Reason to celebrate?
The biodiversity bill has finally been approved by the Parliament standing committee on science, technology and the environment. But is the way …
Health costs first
USEPA can now set stringent air quality standards only on the basis of health costs, not economic impacts
Killing them softly
Dolphins, the most playful and beguiling mammals of water, are on the verge of extinction. Awareness programmes will go a long way in preserving …
Net bill, gross disaster
The Aquaculture Authority Bill makes a mockery of the Supreme Court ruling on aquaculture firms
Slipping through
Late reaction to toxic oil imports by state Pollution Control Board (Read full article)
Sentinels of Sound
When noise levels rise over 55 decibels, sound becomes unsound. Isolated pleas against the racket of revelry have fallen on deaf ears. But a …
Escape clause inserted
Although claiming otherwise, Bush's new plan leaves enough room for the US to raise its emission of greenhouse gases
Taj corridor project compromises heritage
Sadly, preserving Taj Mahal appeared to be the last thing on the authorities' mind when they allowed land reclamation work to continue for six …
Clogged up in Delhi
More than two years ago, the Union ministry of urban development and poverty alleviation (moud) issued a notification making wastewater recycling …
Kerala panchayat wins face-off with Coke
Two recent directives of the Kerala High Court have further vindicated the Perumatty Grama Panchayat's stand in its face-off with the Hindustan …
Seeds bill doesn't matter in India's horticulture capital
sopan joshi meets farmer-tycoons oblivious of the Seeds Bill 2004, but hooked to a biotech future
Blood on the Internet
Governments are censoring digital content on the ground that it infringes intellectual property rights or offends people. Can they be stopped?
The red triangle
The government, the judiciary and the people have to take action together to stop environmental damage. Laws have to be enacted and cases taken …
Strict environmental policies
The struggle to restore river normalcy gathers momentum in the US with strict sanctions on dam construction
Haunted by the past
Five years ago, Nigerian social activist Ken Saro-Wiwa was killed because he fought against multinational oil companies and dared to assert the …
Strengthening the act
Amendments proposed to the Insecticides Act seek to give it more muscle and check the growth of spurious pesticides
Generating controversy
Environment ministry favours small manufacturers, ignores experts' advice on air emission norms for off-road diesel engines
Wildlife board discovers it has no say
Though touted as a statutory body with teeth, the National Wildlife Board was tamed by Union minister for environment and forests T R Baalu at …
A mountain to climb
Cash-strapped Uttaranchal embarks on industrialisation. However, its policies are frightfully blind to green issues
Black attack
Has the Union ministry of environment and forests laid malicious siege to Dahanu taluka, in Maharashtra's Thane district?
New US rules on food imports
It has been nine months since the US began its search for chemical and biological weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Although nothing was found,…
One step forward, many steps back
Some recent amendments to the Wildlife Protection Act could infuse new life into a fusty act, but there are others that threaten to pull matters back
Is the government reconsidering the clinical establishments Act?
With stiff opposition from private players, the fate of the clinical establishments Act seems to be at risk
10 years on, Supreme Court order on firecracker composition gathers dust
Authorities have released composition-based guidelines for only four of 40 categories of fireworks
DTC: OUT OF GAS?
With the deadline for converting its entire bus fleet to compressed natural gas drawing near, the Delhi Transport Corporation looks for excuses …