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 …
What goes down must come up
It is a crime. Numerous factories deliberately inject untreated effluents directly into the ground, contaminating underground aquifers. Down To …
The CNG sabotage
To clean up Delhi's air, the Supreme Court ruled in July 1998 that all public transport should move away from diesel and towards compressed …
Of stoves, kilns and a fine distinction between emissions
In the second week of March, activists, academics, policy-makers and experts in various fields came together in Delhi to throw light on the …
Unhealthy countryside
It was once associated with the rich and urban. Today, hypertension is fast spreading in rural India. This is a cause for concern because …
Clear as air
The grim picture of a lung scarred by pollution is of no shock value today. An ailing populace continues to throw up a phlegm of protests. To …
Food processing industry takes a toll on country's health
Eating at home isn’t the in thing anymore. Hanging out is hip, especially in the mushrooming fast food joints that blister the skylines of …
Cockpit
In early December 2007, the country prided itself on providing the world with a road map to check the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus H5NI.…
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 …
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 …
What's in your honey?
Ayurveda prescribes it for a range of ailments. People eat it for rejuvenation and boosting immunity. An Indian homemaker’s kitchen shelf …
Fat of the matter
What does 'healthy oil' really mean? It is difficult to tell. The Centre for Science and Environment studied branded edible oils to understand …
United Colours of Industry
Of all dyes produced across the world, 11 per cent goes out as effluents. 2 per cent from manufacturing and as much as 9 per cent from colouring. …
The new obesity
A growing number of people are unable to shed those extra pounds despite strict diet regimes and long hours of workout. Evidence shows that the …
The waste-to-energy plant violates emission norms by not using environment-friendly technologies
Since 2009, the residents of Sukhdev Vihar, a residential colony in Delhi, have been fighting against a waste-to-energy plant operated by Jindal …
All You Need to Know about Your Bread
A new study by Delhi-based non-profit Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has shown that 84 per cent of bread and bakery samples collected …
Troubled Beautiful Minds
They are there—each residential area has its mentally disturbed people; each family has anecdotes of crazy relatives. Nobody wants to …
Future shock
As the world continues to pump greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, the global temperatures could rise by 3°C by mid-century, says a soon-to-…
Deafening Noise
Constant exposure to noise can make one deaf. The major culprit is road traffic. Can one avoid noise? It’s difficult. Checking it, however, …
Investment terror
Since the 1990s developing nations have been on a treaty spree, signing a vast number of bilateral and regional investment treaties to attract …
IT's underbelly
India produces about 400,000 tonnes of electronic waste each year, growing exponentially. Handling this is a great challenge. What adds to it is …
Secretive tribunals, hidden damages
Canadian academic Gus Van Harten is well known for his efforts to reform the global investment treaty regime through his research papers, …
India’s many investment treaties make it vulnerable
Senior international lawyer Nathalie Bernasconi-Osterwalder, who heads the investment programme of the International Institute on Sustainable …
English medicine
PUBLIC HEALTH IN BRITISH INDIA: ANGLO INDIAN PREVENTIVE MEDICINE (1859-1914) Mark Harrison Cambridge University Press Rs 395
On the pollutant hunt
Regular and planned monitoring of air quality in India started with the national ambient air quality monitoring (naaqm) network, launched by CPCB …