Science
Down To Earth
Airing grievances
THE OFTEN IGNORED ASPECTS OF AIR POLLUTION BROUGHT TO LIGHT BY ARTISTS FROM ACROSS THE WORLD DAKSHIANI PALICHA
2 min |
June 01, 2022
Down To Earth
Doublespeak
India plans a framework to rehabilitate communities around abandoned mines while also exploring the possibility of resuming mining in them
5 min |
June 01, 2022
Down To Earth
THE SUMMER LINGERS
That we still seek the Stockholm declaration’s ideals only shows how we need to up our game to prevent the planet’s environmental crisis
9 min |
May 16, 2022
Down To Earth
Oceans On Simmer
The world's oceans will witness marine heatwaves, sea ice-free Arctic, severe cyclones
5 min |
May 16, 2022
Down To Earth
Science For Just Solutions
If science-policy interfaces are to deliver just and effective solutions to climate change, they must involve indigenous peoples and local communities
7 min |
May 16, 2022
Down To Earth
Does India care about TRIPS waiver anymore?
As WTO talks begin on a compromise deal worked out with India's participation, New Delhi remains enigmatically silent
5 min |
May 16, 2022
Down To Earth
STOCKHOLM SYNDROME
The 50th anniversary celebration of the Stockholm conference should be about our common future, not the divisions of the past
4 min |
May 16, 2022
Down To Earth
MEASURING PROGRESS
Sustainability will command top priority when the world meets to review Stockholm; post-pandemic recovery must be inclusive
5 min |
May 16, 2022
Down To Earth
Bichhri still sees red
Compensation, land restoration and access to potable water remain a dream even 35 years after rogue industries poisoned Bichhri's aquifers
3 min |
May 16, 2022
Down To Earth
DECENTRALISATION OF POWER
Power generation and transmission models that are local and self-sustaining can increase access to energy in the future
5 min |
May 16, 2022
Down To Earth
BENEFIT WITHHELD
Two decades ago India adopted a law that mandates sharing of benefits from commercial utilisation of biodiversity with local communities. What has kept the law from protecting the interest of people and the biodiversity? VIBHA VARSHNEY travels to bio-rich parts of India to find out
10+ min |
May 16, 2022
Down To Earth
A grim outlook
Investing in restoration of degraded land makes economic sense, can see massive financial benefits
3 min |
May 16, 2022
Down To Earth
Wheat Feels March Heat
Record-shattering temperatures in March and April reduce wheat yield across North India
4 min |
May 01, 2022
Down To Earth
Will Biden Dare To Use March-In Rights?
Health advocates are asking Washington to use laws that allow patent override on drugs developed with public funds
4 min |
May 01, 2022
Down To Earth
Lost archives
India is fast losing its geologically critical sites in the Himalayas to developmental activities, destroying forever records that not just tell us about past climates and floral and faunal evidence, but also provide data that can aid in predicting monsoonal and seismic activities, all because the country lacks laws to protect such locations
5 min |
May 01, 2022
Down To Earth
One step too far
Madras High Court's decision to ban cattle grazing in Tamil Nadu's forests will have far-reaching impacts on forest-dwelling communities and natural biodiversity
4 min |
May 01, 2022
Down To Earth
SEEDS OF TROUBLE
Countries and economic blocs across Africa are on a legislating spree to regulate the continent's seed markets, ostensibly to overcome chronic hunger. The real reason, many believe, is the corporate push that is driving nations to facilitate and promote trade of hybrid seed varieties. The fear is that the new laws will destroy not only the continent's food diversity, but also its indigenous practices of seed conservation.
10+ min |
May 01, 2022
Down To Earth
Chilli under attack
A new species of thrips destroys chilli farms across six states, triggering market shortage and farmer suicides
6 min |
May 01, 2022
Down To Earth
A charged view
Using discarded solar panels to make buildings can help deal with PV waste and give the cells a new lease of life
2 min |
May 01, 2022
Down To Earth
"Indian vegetarians do not eat vegetables"
FROM A RACE OF TALL, GRACILE PEOPLE WITH GOOD HEALTH AND LONG LIVES, INDIANS HAVE NOW BECOME OBESE AND UNHEALTHY. FOOD HISTORIAN AND PHYSICIAN MANOSHI BHATTACHARYA TELLS ROHINI KRISHNAMURTHY THAT THE PROBLEM LIES IN THE WAY OUR DIETS HAVE CHANGED OVER THE CENTURIES.
4 min |
May 01, 2022
Down To Earth
Shark whisperer
WHITE SHARKS HAVE A PERSONALITY BEYOND THE ANTAGONIST BEAST THEY ARE PORTRAYED AS IN MOVIES. THIS IS WHAT RAJ SEKHAR AICH, A NEW ZEALAND-BASED MARINE ANTHROPOLOGIST AND RESEARCHER OF APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY, ATTEMPTS TO ESTABLISH IN HIS BOOK IRIDESCENT SKIN. THE SOCIALLY INTELLIGENT MARINE ANIMAL HAS BEEN TRAVERSING THE SEAS FOR ABOUT 400 MILLION YEARS, BUT IS CURRENTLY A VULNERABLE SPECIES IN NEED OF CONSERVATION. THIS INTIMATE ACCOUNT LOOKS AT THE HUMAN WHITE SHARK RELATIONSHIP THROUGH THE EYES OF CAGE-DIVING TOURISTS IN NEW ZEALAND, AND BRINGS OUT TRAITS OF THE FISH THAT ARE RARELY ASSOCIATED WITH IT. THE AUTHOR'S PERCEPTION SURVEY OF TOURISTS BEFORE AND AFTER THEIR INTERACTION WITH THE SHARKS SHEDS LIGHT ON HOW CAGE-DIVING CAN HELP IN CONSERVATION EFFORTS. EXCERPTS FROM THE BOOK:
4 min |
May 01, 2022
Down To Earth
Shot in the dark
India's precautionary dose rollout indicates that the world is reluctant to move beyond vaccines in the fight against COVID-19. How practical and viable is this booster-shot strategy?
4 min |
May 01, 2022
Down To Earth
Climate's Trafficking Connect
Disasters and poverty fuel human trafficking. Increase in extreme weather events makes millions more vulnerable to this trap. TARAN DEOL and SHUCHITA JHA travel to the frequently battered parts of West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Maharashtra to capture this often ignored aspect of climate change
10+ min |
April 16, 2022
Down To Earth
In The Midst Of War, Russia Hits At Patents
As US-EU sanctions deepen, Moscow passes a law to allow free use of patents owned by "unfriendly countries"
4 min |
April 16, 2022
Down To Earth
WORLD SET TO CROSS 3.2°C
Long-term benefits of cutting greenhouse gas emissions today outweigh the costs
5 min |
April 16, 2022
Down To Earth
Virtual loss
BharatNet's broadband revolution in rural India fails to gather momentum even after missing seven deadlines
4 min |
April 16, 2022
Down To Earth
Star power
The world is close to cracking nuclear fusion energy code, a source of virtually endless clean energy
6 min |
April 16, 2022
Down To Earth
Unsettled forever
Over 50,000 tribal people moved out of Chhattisgarh in 2005-06 to avoid violence between state-backed civilian militia Salwa Judum and Naxal sympathisers. They settled in the neighbouring Andhra Pradesh and now, wielding a lesser-known clause of the Forest Rights Act, are demanding land at their current place of stay
5 min |
April 16, 2022
Down To Earth
Reluctant move
Nine years after the Minamata Convention was adopted, countries agree to eliminate the use of mercury in artisanal gold mining. Can they enforce the decision?
2 min |
April 16, 2022
Down To Earth
Snapshot from sewage
Wastewater surveillance is a cheap and effective way to map the spread of infection, be it COVID-19 or any other pathogen
6 min |