Delhi’s Qutb Minar gets competition from a tower of garbage
Built in the 13th century, Delhi’s Qutb Minar, a UNESCO world heritage site and one of the tallest minarets in the country, is facing stiff competition − from the height…
A cross-border coal power plant could put Sundarbans at risk
Work on the controversial India-Bangladesh promoted coal-fired power plant, within kissing distance of the Sundarbans Reserve Forest in Bangladesh, is underway amid rising opposition on grounds that the project threatens…
Saving the world’s only floating national park and its dancing deer
Manipur’s iconic Loktak Lake and its floating islands (phumdis), the last natural refuge of the endangered Sangai deer or the Indian Eld's deer (Rucervus eldii eldii), are losing ground to…
Air pollution from crop residue burning in the north spreads across India
Northern India, particularly Delhi, is notorious for its choking smog blanketing the city and nearby areas during the post-monsoon period in October-November. This is the time when farmers in the…
The future of plastic? Scientists explore bioplastics from sorghum
In the early 1940s, Henry Ford experimented with making plastic parts for automobiles. He came up with what was called the “plastic car made from soybeans.” Since that decade, when…
High levels of uranium found in groundwater from Rajasthan
India relies heavily on groundwater for crop irrigation and for drinking in many regions. Studies have shown high levels of fluoride, nitrate, and arsenic in groundwater in some parts of…
As e-waste continues to pile up, a greater focus on its management is needed
The next time you think of buying a new cell phone or television on a whim, you might want to consider the effect it has on the environment and on…
[Photo-feature] World Environment Day: Sea returns trash in Mumbai
Each year before monsoon, Mumbai’s ocean purges out what its residents have mindlessly disposed off as garbage into its water bodies. The sight of the popular Juhu beach in…
Tamil Nadu villages mourn as fight against pollution takes a deadly turn
Twenty-seven-year old K Jagadeeshwaran walks down every few hours from their one room apartment in Ceylon Colony, Thoothukudi (earlier known as Tuticorin) in Tamil Nadu, to take a look at…
Has Kashmir wronged its water bodies?
In his 1895 book, The Valley of Kashmir, Sir Walter Lawrence, who served in the Indian Civil Service in British India and was posted as the Settlement Commissioner of Kashmir,…
