-Down to Earth The United Nations declared 2021-2030 the Decade on Ecosystem Restoration In this Anthropocene era, human interference can be seen in every component of Earth’s ecosystem. Due to such human-mediated changes, the loss of freshwater habitats such as lakes, ponds and wetlands, as well as their aquatic biodiversity and water quality are becoming a major concern.  Freshwater ecosystems are of enormous ecological importance and human need (such as drinking water and...

-IndiaToday.in The Wednesday tremor brings to mind the devastating 2015 Nepal earthquake and makes us ponder over the risks ahead. Nepal was rocked by a 6.3 magnitude earthquake in the wee hours of Wednesday, claiming six lives. Tremors were felt across north India, including Delhi, Gurugram, Ghaziabad and Lucknow. The epicenter of the earthquake was in Nepal, about 90 km east-southeast of Pithoragarh in Uttarakhand, said the National Centre for Seismology (NCS). At least...

--Press release by National Coalition on the Education Emergency dated November 9, 2022 The Delhi government had announced the closure of primary schools last week, as recommended by the NCPCR, owing to the air pollution crisis in the city. While the concern about the health and well-being of children is certainly valid, the response to such a crisis needs to take into account other contributing factors such as the importance of...

-IndiaToday.in Air emergencies, heat waves, water shortages, street flooding, garbage spillovers, traffic jams and noise pollution… Delhi has become unlivable and no urban planning can fix this unsustainable concrete jungle. It’s time we seriously looked at moving the capital out to let the city heal and live. In the last few years, winter in Delhi has become depressingly synonymous with toxic air pollution. During summers, drinking water shortages leave the city parched...

-The Telegraph A system without any steering control An essential characteristic of modern capitalism is that the living conditions of millions of people are determined by the whims and caprices of a handful of financial speculators; indeed, that is what ‘leaving things to the market’ really entails. Consider what is happening in India today. There is a massive outflow of finance from the country because of which the rupee is depreciating  vis-à-vis...