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Jharkhand State of India can play major role in Rare Earth Elements production. by Dr. Nitish Priyadarshi China has been steadily reducing export quotas since 2005 for rare earth elements, which consist of 17 metals used in crucial new green technologies like hybrid cars, wind turbines and superconductors, as well as in missile guidance systems and mobile phones. According to Chinese experts, “Mass extraction of rare earth will cause great damage to the environment and that's why China has tightened controls over rare earth production, exploration and trade,". Overseas buyers have expressed concern about China 's policies to restrict rare earth exports, which have driven up global prices. Rare earths are in increasingly short supply as world demand surges, with industry officials predicting a global shortfall of 30,000 to 50,000 tonnes by 2012. The automobile industry uses tens of thousands of tons of rare earth elements each year, and advanced military technology depen...

Climate is changing, carbon dioxide is increasing, and Earth is getting hotter. by Dr. Nitish Priyadarshi Mumbai floods First it was Bombay floods, then Kosi floods, Punjab floods, Rajasthan floods, Leh floods, Jharkhand drought (all in India). Now it is Paksitan floods, China flash floods and landslides, boiling of Moscow, forest fires in Russia, Bolivia and Portugal, and there are lots more to say and write. Millions affected, thousands died, no ending disaster. Climate of the world is changing. What would you think? Yes its climate change or in other broad definition its global warming. If we take the case of drought in Jharkhand State of India, it is very unusual. Other than some pockets of the state, Jharkhand never passed through severe droughts. Rainfall was sufficient all around the year. But from last one year rainfall pattern has changed. Farmers are still waiting for the sufficient rainfall. Agriculture scientists are worried. Monsoon Clouds have changed their way from Bay ...

Indian thought perceives that there is life in all kinds of things. by Dr. Nitish Priyadarshi Worldwide awareness of the need for protection of the environment and prevention of ecological disaster has taken root, very slowly, only in the past 50 years or so. Although human beings are considered the most intelligent life form on earth, they are responsible for most of the damage done to planet earth. In India and elsewhere, as awareness of clean water needs, pollution of air, water and soil, global warming, species extinction, etc creates urgency for action, religious thinkers and activists have begun to reflect on how the values of Indian tradition might contribute to fostering greater care for earth’s ecology. Environmental in Indian thought is not conceived as a physical, lifeless entity- it is very living mechanism where humans are one of the many living creatures. There is also a great emphasis on adaptation as one of the guiding principles for an interaction between human and non...

Assistance requested by The International Rescue Committee (IRC). by Dr. Nitish Priyadarshi The worst flooding in Pakistan's history has now affected more than four million people and left at least 1,600 dead, says the UN. While floods in the north-west began to recede, the vast body of water has been moving down the country into new parts of Punjab and menacing Sindh province. All wells have been contaminated and water-borne diseases are spreading, officials say. The region is midway through monsoon season and more rain is forecast. The number of affected districts in Punjab has reached seven, while 350,000 people have been moved from neighbouring Sindh province, most of which is on high alert, the United Nations said. In Punjab, known as Pakistan's "breadbasket" for its rich agriculture, more than 1,300 villages have been affected and at least 25,000 homes destroyed, said disaster relief officials in the province. In the worst-affected areas, small villages have bee...

Muscovites are dying from extreme heat. by Dr. Nitish Priyadarshi A polar bear cub looks at an adult polar bear resting with a bucket on its head in the cooling waters of a pool at the Moscow Zoo, as the city experiences a prolonged heatwave Picture: AP Muscovites are dying from extreme heat and smoke faster than their bodies can be stored, cremated or buried, and Russians are worried the death toll could be far higher than the official count. Morgues are overflowing and one crematorium in the Russian capital is working around the clock in three shifts. In Mitino on Moscow's northwest, a note at a crematorium warned that it was not accepting any new orders for cremation. The crematorium's four furnaces are currently "processing" 49 bodies per day, with cremations every 20 minutes, according to a timetable available at the reception. As wildfires and a record-setting heatwave continue to pummel Russia Monday, death rates in Moscow are also rising as residents navig...

Spotting true Earth-sized planets is challenging with current technology. by Dr. Nitish Priyadarshi Twinkle, twinkle little star, goes the nursery rhyme, but what scientists are really wanting to find is planet’s similar to our earth. When scientists confirmed in October that they had detected the first rocky planet outside our solar system, it advanced the longtime quest to find an Earth-like planet hospitable to life. Rocky planets -- Earth, Mercury, Venus and Mars -- make up half the planets in our solar system. Rocky planets are considered better environments to support life than planets that are mainly gaseous, like the other half of the planets in our system: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. We know that earth is a pretty rare planet in our universe. Only a relative handful of planets are rocky and even fewer are in the habitable zones of their stars. At the same time, there is still a lot that we don't know about our universe outside the solar system. The challenge in f...