What's eating the vulture?
There were 2,000 vultures in Bharatpur's Keoladeo National Park during the 1980s. In 1998 experts could spot only four . Ornithologist …
On paper
The Green Rating Project (GRP) of the Centre for Science and Environment was conceived as a means to track the environmental performance of India'…
Global food crisis: causes and implications for India
Is there a global crisis unravelling? World food reserves are at their lowest in 25 years and the prices of most food crops are at a record high. …
Chipko: an unfinished mission
In 20 years, Chipko has acquired many facets, primarily as a conservation endeavour by the poor, a struggle for local control of natural …
The last frontier
The Earth's overexploited seas are in danger of turning into the Last Frontier. In giant, demonic trawls, the World's oceans are being …
On the Edge
In Vietnam, an astonishing array of species, some never before encountered by humans, are being threatened by deforestation and an illegal trade …
Breach of trust
This is not a story about floods in Bihar. This is a story about how an entire society has been corrupted by money meant to build embankments for …
Rising popularity of artificial vanilla puts Kerala farmers in distress
Vanilla is said to be the world's most popular flavour. As much as 40 per cent of the world's ice cream is vanilla flavoured. Its sweet, mildly …
Will the boom last?
Fifteen years after it rose and went limp, the biotech sector, globally, as well as in India has seen a bull run of sorts. In January this year, …
Umbilical Discord
An estimated 8,000 babies are born with neural defects every year in Rajasthan. Most of them die within a few months of birth. They are lucky. …
A Public Effort
Where the government has failed miserably in providing quality service to the people, some ngos have set an example on how urban waste can be …
Bogged Down
Waste generation is not rare in urban areas, nor any other part of the world. The only difference is in the management of wastes. An effective, …
Children of a lesser State
A rare killer disease, Japanese encephalitis, has been annually and invariably breaking out in eastern Uttar Pradesh, India. This year, so far, 3,…
TRIPPED
On December 26, 2004, the Union government of India issued the Patents (Amendments) Ordinance, which will change the way the country does …
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 …
Deadly Particles
They are tiny and deadly. Recent research has brought to light the existence of airborne particles so tiny they defy measurement. Toxic particles …
Exhausting Practices
Prescribed as the antidote for all problems related to vehicular pollution, Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificates have been an obsession …
How carcinogenic is your CAR?
Do you want a country full of cars? Cars cause cancer. Scientists can even measure the cancer potency levels of the cars we ride. The so-called …
Profit from the poor
Fifty-four suicides in Andhra Pradesh have blown the lid off the social posturing by microfinance companies. Before the news of the deaths sank …
Kangra safe corners
The Himalaya is the youngest range of mountains in the world are immensely prone to earthquakes. The entire range falls in seismic zone 5 and 4 - …
Real estate on water
Lakes were critical for Indian cities. They prevented floods and recharged groundwater. Today, these holes in the ground are either lucrative …
Vaccine Eloquent
Universal vaccination became part of government policy in 1978. A quarter of a century since, progress has been fitful. In some parts of the …
The precarious geopolitics of phosphorous
Both nitrogen and phosphorous are essential to life. Lynchpins both to global food production, circulating through synthesis or export and then …
GOT IT!
Think tourism in India and the first images that will flash through your mind is -- the Taj Mahal and the Indian tiger. Tigers, and the protected …
A fish moves west
Ten years ago Bangladesh’s rivers were deeper and hilsa plentiful. Silting, dams and pollution pushed the fisher into deep ocean leading to …