Two seminal books, John Bellamy Foster, Brett Clark, and Richard York’s The Ecological Rift: Capitalism’s War on the Earth and John Bellamy Foster’s The Ecological Revolution: Making Peace with the Planet suggest that the rift between humanity and nature must be analysed in its intertwining with other kinds of alienation, …
What makes globalisation undesirable? Globalisation can have positive benefits but if not managed well, it can also be very inequitable. It is exactly because it has not been managed well on several instances that many countries have not benefited, and have even suffered. Some may argue that the process is …
The official history of India's presence in the Antarctic begins from December 6, 1981, when the icebreaker M V Polar Circle steamed out of Goa with a 21-member team. But would it be true to say that the real history begins a decade ago, in 1971? This was the year …
in a letter to all state chief ministers, Union minister for environment and forests T R Baalu questioned the appointments to pollution control boards (pcb) that were made without following the stipulated requirements in the acts. He directed that appropriate persons be appointed for the key positions and incumbents, not …
No one who reads a newspaper, however cursorily, could miss the news that Stephen Jay Gould, Professor of Zoology at Harvard University, died of lung cancer on May 20, 2002. He had fought his way out of another cancer, a rare form of abdominal cancer, 20 years ago. His reaction …
stephen Jay Gould, an evolutionary theorist at Harvard University, usa, whose pioneering work put paleontology back on the academic high ground, died on May 20, 2002, of cancer. He was 60. One of the most influential evolutionary biologists of the 20th century, his theory of punctuated equilibrium evoked as much …
FROM Jawaharlal Nehru's evocative 'temples of modern India' dedication to the grotesque jubilation following Pokhran II, science has always played an important role in the way independent India has defined itself: a nation recognised not for its snake charmers but for its intercontinental missiles. Even during colonial times, science played …
• Plastic bags having a thickness of less than 20 microns have been banned in Surat in Gujarat and Meghalaya. Anybody found guilty of using such bags will have to pay a fine of Rs 1,000 and may be imprisoned for five years. • The Union government has launched a …
the indigo plant has been an enduring symbol of British exploitation throughout the independence struggle. It had caused the cultivators to protest against the unfair practices of the British Raj. Mahatma Gandhi started his first satyagraha at Champaran in Bihar against the British policy of Tinkathia system implemented on the …
Down To Earth and the Centre for Science and Environment announce that the winner of the 2001 Green Scientist Award is V P Sharma , former head of the Malaria Research Centre. Instituted to recognise and honour commendable scientific efforts in the crucial but ignored area of environmental science, the …
Ecological Security is all pervasive, all encompassing. It is not merely the flora, fauna, air, water and land. It is whole economics. One cannot separate Financial Security and Ecological Security. But we need to paraphrase the term. It should not be used as the other abused word
few people realise that the 21st century is going to be the century of the environment. Technological change in this century is going to be heavily driven by the environmental imperative. Any nation that forgets to invest in environmental science and technology will only do so at its own peril
T he Centre for Science and Environment ( cse ) and Down To Earth have instituted the award to highlight the state of environmental research in India and to encourage and honour commendable efforts in this crucial but ignored area. This is one way to make more funds available for …
Malaria affects the most vulnerable: children of poor families in developing countries face the greatest risk. The chemical pesticides used to combat the disease in the past 50 years or so pose grave dangers to the environment and human health (see box: Problem ). Any solution that can help the …
Malaria kills 3,000 people every day across the world, over one million people each year. Three out of four victims are children. Over 275 million cases occur each year. The disease is a serious public health problem in India
At least 35 people died of malaria in 1983 in Nadiad taluka of Gujarat's Kheda district. The Malaria Research Centre, with V P Sharma as director, began its work on bioenvironmental control here. This was a response to the failure of the National Malaria Eradication Programme (NMEP), which was all …
Recognition received: This comprised awards won and the number of scientific publications. Although the dte-cse award is aimed at highlighting unrecognised work, the credibility of the work undertaken and number of awards won was considered important. In terms of publications, the number of papers as well as citations of the …
V RAMALINGASWAMI (Chairperson of The Jury) national research professor, and emeritus professor at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), and president, National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi One of the most eminent personalities in the area of medical sciences in India, Ramalingaswami's insights into the pathology of human malnutrition, …
I n 1996-97, the government of India claims that it spent Rs 333.8 crore on protection and sustainable use of the environment. Our research shows that in 1998-99, the government spent some Rs 474.81 crore. These may be inadequate sums of money, but by themselves they are not small. How …
If there is one thing true about India, it's that it is a diverse country. Economically, technologically and environmentally. Some are very rich, some are very poor. There are some who use modern technologies, and there are others who still use technologies that were used a millennium ago. And, of …
