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Indian scientists: missing in action

By: Sunita Narain I suspect Indian scientists have retired hurt to the pavilion. They were exposed to nasty public scrutiny on a deal made by a premier science research establishment, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), with Devas, a private company, on the allocation of spectrum. The public’s verdict was that the arrangement was a scandal; public resources had been given away for a song.

Battle for the Internet

By Latha Jishnu and Arnab Pratim Dutta As the Internet turns into the public square and the marketplace of our world, it is increasingly becoming a contested terrain. Governments, corporations and even seemingly innocuous social networking sites want to control and influence the way it operates 

Briefs

Toxic neighbours Happy that a petrol pump’s right next to your home? Here’s something to worry about. It has been found that if you live within a 100 metre radius of a petrol pump, you are vulnerable to cancer because of the high level of pollution. Airborne chemicals, coming mostly from unburned fuel evaporating during refilling of the stations’ storage tanks, during automobile refueling and from spillage, are to blame for this health hazard. Data quantified

How to approach environmentalism

By: Sunita Narain 2010 was a loud year for the environment. High profile projects—from Vedanta to Posco and Navi Mumbai airport to Lavasa—hit the headlines for non-compliance with environmental regulations. While 2009 was the 25th anniversary of the Bhopal gas tragedy, it was only last year that we were all outraged by the disaster. The realisation of how every institution—the judiciary, parliament and government— had miserably failed to provide justice to the victims shocked us deeply.

With help from worms

By: Jyotika Sood Shekhawati farmers in Rajasthan go organic It came to them as a small business proposal. About 10,000 farmers in the semi-arid Shekhawati region on the edge of Thar desert turned it into a fortune spinner and have become major organic farmers in Rajasthan.

Endosulfan: Another Kasaragod

By:  Savvy Soumya Misra Karnataka chief minister B S Yeddyurappa in December announced that his government would consider banning endosulfan. The highly toxic pesticide is banned in over 70 countries.