Of 2 19Th August 2012 Chorus Against FAC Members Gets Louder The
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Chorus against FAC members gets louder The newly-constituted Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) by the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) has kicked up a controversy over the choice of two of its independent members, who have been alleged to have a clear interest in mining and hydroelectricity. It’s their conflict of interest that has led environmentalists to be up in arms against the duo’s selection. The FAC is the statutory body that decides on key issues related to diversion of forest land for road, mining and other development projects in the country. In a letter (dated August 20), written to Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan, a large number of environmentalists have urged her to immediately cancel the appointments of two of its members KP Nyati and Prof NP Todria as independent members of the FAC and reconstitute the committee. Human urine can be used to reduce pollution Apart from oceans, soil, rocks and trees, human and animal urine can also absorb carbon dioxide (CO2) and help reduce pollution, says a Spanish researcher. Absorbing CO2 and other greenhouse gases in cities would require millions of tonnes of some naturally occurring substance. Urine is produced in large quantities and is close to the pollution hubs of large cities. “For every molecule of urea in urine, one mole (a unit to measure the quantity of a substance) of ammonium bicarbonate is produced along with one mole of ammonia that could be used to absorb one mole of atmospheric CO2,” said study author Manuel Jimenez Aguilar, the Journal of Hazardous Materials reports. After absorbing CO2, another unit of ammonium bicarbonate is produced, which is in use in China as a nitrogen fertilizer for the last 30 years. Curiosity rover to test wheels, laser The robotic explorer Curiosity is ready to test its six wheels to see whether it can roll along the Martian soil and fire its rock-vaporising laser for the first time in the next few days, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California announced. The rover will move to its nearest scientific targets — surface areas that were scorched by the rover’s descent stage rockets, uncovering some interesting rocks beneath. The first major driving target has been named Glenelg, which lies a bit east of the rover’s landing spot. Prior to the rover’s trip to Glenelg, the team in charge of Curiosity’s Chemistry and Camera instrument, or ChemCam, is planning to give their mast-mounted, rock-zapping laser and telescope combination a thorough checkout. ChemCam is expected to “zap” its first rock in the name of planetary science. It will be the first time such a powerful laser has been used on the surface of another world. Miss China crowned Miss World China’s Wen Xia Yu was crowned Miss World 2012 while India’s contender, Vanya Mishra, made it to the top seven. This is the second time Miss China has been awarded the title. Last year’s Miss World Ivian Sarcos of Venezuela handed over her crown to Ms. Wen at a glittering ceremony held in Dongsheng Fitness Center Stadium in the northeastern city of Ordos. The 23-year-old Ms. Wen is a music student who says she wants to become a music teacher, Chinese media reported. Wales’ Sophie Moulds was the first runner-up, while Australia’s Jessica Kahawaty was the second runner-up. Ms. Mishra bag the titles of ‘Miss Social Media’ and ‘Beauty with a Purpose’. Small tea growers to get biometric ID cards The Tea Board of India is in the process of setting up a separate outfit for the development of the small tea growers sector, which now contributes nearly 28 per cent of India’s annual tea output. It is also planning to issue biometric identity cards for the nearly two lakh growers. TMB strengthens pact with United India Tamilnad Mercantile Bank (TMB) has deepened its alliance with United India Insurance Company by launching a co-branded health care policy for the bank’s customers. Page 1 of 2 19th August 2012 Nalco bags award National Aluminium Company Limited has bagged the prestigious Best Mother Plant Award for the year 2012, for its efforts to promote Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in Odisha. Facile win for Richards-Ross Olympic champion Sanya Richards-Ross eased to victory in the women’s 400m at the Stockholm Diamond League athletics. Richards-Ross, whose win at the Games ended a 28-year wait for gold for the United States in the 400m, timed a mediocre 49.89sec. Meanwhile, Charonda Williams took advantage of Olympic gold medallist Allyson Felix’s decision to skip the event to claim victory in the 200m while American compatriot Dawn Harper won the 100m hurdles in 12.65sec ahead of Kellie Wells. Vijay, Yogeshwar Khel Ratna probables Olympics heroes, shooter Vijay Kumar and wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt were recommended for the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award, the country’s highest sporting honour. The following have been recommended for the Arjuna Award: Ashwini Ponnappa, P. Kashyap (badminton), Yuvraj Singh (cricket), Sandeep Sejwal (swimming), Vikas Krishan (boxing), Yashpal Solanki (judo), Omkar Singh, Annuraj Singh, Joydeep Karmakar (shooting), Geeta, Narsingh Yadav, Ravinder Singh (wrestling), Soniya Chanu (weightlifting), Sudha Singh, Kavita Raut (athletics), Bombayla Devi, Deepika Kumari (archery), Samir Suhag (polo), Sardar Singh (hockey), Deepa Malik, Ramkaran Singh (Paralympics), Aditya Mehta (billiards), Anup Kumar (kabaddi), Dipika Pallikal (squash), Bimoljit Singh (wushu). Sachin to give away BMW to Saina Nehwal India’s cricketing great Sachin Tendulkar will present a brand new BMW car to ace woman shuttler and London Olympics bronze medallist Saina Nehwal. Saina became the first Indian shuttler from India ever to win a medal in any Olympics when she won the bronze recently. The batting maestro who will be in the city along with his Indian team-mates for the first Test against New Zealand from August 23, will also present a new Maruti Swift vehicle to the promising young shuttler Pusarla Venkata Sindhu at the function. The function is being organised thanks to the initiative of Sachin's close friend and former Andhra Ranji captain V. Chamundeswaranath Sharapova seeking third Pan Pacific title Nine of the world's top 10 players, including French Open champion Maria Sharapova, will compete in next month's Pan Pacific Open. World number one Victoria Azarenka of Belarus leads the field for the $2.16 million tournament, organisers of the Tokyo women's event. Azarenka won her first grand slam title at the Australian Open earlier this year. Wimbledon and Olympic champion Serena Williams is the one notable absentee from the entry list for the Sept. 23-29 hardcourt event. Sharapova is a twice former Pan Pacific winner, in 2005 and 2009, while defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland and 2010 winner Caroline Wozniacki are also among a strong field. Page 2 of 2 19th August 2012 .