There is clearly a direct trade-off between exploitation of natural resources and conservation of environment and human habitat . In the past, due to lower environment consciousness, the trade-off was always decided in favour of exploitation. This is deplorable. Yet, environmental fundamentalism can also exact a high cost that will prevent a number of people to remain without access to basic necessities of life. This apparently intractable trade-off has to be resolved....

In any democracy, the right to individual privacy is absolute. If what one citizen does in one’s personal life is splashed in a public arena, newspapers and TV channels for instance, the results are not only disagreeable, but also distasteful. Modern life, however, is much more complicated than life in ancient Athens. Very often, the mighty and the powerful abuse this right to hide facts that have a grave public bearing....

James Cameron, director of sci-fi blockbuster Avatar, finds himself embroiled in the controversy surrounding Lavasa, India's first “private hill city” that has been in the news for alleged environmental law violations. Mr. Cameron, who is slated to speak at the big-ticket ‘Innovation and Knowledge' (INK) conference being held in association with Technology Entertainment and Design (TED) between December 9 and 12 at Lavasa, has been urged to boycott the event. In a...

Investments worth Rs 100 crore in silica sand mining and beneficiation in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh are in jeopardy due to the state government’s insistence on acquiring the mineral-bearing land for developing a Special Economic Zone (SEZ), protests the Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (Fimi). The Institute of Indian Foundrymen wrote to the Union mining ministry early this month, urging its intervention. There is no alternative area nearby for mining...

The Karnataka High Court on Friday upheld the State Government's ban on transport and export of iron ore. A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice J.S. Khehar and Justice S. Abdul Nazir passed orders upholding the Government Orders of July 26, 2010, and July 28, 2010, banning transport of iron ore and its export from ten minor ports. Thirty-two companies, including V.S. Lad and Sons, Kumaraswamy Minerals, Sesa Goa and others had challenged...