CATEGORIES

War zone Cauvery
Down To Earth

War zone Cauvery

Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are once again at logger heads over the sharing of the Cauvery waters. Why have the successive agreements failed to resolve the century-long dispute?

time-read
10+ mins  |
October 1, 2016
Plan B For The Planet
Down To Earth

Plan B For The Planet

The world cannot afford a 2o C rise. The climate change goal must be fixed at 1.5o C so that we get a chance to avert the worst impacts

time-read
2 mins  |
October 16, 2018
Ganga Needs More Than Just Cleaning
Down To Earth

Ganga Needs More Than Just Cleaning

Government reforms must include basin-scale hydrological and ecological conservation efforts Michelle Irengbam, Shivani Barthwal, Niladri Dasgupta, Ruchi Badola & Syed Ainul Hussain

time-read
4 mins  |
August 16, 2019
Pills By Jugaad!
Down To Earth

Pills By Jugaad!

A new investigative book, bottle of lies, says that Indian cancer drugs are contaminated; cholesterol medication has shards of glass; and, blood pressure pills contain a live bug. In these excerpts, the author, Katherine Eban writes about jugaad, an indian model of aggressive shortcuts, the ability to dodge onerous rules to get the desired results

time-read
2 mins  |
August 16, 2019
Vitamin B12 - Are You Deficient?
Down To Earth

Vitamin B12 - Are You Deficient?

The prescription for a plant-based diet overlooks vitamin B12 deficiency that is primarily present in animal-based diets

time-read
3 mins  |
August 16, 2019
5G And The Fear Of Radiation
Down To Earth

5G And The Fear Of Radiation

Radiation fears mount as the world gets ready to embrace the networkintensive 5G

time-read
4 mins  |
April 01, 2019
Blind Spot in Namami Gange
Down To Earth

Blind Spot in Namami Gange

Two flagship programmes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi are working at cross-purposes. By 2019, when Swachh Bharat Mission comes to an end, some 30 million septic tanks and pits would have been dug along the Ganga. These tanks and pits would produce 180 million litres of faecal sludge every day, which will eventually find its way into the Ganga, defeating Namami Gange. It's time the Central, state and local sanitation programmes recognised faecal sludge management as a priority to ensure a clean Ganga 

time-read
10+ mins  |
December 16, 2016
Reluctant To Upgrade
Down To Earth

Reluctant To Upgrade

Zero liquid discharge technologies can help textile dyeing units recycle water and reduce effluents released into rivers. Why are they resisting?

time-read
3 mins  |
September 01, 2018
Live Life Farm Style
Down To Earth

Live Life Farm Style

Want to live in a city and grow your own food in a village nearby? There are companies that can help.

time-read
3 mins  |
September 01, 2018
Down To Earth

Prisoner Of Contradictions

India's only wetland cat is under multiple threats.

time-read
4 mins  |
September 01, 2018
Again, Stop Talking About GDP
Down To Earth

Again, Stop Talking About GDP

India missed another opportunity to shed its obsession with a bad measure of economy.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 01, 2018
Environment Of Poverty
Down To Earth

Environment Of Poverty

The world's poor population is getting concentrated in ecologically fragile areas

time-read
2 mins  |
October 1, 2018
Defining Emotion
Down To Earth

Defining Emotion

A new book challenges our assumptions about emotions

time-read
2 mins  |
October 1, 2018
A Bite Of Goodness
Down To Earth

A Bite Of Goodness

Housing associations are setting up community refrigerators to reduce food wastage and feed the needy

time-read
4 mins  |
October 1, 2018
On Active Mode
Down To Earth

On Active Mode

After faltering for three years, India's largest test drive for uranium contamination in groundwater shows signs of revival

time-read
3 mins  |
October 1, 2018
First, Fast, But...
Down To Earth

First, Fast, But...

India's debut farm investment support scheme was rolled out in Telangana but a large section of the farming community has been left out

time-read
7 mins  |
August 01, 2018
Not A Sweet Bargain
Down To Earth

Not A Sweet Bargain

The price of the totapuri mango has crashed due to low demand for its pulp, leaving farmers to dump produce on roads

time-read
4 mins  |
August 01, 2018
Down To Earth

Business Above All

In the garb of streamlining green clearances, the Union government has sidelined communities and diluted environmental regulations over the past four years

time-read
6 mins  |
August 01, 2018
Unwrap The E-commerce Waste
Down To Earth

Unwrap The E-commerce Waste

As India catches up on online shopping, we need regulations to minimise the waste that is generated from packaging the products

time-read
3 mins  |
August 01, 2018
Swachh Bharat Mission Echoes Sterilisation Campaign Of 70s
Down To Earth

Swachh Bharat Mission Echoes Sterilisation Campaign Of 70s

A new book exposes the lacunae in the way India manages its waste and recommends changes in practices and attitudes toward waste. ROBIN JEFFREY and ASSA DORON,authors of the book, speak to SWATI SINGH SAMBYAL on the layered challenges of managing solid waste

time-read
4 mins  |
August 01, 2018
Look Beyond The Loo
Down To Earth

Look Beyond The Loo

In fast-urbanising Africa, the governments must rework their usual toilet building strategies to ensure safe disposal of waste.

time-read
4 mins  |
August 16, 2018
The Fast Track To Disaster
Down To Earth

The Fast Track To Disaster

India's decision to start a patent prosecution highway for Japanese firms could open the tollgates to hasty approvals

time-read
2 mins  |
February 01, 2019
Trial After Error
Down To Earth

Trial After Error

AGROCHEMICAL AND biotech giant Monsanto’s genetically modified cotton seed business is out of trouble in India; but only for the time being.

time-read
4 mins  |
February 01, 2019
Fat Is More About How The Body Feels Than How It Actually Looks
Down To Earth

Fat Is More About How The Body Feels Than How It Actually Looks

It's more about how the body feels, than how it looks

time-read
3 mins  |
February 01, 2019
Capital Conundrum
Down To Earth

Capital Conundrum

At the peak of Karnataka’s water crisis, the state’s deputy chief minister, G Parameshwara, made a desperate suggestion. He said the government was mulling over a moratorium on the construction of new residential complexes in Bengaluru for five years to tide over the water crisis. But are restrictions on construction or population an effective way to resolve the problem? Or are there simpler ways to strengthen water conservation? SUSHMITA SENGUPTA spoke to a range of experts

time-read
6 mins  |
August 01, 2019
Whose Space Is It?
Down To Earth

Whose Space Is It?

Governments have been exploring space for a while, but the influx of private players has altered the rules of the game. What are the laws that govern space today?

time-read
5 mins  |
May 01, 2019
The Order Of Change
Down To Earth

The Order Of Change

To resolve environmental problems, we need a change in mindset, empirical studies, implementation, monitoring and follow-ups, says Justice Madan B Lokur. Excerpts from his speech at the Anil Agarwal Dialogue recently organised by the Centre for Science and Environment.

time-read
4 mins  |
March 01, 2019
Down To Earth

Drought Aggravates Poverty

Study shows during drought years in Rajasthan, the vulnerability of rural households to poverty increases.

time-read
3 mins  |
March 01, 2019
Down To Earth

Rockstar Gourd

The humble gourd that sculpted the culture and traditions of rural India for ages is falling out of favour.

time-read
4 mins  |
March 01, 2019
The Wise Debate
Down To Earth

The Wise Debate

As the world debates the effectiveness of industrialised agriculture, the good-old small farmer emerges victorious.

time-read
2 mins  |
March 01, 2019