Science
Down To Earth
‘America's original social distancer'
THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC AND LOCKDOWNS MADE DAVID GESSNER, PROFESSOR OF CREATIVE WRITING AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA WILMINGTON, REVISIT HENRY DAVID THOREAU—THE 19 TH CENTURY AMERICAN NATURALIST, ESSAYIST, POET AND PHILOSOPHER WHO LIVED IN ISOLATION FOR TWO YEARS STARTING 1845. THOREAU SPENT HIS TIME GROWING HIS OWN FOOD, CONTEMPLATING AND WRITING. HIS STAY IN THE WOODS BY THE WALDEN POND IN CONCORD, MASSACHUSETTS, RESULTED IN HIS MOST-KNOWN WORK, WALDEN—A BOOK THAT DESCRIBES THE ACT OF LIVING DAY TO DAY AND IS CONSIDERED A CLASSIC ON NATURE WRITING AND INDIVIDUALISM. GESSNER COMPARES THOREAU’S SELF-IMPOSED ISOLATION TO HIS OWN FORCED SECLUSION DURING THE PANDEMIC IN HIS BOOK QUIET DESPERATION, SAVAGE DELIGHT TO CONCLUDE “JUST HOW INTENSELY RELEVANT THOREAU IS TO OUR TIMES”. EXCERPTS FROM THE BOOK:
3 min |
October 16, 2021
Down To Earth
Toxic ignorance
In absence of robust framework and infrastructure, segregation of domestic hazardous waste remains a distant dream for most Indian cities
4 min |
October 16, 2021
Down To Earth
Supply snags
States must contend with several production hurdles before they can roll out fortified rice as part of the Union government's plan to fight malnutrition
6 min |
October 16, 2021
Down To Earth
‘Reality is not as fixed as people like to think'
Humans pride themselves on the fact that they cannot just see and perceive what is around them but also analyse their observations and form definite conclusions. However, this ability to understand reality is not foolproof, say researchers from the University College of London, UK, in a recent preprint paper published in the online repository PsyArXiv. Through a series of experiments, the researchers have determined that people are often akin to mistaking their imagination for real-life perception. DAKSHIANI PALICHA speaks to lead author of the study NADINE DIJKSTRA about the potential implications of their findings. Excerpts:
4 min |
October 16, 2021
Down To Earth
The fading mirage of a TRIPS waiver
A year later, the proposal to lift WTO’s intellectual property blocks to making COVID vaccines has not inched forward
4 min |
October 16, 2021
Down To Earth
Many hues of haldi
Turmeric plays a prominent role not just in our kitchens, but in many auspicious rites and rituals as well
4 min |
October 16, 2021
Down To Earth
HERO HERB
The pandemic years have witnessed a boom in the production and export of the humble underground stem called turmeric, along with a renewal of interest among the scientific community in the spice’s therapeutic qualities, especially against COVID-19. VIBHA VARSHNEY reports why inclusion of the household herb in our daily diet is a healthy idea
9 min |
October 16, 2021
Down To Earth
CHASING CORAL
With the world having lost 14 per cent of its coral reefs in just one decade, a marine devastation seems imminent. But there may be some hope yet
4 min |
October 16, 2021
Down To Earth
Come September
The abnormally high rainfall in the final month of the rainy season has added to India's monsoon agony
3 min |
October 16, 2021
Down To Earth
BEYOND 100 DAYS
The national rural employment guarantee programme financially empowers village panchayats, thus making them an effective self-governing system
3 min |
October 16, 2021
Down To Earth
Dry as dust
has increased by 22 times the size of Delhi in the past 15 years. Rainfed farmlands and forests form a major chunk of this wasteland
3 min |
September 16, 2021
Down To Earth
Enigmatically dry
Drought haunts India as a normal monsoon season nears end
10 min |
September 16, 2021
Down To Earth
Stream of conflict
Krishna river dispute shows why there is an urgent need to rethink the way inter-state rivers are managed and governed
4 min |
September 16, 2021
Down To Earth
A STITCH IN TIME
The recovery of the ozone layer has helped the world fight climate change
3 min |
September 16, 2021
Down To Earth
In the blue
After spending decades controlling atmospheric emission of mercury, the world wakes up to the possibility that rivers are a major source of the toxic metal in the oceans
2 min |
September 16, 2021
Down To Earth
Devil's in the Detail
Seven years, four committees and two draft regulations later, India still does not have a clear labelling system to warn consumers about harmful levels of fat, salt and sugar hiding in processed foods. These ingredients are responsible for the growing burden of obesity and noncommunicable diseases. But a powerful industry and a hesitant food regulator are busy derailing all efforts.
10+ min |
September 16, 2021
Down To Earth
Virtual healers
A mobile application provides people in rural areas of Bihar easy access to healthcare facilities
2 min |
September 16, 2021
Down To Earth
Grotesque Profits In The Time Of COVID
Vaccine equity goes for a toss as US recommends booster shots, while Pfizer and Moderna revenues soar by billions of dollars
5 min |
September 01, 2021
Down To Earth
Singular hype
While the Centre trumpets its latest ban to eliminate single-use plastics, the fine print of the new rules tells otherwise
6 min |
September 01, 2021
Down To Earth
PULSE PUZZLE
The government takes the usual market-regulatory steps every time there is a surge in prices of pulses—the primary source of protein for a majority of Indians. But shortfall in domestic production, the main reason behind the price rise, remains unaddressed. An analysis by VIVEK MISHRA, SHAGUN KAPIL, RAJU SAJWAN, ANIL ASHWANI SHARMA and BHAGIRATH
10+ min |
September 01, 2021
Down To Earth
PATIYA'S STARVELINGS
It is important to probe further when an effective system fails to rescue the malnourished children in a village
5 min |
September 01, 2021
Down To Earth
Long road home
Uttarakhand is increasingly declaring its villages disasterprone. While many are fighting relocation, those who shift face conflicts with host villages over resources like water and grazing land. Is relocation the right way to mitigate disasters that are striking the Himalayan state with increasing ferocity?
7 min |
September 01, 2021
Down To Earth
In quest of foragers
GORDON RAMSAY GOES TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH TO EXPLORE HIDDEN FOOD TREASURES, THEIR BOLD FLAVOURS AND THE ARDENT KEEPERS
4 min |
September 01, 2021
Down To Earth
Bridge classes
More than 5,000 volunteers in villages of Odisha ensure that the lack of digital access does not hinder children's education amid the pandemic
2 min |
September 01, 2021
Down To Earth
Deal With Delta
The global dominance of the Delta variant shows that mutations have kept SARS-CoV-2 ahead of the game
4 min |
August 01, 2021
Down To Earth
PANDEMIC OF STEROIDS
Steroids are essential in fighting infectious diseases. Used recklessly, they can cause life-threatening side effects like mucormycosis, as was witnessed in the aftermath of the pandemic’s second wave. COVID-19 is a new disease, and its treatments and dosages are constantly evolving. India will find it difficult to contain the disease unless the government can ensure timely dissemination and implementation of treatment protocols. A report by BANJOT KAUR
10+ min |
August 01, 2021
Down To Earth
FADING COLOUR
Establish farmer producer organisations to ensure that growers of the intensely flavourful golden Kandhamal turmeric do not turn away from it
3 min |
August 01, 2021
Down To Earth
OUT IN THE OPEN
Contrary to the government's claim of India being open defecation free, 15 per cent of Indians still go out to relieve themselves, says a WHO-UNICEF report
4 min |
August 01, 2021
Down To Earth
ROLE OF A LIFETIME
Dilip Kumar’s career coincided with a newly Independent India marred by many self-inflicted tragedies, and the roles he played resonated with a large section of people, cutting across classes
5 min |
August 01, 2021
Down To Earth
ON THIN AIR
Agriculture students demonstrate how aeroponics, once a niche and costly cultivation method, can help urban households
4 min |