Two worlds that never meet

Intense movement

Science and Technology - Briefs

ECOLOGY Jelly, jelly everywhere

Is Arctic rush worth it?

LDCs ring the alarm bell before Bonn

Six sins that make drought invincible

It’s drought time again. Nothing new in this announcement. Each year, first we have crippling droughts between December and June, and then devastating floods in the next few months. It’s a cycle of despair, which is more or less predictable. But this is not an inevitable cycle of nature we must live with.

Fertiliser’s true climate impact

NITROUS oxide is a potent greenhouse gas—it is 300 times more powerful than carbon dioxide in causing global warming. Though it reaches the environment through different sources like sewage treatment, livestock, vehicles and industries, use of fertilisers in agriculture is its biggest contributor.

Improved stove: a misnomer?

MUD cooking stoves commonly used across rural India are known to cause health problems and contribute to global warming. They emit black carbon. Improved cookstoves are being developed and promoted to reduce these adverse effects. But a study has found that some improved cookstoves at times emit more of the black carbon than traditional mud stoves.

Science and Technology - Briefs

Astrophysics Star-eating monsters

Pollution: the great leveller

A harried parent called a few weeks ago. She wanted to know if the pollution levels in Delhi were bad and if so how bad. The answer was simple and obvious. But why do you need to know? Her daughter’s prestigious school (which I will leave unnamed) had sent a circular to parents, saying they are planning to shift to air-conditioned buses because they were worried about air pollution.