CSE

Stars don’t foretell any more

Sahyadris have been documenting the changing climate for 40 years

by Aparna Pallavi

Run from cover

Health insurance companies pursue customers till policies are sold. Then they disappear. The nature of business has already changed the treatment mechanism. A market awaits capture. Without stringent regulation, where is the industry headed?

by Vibha Varshney

Saif Siddiqui spent a little under Rs 14,000 on his appendicitis operation three years ago. The 35-year-old dentist from Bhubaneswar relied on an insurance cover for his family from Reliance General Insurance Company Ltd. He paid Rs 5,184 as premium for the policy.

How Bt brinjal was cleared

Anti-GM groups say expert panel acted under pressure

by Savvy Soumya Misra

A coalition of organizations opposed to genetically modified food in India has written to the minister of state for environment and forests seeking withdrawal of clearance given to Bt brinjal. The Coalition for GM-free India alleged the expert committee that cleared the genetically modified brinjal for commercial cultivation in the country was neither impartial nor thorough.

Nature's own water purifiers

River banks are efficient water filters. Haridwar shows how to make most of them  

by Bharat Lal Seth

The holy town of Haridwar on the banks of the Ganga has of late been receiving pilgrims of a different kind. They are students and professors from India and abroad who come to study its water supply system. Over a third (38 per cent) of the water supplied in Haridwar is naturally treated as it passes through the river banks.

Subterranean leak

High amounts of pesticides and heavy metals in soil and water inside and around the Union Carbide plant

by Sapna Johnson, Ramakant Sahu, Nimisha Jadol and Clara Duca

An ecological triumph goes sour

Kerala celebrates silver jubilee of the Silent Valley project, but dismisses conservation measures

by M K Prasad, an environmentalist and educator, participated in the movement against the hydropower project in the Silent Valley

Switch on biomass

Power crisis spurs market for renewables in rural Bihar

by Alok Gupta, Saran

Until a year ago, T N Pandit, a pathologist in Bihar’s Saran district would juggle four different power supplies to keep his lab operational. The sources included inverter, generator, solar cell and state power grid. Voltage fluctuation had caused faults in his gadgets till he decided to install one more switch on his already overcrowded switchboard.

What is the status of air pollution in Delhi?

Delhi has lost the gains of its CNG programme. Its air is increasingly becoming more polluted and unbreathable, bringing back the pre-CNG days when diesel-driven buses and autos had made it one of the most polluted cities on earth.

What is the latest climate accord in Copenhagen and what are its implications?

The Copenhagen Accord that India plans to sign here will instantly forgive industrialised countries’ historical responsibility for climate change, eliminate the distinction between developed and developing countries, prevent effective action to curb global warming, and fatally undermine efforts to renew the Kyoto Protocol. This will be disastrous for the climate, and for India’s most vulnerable communities, says Centre for Science and Environment (CSE).

How serious is the global water crisis? And is the international community doing enough to help resolve it?

The global water crisis is a crisis of mismanagement. Indiscriminate use of water and the “flush and forget” mindset has worsened the crisis by adding the pollution challenge. This has severe implications on the society, especially the poor, its health and socio-economic well-being. Take for instance India where about 85 per cent of urban sewage goes untreated, polluting water supply sources like rivers, lakes and groundwater. And remember polluted water is the biggest killer of babies (infants).