Good Food is First Food. It is not junk food. It is the food that connects nature and nutrition with livelihoods. This food is good for our health; it comes from the rich biodiversity of our regions; it provides employment to people. Most importantly, cooking and eating give us pleasure. …
THE Delhi Transport Corporation's (DTC's) ambitious plan to replace its ancient, polluting and gas-guzzling fleet with new low-emission and commuter-friendly buses has gone haywire. Irked by the DTC's decision to buy the buses from European companies, two Indian bus manufacturers lobbied intensely against the deal. It was not long before …
THERE is no action plan of the Indian government to tackle air pollution in the short term, pointed out Anil Agarwal, director, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), at the second anniversary function of the release of its book Slow Murder. In his presentation at the World Wide Fund for …
THE Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) held a workshop and a seminar to discuss India's stance prior to the Fourth Conference of Parties on Climate Change (cop-4), which is currently being held in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Representatives of South Asian non-governmental organisations (NGOs) par- ticipated in the meet. Climate …
"Fifty per cent of the malaria cases are human made. Government spreads malaria by policy" V PSharma Former director of Malaria Research Centre, Delhi "Plague will erupt in small pockets along the Indira Gandhi canal (in the Thar desert). I hope it does not happen" Ishwar Prakash Rodent expert, with …
What does environmental deterioration lead to? It leads to changes in the planet's life support systems. When these systems become weak, their ability to support life deteriorates. Consequently, the health of individuals living in that ecosphere is bound to be affected. Some species profit by these changes and others lose …
Our bodies exist in the environment and we carry a soup of chemicals within us and we cannot stay insulated from the changes taking place in the environment. If the environment degrades, so does the state of our health. The key to good health is therefore in many ways a …
All over the world sperm count in humans has declined by over 50 per cent in the last 30 years. In India, studies involving more than 1600 men, both fertile and infertile, over the past 15 years have shown a decrease by 43 per cent in sperm count . In …
Depletion of micronutrients such as copper and molybdenum from the soil leads to poor food quality and micronutrient deficiency in humans. The most common deficiency is that of zinc, copper and manganese. Manganese deficiency has reduced productivity in coarse-textured soil under the rice-wheat system in Punjab, points out J S …
Participants at the session dealing with radiology at the conference, including A Gopalakrishnan, a former chairperson of Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), criticised the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) for not parting with vital information regarding nuclear safety. During the session on radiation and health, Xavier Dias, an NGO activist …
Research by the School of Environmental Studies (SES), Jadavpur University, Calcutta, has revealed that the tubewell of a single rural water supply scheme in Malda in West Bengal had pumped out as much as 143 kg of arsenic in 1991. Though it is proved to be coming out of underground …
The Green Revolution has greatly contributed to the spread of Japanese encephalitis. Professor T Jacob John, professor of eminence at Christian Medical College, Vellore, in tracing its detection in several parts of India since 1954, shows the link between paddy cultivation and Japanese encephalitis. "The prevalence of these diseases is …
A participant at the conference narrated the story of two doctors who were walking by a river. They saw a man floating down the river. One of them rushed in, dragged him out, and immediately gave him first aid. As he had finished doing so, along came another man floating. …
Scientists worldwide now accept that along with industrialisation and urbanisation, there has been a steady destruction of nature. Cities and industries have both affected clean air and clean water. Industries produce a lot of hazardous wastes; and cities produce a lot of garbage. Hazardous wastes pollute the groundwater. Accumulation of …
YERWADA central jail in Pune has witnessed a sudden upsurge of" visitors. Jail employees are not surprised. They know the reason. Noted social worker Ramon Magsaysay awardee Anna Hazare is lodged here. Hazare was sentenced by a Mumbai metropolitan court on September 10 to three months simple imprisonment in connection …
India, Pakistan, Thailand and Malaysia have won the shrimp-turtle case in the World Trade Organisation (wto) against the us government. The us had imposed a unilateral ban on the import of shrimp caught in a way that killed endangered turtles. The us government had taken the action under its own …
Noah saved the world from a flood. Today, an effort of similar proportions is required to deal with a different kind of problem: an unprecedented shortage of freshwater. In Noah's absence, governments of the world made an attempt in this direction in New York (April 15 to May 1) at …
The doomsday predictions of wars being fought over water indicate the world's precarious position with regard to water. Though 70 per cent of the planet is covered by water, only 2.5 per cent of water is freshwater. Of this, nearly 70 per cent is frozen in the ice caps of …
The gravity of the problem of freshwater scarcity on a global scale was recognised as far back as 1977, when the un Water Conference took place at Mar del Plata, Argentina. The action plan drawn up at Mar del Plata is considered by many as "an excellent road map", much …
"W e are dealing with a different type of reality,' said Nicky Nzioki, a non-governmental representative from Kenya. "In the South, it would be almost impossible to put an economic value on water that flows by in a stream in a village, far away from developed areas.' China reflected this …
Industry and freshwater. "The challenge is to create the market conditions whereby sustainability will form the basis of competitiveness," Bausuano added. "Voluntary commitment cannot be a substitute to legislation," said Bjorn Stigson, president, WBCSD. "It can only complement an on-going process. In developing countries, voluntary effort will have to come …
