The Hindu Editorial Analysis In English | Free PDF Download

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Capture carbon, save the world

In many ways, we have already crossed the rubicon.
Because of the sheer amount of carbon already present in the atmosphere and oceans the planet will still undergo an average temperature increase of 0.6°C, even if we stop complete emission of carbon.
2017: hottest year so far. (Mind you, there was no El Nino)
2017: average global temperature was 1°C higher than preindustrial level.
An increase in energy demand, lead to global carbon emissions reaching a record high of 32.5 gigatons.
That means whatever we achieved in past 3 years is whitewashed.
Aim: to limit the increase in average temperatures to 2°C in the short term and 1.5°C in the long run is now under serious threat. 1. Bottom-up approach is the USP of agreement 2. Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)
Global renewables-based electricity generation increased by 6.3% in 2017.
25% of global energy demand is supplied from renewable sources.
Cost of energy production from renewables is also falling down.
International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA): cost match
Continuous technology improvements and competitive procurement practices mean that the cost of these renewables will become significantly cheaper than fossil fuel sources by 2020.
International Energy Agency (IEA): EVs rose from 1.98 million in 2016 to 3.11 million in 2017, an increase of more than 54%.
2030 estimates: 125 million electric vehicles
Projected: 11.5% of global vehicles will be EVs if battery costs continue to fall and countries implement policies that spur investment and help manufacturers achieve economies of scale.
Based on current NDCs global temperature can hit 2.7-3.7°C
2018 UN Climate Change Conference (COP24) and the subsequent NDCs then become crucial in determining the political commitment to enhanced climate action.
The revised NDCs must include policies designed to promote the capture, storage and sequestration of carbon from the atmosphere and oceans.
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects have had a chequered past.

Actively promoting innovations and technologies that facilitate the safe re-utilization, rather than just the storage, of CO2, thereby creating incentives for private investment.
Appropriately valuing the social benefit of decarbonization and reducing the costs borne by CO2 storage companies accordingly.
Adopting best practices from successful global CO2 capture programmes to develop the expertise needed.
• Seaweed has an amazing carbon dioxide uptake and storage; help takes in 5 times more carbon than most land-based plants. On top it can produce bio-digested methane which can be substituted for natural gas.

The relatively low production cost
The speed at which seaweed grows
The vast potential of the Indian coastline
The subsidies and grants offered by the government
Are strong incentives for private sector expansion into seaweed farming
2024: estimated seaweed market will be worth $87 billion.

7 out of 10 seats sold on flights to smaller cities

- For every 10 seats available under the government’s low-cost flying scheme, as many as 7 were grabbed by passengers since its launch last year, according to data accessed under the RTI (Right to Information) Act.
- Seat occupancy, also known as passenger load factor, is an indicator of demand on a particular route.

Extrapolation of data sought by The Hindu through a RTI application shows that as many 7.5 lakh seats were made available for sale by eight airline operators, of which 5.24 lakh seats were sold.
These figures are for a period of 16 months between the first flight under the scheme in April last year and until August 1, 2018.
So far, two rounds of bidding have taken place for routes under the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) or UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik), which aims to take flying to the masses and enhance air connectivity to Tier-1 and Tier-2 cities.
A total of 428 routes were awarded to 17 airline and helicopter operators.
Of these, eight airlines have started flights on 96 routes, while helicopter services are yet to commence.
Airlines have to set aside 50% of the total aircraft capacity for cheaper fares to be offered at the rate of ₹2,500 per hour of flight, in return for which airlines are given a subsidy by the Centre and the State government concerned.

PM launches cleanliness campaign

PSLV to launch two U.K. satellites tomorrow

A PSLV (polar satellite launch vehicle) will be launched on September16 night from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota to put two earth observation satellites from the United Kingdom to space.
The 33-hour countdown for the launch began at 1.08 p.m. on Saturday.
There is no Indian satellite on this flight.
PSLV-C42 will be the first fully commercial trip of the year, breaking a five-month-long lull, for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
ISRO did not make any launch post April 12, after it put replacement navigation satellite IRNSS-1I to space on PSLV-C41.
A few days after that, it recalled its GSAT-11 from the South American launch port of Kourou, weeks before it was due for launch.

Researchers dive in to restore coral ecosystems

Coral reefs are among the most diverse ecosystems on earth, and their role in maintaining marine biodiversity is of no small measure.
However, it is well documented that coral systems around the world are bleaching and dying due to climate and chemical changes in the sea water.
A team from National Centre for Coastal Research, Chennai, plans to work on coral monitoring and restoration in the Gulf of Mannar region.
The group has prior experience in studying corals across the country.
They have successfully transplanted and nurtured corals in the Lakshadweep region. Now they are set to work in the Gulf of Mannar.
An increase in sea surface temperatures leads to coral bleaching and the breaking of this relationship.
This ecosystem is so sensitive that an increase of sea surface temperature by one degree can cause the corals to bleach and die.
Apart from sea surface temperatures, increase in carbon dioxide levels in the sea water and a change in its chemical composition can also trigger bleaching.
Not all corals are equally sensitive. The most susceptible are the branching corals, for example, Acropora species, and the least susceptible are the massive ones, for example Favia species.
Coral reefs in India are only seen in some localities around the Gulf of Mannar, Gulf of Kutch, Lakshadweep islands and Andaman and Nicobar islands.
In many of these places, bleaching of corals and related cnideria species such as giant clam and tentacle sea anemone have been observed by the team.
The National Centre for Coastal Research, which comes under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, conducted a mapping of corals for Gulf of Kutch, Gulf of Mannar, Lakshadweep and Andaman and Nicobar islands over a period of five years, from 2000 to 2005.
Their results were startling, as they found less than 40% of the coral reefs in India were still alive.

Pollution cools monsoon days, says study

Increased emissions of aerosols into the atmosphere due to pollution are beginning to have a definite cooling effect of 1°C during the Indian summer monsoon period, a study has found.
The increased cooling is seen during the day, while the night time temperature is increasing, thus shrinking the diurnal temperature difference.
The diurnal temperature difference is what drives the convection process (where water evaporates and reaches the atmosphere as water vapour), and development of clouds