Environmental organizations, civil-society groups, faith-based institutions, academicians, and community-based organizations are calling on the government for effective and sustainable environmental protection during the anniversary of the passage of the Clean Air Act into law on June 23. The Act bans incinerators for waste disposal, making the Philippines the first nation in the world to ban incinerators outright. 

The Great Barrier Reef should be put on a list of World Heritage Sites that are "in danger", says UNESCO. UNESCO's World Heritage Committee recommended the listing, recognizing the destruction of the world's largest coral reef. The committee is also urging Australia to take "accelerated action" on global warming. But the Australian government said it would "strongly oppose" the recommendation and argued the reefs are best managed. 

The first case of Green fungus infection in a COVID-19 patient was reported in India on June 15, 2021. The infected patient, a 34-year-old man in Indore, was shifted to Mumbai's Hinduja Hospital by air ambulance. He was diagnosed with a fungal infection called Aspergillosis this week. The patient had battled COVID-19 for two months with a severe lung infection, the doctors said. Aspergillosis is caused by Aspergillus, a common mold fungus that lives indoors and outdoors. 

The National Geographic magazine has recognised the ‘Southern Ocean’ as the world’s fifth ocean on June 8, 2021. The change in name was in alignment with the National Geographic Society’s initiative to conserve the world’s oceans. The magazine has usually followed the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) on marine names, it said in an article notifying the change. The IHO had recognised ‘Southern Ocean’ as a distinct body of water surrounding Antarctica in 1937...

We keep reading or hearing about air pollution and its deadly effect on our health and environment. More recently, we have also been hearing this new abbreviation being mentioned quite regularly: AQI – or Air Quality Index. As the name suggests, AQI is nothing but a report on the quality of air that we are breathing in a particular place – it informs us and the authorities how polluted the air is, so that a decision can be taken on the measures to control the pollution level...

Plastic items from takeaway food and drink dominated the litter in the world’s oceans, according to a new study. The study, published in the journal Nature Sustainability was funded by the BBVA Foundation and the Spanish science ministry. The study shows that just 10 plastic products including plastic lids and fishing gear accounted for three-quarters of the litter. This is due to their widespread use and extremely slow rate of degradation. 

Active conservation efforts of the state government and the Bishnoi tribe together are yielding positive results in rescuing the famous Great Indian Bustards. Where does electricity come from? Most of us have not seen the power stations where it is generated but we have all seen the wires that deliver electricity to our homes. Yes, those wires, hanging overhead on the streets, which seem to have been built for pigeons and crows to perch upon...  

Eating safe food keeps you healthy. It was 1 pm and the whole family had gathered around the dining table to check what was for lunch. Steaming bowls of daal (lentils), rice and baigan ka bharta (mashed eggplants) along with fresh rotis (homemade bread) were arranged on the table.  

Dr Rajagopalan Vasudevan proves how even an individual effort can clean the face of our country, as he invents new ways to reuse plastic for roads and buildings. One day, a professor of Chemistry was watching TV. He saw a doctor blaming plastic for water pollution. This set him wondering—how can plastic cause pollution when it is chemically a hydrocarbon and insoluble in water! The doctor was of course mistaken but his concern was genuine: plastic is an environmental nuisance. Polybags have infested our marketplaces, are swallowed by cattle, clog drains, choke ponds… 

A highly-polluting factory, the Sterlite Copper, shuts down after years of inspiring community effort by the suffering villagers of Thoothukudi. When the entire world is suffering from the pandemic and lockdowns, one tiny village in our country is certainly thrilled. This place is Thoothukudi in the Tuticorin district of Tamil Nadu where a highly-polluting factory is locked down after years of inspiring community effort by its villagers. This factory, called the Sterlite Copper, is a subsidiary of the Vedanta Limited...