In 2019, the National Clean Air Programme aimed to reduce particulate pollution—PM2.5 and PM10—by 20-30 per cent by 2024, later raised to 40 per cent by 2026. However, most cities lag behind the 2024 goal despite spending thousands ofcrores, with only eight meeting the target, 22 worsening, and many not even recording continuous data. With high standards on paper but poor implementation in reality, an epic battle against air pollution looms ahead.

In an increasingly climate-risked world what should be our food like? The 4th book in our First Food series brings you some answers in the form of unique recipes and ingredients, culled out from age-old wisdom and traditional knowledge of communities. Sourced from local biodiversity, from weeds and trees, long-lasting seeds, plants with short life-cycles and even those parts of plants that generally go waste. Foods that are very different from those produced by our current unsustainable agriculture systems.

On this Earth Day, trace the impact of humans on their planet throughout history

धरती का हर मुद्दा जलवायु परिवर्तन से जुड़ा

**********************************

बॉन कान्फ्रेंस 2017 की बात है। एलायंस आॅफ स्मॉल आईलैंड स्टेट्स (एओसिस) से जुड़े एक देश के बड़े नेता फूट-फूटकर रो रहे थे। एओसिस मतलब छोटे समुद्र द्वीपीय देशों का समूह। आसानी से समझने के लिए मालदीव जैसे देशों का समूह कहा जा सकता है। वहां विकसित और विकासशील देशों के प्रतिनिधियों के बीच बहस छिड़ी हुई थी। यूरोपीय समूह और अमेरिका जैसे देशों के प्रतिनिधियों का दबाव था कि चीन और भारत जैसे देश अपनी जिम्मेदारी समझें जो बहुत ज्यादा कार्बन का उत्सर्जन कर रहे हैं। दूसरी तरफ भारत-चीन जैसे देशों के कूटनीतिज्ञ विकसित मुल्कों को अपनी ऐतिहासिक जिम्मेदारी याद दिला रहे थे।...

Sharing fond memories from 25 years back—of ice creams, rookies, cow dung, and some cool environment stuff for kids.

************************************

In the summer of 1992, late at night in the basement of the then rented office space of the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), the editorial team of the Down To Earth (DTE) magazine had a very long hot and tiring day putting together their very first issue. Anil Agarwal, the founder editor,...

In spite of all the brickbats and rebukes, a tabloid matures into a magazine as it finds its 'beginners' audience and speaks through quirky cartoons. 

*********************************************************************************

Gobar Times (GT) already had a successful 10-year run before I got on-board. It was always resplendent in a spectacular tabloid avatar, grabbing eyeballs everywhere. But as if this was not intimidating enough, here we were staging the arrival of a new GT. It’s looks? A standard news magazine format. Were we taking a risk?...

Narrating the tale and trajectory of Gobar Times—of how it evolved into a new avatar and gained new characters.

*************************************

My association with the Gobar Times will be incomplete without Piu & Pom. We were once working on a comic strip for the magazine.

Piu is the name of my daughter so it was easy to decide the name of one of the characters. But for Pom, there’s an interesting story. 

A thoughtful reflection on the value of Gobar Times with an understanding of what it is about, why so, how...and a little bit more.

Dusting off our archives to showcase some of the best stuff we’d published so far.

A fascinating account by a passionate marine environmentalist explaining why seaweeds are environmentally the most sustainable foods on our planet.

*******************************

Hi! Do you guys know what a seaweed is? It’s like the spinach of the sea. You might have eaten it in a roll of sushi or a bowl of green salad or a soup. But most likely, you wouldn’t have tasted it at all. That’s because in India, we don't have a popular tradition of seaweeds. But that's about to change—I believe as the founder of a seaweed food company called The Good Ocean...

Recapitulating the prestigious Green Schools Awards and felicitating the commendable and inspiring work of all the awardees in different categories.

*********************************

Ater a three-year hiatus, the Green Schools Programme (GSP) of the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) was back with a bang in February this year – as its annual audit drew to a close, a one-and-a-half day national Green Schools Carnival was announced. The cornerstone of the event was – of course – the GSP Green Schools Awards, but...