Overpopulation: Seriously, there’s just too many of us!

Human beings are not the most dominant species by intelligence alone, we are also the most dominant in terms of presence. There is no other large species (in terms of size and resource requirements) in the world that comes close to the 7 billion that we number. That, is not an accomplishment. Our numbers are […]

Forest Fires: A burning issue

Forests have been a natural resource that humans have depended on for millions of years. Today, forests are also one of the most “endangered” natural resource. We are cutting down about 13 million hectares of forest per year all over the world. Asia has the lowest forest cover in the world; less than 20% of […]

UK’s renewable energy trend this month

One of the major countries in the world now gets 25% of it’s energy needs from renewable sources. It could grow to by 10% if the current trend continues. Let’s hope it’s more than that! The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (DBEIS) has released it’s September 2016 Energy Trends report. It doesn’t […]

Habitat and Niche

The health of an ecosystem directly depends on the species richness and species diversity. Ecosystems have evolved to accommodate more number of individuals and species in it, so as to remain stable despite environmental disturbances. How does an ecosystem achieve this accommodation? There are two major processes that affect the ability of an ecosystem to […]

Restoration Ecology: One final card up humanity’s sleeve

Let’s start with the bad news. Researchers for the last decade have been coming up with different climate change models and predicting when we will cross the point-of-no-return; the point once crossed, cannot reverse or reduce the impact of climate change anymore. Different researchers have come up with different points-of-no-returns: the more optimistic ones say […]

Indus Water Treaty: Environmental standpoint

Due to the complex geo-political situation between virtually every country in the world, it’s not surprising that the environment is dragged into it. One such hot-topic in the recent days has been the reemergence of the Indus Water Treaty between India and Pakistan.

Humans and the Environment: Prehistoric times

Originally posted on The MUSE Within:
Human beings, like every other living organism, has a relationship with its surrounding environment. This relationship began the moment our species evolved and has been a dynamic relationship ever since. We have interacted with the environment in several ways spread over centuries, and it is important to understand this…

Environmental Impact Assessment-Terms of Reference

TOR or Terms of Reference is a document produced by the authority conducting the EIA study. It is formed during Scoping-the second stage in the EIA process. All the stakeholders are invited to submit their concerns regarding the project during a public hearing organized by the EIA committee, which is followed by discussions and deliberations. […]

Species diversity and Species richness

In scientific literature, you will often find these two terms; “species richness” and “species diversity” being used. While they sound quite similar (and mistakenly used interchangeably by many), they are two different concepts. I’d like to dedicate this blog to explaining what they mean, and why each of them are equally important in sustaining the […]

Adaptations: Another tool for diversity

The key factor for generation of diversity on Earth is evolution, as I told you in my previous blog Diversity on Earth: How is it created and maintained? I also mentioned that environmental disturbances play a major role in the initiation of evolution. In this blog, I’d like to throw some light on exactly what role […]