Mission possible: Turning a waste land into a forest with a bank of traditional seeds

A father-daughter duo grow 800 varieties of traditional seeds in a 2.5-acre land in Nayagarh district of Odisha

How climate change-induced glacial melt affects people in the Himalayan region

Climate change-induced glacial melt can seriously affect half a billion people in the Himalayan region.If the warming trend continues, most populated areas of the world may run out of water

Will 2019 Lok Sabha elections be fought over the agrarian crisis?

Agrarian distress has started to manifest in the election results. The first signs were visible in the 2017 assembly elections in Gujarat, where BJP lost a sizeable share of rural votes. In the Lok Sabha elections in 2019, the rural population can prove decisive

No political will to fight global warming finds 2019 Climate Change Performance Index

Are countries doing enough to counter the effects of climate change? Apparently not! 

India lost more than 70,000 people because of climate change-related disasters

A new report by an international thinktank Germanwatch has some bad news for India. It says that between 1998 and 2017, India lost, on an average, 3,660 people every year because of extreme weather events. In this period 73,212 casualties were reported from India.

Why the cheetah may never come back to India?

The year India became independent it also lost all its cheetahs. In 1947, India's last two Asiatic Cheetahs were shot dead in erstwhile princely state of Surguja. In 1952, India declared its cheetah population extinct

Voices of women from Dilli Chalo: We need equal rights as men farmers

A large contingent of women farmers marched along with their male counterparts at the Dilli Chalo protest on November 29-30 in Delhi. The women wanted their voices to be heard in the capital's power corridors. They want to be treated equally along with male counterparts. This includes equal wages; access to government credit and insurance schemes; equal land rights and the recognition that …

Farmers explain what brings them to the capital

Why did thousands of farmers take to the streets of New Delhi? Down To Earth turned the mike over to them

Why is Dilli Chalo 2018 a unique protest march by farmers?

P Sainath, noted grassroot journalist and founder editor of People's Archive of Rural India, talks about why this farmer protest is unique? About one lakh farmers from all over India are gathering in Delhi on November 29, 2018. On November 30, they will march to Parliament Street to demand a special Parliament session to discuss the present agrarian crisis and pass two bills. 

Are political parties looking at women differently?

In India, perhaps for the first time, election manifestoes have been made keeping women in mind. The upcoming elections in Madhya Pradesh and Chhatisgarh bear witness to this trend.

Malnutrition among tribal children

Malnutrition is unacceptably higher among India’s tribal population than other communities. Among tribal children under five, 51.1 per cent are stunted, that is eight percentage points higher than among non-tribal children.

Why are Indian farmers protesting?

Farmers all over India are protesting against the government to get fair prices for their agricultural produce. Down To Earth explains the reasons behind these protests.

Aanandaa Farms: The joy of growing a food forest

Manisha Lath Gupta, who was an executive vice president in a private bank, decided to grow healthy food for herself and her family in 2011. She and her husband then created a food forest called Aanandaa on the principles of permaculture. What was a barren piece of land six years ago is now a food forest with more than 4,500 trees.

Cyclones that have hit India: What you should know?

Here is what you should know about cyclonic activity in India as Cyclone Gaja is going to hit the coast of Tamil Nadu today.

What is global warming doing to ocean floors?

A new study done by researchers at Montreal-based Mcgill University has found that acidification is also rapidly dissolving the ocean floor.

DIY: How to make Colin type of glass and multipurpose cleaner at home

Making your own personal hygiene products are easier than you think. Kirti Negi Bajoria, a professional who is on a sabbatical makes a lot of household and personal care products on her own. In this video, she demonstrates a simple recipe to make multipurpose cleaners and glass cleaners at home using Castile Soap. This is a DIY video.

Electric vehicles are becoming more popular, but which countries are buying them?

A new report by the International Council of Clean Transportation has come out with a new briefing paper on the electric vehicles market. This report has some useful insights into where electric vehicles have become popular and the reasons for its popularity.

This startup is making fiber from stubble so that farmers don't burn it and cause pollution

A young startup formed by IIT Delhi students have found a novel way to take care of paddy stubble

Earth has lost 60% of its animals since 1970

Is the world losing its biodiversity faster than it can replace? A new report by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has some ominous news

Why farmers in Punjab and Haryana continue to burn rice stubble?

Every year during October and November, farmers in Punjab and Haryana are blamed for polluting the Delhi air by burning stubble

How erratic rainfall is affecting the lives of pastoralists

Climate change has reduced grass cover, forcing the pastoral communities to alter their age-old grazing pattern and occupation.

Meet Bandicoot India's new robot that can end manual scavenging

A robotics start-up from Kerala called GenRobotic Innovations has developed a solution to end manual scavenging