Feature Article

The EU's controversial decision to include aviation under the bloc's emissions trading system (ETS) has been dubbed a "deal breaker" for global climate talks by India's environment minister, Jayanthi Natarajan. While the minister is India's lead negotiator at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) talks, it is not clear if her comments reflect official government policy.

Human exposure to silica dust is very common in both working and living environments. However, the potential long-term health effects have not been well established across different exposure situations. The authors studied 74,040 workers who worked at 29 metal mines and pottery factories in China for 1 y or more between January 1, 1960, and December 31, 1974, with follow-up until December 31, 2003 (median follow-up of 33 y).

In January, PM Manmohan Singh had promised a "practical, pragmatic and viable solution" to the plethora of problems plaguing the power sector "within a month". An expert suggests a roadmap to get there in good shape and in good time.

Decades and crores of rupees later, Ganga is dirtier than ever. Despite fasts, protests and resignations, nothing seems to have moved the government.

It is probably the most important battle of our times, the battle for natural resources like land, natural gas, telecom spectrum and coal mines. Who owns them-the state, citizens or private players? How to make the best use of them? A series of supreme court judgements on one hand several parliamentary bill on the other answer the questions differently. Both need to come to terms with finer nuances of various sectors.

Ear after ear, a community radio meant for migrant labourers of the millennium city has grown by bridging the gap between them and the administration.

Book: The politics of climate change and the global crisis: mortgaging our future, by Praful Bidwai, Orient Blackswan, Rs 750.

The first-ever lab study of junk foods in India by Centre for Science and Environment published in Down To Earth exposes dubious claims by fast food giants.

A new crop of weight-loss drugs is expected to reach the clinics this year and the next, but will their side effects be hard to swallow?.