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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
Strolling through idyllic mountain landscapes, soaking in the unbridled sun and breathing in the fresh air all seem to be the recipe for a perfect holiday. That is, until you…
Have you ever wondered if that much cherished Swiss cowbell souvenir and that well-earned vacation may have played a role in global carbon pollution? A new study estimates tourism releases…
If anything is emblematic of lack of proper planning for tourism management and disregard for Kashmir’s ecological resources, it is the master plan for infrastructure development in one of Kashmir’s…
With plastic pollution in the international limelight this year, Maharastra’s ban on plastic stands out as a shining example in India’s larger effort to align with international priorities. The view…
A diet that moves away from white, polished rice to include coarse grains and wheat could help Indians tackle micronutrient deficiencies affordably and cut down greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated…
India has been chosen as the global host of the World Environment Day, that will focus on galvanising greater action against single-use plastic pollution on June 5 this year, by the…
Diprupa Bhaktiari is a change-maker in Assam’s arsenic-hit Mazgaon village along the north bank of the Brahmaputra. For over a year, she has been operating a humble filtration unit that…
With the vulture, it was the tragedy of the commons. Once, these large, ungainly birds were ubiquitous – seen in both cities and countryside, perched on trees and electric poles,…
Floating polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles, plastic bags and even toys have become a part of the marine environment in recent times. Pitiful photographs of such plastic debris washed ashore on…
Every day, millions of litres of untreated and partially treated sewage, as well as waste from industry and agriculture, finds its way to our seas and oceans. These effluents carry…