Latest news with #SchoolofEnvironmentalStudies
Time of India
15-06-2025
- Health
- Time of India
Subhash Park's trees save Kochi lakhs a year, finds Cusat study
Kochi: The 339 trees at Subhash Bose Park in the heart of Kochi, play a crucial role in improving air quality by removing nearly 124.8kg of air pollutants annually. Without these trees, residents would require air purifiers in at least 150 homes, according to a recent study. While air purifiers can remove allergens, dust, pollen, smoke, and other pollutants, they are expensive and require regular maintenance — unlike trees, which provide long-term environmental benefits for ages. The study, titled "A Comprehensive Study of Subhash Park and Projected Benefits for Queen's Way Urban Expansion," was conducted by the School of Environmental Studies at Cochin University of Science and Technology (Cusat) in collaboration with the Nansen (India). It stresses the importance of enhancing green cover in the few remaining open spaces in Kochi. The study quantifies the many environmental benefits trees offer, including air purification, carbon sequestration, stormwater mitigation, energy savings, and health cost reduction. According to the findings, residents in and around the park can save nearly Rs 3.74 lakh annually in healthcare costs due to improved air quality and lower exposure to pollutants. The study also highlights how trees mitigate the urban heat island effect by cooling the surrounding area. This cooling reduces the energy needed for indoor air conditioning in nearby buildings, especially during summer months. The park's canopy helps nearby buildings save about 13,400 kWh of electricity annually by lowering indoor temperatures. In addition, the park's dense tree cover acts as a natural barrier during heavy rainfall, reducing runoff and helping prevent urban flooding. This benefit translates to savings of nearly Rs 1.80 lakh per year in drainage infrastructure costs for the local authorities. "Given the multifaceted benefits, including public health, carbon sequestration, flood risk mitigation and groundwater recharge as pointed out in the study, urban planners must prioritise the integration of green cover in high-risk zones like hospitals, clinics, and schools. Green corridors and trees in these zones can strengthen health resilience, especially in climate-vulnerable regions like Kochi, which is facing intense heat in summer and flooding in monsoon," said Sravan Shaji, the author of the study. Dr Giby Kuriakose, assistant professor of Botany department in SH college Thevara said trees play multiple roles for ecosystem. "Trees reduce pollutants and there are a lot of native species the leaves of which even traps dust in the air. In the case of Subash Park, authorities can utilise it to raise native species to create awareness on it." The study was conducted jointly by Sravan Shaji of Cusat and Dr Bindu G of Nansen Environmental Research Centre. Follow more information on Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad here . Get real-time live updates on rescue operations and check full list of passengers onboard AI 171 .
Hamilton Spectator
25-05-2025
- Science
- Hamilton Spectator
Snowy owl's threatened status an 'alarm bell' for a changing Arctic, scientist says
MONTREAL - A scientific committee's decision to assess the snowy owl as threatened is yet another concerning sign of the changes shaping Canada's Arctic, two experts say. The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife In Canada, an advisory body to the federal government, announced earlier this month it was recommending a change of status for the emblematic northern species, which is also Quebec's official bird. That recommendation has been passed on to the federal government, which will decide whether to list the snowy owl as threatened under the Species at Risk Act. Louise Blight, co-chair of the subcommittee overseeing birds, said snowy owl observations have declined about 40 per cent over the last three generations, or 24 years. She says climate change — as well as direct threats such as vehicle strikes and poisoning — are to blame. 'Not only does this species nest in a region with one of the fastest-changing climates on the planet, but when it heads south for the winter it faces additional threats — collisions, electrocution, rodenticide poisoning, and diseases like avian influenza,' she wrote in a news release. Blight, who is also an adjunct associate professor at the University of Victoria's School of Environmental Studies, said in a phone interview that climate change reduces sea ice, which the birds use for resting and hunting. It has also led to increased shrub cover in the wide-open tundra habitat where the owl breeds, and there have been suggestions the population cycles of lemmings — its main prey — are being affected, she said. She said it's hard to measure the specific impacts of climate change on the owls, in part because the habitat changes are happening so quickly. 'I talked to a colleague a couple of years ago who works in the comment was, 'the Arctic is changing so fast we can't even keep track of it,'' Blight said. The owl, she said, is one of many species that are declining at 'really concerning rates' for a number of different reasons, including habitat change, invasive species and climate change. 'I find them all alarming comments on the state of nature,' she said. David Rodrigue, biologist and Executive Director of the Ecomuseum Zoo west of Montreal, said the committee's recommendation should be a 'rallying cry' to accelerate efforts to protect Canada's biodiversity. He says Quebec has yet to begin its own formal process to assess the status of its official bird. Rodrigue says a government decision to designate the species as threatened would trigger measures to help it, including an obligation to create a recovery plan and some habitat protection. He said more can also be done to help the birds when they migrate south, including limiting the use of certain rodent poisons. In Canada, 'threatened' means a species is likely to become endangered if nothing is done to reverse the factors leading to its disappearance. Rodrigue said the Ecomuseum has had snowy owls in its care, and visitors are always drawn to the beautiful snow-white birds that shot to global fame when they were featured in the 'Harry Potter' franchise. 'They're extremely striking,' he said. Rodrigue believes the snowy owl's population decline sends a 'huge signal' about the vulnerability of the Arctic, and believes everyone should take notice. 'The Arctic in many ways is extremely important for, literally, human survival as well,' he said. 'And we don't see what's happening there. People don't realize that things are so bad there that you've got species like that that are crashing.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 25, 2025.
Winnipeg Free Press
25-05-2025
- Science
- Winnipeg Free Press
Snowy owl's threatened status an 'alarm bell' for a changing Arctic, scientist says
MONTREAL – A scientific committee's decision to assess the snowy owl as threatened is yet another concerning sign of the changes shaping Canada's Arctic, two experts say. The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife In Canada, an advisory body to the federal government, announced earlier this month it was recommending a change of status for the emblematic northern species, which is also Quebec's official bird. That recommendation has been passed on to the federal government, which will decide whether to list the snowy owl as threatened under the Species at Risk Act. Louise Blight, co-chair of the subcommittee overseeing birds, said snowy owl observations have declined about 40 per cent over the last three generations, or 24 years. She says climate change — as well as direct threats such as vehicle strikes and poisoning — are to blame. 'Not only does this species nest in a region with one of the fastest-changing climates on the planet, but when it heads south for the winter it faces additional threats — collisions, electrocution, rodenticide poisoning, and diseases like avian influenza,' she wrote in a news release. Blight, who is also an adjunct associate professor at the University of Victoria's School of Environmental Studies, said in a phone interview that climate change reduces sea ice, which the birds use for resting and hunting. It has also led to increased shrub cover in the wide-open tundra habitat where the owl breeds, and there have been suggestions the population cycles of lemmings — its main prey — are being affected, she said. She said it's hard to measure the specific impacts of climate change on the owls, in part because the habitat changes are happening so quickly. 'I talked to a colleague a couple of years ago who works in the Arctic…her comment was, 'the Arctic is changing so fast we can't even keep track of it,'' Blight said. The owl, she said, is one of many species that are declining at 'really concerning rates' for a number of different reasons, including habitat change, invasive species and climate change. 'I find them all alarming comments on the state of nature,' she said. David Rodrigue, biologist and Executive Director of the Ecomuseum Zoo west of Montreal, said the committee's recommendation should be a 'rallying cry' to accelerate efforts to protect Canada's biodiversity. He says Quebec has yet to begin its own formal process to assess the status of its official bird. Rodrigue says a government decision to designate the species as threatened would trigger measures to help it, including an obligation to create a recovery plan and some habitat protection. He said more can also be done to help the birds when they migrate south, including limiting the use of certain rodent poisons. In Canada, 'threatened' means a species is likely to become endangered if nothing is done to reverse the factors leading to its disappearance. Rodrigue said the Ecomuseum has had snowy owls in its care, and visitors are always drawn to the beautiful snow-white birds that shot to global fame when they were featured in the 'Harry Potter' franchise. 'They're extremely striking,' he said. Rodrigue believes the snowy owl's population decline sends a 'huge signal' about the vulnerability of the Arctic, and believes everyone should take notice. 'The Arctic in many ways is extremely important for, literally, human survival as well,' he said. 'And we don't see what's happening there. People don't realize that things are so bad there that you've got species like that that are crashing.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 25, 2025.
