The inmates who teach other prisoners to read Half of England’s prisoners are illiterate. Since most of us learn to read and write in the first year or two of school, it feels almost impossible to imagine. But Angela Cairns, CEO of prisoners reading charity Shannon Trust, knows all too well how illiteracy can feel.…
Kamakhya temple is all set to become India’s cleanest pilgrimage site The state government of Assam is vying to elevate the Kamakhya temple, its most touted pilgrimage hotspot, as the cleanest pilgrimage site in the country. The ancient temple has been declared as a Swachh Iconic Place, with Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurating and laying…
This natural liquid is starting to replace oil-based plastic Microbeads, the tiny plastic beads used in some facial scrubs and toothpaste that rinse down drains and pollute oceans and lakes, are now banned in “rinse-off” products in the U.S. But it’s not like those products are great for the environment now: you’re probably still slathering…
These electric busses could start cleaning up national park travel Under the Donald Trump administration, the national parks and monuments in the United States have entered into an era of unprecedented threat. Earlier in December, the President moved to slash the size of two national monuments in Utah by a combined total of around 2…
China is developing rice that grows in saltwater More than half the global population relies on rice to survive, but meeting that demand is difficult due to the increasing scarcity of freshwater, which is required for rice cultivation. To get around the problem, an 87-year-old Chinese scientist named Yuan Longping is developing a new high-yield…
200-year-old Mumbai mosque’s green choice cuts electricity bill by 67% Mumbai’s Jama Masjid in Kalbadevi is going to save 35 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) a year. The 200-year-old mosque is switching to solar energy for 70% of its electricity requirements, reports the Hindustan Times. This mosque in South Mumbai is not the only one…
A ‘floating’ plan to stop trash in rivers from entering seas It is the rivers in metropolitan cities that face maximum abuse, owing to the lack of efficient waste management system, besides the apathetic attitude of citizens, industries and civic bodies. What we fail to realise or conveniently overlook is the drastic effect that indiscriminate…
Food transformed: from garbage to gourmet Think of projects that are putting waste food to good use and likely to spring to mind are all-purpose, easily adaptable dishes like veg soups and simple curries. But it’s not just wonky veg that gets wasted. Although the vast majority of the UK’s 200,000 tonnes of retail sector…
Quark fusion produces eight times more energy than nuclear fusion To reduce the emissions fueling climate change and develop more efficient ways of generating energy, while focusing on the bottom line, governments and private institutions all over the world have been turning to renewable energy. And while solar and wind energy advance and become more…
Streptococcus vaccine ‘could prevent over 100,000 baby deaths worldwide’ More than 100,000 stillbirths and baby deaths worldwide could be prevented by the development of a vaccine against an infection commonly carried by pregnant women, according to a groundbreaking report. The impact of disease caused by group B streptococcus (GBS) has not been properly chronicled before…