The World Meteorological Organization’s State of the Climate in Asia 2024 report warns that the region is warming nearly twice as fast as the global average, driving more extreme weather and posing serious threats to lives, ecosystems, and economies. In 2024, Asia experienced its warmest or second warmest year on …
COMPUTER models used by climatologists till date have come under a cloud. American researchers Peter Pilewski of National Aeronautical Space Agency's Ames Research Centre and Francisco Valero of the Scripps Institute of Oceanography indicate that clouds can absorb much more energy - up to 30 per cent of the incoming …
The raising of the Iron Curtain has forced into the open some of the darkest and most damning secrets of the Cold War. Both the US and the erstwhile Soviet Union used nuclear energy as a pointer, and a warning, to military muscle. And both embraced a radical, violent technology …
BAIJ NATH SINGH, English professor, writer and poet, published his first book Mati ke mole (a book on soil conservation) in 1985. He started writing environmental books in Hindi when he was confronted by the dearth of informative and educative books on environment in Hindi. Says Singh,"It is this void …
The World Wide Fund for Nature is under flak from the Asian Indigenous Peoples' Pact (AIPP) for releasing an insulting fundraising advertisement in February. The advertisement shows an indigenous person cutting a tree and reads: "He's destroying his own rainforest. To stop him, do you send an army or an …
NEPAL'S newly-constituted Communist Party government is no longer opposing the controversial World Bank-funded Arun III hydroelectric project in the country's northeast. Even during its election campaign, the Communist Party had joined ranks with anti-dam Nepali environmental activists, who contended that it would wreak havoc on the fragile cloud forest ecosystem …
Italian researchers predict that due to increasing atmospheric temperature over Antarctica an iceberg measuring 2876 sq km may break off from the frozen continent within 3 years, reports IPS. The researchers argue that "all signs indicate the heating up of the continental shelf, which may have dramatic consequences." Once the …
CORINE, the Coordination of Information on the Environment, which is the official classification system for natural habitats of the European Community (EC), is putting Europe's vulnerable wildlife sanctuaries under severe risk, alleges John Rodwell of Lancaster University. Rodwell, who is the coordinator of the British Natural Vegetation Classification, is extremely …
Yemen and Saudi Arabia have finally decided to call a halt to their 61-year-long border warfare. Following this decision, the biggest sigh of relief was from oil companies operating nervously in the oil-rich provinces under dispute heaved. In a memorandum of understanding signed at Mecca in the middle of March, …
The peak tourist season has slalomed into controversy at Alpine ski resorts, particularly those in spick-and-span Switzerland. The annual deluge of millions of tourists to the Alps is giving both environmentalists and national authorities headaches. Alpine forests, they say, are declining at a frightening pace due to pollution and tree …
The decision of the Karnataka Pollution Control Board (KPCB) to identify 3 sites in Mysore district for dumping hazardous wastes from industries has run into rough weather, with the local people strongly opposing the plan. They fear that the sites, each measuring about 10.12 ha with storage capacities of up …
THE rootless post-modernist, lost in exhausting productivity and mindless consumerism, has been forced to wake up to the severe erosion of the environment. But despite the host of developmental alternatives, he is unable to stop the rapacious consumption by policymakers and the public at large. The result: a rapidly shrivelling …
INFUSING public interest messages into soap operas, television's most popular programmes, requires a delicate balance between entertainment and education. The telenovellas of Mexico's Televisa and Brazil's Globe TV are regarded by communication specialists as models for development-oriented soap operas. Extending this approach, 3 of Sri Lanka's top cinematic storytellers have …
IN AN appeal to save the planet, law students of the Delhi-based Centre for Environmental Law enacted Vasundhra (Earth), at their convocation ceremony. The play, directed by Amitava Dasgupta, was a hit with the audience. A woman in AD 2225 travels back in time to find a tree for her …
The Peru-Ecuador war is now travelling down the superhighway of information, with the Ecuadorian government bamboozling its bete noire by putting government communiques and local press clippings on the Internet, providing graphic details of their version of the conflict. Initially nonplussed, the Peruvian foreign ministry recovered swiftly and launched the …
The Dakshina Kannada district will become Karnataka's showpiece of industrial development, the state government has been saying. However, a study begun in 1993 has projected a rather depressing environmental scenario. The report tabled in February warns that uncontrolled industrialisation will have "dire implications" for the area's terrestrial, riverine and marine …
IT IS a lesson in corporate opportunism. They'll invest and reap the profits, provided nothing goes wrong. The dubious machinations of the US chemical giant, DuPont, came to light recently with revelations of a diabolical set of clauses it has built into its tie-up with India's Thapar group. The revelations …
THE socioeconomic significance of jute cultivation lies in the fact that almost 10 million small and marginal farmers in India, Bangladesh, China, Thailand and Nepal are dependent on it for their livelihood. Equally important, jute is also an environment-friendly fibre when compared to artificial fibres like polypropylene (PP). The jute …
THE intentions of the recent Jungle Jivan Bachao Yatra, during which environmental activists and villagers living around India's national parks and sanctuaries went on a 45-day walkathon through 18 protected areas from Sariska in Rajasthan to Rajaji in Uttar Pradesh were undoubtedly good. The yatra's members sought to discover how …
GREEN, the colour now much in fashion, has all kinds of hues. The latest is the green frenzy that has gripped the large corporations. They are scrambling to be seen as environment conscious. Extensive "green ad" campaigns are now a sign of competitiveness. The corporations give and receive awards -- …
THIS decade is witness to the emergence of several issues regarding nutrition, health and environment. Nutrition in the Nineties attempts to compile articles about major issues regarding nutrition. Increased food production will lead to the reduction of hunger and malnutrition; ironically, this surfeit of food could have a negative impact …
