Can we look beyond the seasonal activism against animal cruelty?
But is animal cruelty something we only condemn during this particular time of year? What are the subtle and not-so-subtle acts of cruelty we exhibit as we interact with/rear/raise/consume livestock/pets/wildlife?
9m ago
‘Science has to be for the masses’
Prof Gawsia Wahidunnessa Chowdhury is one of two Bangladeshis who were recently named among the top 100 Asian scientists. In an interview with Abida Rahman Chowdhury of The Daily Star, she talks about her current projects, the scope of Bangladesh's policies and why they do not work, and how to encourage more women to take up STEM.
9m ago
More roads are not the answer to Bangladesh’s traffic problem
The more roads you build, the more cars there will be to fill them up. I am no expert, but the numbers don’t lie.
10m ago
What stops people from evacuating to shelters during cyclones?
Cyclone Mocha was just the first of the season, and Bangladesh will face more in the days to come. We need to focus on a more holistic approach to disaster management, especially the evacuation process and recovery aspect, and not just rely on warnings and people’s willingness to move to shelters.
11m ago
Heatwave: Inside the boiling pot of inequality
Do we all feel this heat similarly? The answer is no. It is no secret that if you are among the well-off in this not-so-well-off nation, you are better equipped to deal with this heatwave. There is a deep running inequality as to how the heat affects people.
1y ago
The role of bystanders during a crisis: An impediment or asset to rescue efforts?
Just one bystander can cause enough distraction to move the focus from the real situation on hand—which is to stabilise the emergency situation and save lives. So, who is responsible?
1y ago
World Wildlife Day: Conversations with conservationists
Bangladesh supports nearly 1.7 percent of the world's wildlife. How is that wildlife doing? Why does the chirping of birds no longer wake us? When was the last time a frog just showed up in our bathrooms?
1y ago
Are Bangladeshis best in the world in naming businesses?
As a traveller or visitor, if you have been to Bangladesh, you are no stranger to the shocking green everywhere, the chaos of Dhaka city, the absolute absence of rules anywhere, and if you have a keen eye then the straightforward, smooth and sometimes borderline funny naming of our businesses will surely intrigue you.
1y ago
September 24, 2021
Canopy bridges: The answer to fragmented forests?
In November 2020, a couple of young researchers at Satchari National Park in Habiganj tried their hands at something that was a novel concept in Bangladeshi wildlife conservation.
September 11, 2021
Dolphins washing ashore dead: Fishing nets at fault?
French naval officer, explorer and conservationist Jacques-Yves Cousteau was not wrong when he said, “The happiness of the bee and the dolphin is to exist. For man it is to know that and to wonder at it.”
August 28, 2021
New frog on the block!
The worldwide scientific community is too often bombarded with bad news -- from first time ever rains at the Greenland ice summit to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) doomsday forecast, there is hardly ever a reason to celebrate.
August 4, 2021
War against Covid: Satkhira youths arm themselves with oxygen cylinders
In the fight against the third wave of Covid-19 infections, youths in Bangladesh’s southern district of Satkhira have taken a united front.
June 5, 2021
Shrinking wild spaces and the growing conflict between humans and animals
Like writer-journalist Jon Mooallem wrote in “Wild Ones”, I too have been finding nature in the oddest of places.
October 19, 2020
The devil rays of Bengal
I was mostly lurking behind the group of marine biologists, young researchers, and local parabiologists scouting the dirt-ridden streets of Chattogram just opposite to the under-construction fisheries ghat.
October 5, 2020
World Habitat Day: Habitats not just for humanity, but for life
Through the choppy waters of the Bay of Bengal, our speedboat twisted and turned trying to reach Sonadia Island.
September 18, 2020
Marine biologists question gaps between science, research and action
Accessing and reading scientific articles is no easy task. A lot of us are even more acutely aware of the fact now that that many of us are reading scientific papers for the first time in an attempt to make sense of the coronavirus pandemic.
September 10, 2020
Two books that explore life in psychotherapy
I picked up this book while trying to find a good therapist in this dreary land.
June 4, 2020
The absence of climate change in fiction and other great derangements
The book explores our inability at the level of literature, history, and politics to grasp the scale and violence of climate change.
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