Director General of CSE and editor of Down To Earth, an environmentalist who pushes for changes in policies, practices and mindsets
Water to water, not water to waste
Water supply must be linked to the system of sanitation and wastewater generation
Bengaluru’s water future
Water supply must be affordable. Only then can it be sustainable
Bengaluru today, your city tomorrow
India’ third-most populous urban area is just another city that is being shown the mirror—the dreams of a perfect water supply driven …
Rethink the way we grow food
The world has enough food to feed people; the problem is that much of this food is going into feeding livestock or just to waste. This is what …
Reshaping democracy in new climate
Democracy is critical in a climate-risked world. Will we lose its essence of justice and equity to the many wars afflicting us today?
Let’s build for a green future
CSE recommends that the country should define green and low-carbon cement
A new world order taking shape
Proponents have turned their backs to the idea of unfettered global trade; how will new globalisation rules take shape in a climate-risked and war-…
Marginal triumph at COP28
The world agreed to transition away from fossil fuels at COP28 Dubai, besides operationalising a Loss and Damage Fund; it did not set a deadline …
Changing narratives
It is time we discussed the science behind the phase out of fossil fuels; by when and which fuel
Remodel food systems
The climate change crisis is human-made; it is we humans who must rework our lives; we cannot go ahead with the current model of agriculture …
Dangerous distractions: World needs to rise above conflicts, both armed & unarmed, to fight against climate change
The unarmed war — between the so-called West and so-called East (US vs China) — is going to make things worse for fight against …
ATM agriculture: There are reasons as to why there is so much resistance to the idea of natural farming
It is different. In this case, science promotes competition in the plants so that they can build soil reservoirs of fungi and bacteria and …
Dark underbelly of carbon trade
CSE-DTE’s investigation has found inconvenient truths, which should lead us to change
Men in black
Carbon market has the potential to unlock billions of dollars for countries in the Global South. But is this voluntary carbon market working for …
The real climate warriors
Communities in the desert of Rajasthan this year made full use of the very heavy rain that the region saw; there are many lessons we must draw …
Let’s discuss food’s climate impact
More than any other economic sector, agriculture creates a divide between the world that emits for survival and the one that emits for luxury
76 years of environmentalism
The most important gain of India’s environmental movement is the voice it has given to its citizens. This is the soul of the movement
Thus begins our season of despair
There is now no weather pattern for scientists to follow, and we are exposed to nature’s dictates like never before
World faces a triple health jeopardy as drug pipeline for new antibiotics dries up
It is time to look at antibiotics as global public good
Let’s beat plastic pollution
Single-use plastics are still available; no data on how much of it a company generates
Climate change: It’s all about money
Climate finance can no longer be the money that goes to only increase the indebtedness of countries and makes them even more vulnerable to the …
India’s population question
Population per se is not the determinant of environmental problems; it is their consumption pattern that leads to environmental degradation
Human empathy is our politics
This year, Down To Earth turns 31 years old. We have promises to keep. And keep them we will
Turn around India’s water story
Give local communities greater control over water structures for a secure future
Reinvent tiger conservation
The new conservation agenda should not revolve around tigers versus tribals. It has to be about tigers and people