Paddy Straw

A Win-Win Fuel

Farmers Shift to Climate-resilient Crop - With Rising Cyclones in Tamil Nadu

In the recent past, the Bay of Bengal has witnessed frequent cyclones. In 2011, when Cyclone Thane struck the coasts of Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu, many farmers looked for a crop that could withstand climatic fluctuations. Sharada Balasubramanian says vetiver (Chrysopogon zizanioides)—a hardy grass—was found to be a suitable alternative to cashew and casuarina, which were often getting toppled by cyclone. Farmers found this not just climate-resilient, but also profitable from an income perspective.

Engineers Discover New Microbe

For Greener Wastewater Treatment

Artificial Intelligence Helps Scientists

As They Develop New General Models in Ecology

Revisit, Rethink, Redress Go Green For A Better Tomorrow

If we lift off our blinkers of insensitivity and obtuseness and prod deeper inside, we will recognize how we have been destroying the natural resources and the environment. So why not streamline our industrial/production processes in a way which reduces uncertainly and incoherence through proper implementation and prepare ourselves for any disaster hereafter. In this article, Biba Jasmine highlights how we need to come together and treat environmental protection measures as a social obligation towards each other’s well-being and as an opportunity to block brazen violations of environmental principles.

The ‘Green' Children

Meghaa Gupta reflects on the environmentalism of urban children in the midst of the pandemic.

Improving City Bus Services in India

In this thought-provoking article, Yateendra Joshi highlights effective, sustainable ways in which India’s bus systems can operate smoothly without hindrances, such as overcrowding, confusion in routes, erratic timelines, and arbitrary fares among others.

‘We Have to Change Our Expectations from Being Alive If We Are to Survive'

Eminent historian Dr Romila Thapar’s latest book Voices of Dissent, published by Seagull Books, is essential reading for the current times. In an exclusive conversation with Ipshita Mitra for TerraGreen, Dr Thapar foregrounds the connection between natural and cultural heritage, condemns humankind’s intolerance to climate change, emphasizes the importance of understanding historical events through the lens of environmental sociology, and more.

Hybrid and RTC Projects Are Boosting India's RE and Storage Industries

Being a densely populated country with a growing urban and semi-urban population, the energy needs of India are on the rise. In this regard, hybrid and energy storage projects have the potential to balance the fossil fuel-to-clean energy ratio and meet 24-hour energy needs, writes Ramya Ranganath.

Solar Cookers For a Clean Cooking Revolution in India

We are after all consuming sun’s energy in various forms such as light, heat, food. Prashnopnishad, one of the sacred texts of India, says that breath of life comes from the sun. Vedas also lay supreme emphasis on the sun based on which all life forms exist on earth. In this article, Sri Ragunath Venkatramakrishnan talks about using sun’s energy directly in solar cookers for cooking and saving domestic energy requirement.

Snow Leopards and People's Livelihoods Are their Fates Intertwined?

Traditionally, the local communities of Ladakh keep their livestock in conventional corral pens, which are simple enclosures of stone-walls open from the top. WWF-India identified the ineffectiveness of conventional corral pens, and the development of a predator-proof corral design was initiated as a part of the conflict mitigation strategy. The weak wooden doors, open rooftop, and weak walls were identified as major gaps that made these corrals vulnerable. It was identified that simple modifications in the conventional corral design could help to make it predator-proof.

Be Your Own Doctor Veganism is the Way to Health

Maneka Sanjay Gandhi throws light on some studies that confirm that a vegan diet will help you lose weight, bring your blood sugar and cholesterol down, and improve your muscle strength and stamina.

Green Home to Fight Environmental Degradation To Achieve Sustainable Development Goals

‘Buildings’ are the most pronounced elements in the fabric of any city. The housing sector in India is growing at a rapid pace and contributing immensely to the growth of the economy. The simultaneous increase in the demand for homes has caused a significantly high pressure on natural resources causing ecological imbalances such as loss of resilience to fight climate change, loss of biodiversity, and pollution. In this article, Pratiksha Baruah discusses about the tangible and intangible benefits of green buildings.

Avani Leaving the Earth Behind in a Better Shape

In Uttarakhand’s Kumaon region, Avani is a community built on the principles of sustainability and local empowerment. A global network of diverse employees, interns and volunteers give life to Avani’s community-centric rural development programmes. In this article, Dr Rakesh Agrawal ‘Ridh’ highlights the pioneering work by Avani that creates opportunities for rural people to find viable employment through a self-sufficient and environmentally sustainable supply chain that is sensitive to the cultural context of this region.

Biggest Carbon Dioxide Drop

Real-time Data Show COVID-19’s Impact on Global Emissions

The Role of Green Budgeting Some Global Approaches

Making a country’s budget green is about integrating it into every aspect of our economy and ensuring there is no wasteful use of natural resources. In this article, Arvind Kumar says that budget should navigate a country’s economy on a path to move to the low-carbon, climate-resilient development path. He succinctly gives examples of some global approaches.

Will Irumbai Be India's First Solar-powered Village?

Rural electrification challenges in India are many. In this article, Anita Khuller discusses how Irumbai, a village in Tamil Nadu, is striving to become India’ first fully solar-powered village. She highlights how this can work as a model towards realizing the dream of lighting up rural India.

‘The Arctic is Warming Much Faster Than the Rest of the Globe'

Dr M Ravichandran is Director of the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research in Goa under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India, where he guides the Indian Arctic Programme that aegis India’s permanent research base ‘Himadri’ in Norway’s Svalbard archipelago since 2008. In this interaction with Bhavya Khanna for TerraGreen, he explains why Arctic amplification happens, what escalates its pace, its likely consequences for India and geographies alike, and what must be done to address this looming danger.

Cultural Planning

Suggested Framework for Achieving Holistic Economic Progress

Nomadic Trails in Bhutan

Sephu and Layap Pastoral Communities

Exuberant Ocean

UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development

Lending Our Forests a Voice

Scientists and ecologists around the country, citizens of Goa, tourism stakeholders, students and many others are concerned by the imminent destruction of the ‘Magical Mollem’. In this article, Rashi Goel seeks to highlight the various reasons why the people collective in Goa rallied together and the wonderful citizen movement that was born as a result.

Need for Boosting India's Self-reliance in Solar Industry

May 12, 2020, marks a new beginning in the country’s history for taking steps towards self-reliance. With the Prime Minister’s clarion call for Atmanirbhar Bharat, Malav Trivedi says India has been a major importer since many years in different fields, but the tag needs to be changed forever. It will give India an immense advantage if we make our own solar cells, modules and its equipments, which we largely import from China.

Digitizing Agriculture

The Way Forward for India’s Farmers

Protecting Our Forest Wealth

India’s Vegetation and Biodiversity Hotspots

Solarizing India

Generation of Green Opportunities

Malabar Large-spotted Civet

A Rare Animal of Malabar Coast

The Fascinating World of Butterflies!

And the Need for Their Conservation

Natural Farming

A New Trend Among Indian Farmers

Loss of Sea Otters Accelerating the Effects of Climate Change

The impact of predator loss and climate change is combining to devastate living reefs that have defined Alaskan kelp forests for centuries, according to new research published in Science.