Prolific movements
Researchers prove that movements in the Earth's crust are largely responsible for the uneven distribution of global biological diversity
Creative accounting
The US administration reneged on its earlier undertaking on the Kyoto Protocol, choosing instead to come up with its own climate change strategy: …
Has forest cover really increased?
The provisional figures for India's forest cover are now ready, and Down To Earth has managed to acquire a copy. The figures, when compared to …
Embodied energy demystified
Building materials are much more energy-intensive than perceived. India lags in taking steps to reduce their use
Every hour, a farmer committed suicide in 2015
87 per cent of total number of suicides were reported from well-off states such as Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh,…
The idea of a clean city
could well become a myth by 2007. More than half of the world' s population by then would be urban dwelling. The urban ecological footprint would …
Smog envelops India's smaller cities
A recent release from the Central Pollution Control Board, Parivesh, January 2003, presents deadly facts about air pollution levels in Indian …
Another opportunity lost
This year's UN Commission on Sustainable Development meet provided no roadmap to attain Millennium Development Goals on water, sanitation and …
Caught in the web
Of poverty, life in India has improved little over the past decade, reports the planning commission's National Human Development Report 2001
Fat Chance
Reducing obesity -- the leading cause of non-communicable diseases in the world -- has become a political game. At stake are the interests of the …
Imbalance of footprints
Resource-rich countries remain poor, and they spend most of their income on food. Developed countries conitnue to increase their appetite
Rise of livestock
Agriculture sector undergoes a historic change as livestock surpasses the economy of food grain
No silver lining
Even as UNEP calls for an international treaty on mercury pollution, India and other developing countries are oblivious to the dangers of being …
Reduced greenhouse gas emissions to impact profits
a new report will help people take informed decisions about investing in the automobile sector. It includes details of how efforts to restrict …
Book on pulses takes readers on amazing journey across varied cultures
Pulses are packed with proteins–double than that found in wheat and three times than that in rice
Childhood stunting affects future success in life, say experts
According to a study, stunting causes physical and neurocognitive damage that is irreversible in most cases
Short on paramedics
Hospitals employ untrained staff due to acute shortage of qualified paramedics in the country
Carry the burden
Of your waste, the government needs to tell the plastic industry. Other countries have done so. At times, to developing nations' detriment. …
"Serious study has not yet begun"
R Uma Shankar, Department of Crop Physiology, University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, speaks to Down To Earth
"We need to be more proactive"
Dr. S. Ramani, senior scientist (Agricultural Entomology), Project Directorate of Biological Control (Indian Council of Agricultural Research), …
"Biological control is the way out"
Dr. R D Gautam, principal scientist and in-charge of the Plant Health Clinic, speaks to Down To Earth
Once poachers now guards
At Kerala's Periyar Tiger Reserve, deepa kozhisseri finds local tribal communities happily involved in forest protection and ecotourism
Wash out
In the guise of making washing easy, detergents are directing a chemical fusillade at the environment in the absence of regulation, discovers …
Rain Shocked
Rising trend of short but intense spells of rainfall is making usable water scarce in India
Fall of the paragon
Century-old teak plantation business loses ground in India because of poor management and short-sighted policies