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One Resolution for Our Only Home: Making the Earth Part of Your New Year Promise

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Every New Year, we pause to reflect and set resolutions to improve our health, careers, finances, and relationships. But rarely do we ask a more important question: Can there be a better life on a damaged planet? Clean air, safe water, fertile soil, a stable climate, and rich biodiversity aren’t luxuries; they are the foundation of human survival and well-being. Without a healthy Earth, no personal goal can truly thrive. This New Year, let’s make a conscious choice: include at least one environmentally friendly habit in our resolutions. Also known as green resolutions or sustainable resolutions , these are promises based on increasing your positive impact and reducing your negative impact on the planet. You don’t need to change everything. You don’t need to be perfect. Even one small, consistent action can make a difference. When millions practice it, the impact is enormous. Why an Environmental Resolution Matters Today Environmental crises, climate change, plastic pollution, water sc...
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Who Will Speak for the Western Ghats?

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Between 2013 and 2025, I travelled repeatedly by road from Coimbatore to Kerala. Over these years, subtle yet persistent changes in the Western Ghats landscape became increasingly apparent. Hills that once appeared continuous gradually began to show signs of cutting and excavation. In several locations, entire sections of hills had been removed, largely to supply raw materials for cement production and other construction activities. This was clearly not an isolated phenomenon confined to a single route or district. Across large stretches of the Western Ghats, mining and quarrying, both legal and illegal, have expanded aggressively, often accompanied by intimidation, violence, and even loss of life when local communities, activists, or whistle-blowers attempt to expose unlawful operations, illegal expansion of licensed quarries, or extraction far beyond what is permitted by law. These changes did not occur suddenly, nor were they confined to a single district or state. Instead, they acc...
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Location: India
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Air Quality Index and Lung Health: Why the Claim of “No Direct Correlation” Is Scientifically Unsound

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On December 18, 2025, the Minister of State for Environment and Climate Change, Kirti Vardhan Singh, told the Rajya Sabha that there is “no direct correlation between higher Air Quality Index (AQI) levels and lung diseases” and that no “conclusive data” exists to establish such a link. While this statement may appear cautious or technical on the surface, it fundamentally misrepresents how public health science understands causation and risk. More importantly, it stands in direct contradiction to decades of peer-reviewed scientific research, global health authority assessments, and clinical evidence. The suggestion that poor air quality, as measured by AQI, lacks a proven connection to lung disease risks normalising exposure to polluted air and undermines urgent public health action in a country already facing a severe air pollution crisis. Understanding What AQI Actually Measures The Air Quality Index is not an abstract or arbitrary indicator. It is a scientifically designed tool tha...
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Location: India
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The Aravalli Issue: India’s Oldest Mountains at the Crossroads of Law, Ecology, and Development

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Across north-western India stretches a low, weathered chain of hills that rarely commands public attention, yet silently sustains the lives of millions. The Aravalli Range, among the oldest mountain systems on Earth, lacks dramatic peaks or snow-capped summits. Its slopes are gentle, its ridges fragmented, and its presence often underestimated. But beneath this modest appearance lies one of India’s most critical ecological foundations. Today, the Aravallis stand at a decisive moment, threatened by decades of mining, deforestation, urban expansion, and regulatory neglect. The unfolding crisis, commonly referred to as the “Aravalli Issue,” is not marked by sudden catastrophe but by slow ecological unravelling, manifesting as groundwater collapse, worsening air pollution, rising temperatures, and the steady advance of desertification. Understanding this issue is essential not only for environmental awareness but for grasping the long-term sustainability of North India itself. An Ancient...
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Location: India
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Celebrating Christmas Sustainably: Integrating Faith, Responsibility, and Care for Creation

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Christmas is one of the most widely celebrated festivals worldwide, uniting families, faith institutions, schools, and communities in shared joy and reflection. At its core, Christmas symbolises humility, compassion, generosity and hope. Traditionally, it is a season that emphasises care for others, gratitude for what we have, and responsibility towards the wider world. However, the way Christmas is celebrated at a mass level today often stands in contrast to these values. Large-scale celebrations increasingly rely on excessive material consumption, short-term use of resources, high energy demand and poor waste management, creating environmental pressures that are rarely visible during the festive moment itself. Celebrating Christmas in an eco-friendly manner does not mean reducing joy, warmth or tradition. Rather, it means consciously aligning celebration practices with the deeper message of the festival, ensuring that joy does not come at the cost of environmental degradation, clima...
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Location: India
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