EDRIVEN
Electric and hybrid vehicles are gaining a foothold because they are cheap and clean. But batteries are either expensive or short-lived. Their …
Panchayat Raj Half a cheer for democracy
There is a great push to make panchayats the fulcrum of rural development in India. But 16 years after the third tier of government was created, …
A tinge of green
Issues relating to the environment, though not on top of the agenda, did make their presence felt in the just-concluded assembly elections.
The four pillars of non-conventional energy
After initial success in deriving energy from water, sun, wind and biomass, India is poised for a great leap in making these the energy sources …
Smokescreen
The most powerful government in the world and the behemoth tobacco industry are waging a ding-dong battle over...well, cigarettes
For a few units more
A high-tech power station foreign companies are building in Maharashtra is being touted as the "perfect solution" to its anticipated electricity …
Chaotic response to calamity
The killer quake struck unexpectedli in the still of the night. Entire villages were flattened and thousands perished. Though rescue and relief …
A tale of two villages beguiled by JRY
The panchayats of Sonrai in Uttar Pradesh and Palana in Rajasthan share a Jawahar Rozgar Yojana experience. Both ignored the water needs of the …
Poverty alleviation: investment or mere sop?
After successive reductions, can increased allocations for rural development, agriculture, education and health be effective?
The eye in the sky
India is one of the few developing countries to have its own space satellite systems. And, now Indian planners are depending increasingly on …
Wielding the green whip
Mexico can't sell its "dolphin-unfriendly" tuna to USA. Japan faces punishment for exporting jewellery made of hawksbill sea turtle …
The wood femine
Decline in supplies has badly affected many traditional crafts. Woodcarving in Saharanpur is one of them. Despite a revitalised export market, …
Science of the Common people
A recent congress highlighted the relevance of people-oriented science and technology such as the management of water, forests and agriculture.
Sustainability and the southern perspective
European environmentalists tackle Third World concerns of irresponsible overconsumption by northern countries
Tapping into the source
These are the days of frenetic crossborder data networking. Electronic cilia have crawled into almost every nook in the world where information …
God's own country
This is a true story of the beautiful state of Kerala, of its famed backwaters and wetlands, of its rain-swept Western Ghats. It also speaks of …
Research without change
Robert Repetto and Sanjay Baliga quote a number of studies carried out by Indians in India and abroad on the impact of pesticides on the immune …
The other course
Traditional curative systems like ayurveda, homoeopathy, acupuncture... are being revived as alternative medicine. But in India and the Orient, …
Hot air?
Agenda 21, formulated during the Rio Summit in June 1992, was touted as an earth-saving measure by the leaders of more than 100 participatory …
Courting green
When the executive fails, people seek redressal from courts. In some cases, the courts have merely put the seal of approval on the actions of …
In crisis
The desert city of Jodhpur in Rajasthan is an excellent example of how Thoughtless processes of modernisation and urbanisation have destroyed an …
Infamy and after
Minamata in Japan and Bhopal in India. Two of the worst cases of chemical disaster to have hit the world this century. Years later, the …
DENMARK
People collect rainwater without any support from the government. This saves the avoidable overuse of drinking water
The value of a raindrop
Rainwater is as usable to the industrialised North as to the underdeveloped South. As important to the poor, rural household as to the gardens …
Loss of the wild
Greed has taken a heavy toll on the wealth of herbs in India. Manufacturers of herbal products are cutting the very branch on which the industry …