Environment

Scientists and taxonomists documented 596 new species of flora and fauna that hailed from India in 2018. The discoveries were made public on Thursday (Jun 12, 2019) by the Botanical Survey of India (BSI) and the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) in the publications Plant Discoveries 2018 and Animal Discoveries 2018.

The scenic Dzükou Valley in Nagaland, India, became a “plastic-free zone” on Wednesday, June 5th, 2019, coinciding with World Environment Day. Nagaland, a land cloaked in greenery, is a peaceful place for residents and travelers who frequent the state. As growth creeps into the state, there has been a noticeable increase in migration into towns, and as a consequence, an increase in pollution too.

Colorful fossils, discovered accidentally in Australia, were found to belong to a stunning new species of dinosaur, according to a new report published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.

Atmospheric levels of carbon were registered at 415 ppm for the first time in three million years. This number was measured at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. The measure continues the upward trend of atmospheric carbon concentration that lies at the heart of global warming and the climate crisis.

In June 2018, reports from an atoll named Palmyra suggested that a targeted intervention resulted in the significant reduction of disease-related mosquitos in that location.

The idea that insect populations are crashing worldwide is rapidly taking hold in the public consciousness.

'Gumpert' may sound familiar to certain motoring enthusiasts and motorsport fans. Yes, that's because Roland Gumpert led the iconic Audi Rally group during the 1980s, before going on to head the entire sporting division for this car-marque. Since then, Roland set up his own automotive company, Gumpert. This resulted in the production of the Apollo, a uniquely-designed race car that set the record at Germany’s premier track, the Nürburgring, in 2009.

Popular culture and preferences have often led us to call a certain African big cat, a panther. However, these animals are in fact leopards - essentially genetically similar to the famously spotted felid, Panthera pardus. This animal may be perceived as separate from the rest of its species due to its striking black color. However, the panther is only black because of a single mutation in the gene for a certain protein.

The geomagnetic field, simply known as the Earth’s magnetic field, is one that extends from Earth to space, and its magnitude has been estimated to be between 25 and 85 microteslas (i.e., 0.25 to 0.65 gauss). The North Pole is in the Northern Hemisphere while the South Pole lies on the opposite side in the Southern Hemisphere, and it is between these poles that a magnetic field, by electric currents, is generated.

The availability of clean drinking water may become an increasingly pressing issue. It is already a critical problem for many people right now. 29% of the world’s population lack consistent access to this supposedly simple resource in their own homes or communities.

For the majority of land-living animals, birds, and insects, the world is defined as much by sound as it is by sight. A large proportion of the living things that move independently and react to the world by processing sensory stimuli value their ability to hear. We, as humans, use it to communicate, perceive threats and incentives, and to enhance our general awareness of the environment around us. However, do plants have the same experiences?

The explosion in disposable cleansing and hygiene-related products has resulted in an effect on the environment and humans that could be described as catastrophic. Currently, the proportion of these products that have been used are sitting around in increasingly large landfills worldwide. This is due to their plastic content, which does not biodegrade.