Highlights from the issue

Highlights from the issue

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Sunita Narain's Desk: Cost of Trump’s trading club

Cost of Trump’s trading club
Illustration: Yogendra Anand/CSE

The reason USA is managing to browbeat its way into deals with other countries is the sheer size of its consuming class

Special report: Disaster zone

Over 70 people remain missing after massive flash floods hit Dharali, Uttarakhand, on August 5
Over 70 people remain missing after massive flash floods hit Dharali, Uttarakhand, on August 5 (Photograph : Sachin Tomar)

With an extreme weather event on almost every day this year, the Himalayas show the cost of ignoring science and warnings

Special report: Dogged disruption

Free-ranging dogs significantly disrupt vulture scavenging behaviour at carcass dump sites, leading to a conflict between both species
Free-ranging dogs significantly disrupt vulture scavenging behaviour at carcass dump sites, leading to a conflict between both species (Photograph: Vikas Choudhary / CSE)

Free-ranging dogs have risen as predators due to the decline in vulture numbers in India. Now, these canines threaten other animals and humans with feral behaviour, disease transmission

Cover story: Need not be a dirty affair

Illustrations: Yogendra Anand / CSE

The potential to reduce emissions from India’s coal-based thermal power plants is huge, and it needs more than just shifting to efficient technologies

Special report: Paddy overload

Telangana government’s Rs 500 bonus on procurement of fine paddy draws criticism because it is less cultivated in the state than coarse varieties
Telangana government’s Rs 500 bonus on procurement of fine paddy draws criticism because it is less cultivated in the state than coarse varieties

Even as it records a rise in paddy acreage, Telangana enhances its push for fine-grained varieties of the crop, raising concerns

Interview: ‘We are on mission-driven approach to climate challenges’

Supriya Sahu is additional chief secretary of environment, climate change & forests, Tamil Nadu government.
Supriya Sahu is additional chief secretary of environment, climate change & forests, Tamil Nadu government.@supriyasahuias / X (formerly Twitter)

Tamil Nadu's additional chief secretary of environment, climate change and forests Supriya Sahu shares the coastal state’s long-term vision for a sustainable future

Special report: Power paradox

Lakshmi, from Bedareddyhalli village in Karnataka’s Chitradurga district, grazes her cattle along the boundary of a solar park that has taken over most of the village commons once used for grazing
Lakshmi, from Bedareddyhalli village in Karnataka’s Chitradurga district, grazes her cattle along the boundary of a solar park that has taken over most of the village commons once used for grazing (Photograph: Shagun /CSE)

In drought-prone districts of Karnataka, solar parks promise prosperity but deliver displacement, exposing the fault lines of India’s renewable energy transition

Patently absurd: Rich pickings from orphan drugs

Illustration: Yogendra Anand /CSE

Big Pharma is raking in billions from orphan drugs while India’s policies on rare diseases is way behind in protecting patients

Appraisal: Promise in pieces

Delegates from Mexico, who pushed for a phase-out of problematic plastics, look dejected during the closing plenary in Geneva on August 15, which ended without any outcome
Delegates from Mexico, who pushed for a phase-out of problematic plastics, look dejected during the closing plenary in Geneva on August 15, which ended without any outcome (Photographs: IISD)

Global talks collapse as consensus rule blocks progress on ending plastic pollution

Civil Lines: Are we beyond laws of evolution?

Are we beyond laws of evolution?
Illustration: iStock

Many believe that humans have become neutral to the natural evolutionary calls

Opinion: Road to nowhere

Illustration: Yogendra Anand/ CSE

While other nations limit wildlife numbers if costs outweigh benefits, India bears the expenses without thinking of the gains, says Madhya Pradesh's former chief wild life warden HS Pabla

Food: Pod to plate

Fresh lotus seeds resemble peas and make for a tasty salad
Fresh lotus seeds resemble peas and make for a tasty salad(Photograph: Vibha Varshney/ CSE)

Lotus seeds are not only tasty, but also a healthy and versatile ingredient to add to diet

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