Trump cancels NASA system to monitor greenhouse gases
Washington, May 11: At a time when the world is struggling to fight climate change, US President Donald Trump's administration has quietly killed a NASA system to monitor the flow of greenhouse gas, the media reported.
The White House has mounted a broad attack on climate science, repeatedly proposing cuts to NASA's earth science budget, including NASA's Carbon Monitoring System (CMS), the Science Magazine reported this week.
It has now scrapped the funding for the US space agency's CMS which has until now used satellite and aircraft instruments to monitor carbon dioxide and methane levels remotely -- spending $10m each year, the Independent reported on Thursday.
Canceling the CMS "is a grave mistake", Kelly Sims Gallagher, director of Tufts University's Centre for International Environment and Resource Policy, told the Science Magazine.
"If you cannot measure emissions reductions, you cannot be confident that countries are adhering to the (Paris climate) agreement," Gallagher added.
Other scientists also expressed their concerns about the impact the killing oc CMS would have on fighting climate change.
Scrapping the system was "disappointing", said Stephen Hagen, a senior scientist at Applied GeoSolutions in New Hampshire.
"(This) means we're going to be less capable of tracking changes in carbon," he added.
But the NASA system has been an obvious target for Trump who had begun the withdrawal process from the Paris accord.
The accord was signed in December 2015 by nearly 200 countries to curb global carbon emissions and contain global warming to 2 degrees Celsius.
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VHP warns of statewide stir in Karnataka against move to ease cattle transport law
Udupi (Karnataka) (PTI): The VHP on Saturday demanded the immediate withdrawal of a proposed amendment to the Karnataka Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Act, 2020, accusing the state government of weakening a law that has deterred illegal cattle transport.
The organisation's Go Raksha Wing, Karnataka South, has also announced district-level protests on December 8.
According to officials, the existing law mandates a bank guarantee for securing the release of vehicles seized for alleged illegal cattle transportation.
On December 4, the state Cabinet proposed an amendment enabling the release of such vehicles on an indemnity bond instead.
Addressing reporters in Udupi, VHP leader and Prantha Goraksha Pramukh Sunil K R, said the government's move amounted to "sympathy for cattle lifters" and claimed that it was part of broader actions "targeting Hindus".
He argued that the law in its current form is stringent and has played a crucial role in reducing incidents of illegal cattle transport and theft.
Under the Act, vehicles involved in offences can be surrendered and, upon conviction, permanently seized by authorities. "Diluting these provisions will embolden offenders," Sunil said.
The VHP leader warned that easing the process of vehicle release would not only encourage violators but also result in rising cruelty against cattle.
Sunil further claimed that the strict enforcement of the 2020 law had brought down cases of cattle-related offences significantly. Rolling back these provisions, he said, could reverse those gains and would lead to an increase in illegal transport.
He reiterated that the government must reconsider its decision and preserve the integrity of the existing law.
