THE NEWS IN
PROPORTION
26 January 2020
26 January 2020
TROUBLE AT ALANG
Graveyard of ships struggles to survive
Graveyard of ships struggles to survive
World's largest ship-breaking yard at Alang is crumbling as the EU Commission and the Supreme Court are now putting pressure to get them to create modern environmentally friendly facilities. If they do not do it, the graveyard of ships will die says Ramesh Menon.
NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS
How badly designed and unsafeThe 30th and 5th anniversaries this year of the Chernobyl and Fukushima nuclear power plant accidents respectively are the right occasions to examine India’s record in this sector, writes Darryl D’Monte.
NUCLEAR DANGER
What Chernobyl and Fukushima remind usOn the 30th anniversary of the catastrophic nuclear accident in Chernobyl, one can ignore the lessons – as well as those of the Fukushima plant, only at our peril, writes Darryl D’Monte.
RISK FROM TOXIC CHEMICALS
The poisons we play with everydayFrom the paints in our homes to the discarded CFL tubes, the sources of toxic chemicals that pose a serious threat to our health and safety are omnipresent. Darryl D’Monte highlights why it is imperative for India to move faster and more determinedly in tackling this problem.
PACKAGING & THE ENVIRONMENT
Not everyone wants a plastic-free future!A petition filed by an NGO before the NGT seeks a phasing out of the use of plastic bottles and multi-layered plastic packaging, but there is a strong opposition to the proposal from a significant section of stakeholders belonging to the industry. Devanik Saha reports.
PUBLIC HEALTH HAZARD
Coal energy and pollution: Can communities fight the threat?A recent workshop in Karnataka focused on the health impact of coal-based power plants and other industrial pollutants and shared valuable inputs on how to empower local communities to combat the same. Shripad Dharmadhikary reports.
AIR POLLUTION IMPACT
A jaundiced view of the TajThe pernicious threat of pollution looms large over India’s most celebrated heritage structure and one of its most prominent emblems, the Taj Mahal, for decades now. Darryl D’Monte shares the findings of a recent study indicating that the ravages of pollution continue unabated.
VEHICULAR AIR POLLUTION
Will banning older vehicles clean the air in Delhi?Is modernisation of transport the sole answer to air pollution problems in Delhi? In view of the NGT's proposed ban on older vehicles on the streets of Delhi, Sarath Guttikunda draws attention to several problems that need to be addressed for a healthier environment in the NCR.
AIR QUALITY INDEX
How much do you know about the air you are breathing?Red, yellow and green are not just about traffic lights any more. Colour coding the air quality in cities is a critical step towards dissemination of pollution data among citizens. But does India’s air quality index satisfy all the necessary conditions for optimal use? Sarath Guttikunda has more.
NEW INITIATIVE
Defining, celebrating and protecting our riversIndia Rivers Week held in November 2014 was a first-of-its-kind gathering in New Delhi, which celebrated rivers and those trying to protect them, while charting out a road map to mitigate the threats they confront. Shripad Dharmadhikary reports on the proceedings.
INDOOR AIR POLLUTION
When kitchen smoke can killIt has been widely established that the health impact of indoor air pollution, caused often by solid fuels for household cooking, far outweighs the hazards of outdoor pollution. Arpana HS quotes data from the Census and findings from a recent paper to show why India needs to tackle this on priority.
EYE ON PARIS 2015
Should India tone down its moralistic stance in Paris climate talks?Could India’s inflexible and rather aggressive attitude in global climate negotiations jeopardise its domestic mitigation of the real threats from climate change? Darryl D’Monte summarises the key take-aways from a TISS conference that dwelled upon this and related issues.
GANGA WATERWAY
Reviving the Ganga, at the cost of its ecology!The Rs 6300-crore plans for development of the Ganga waterway from Allahabad to Haldia should be undertaken only after meticulous examination of its impact on various elements of river ecology. Debadityo Sinha explains why.
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Amitabha Basu
- Retired Scientist
- National Physical
- Laboratory
- India Together reader
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From Aug 2013, published with support from Oorvani Foundation, a champion of public-funded media for the new India.
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