Summarizing the Union Budget in a cool, simplified, less dreadful, more interesting, nowhere mind-boggling, and in quite a thought-provoking manner.

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11am, 1st February: a moment for which people across the country wait anxiously every year. Why?

That’s when our Finance Minister presents the Annual Budget of the Government of India. Err... too many big words…

So, the government is responsible for a lot of things—ensuring that we go to school, we get good learning facilities, we have good greenery...

It’s that time of the year again! In February, CSE’s Green Schools Programme will bring together children, teachers and motivators from India’s greenest schools for a day-and-half long fest. Keep checking the site for details as the days roll by…

A comprehensive wish-list sent from an avid reader to Gobar Times, providing details on what her dream magazine looks like.

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Gobar Times has been around since 1998, which is a long time. It is an insightful read, for sure. It’s great to find it online as in this way, it is available anywhere and anytime...

The story of how a village got its first toilet.

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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...

Entrepreneurial projects and learning-by-doing activities help build environmental consciousness among young school children.

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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...

What we decide to do today is bound to have an impact on our tomorrow. Therefore, it is up to us to determine the kind of world we want to develop for our future and leave behind for our next generation. We are already witnessing manifold consequences of rising global warming and climate change in the form of extreme weather events. Think about droughts, floods, forest fires, and many such catastrophes.

We all are aware that increasing carbon emissions are largely responsible for disturbing our climate...

Environment is not only about trees and tigers; it incorporates a variety of other concerns and subjects such as air, water, food, proper management of waste, etc. In addition to all these, energy is another area which is of vital importance for us...

India has more than 1.5 million schools and 260 million students. Think about a regular day in these schools before the pandemic. Imagine the amount of waste— food waste, plastic, paper, stationery—produced in these schools in a day. Now, add COVID-19 waste to it as schools across the country are reopening. Imagine all of this waste going to landfills. Alarming, isn’t it?

Sunlight, readily available for 250 to 300 days in most parts of India, can help schools operate better.

India has set a target of 227 GW of installed capacity from renewable energy by 2022. Of this, nearly 144 GW would be sourced from solar energy, while 67 GW would come from wind energy. Although wind, solar, biogas and water are all renewable energy sources for power, solar energy is considered to be the most affordable alternative to polluting fossil-fuel based power-plants. Easy installation and electricity generation also make solar energy the best bet among renewables...

A group of students have come together to address their water worries

The aqueducts connecting the roof to the ground have been aesthetically designed as a part of the building through tiled wall depressions rather than pipes. The rainwater collected from the roof directly recharges the percolation pits. Even inside the building, there are open courtyards with steps for the water to move down and recharge the groundwater. Our sole aim as of now is to recharge the groundwater aquifer, which is a problem in a city like Gurugram, which suffers from alarming drop in groundwater levels. It is due to this, that we are privileged to support well developed green spaces without consuming the city water supply.

There are some schools that have taken up energysaving initiatives to become energy-efficient.

Electric bulbs, cars, fans, air conditioners, televisions, cooking ovens, chulhas, machines... the word ‘energy’ conjures up images of almost everything that makes up our everyday lives. Some forms of energy are renewable, including energy harnessed from the sun, wind and water. Energy produced from garbage, such as dead trees, branches, leftover crops and gobar, or dung, along with other forms of livestock manure—resources collectively called ‘biomass’—can also be used and then replenished.

There is also a second category, non-renewable energy. All forms of fossil fuel—oil, coal and natural gas—are examples. These fuels were made over 300 million years ago and we are slowly and surely depleting the reserves.