The precarious journey of Goa’s mining-affected and dependent people
Chandrasekhar Shirodkar, 48, returned from Saudi Arabia in the early 1990s. When he came back to Maem, a village in the north-eastern mining belt of India’s western state Goa, he…
Air pollution in cities takes a toll on bees
The blanket of pollutants that seems to have found permanence in the air of India’s cities is not just taking its toll on human health. Pollutants are causing behavioural changes,…
Kolar Gold fields: From fields of gold to a dust bowl
“The government has taken 40 precious years of my life, used me and left me to die when their work was completed,” rued 79-year-old K. Esavel, a resident of Karnataka's…
Whose minerals are they anyway?
To tackle the already slowing economy, whose condition further deteriorated after COVID-19 pandemic, the Indian government is pushing for more mining. But is this push for more revenue in line…
Household air pollution: Empowering women could boost LPG adoption
Household air pollution caused mainly by the burning of solid fuels, including biomass—firewood, charcoal, coal, dung, and agricultural waste—and ambient air pollution are among the leading risk factors contributing to…
Retrofitting coal power plants with carbon capture may lead to increased water stress
Addition of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies to reduce emissions could stress water resources in a vast proportion of coal-fired power plants in India that are already exposed to…
East and west: The parallel worlds of India’s coal and renewable sectors
The rapid adoption of renewable power has been the top agenda of the Indian government over the last few years but it has not been at the cost of fossil…
[Commentary] Why the plane could, yet the country can’t, run on biofuel?
In August 2018, SpiceJet airline made history in the Indian transportation sector. A journey of about 285 kilometres from Dehradun (in Uttarakhand) to New Delhi was completed with a fuel…
[Video] Is mining in India ‘just’ for the environment and communities?
India has a huge mining sector, worth trillions of rupees, involving both public and private sector units across India employing millions directly and indirectly. However, in the absence of any…
How glaciers in the western Himalayas are reacting differently to climate change and human activities
Summer-monsoonal snowfall plays an important role in maintaining glacier mass in the western Himalayas. If this snowfall is more frequent and strong in the years ahead, the health of glaciers…
