CATEGORIES
CLIMATE SHAPES SPECIES
Gradual changes in a population that lives in a region with environmental shifts give rise to new species
LEAFY GOODNESS
Leaves of the bottle gourd can be a healthy green addition to the plate
'Story of human origin is still not figured out or over'
Fifty years ago, the discovery of a partial skeleton amid the barren desert landscape of northern Ethiopia transformed our understanding of where humans came from, and how we developed into Homo sapiens. \"Lucy\" was first spotted on November 24, 1974, by the American paleoanthropologist Donald Johanson and his student assistant Tom Gray. Named after the Beatles' Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, a popular song in the their team's camp at the time, it was immediately clear she was a female, because of her small adult size, and that she had walked upright, unlike chimpanzees. Lucy was also very old-at almost 3.2 million years, she was anointed as the then-earliest known (distant) ancestor of modern humans. Over the following decades, rather fittingly given her name, she became a \"paleo-rock star\", going on a US tour from 2006 following a deal with the Ethiopian authorities.
Deadly discharge
Residents of an industrial cluster blame effluent and sewage treatment plants for discharging poorly treated water that contaminates the area, causes skin diseases
US drug regulator faces Trump heat
FAILED REPUBLICAN presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is making more news now than during his doomed attempt to get the party nomination for president. Ramaswamy's decision to throw in the towel and back Donald Trump after his campaign went nowhere showed acumen, the kind he is famous for in the investment world.
Distorted picture
India's groundwater recovery may be misleading, as new assessment methods inflate annual recharge figures and discontinue on-ground verification
A MAKE OR BREAK YEAR
Expect some stiff targets, radical policy measures and rapid innovations as polycrisis reaches a crescendo this year
Commons in crisis
A landmark 2011 Supreme Court ruling to protect shared resources deepens struggles for India's marginalised communities
Europe faces Russian natural gas supply cuts
UKRAINE'S PRIME Minister Denys Shmyhal said on December 16, 2024, that its gas transit agreement with Russia will expire on January 1, 2025, and will not be renewed. The agreement was to allow transit of natural gas to Europe amid the RussiaUkraine conflict.
Preserving a voice
Non-profit in Madhya Pradesh documents Korku language, makes education accessible for the tribal community
BISHNOIS V DELHIITES: TWO DIFFERENT MINDSETS
FILM STAR Salman Khan's arrest in Jodhpur for killing a chinkara, an endangered animal, and Sahib Singh Verma's resignation as chief minister of Delhi are both developments that hold a message for environmentalists and all those engaged in environmental management.
CLIMATE SHAPES SPECIES
Gradual changes in a population that lives ina region with environmental shifts give rise to new species
Scope for redemption
Two recent reports underline the need for different strategies for a more sustainable world
In leading role again
MOVIES AND WEB SERIES ARE ONCE AGAIN BEING SET IN RUSTIC BACKGROUNDS, INDICATING A RECONNECT BETWEEN CINEMA AND THE COUNTRYSIDE
One Nation One Subscription comes at a huge cost
As top US universities scrap big deals with top scientific publishers, India’s ONOS scheme seems flawed and outdated
Return of Rambhog
Bid to revive and sell the aromatic indigenous paddy variety has led to substantial profits for farmers in Uttar Pradesh's Terai region
Scarred by mining
Natural springs of Kashmir drying up due to illegal riverbed mining
Human-to-human spread a mutation away
CANADA IN mid-November confirmed its first human case of avian influenza, with a teenager in the British Columbia being hospitalised after contracting the H5N1 virus that causes the disease. The patient developed a severe form of the disease, also called bird flu, and had respiratory issues. There was no known cause of transmission.
True rehabilitation
Residents of Madhya Pradesh's Kakdi village take relocation as an opportunity to undertake afforestation, develop sustainable practices
INESCAPABLE THREAT
Chemical pollution is the most underrated and underreported risk of the 21st century that threatens all species and regions
THAT NIGHT, 40 YEARS AGO
Bhopal gas disaster is a tragedy that people continue to face
A JOKE, INDEED
A CONFERENCE OF IRRESPONSIBLE PARTIES THAT CREATED AN OPTICAL ILLUSION TO THE REALITY OF A NEW CLIMATE
THINGS FALL APART
THE WORLD HAS MADE PROGRESS IN MITIGATING EMISSIONS AND ADAPTING TO CLIMATE IMPACTS. BUT THE PROGRESS REMAINS GROSSLY INADEQUATE
VAPOUR ACTION
MOISTURE IS A SILENT FORCE THAT AMPLIFIES GLOBAL WARMING. YET SCIENTISTS UNDERSTAND LITTLE ABOUT THIS GREENHOUSE GAS AND HOW IT INFLUENCES WEATHER SYSTEMS
OPEN AND SHUT CASE
2024 WITNESSED A RECORD NUMBER OF ATTRIBUTION STUDIES THAT SHOW CLIMATE CHANGE AS THE KEY FACTOR BEHIND EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS
TEST OF SURVIVAL
GENERATION ALPHA INHERITS A WORLD IRREVOCABLY WARMER BY 1.5°C
THE YEAR PLANET CHANGED
WE KNOW THAT WE LIVE IN THE AGE OF CLIMATE EXTREMES. WE ARE NOT IN DENIAL. BUT WE ARE NO LONGER THE SOCIETIES THAT WORK FOR COMMON CAUSES
A SPRIG TO CARE FOR
Punarnava, a perennial herb, is easy to grow and has huge health benefits
DIGGING A DISASTER
Soapstone mining near Dabti Vijaypur village has caused many residents to migrate.
REVIEW THE TREATMENT
Several faecal sludge treatment plants in Uttar Pradesh suffer from design flaws that make the treatment process both expensive and inefficient