Auroville’s alternative galaxy

Beyond Rio+20

It was June of 1992. The location was Rio de Janeiro. The occasion was the world conference on environment and development. A large number of people had come out on the streets. They were protesting the arrival of George Bush senior, the then president of the US.

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.

Audit of reluctance

The ministry of environment and forests (MEF) has decided to postpone from May 15 to September 30 the date for industries to submit their first environmental audit. This corresponds to the date by which companies are expected to file annual reports.

Talk to neighbours

Down To Earth has been consistently arguing that people’s self-management is the best way to deal with the critical ecological problems facing India. This is a powerful thesis based on real-life experience of village communities that are actively battling ecological decline and the crises in their daily lives. During the past few months, India has suffered the traumatic experience of being rocked by communal disharmony. Can participatory politics help in the maintenance of urban communal harmony and peace and produce the same positive results as it does when dealing with rural natural resource management?

Resource war India after 2020

What is the shape our climate-challenged world is in? Rich developed countries have made it clear they are not interested in any talk about their past emissions.

Peace isn't elusive

Tourism...handicrafts...agriculture...forests... lakes - Jammu & Kashmir's (j&k) basis of survival for ages. They still constitute 98 per cent of the state's economy and sustain 90 per cent of its population. Kashmir's economy is nothing but a sensitive and organised use of its ecology.

High Altitude Dilemma

On the road to destiny The tradition-bound Himalayan kingdom readies itself to brace modernism

Bridging the gap

Japan at cross roads

Japan is a country with a long history and an intricate culture. It has done its best to maintain its own cultural identity despite immense economic globalisation and material Westernisation. Even today less than one per cent Japanese speak English.