Social Emotional Learning During the COVID-19 Pandemic

This article offers a review of resources that have been put forth globally, with an emphasis on resources and the common threads among them that can inform how we approach education beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, with resources tailored to parents, children, and educators.

Predicting the Wave of COVID-19 in Communities Wastewater as an Important Monitoring Tool

The coronavirus is present in the gastrointestinal tract of several patients with COVID-19 and finds its way in the faeces and subsequently in sewage and wastewater. Research indicates that monitoring wastewater is a better strategy for detecting the viral infections in any population. Dr Paromita Chakraborty and Akanksha Manish say that the ongoing pandemic situation can be utilized to test whether wastewater based epidemiology (WBE) can act as an effective technique to observe and manage public health globally. WBE can be an important tool as most infections are thought to be asymptomatic or undiagnosed infections. WBE can provide critical knowledge on identification of hotspots and understanding the dynamics of the infection.

Mumbai Lockdown Pollution Levels Dip, Fauna Gets Space

In this article, Gajanan Khergamker talks about the positive effects of COVID-19 lockdown on Mumbai as pollution levels took a sharp dip and fauna got the much-needed space to thrive.

Life Through Art and Art Through Life

American mural artist and painter, Kathleen Scarboro, educated in the arts both in the US and France, is the co-founder of the Friends of Community Public Art, Illinois, USA. Her public art includes mural paintings, mosaics and life size sculptures in various cities in the US. In an interview with N Kalyani, for TerraGreen, the artist shares the making of her art and more.

Feni A Goan Panacea

Feni holds a special place in the Goan culture and society. Families come together and put tremendous effort to produce feni for personal and commercial use. Manu Shrivastava says that the heritage drink that started in Goan homes has come a long way. Feni is gradually gaining popularity among tourists—domestic and international. It is one of the last few enterprises that are still owned and managed by families giving the ‘industry’ a characteristic personal touch.

COVID-19 Lockdown Fifty Per Cent Global Reduction in Human-linked Earth Vibrations

The lack of human activity during lockdown caused human-linked vibrations in the Earth to drop by an average of 50 per cent between March and May 2020. This quiet period, likely caused by the total global effect of social distancing measures, closure of services and industry, and drops in tourism and travel, is the longest and most pronounced quiet period of seismic noise in the recorded history.

Water And Sanitation Stress Of Rural India Highlighted By COVID-19

In this article, Mayuri Phukan and Anagha Krishnan say that inequitable water access and distribution calls for systematic water resource management so that disparities could be properly addressed. With high levels of water stress, rural India has to prioritize the use of water for meeting drinking, cooking and washing requirements and implementation of WASH practices. India will also need to look at managing its water resources more effectively and bring about technical and policy changes to ensure its equitable access to combat pandemic situations in future.

Lockdown Diary With Nature

In this article, Dr Surya Prakash shares the wonderful experience he had with nature at the JNU campus during the complete lockdown period in Delhi-NCR.

Impact Of Covid-19 On The Solar Industry In India

India’s solar power sector, like other sectors, is struggling in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this article, Anita Khuller discusses the challenges that the nationwide lockdown, as a consequence of the coronavirus outbreak, has imposed on the operations of the country’s solar market, power distribution companies, and the overall economy.

Coronavirus - Delving Into The Basics

In this article, Dr Pradeep Kumar Mukherjee discusses some interesting features of coronavirus and throws light on its extremely infectious and deadly nature, while being optimistic that eventually it will be tamed.

Realigning Sustainability in the Post-pandemic World

Towards a Sustainable Planet

“Conservation is About Knowing Our Place in the World”

In a freewheeling video chat, the multi-faceted conservation biologist Neha Sinha opens up to Meghaa Aggarwal for TerraGreen.

Helping Brainz

An Innovative Way to Reach Out to the Neediest!

Cows - Benevolent and Intelligent Beings

Maneka Sanjay Gandhi says that cows are highly intelligent, social, and compassionate creatures who can be friends for life with human beings. Every animal needs the congenial company of its own species and a cow needs to be allowed to enjoy her ‘rights’ in her own way and not according to a human timetable.

Forests, Beyond Just Trees

We have been taught to look at forests through the glasses of revenue generation; to frame policies which are just tree centric, since exploitation of trees is quite easy. Understanding that forest is a natural self-sustaining system and trees are just a component of it has now become a must. If the sustainability of the forest is disturbed we don’t have enough of knowledge to redeem

Ambitious Vision for Man-made Cellulosic Fibres - Promises Greater Resilience for Global Textile Industry

As COVID-19 continues to impact textile producers and buyers, a new report from international sustainability non-profits, Forum for the Future and Textile Exchange, highlights the huge potential of man-made cellulosic fibres (MMCF)—including viscose, modal and lyocell—to create a more sustainable future, and outlines an ambitious sector-wide vision that could revolutionize the textile and apparel industry, with implications for a wide variety of other industries from health to personal care.

Coronavirus - Delving Into The Basics

In this article, Dr Pradeep Kumar Mukherjee discusses some interesting features of coronavirus and throws light on its extremely infectious and deadly nature, while being optimistic that eventually it will be tamed.

Realigning Sustainability in the Post-pandemic World - Towards a Sustainable Planet

As the COVID-19 pandemic spreads into more regions, the national priorities are moving towards supporting the stretched health systems, hard-hit small business owners, and the labour force working in various sectors. National governments are working overtime to ensure the availability of basic necessities such as food, water and sanitation to their population. Redistributive actions, hence, have become the focus. With the general belief that the pandemic will continue for some time, though hopefully in a minor capacity, what will sustainability look like in the post-COVID-19 world? In this article, Anjula Gurtoo and Rahul Patil attempt to ignite the discussion on sustainable future to understand the various shapes sustainability can take in the new future.

“Conservation is About Knowing Our Place in the World”

In a freewheeling video chat, the multi-faceted conservation biologist Neha Sinha opens up to Meghaa Aggarwal for TerraGreen.

Forests, Beyond Just Trees

We have been taught to look at forests through the glasses of revenue generation; to frame policies which are just tree centric, since exploitation of trees is quite easy. Understanding that forest is a natural self-sustaining system and trees are just a component of it has now become a must. If the sustainability of the forest is disturbed we don’t have enough of knowledge to redeem it, writes Rajshekhar Pant.

Building Pandemic Resilient Cities in India

It is well established that globally most pandemics have severely affected crowded urban settlements which are often the hub of significant economic activities, but yet they suffer from poor housing and basic Water, Sanitation, Hygiene (WASH) infrastructure. In this article, Mary Abraham and Nathaniel B Dkhar highlight that while washing hands and maintaining adequate hygiene has been advocated as the need of the hour, COVID-19 exerts the need to reassess the adequacy of the WASH infrastructure in slums and low-economic settlements. They rightly emphasize on the need for WASH infrastructure improvement to face pandemics in urban areas.

Covid-19 And Transport: Impact And Suggestions

In this article, Sharif Qamar says that in the post-COVID world there should be more focus on moderating travel demand, non-motorized transport, public transport, shared mobility, and railways. He discusses the potential impact and suggestions in this regard. He feels the travel demand management measures such as work-from-home, staggered working hours and encouraging online shopping should become a part of the ‘new normal’. Also, increased focus should be there on bus and bus systems, especially in non-metropolitan cities of India.

Does Social Distancing Give Way to Emotional Distancing?

In this article, Megha Jain and Saurabh Jaiswal throw light on the psychological impact of social distancing in the era of COVID-19 pandemic.

Impact of BS-VI Transition on the Automobile Sector Amidst COVID-19

The cost of air pollution in India is estimated at 3 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product. Making a car BS-VI compliant decreases the quantity of toxic compounds contained in exhaust gases. The BS-VI emission norms came into effect on April 1, 2020 despite the nationwide COVID-19 lockdown. The shift to the new emission norms is part of the ongoing efforts by the Government of India to mitigate air pollution. In this article, Ramya Ranganath analyses the effect of this transition during a period when the automobile industry is encumbered by a slump and the world economy is grappling with the cascading effect of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sustaining Distribution Companies in COVID-19 Slowdown

In a pandemic-stricken world, one of the most hard-hit sectors in India has been the power sector. In this article, Ashish Kumar Sharma, Chetan Gusain and Ashish Rawat highlight the many challenges that DISCOMs and GENCOs are facing in terms of significant changes in electricity consumption pattern, demands of consumers, cross-subsidy losses, and the overall economic health of the power infrastructure. The authors also discuss some pertinent measures that can be adopted by industrial and commercial consumers to ensure a sustainably operational sector during this lockdown period.

Olive Ridley Turtles

For some time now, we have been celebrating the annual migratory tradition of Olive Ridley turtles. Benita Sen looks into their nests.

Waterless Technologies: Key to Water Security

Dr Puneet Gupta, CEO, Clensta International, in a tell-all interview with Namrata Gulati Sapra for TerraGreen sheds some light on how a range of waterless hygiene products are saving bucketloads of water…

Migrant Crisis in COVID-19: Reaching Out to the Distressed in Doon

Indian migrant workers during the COVID-19 pandemic have faced multiple hardships. With factories and workplaces shut down due to the lockdown in the country, millions of migrant workers had to deal with the loss of income, food shortages, and uncertainty about their future. In this article, Dr. Rakesh Agrawal ‘Ridh’ highlights that in such distressing times individuals and members of many groups in Dehradun decided to form Doon Nagrik Rahat Samuh to extend help to all not getting any relief in this lockout, especially casual labourers, irrespective of any bias.

Himalayan Ecotourism

A Cooperative-Based Model of Social Enterprise

Destruction of Nature: Is it Responsible for the Emergence of Pandemics?

COVID-19 has paralysed the world as we know it. The novel coronavirus has brought the world of humans to a grinding halt. The disease has made humans retreat to their homes and nature has reclaimed the earth. One way of looking at it is this is nature’s way of signalling humans to stop trying to own the Planet Earth and to end all destructive actions towards it. Although one cannot rule out nature’s decisive force, in such a precarious situation it becomes imperative to understand the origin and spread of infectious diseases, in general, that cause pandemic and pandemonium. Read more in this insightful article by Indumathi S.