Development Deathtraps

Bonded labour, environmental devastation, abject working conditions... the stone crushing units of Haryana are a shame

Fielding politics

Commitment of a donor organisation to bring about a shift in the agrarian set-up should be matched by political machinations as well

Utterly unbutterly

Politicians dip their greasy palms into a successful cooperative venture to corner the cream

The need to be sure

The insurance market can become an invaluable weapon to protect the environment against errant industrial units

Damnable indispensability

Disposal of plastics is difficult. This drawback weighs heavy against the numerous advantages of the material

Undermining existence

Extensive coal mining in Raniganj, Bihar, has not only displaced communities but has also affected the lifestyle of the locals

Woods for women

Poor rural women in India need easy access to and control over forests

Mean inheritance

Scavengery continues to remain one of society's ills in spite of laws created to abolish it

In solidarity

The cover story 'Facing a silent spring...', (Down To Earth, Vol 5, No 13), about its editor Anil Agarwal's personal tryst with the consequences …

Pathogen paradigms

Foresight and planning are necessary to counter the new outbreaks of infectious diseases

Give Peace A Chance

Only a campaign that aims to conserve "wants" with the support of age-old "religious beliefs" can lead to a less strifed and more "peaceful world"

Green illusios

Germany is swamped in a controversy about a study which says sustainable development can be achieved only when the consumption of resources is …

Put to the horn

Keep out the buffaloes and the cranes will also stay out of wetlands. There is more to controlled grazing and conservation of wetlands than the …

All in a day's work

For women in the hill area of Kumaon, Uttar Pradesh, life is not easy. They have to wear the skin off their knuckles to scrape together a living

Food for soil

The 'green revolution' has boosted agricultural production and transformed semi-arid land, but its long-term effects on soil quality in India …

Clean and profitable

Pollution control methods are an investment that ensure long-term profits for the corporate sector

Every drop counts

Better management systems hold the key to overcoming water scarcity

Banking on carbon

World Bank's proposed role in the global carbon market is good news for the US, but it may spell doom for developing countries

Patenting life

It's time to take a moral and ethical look at the human genome project initiated in India

Look what our neighbour is up to!

Myanmar has not sqandered its natural resources in an attempt to ape the West

ABC of environment education

The North's experiences in environment education are not useful for the South

The guinea pig debate

Is there an alternative to guinea pigs in laboratory testing? Two members of the scientific community give their views

Pseudo science

- S K HANDA Former head, division of agricultural chemistry, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, writes in Agriculture Today (…

World Bank in a new avatar

While the World Bank launches its 'development gateway', critics gear up to counter the 'caring sharing knowledge bank' that it strives to portray

We, the consumers

Modern society is little concerned with how goods we use are produced and disposed of