Nutrient paradox

THE WORLD is facing a nutrient crisis, says a new report. Nutrients, like nitrogen and phosphorus, are essential for raising crops to feed the ever increasing population and in production of energy. But the report, ‘Our Nutrient World’, suggests these human activities have altered the natural flow of these nutrients.

Smog has to be cleared

Losing after winning is the worst feeling possible. This is how I feel looking out of my window at a thick pall of black smog engulfing my city. It was this time of the year, exactly 15 years ago, when Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) began its right-to-clean-air campaign. The air in Delhi was so foul one could hardly breathe. That was a time when air pollution was an unknown curse.

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.

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.

How India is getting gas and coal policy wrong

Two monopolies. One private and the other public; one in gas and one in coal. Both equally disastrous for the environment. I speak here of Reliance Industries Ltd and Coal India Ltd.

Science and Technology - Briefs

Technology Instant repair

Diesel: when bad policy makes for toxic hell

Just consider. Every time petrol prices are raised, oil companies end up losing more money. Simply because the price differential between petrol and diesel increases further, and people gravitate towards diesel vehicles. More the use of diesel, more the oil companies bleed. Worse, we all bleed because diesel vehicles add to toxic pollution in our cities, which, in turn, adds to ill health and treatment costs.

Four-stroke complements CNG

VEHICLES and fuels must be seen as a system and not in isolation. Even a clean fuel like CNG may emit high air pollutants if the vehicle engine technology is inefficient to burn the fuel. This is the message from the first detailed testing of CNG three-wheelers in Delhi by researchers from University of British Columbia, Canada.

Flawed, but accepted

A recent study by the Central Pollution Control Board has exonerated vehicles of being the worst polluters in Delhi and Mumbai. Instead, it has pinned down liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) as the biggest source of fine pollutants. Experts have contested the study, saying the findings are unsubstantiated and scientifically untenable. The study will set the basis for the post-2010 emissions standards for vehicles and fuels.

CO2 tweaks nitrogen cycle

IN WHAT could have ramifications on the ocean food web, scientists have found that rising acidity of seawaters slows down marine nitrogen cycle.