-PTI BHUBANESWAR: Cautious after the devastation in Uttarakhand, Odisha government on Wednesday asked all district collectors to ensure that no brick kiln operated on river beds. Revenue and disaster management minister S N Patro said the flood situation in Uttarakhand had worsened due to large constructions on the river banks and flouting of environmental laws. In Odisha, unscrupulous persons were setting up unauthorised brick kilns along the rivers which lead to erosion of...

-The Hindu Could the Uttarakhand tragedy have been avoided, or at least minimised? There is no simple answer. Environmentalists describe the death and damage as a man-made disaster while geologists say the extent of destruction could have been far lesser if stricter regulations had been put in place and the authorities equipped to deal with the situation. Importantly, the events focus attention on the debate on the December 18, 2012 notification of the...

-The Business Standard India is not working hard enough on climate change Shortly before World Environment Day on Wednesday, it was reported that the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere had soared to its highest level in three million years. Data captured by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration revealed that environmental incidence of the gas mostly responsible for trapping heat had crossed 400 parts per million - a level...

-The United Nations United Nations independent experts today called on countries to ensure the post-2015 development agenda focuses on equality, social protection and accountability, noting that one billion people around the world are still living in poverty. "The rise of inequality has severely undermined the achievements of the Millennium Development Goals, or MDGs," the independent experts said in their message to Member States which will meet this week in New York to...

-The Hindu The Supreme Court on Monday directed that all criminal cases against the agitators opposing the Kudankulam nuclear plant be withdrawn to restore normalcy in the area. Giving a series of directions, a Bench of Justices K. S. Radhakrishnan and Dipak Misra said: "Endeavour should be made to withdraw all the criminal cases filed against the agitators so that peace and normalcy be restored at Kudankulam and nearby places, and steps...