Archive for March, 2008

International Women's Day Greetings! There is a direct and critical relationship between women and the environment. It is a relationship that draws its strength not from biology – that is, not because women are born female – but from gender, and the socially created roles and responsibilities that continue to fall to women in ... Full story

An improvement in quality of life followed by an increase in resource consumption has had several unintended negative impacts on our urban environment. One of the outcomes of this increased resource consumption pattern is the large amount of waste generated from the various urban centers everyday. Such is the magnitude of this waste that it is far beyond the handling capacities of Governments and other urban agencies. Consequently, cities are now grappling with the problem of high volumes of waste and the cost involved in managing such waste. Urban waste usually includes normal household waste. Rapid urbanization along with a constantly modernizing social behaviour has led to the doubling of household waste generation. The local municipal bodies with their limited human, technical, financial and institutional capability, particularly in a developing country like ours, have repeatedly demonstrated their inability to cope with the multi-dimensional problems of urban waste management. At the same time, it is important to either dispose off all of this waste as soon as it is generated or reduce waste generation, as waste has a huge impact on regional and global environment. Thus, the absence of adequate waste management infrastructure poses serious environmental risks that, in the long run, may even hamper a nation’s development. Addressing the issue of managing household solid waste can go a long way in  improving the performance of an urban waste management system as a whole. While long term improvement in urban waste management can only occur Full story

Following is an excerpt from Delhi a novel by the prolific writer Khushwant Singh, written almost twenty years back. I have seen the city I helped to build and which Lutyens designed for two centuries become ruined in twenty years. We built magnificent buildings which will last for many centuries; they build shapeless, multi-storeyed offices and jerry-houses wherever there is open space and have ... Full story

Sunday, 24th of February, 2008 was a day of great pride and happiness for birders across Delhi. In collaboration with the School of Environmental Studies, University of Delhi (SES, DU), WWF-India, and the Department of Environment, Govt. of NCT of Delhi, DelhiBird: the Northern India Bird Network celebrated the BIG BIRD DAY! Armed with binoculars and cameras, ... Full story