Scientists image mysterious rock zone 3,000 km beneath Earth’s surface

They found that the speed of earthquake waves travelling through the base of the structure could be 40 per cent slower than the surrounding regions

Land the size of South America will be degraded if current trends continue: UN Report

We cannot afford to continue taking land, our most valuable asset, for granted, says UNCCD chief

Can't prevent earthquakes, but can minimise Damage: Earth Sciences ministry

Vulnerable areas include all north-eastern states, Delhi, the Kutch region in Gujarat and Andaman & Nicobar Islands

Earth Day@50: NatGeo highlights evolution of Human-Nature relationship

National Geographic brings together its family of explorers and experts to highlight the fragile human-nature relationship

Research shows universe's first life was born on carbon planets

This work shows that even stars with a tiny fraction of the carbon in our solar system can host planets

National Saffron Mission has failed due to government insensitivity, say growers

The ailing industry was badly hit by last year’s floods which damaged saffron worth Rs 668 crore 

High on jargon, low on justice!

A new, just and transformative world order, calls for new rules, new structures, new solidarities, new leadership. World leaders negotiating the …

‘Human activities taking a toll on Antarctic ecosystems’

New study says that people are misusing Protocol on Environmental Protection to indulge in various activities in Antarctica

Blame it on the foreign hand

Centre's motive behind the unseen "foreign hand" theory is to polarise the development discourse

Rs 16 lakh crore

This is the least value of "unproductive" work done by women in a year in India, and it is close to government's annual budget

Arabian Sea likely to host Tropical Cyclone Nilofar

After a long time, significant cyclonic activity is possible in the Arabian Sea; people in Bhuj coast of Gujarat need to follow weather updates

Punjab sets an example by banning junk food in schools

By not allowing children to bring junk food from home, the state education department's message—that junk food is unhealthy—is made …

Atma Ram Shukla – President, Biogas Forum of India

Atma Ram Shukla superannuated as Advisor (Bio-energy) in the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy in September, 2011 after working for the …

Second disempowerment

Tribals have lost their decision-making power twice; first to the state then to the Maoists

Memories of a city

Book>> Ahmedabad, Shock city of Twentieth Century India, by Howard Spodek, Orient Blackswan, Rs 795

Together is better

New algorithm shows how group size affects animals’ response to environmental changes

Myth of onion

The humble vegetable’s price is not a lethal weapon against politicians but their victim

A search for a lost friend

Book>> Let’s Call Him Vasu: With The Maoists In Chhattisgarh • Shubhranshu Choudhary • Penguin Books • Rs 350

For the love of gond

How an edible gum works wonders for the taste buds as well as health, explains Pooja Singh

When the ice melts

Book>> The Future History Of The Arctic • by Charles Emmerson • Random House • Rs 599

The joy and the spoilsport

Increase in Durga Puja extravagance has gone hand-in-hand with the erosion of traditional communities and increasing footprints of merrymaking

An identity crisis for the South

The developing world needs to define what the South represents, for otherwise it risks its legitimacy as a negotiating bloc

A handful of aces for the North

Global environmental concerns throw open the South to Northern intervention, whereas the South has limited interest in intervening in Northern …

No taking cheap Colombian coal to Newcastle

John Major's Conservative government is learning the hard way that a free market economy alway works better anywhere but at home.

Speaking for the people

Rio saw the largest ever gathering of NGOs -- over 2,000 of them. And finally the world was forced to acknowledge that NGOs were the real voice …