The Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) would soon undertake a survey for preparing a detailed project report (DPR) to make the chief minister's dream project~ beautification of banks along the river Hooghly~ successful. The state urban development minister, Mr Firhad Hakim, today held a meeting with the mayor and officials …
ELKHORN coral looks just like elk antlers. With its complex, large branches, this important reef-building coral in the Caribbean is haven to numerous reef species. But, not any more. The Caribbean has lost 90 per cent of the coral in 15 years. Apart from human activity and warming of seas, …
SALMON will grant knowledge to whoever eats it. So goes the Irish mythology about the fish intertwined with culture and livelihoods of almost all North Atlantic and Pacific countries since ancient times. Demand for the fish, high in good fat Omega-3 and other rare nutrients, has only increased over decades. …
USE of insecticides to get rid of mosquitoes is known to be detrimental to the environment and human health. A finding on how larvae of mosquitoes which cause dengue and filariasis can be killed in an eco-friendly way, therefore, holds significance. Researchers at the Annamalai University in Tamil Nadu have …
Historic it may be—even if watered down. The unanimous adoption of a “political declaration” by the UN on the need to fight the rising tide of non-communicable diseases (NCD) is a singular development and, as analysts have been reminding us, it is only the second time a health issue has …
When she was in her teens, American journalist Melanie Thernstrom developed persistent pain in her neck after swimming. It quickly spread to her shoulder and eventually to her hand. Visits to doctors ended in frustration as they preferred to focus on pain management rather than a cure. It was not …
According to The Los Angeles Times, a Californian water utility paid nearly US $200,000 for glowing coverage on a website that boosted its profile on Google. The newspaper reports that officials from the Central Basin Municipal Water District used public funds to hire a consulting firm affiliated with a professional-looking …
The Guarani tribe in Brazil has demanded that Royal Dutch Shell stop using its land to produce ethanol. In a letter to the oil biggie, Guarani leaders wrote, “Since the factory began to operate all our health has deteriorated—children, adults and animals. Shell must leave our land...We want our land …
Kyrgyzstan is outdoing neighbouring Kazakhstan in linguistic nationalism. Candidates who want to contest the forthcoming presidential elections will have to pass a test of their ability to speak Kyrgyz. Speaking Kyrgyz has been a prerequisite for those seeking the highest office since independence from the former Soviet Union in the …
ATM manufacturers have unveiled talking teller machines. The country’s banking establishment is working to change its attitude towards visually challenged customers, of course, following repeated prodding by the Reserve Bank of India. At an event at Xavier’s Resource Centre for the Visually Challenged in Mumbai Sam Taraporevala, the head of …
Google’s carbon footprint is on a par with that of the UN, claims the Internet giant’s first disclosure of its energy usage. Google emits 1.5 million tonnes of carbon annually but claims its data centres consume 50 per cent less energy than the industry average. Google said many of its …
Ludwig van Beethoven and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart had hearing impairment. So did the rock guitarist Pete Townsend. But musicians enjoy better hearing, a Canadian study suggests. The study, published in Psychology and Aging, carried out hearing tests on 74 adult musicians, and 89 non-musicians. It found a 70-year-old musician’s speech …
STORIES are at the heart of any tribal community. Most of our history is passed down by word of mouth in the form of fables, myths, legends, rituals or folktales. It is at the threshold of being lost forever. This website details the work of an organisation that attempts to …
NANOTECHNOLOGY has revolutionised industry. It is used to improve wide ranging products, from cosmetics, toys and toothpastes to textiles and missiles. Industry thinks the technology holds promise to change every facet of life in some way. Substances at nano scale, or nanoparticles, demonstrate novel physiochemical properties compared to larger particles …
ON SEPTEMBER 9, the Supreme Court ordered detergent company Nirma to file its reply to the show cause notice issued by the Union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) within three months. MoEF had issued the notice in May, asking the company to explain within two weeks why the environmental …
AT A time when Indian honey is under the scanner for allegedly re-exporting cheap and poor quality Chinese honey, a private firm has become the first in the world to bag the True Source Honey (TSH) certificate. The certificate, a US industry initiative, is the authentication of the origin of …
THE UN General Assembly has adopted a watered-down political declaration to reduce the burden of chronic lifestyle diseases. The event signals the beginning of a larger fight between industry and health policy makers. The resolution was passed at a summit ahead of the General Assembly in New York on September …
THE cat is out of the bag. Developed countries take back a large chunk of their development assistance by forcing recipient countries to buy goods and services from them. This was stated in a report released ahead of a meeting of rich countries to be held in November at Busan …
Next year, in June, world leaders will get together in the joyful city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to mark 20 years of UNCED—the Earth Summit (see Down to Earth, May 15, 1992). Unbelievably, it will be 40 years since the Stockholm conference, when the question of the environment first …
Panchayats Extension to Scheduled Areas (PESA) Act was enacted 15 years ago. Do you feel helpless because it has not yet been implemented? As the minister of panchayati raj, my first job is to remind people about the existence of PESA. If need arises I can go for further legislation …
