We found to our horror
By regulation, the soft drink industry must use "potable" water. But what's that? Who ensures municipalities meet standards? What …
Why environmental degradation is a big health risk
Down To Earth and Centre for Science and Environment jointly release Body Burden 2015, an annual health report
Keeping cancer alive
Punjab has been in the grip of cancer for over a decade but the government has ignored the threat. Sonal Matharu reports with photographer …
Prominent Indian tea brands contain pesticides: Greenpeace
Study finds 67 per cent of tested samples of packed tea leaves contained banned pesticide DDT; some samples had acutely poisonous monocrotophos
Into the ginger trap
Farmers from Kerala make big bucks by growing ginger in Karnataka but leave behind a trail of pollution
Supreme Court reminder to FSSAI on monitoring pesticides in food commodities
Non-profit Centre for Science and Environment says food regulatory body should also periodically test packaged and processed food, including soft …
Contaminating millets
There is disquiet over government scheme to wean traditional millet farmers on chemical inputs
GE cotton: Three states refuse NOC for field trials
GEAC demands Telangana, Gujarat state reasons for declining, will take decision if Maharashtra doesn't reply on time
Kidney conundrum
A mysterious chronic kidney disease is afflicting a large number of people in India and Sri Lanka. Despite decades of studies, scientists are …
International journal vindicates endosulfan study
The strong case against endosulfan just got stronger. Environmental Health Perspectives, a peer-reviewed scientific journal of international …
Drained India's inland wetlands
During the last ten years, India has lost about 38 per cent of its inland wetlands; in some districts, as much as 88 per cent of the wetlands …
Investment terror
Since the 1990s developing nations have been on a treaty spree, signing a vast number of bilateral and regional investment treaties to attract …
Pesticide residues in bottled water
Packaged drinking water or natural mineral water is everywhere. It is now available in pouches, cups, bottles and bulky transparent jars. It is …
Pollution pays
Whenever the issue of how to end pollution is raised, it hits a block: technology. Take the case of air pollution: among other things, the issue …
Pure myth
When was the last time you drank water straight from the tap at your house to slake thirst on a hot summer day, without hesitation. Chances are …
Secretive tribunals, hidden damages
Canadian academic Gus Van Harten is well known for his efforts to reform the global investment treaty regime through his research papers, …
India’s many investment treaties make it vulnerable
Senior international lawyer Nathalie Bernasconi-Osterwalder, who heads the investment programme of the International Institute on Sustainable …
What's in your honey?
Ayurveda prescribes it for a range of ailments. People eat it for rejuvenation and boosting immunity. An Indian homemaker’s kitchen shelf …
Made it
Enabavi, a village of 52 families, is abuzz. It is hosting farmers from the nearby Kallem village who have come here for tips on profitable …
‘Stopping GM trials is anti-farmer’
Genetically modified (GM) mustard hybrid DMH-11 developed by Delhi University’s Centre for Genetic Manipulation of Crop Plants ran into …
Lost in plantation
Millions of growers and workers are in distress in Kerala, the plantation capital of India, as domestic and international prices of cash crops …