CATEGORIES

'Inspired by Nature and Driven by Innovation and Simplicity'

Sonam Wangchuk is a mechanical engineer turned education reformer from Ladakh. His achievements as an innovator and reformer span the areas of education, environment, and energy. His work has won him widespread acclaim both in India and different parts of the world. Sonam’s capacity to motivate people and bring about fundamental changes is what marks him as a unique personality. Here, he is in an exclusive conversation with Abhas Mukherjee for TerraGreen.

Birding in IARI: The Vital Green amidst Urbanization

Dear children, those of you who live in Delhi must have noticed the dense urbanization in the city. But, do you know that our capital city has some vital green areas that serve as the ‘green lungs’ of the city? Here, Jitender Dhir talks about the premises of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), also known as Pusa Institute, which is India's premier national institute for agricultural research, education, and extension. Read on to know about some uncommon and exotic species of birds (especially raptors) for whom the IARI has been a significant habitat since a long time.

Camel Milk​​​​​​​: Panacea for Diabetes

Maneka Sanjay Gandhi says that we should consume camel milk due to its nutritional and medicinal values, and moreover, it is a superfood for diabetics.

The Green School - Promoting Environmental Stewardship In Students

‘The Green School’ is an education programme for schools initiated by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) in association with Tata Steel, to create awareness and sensitize students, teachers, and the community on issues related to the environment. In this article, Neha highlights that this project promotes environmental stewardship in identified schools through classroom and outdoor activities to improve critical, interdisciplinary, and holistic thinking.

‘Wildlife Entertainment' Tourism - Delight Or Plight?

From Thailand’s tiger zoos to elephant rides at India’s Amer Fort, animal cruelty continues to thrive in the name of tourism. Tourists, unaware of the harsh living conditions of these animals, unknowingly support such cruelty by visiting such places. Sharada Balasubramanian writes on the ways in which this ostensibly benign industry needs to be exposed for what it does to its animals for the sake of catering to growing tourist demands, thereby stressing the need to create more awareness regarding the inhuman practices.

A Lady With Green Skill

Each year, during plantation drives across the country, millions of saplings are planted but no statistics are available on the actual survival rate of these saplings. Perhaps many saplings do not survive due to unsuitable environmental conditions. Dr Chandra Prakash Kala says that environmental inventiveness is the need of the hour as shown by Leelawati Kala, who successfully planted several oak saplings in her village in Uttarakhand, despite the conditions being unfavourable for their growth.

Hybrid Solar System - End Of ‘Power' Struggle For Varanasi Weavers

For many weavers in Varanasi, the home of the fabled silk weavers, life seems to be turning for the better after years of struggle. In this article, Kishor Kumar Choudhary, Jitendra Tiwari, and Swarup Mallik discuss that after fighting grid power supply shortage and paying for expensive diesel generated supply for long, many weavers in Varanasi are now shifting to a hybrid solar system (solar energy + grid) backed by cleaner, smaller, and more powerful lithium batteries.

Ecological Air Conditioning - Nature Is The Best Defence Against Climate Change

Nature itself can be the best defence against climate change for many species—at least in the short term—according to a study published in the journal Ecology Letters from the University of California, Davis. It has been found that ecological air conditioning offers shortterm protection from a warming climate.

Rickshawbank - Banking On Rickshaws For Greener Journeys

They are a part and parcel of life in small towns, and the best guarantee for easy mobility in several congested old neighbourhoods in many metropolitan cities of India. Yet, they are shunned by municipalities and police alike as slow-moving traffic. In this feature, Dr Rina Mukherji highlights Dr Pradeep Sarmah’s persistent efforts in promoting the cause of cycle-rickshaws and rickshaw-pullers in the country.

Shiksha

Bringing Education To Underprivileged Children And Youth

Coastal Water Absorbs More CO 2

As more carbon dioxide (CO 2) enters the atmosphere, the global ocean soaks up much of the excess, storing roughly 30 per cent of the carbon dioxide emissions coming from human activities. In this sense, the ocean has acted as a buffer to slow down the greenhouse gas accumulation in the atmosphere and, thus, global warming. However, this process also increases the acidity of seawater and can affect the health of marine organisms and the ocean ecosystem.

Microbes May Help Astronauts Transform Human Waste Into Food

Human waste may one day be a valuable resource for astronauts on deep-space missions. Now, a Penn State research team has shown that it is possible to rapidly break down solid and liquid waste to grow food with a series of microbial reactors, while simultaneously minimizing pathogen growth.

Is Organic The Way Forward? Biopod

In today’s world, health is becoming a major concern for everybody.

Ganges River Dolphin - Let Us Help It To Survive

We need to help the Ganges River Dolphin fight a tough battle for survival, points out Benita Sen.

Super-sized Ice Age Animals Killed by Climate Change

A new study has compared the diet of a variety of Australian megafaunal herbivores from the period when they were widespread (350,000–570,000 years ago) to a period when they were in decline (30,000–40,000 years ago) by studying their fossil teeth. The analysis suggests that climate change had a significant impact on their diets and may well have been a primary factor in their extinction.

The Remarkable Story of Samsø

In 1997, Samsø won a government competition to become a model renewable energy community. Now, 100 per cent of its electricity comes from wind power amongst other renewable sources of energy. Here, Arjun Wadhwa and Juhi Mendiratta take us through the extraordinary and remarkable story of Samsø Island and its inhabitants (known as Samsings), who have set an exemplary example before the world by being completely powered by renewable energy.