'Workers' safety is connected with the environment'
The increasing risk of industrial closure on environmental grounds seems to be stirring many trade unions in India to sensitise themselves to …
Opening up, but tread softly
April 2003 saw two diverse regions in India take a similar decision. Both partially opened the door to tourism in hitherto protected belts. One …
Tribunal on trial
It has been four years since the National Green Tribunal (NGT) Act was passed by Parliament for effective and expeditious disposal of cases …
“Aboriginal people in Australia still do not have right over their land”
Poet and writer ALI COBBY ECKERMANN was in India recently to launch her memoir, Too Afraid To Cry. The book is an account of her growing up as a …
A reluctant candidate for Chile's presidency
Meet Manfred Max-Neef. Pianist, economist, eco-humanist and politician from Chile, all rolled into one. Internationally acclaimed for his concept …
"The awareness here is dismal"
Karnataka High Court's Justice M F Saldanha has emerged as one of judiciary's standard bearers in the ongoing battle to save the environment. His …
"At what cost to the environment"
"The country's forest cover will be raised by five per cent during the Ninth Plan," said Suresh P Prabhu , the Union minister for …
Pollution of Hinduisim
Simply put it is an amazing gap between theory and practice. Yet it is one of the main reasons why India's environment is as degraded as it is …
India will soon play a major role
SIRPA Pietikainen, Finland's environment minister, says the world has quite a few things to learn from India, especially when it comes to …
The power game
Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have become increasingly influential in the past 50 years. Awareness of human rights and social and …
High Altitude Dilemma
It is an intriguing view from the high mountains of Bhutan. To the east lies Nepal, grappling large-scale environmental degradation. To the north …
Blending green concerns into market economy
GERMAN environment minister Klaus Topfer has come under fire for his tough green laws such as the one against packaging. Environmental ministries,…
Will liberalisation destroy the environment?
Get eight economists to discuss an issue and you'll get nine opinions. Down to Earth did precisely that. Eight noted economists were invited, …
Labour vs pollution
Ever since the Supreme Court (sc) ordered closure/relocation of polluting units in Delhi, which subsequently left nearly 50,000 people jobless,…
Is the joyride over ?
There was fear in the 1960s. Would India continue to wait for food imports to feed itself? The scientific community came up with an answer that …
Forest war
Naxalism started as a movement against land alienation. Today it has become a popular movement against natural resource alienation, …
Takeover threat
State of the world 2002 (us $15.95), vital signs 2002 (us $14.95); eco-economy: building an economy for the earth, 2001 (us $14.95) .
Beyond Bhopal: incentive for unsafe industries
A judgement by a Bhopal court has brought the worst gas tragedy into spotlight. It has galvanized the media and the government into action. A …
Earth crusaders
Ever since the first Earth Day was celebrated in 1970, countries around the world celebrate April 22 by organising programmes to plant saplings, …
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 milk that ate the grass
India may be the largest producer of milk in the world, but at an incredible cost. In achieving this distinction, the country's vast cattle …
Private affairs
The invitation was innocuous. The Confederation of Indian Industry (cii) -- the grouping of the large and most powerful industries -- was …
Small towns do not degrade the rural environment
Auroville, or 'the city of dawn', is a unique township located in a predominantly rural district of Villupuram in Tamil Nadu. At the time of its …
A tale of two peoples
Just as Brazil and Nigeria lie Geographically parallel to each other along the Atlantic, the fates of their seem sealed in a similar fashion. …
‘How can India be a defendant, and not a claimant in the Bhopal case’
Union law minister, Veerappa Moily, on October 27, announced the government will not pursue the ongoing lawsuit in the US for compensating Bhopal …