefore fewer proteins are made. Such reduced-size genes are like the ones found in blood DNA of lung cancer patients. The study was conducted on workers in a steel company, which has ten times more particulate matter than in our normal air. “But city dwellers are at equal risk” says Baccarelli as elderly people in Boston, US were found to have similar DNA damages from breathing in smaller quantities of particulate matter over a longer period of time. So folks, pollution does kill!
.jpg)
