Research Papers

Between activism and science: Grassroots concepts for sustainability coined by environmental justice organizations

Martinez-Aliera J , Anguelovskia I ,Bond P , Benea D D, Demariaa F, Gerber Julien-Francois, Greyl L , Haase W, Healya H , Marin-Burgos V. , Ojo G , Porto M, Rijnhout L, Rodriguez-Labajosa B, Spangenberg J , Tempera L, Warlenius R, Yanez I
| 2014

Since the early 1980s in their own battles and strategy meetings, the EJOs (environmental justice organizations) and their networks have introduced several concepts of political ecology which have been taken up also by academics and policy makers. In this paper, we explain the contexts in which such notions have arisen, providing definitions of a wide array of concepts and slogans related to environmental inequities and sustainability, and exploring the connections and relations between them.

Azo-based food colours as cost-effective and safe tracking dyes for qualitative electrophoretic analysis of nucleic acids and proteins

Rayu Smriti, Sitaraman Ramakrishnan
| 2014

Synthetic organic colours that contain the azo group (-N=N-) are a major component of dyes widely used in the textile and food processing industries. Given the ready availability of food colours, their modest cost and established safety profiles, we evaluated their suitability as tracking dyes for the gel electrophoresis of nucleic acids and proteins. We have tested 3 azo-based food colours, viz., Orange Red, Lemon Yellow and Bright Green, procured from local grocery stores for this purpose.

Assessment of regional climatic changes in the Eastern Himalayan region: a study using multi-satellite remote sensing data sets

Agrawal Anubha, Sharma Anu Rani, Tayal Shresth
| 2014

In this study, an attempt has been made to capture the sensitivity of a mountainous region to elevation-dependent warming and the response of a glacier-laden surface to increasing greenhouse gases (GHGs) and aerosol concentration.

Assessment of outdoor workers’ exposure to air pollution in Delhi

Sehgal Meena, Suresh R, Sharma Ved Prakash, Gautam Sumit Kumar
| 2014

Air quality monitoring (PM2.5, CO, NOx, SO2 and EC/OC) was carried out at highway toll plazas,municipality toll plazas and control sites (n = 23) in the National Capital Region of Delhi, to determine the exposure of toll plaza workers to air pollution and its effect on lung function. Lung function indices (n = 45) were also measured for these workers. The results reveal the high level of air pollution at almost all locations with PM2.5 values exceeding the national permissible limit except at a few control sites.

Assessment of inherent vulnerability of rural communities to environmental hazards in Kimsar region of Uttarakhand, India

Rajesh Shipra, Jain Suresh, Sharma Prateek, Bhahuguna Rakesh
| 2014

The study focuses on the assessment of inherent vulnerability of rural communities in Kimsar region to environmental hazards. A new conceptual framework was developed and hazard generic socio-economic indicators were identified in the assessment of inherent vulnerability of the communities to future harm. All the households from the selected villages were surveyed to collect information on the identified indicators.

Assessment of greenhouse gas emissions from coal and natural gas thermal power plants using life cycle approach

Agrawal K Kr, Jain Suresh, Jain A Kr, Dahiya S
| 2014

The importance of mitigation of climate change due to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from various developmental and infrastructure projects has generated interest at global level to reduce environmental impacts. Life cycle assessment may be used as a tool to assess GHG emissions and subsequent environmental impacts resulting from electricity generation from thermal power plants.

Assessing the potential of hyperspectral imagery to map bark beetle-induced tree mortality

Fassnacht F E, Latifi H, Ghosh A, Joshi P K, Koch B
| 2014

Natural hazards caused by insect outbreaks, such as those induced by the European bark beetle (Ips typographus L.), are among the most extensive disturbances affecting forest health in various geographical regions. Accurate and up-to-date knowledge of the spatial distribution of bark beetle-infested trees is critical for forest managers to effectively plan appropriate countermeasures and predict future bark beetle infestation dynamics.

Arsenic phyco-remediation by Cladophora algae and measurement of arsenic speciation and location of active absorption site using electron microscopy

Jasrotia Shivakshi, Kansal Arun, Kishore V V N
| 2014

Provision of clean drinking water remains a world-wide necessity, especially so for arsenic-affected regions where numerous physico-chemical methods have been developed for water remediation including adsorption, ion exchange, biosorption, solar stills, etc. Of these, several methods employ regeneration of media necessitating arsenic monitoring on a continuous basis, hence involving skilled operation or alternatively removal of arsenic-enriched concentrated brine into the environment.

Arrived Cold Storage Solution for Villages

Narula Ankit, Mann Lovedeep
| 2014

Post-harvest w astage of food produce has been a m ajor im pedim ent to ensuring food security in India. Lack of electri!ed villages w ithout adequate cold storage facilities, is only aggravating the problem . This report on a ground-breaking method of running cold storage in non-electri!ed villages using energy from the sun and a biom ass-based gasi!er, developed by the National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE), TERI, and Thermax Ltd.

Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Play a Major Role in Agriculture and Natural Ecosystems to Improve Production in Sustainable Manner.

Prasad Kamal
| 2014

AM fungi are associated with the roots of majority of the terrestrial plants. The?agriculture and environmental benefits of mycorrhiza is a well known. AM fungi?covering a variety of benefits in whole countries such as drought and increased crop?growth yield and save the environment. Their function range from stress alleviation to?bioremediation in soils polluted with heavy metal. There is a great possibility of using?mycorrhizas as a biological tool for sustainable agriculture in arid and semi-arid?tropical countries.