-The Hindu A sea-based agitation against the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project passed off peacefully on Monday, with around 700 boats, including 150 mechanised vessels, carrying more than 3,000 fishermen participating in the protest. With black flags fluttering on their boats, protesters raised slogans against the ready-to-be-commissioned nuclear complex and the Central and State governments. “We can never live in peace with this nuclear power project sitting on our doorsteps, threatening to wipe out...

-The Hindu “Environmental impact assessment tends to ignore wider impact on biodiversity” In a move that will bring cheer to wildlife lovers but could dismay industry lobbyists already complaining about the difficulty in obtaining green clearances, the government plans to add biodiversity conservation as a new criterion to grant environmental and forest clearances. “There is no biodiversity clearance till now,” admitted Union Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan, speaking ahead of the United Nations summit...

-The Economic Times Where will India get its water from in the coming years? The water challenge is already grave and could get graver. By 2050, for instance, it is estimated that demand would go up to 1,180 million cubic metres, 1.65 times the current levels, a situation that would be made worse by fast dwindling fresh water resources. That's why desalination — removing salt from seawater to make fresh water —...

-The Hindu In an atmosphere of mistrust of the government, only an independent safety regulatory mechanism can counter the scaremongering against civilian nuclear power I work at an institution funded by the Department of Atomic Energy (which, however, does no nuclear research: the DAE funds a wide variety of institutions and areas in science). About a year ago, I had an e-mail from a journalist who wondered why scientists (including colleagues at...

-The Hindu Kudankulam and the surrounding areas remained tense on an incident-free Tuesday, after Monday’s violent happenings. Villages in a radius of 25 km, including Anjugramam, Chettikulam, Sree Renganarayanapuram, Levenchipuram, Viswanathapuram, Kudankulam and Idinthakarai, wore a deserted look after the suspension of Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation bus services. People confined themselves to their homes as the tense situation continued to prevail in and around Kudankulam. According to official sources, the TNSTC...