Prof-Ashok-Ghosh Eco-Scope Bihar by Prof. Ashok Kumar Ghosh Biofuels are produced from living organisms as metabolic by-products, and have been around as long as cars have. At the start of the 20th century, Henry Ford planned to fuel his Model Ts with ethanol, and early diesel engines were shown to run on peanut oil. But discoveries of huge petroleum deposits kept gasoline and diesel cheap for decades, and biofuels were largely forgotten. However, with the recent rise in oil prices, along with growing concern about climate change and global warming caused by carbon dioxide emissions, biofuels... 

Dr Ashok Ghosh and Dr Nupur Bose from AN College invited to Royal Geographical Society annual conference 2011   Patna: according to the latest reports in the press, the Royal Geographical Society (RGS) has invited two Patna based academics from AN College – Nupur Bose, head of the geography department, and Ashok K. Ghosh, department of environment and water management to convene and chair a session during the annual conference of to be held at London between August 31 and September 2. The session in question will be on ‘Water scarcity in developing economies: issues and solutions’... 

A letter to V N Singh, JD [U] president, Bihar: ‘please make tree plantation a serious matter and make history’!   To, Vashishtha Narayan Singh Ji, President, JD [U], Bihar Subject: [two reasons for taking the tree plantation drive with utmost seriousness] Dear Sir, When a TV news report mentioned that the Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will kick off a tree plantation drive from his native village Kalyan Bigaha in Bihar’s Nalanda district on August 11 to promote ecology and save the environment of the thinly forested state, we felt hugely elated. And the very next moment,... 

Now a 2-year dolphin conservation programme for Schoolchildren in UP, Bihar, Assam, West Bengal Patna/Varanasi: according to a report in the Varanasi press, a plan is being formulated for schools in UP, Bihar, Assam and West Bengal to spread awareness about protecting the Ganga dolphins which are an endangered species. Ganga dolphin, a freshwater dolphin has also been declared the national aquatic animal. Preeti Kannojia, regional coordinator, Centre for Environment Education (CEE) (north) said recently ‘Twenty locations in these four states have been identified for running a two-year-long... 

Greening of Bihar: every panchayat to plant 6,000 trees and maintain them through MNREGA Patna: according to latest reports, the Forest department of the Bihar government has decided to have six thousand saplings planted in each panchayat in the state through a new social forestry programme under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Generation Act (MNREGA). The government will launch this programme on June 5, the World Environment Day, to promote afforestation under MNREGA. According to an official from the department ‘about 6,000 saplings would be planted in each panchayat’.... 

Dharhara sees fruit trees as banks, its girls as Lakshmi: now CM gifts it – Bal Kendra, Balika residential school Patna: Dharhara, a village in Bhagalpur district has made news a several times as a sturdy bastion of women’s rights which is rooted in its local tradition. Respect for the girl child is not something that Dharhara learnt either from modern ideologies or the enlightened intellectuals of today. According to its local tradition when a girl child is born to a resident of Dharhara, the family plants a fruit tree. For the daughters of Bihar’s Dharhara village, whose pledge... 

How good is the air I am breathing: now pollution control board will tell you on LCD screen Patna: being aware of the exact levels of pollution in the air does not get us cleaner air. But is good beginning towards future action. According to reports, the state pollution control board in Bihar will soon provide display boards on the current state of the air in Patna. The pollution control board plans to install an air quality monitoring system near the Income Tax roundabout in Patna by the end of March this year. According to the concerned officials ‘the system would keep tabs on the air...