‘Super bacteria’ found at Brazil Olympic venues, beaches

They can cause infections, meningitis and lead to death

BHP and Rio Tinto’s ‘mining messes’ must be held to account: Report

The two UK-based multinationals had mined in Brazil, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea and then left the scene without compensating for their …

Glimpses of Peoples' Summit at Rio

Three brackets to Johannesburg

An inconclusive Bali PrepCom meet only takes confusion and procrastination to Rio +10

Kyoto's ghost will return

If predictions of global warming turn out to be true, the ludicrous decisions taken at the Kyoto conference will prove very costly to the world

Why have Olympic pools turned green?

Organisers said the discolouration was caused by drop in alkalinity in the pools

WHO to discuss Zika impact on Rio Olympics next week

Concern over the spread of the disease is growing with athletes pulling out of the event and scientists writing to WHO to move or postpone the Games

Once-mighty Rio Grande, other New Mexico rivers are ‘most endangered’ in the US: Non-profit

River that forms Mexican-American border endangered due to loss of federal clean water protections

Buxwaha: Has India’s government not learnt lessons from COVID-19?

What development can be achieved by wrecking an ecosystem on which the poorest depend?

Brazil drought may lead to water rationing by government

With more than four million people likely to be affected, this is believed to be the worst drought in Brazil

Action at Rio

The world gathers to mark 20 years of the first Earth Summit

AAD2024: Is there enough action to combat climate change? Conversation with Nitin Desai

Economist who popularised “sustainable development”, discusses the political consensus during the Rio Summit and the future …

Updates From Rio

The Rio+20 challenge

Green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication are the two themes of the summit, but consensus eludes on both …

The Paralympics is changing the way people perceive disabilities

People with disabilities are less restricted by their own impairments than by the barriers put on them by the society

Why Caster Semenya and Dutee Chand deserve to compete (and win) at Rio 2016

After much suspicion and derision, women with hyperandrogenism can compete in international events

‘Environment ministries in most countries are still led by junior politicians’

Despite global consensus on the climate emergency, action remains inadequate, says economist Nitin Desai

Walkmans and burgers: the primal market

The late founder editor of Down To Earth on environmental truths that endure to this day, over three decades later

Hot air?

Agenda 21, formulated during the Rio Summit in June 1992, was touted as an earth-saving measure by the leaders of more than 100 participatory …

Economy over ecology

Lifting the veil

Gene's-eye view of Olympics

Scientists are peering into the genomes of top athletes to find out which genes can spill their secrets of success. How much of athletic …

The road from Stockholm to Rio

It was the Stockholm conference, held exactly 20 years ago, which put environmental issues on the global agenda for the first time. But the …

Drought in the Amazon: Understanding the causes and the need for an immediate action plan to save the biome

Only with coordinated and decisive action will we be able to mitigate the impacts of drought in the Amazon and protect this unique ecosystem that …

Human empathy is our politics

This year, Down To Earth turns 31 years old. We have promises to keep. And keep them we will