Several Worlds, one vision
Satyajit Ray's films showed an extreme sensitivity to the natural world. Yet he was no naturalist. The people he portrayed were carefully …
A city derailed
The Calcutta tramcar system, perhaps the only eco-friendly feature in the city's ruined landscape, is heading towards extinction
Leading the way to brain damage
India has yet to tackle the problem of leaded petrol, which causes brain damage in children
If words were deeds
If a recently-held seminar on the Girl Child in the capital is any indication, her plight is not going to improve in a hurry.
Menageries with messages
Zoos have evolved from being mere sources of entertainment to educational centres.
The year of ecobabble
Despite numerous proclamations of eco-friendliness and a deluge of treaties, not much was done in 1993 to make fuelwood and clean water easily …
Neemm - manim, what else
The brouhaha about neern patents gets a forceful rebuttal
Hard-selling a fallacy
The North will stagnate, South will grow, and the multinationals, aided by World Bank ideologues, will exploit the poorer countries for their own …
Never equal
What does development-engineered displacement mean for the other half?
Homework on global summits
Representatives of the South must pull up their socks on garnering vital data on the ongoing policy debates
All for the people
International organisations concentrating on the moral and material uplift of the underpriviledged
Requiem
It was a strong anti -adulteration law aimed at the standardising of food stuffs. Stronger industrial lobbies and vested interests helped it die …
Taken for a ride
Consumer-consciousness has yet to make a dent in the mind of the average Indian buyer. That 'consumer is the king' has remained merely a slogan …
Here we come, eco-chums!
Indigenous support systems that have been nourishing the Himalaya for centuries have become the current buzzword for progress
Coming of the know-all
The socio-ecological implications of the knowledge revolution are many and multifaceted. But the world needs a system where a 'post bi-polar' …
Convenient yardstick
Despite its disproportionately large carbon emissions, the US wants proportionate restrictions on the developing countries
Out of mind and sight
'The temples of modern India', its mega dams, have thrown the lives of many out of gear
Resurrecting a tradition
The tank system in India needs to be revived to maintain water reserves. This can be achieved through a central body such as the National Tank …
A kill for life
While whales must be conserved as a rare species, hunting the marine mammals is felt necessary for maintaining ecological balance
A 'common' problem
Nobody's forest
There is no organised people's movement to arrest forest depletion in northeast India
"Hello, there are leftovers"
The environmental costs of development projected by a World Bank study may be staggering, but a lot has been left unaccounted for
Wanted: a green spin doctor
Although considered a sensitive pressure group, the British Green Party badly needs to recover from languor and gain gloss
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