These three areas in and around Delhi give tell-tale accounts of the state of affairs pan-India
Three areas narrate three different stories. Palanpur village, in Uttar Pradesh’s Moradabad district, has been a subject for researchers …
Global environmental risks
Environmental risks are perceived to be the five most critical long-term threats to the world as well as the most potentially damaging to people …
Debate: Has economic liberalisation threatened India’s environment and natural resources?
The inaugural issue of Down To Earth (May 31, 1992) coincided with India opening up its economy. We carried a debate on how economic …
2016 Annual State of India’s Environment Report (SOE) - Print & e-book)
The latest issue of the State of India’s Environment 2016 is bigger and better. Articles summing up the latest developments from forests …
Everybody's a Loser
The World Trade Organization's recent ministerial meet in Seattle, USA, will be remembered more for the protestors who turned the venue into a …
Promises to keep
With the 1996 general elections just around the corner, the nation's premier political parties are back to making elaborate 'green' promises. But …
The Method Behind The Madness
When the official system learns to loot the official treasury, it also targets the natural estate, the biggest property of the modern state. Good …
An environmental skirt to hide behind
In a dark time reason takes a backseat, and propaganda can get rash. To convince 'nose-in-the-air' liberals that Saddam is really a bad boy, he …
A Renewable Crisis
The last time there was a major push for renewable energy alternatives to polluting fossil fuels was in the aftermath of 1970s oil shock. And then,…
My report is not an industry report: T S R Subramanian
The High Level Committee (HLC), constituted by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) three months ago to …
The power game
Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have become increasingly influential in the past 50 years. Awareness of human rights and social and …
Need or greed?
The Union Ministry of Finance has recently alleged that green clearances are holding up the country’s infrastructure development and growth.…
I was dropped because I stood for Western Ghats conservation: P T Thomas
P T Thomas, senior Indian National Congress leader and sitting Member of Parliament from Idukki Lok Sabha constituency, has been denied a ticket …
'I will not say Delhi is an environmental disaster'
Delhi is bursting at the seams from the pressures of rampant urbanisation. Everything that can possibly go wrong in this metro of 10 million …
Vedanta's Red Mud Pond
"Most future decisions will be business decisions"
The man who has hrought the Calcutta wetlands ecosystem to international limelight, DHRURAJYOTI GHOSH is still enchanted by challenges. As chief …
'I don't expect largescale policy initiatives in the environmental sector'
JONATHAN LASH heads the Washington-based World Resource Institute (WRI) and is the co-chairperson of the Presidential Commission on Sustainable …
“Environmental amnesia is constricting our intellect”
Though we are living in a highly degraded environment, we have failed to spot behavioural fallouts. Increasingly, children living in polluted …
The grand old man of Kannada
SOME PEOPLE live in years, others in deeds. At 91, Kota Shivarama Karanth has done both. Journalist, litterateur, dramatist, playwright, …
The US learns that green laws make sense after all
Make no mistake, US President George W Bush's office has conceded that green laws make sound economic sense. Although the White House reiterated …
Affected people can even approach the criminal court
JUSTICE N VENKATACHALA former judge of the Supreme Court, is currently chairperson of the National Environment Appellate Authority (NEAA). Set …
Mining firms set up shop in Orissa
Lanjigarh block, Kalahandi, Orissa, May 17: At its summit, the northeastern ridge of the Niyamgiri hill range has a bald patch, typical of …
Three sides to every story
Arthur Dunkel's legacy of proposals on patent, science and investment laws continues to be perceived differently. Even in individual countries, …
Paper chase
PAPER is important, but so are forests. The proposal of the ministry for environment and forests to allow the paper industry to establish …
Desperately seeking experts
The environmental situation in India is grave -- our natural resources are getting depleted at an alarming rate and there is an acute paucity of …