Forest fires which worry environmentalists elsewhere in the world have become rare in Andhra Pradesh. The reason: The forest department studies the status of the green cover every day through satellite image.

The department obtains real time remote sensing data on the condition of the forests all over the state including forest fires every day at 2 pm. This gives it first-hand information about major changes in the forests, such as that caused by fire.

Andhra Pradesh is one of the 11 States which are relatively more prone to forest fires, the others being Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Bihar, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat. Control of forest fires is one of the focal points of this year which has been dedicated to the prevention of desertification. Today is World Environment Day.

"We analyse the data and take quick action to contain forest fires. The information is passed down the line instantaneously. The incidence of forest fires have come down by 50 per cent and the department could save hundreds of crores of rupees worth forest material and wildlife from fire accidents," said principal chief conservator of forests S.K. Das.

Forests fires have over the years been responsible for rapid degradation of the green cover. Vast areas of forests and grasslands burn every year, often threatening wildlife. The loss is enormous since the state forests contain economically important plant species like teak, bamboo and red sanders among others.

Forest fires are generally noticed between December, when the leaf fall starts, and May.

The dry grass forms a highly combustible material for forest fires, Das said.

"We have established the inter-relationship for various factors affecting our forests and integrated them for identification and zonation of fire prone areas. The maps pinpoint locations for erection of fire watch towers, execution of fire lines and construction of fire walls," Das said. Forests cover 63,814 sq km in AP and are subject to fierce fires every year. Before the introduction of satellite imagery system, there used to be more than 500 major and minor fires in the forests. This has come down drastically since the department started using satellite images for daily surveillance.

The state forests department has obtained the equipment to control fires under the Centrally-sponsored scheme, ‘Introduction of modern forest fire control methods in India’. According to Das, control of forest fires is important as it not only protects and conserves natural and manmade forest, but also improves productivity.

Sony, the world's second-largest maker of consumer electronics, is recalling 90,000 batteries used in its Vaio notebook computers.

About 60,000 of the power packs will be replaced in Japan, and the rest in China, company spokesman Daichi Yamafuji said on Tuesday. He declined to say how much the recall will cost.

Sony is replacing more than 8 million lithium-ion batteries worldwide for Dell, Apple Computer and six other companies on concern some cells overheat and become fire hazards.

Researchers have developed a silicon-based chip which uses laser beams rather than wires to send data between chips, removing the most significant barrier in computer design.
With the laser beams replacing wires, chip makers may be able to put the high-speed data communications industry on the same curve of increased processing speed and diminishing costs by the phenomenon known as Moore's law that has driven the computer industry for the last four decades, the New York Times reported on Monday.

The silicon chip which can produce laser beams was developed by Intel, the world's largest chip maker and the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Commercializing the new technology may not happen before the end of the decade, but the prospect of being able to place hundreds or thousands of data-carrying light beams on standard industry chips is certain to shake up both the communications and computer industries, the report said.