Science
Down To Earth
Urban ladder
Safely managing faecal sludge is India's new sanitation challenge. In the absence of adequate rural treatment plants, a few states rope in underutilised urban facilities
8 min |
March 16, 2022
Down To Earth
Organic boost
Farmer producer organisations can help organic farming initiatives overcome marketing hindrances
4 min |
March 16, 2022
Down To Earth
Endemic Not The End
We know that the novel coronavirus will be with us forever. Without undermining the threat it poses, we must learn how to live with it by adapting strategies developed in previous pandemics
10+ min |
March 01, 2022
Down To Earth
To what end
West Bengal has decided to mine coal from a reserve so deep and unreachable that the extraction might turn out to be financially unviable, and still end up displacing 21,000 people
6 min |
March 01, 2022
Down To Earth
‘Observations will help trace our cosmic roots'
Early last month, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) opened its 18 golden mirrors to the universe and captured its first image-ofa sun-like star called HD-84406, some 260 light years from the Earth. The telescope was launched on December 25, 2021, and took 30 days to travel 1.5 million km from Earth in a direction opposite to the Sun to reach its destination-a gravitationally stable point named L2—from where it will orbit the Sun, slightly changing its position every three weeks to stay in a halo orbit.
6 min |
March 01, 2022
Down To Earth
Pre-emptive strike
The popularity of anti-hail cannons among Himachal Pradesh farmers has made the state build an indigenous version, though the efficacy of such devices is unproven
5 min |
March 01, 2022
Down To Earth
Bullish turn
Post mechanisation, for the first time there is innovation in farm equipment to revive bullocks and aid small farmers
6 min |
March 01, 2022
Down To Earth
South Africa's vaccine advance brings hope
The WHO-aided tech transfer hub in South Africa is set to change the outlook for a continent deprived of COVID-19 vaccines
4 min |
March 01, 2022
Down To Earth
Space for nuclear
From fuel to outer space power plants, the world is developing different usages of nuclear energy to explore the deep space
7 min |
March 01, 2022
Down To Earth
FAULTY GROUND
The stretch of the Cauvery where Karnataka plans to build the Mekedatu dam lies alonga fault plane and in a geologically unstable region
3 min |
March 01, 2022
Down To Earth
Blue hydrogen not really green
Reliance Industries on February 12 announced an intent to become "the world's top blue hydrogen producer" by repurposing a 30,000 crore synthetic gas plant to manufacture the fuel.
1 min |
March 01, 2022
Down To Earth
BIOLOGICAL GOLD MINE
An emerging science explores how faecal analysis can revolutionise disease diagnosis and treatment
5 min |
March 01, 2022
Down To Earth
United they stand
Women farmers in 30 villages of Madhya Pradesh join hands to command a higher price for their groundnut produce
3 min |
February 16, 2022
Down To Earth
Rewarding incompetence
India's new star-rating system to promote state agencies that give hasty environmental clearances to projects
5 min |
February 16, 2022
Down To Earth
Natural option
Organic and natural farming approaches are not only profitable and sustainable, but also productive
6 min |
February 16, 2022
Down To Earth
WHITHER AMRIT KAAL
The Union Budget 2022-23 did not talk about the developmental targets promised for this year under the Strategy for New India@75, but set the country on a new journey of hope till 2047
5 min |
February 16, 2022
Down To Earth
NET GAIN
In its journey to the Bay of Bengal, the Brahmaputra carves out different types of waterbodies along Assam's landscape.
3 min |
February 16, 2022
Down To Earth
India trips on its patent waiver proposal
Delhi has not backed its WTO proposal to suspend intellectual property rights on COVID-19 pharma products with robust action
4 min |
February 16, 2022
Down To Earth
Glorious oversight
ABOUT AMERICAN POP CULTURE FIXTURES AND PRIVILEGED WAY OF LIFE PRESENTED AS A REVIEW OF THE ANTHROPOCENE
3 min |
February 16, 2022
Down To Earth
Heritage erased
Kashmir's highly fertile alluvial soil deposits called karewas are being destroyed in the name of development, much to the peril of local people
3 min |
February 16, 2022
Down To Earth
Charged up
Battery makers are moving beyond lithium to power India's clean energy ambitions
7 min |
February 16, 2022
Down To Earth
25.87 MILLION HECTARES
That is the size of forest missing from the latest assessment of India's green cover. Does this land exist? Is it encroached upon? Or is it just degraded; so degraded that there are no forests to be counted here?
10+ min |
February 16, 2022
Down To Earth
Viva Cuba For Its Vaccine Revolution
Punching way above its weight, the tiny nation has developed five vaccines, and offers hope of vaccine equity across the world
4 min |
February 01, 2022
Down To Earth
2021 Was Earth's Sixth-Hottest Year
THE YEAR 2021 was the fifth warmest for India since 1901. The "Climate of India during 2021" report published by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on January 15 says annual mean temperature of the country was 0.44oC above the long period average (LPA).
1 min |
February 01, 2022
Down To Earth
VOICE OF SILENT VALLEY
M K Prasad spread environmental consciousness until his last breath
2 min |
February 01, 2022
Down To Earth
SITTING DUCK
Food inflation is at an unprecedented high across the world. Crop loss due to extreme weather events is behind the spiralling prices. The cycle can be interrupted only if farmers have access to robust weather forecast mechanisms and crop insurance schemes
10+ min |
February 01, 2022
Down To Earth
An unusual contest
Rajasthan's state bird, the great Indian bustard, might lose its last natural habitat to wind and solar power plants
8 min |
February 01, 2022
Down To Earth
Patchy growth
Forests and trees now cover one-quarter of India's geography. But this is not necessarily good news
5 min |
February 01, 2022
Down To Earth
HOPE DEFERRED
With the pandemic near endemicity, an effective and widely available treatment for COVID-19 would be a significant breakthrough for managing the viral infection. Are we there yet? TARAN DEOL, NEW DELHI
7 min |
February 01, 2022
Down To Earth
Good riddance
A firm develops safer devices that use light and sound to reduce human-wildlife conflicts DAKSHIANI PALICHA
2 min |