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Cover Story

Does tourism always have to be a threat to the environment? Not anymore, claim the promoters of the globally emerging industry of ecotourism. Socially responsible and ecologically sustainable tourism, which could at the same time be profitable for the community, is possible, they argue.

Rustam Vania takes a look at the concept of 'green' travel and catches up with the rich and restless, who are willing to pay for their moment of nirvana

Editor's page

Of forests and wealth

The Supreme Court has suggested that the forested states, which lose revenue because of the ban on felling of trees should be compensated for keeping their forests intact. Protection of the biological hotspots should be the responsibility of the country, says the court, and therefore, if the state protects its forest endowment, the forest deficient states must contribute to its exchequer.

News

Dumping nuclear burden

Australia's move to return to aborigines land located on former nuclear test site draws flak

Serious setback

Fresh row breaks out in Bhopal gas tragedy

Taking emissions into account

Institutional investors press companies to disclose greenhouse gas emissions

Taken to task

US to indict biotech company for misleading investors

Clean-up act

California strengthens air quality norms for particulate matter

Drenched by doubts

Officials dismiss green rain in Bengal village as bee droppings, but experts find flaws in the theory

Proposal opposed

Activists and residents protest plan to install pvc plant

Myth exploded

Curbing global warming not such an expensive proposition

Gearing up for Bt cotton

Farmers ready to sow GM cotton in Andhra Pradesh

Drastic step

Andhra government mulls draconian laws on rainwater harvesting

GM bollworms on the anvil?

Insects have been modified to destroy own species

Hope or hype?

Guarded optimism greets new biomedical waste treatment facility near Kanpur

Scourge stamped out

Effective immunisation campaigns help Europe purge its 51 member-nations of polio

Interview

'Bird trappers make good zoo keepers'

ABRAR AHMED senior programme officer at Trade Records Analysis of Flora and Fauna in Commerce-India/World Wildlife Fund-India lashes out at the unrealistic approach of conserv...

Science & Technology

Raining misery

Millions of Africans die due to droughts caused by air pollution from industrialised countries

Tailing dirt

The tit's tail feathers can help gauge pollution levels

Skinned at last

Gene mutation resulting in skin cancer identified

Infanticide

Soya-based infant formula damages kids' immune system

The ill effects

Warming climate spawns disease epidemics

Fallible Detective

Fingerprint identification may not be completely reliable

Chips make them rich

Princeton University scientists come up with cost-effective technology for making better silicon chips

From the realms of past

...researchers discover oldest hard-shelled marine animal

Calling trouble

Mobile phones damage brain cells

Latest entrant

New monkey species found

Long and short of it

Pollens of GM crops spread further than expected

Poplar winner

Are GM trees ready to turn the paper and pulp industry green?

Barriers under pestle

There is an urgent need to rationalise traditional medicinal systems to stop unscrupulous use

Factsheet

What's eating you?

Each bite we take eats away of the Earth's precious resources

Special Report

Prickly issue

Will the inclusion of Hepatitis B vaccination in the Universal Immunisation Programme help?

Valley of despair

Unrestrained chromite mining takes Sukinda valley to the edge of an abyss

Feature

A fair hearing

On World Environment Day, the Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) put out an advertisement propagating plastic as the alternative to the felling of trees. Is this a genuine concern or a red herring to confuse public opinion? Is there any truth in allegations of a darker game in the GAIL strategy? Here are two entirely different perspectives on the matter

The Fortnight

Controlled flow

The writing is on the Great Wall

Trash takes its toll

Phase-out at fever pitch

Ethically sound

Threat in the treat

Stiff penalty

Clean switch-over

Pollution watch

Cruelty by royalty

Carry on doctor

Dumping worries

Tough measure

Under the scanner

Green drive

In reverse gear

Milestone

Rescue act

No copycats

Row over review

Food

Eating the banana (tree)

Virtually every part of the banana tree finds use in kitchens across south, east and northeastern India. Here are a few recipes from Bengal

Leader

Drugged

it no longer makes news that infectious diseases in poor countries kill over 12 million people each year and play a significant role in keeping countries destitute. Yet, what continues to shock is that the illnesses that make up 90 per cent of the global disease burden get only 10 per cent of the research money because they primarily affect poor countries. It's a sad reflection on the global fraternity that virtually no new drugs are being researched and developed for fatal diseases that mainly affect the poor.

Beastly

the bitter spat that ensued over poor maintenance of animals in research laboratories saw two heads roll in the Union cabinet. The two ministers had been taking potshots at each other ever since the Pune-based National Institute of Virology (niv) was raided by the Committee for the Purpose of Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals (cpcsea).

Crosscurrent

The end of art

...as 'they' know it. Documenta 11 diffuses the boundary between politics and aesthetics

Review

New age patrons

Media

Garbage festival

This show, with music, puppets and plays, received a wide audience. But those who missed the beginning had no clue what was going on, except for the mute banners. It ended up as just a meaningless 'cultural' evening.

Don't fry the planet

A protest against globalisation took a unique turn, on the eve of the G-8 summit. It was a demonstration against G8 nations' support for an oil economy and refusal to fund non-conventional energy development. Greenpeace activists gathered in Calgary, and served the people organic French fries cooked with solar power. The message had to be spelled out. There are alternatives to corporate globalisation. "Our solar truck shows that obstacles to safe, clean, renewable energy are political, not technical.

Solar Blast

Scientists have always thought that the Sun was the most dependable body in the heavens. But with a new peak in solar activity, researchers are discovering a frightening new face of our star.

As a raging ball of super-heated plasma and gas, the Sun can be violent and erratic. Researchers fear the worst. The Sun is capable of unleashing a hurricane of particles that can trigger blackouts and even kill the satellites we depend on for telecommunications, navigation, and defence.

http://www.ucsusa.org

UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS

If you have been effectively treated for tuberculosis or an ear infection, you may have to try three or more antibiotics before you find one that works. What will be the fall-out of a nuclear attack? Are there any practical solutions to global warming? Do fuel-cell vehicles pollute or would stricter tail pipe standards curb environmental pollution from vehicles?

Power of knowledge

In Madhya Pradesh, Mangal and Surshingh of Sarai village, go to the district administration at Dhar, several kilometres away, to lodge complaints against local services.

Road guide

Rail and road are the single most intrusive human activity into wildlife habitat. Unlike wildlife biologists, who have sourcebooks on how to manage wildlife ecosystems, road and rail route planners have no such guide.

This book with 75 case studies, defines step-by-step guidelines to incorporate ecology and wildlife conservation into rail and road planning.

Life and nature

This is a pocket sized, 211-page book that compiles the World Charter for Nature adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations in October 1982. The charter is presented in English and translated into 11 Indian languages including Gujarati, Punjabi, Marathi and Arabic. It recognises the vital role of nature in sustaining life on earth.

Dr Najma Heptullah, deputy chairperson of the Rajya Sabha has written the book's preface.

Grassroots

When homemakers unite

Housewives in Kolkata move the court against the irresponsible and negligent functioning of factories in their area

Fast-forward to the past

Only a few villages stand testimony to the success of traditional water harvesting methods in tribal areas of Singhbhum.
A report by Binayak Das

Letters

Pick Of The Post Bag

The Pokkali fields lesson
Pollution is choking inland waters, and the traditional fisherfolk are the worst affected as a consequence. Every year sees a further decline in the fish catch. Most rivers in India are already heavily polluted, with industrial discharge being the main culprit. Increasingly, this holds true for the backwaters as well.

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