EDITORS' PICK

In a first-of-its-kind development, private city buses in Mangalore have started making a beeline to receive biofuel made out of Used Cooking Oil (UCO) from restaurants. Biofuel researchers here are set to create a unique ecosystem for disposing hazardous UCO while also creating an eco-friendly fuel for transportation fleet. The coastal district has over 100 medium to large scale eateries, and 360 private buses plying the routes. Eight years ago, the Government of Karnataka had mooted the creation of 27 to 30 biofuel research information and demonstration centres in the state. This included a unit in Nitte village, Udupi District,…

With all the buzz around sustainability, climate change and plastic pollution, it is good to see businesses around the world including PepsiCo and Nestle starting to talk about eco-friendly choices. Everyday, news reports highlight the innovative strategies of businesses to combat plastic pollution. For decades, we have been polluting our environment with plastic disposables, obsessed with the use-and-throw culture. Now we read about many inventions to replace plastic disposables with other types of disposables that are environment-friendly, labelled as pro-earth, biodegradable, compostable, food-grade etc. But are we going in the right direction by replacing one kind of disposable with another…

Sarsa, a small river that flows through Himachal Pradesh and Punjab, is considered a holy river in Sikh religious tradition. It was on the banks of Sarsa that Guru Gobind Singh’s Khalsa Army fought the Mughals. Though the Khalsa army lost that battle, its effect was far reaching. It led to Guru Gobind Singh’s separation from his family and the martyrdom of the Guru’s four children. To avenge their deaths, Banda Bahadur, a disciple of Guru Gobind Singh who was especially sent by the Guru to avenge the martyrdom of his children, laid the foundation of a professional Khalsa Army, which…

How does a national downturn affect a small, local market in this city? If we want to understand that, we should probably look at the Pudupet spare parts market.  The nation-wide auto sector slowdown has hit the livelihoods of many traders at Pudupet, a second hand vehicle-parts market off Egmore. There has been a slump in metal prices due to the slowdown, a factor that has probably had the most damaging impact on the Pudupet traders.  “There has been a steep fall in metal prices: Iron price has declined to Rs 16 from Rs 25 and aluminium costs Rs 63…

Close to 20 people killed in the city itself, several missing and over 3000 requiring rehabilitation -- Pune is grappling with the situation in the aftermath of the September flash floods, as the city and its adjoining areas saw over 100 millimetres of rain over a period of two days. While efforts are on to redeem the situation, environmentalists and analysts say that the writing had been on the wall for some time. And the authorities had even been warned about it… Flashback to August 2019 In the first week of August, Pune experienced floods after around 100000 cusecs of…

Translated by Sandhya Raju "மரம் வளர்போம், மழை பெறுவோம்" - சுற்றுசூழலை பேணிக் காக்க மாநிலம் முழுவதும் இந்த வாசகத்தை காணலாம்.  கல்வி நிறுவனங்கள் முதல் தொண்டு நிறுவனங்கள் வரை, முக்கிய நாட்களை கொண்டாட,  மரம் நடும் விழாவை தவறாமல் ஏற்பாடு செய்கின்றன. இந்த முயற்சிகள் உண்மையாகவே பலன் தருகிறதா?  நடப்படும் மரக்கன்றுகள் எவ்வாறு உள்ளன? இவை நகரத்தை பசுமையாக மாற்றுகிறதா? சுருங்கி வரும் பசுமை கடந்த இருபது ஆண்டுகளில் சென்னையின் பசுமை போர்வை வெகுவாக குறைந்து உள்ளது. வர்தா புயலின் தாக்கத்தில் பல மரங்கள் வேரோடு சாய்ந்ததில், சென்னையில் பதினைந்து சதவிகித மரங்கள் குறைந்துள்ளதாக கேர் யெர்த் டிரஸ்ட் நடத்திய ஆய்வில் தெரிவித்துள்ளது. நகர்புறத்தில் முப்பத்திமூன்று சதவிகித பசுமை இருத்தல் வேண்டும் என கூறப்படுகிறது. சென்னை மெட்ரோ போன்ற உள்கட்டமைப்பு வளர்ச்சி காரணமாகவும் சென்னை நகரின் பல பகுதிகளில் மரங்கள் சாய்க்கப்பட்டுள்ளன. நகரமயமாக்கல் நகரத்தின் பசுமை போர்வைக்கு பெருத்த…

The extreme spells of rain over the past few weeks may have made Hyderabad’s traffic situation worse than ever, but the situation is hardly bearable even when we have less inclement weather. The problem is especially acute in the Hitech-City - Financial District area, given the large concentration of office goers who come here from various parts of the city. Traffic speeds on a regular day often fall to 12-15 km/hour, which is slower than riding a bicycle. The current trend also suggests that more and more employees are switching from public transport towards owning and traveling by their personal…

Co-authored by Dattatraya T Devare and Saurabh Ketkar Imagine two people on cycles alongside each other riding down a road. One has a state-of-the-art bicycle, made out of carbon fibre with the best disc brakes and a customised seat. The other has a generic cycle made without any gears or fancy materials. When they both come to a stop, one thing is fairly certain, both of them will be sweating and will even smile at each other. If they are friends, they will stop for a chat and catch up over this fortuitous rendezvous. This scenario would be hardly likely…

Are you a Chennaiite negotiating the busy roads of the city almost daily? Have you noticed the sidewalks being dug up on your way to Anna library or EA Mall or Chennai Central in recent times? Did you wonder why these roads are being dug up all of a sudden throughout the city?  Of floods and droughts Chennai has seen the worst of nature's fury several times in the recent past, with the frequency of floods and droughts having increased drastically. Post the historic floods in 2015, Cyclone Vardah devastated the city once again in 2016. However, as the monsoon…

We have just come to the end of a week that has seen unprecedented mobilisation across our cities and towns over the issue of climate change and environmental justice. On September 23rd, 16-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg came up with yet another passionate and angry outburst against global leaders at the UN Climate Action Summit 2019. "You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words. And yet I'm one of the lucky ones. People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction, and all you can…