The story of how a village got its first toilet.
***********************************
G Nandakumar is a young farmer in Diguvapalem, a remote hamlet and a chronically drought-prone area in southern Andhra. In 2019, I met him on a school hiking trip, as part of our Geography classes. 'Nandu,' fondly addressed as so, was keen to upgrade his village by pursing some sustainable environmental practices, like organic farming. However, he lacked the resources to execute his vision. So, as a young student, I was very inspired by his ideas and wanted to help...
“Such a beautiful place, to be with friends”. Fans of the Harry Potter film series will remember this line, uttered in one of the most heart-breaking scenes of the saga by arguably the most beloved character of them all, Dobby the house-elf. As the adorable elf breathes his last in the arms of his friend and hero, Harry Potter, he inadvertently invites viewers to marvel at the vast, expansive beach that then becomes his gravesite.
Twelve years after...
Flood, drought, rainfall, snowfall, heatwave, cold wave, storm, cyclone, cloudburst, forest fire… You name it, we have it! But the biggest question is how and why?
*************************************
The modern life we have created is good for us but not for the environment. This energy-hungry human lifestyle is heating up the world at a rate that is not sustainable for the planet. In the past 170 years or so, industries have flourished and have made the Earth hotter by over 1oC. India, for instance...
Entrepreneurial projects and learning-by-doing activities help build environmental consciousness among young school children.
************************************************************************
Our surroundings are indispensable to our survival. Hence, environmental conservation has become a high priority the world over, owing to climate crisis, pollution, land degradation, etc. Environmental awareness can be attained by changing the attitude...
In summers this year, some European rivers had dried substantially, causing drought in many parts of the region. It revealed to their surface, some ancient stones with intricate engravings on them. Their markings used to indicate the water-level of these rivers, which served as a common forecasting tool for famines. Such stones were called hunger stones. One such is disclosed at the banks of the Elbe River. Dated to 1616 AD, its rock is etched with a warning in German...
A novel carbon-capturing method involving old basalt rocks—this proposal won a gold medal for India at the International Earth Science Olympiad 2022.
***********************************
Global warming is a burning issue affecting the earth. Discussed in all forums at the international and regional levels, this issue is a worry worldwide because its impact is devastating. Various methods are being proposed to effectively combat this problem...
Hunting animals used to be central to the survival of most human communities over most of human history, whether it be for food or medicines or to use their fur and skin as clothes and rugs. Communities had developed ways to hunt animals without overexploiting them, such that the animals and humans could survive together. While we try to inculcate the values of sustainability in people today through classes and lectures, such values used to be a matter of common sense. If you kill all the animals this year, what are you going to hunt next year?...
The World Water Woe is real. There is crisis everywhere because our water resources are limited. A lot of water is wasted when we use it carelessly. Therefore, we should conserve it by handling it judiciously.
Watch this inspiring movie Drop by Drop featuring the little heroes of class 3, reminding us about the importance of saving water by following the right practices. These practices focus upon three simple ways of preserving water before, and not after, its consumption. For example...
What are Micro-Plastics?
Micro-plastics have not been defined in particular. They are just tiny particles that result from the disintegration of bigger plastic materials. However, most researchers say that any plastic smaller than 5 millimetres in size is a micro-plastic. Hence, these are really, really teeny-tiny!
Plastics are made up of polymers, which are derived from fossil fuels. A whole lot of chemicals are added to the polymers—close to 10,000—to ensure that a given plastic has the desired properties...
