This week’s environment and conservation news stories rolled into one.
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Toxic debate rages on over cultivation ban on ‘poor man’s pulse’
Sale of grass-pea (khesari dal) has been banned since 1961, following reports that it contained a neurotoxin causing paralysis of lower limbs. The hardy crop is still being cultivated.
Air pollutants turn into nanodiamonds
A team of researchers has explored the potential of transformation of harmful carbonaceous aerosol particles into nanoparticles that are important to the biomedical industry.
Despite controversies on tribal issues, BJP wins in tribal constituencies
Of the 47 seats in the elections, reserved for scheduled tribes, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party won more than half and even improved its performance from the 2014 elections.
In Kerala there was nothing “golden” about this missed opportunity
In this commentary, Gopikrishna Warrier writes that the people of Kerala missed an opportunity to introspect about the floods of August 2018, when the Sabarimala temple controversy erupted a month after the extreme weather event.
From opulence to sustainability, Indian fashion gets redesigned
The benefits of high-end designers turning to sustainable fashion seem to trickle down to the weaving and associated communities with many reporting better health and higher income.
[Photos] City dwellers…now you see me?
A photo essay taking you through some of the colourful spaces that city-dwelling insects find, to blend themselves in, often escaping the eyes of the city-dwelling humans.
Indian forests may be able to withstand climate change better than feared
Despite their resilience and contrary to government claims, forest cover continues to decline in extent and quality in India, due to human activities.
Govt modifies compensatory afforestation rules for ease of business
States with over 75 percent forest cover, looking to divert forest land for non-forestry projects, can now carry out compensatory afforestation in other states.
As fall armyworm invades northeast India, scientists scratch the surface of a tree-killing beetle
Scientists in northeast India have initiated molecular studies of a guava and litchi trunk borer, a longhorn beetle.
[Commentary] Back to the Future: Lessons from Cyclone Fani
In this commentary, researchers from the Climate Resilience Program of the World Resources Institute India analyse cyclone Fani and Odisha’s response.
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