Science and Technology - Briefs

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES Shield melts off

Lost in reclamation

A STATE government study has blamed unscientific and haphazard land reclamation for ecological damage and perennial floods in Mumbai. The city has a 300-year history of land reclamations—prior to independence, over 35 sq km of land was reclaimed by the colonial administration to link the erstwhile seven islands of Worli, Parel, Mahim, Mazagaon, Bombay, Little Colaba and Colaba.

Science and Technology - Briefs

CHEMISTRY Nano guard

Science and Technology - Briefs

ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES Making waves

Can faith heal?

Letters - February 15, 2013

Cheer, Don’t jeer It is disheartening to see people like Sunil Dhingra criticise the great service Husk Power Systems (HPS) is providing (‘Powered by husk’, November 16-30, 2012). Small off-grid biomass power plants have lesser transmission and distribution losses and are much more successful than big grid-connected plants that are failing across the country.

Bihar pushes to interlink rivers, tame Kosi

A tale of two cities

I travelled to two different cities in two different states last week—Indore and Guwahati. I came back with images identified by common distinctions: piles of garbage and glitzy new shopping malls. Is this our vision of urban development? There is no question that cities are imploding; growth is happening faster than we ever imagined.

Letters - October 15, 2012

Home remedy For waste Waste management is a problem in all urban centers of the country (‘Stench in my backyard’, September 1-15, 2012). We need to understand that there’s no other way to manage waste except segregating it at the source, that is our homes.

Flash floods are man-made

Flash floods are becoming recurrent in the Himalaya as well as in other parts of India. What are the geological processes that could trigger them? Interviewee:  K S Valdiya