False start
Pollution control agencies are as toothless as the automobile and fuel industry is apathetic to deteriorating urban air quality
Losing ground
Across the world, the deserts are advancing, threatening the lives and livelihoods of about one billion people
Everybody wants to be green
Politicians and businessmen appear concerned about the environment these days. Their speeches and interviews are laced with expressions like '…
What price the constitution?
Breakthroughs in genetic engineering have led to questions on the ethics of suchexperiments. Should scientists alone be steering the decision-…
The Net profit
Today the Internet gives people a new voice as well the power to use it. People are communicating directly with government officials and …
Making a start
Ground realities alone will determine the future of Himalayan biodiversity and the people of the area
A disease called pollutionitis
Most of Delhi's urban elite suffer from this disease which makes them "rationally irrational". The disease is accompanied by finger-pointitis and …
A letter from a villager
A villager in Goa wants to cut a tree growing in his backyard to mend his damaged roof. But he needs to get permission from the tree officer. And …
HEADS or TAILS
A close look at the history of climate change negotiations reveals some alarmingly reckless traits in Indian policymaking
Parched tip
Kanyakumari stands testimony to the fact that unchecked population growth and faulty land use can lead to water scarcity even in places wallowing …
Mushroom magic
In a recent breakthrough, an Indian mushroom has been found to be extremely effective in controlling heavy metal pollution
Dancing to the World Bank's tune
The World Bank, which is the largest lender of aid to the Third World, is casting its shadow on decisions made by the Indian Union ministry of …
Can we live forever?
Though all living beings have a finite life span, beyond a certain age, the probability of survival becomes unpredictable.
Blame it on the foreign hand
The government's policy of screening long-staying foreigners for AIDS is an attempt to find a scapegoat for a national health problem
Whose home is it, anyway?
The Maldharis of the Gir national park face eviction because their "unsustainable" economy if threatening the Asiatic lion
UNEP set to navigate a new course
The United Nations Environment Programme, which had previously advanced legal instruments to solve global environmental problems, is now …
Mira Behn: A friend of nature
The urge to be close to nature guided Madeleine Slade, who came to be known as Mira Behn, throughout her life
An identity crisis for the South
The developing world needs to define what the South represents, for otherwise it risks its legitimacy as a negotiating bloc
Peasant women list their woes to scientists
At a recent conference, women farm workers got a chance to discuss their problems with agricultural experts.
Industrialising agriculture dooms the sources of life
Greens contend that agricultural productivity can be increased many times with minimal use of water and a few external inputs, but most …
Why are we begging for eco-clean technology?
If industrialised countries were legally barred from exporting anything considered eco-unfriendly, industries in the developing countries would …
Wanted: an independent appeals institution
If the World Bank does not withdraw from the Narmada dam, it will undermine the credibility it gained from setting up the review team. US NGOs …
THE BIG BAD WHITE MEN
To villagers in Bihar, the Dunkel Draft and GATT are not proposals or agreements but a couple of angrez out to play havoc with their lives.
High talk
Unspeak has piled up mountains of words on sustainable development of the world's fragile peaks, and action courses seem to have been lost on the …
Some knowledge is forever
The validity of traditional ecological practices, in terms of sustainability, has to be examined scientifically