The impact of ethanol on the environment

Concerns about the Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) programme refuse to die down in Andhra Pradesh, with scientists and farmers saying water resources are depleting and emissions from factories are polluting the air, water, and soil. Buoyed by the encouraging results of the Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) programme, which was introduced in India as a pilot … Read more

Can animals have mental disabilities?

  Max was a fun-loving Labrador retriever who enjoyed going for car rides and greeting clients at his owner’s office. But around age 16, Max suddenly started having accidents in the house and stopped sleeping well at night. He became irritable and seemed not to understand the words and commands he had long known. Max was showing … Read more

Saving nature can ‘unite world’, countries told at rebooted UN talks

  Environmental activists take part in a flash mob at Circo Massimo as the COP16 biodiversity conference resumes at the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) headquarters in Rome, February 25, 2025. | Photo Credit: AFP Global talks to protect nature restarted Tuesday with a call for humanity to come together to “sustain life on … Read more

Baboons and human fear: a deep history behind the cruel attacks in South Africa

Encounters between baboons and people are common in parts of South Africa. WhatsApp groups often share stories of baboons raiding a kitchen and stealing all the food. And stories appear in the media about the torture and killing of baboons. Recently the hashtag #JusticeForRaygun has been widely shared on social media. A young male baboon named Raygun was being tracked as … Read more

Emission intensity targets to be released by month-end

Representational file image. | Photo Credit: AP The government is expected to announce emissions intensity targets for nine industrial sectors by the end of the month — a crucial step to operationalise India’s carbon trading scheme. Following this, these industries will have a year to put in place compliance measures to cut emissions, and trading … Read more

Coastal mangroves can mitigate tsunami, cyclones, and floods     

Coastal mangroves act as bio-shields against natural catastrophic disasters, including cyclones and flooding. Researchers have said that if the myriad natural barriers along the India’s coastline, including mangroves, did not exist, destruction by tsunami and coastal floods could have been more. Constructing sea walls is possible, but they are expensive and may disrupt natural processes.    In … Read more

A ‘summer checklist’ for Perumbakkam wetland

The vegetation at the Perumbakkam wetland is browning in some patches. As the wetland basks more in a summer sun, this picture would expand. Drier vegetation is more susceptible to fire during summer. The image was taken on February 21, 2025. | Photo Credit: PRINCE FREDERICK Perumbakkam wetland is beginning to develop a “tan”. The … Read more

China to develop gene-editing tools, new crop varieties in biotech initiative

Wheat crop ready for harvest in a farmer’s field near Kindersley, Saskatchewan, Canada September 5, 2024. | Photo Credit: Reuters China issued guidelines on Friday to promote biotech cultivation, focusing on gene-editing tools and developing new wheat, corn, and soybean varieties, as part of efforts to ensure food security and boost agriculture technology. The 2024-2028 … Read more

Conserving wetlands for the future

Wetlands are regions of land that are generally saturated with water. However, when rain causes water to pool on land, it does not constitute a wetland. More specifically, wetlands are areas where water either covers the soil or is found at or near the soil surface year-round or for fluctuating periods throughout the year. These … Read more

Sugar mills make a case for hike in minimum selling price

Sugar mills in Uttar Pradesh usually had a slightly higher realisation for sugar in the domestic market compared with the mills in Maharashtra. File | Photo Credit: The Hindu Sugar mills have sought hike in the minimum selling price (ex-mill) of sugar to ₹39 a kg from ₹31 a kg now. Deepak Ballani, Director General of … Read more

Northeast tea body names two nonagenarians associated with beverage industry for first lifetime achievement awards

Apurba Kumar Barooah. | Photo Credit: Special arrangement Sagar Mehta. | Photo Credit: Special arrangement GUWAHATI An association of tea producers has named two nonagenarians for its first lifetime achievement awards. The awards are scheduled to be conferred upon 96-year-old Sagar Mehta and 93-year-old Apurba Kumar Barooah at the ‘Chairman’s Dinner’ in eastern Assam’s Golaghat … Read more

Andhra Pradesh government will soon deposit ₹20,000 into the accounts of each farmer, says Somireddy

Former Agriculture Minister and Sarvepalli MLA Somireddy Chandramohan Reddy visiting a stall in Kisan Mela organised at Acharya NG Ranga Agricultural University in Nellore on Friday. | Photo Credit: ARRANGEMENT The State government will soon deposit ₹20,000 into the accounts of each farmer in the State as financial assistance under Annadata Sukhibhava scheme, including the … Read more

Government to auction more critical mineral mines by 2031

Villagers show lithium stones in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir in 2023. According to a FICCI-Deloitte report, India lacks the technological capability to extract lithium from such geological formations.  | Photo Credit: PTI Following the Cabinet approval for a ₹16,300-crore National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM) in January, the government plans to auction more mines … Read more

First breeding record of Blue-cheeked Bee-eater discovered in Peninsular India

The discovery of a new breeding ground of Blue-cheeked Bee-eater in Tamil Nadu marks the southernmost breeding range of the avian species in the Indian subcontinent. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT The first breeding site of the Blue-Cheeked Bee-eater (merops persicus) in peninsular India has been discovered in the saltpans of Aandivilai near the Manakudy … Read more

Green Humour by Rohan Chakravarty on Donald Trump freezing funds for conservation

Green Humour | Photo Credit: Rohan Chakravarty Green Humour | Photo Credit: Rohan Chakravarty Rohan Chakravarty is a cartoonist and illustrator from Nagpur. His series, ‘Green Humour’, consists of cartoons and comics on wildlife, nature conservation, environmental issues, sustainability, and all things green. Published – February 20, 2025 03:41 pm IST

Watch: Union Budget 2025: What’s in it for agriculture?

Union Budget 2025: What’s in it for agriculture? | Video Credit: The Hindu A look at what the Union Budget 2025 had in store for agriculture, and farmers. Reporting: AM Jigeesh Video: Sabika Syed Editing: Tayyab Hussain Published – February 01, 2025 09:01 pm IST

Watch: Warmest January on record, deadline for updated NDCs

Watch: Warmest January on record, deadline for updated NDCs | Video Credit: Zeeshan Akhtar January 2025 kept up with the trend of recording hottest average temperatures ever. The month was 1.75 degrees Celsius above pre industrial levels.  January temperatures came as a surprise to scientists too. Samantha Burgess, Strategic Lead for Climate at ECMWF called … Read more

Maha Kumbh 2025: Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath refutes claims of faecal contamination at Sangam, says water is fit for drinking

Puja material and other waste being collected at the Sangam for their disposal, during the ongoing Maha Kumbh Mela 2025, in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, on February 19, 2025. | Photo Credit: PTI Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said Wednesday (February 19, 2025) dismissed concerns over the presence of faecal bacteria in the river water … Read more

Neither ecologically sustainable nor ethical, says study over translocation of African cheetahs to India

A file photo of cheetahs at Kuno National Park (KNP) in Madhya Pradesh’s Sheopur district. | Photo Credit: PTI A new study by the Centre for Wildlife Studies (CWS), which examines the ethical, ecological and welfare challenges associated with the translocation of African cheetahs to India, has expressed concern over the translocation of the animals … Read more

Sweden’s top court rejects Thunberg lawsuit on climate action

Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg and protesters take part in a demonstration against the A69 motorway project between Toulouse and Castres, in Saix, France, February 10, 2024. | Photo Credit: AFP Sweden’s Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that Greta Thunberg and hundreds of other activists cannot proceed with a lawsuit that had sought to force … Read more

India to submit updated greenhouse gas inventory to U.N. soon

While a part of the commitment made at COP-21 in 2015, countries started submitting BTRs only by 2024. File India is in the final stages of preparing its first ever Biannual Transparency Report (BTR), part of its commitment as a signatory to the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change, Environment Ministry officials told The Hindu. … Read more

What is the Aravali safari park project? | Explained

A sunrise is seen against the Aravali mountain ranges in Ajmer, in Rajasthan, on December 16, 2022. | Photo Credit: AP The story so far: The Haryana government’s ambitious 3,858 hectare Aravali safari park project spread across Gurugram and Nuh — which was one of the poll promises of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party last … Read more