Bonnie Malkin – ‘Every breath is an effort’: Delhi residents suffer amid smog crisis

Residents and visitors to Delhi are struggling to cope with severe levels of toxic air pollution that have prompted authorities to declare an “emergency situation” in the city. Locals have expressed their concern over the dangerous smog on Twitter, with some saying they have been forced to take their families out of Delhi due to concerns over their health. Others …

Michael Safi – Indian government declares Delhi air pollution an emergency

The Indian government has declared severe levels of toxic air pollution in Delhian “emergency situation” as administrators announce a plan to temporarily shut construction sites and a coal-fired power station to bring the situation under control. Schools in the capital will be closed for three days and traffic may be rationed, following six days of heavy smog and concentrations of …

Teesta Setalvad – India Is on the Verge of Becoming a Hindu Theocracy

It’s festival time again in India—not one date, one month and one festival but a multiplicity of celebrations that are cultural, religious and echo our famed, celebrated and fiercely guarded diversity. South and north, west and east, Adivasi, Dalit, Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain and Hindu (even this term had entirely different connotations and meanings across the length and breadth …

It’s All About Food – Evita Ochel and Mark Hawthorne – 08.23.16

Evita Ochel is a consciousness expansion teacher, author, speaker, natural health expert, yoga and meditation teacher, and web TV host, who lives by being the change she wishes to see, and helps others live out the highest potential of their being by offering guidance and resources in the areas of spiritual evolution, veganism, simplicity, sustainability, holistic health, and optimal wellbeing. …

Michael T. Klare – Welcome to a New Planet Climate Change “Tipping Points” and the Fate of the Earth

Not so long ago, it was science fiction. Now, it’s hard science — and that should frighten us all. The latest reports from the prestigious and sober Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) make increasingly hair-raising reading, suggesting that the planet is approaching possible moments of irreversible damage in a fashion and at a speed that had not been anticipated. …

Roads Melting, Death Toll Soaring as ‘Unprecedented’ Heatwave Grips India – Jon Queally

The deathtoll related to an ongoing and “unprecedented” heatwave in India has soared to nearly 1,200 people, according to the nation’s health ministry on Wednesday, with no respite for hundreds of millions of people expected until at least the weekend. According to officials quoted in the Hindustan Times, most of the victims have been construction workers, the elderly or the homeless. In …

Global Internet Activists Give Thumbs Down to Facebook’s Internet.org – Tim Karr

Mark Zuckerberg’s plan for world domination is in trouble. The billionaire Facebook founder recently took to his social network in a bid to save Internet.org, his plan to give billions of the planet’s poorest people a limited taste of the World Wide Web. “We have a historic opportunity ahead of us to improve the lives of billions of people,” he …

India Commits Suicide In New Delhi: No More Denial Over Farmer Suicides – Samar

Stunned, Speechless or disoriented? I have no clue what to feel about a suicide I saw unfolding on the computer screen in front of me 3 oceans away from where it happened. Gajendra Singh, a farmer from Rajasthan, hanged himself from a tree during an Aam Aadmi Party rally at Jantar Mantar in the heart of New Delhi. No, I …