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,…
Peta's Pet
UK-based animal welfare group People for Ethical Treatment of Animals has been campaigning against Indian leather, alleging ill-treatment of …
On foot and pedal
The teeming millions on foot and pedal are powering mobility in Indian cities. Their numbers exceed those who use cars. Yet they are victims of …
Sunshine sector loses sheen
About 40 kilometres from Delhi, in the bustling real estate market of Noida-Greater Noida, lies the biggest irony that the renewable energy …
Kudankulam meltdown
The spectre of Fukushima continues to haunt the world, forcing governments in most parts of the globe to rethink their plans to tap this …
Face to face
Scientists at Tubingen University, Germany, have dared to prove the impossible - that the human brain and its impulses could turn the …
Antidote to cancer
Scientists have discovered an oestrogen derivative that controls tumours and could be effective against other diseases like arthritis
Avant-garde antiques
The world is soon to herald the revived version of a flying machine called the airship which had been relegated to the annals of history. These …
Is it too soon to celebrate Germany’s almost 100% renewable power?
For a few minutes, the entire power demand in the country was met by renewable energy, but the celebration should not begin yet
Technological juggernaut loses speed
Endless red tape and public hostility to technology have raised fears about the future of Germany's technological sector
The Wasted Earth
Waste has become a global problem, and is demanding curative technologies that require almost preternatural efficiency to execute. And that keep …
SPOTLIFGHT
Come hither ye men; come hither ye women; come one come together" is a cry often associated with Indian villages, but this one emanates from …
Die Grnen
The Greens. Forebears of the present German Green party. What has happened to their ideals? Why is the party viewed just as a somnolent giant …
The cytokine factor
A group of genes help creating cytokines, which could either offer a protective cover against immunological diseases or else inflame them
The mighty Rhine dries up
A drought blamed on climate change has badly affected the most important river in Western Europe and this has, in turn, impacted inland supplies
Bumpy ride
At the recent Berlin Climate Summit, amid North-South wrangles, an agreement was reached to detail how to - and who has to reduce greenhouse gas …
Turning on the heat
The Green Party in France threatens to pull out of the government over the nuclear energy issue
‘Europe will witness more extreme megadroughts in the years ahead’
Down To Earth speaks to climate historian Christian Pfister from the University of Berne about Europe’s tryst with drought this year, in …
Greening German politics
The Green party, until recently the dark horse of German politics, is finally sitting pretty in the Bundestag, after years in the radical fringe
Putting the brakes on emissions
To reduce emissions of ozone-depleting substances, a state government in Germany has hauled the reins on motorists rocketing down highways
Fresh light illumines search for dark matter
New evidence has emerged for the existence of dark matter -- an invisible constituent of the universe that is believed to play a key role in the …
Hydrogen hopes
German engineers are transporting shiploads of hydrogen from Canada to Europe, where it will be harnessed as an alternate source of fuel and energy
Green illusios
Germany is swamped in a controversy about a study which says sustainable development can be achieved only when the consumption of resources is …
Green incentives
The German government's idea of ecological tax may seem impressive, but it hasn't got too many takers. There are too many contradictions, say …
In a better mould
German researchers have hit upon a novel technique that converts waste plastics into multiple gains for steel industry