For the love of air
Some of the best brains in the field of air quality management from across   the world met in an international workshop organised by Centre for Science and Environment in Delhi to develop two tools of critical importance in air quality management. The exercise of developing methodologies for building two basic tools of air quality management for Delhi - an air quality index and an emission inventory - was launched at an international workshop, in the capital recently. The workshop was attended by experts from the US, Sweden, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal. The Indian participants included representatives from Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Delhi Pollution Control Board (DPCC), National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), Indian Institute of Petroleum (IIP), Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) and Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi. Three days of hard deliberations produced a blue  print for future actions. Details at

Deformed babies
An estimated 8,000 babies are born with neural defects in Rajasthan each   year. Most of them die within a few months of birth. They are lucky. Because those who survive suffer from grave deformities. S G Kabra, physician at the Indian Institute of Health Management Research in Jaipur, links the malady to pesticide use. Pesticides are known to negate the action of folic acid, vital for brain development, he says. Pesticide residues in food can inhibit the intake of folic acid leading to the birth of babies with congential defects. The risk is higher if concieved at the time the kharif (summer) and rabi (winter) crops reach the market, a time when pesticide residue is very high, says Kabra's study. In November 1999, Kabra brought his findings to DOWN TO EARTH's notice. Though his findings  have not been peer reviewed, he raises a doubt: pesticides abuse in India  may be leading to the birth of deformed babies. More at

Rising Numbers
If post-Independence leaders of India had ensured full literacy, a solution would have been in sight for a lot of problems. Population, for one. But,today in order to achieve the objectives of balanced social development and population stabilisation, the leaders face a major challenge - female literacy. Cultural and economic factors are known to play a key role in keeping girls away from school. But it is probably less well-known that ecological degradation is a major constraint, too. It may  even be possible that it leads to increased population. Unfortunately, there aren't many studies which try to correlate the total environment- related work burden with fertility, says Anil Agarwal at

Playing with lives
Residents of a Rajasthan village are up in arms over secret plans to store   nuclear waste in the neighbourhood. Read about it at

Editorial piece from the desk of Anil Agarwal:

Blind to rain

Gujarat’s minister for major irrigation projects needs to understand that big dams alone do not add up to water management

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