No One Knows How to Handle Nurdle Spills
What happens after a plastic pellet spill—and why responding remains so difficult.
Read the story ↗Environment & wildlife
Environmental reporting
Stories about climate, conservation, biodiversity and the people protecting the natural world.
2026
From bad omen to national treasure: The rare bone-swallower stork saved by a female army
Once known as a bird of ill omen, India's endangered hargila has gained an army of protectors. Now it's beginning to bounce back.
Read the story ↗2025
The women fighting India’s worm poachers
Communities defending wetlands and the livelihoods that depend on them.
Read the story ↗2024
The indigenous women saving India's endangered giant yams
In a tribe in southern India, a group of women are working hard to revive the country's ancient native tubers, and bring them back into everyday culture.
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As temperatures in India break records, ancient terracotta air coolers are helping fight extreme heat
In India's scorching summer heat, the ancient practice of chilling water in terracotta pots is inspiring new trends – from cooling towers to screens for buildings.
Read the story ↗2023
Why clean air is a luxury that many can't afford
Although almost everyone in the world now breathes air that is polluted in some way, the unfolding story of air pollution is one of environmental inequality.
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The story of India’s intrepid women seaweed divers
The lives and livelihoods of women harvesting seaweed in the Gulf of Mannar.
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An Oscar for ‘The Elephant Whisperers’ — a love story about people and pachyderms
The winner in the documentary short film category, the film, now streaming on Netflix, depicts the loving relationship of a tribe in India and the pachyderms who share the forest with them.
Read the story ↗2022
Seeing the River for the Fish
Scientists and local communities are working to save an iconic but little-known species of fish in India—but first, they have to find it.
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The people resurrecting India's ancient fruit trees
India's fruit trees are under threat, but a community of gardeners is using an old trick to save them – and even bring some back from the dead.
Read the story ↗2021
The fight to save India's most elusive cat
The fishing cat is one of India's most enigmatic predators, living in its remaining wetlands and swamps. The efforts to save it may also help a vital buffer against climate change.
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The Radio Station at the Heart of a Fishing Community
A community radio station serving fishers on India’s coast.
Read the story ↗2020
It’s Complicated: Bats as the Most Vilified Creatures of the Night
Are bats carriers of diseases? Virologists and researchers disagree on how the pathogens may have spilled over to humans
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The divers rescuing a drowning island
Vaan Island in India’s Gulf of Mannar has been rapidly disappearing into the Laccadive Sea. But a team of marine biologists is working to save it.
Read the story ↗2019
Mapping Mysterious Reptiles in Misty Meghamalai
For four years, five researchers travelled through dense forests, waded through streams, risked attacks from leopards and enraged elephants to record the rich herpetofauna of Meghamalai, Tamil Nadu’s rain-soaked, misty mountain range
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