Green Options

Around 800,000 fewer cars were on the road in Beijing, China this Monday, following the introduction of radical new traffic laws aimed at reducing pollution in the city.

The new laws came into force today, and stipulate that 70% of government vehicles, as well as all private and corporate cars, take turns off the roads on one out of five weekdays.

Editor’s note: this is a guest post by Dr. Vandana Prakash, an Environmental Policy expert.

Delhiites are once again embroiled in a hot environmental debate–this time over plastic bags. Delhi High Court’s decision to ban plastic bags for all shopping sounds dramatic. However, there is no deadline for implementation. As of now, use of non-biodegradable plastic bags, even large bags and those with a greater than normal thickness of 40 micrometers, continues to be allowed.

The check and balance function of the different arms of the government (judiciary v/s executive) in a federal system is certainly eye-catching. On the one hand, the implementers appear to be skirting around the court-order by seeking deviations (allowing ‘degradable,’ more stringently configured bags); on the other hand, they seem to be abiding by court-order on containing the menace of plastic bags.

Plastic bags have become part and parcel of a Delhiite’s daily life. People reuse each bag numerous times — even after multiple washes. That is also remarkable considering that the bags are often made with very thin material. In the end, in the absence of proper disposal mechanism, the bag appears on the roads of Delhi, littering streets, clogging drains, choking rivers and peeping-out intact when any soil is dug-up.

Following are the top international environmental news for during the week of April 13 - 20. See an archive of top international environmental news here.

Asia

Two “Extinct” Species Discovered

First there was Swinshoe’s softshell turtle, and then the Javan Elephant. Is this more commonplace than we might believe?

Frankly, no. Despite the occasional hubbub over an animal science has lost track of– say, the Coelacanth– we’ve witnessed something extraordinary. Swinshoe’s turtle was previously believed to be extinct in the wild, with only three remaining in captivity, and therefore every one of these 300-pound turtles is a critical find.

Continue reading: Environmental Graffiti. Hot in media: Stumble Upon.

“…Congress is getting close to passing an energy bill that contains a little-known provision designed to phase out the 125-year-old incandescent light bulb in the next four to 12 years.”