Science
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 |
July 01, 2024
Down To Earth
BRACE FOR STILL WINDS
Wind circulations are slowing down across the globe. It may not be immediately apparent in terms of wind speed, which is a local phenomenon. But scientists say global stilling of wind affects almost every aspect of our lives—from unpredictable rainfall to excess heatwaves to frequent or missing storms. It even affects wind energy production and the aviation sector. Evidence shows a clear connection between global warming and wind stilling. Could this be the missing piece in climate models?
5 min |
July 01, 2024
Down To Earth
Ground rules
Space agencies and private players must adhere to exploration norms to ensure integrity of space research
8 min |
July 01, 2024
Down To Earth
Insured against heat
States and private firms are implementing insurance schemes fo protect livestock rearers against milk production losses caused by heat stress
5 min |
July 01, 2024
Down To Earth
The Next Pandemic
Buoyed by climate change and global trade, pathogens that cause disease outbreaks in food crops are spreading far and wide. They are also evolving fast to reproduce quickly and infect new hosts
10+ min |
June 16, 2024
Down To Earth
India Feels The Heat This May
INDIA WAS under an intense heatwave spell in the second half of May, with temperatures soaring over the northwest region, according to data released by the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
1 min |
June 16, 2024
Down To Earth
POWER OF PAAN
Betel leaves are not just an integral part of India's culture, but also hold many benefits. Add them to your list of healthy greens
4 min |
June 16, 2024
Down To Earth
'Fitness our evolutionary advantage, not longevity'
Nobel laureate VENKI RAMAKRISHNAN's latest book, Why We Die, covers a journey that starts in the 1800s, when British biologists Charles Darwin and Alfred Wallace proposed natural selection, and continues to this day, as researchers investigate anti-ageing compounds. But how close are we really to cheating ageing and death? In an interview with ROHINI KRISHNAMURTHY, Ramakrishnan, who received the 2009 Nobel prize in chemistry, says the focus of research is on staying healthy for a bigger fraction of life. He also examines the causes of ageing, the drugs being explored to slow down this deterioration, the people involved in the research and a few controversial claims. Excerpts:
7 min |
June 16, 2024
Down To Earth
India capitulates on key accord at WIPO
The WIPO treaty on genetic resources is historic, but it will override vital safeguards in India's law to prevent bad patents
4 min |
June 16, 2024
Down To Earth
Wild guess
Despite being a significant source of greenhouse gases, wildfire emissions remain underestimated
7 min |
June 16, 2024
Down To Earth
A local national verdict
Issues of unemployment, price rise and agrarian distress seem to have shifted voter sentiment in the recent general elections
4 min |
June 16, 2024
Down To Earth
Native nutrition
THE LUNCH menu at the Rani Kajal Jeevan Shala School in Kakrana village of Madhya Pradesh shows a healthy mix of pulses, vegetables and millets.
2 min |
June 16, 2024
Down To Earth
Look Beyond Dust
Reinvent National Clean Air Programme to focus on fine particulate matter and trans-boundary pollution
5 min |
June 01, 2024
Down To Earth
PLAN THEM COOL
As urban India turns into a heat trap, the government must focus on improving cities' liveability
5 min |