Doomsday predictions are funny things. We are predisposed to pay attention to bad news, and the news industry thrives on disasters. Yet our fascination is fickle. If the warning is too scary or distressing, we attack the messenger as a doom-monger. Take the 1972 book The Limits to Growth, one of the first efforts to predict the future using computer models. It found that if trends in population, industrialisation, pollution, food production and resource depletion continued unchanged, resources would eventually run out. (Editorial)

The present study aims at the assessment of groundwater quality in and around the Vrishabhavathi Valley, the erstwhile fresh water stream, today carrying huge quantities of industrial, agricultural and domestic effluents from the western part of Bangalore metropolis.

A study was conducted in Eloor Industrial Area of Ernakulam district of Kerala to assess the level of environmental pollution by pesticide manufacturing factories in this region. Samples like blood, urine, dung and milk were collected from cattle belonging to this area and were analysed for DDT residues using the Gas Liquid Chromatography.

Effects of industrial effluents on germination, growth, protein content and metal accumulation patterns in Hibiscus esculentus L. were studied. Effluent from two factories in the industrial belt of Cochin, Kerala were used to soak the seeds for germination and to irrigate the seedlings in the field after physico-chemical analysis.

The study involves the atomic absorption analysis of four selected heavy metals lead, cadmium, zinc and copper pollution in the soil samples of Pala municipality. A total of 120 surface soil samples (0-5 cm) and corresponding 120 sub-surface soil samples (5-10 cm) were collected from industrial, agricultural, road side and institutional areas.

The histopathological studies are useful in evaluating the pollution potential of toxicants since trace levels of chemicals do not bring about animal mortality over a given period and are capable of inducing considerable damage to organ.