FRACKING
Shallow understanding of deep risks
Shale gas and oil reserves are being eyed hungrily by an industry that is looking at the sunset of conventional reserves. But fracking is full of risks.
Water
September 2012

AGRI-BUSINESS
New designs on foreign lands
Cross-border investments to acquire or lease thousands of hectares of lands hope to take advantage of cheaper input costs in some countries.
Trade in agriculture
June 2012

HYDEL IN SIKKIM
Tunnels in the hills
The construction of dam-related tunnels in the hills of Sikkim has led to questions about their potential impact on the fragile ecology of the region.
March 2012

POWER CRISIS
Who profits? Who pays?
While government and other sector actors are on the alert to address the power crisis, some find a business opportunity in it. Meanwhile, attention to rural supply continues to be low.
January 2012

FUEL PRICES
Oil subsidy is all gas
Far from subsidising the public, governments made the aam admi bear a substantial part of their expenditure on the production and sale of fuels.
Public funds
December 2011

NUCLEAR POWER
The people's energy
When nuclear companies are unwilling to stake their financial health on the safety of a reactor, how can the Government ask local residents to risk their lives?
Hazards | Tamilnadu
November 2011

POWER PLANTS
Radiation looms over power plans
The National Green Tribunal orders a study of the threat of radiation near thermal power plants, potentially putting the brakes on a spate of project approvals.
Regulation
October 2011

CARBON TRADING
My fossils, your land
The BioCarbon Fund promises to plant trees across a swathe of Himachal Pradesh, amidst questions about its environmental value and fairness.
Forests | Himachal
September 2011

ENERGY HOT-ZONE
Singrauli singed by coal and power
In the energy heartland of India, countless projects have wreaked havoc on the environment and displaced people extensively With more projects planned, the future is just as bleak.
Displacement
July 2011

THERMAL PLANTS
Here a plant, there a plant
The mushrooming proposals for new thermal power plants must be managed better by State governments, considering their potential harm to local communities.
June 2011

OPINION
The nuclear black swan
A nuclear disaster is such a complex event with wide consequences that it would be better to stop ourselves from going down a path that might lead to a catastrophe, however unlikely it may be.
Rajesh Kasturirangan | Hazards
March 2011

NUCLEAR PLANS
Nuking dissent over Jaitapur
NPCIL and the political establishment are burying their heads in the sand over the controversial nuclear plants on the Konkan coast, which will affect the lives of people in the entire region.
Environment regulation | Maharashtra
January 2011

THE BRAHMAPUTRA
Mine-ing the Brahmaputra waters
India and China make competing plans for the river's precious waters, ignoring the functions it already performs - in sustaining rich ecosystems, flora and fauna, cultures and a wide range of livelihoods.
National security
January 2011

DISTRICTS AND TALUKS
Greening the smaller towns
What should a town-planning engineer in a district or taluk headquarters know of the Energy Conservation Building Code to get it successfully implemented, without complicating things?
Water | Cities
December 2010

NUCLEAR PLANT
'We don't sell our mother'
Substantial resistance has built up against the Jaitapur Nuclear Power Park being set up in Konkan region of Maharashtra. But political consensus for nuclear power has brushed aside local concerns again.
Environmental hazards | Maharashtra
December 2010

POWER IN THE HOME
Electricity for All
A few innovative steps, taken urgently, can greatly bridge the gap in access to electricity for poor consumers. Structural reform will take years, and cannot be the only pre-occupation.
Poverty
September 2010

CLIMATE / CONSUMPTION
Energy efficiency is inevitable
Policy makers have understood the importance of producing energy, but have been much slower to promote measures for energy efficiency. This has to change.
August 2010

AUTONOMOUS UTILITIES
Grid-free, on the horizon
During the last 100 years, the production and consumption of power happened at two different places, miles away from each other. This will change in the future.
Water
August 2010

GREEN HOMES
The bills we pay, and the ones we don't
Our personal choices directly impact the pressure on managing infrastructure support that we all need for energy, water, and waste management.
Water
July 2010

OPINION
Nuclear Liability Bill: Who bears the brunt?
By capping the liability arising out of a nuclear incident, the bill protects the nuclear industry at the cost of the fundamental rights of the citizens.
Human rights | Legislation
July 2010

GREEN CONSTRUCTION
Going upstream on the Energy Road
How does one go about saving energy during construction or in the lifetime of a building when we live in it? A lot of this has to do with your being sensitized to this concept of 'embodied energy'.
June 2010

CLEAN ENERGY
Solar Mission: More light needed
The government's focus on solar energy is driven by the need to demonstrate a commitment to renewable energy. But equity too is vital for the success of the National Solar Mission.
Sujatha Byravan
May 2010

CONSTRUCTION
Building green and thinking green
Beyond planting trees, consumers, citizens and businessmen need to be taking directions that lead to the difference we seek in use and abuse of resources.
Climate
May 2010

ENERGY VS BIODIVERSITY
Criticism rising on Karnataka's Gundia project
Karnataka's plan to harvest power from the Gundia river has been criticised by environmentalists, farmers and the Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh.
Biodiversity | Karnataka
December 2009

THE NUCLEAR ESTABLISHMENT
Our atom state
The atomic energy programme is an economic failure as well as an environmental disaster. Moreover, by its very functioning, the AEC has undermined the democratic ideals of the nation.
Ramachandra Guha
December 2009

CLIMATE TALKS
Need to strengthen climate diplomacy
India is well on its way to a low-carbon economic future, but its global image suffers because we lack the public discourse to bolster our argument.
Climate
October 2009

RIVER BASIN STUDIES
The 'power' to protect rivers
The Electricity Act, 2003 requires each hydel project to be considered in light of other projects in the same river basin, but this is not really enforced.
Regulation | Kerala
October 2009

KG-BASIN GAS
Gas clouds over the government
But for the dispute between the Ambani brothers, the many errors and inactions of the government would not have come to the public's notice.
Government
September 2009

RIVER PROJECTS & PEOPLE
The wrecking sand dunes of upper Assam
Farmers in Assam have had to move out of agriculture during the past two years because of sand dunes created over their fertile lands.
Water | Assam
August 2009

GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER
Know-how at whose cost?
While the usual debate over responsibility for reducing carbon emissions continues globally, there is also a parallel argument over the need for transfering clean technologies to the developing world.
Climate | Waste management
April 2009

FINANCING POWER PROJECTS
Public risk, private profit
The CERC is mandated with balancing the interests of power generation companies and their consumers. But it appears that its new regulations are heavily skewed against the latter.
Public funds
March 2009

POST-NSG WAIVER
Doors open for familiar nuclear worries
As the nuclear world appears poised to pry open a vast market for power plants and arms in India, Darryl D'Monte reports voices from a corner of the world that was witness to an earlier, Soviet-era nuclear rush.
October 2008

AGRICULTURAL IMPORTS
Edible oil policy on the boil
The policy that reportedly favoured Indian consumers at the cost of farmers has come back to bite. And with the US and Europe embracing biofuels, things could get even worse.
Agriculture policy | Food security
August 2008

ENERGY POLICY
India's coal-to-liquid push short-sighted
New Delhi recently allocated three blocks of coal in Orissa for projects that will produce liquid fuel from coal, in an attempt to increase oil supply. The decision appears to have overlooked many critical considerations, say Ananth Chikkatur and Sunita Dubey.
Economy | Guest column
July 2008

POWER PLANT IN KARNATAKA
Karnataka defers decision on Chamalapura power
The proposed 1000 MW coal-fired power plant at Chamalapura, Mysore is to be located on agricultural land and within 30 kilometres of the Nagarhole and Bandipur national parks, evoked strong protests last year. Recent announcements indicate that the government is going slow.
Karnataka
June 2008

ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT
France eyes India through environment lens
Lagging its northern European neighbours in environmentalism, France is seeking to reposition its strengths in nuclear energy and hydroelectricity, and aid agency is using its grants to help other countries reduce their carbon footprints. Darryl D'Monte reports.
Climate
June 2008

NEW HYDEL PROJECTS
Furore over EU carbon tax plans
The European Union is determined that even as it makes plans to reduce its own carbon emissions, it must act to curb the polluting actions of other countries too. Developing countries, however, see this as an indirect trade restriction, devoid of justice. Darryl D'Monte reports.
Climate | Economy
May 2008

NEW HYDEL PROJECTS
Power to the rich, literally
A new policy framework for hydro-electric power seems to have given confidence to private corporations to enter the sector, with a large number of mega projects lined up. But the same policies raise critical questions in relation to equity and access, writes Shripad Dharmadhikary.
Economy
April 2008

GOING GREEN
A club for change
US-based environmental group Sierra Club has decided to encourage organisations in India that promote green livelihoods. Can this civil society initiative help the country cut down on its carbon emissions? Darryl D'Monte reports.
April 2008

CONSERVATION
Old conflict resurfaces at Athirappilly falls
Kerala's electricity board is preparing to build the seventh dam across the 144-km-long Chalakudy river. The fate of the picturesque Athirappilly waterfalls hangs in the balance, with locals battling against the project. Sudhirendar Sharma has more.
Environmental regulation | Kerala
April 2008