Identifying individual mugger crocodiles using drone technology to minimise conflicts
At noon, on a hot March day, in the flat semi-arid plains of Kachchh, a lone figure stood on a slight rise, fiddling with the controller of a drone that…
Articles by Anusha Krishnan
Anusha Krishnan is a part-time science writer and editor and full-time mom from Bangalore, India. She loves writing about new scientic discoveries, and believes that the art of storytelling is crucial for successful science communication.
[Explainer] What is greenwashing?
Greenwashing refers to "the practice of making products, activities, or policies seem more environmentally friendly or less environmentally damaging than they actually are," according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, one of…
[Explainer] What is biodiversity finance?
Biodiversity finance is the practice of raising capital and managing funds for biodiversity conservation. It comes under the umbrella topic of conservation finance, which aims to financially support the conservation…
[Explainer] Why do floods occur?
Floods occur when water overflows from water bodies – seas, oceans, ponds, lakes, canals, or rivers – and submerges land which is usually dry. Floods, especially in India, are some…
[Explainer] Are biofuels finally coming of age?
Fossil fuels kickstarted the industrial age for humanity. However, humans now face the possibility of running out of these fuels by the end of this century. So, where do industries that…
[Explainer] Can planting trees mitigate climate change?
As the world is struggling to combat climate change, one idea – planting trees – seems to be taking hold as a panacea for curing the ills of pollution, soaring…
[Explainer] The good, the bad, and the ugly side of forest fires
Forest fires, also called wildfires and bush or vegetation fires, are described as uncontrolled, often widespread burning of plants in forests, grasslands, brushland, and tundra. These fires can be of…
Plastic, glass and other waste materials found in elephant dung in Uttarakhand
A study published last month in The Journal for Nature Conservation reported the presence of plastic and other human-made materials in elephant dung in the forests of Uttarakhand. The study…
[Explainer] What are carbon sinks?
Carbon sinks are places and/or products that sequester and store carbon as organic or inorganic compounds for different periods of time. Essentially, anything that absorbs more carbon than it emits…
[Explainer] Why is India a major hub for wildlife trafficking?
Wildlife trafficking, which is the illegal trade of wild animals and plants, either as dead or live specimens, or their parts, has a huge negative effect on the world’s environments,…
[Explainer] How does the Indian monsoon develop?
Every year, around the first week of June, a vast expanse of roiling grey clouds advances from the Arabian sea and makes landfall in Kerala to the tune of rumbling…
[Explainer] What is carbon pricing?
In the 1920s, a British economist, Arthur Pigou, highlighted the social benefits of making industries pay for the costs of the pollution they caused. In time, this concept was taken…
[Explainer] What factors affect the Indian summer monsoon?
The Indian summer monsoon is a vast weather event that is crucial to the 1.39 billion people that live in India, as most of the rainfall (70-90%) that the country…
[Explainer] What are urban heat islands?
Urban heat islands or UHIs are metropolitan areas that are significantly warmer than the surrounding rural areas. The occurrence of a UHI was recorded as early as 1810 by Luke…
Fantastic beasts and why plastic is bad for them
Plastics, which are infinitely useful materials, are ever present in our lives today. A quick look around one’s house, whether in a city or in a village, will confirm this…
[Explainer] Where the plastic things are: unexpected plastic products in our lives
Plastics are the Anthropocene era’s ultimate convenience. The more mundane uses of plastics in our lives range from kitchenware, storage containers, and packaging materials to toys and small tools that…
COVID-19 and the changing nature of waste
As the COVID-19 pandemic brought sweeping changes to lifestyles, it also altered an important but seldom thought-of aspect of human existence – trash. The pandemic has drastically changed the types and…
[Explainer] The cost of plastic waste
Over the last decade, the waste industry has been quietly growing. Given the growing rates of trash generation, this is hardly a surprise. In 2012, the world generated 1.3 billion…
[Explainer] The life of plastic: born a hero, dying an outcast, resurrected a monster
Plastic is a boon to many industries as a versatile material that can be moulded into myriad products from simple packaging bags to life-saving medical devices. When a plastic product…
Tracking rivers, the highways of plastic waste
In an effort to identify plastic accumulation and leakage hotspots along the Ganges river, a recent project in three north Indian cities found that roughly 10–25% of all the plastic…
Special series
Wetland Champions
- [Commentary] India establishes the largest network of Ramsar Sites in South Asia
- [Commentary] Wetland champions: Promise from the grassroots
- The story of Jakkur lake sets an example for inclusive rejuvenation projects
- Welcome to Tsomgo lake: Please don’t litter
Environment And Health
- Brahmapuram fumes over waste
- Transgender activists highlight the impacts of climate change and environmental issues on the community
- Stubble burning is back, smothering north India with concerns for the upcoming winter
- Humans are contaminating Earth’s waterways with medicines, pharmaceutical ingredients
Almost Famous Species
- India garners international support to save two endangered freshwater turtles
- What protecting the slender loris could mean for forest communities in Tamil Nadu
- [Video] Hangul, the shy Kashmiri deer, is facing the threat of extinction as its habitat shrinks
- Identifying individual mugger crocodiles using drone technology to minimise conflicts
India's Iconic Landscapes
- Ain’t no mountain high enough: alien invasive plants increasing in higher elevations
- Unplanned, faulty buildings tremble under weather events in the fragile Himalayan regions
- Nourishing soils of Kashmir’s karewas crumble under infrastructure
- Shielding hijol, a floodplain tree, from climate impacts
Beyond Protected Areas
- Habitat preservation in the Western Ghats can help enhance biodiversity in the hotspot
- Climate change and catfight in the Himalayas: tigers, leopards venture into snow leopard land
- Mapping connectivity and human-elephant conflict in Karnataka
- Despite efforts and funds, human-wildlife conflict in Uttarakhand is not contained
Conserving Agro-biodiversity
- Thirunelly’s seed festival celebrates traditional climate-resilient seeds and farm produce
- [Explainer] Why is 2023 the International Year of Millets? What do we achieve by celebrating such years?
- Nations adopt Global Biodiversity Framework amid concerns over watered-down targets
- [Commentary] A renewed CGIAR can better support South Asia to determine its food future
Just Transitions
- Incentives to boost demand, increase in e-buses in Tamil Nadu’s latest EV policy
- Electricity transition in India’s renewable-rich states needs to accelerate, says study
- [Interview] Ajay Kumar Rastogi on leading India’s first just transition task force
- Helping wildlife navigate road and railway infrastructure
