A Supreme Court-mandated committee of technical experts comprising scientists from top public research laboratories and academic institutions has recommended a ten-year moratorium on field trials of Bt transgenics in all food crops that are directly consumed by people.

There are lessons to be learnt from Japan, given the dilemma it finds itself in. Should it continue running its 50 nuclear power plants or do away with them within a specific time frame? Opinions, after the Fukushima disaster, are sharply divided. The latest attempt by the Japanese government to chalk out a roadmap to end its dependence on nuclear energy has only led to more confusion. Once you are in the thick of a nuclear programme—Japan derived 30 per cent of its electricity from nuclear energy—exit options become more than difficult.

Biomass power sector is in trouble. About 60 per cent of the country’s grid-connected power plants that run on biomass are either closed or about to be closed. Reason: rising fuel price, unrevised tariff and government apathy.

For full text: http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/looming-biomess

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has ordered about 70 industrial units operating inside the “no-development zone” near Kaziranga National Park in Assam to shut down. It has also imposed a penalty of Rs 1 lakh each on the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) and the state for allowing the units to operate in the restricted zone.

Read More: http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/polluting-units-shut-kaziranga