Science
Down To Earth
BLINDING GLOW
The science is clear: increased illumination has damaging consequences for the health of humans, animals and plants. It’s time governments introduced policies to protect the natural darkness and improved the quality of outdoor lighting.
10+ min |
November 01, 2024
Down To Earth
GROUND REALITY
What happens when the soil loses the ability to grow healthy, high-yield crops on its own?
6 min |
November 01, 2024
Down To Earth
GM POLICY MUST BE FARMER CENTRIC
On July 23, the Supreme Court of India directed the Union government to develop a national policy on genetically modified (GM) crops for research, cultivation, trade and commerce through public consultation.
6 min |
November 01, 2024
Down To Earth
Vinchurni's Gandhi
A 96-year-old farmer transforms barren land into a thriving forest in drought-prone region of Satara
2 min |
November 01, 2024
Down To Earth
The Golden 100 Days
India prepares battle blueprint for the next pandemic
4 min |
October 16, 2024
Down To Earth
CULINARY MASTERPIECE
The sour culinary melon from southern India remains underutilised despite nutritional benefits and a potential to provide food security
3 min |
October 16, 2024
Down To Earth
Over to panchayats
Can the government's move to align panchayat targets with UN's Sustainable Development Goals help India meet the global deadline?
4 min |
October 16, 2024
Down To Earth
Genetic rescue
Odisha to introduce two female tigers to Similipal forests to improve genetic diversity of its melanistic tiger population
4 min |
October 16, 2024
Down To Earth
Standing up for period rights
Women of Maharashtra's Madia tribe take steps to root out superstitions about menstruation, end the practice of living in isolation
2 min |
October 16, 2024
Down To Earth
PUT THE PATIENT FIRST
Draft guidelines on passive euthanasia exclude the interests of terminally ill patients: A letter to the Union health minister
5 min |
October 16, 2024
Down To Earth
Dead end
West Bengal moves to discontinue Kolkata’s trams despite calls to revive the city’s oldest and cleanest mode of transport
10 min |
October 16, 2024
Down To Earth
A river lost
Unchecked discharge of industrial effluents and inadequate sewage treatment facilities have turned the Hindon water toxic. ROHINI KRISHNAMURTHY tracks the river's journey though seven Uttar Pradesh districts, starting from its origin in Saharanpur
9 min |
October 16, 2024
Down To Earth
RECKLESS DISREGARD
India is set to expand seaweed cultivation along its coastline by promoting Kappaphycus alvarezii, a known invasive species that has smothered coral reefs in the Gulf of Mannar over the past two decades. Should the country instead focus on its native species?
10+ min |
October 16, 2024
Down To Earth
Joining The Carbon Club
India's carbon market will soon be a reality, but will it fulfil its aim of reducing emissions? A report by PARTH KUMAR and MANAS AGRAWAL
7 min |
September 16, 2024
Down To Earth
Trade On Emissions
EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, a tariff on imports, is designed to protect European industries in the guise of climate action.
9 min |
September 16, 2024
Down To Earth
'The project will facilitate physical and cultural decimation of indigenous people'
The Great Nicobar Project has all the hallmarks of a disaster-seismic, ecological, human. Why did it get the go-ahead?
3 min |
September 16, 2024
Down To Earth
TASTE IT RED
Popularity of Karnataka's red jackfruit shows how biodiversity can be conserved by ensuring that communities benefit from it
4 min |
September 16, 2024
Down To Earth
MANY MYTHS OF CHIPKO
Misconceptions about the Chipko movement have overshadowed its true objectives.
4 min |
September 16, 2024
Down To Earth
The politics and economics of mpox
Africa's mpox epidemic stems from delayed responses, neglect of its health risks and the stark vaccine apartheid
4 min |
September 16, 2024
Down To Earth
Emerging risks
Even as the world gets set to eliminate substances threatening the ozone layer, climate change and space advancement pose new challenges.
3 min |
September 16, 2024
Down To Earth
Turn a new leaf
Scientists join hands to predict climate future of India's tropical forests
5 min |
September 16, 2024
Down To Earth
Festering troubles
The Democratic Republic of Congo struggles to contain mpox amid vaccine delays, conflict and fragile healthcare.
3 min |
September 16, 2024
Down To Earth
India sees unusual monsoon patterns
THE 2024 southwest monsoon has, between June 1 and September 1, led to excess rainfall in western and southern states such as Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, while others like Nagaland, Manipur and Punjab recorded a deficit.
1 min |
September 16, 2024
Down To Earth
Breaking barriers
Women in Uttar Pradesh take on crucial roles at faecal sludge treatment plants SUBRATA CHAKRABORTY AND ALKA KUMARI
2 min |
September 16, 2024
Down To Earth
Business of dirt
The waste management ecosystem is rooted in poverty, politics, colonialism, corporate greed and environmental injustice, with serious consequences to human health
3 min |
July 01, 2024
Down To Earth
NATURE'S MAPPERS
Reptiles show an ability fo understand and remember spaces, which makes them a natural insect pest controller
3 min |
July 01, 2024
Down To Earth
Pathogen benefit-sharing pact thwarted again
Deep political rifts at WHO leave a critical pandemic treaty hanging in limbo as rich nations baulk at equitable vaccine sharing
4 min |
July 01, 2024
Down To Earth
LOCAL SOLUTIONS
The solution to Sangam Vihar's water supply, sanitation and stormwater problems could lie in decentralised management, suggests a Centre for Science and Environment survey in the unplanned settlement
9 min |
July 01, 2024
Down To Earth
CATCHING THE WIND
Wind is the missing piece of the climate change puzzle. But lack of data makes it difficult to model wind systems
6 min |
July 01, 2024
Down To Earth
THE NEW EXTREME EVENT
Wind circulations are slowing in a warming world, adding to the frequency and intensity of extreme events
10+ min |