Biography of malignancy
Book>> The emperor of all maladies • by Siddhartha Mukherjee • Scribner • US $15
Celestial explorers
Book>> Voyager, seeking newer worlds in the third great age of discovery • by Stephen J Pyne • Viking • Rs 1,000
Stuff of a capitalist
BOOK>> THE FIRST TYCOON: THE EPIC LIFE OF CORNELIUS VANDERBILT, • By T J Stiles, Knopf • Rs 800
Stop to smell the flowers
Book>> Plants: Why you can’t live without them • by B C Wolverton • Roli books • Rs 495
Climate crisis: A quarter of all critical infrastructure in US may become inoperable in 2021
At least 2 million miles of road face the risk of becoming impassable due to floods
Roasted North: Why record-shattering heatwaves are burning the northern hemisphere
The heatwaves in the northern hemisphere are now frequent, early, intense and last longer as seen in Siberia last year and North America this year
Fourth industrial revolution: World Economic Forum advocates it; others fear corporate takeover; who is right
Technology can never exist in isolation; it has to exist within social realities, say critics of 4IR
Monkeypox in UK: 7 cases reported, 1 with travel history
All seven cases in the UK till now are of the West African clade, a milder version of the virus
US following Biden’s climate plan may trigger action elsewhere too
The effect of getting the US back on track can be magnified by its example and its role on international negotiations against climate change, …
Global warming caused over a third of heat-related deaths between 1991 and 2018: Study
The highest percentage of heat-related deaths caused by human-induced climate change (more than 50%) were in Iran, Kuwait, the Philippines, …
Dragon in the room: Why China’s target of carbon neutrality is misleading
China contributed 27% to the world’s overall global emissions in 2019, surpassing the United States
Biden’s climate summit: Major polluters ramp up climate ambition
The summit has put climate back on the agenda and forced leaders of major economies to confront the scale of the task ahead
Native Hawaiian sacred sites have been damaged in the Lahaina wildfires – but their stories will live on
Lahaina is considered the earthly home of Kihawahine, a Native Hawaiian goddess; it was also the capital of the Hawaiian Kingdom under Kamehameha …
Droughts in Western US fuel emissions, here’s how
Between 2012 and 2016, a drought-induced spike in fossil fuel generation cost California more than $5 billion in damages
Doha outcome adopted. US reserves its right to walk out later
US does a Kyoto again. It rejects the idea of equity by refusing to associate itself to any new agreement that is under the Convention.
Pact Politics
High political drama marks climate negotiations as the European Union strives to enforce the Kyoto protocol without the US. The South could play …
Fingers crossed: Experts cautious about variant evolution in the wake of China’s COVID-19 tsunami
Any new variant that emerges from the current surge in China may not have the same lethal ability as past ones. But one cannot rule out …
Special Relationship: New Anglo-American energy partnership is Western fossil fuel hypocrisy at its best
Instead of filling the gap left by Russian fossil fuels with renewables, the UK has signed a deal with its traditional transatlantic ally which …
Joe Biden has a long list of qualified female VP candidates. So, who will he pick?
Choosing a vice president is the first presidential decision Biden will make in his campaign. It will say a lot about him and his presidency if …
Many provinces experiencing highest emissions since 2003: Scientist monitoring Canadian wildfires
Experts say climate change escalated the fires with the fumes spilling over into to the United States
Wildfires: New York City’s orange skies raise environmental questions
The dystopian orange skies are due to the flames that have been raging north of the US-Canada border
More evidence of rampant use of non-therapeutic antibiotics in poultry farms in the country
India has started to address the misuse of antimicrobials in food animals, but needs to do much more
Shipwreck records and tree rings unveil Caribbean hurricane history—and clues to the future
In an attempt to better understand hurricanes, researchers recreate hundreds of years of hurricane records with Spanish shipwreck logs and tree …
Lethal hypocrisy of US Special 301 Report
Patent protection in the US is a convoluted and expensive business and yet it pulls up other countries that have robust systems
Environmental stewards: Sacred Hopi site in Arizona awarded ICOMOS Water and Heritage Shield
The Hopi consider the Sípàapu on the Little Colorado river to be the place from where their ancestors emerged from another world …