Mapping of unorganised Assam tea sector

Posted on September 8, 2009 by Rashid Faridi

Assam government has decided to do the mapping of the tea produced in the unorganised sector in Assam. To kick start the mapping process, the state government has initiated baseline survey of the small tea growers in the state through the general manager, District Industries and Commerce Centre of Industries and commerce department besides the district administration. The state government is looking to adopt the Kenyan practice where small tea growers and bought leaf factories (BLF) are organised. The survey is slated to be competed in another three months time. The government has decided to give permanent land possession certificates to small tea growers who have plantations in government land and are not encroaching forest land area. Assam produces 480 to 490 million kg of tea, which is 51 percent of the all-India production.

source

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Maldives to introduce green tax on tourists

Posted on September 7, 2009 by Rashid Faridi

The Maldives archipelago, threatened by rising sea levels blamed on climate change, said  it would introduce a new environment tax on all tourists who use its resorts and provide its economic lifeline.

Famed mostly for high-end luxury resorts and white-sand atolls, the Maldives has made a name for itself as an advocate for mitigating climate change because rising sea levels are forecast to submerge most of its islands by 2100.

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Posted in climate change, Countries, Ecosystem, Global Warming | 1 Comment

Arctic Temperatures Highest in 2,000 Years

Posted on September 7, 2009 by Rashid Faridi

The Arctic is warmer than it’s been in 2,000 years, even though it should be cooling because of changes in the Earth’s orbit that cause the region to get less direct sunlight.

Indeed, the Arctic had been cooling for nearly two millennia before reversing course in the last century and starting to warm as human activities added greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.

The most recent 10-year interval, 1999-2008, was the warmest of the last 2,000 years in the Arctic, according to the researchers led by Darrell S. Kaufman, a professor of geology and environmental science at Northern Arizona University.

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Space Junk Just Misses Space Station

Posted on September 6, 2009 by Rashid Faridi

Sept. 4, 2009 — A big piece of space junk safely sped by the International Space Station and shuttle Discovery, missing by less than a mile.The astronauts were still asleep Friday when the old rocket part, measuring 15 feet around, passed by. NASA had been monitoring the situation and decided that it was unlikely to be a problem, so controllers did not move the station-shuttle complex.

FULL STORY

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