Distance between Earth and Sun

It was nine o’clock in the morning on October 8, 1771. Guillaume le Gentil was exhausted, weary after a long travel and eager to meet his wife.

Guardians for the future

Today, vast factory trawlers are vacuuming every living thing off the floor of the oceans. Toxic wastes are being dumped on poor communities whose governments turn a blind eye. Millions of hectares of irreplaceable primeval forests are purposely being burned every year to make way for cattle ranches.

Metals blunt drugs

Usually industry is regarded as the chief purveyor of heavy metal pollution. Roadways and automobiles constitute one of the largest sources of pollution by heavy metals. Various types of fuels, tire wear, batteries and brake emissions release significant amounts of heavy metals into the environment. Leaching from soil because of acid rain is another source of heavy metals.

Uncertainty of conservation science

The conservation of endangered species is a venture marked by ambiguity. Whether the right populations are being protected from the appropriate threats to the precise degree, is a question that governments and conservationists are constantly evaluating. In such times of uncertainty, decision makers often turn to science for the answers.

Subverting a basic human right

The new draft National Water Policy circulated by the Union Ministry of Water Resources to water experts suggests that the government is poised to withdraw from its responsibility of water service delivery, and that multinational corporations and financial institutions might have too big a say in water allocation and policy.

A cosmetic leap of faith

The latest Sunsilk advert doing rounds on TV showcases its new range of hair care products. Sunsilk’s breakthrough formulations claim to provide root-to-tip nourishment to each strand. Its patented formula entails nanoparticles with a highly concentrated protein compound which coats every strand and supposedly provides even deposition across the strand.

A way to live with the demon

I have often wondered whether I am doing the right thing by using anything that looks like plastic or buying anything remotely associated with it.

Permitting wildlife science

In 2006, a group of scientists wrote an article in the journal, Current Science, highlighting problems wildlife researchers faced in obtaining research permits for work in forests. The article articulated the barriers to conducting wildlife research in India, especially in protected areas. Six years later, many of the issues they raised continue to plague research. While wildlife and conservation biologists across the world develop sophisticated long-term research projects in ecology, Indian biologists are left running from pillar to post in search of the permits.

The Forest is a village

Most of us now live in, or near, cities. We are experiencing a severe deficit of familiarity with the natural world. The most biologically complex terrestrial ecosystems are forests, and we are learning that our climate, and our lives, depend on the healthy functioning of these forests. But there are only a rare few forests remaining on Earth that still retain their original natural character.

Copycats in nature

Bringing nature to your doorstep—I often use this cliche in my popular writings. A few days ago nature, literally, visited our doorstep. Anchal, my wife, called out to me to come to the front door.