-The Indian Express The Right to Information (RTI) has never been without its sceptics. In the past few years, attempts to check it have become so persistent that they seem part of a larger design. One sees in them shades of jittery response by the great organs of the state and their moribund bureaucracies, forced out of their comfort zone defined by that perennial Bane of good governance, "axiomatic institutional secrecy". The...

-IANS Kolkata: Climate change is causing toxic metals trapped in the sediment beds of the Hooghly estuary in the Indian SunderBans to leach out into the water system due to changes in ocean chemistry, say scientists, warning of potential human health hazards. They predict that after about 30 years, increasing ocean acidification - another dark side of spiked atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide - could in fact unlock the entire stock of...

-PTI Chandigarh: The illegal practice of burning paddy stubble has been going on unabated in some parts of Punjab and Haryana despite a government Ban on it causing air pollution and health-related issues, agri-experts said. According to Vice Chancellor of the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) Dr B S Dhillon, stubble burning is causing multiple problems that include affecting the soil health, besides causing environmental pollution. "Hazy weather was witnessed recently which could have...

-India Climate Dialogue A small village in Rajasthan sets an example by its model of environment governance which combines traditional and religious practices with scientific concepts to tackle problems brought on by climate change Lapodiya, a village of 200 households in Rajasthan, is a shining example of how environment governance at the grassroots level can save a village from natural disasters. Here, people have adopted innovative water conservation practices and a culture...

-The Hindu THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Much of the drop in yield came from air pollution caused by fine particles like soot as well as ozone generated by sunlight acting on emissions of precursor molecules. India's food grain production is facing a double whammy, with heightened air pollution adding to the impact of climate change on crop yields, according to a recent study. "Our statistical model suggests that, averaged over India, yields in 2010 were up...