Order of the National Green Tribunal in the matter of In Re: News Item Titled "Neglected Katora Houz in Hyderabad’s Golconda Fort Cries for attention appearing in ‘The Siasat Daily’ dated 25 May 2025". The application was registered suo-motu based on the news item titled “Neglected Katora Houz in Hyderabad’s …
a us federal appeals court recently blocked President George Bush's plans to open all highways in the country to Mexican trucks. The court ordered that the vehicles could not be allowed entry until the authorities had conducted a study to ascertain how they would affect the environment. It was observed …
After we released our study on pesticide residues on bottled water, an experienced science journalist called me to verify something I had said in the press conference. He wanted to know if it was really true that the government had not laid down quantified standards for pesticide residues in drinking …
As per a new directive, the eu will certify buildings for energy efficiency from 2006 onwards. The European Climate Change Programme, established in 2000 to meet Kyoto Protocol targets, has identified the construction sector as providing the largest potential for carbon dioxide emission reduction. Buildings already account for up to …
Public Advocacy The motives behind public service ads are not always as transparent as the messages themselves. Take the example of these two ads culled from The Philippine Star. The one below takes to task corrupt politicians for offering protection to squatter communities thereby keeping them "in the rut." The …
ireland's first dioxin emissions inventory has turned conventional notions on their head. The recently compiled document has found that domestic burning of waste, rather than incineration, is the biggest source of dioxins in the country. The 'Inventory of Dioxin and Furan emissions to air, land and water in Ireland for …
they are small, almost undetectable; but their adverse impacts are very apparent, at times lethal. A new study, once again, narrates the nightmarish story about how small-sized particulate matter (pm) invades our lungs much more fiercely as compared to their bigger counterparts. The study provides a breath of fresh air …
Do you believe that by being ecofriendly you are protecting future generations from the menace of pollution? Think again. A new study shows that pollution from coal fires triggers genetic defects that are passed down the generations. Christopher Somers, James Quinn and colleagues from the Ontario-based McMaster University have found …
barely six months after laws to check noise and air pollution from generator sets came into force, they have been watered down. It is ironic that one of the implementing agencies - the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (dpcc) - is to blame. Worse still, the dilution will impact the environment …
an unprecedented study may force certain countries to do some soul searching. Contrary to what a few policy makers advocate, the study reveals that high levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide (co2) can retard plant growth. The three-year study, conducted at the Stanford University, California, usa, is raising questions about a …
industrial emissions of Asia, particularly China, are a major source of mercury in rainwater that falls along the California coast of usa. So says a new study by researchers from the Santa Cruz-based University of California (ucsc). However, the researchers acknowledge that mercury in rainwater is not a health threat. …
the weather gods seem hell-bent on proving the India Meteorology Department (imd) wrong. Barely had it recovered from the embarrassment of forecasting the monsoon incorrectly when the winter wrong-footed it. An unusually severe nightly fog, enveloping a vast stretch of the Indo-Gangetic belt from Punjab to Kolkata, has confounded the …
What is wrong with us? Over 800 people have died in north India, another 500 in Bangladesh, only because it is colder this winter. And these are government estimates. Who knows what the real human toll is, caused by nothing more than what the meteorological department passes off as abnormal …
Principal Advisor in the Planning Commission, S P Arya, today reviewed Delhi government's plan performance. The Commission appreciated the government's achievements in the Ninth Five Year Plan, since 87% of the approved plan was utilised. The major projects initiated by the government during the Ninth Plan are the Delhi Metro, …
the squatting position adopted by Indians during defecation and bathing might be a triggering factor for strokes (sudden disabling attacks). This was revealed during a study carried out by the Calcutta National Medical College and Vivekananda Institute of Medical Sciences, Kolkata. Strokes generally happen when blood flow to the brain …
It has been a year since Anil Agarwal, the founder editor of Down To Earth, passed away. We remember him every moment. We work as his proxies. We work his dreams; they have become ours, too. His ideas changed many around the world. He changed the way we think. But …
For the first time, a study has linked human exposure to pesticides with Parkinson's disease (PD). The actual cause of PD remains a mystery till date, despite intense research about the same. Over the years, the disease has become widespread in many countries, with its symptoms ranging from stiff movements …
with the recent discovery of an extremely large offshore petroleum reserve in the northern sector of the Caspian Sea, an environmental disaster is in the making. Leading oil companies
six companies control 91 per cent of the us automobile market. They are also responsible for more than 90 per cent of vehicular emissions in the country. This was revealed in an environmental rating of automobile companies in the us, conducted by the Union of Concerned Scientists (ucs), a non-governmental …
