People’s Manifesto For India – Science-based Indian Blueprint For Developing Countries In A Worsening Climate Crisis

Indians are about 1 in 6 of the world’s people and  how the World faces the existential threats of nuclear weapons and climate change,  in addition to over-population, biodiversity loss and resource depletion,  will impact India and vice versa.  India needs to urgently stop population growth,  biodiversity loss and loss of arable land. While the Developed World must embark on economic de-growth, the Developing World, led by India, has a short window of economic growth towards a decent, sustainable standard of living for all.

Hopefully India can demonstrate that genuine democracy is compatible with removing nuclear weapons,  reversing man-made climate change, and sustainably abolishing deadly endemic poverty and disempowerment.

The science-informed list  of required changes for a safe, decent and sustainable Indian society in the coming century could constitute an Indian Blueprint for the Developing World in a worsening Climate Crisis that existentially threatens Humanity and much of the Biosphere. Put simply, in a global economy dominated by neoliberal greed and gross inequity the  World has already run out of resources for a decent life for all of the 7.6 billion people of the World (2 billion people are malnourished, 1 billion are hungry and 15 million people die avoidably from deprivation each year, 4.5 million in India alone). A worsening Climate Genocide means that unless requisite action is taken,  10 billion people will die this century en route to a sustainable global population of only 0.5 -1.0 billion by 2100. Humanity is also existentially threatened by nuclear weapons that could at any time initiate a nuclear war and a  nuclear winter that would wipe out most living things. In addition to rigorously and urgently  addressing the existential threats of climate change and nuclear weapons, there  are changes in many other areas that would benefit  India, the Developing World and Humanity as a whole.

It must be appreciated that India has many advantages in adopting a science-informed agenda: (1) it is a huge country with a large body of scientific experts at the cutting edge of science;  (2)  it is a Developing country and can potentially avoid many of the mistakes of Western Developed  countries (coal, gas, cars, private transport, smoking, meat, ecocide, speciescide); (3) it has  a large  part of the population having a biochemically,  economically and environmentally very efficient  vegetarian diet; (4) it has a large proportion of the population that is rural and better connected than urban people with innate values and practices more in tune with values and behaviours that have evolved in humans via genes (mutable DNA) or memes  (societally evolved ideas and behaviours); and (5) it has a multiplicity of long-standing religious and cultural traditions, social diversity that can be subject to societal selection  for useful social change.

My contribution to Countercurrents’ important “People’s Manifesto For India” initiative  is in 2 parts, (A) Science-informed  changes in key areas,  and (B) Succinct, science-informed comments on the Countercurrents list of issues to be addressed.

(A). Science-informed  changes in key areas including technical and technological changes (items 1-14) and ideological and sociological  changes (items 15-28).

(1).  Nuclear weapons ban – India and Pakistan should urgently remove nuclear weapons, settle the Kashmir issue, and abolish bigotry and communal violence.

Presently the upper  estimates of stored  nuclear weapons  are as follows: US (7,315), Russia (8,000), Apartheid Israel (400), France (300), UK (250), China (250), Pakistan (120), India (100), and North Korea (about 10). India, Pakistan and North Korea have not ratified the Nuclear non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). A global nuclear war and consequent photosynthesis-blocking nuclear winter would wipe out most of Humanity and  most of the Biosphere. Nuclear exchanges have almost occurred accidentally several times in the last half century [1].  It is technically known how to rapidly achieve nuclear disarmament for the 2  major opponents (Russia and America),  and at the other end of the spectrum of nuclear lunacy it is intolerable that the 7 million Jewish Israelis of Apartheid Israel should highly abusively rule over 7 million largely disenfranchised and human rights-deprived  Indigenous Palestinians and threaten their neighbours and the World with more nuclear weapons than those of Pakistan and India combined. A corollary of a nuclear weapons ban by India and Pakistan would be a sane, humane and pragmatic settlement of the British-bequeathed Kashmir dispute, and indeed an end to British-bequeathed  bigotry and  communal violence in both countries. Reductio ad absurdum: if Humanity survives, thrives and in several centuries’ time has spread to our nearest solar system (the triple-star alpha Centauri system), it is inconceivable that the whole lot should be existentially threatened by nuclear lunacy, nationalism and religious bigotry over Kashmir. Most countries of the World have voted for a nuclear weapons ban [1], and the next urgent global step will be a graded World ban on commerce with the present 9 nuclear terrorist states.

(2). Reverse climate change – India must insist that historical polluters bear their exactly accounted share of the $200 trillion cost of reducing atmospheric CO2 back to 300 ppm CO2.

Eminent  theoretical physicist  Professor Stephen Hawking has stated “We see great peril if governments and societies do not take action now to render nuclear weapons obsolete and to prevent further climate change” [2]. Now means now, right now before it is too late. Indeed many scientists and science-informed commentators argue that we must reverse climate change by “negative carbon emissions”  and returning the atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) to about 300 parts per million (300 ppm CO2) [3, 4]. Professor Hans Joachim Schellnhuber (director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research., Germany)  (2008): “It is a compromise between ambition and feasibility. A rise of 2^oC could avoid some of the big environmental disasters, but it is still only a compromise…It is a very sweeping argument, but nobody can say for sure that 330ppm is safe. Perhaps it will not matter whether we have 270ppm or 320ppm, but operating well outside the [historic] realm of carbon dioxide concentrations is risky as long as we have not fully understood the relevant feedback mechanisms” [280 ppm is the pre-industrial atmospheric CO₂ concentration] [5].  Various feasible mechanisms exist for drawing down CO2 to about 300 ppm CO2 but the cost of one of the better systems is about $200 per tonne CO2 captured [6]. Professor James Hansen et al   (2018): “One ppm of CO2 is 2.12 billion tons of carbon or about 7.77 billion tons of CO2. Recently Keith et al. (2018) achieved a cost breakthrough in carbon capture, demonstrated with a pilot plant in Canada. Cost of carbon capture, not including the cost of transportation and storage of the CO2, is $113-232 per ton of CO2. Thus the cost of extracting 1 ppm of CO2 from the atmosphere is $878-1803 billion [6]. The cost of drawing down atmospheric CO2 from the present dangerous and damaging 415 ppm CO2 to a safe and sustainable 300 ppm CO2 is accordingly $100-200 trillion. Because Britain slashed the Indian share of world industrial output from 25% in 1750  to 4% by 1950 [7, 8], India’s share of the world’s  CO2 drawdown  cost of $200 trillion (i.e. the historical Carbon Debt accumulated since 1750)  is estimated to be only $8 trillion  [9, 10].

(3). Carbon Price and inescapable Carbon Debt  –  India must insist that all nations meet their exactly accounted share of inescapable Carbon Debt.

Climate change economist Sir Nicholas Stern critically stated (2006):  “The science tells us that GHG [greenhouse gas] emissions are an externality; in other words, our emissions affect the lives of others. When people do not pay for the consequences of their actions we have market failure. This is the greatest market failure the world has seen” [11, 12]. Science-trained Pope Francis has demanded that the environmental and social cost of pollution be “fully borne” by the polluters [13, 14]. Cessation of GHG pollution and thence “negative GHG emissions” will require an exactly accounted Carbon Price  on pollution  that is effected by an exactly accounted Carbon Tax. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has estimated that the present average Carbon Price is a mere $2 per tonne CO2 [15, 16] whereas independent estimates from the University of Cambridge (UK) and Columbia University (US) put the damage-related Carbon Price at $200 per tonne CO2 [6, 17]. The non-payment of this “externality” identified by Lord Stern amounts to an inescapable Carbon Debt that totals $200-250 trillion and is increasing at about $13 trillion per year [9, 18, 19]. This ever-growing Carbon Debt will have to be paid by future generations, and its non-payment represents massive intergenerational injustice and intergenerational inequity [20-22]. India’s present contribution to this Carbon Debt is increasing at $0.5 trillion annually [9, 10, 23].  This worsening Carbon Debt is inescapable because, for example, if sea walls are not built then coastal cities and arable land will be inundated by rising sea levels and increasingly large storm surges.

(4). Renewable energy, re-afforestation,  biochar, energy efficiency  and sustainable  needs-based economy – India can lead the way to zero emissions and thence negative emissions for Developing countries.

The World has exceeded or is rapidly approaching key environmental tipping points. Thus the Paris Climate Conference target of plus 1.5C will be exceeded within the next 10 years. The resolute lack of substantial global action is revealed by quasi-linear worsening with time of about 20 key parameters [24-36]. Thus, for example, the atmospheric CO2 keeps rising inexorably (presently a dangerous and damaging 412 ppm CO2 and increasing at a record rate) [24] despite Professor Stephen Hawking’s plea that  we must “take action now to render nuclear weapons obsolete and to prevent further climate change” [2]. In my view this lack of climate action makes a catastrophic plus 2C effectively inevitable but we are nevertheless obliged to do everything we can to make the future “less bad” for our children, our grandchildren and future generations. India (per capita GDP $2000 versus $10,000 for China and $63,000 for the US) is catching up with  the Developed World after 2 centuries of genocidal impoverishment under British imperialism, but is in an excellent position to avoid the expensive mistakes of its former colonial master.  Thus en route to an environmentally “acceptable” per capita GDP of circa $10,000 India is in a good position to rapidly achieve zero GHG emissions through 100% renewable energy, population de-growth,  re-afforestation,  biochar (carbon from anaerobic pyrolysis at 400-700C of cellulosic material from agriculture and forestry), energy efficiency  and a sustainable  needs-based economy. Indeed the same argument applies to the rest of the Developing World – it can more readily achieve 100% renewable energy and thence negative CO2 emissions by not repeating  the 3-century historical mistakes of profligate Developed  countries.

(5). Climate genocide to disproportionately impact India and the Developing World which accordingly must take urgent action to minimize this looming catastrophe.

Presently about 15 million people die avoidably each year from deprivation and deprivation-exacerbated disease [37]. One can estimate that about 1 million people die avoidably each year from climate change. Both Dr James Lovelock FRS (atmospheric composition and Gaia hypothesis) and Professor Kevin Anderson ( Deputy Director, Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Manchester, UK) have estimated that only about 0.5 billion people will survive this century due to unaddressed, man-made global warming. Noting that the world population is expected to reach 9.5 billion by 2050 (UN Population Division), these estimates translate to a climate genocide involving deaths of 10 billion people this century, this including roughly twice the present population of particular mainly non-European groups, specifically 6 billion under-5 year old infants, 3 billion Muslims in a terminal Muslim Holocaust, 2 billion Indians, 1.3 billion non-Arab Africans, 0.5 billion Bengalis, 0.3 billion Pakistanis and 0.3 billion Bangladeshis. Already 15 million people (about half of them children) die avoidably every year due to deprivation and deprivation-exacerbated disease,  and man-made global warming is already impacting this Global Avoidable Mortality Holocaust. However 10 billion avoidable deaths due to global warming this century yields an average annual avoidable death rate this century of 100 million per year. Other experts predict a sustainable human population by 2100 of only 0.5-1.0 billion [38].  The worsening climate genocide  will  disproportionately impact India and the Developing World which accordingly must take urgent action to minimize this looming catastrophe.

(6). India has a huge development advantage in that it has a very low annual per capita greenhouse pollution and can more easily achieve zero carbon emissions than Developed countries.    

The “revised annual per capita greenhouse gas pollution” in “tonnes CO2 per person per year” (2016 analysis) is 2.1 (India), 2.5 (Pakistan) and 2.7 (Bangladesh) as compared to 7.1 (China), 21.5 (UK), 41.0 (US), 52.9 (Australia) and 366.9 (Belize) [10, 23]. India accordingly has more moral licence to pollute on its way to eventual  zero emissions than countries like the US with huge historical carbon pollution and much greater annual per capita GHG pollution.

(7). Biodiversity preservation and re-afforestation  – India must urgently act to save what is left of wild nature through large land and even larger ocean reserves.

Biodiversity loss is presently so great that the present era of man-made mass extinction has been named the Anthropocene Era [25-31, 39]. The species extinction rate is presently 100-1,000 times greater than normal [39]. Thus,  for example, coral reefs are hugely complex,   multi-species ecosystems and  the IPCC has recently projected a further 70-90% decline of coral reefs at global warming  of +1.5C versus more than a 99% loss at +2C [27, 28, 31]. Any species is priceless and hence Anthropocene Era mass extinctions imply an infinite Carbon Debt.  That said, environmental  economists  have  assessed the economic value of  nature  as of the same order  as  the annual world GDP.  Dr Andrew Balmford and colleagues  have stated (2002): “On the eve of the World Summit on Sustainable Development, it is timely to assess progress over the 10 years since its predecessor in Rio de Janeiro. Loss and degradation of remaining natural habitats has continued largely unabated. However, evidence has been accumulating that such systems generate marked economic benefits, which the available data suggest exceed those obtained from continued habitat conversion. We estimate that the overall benefit:cost ratio of an effective global program for the conservation of remaining wild nature is at least 100:1” [40]. Deforestation has largely halted in the Northern Temperate and Boreal  Zones but is proceeding apace in the Tropical Zone. Every species is priceless, and the present speciescide and ecocide in the neoliberalism-driven War on Terra leading to omnicide and terracide is utterly unacceptable.  India must urgently act to save what is left of wild nature through large land and even larger ocean reserves, and set a powerful example for the rest of the Developing World.

(8). Water, arable land and sustainability – India must urgently emplace water saving, arable land saving, climate change, sustainability, re-afforestation and  land restoration measures.

Groundwater aquifers are major sources of usable fresh water [41] but major problems are aquifer depletion, salinization of coastal aquifers due to lowering of the water table,  high saline and other mineral content,  and contamination of groundwater (notably by toxic free arsenic arising from anaerobic bacterial action, this being a major problem in South Asia, South East Asia, East Asia  and the US ) [42-45]. Aquifer depletion is a major cause of potentially deadly  food price rises. It is estimated that about 200 million Indians survive on  grain produced by overpumping [46-48]. The solutions to the water-for-food problem lie in climate change action, plant genetics, minimization of evaporative water losses from water storage, primacy of food production over other water uses, efficient practices from drip irrigation to closed system hydroponics, vegetarian diet, and elimination of food wastage. The world faces a worsening global water crisis that is compounded by remorselessly increasing  carbon pollution, population, and  economic output.  For the 5.0 billion people of the impoverished global South (the Developing World minus China) the worsening water crisis is a present reality. However endless growth in a carbon economy means that all 7.6 billion of Humanity are threatened [48]. Global warming is negatively impacting India water-wise by (a) increasing drought in northern and central India as a result of the warming of the Indian Ocean and a consequent weakening of the land-sea thermal gradient required for previously adequate precipitation from monsoons [49-55], and (b) increasing precipitation and storm intensity in well-watered areas as reflected in floods in south India (notably Kerala) and destructive, land-salinizing storm surges in Odisha and Bengal from sea level rise and more energetic hurricanes  in the Bay of Bengal [49].  Clean, potable water is available from domestic solar-driven stills and cheap filtration devices. More than 3.2 billion people around the world (mostly poor people) are presently at risk from the effects of land degradation, and in India 97 million hectares or 30% of the land is degraded. Land degradation is  increasing in India, this deriving from  increasing population and increasing agricultural and livestock production (over-cultivation, overgrazing, de- forestation, pesticide over-use, chemical fertilizer over-use, and salinizing) as well as increasing urbanization, industrialization, sand-mining, and construction of highways, dams and other  infrastructure. India requires massive re-forestation and land restoration programs [56].  Unsustainable overpopulation and economic growth are at the heart of this worsening  scenario.

(9). Avoidable Mortality Holocaust – India must abolish endemic poverty and thus prevent 4.5  million Indian avoidable deaths from deprivation each year.

Avoidable mortality (avoidable death, excess mortality, excess death, untimely death, premature death, deaths that should not have happened) is the difference between the actual mortality in a country and the mortality expected for a peaceful,  decently-run country with the same demographics (birth rate, proportion of children). The baseline mortality rate for decently-run , high birth-rate, low income countries is 4 deaths per thousand of population per year or 0.4% pa. Poverty kills. Each year 15 million people die avoidably from deprivation  or deprivation-exacerbated disease in the Developing World (minus China), with 4.5 million of these avoidable deaths occurring in India (avoidable death rate 0.34% pa). Unlike India, China has abolished endemic poverty with a consequent avoidable death rate of 0.0% pa and zero (0) annual avoidable deaths from deprivation [37, 57].  India can and must abolish endemic poverty and thus prevent 4.5 million annual avoidable deaths from deprivation each year. The measures that are both cheap and effective and able to be rapidly implemented on a 100% basis include 100% coverage for literacy, child education, safe basic housing, non-polluting cooking, sanitation, hygiene, preventive medicine, good primary healthcare, universal health care, contraception,  and of course 100% renewable energy.

(10). Stop dirty transport, dirty energy and air pollution deaths – 9 million people die from air pollution each year including over 1 million in India.

9 million people die from air pollution each year, with about half from indoor pollution (heating, lighting and cooking) and half from outdoor pollution (from transport, power generation and industry) [58-61]. In India about 1.1  million people die from air pollution by carbon particulates each year [60]. This carnage can be abolished in India and the Developing World in general by 100% renewable energy, renewable energy-powered public transport, abolition of the private car, industrial pollution controls, clean solar power with storage for heating and lighting, and  clean cooking powered by renewable electrical energy or using extremely cheap, noon-day solar cookers.

(11). Population control and contraception – world population must humanely decrease by about 50% and India must rapidly achieve zero population growth.

A number of  recent reports collectively endorsed by thousands of expert scientists have warned the world that time is running out to save Humanity and the Biosphere from further catastrophic climate change and further massive biodiversity loss. Massive harm has already occurred due to continuing carbon pollution, population growth and economic growth, and it is clear that zero growth in these areas is insufficient  – to halt and reverse this worsening disaster there must be negative carbon pollution (atmospheric CO2 draw-down to a safe and sustainable 300 ppm CO2), negative population growth (population decline by about 50% ), and corresponding negative economic growth (50% economic de-growth with the burden to be mainly borne by obscenely wealthy and profligate Developed countries). If one takes  World coral  as a “canary in the coal mine” then the 320 ppm CO2 at which coral reefs started to decline [62] was reached in 1965 [24 ], at which time the World’s population was 3.340 billion as compared to the present 7.5 billion [57]. One can therefore reasonably suggest that given the present carbon economy the World’s population needs to decrease by more than half (by 56%)   for a safe and sustainable environment for all peoples and all species [62]. Europe has already achieved Zero Population Growth (ZPG) and the Developing World, led by India, must urgently meet this challenge.

(12). Needs-based economy by eliminating damaging economic pursuits – resource limitations mean sustainable and essential resource use.

Professor Dabo Guan  (School of International Development, University of East Anglia, UK) has starkly commented on inescapable limits to growth:  “For everyone in the world to have an American lifestyle, we would need seven planets, and three to live as Europeans” [63]. This looming resource crisis means a needs-based economy that can derive from eliminating deadly and damaging pursuits, and  provides considerable scope for an over 50% economic de-growth for  environmental  sustainability. Conversely, there are many extremely valuable jobs (e.g. developmentally vital pre-school child education) that are presently poorly paid or unpaid and not considered part of the “economy” as cogently analysed by Marilyn Waring [64, 65]. Damaging economic pursuits include deadly drugs (alcohol, tobacco and illicit drugs), the private car, avoidable air travel, tourism in general, lavish housing, animal protein, and, of course, the horrendously large military  expenditure [62].  India is greatly advantaged in relation to implementation of a needs-based economy because about 80% of the population are already essentially at that  position. Nevertheless the  growing middle classes   in India and the Developing World are adopting Western-style profligacy. At the heart of this recommendation is recognition that Homo sapiens has evolved behaviourally – by evolving  genes (DNA)  and memes (societally selected ideas) –  to live in small groups of circa  100 people united in having a strong sense of mutual obligation and a deep respect for wild nature [66].

(13). Stop exploitation of natural gas – depending on the degree of systemic gas leakage, burning natural  gas can be dirtier greenhouse gas-wise than burning coal.  

Methane (CH4) (about 85% of natural gas)  is 105 times worse than CO2 as a greenhouse gas (GHG) on a 20 year time frame and taking aerosol impacts into account. Methane leaks (3.3% in the US based on the latest US EPA data and as high as 7.9% for methane from “fracking” coal seams; a 2.6 % leakage of CH4 yields the same greenhouse effect as burning the remaining 97.4% CH4). Using this information one can determine that gas burning for electricity  can be much dirtier than coal burning greenhouse gas-wise (GHG-wise). While gas burning for power generates twice as much electrical energy per tonne of CO2 produced (MWh/tonne CO2) than coal burning, and the health-adverse toxic pollution from gas burning is lower than that from coal burning, gas leakage in the system actually means that gas burning for power can actually be  worse GHG-wise than coal burning depending on the degree of systemic gas leakage.  Gas is dirty energy and a coal-to-gas transition simply means long-term investment in another carbon fuel and delaying urgently required cessation of carbon fuel burning. CH4 leakage existentially threatens the world through the following positive feedback loop: CH4 leakage from huge methane-water clathrate CH4 stores in the Arctic sea bed and tundra -> more global warming -> more methane leakage -> … Nevertheless corporate and government lying promulgates the utter falsehoods that gas is “clean energy” or “cleaner energy” [1, 68-72]. India must follow science (involving ever better approximations to the truth) rather than the greed-driven lying of governments and corporations.

(14).  Vegetarianism,  plant-derived milk  and aquaculture – India must retain its world-leading position for efficient and sustainable  plant sourcing of dietary protein. 

Annual global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions presently  total  64 billion tonnes CO2-equivalent with methanogenic livestock production contributing over 50%. With annual emissions of CO2 per se from industry at a record high,  and with Humanity and  the Biosphere existentially threatened by the Methane Bomb of the warming Arctic in coming decades, we must all urgently adopt a vegetarian or vegan diet to help save the Planet [73]. Thus, for example, soybean- or almond-derived milk can replace cow-derived milk.  Annual per capita meat consumption in “kg per person per year” [74] very roughly correlates with annual per capita GDP in “US$ per person per year” [75] as exampled by results from a 2016 analysis: Bangladesh  (4, $1,088), India (4.4, $1,586) and Pakistan (14.7, $1,561) versus UK (84.2, $46,461), Australia (111.5, $62,290) and US (120.2, $54,306) [73]. In between the current profligacy and a universal vegan diet there is a middle way based on the notion that some meats have less environmental  and social impact  than others. Thus consider the following conversion efficiencies (kg grain to produce 1 kg gain in live weight): herbivorous farmed fish from aquaculture  (e.g. carp, tilapia, catfish; less than 2), chicken (2), pork (4), and beef (7) [76]. China is a world leader in aquaculture that helps protects diminishing global fish stocks, and India should follow this example. India is a world leader in plant-derived protein for human nutrition, and sets a powerful example for the Developing World.

(15).  Social humanism not destructive and deadly neoliberalism – India must revert to sustainable, pro-Humanity, pro-equity social humanism to maximize happiness, dignity and opportunity.

The European Enlightenment enabled replacement of ignorance and superstition with reason and science, with this resulting in huge benefits to humanity in terms of education, agriculture and medicine. However the Enlightenment libertarianism also empowered a capitalist  and imperialist explosion,  and science enabled invention and deployment of ever more deadly weapons of war. Humanity is now on a precipice and is existentially threatened by nuclear weapons and climate change. Indeed the 5 million people of the Developing World (minus China) are existentially threatened with  premature death from dire deprivation that presently adds up to 15 million avoidable deaths from deprivation each year, including  4.5 million such deaths annually in India  [37]. Avoidable death from deprivation ultimately derives from the libertarian extreme of personal advancement at the expense of Humanity and the Biosphere rather than the mutual altruism and empathy for nature of pre-Agrarian Revolution societies and village-level agrarian societies [77-84]. Presently the world is dominated by neoliberalism that demands maximal freedom for the smart and advantaged to exploit the human and natural resources of the world for private profit. Conversely, social humanism (socialism, democratic socialism, eco-socialism, human rights-respecting communism, the welfare state) seeks to maximize human happiness, opportunity and dignity through evolving and  culturally-cognizant intra-national and international social contracts [85-88].  India gained Independence as a pluralist society ruled by  government with socialist sympathies.  However greed, corruption and the capitalist imperative have seen a steady increase in differential wealth and power to the present stage of a bigoted, neoliberal, human rights-abusing and neo-fascist  (“Fascoid” i.e. quasi-fascist)  Federal Government whose abuses include deadly demonetisation [89], bigoted human rights-violating threats to Muslims, Dalits, Adivarsis and other minorities [90-92], disgusting support for Apartheid Israel [93, 94], and callous maltreatment of migrant workers in the Covid-19 epidemic  [95]. However the greatest crime of successive Indian Federal governments has been toleration of extreme inequity and deprivation that kills 4.5 million Indians each year. In contrast, China has abolished endemic poverty with the consequence  that each year in China there are zero (0) avoidable  deaths from deprivation [37]. The Covid-19 pandemic illustrates the humane superiority of social humanism over neo-fascist neoliberalism – “Covid-19 deaths per million of population” is 0.1 in social humanist  Kerala but 3 (China), 4 (Australia), 7 (India) , 357 (US), 612 (African Americans),  and 615 (UK) [96-100].

(16).  Literacy, preventive medicine, and free education including free  preschool education and free life-long learning,  poverty kills,  learning saves lives and proper democracy needs an informed electorate.

Poverty kills but, as illustrated by US-sanctioned Cuba (zero annual avoidable deaths from deprivation), even poor countries  can have Western-style health outcomes  if they have peace, good governance, good primary health care and near-100% literacy. High literacy is vital for preventive medicine because it enables comprehensive transmission of crucial health advice. Thus, for example, the literacy in  India  is 74.0% and 93.9% in Kerala [101] and this is reflected in “Covid-19 deaths per million of population” that is 7 for India but a remarkable 0.1 for Kerala [96, 97].  Preschool education is vital for the developing minds of children as is good nutrition,  and provision of these necessities yields life-long benefits of higher IQ and better health with an ultimate  2-fold return on the education investment [102].  All education, including  university education and life-long learning, can and should be free. Indeed 2 dozen countries around the world have instituted free university education [103, 104].   And of course a genuine and flourishing  democracy requires an informed electorate. Information technology (IT) makes free and accredited education extremely cheap and affordable for everyone.

(17). Universal health care, good nutrition, good primary health care, basic housing and sanitation,  and a “basic life needs” social contract.

Each year avoidable mortality  from deprivation and deprivation-exacerbated disease  totals 15 million (Developing World minus China), 4.5 million (India) and zero (0) (China) [37]. China (per capita GDP $10,000) has succeeded in abolishing deadly endemic poverty and India (per capita GDP $2,000) should be able to do the same with great urgency through universal health care, good nutrition, good primary health care, basic housing and sanitation,  and a “basic life needs” social contract. At a very basic level even neoliberal PM Modi has realized the urgent need for basic sanitation for everyone in India. Government assistance in restoration of basic housing should not only happen after so-called “natural disasters”  like floods and hurricanes (actually substantially man-made these days through man-made climate change and unpreparedness) but should also happen in the ongoing “natural disaster” of the avoidable mortality holocaust in India and the Developing World due to egregiously greedy neoliberalism.

(18). Annual wealth tax and much greater social equity to prevent  4.5 million Indians dying avoidably from deprivation each year – One Percenter-imposed poverty kills.

According to Oxfam (2020): “Economic inequality is out of control. In 2019, the world’s billionaires, only 2,153 people, had more wealth than 4.6 billion people… The world’s richest 1% have more than twice as much wealth as 6.9 billion people… The combined wealth of the world’s 22 richest men equals the wealth of all the women in Africa…New World Bank estimates show that almost half of the world’s population lives on less than $5.50 a day… Billionaires are also able to buy impunity from justice, influence politicians or a pliant media and even rig democratic processes. The use of money to influence elections and public policy is a growing problem all over the world…  the United Nations estimates that 820 million people are going hungry, the World Bank estimates that only 735 million are living in extreme poverty… by 2025 up to 2.4 billion people worldwide could be living in areas subject to periods of intense water scarcity… Extreme wealth is a sign of a failing economic system… Governments must take bold and decisive steps by taxing wealth, high incomes, and cracking down on loopholes and inadequate global tax rules that allow rich corporations and individuals to escape their tax responsibilities” [105]. These appalling realities are sustained and extended  by the endless  greed and mendacity of the politically dominant neoliberal One Percenters [106]. In his “Capitalism in the Twenty First Century” French economist Thomas Piketty argues that massive inequality is bad for economics (the poor cannot buy the good and services they produce) and bad for democracy ( Big Money buys public perception of reality and hence votes).  Piketty’s solutions involve global transparency about wealth accumulation, and annual wealth taxes to enable movement towards closing the gap between ordinary  Humanity and the One Percenters who now own half the wealth of the world [107-112]. Indeed France already  has an annual wealth tax rising to 1% pa,  Islam has had an annual  wealth tax of 2.5% pa (zakat) for 1,400 years [111], and it was estimated in 2014 that an Annual Wealth Tax of 4% pa could bring all countries up to the per capita GDP enjoyed by Cuba and China, countries that have zero (0) annual  avoidable deaths from deprivation [112]. Poverty kills and about 15 million people die avoidably from deprivation each year (4.5 million in India) on Spaceship Earth with One Percenters in charge of the flight deck [37].

(19). Independent, taxpayer-funded, truth-telling  national media and mandated science-informed social humanist input to restore genuine democracy from the present One Percenter-dominated Mainstream media.

Democracy  quintessentially involves satisfaction of the legitimate fundamental wishes of the people e.g. a long and healthy life for themselves and their children, peace and security, good employment, good education, health and other  services, and reasonable  but modest happiness, dignity and opportunity. One Party State China (zero avoidable deaths from deprivation each year [37])  has delivered on these fundamental wishes by bringing  a billion people out of deadly endemic poverty. However Ostensible Democracy India (4.5 million avoidable deaths from deprivation each year [37]) has failed to conquer entrenched and deadly poverty. In India, and indeed in the Western democracies,  Democracy has been replaced by Kleptocracy, Plutocracy, Murdochracy, Corporatocracy, Lobbyocracy and Dollarocracy in which Big Money purchases people, politicians, parties, policies, public perception of reality, votes and hence more power and more private profit.  Inequity and huge wealth differentials can be addressed by annual wealth taxes (see 18). Quality, taxpayer-funded,  national  broadcasters can provide an alternative to One Percenter-controlled Mainstream propaganda. Approaches to social equity and sustainability are stymied by censorship, lying by omission, and lying by commission by Mainstream journalist, editor, politician, academic and commentariat presstitutes. There is massive Mainstream “fake news through lying by omission”- lying by omission is far, far worse than lying by commission because the latter can at least permit public refutation and public debate [113-117].   A novel suggestion is that every issue of a major  newspaper, magazine or electronic  medium must have the mandated equivalent of 1 page of a daily newspaper devoted to high quality, science-informed  social humanist interpretation and critique of the “news” that is reported and, more importantly, of the “news” that is not reported.

(20). Human rights and  justice for all with an independent Human Rights Commission,  an Independent Commission Against Corruption. India must lead the world against Apartheid and Apartheid Israel.

All nations must adhere to the 30 Articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights [118]  but this vital document of Humanity is variously violated by  countries throughout the world, including India. Thus the Occupied Palestinians are excluded by Apartheid Israel from all 30 Articles of the  Universal Declaration of Human Rights [119]. Under Congress India was a world leader in the fight against Apartheid in South Africa. World hero and Nobel Peace Laureate Nelson Mandela  declared: “The UN took a strong stand against apartheid; and over the years, an international consensus was built, which helped to bring an end to this iniquitous system. But we know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians” [120]. India needs to re-establish its credentials in the fight against racism and Apartheid by leading international Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against nuclear terrorist, genocidally racist Apartheid Israel and all its racist supporters. Gross human rights abuse of Muslims, Dalits, Adivarsis, other minorities,  women and children should cease and be constrained by an independent Human Rights Commission and  an Independent Commission Against Corruption. Unfortunately, like the other major powers the US, UK , Russia and China,  India is now moving towards digital dictatorship enabled by IT and AI  advances, and it is more pressing than ever to protect human rights [121].

(21). Disaster preparedness and pre-emptive action – India is well placed to lead the Developing World in preparedness and urgent climate change action.

Warming of the land, cities, the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal means that India is more than ever threatened by deadly heat waves,  floods, drought and storm surges from more intense tropical hurricanes in the context of increasing sea levels. There must be recognition that such disasters are increasingly not “natural disasters” but “man-made disasters” that are exacerbated by man-made global warming. Large-scale shelters from deadly heat, floods, hurricanes and storm surges  are urgently required.  The Paris Climate Agreement target of no more than  plus 1.5C will be exceeded in the coming decade, and given resolute inaction on climate change a catastrophic plus 2C now appears inevitable. Nevertheless we are obliged to do everything we can to make the future “less bad” for our children, grandchildren and future generations. Starting with a very low per capita GDP of only $2,000 (2018)[75], India is well placed to lead the Developing World in urgent climate change action by avoiding the mistakes of the climate criminal West. Humane pandemic disease preparedness is urgently needed as illustrated by the “Covid-19 deaths per million of population” statistics: 0.1 in social humanist  Kerala but 3 (China), 4 (Australia), 7 (India) , 357 (US), 612 (African Americans),  and 615 (UK) [96-100].

(22). Socially empowering and poor-accessible innovations like targeted poverty alleviation, the  Grameen Bank and free, accredited education and vocational training to enable economic transformation of the poor.

Indians are rightly  famous for resilience and entrepreneurial skill but with increasing inequity a large proportion of the population is limited in access to capital. Very desirable would be an  Indian version of the Bangladeshi Grameen Bank that has dramatically empowered women in particular. In recognition of this success, the Grameen Bank and its founder, Muhammad Yunus, were  awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 [122]. Free, accredited education and vocational training would further enable economic transformation of the poor. In China the Targeted  Poverty Alleviation Strategy involved asking poor rural communities what they needed to improve their lives and rapidly implementing appropriate changes. Again, India could lead the Developing World in such empowering innovations.

(23). Compulsory preferential voting and a one-person-one-vote-elected  World Parliament devoted to human rights,  economic matters and climate change as a key third major representative UN body.

As outlined in section 19, one-person-one-vote democracy  in India is constrained by corruption, illiteracy  and One Percenter domination of Mainstream media. In a pertinent, fictional revelation, in the novel “The White Tiger” by Indian author Aravind Adiga which won the 40th Man Booker Prize in 2008, one of the villager characters comments that he has voted in every Indian election since Independence without ever stepping inside a voting booth [123, 124]. Australia was one of the world’s first parliamentary democracies (for White people, that is, until after 1967) and has an excellent compulsory and preferential voting system. If a candidate fails to get over 50% of the vote the second preferences of the minor parties are taken into account. Thus in Australia the electoral support for the major groupings are roughly 35% (Labor), 40% (Liberal Party-National Party Coalition), 10% Greens and 10% Independents and Minor Parties. Preferential voting means that Labor could gain power with the help of preferences from the Greens and from the Independents and Minor Parties. The downside is that the right-wing, US lackey and Zionist-subverted  Coalition can win elections by bribing or deceiving  51% of the population and do so with the help of overseas corporations, local billionaires and the extreme right-wing US Murdoch Media Empire that has captured about 70% of the daily newspaper readership in Australia.  These deficiencies can be significantly addressed by government funding of election campaigns, limitations on election funding, transparency of election funding,  prohibition of overseas ownership of media, and an anti-corruption Independent Commission Against Corruption (see 20). In a global context there is an urgent  need for a one-person-one-vote-elected  World Parliament devoted to human rights,  economic matters and climate change as a key third major representative UN body in addition to the UN General Assembly (nation states) and the UN Security Council (dominated by World powers).  Such a World  Parliament would be dominated by the Developing World led by India and China,  and would be critical to addressing existential  threats to Humanity [77, 78].

(24). Gender equality, and protection of women, children and minorities – abolish patriarchy and give a much  greater voice via a Children’s Parliament to children who will inherit a devastated planet.

All human rights for all demands that here must be gender equality, and protection of women, children and minorities. A chain is only as good as its weakest link. Further, beneficial social evolution requires sociological diversity subject to societal selection. Females represent 50% of Humanity,  and women and children represent 75% of Humanity in the high birth-rate Developing World (minus China).  Post-Agrarian Revolution patriarchy must be abolished not just for equity reasons but for the very survival of Humanity and the  Biosphere. Children must be empowered and given a much greater say (e.g. via a Children’s Parliament) in the interests of intergenerational justice and intergenerational equity – as clearly enunciated by Greta Thunberg [125] it is children who will inherit a wrecked Planet [20-22]. Children will inherit  the world’s immense and inescapable Carbon Debt that  totals $200-250 trillion and is increasing  at about $13 trillion every year  [18, 126]. India must lead the way.

(25). Listen to and apply scientific advice – under secular and science-informed governments, both India and China must lead the way for the Developing World and indeed the whole World.

As a humanitarian scientist I am impelled by the fundamental position that decent people are obliged to speak out for Humanity and the Biosphere, whether at the level of individuals or specific  species and ecosystems or  at the global level in relation to avoidable deaths (avoidable mortality, excess deaths, excess mortality, premature deaths, deaths that should not have happened) from violence or violently-imposed deprivation, or man-made climate change and worsening climate genocide. Rational risk management, that is crucial for societal safety, successively involves (a) accurate data, (b) scientific analysis, this involving the critical testing of potentially falsifiable hypotheses, and (c) informed systemic change to minimize risk when accidents inevitably occur. Unfortunately,  this rational risk management protocol is typically perverted at the individual,  family or local level, or at the level of the family of nations by (a) lying, self-deception, spin, obfuscation, intimidation and censorship, (b) anti-science spin, this involving the selective use of asserted facts to support a partisan position, and (c) blame and shame that is counterproductive because  it blocks reportage crucial for rational risk management and in the worst cases leads to war. Polya’s 3 Laws of Economics mirror the 3 Laws of Thermodynamics of science and are (1) Price minus COP (Cost of Production) equals profit; (2) Deception about COP strives to a maximum; and (3) No work, price or profit on a dead planet. These fundamental laws help  expose the failure of neoliberal capitalism in relation to wealth inequality, massive tax evasion by multinational corporations, and  horrendous avoidable deaths from poverty and pollution culminating in general ecocide, speciescide, climate genocide, omnicide and terracide. Polya’s Second Law of Economics explains why we are doomed by neoliberal economics  – deceit, lying by omission, lying by commission, and disinformation subvert rational risk management  but are remorselessly increasing [127]. Science is committed to truth, or more precisely, to ever better approximations to the truth.

As tragically attested by the horrendously differential  “Covid-19 deaths per million of population” statistics [96-99] and the worsening Climate Emergency [25-32], societies must listen to the scientists. Famed mathematician Albert Einstein famously stated: “I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones”. This week soldiers from India and China fought with rocks and clubs in deadly fighting in Ladakh [128]. China and India must settle their differences immediately, and under secular and science-informed governments lead  the Developing World and the World as a whole way to save Humanity. Likewise, eminent  theoretical physicist  Professor Stephen Hawking has stated “We see great peril if governments and societies do not take action now to render nuclear weapons obsolete and to prevent further climate change” [2]. Now means now, right now before it is too late .

(B) Succinct, science-informed comments on the Countercurrents list (in bold) of issues to be addressed (the numbers refer to sections 1-25 above).

Strengthening democracy – restoring integrity of our institutions and democratic processes. Literacy, preventive medicine, and free education including free  preschool education and free life-long learning,  poverty kills,  learning saves lives and proper democracy needs an informed electorate (16). Independent, taxpayer-funded, truth-telling  national media and mandated science-informed social humanist input to restore genuine democracy from the present One Percenter-dominated Mainstream media (19). Human rights and  justice for all with an independent Human Rights Commission,  and an Independent Commission Against Corruption. India must lead the world against Apartheid and Apartheid Israel (20). Compulsory preferential voting and a one-person-one-vote-elected  World Parliament devoted to human rights,  economic matters and climate change as a key third major representative UN body (23). Gender equality, and protection of women, children and minorities – abolish patriarchy and give a much  greater voice via a Children’s Parliament to children who will inherit a devastated planet (24). Listen to and apply scientific advice – under secular and science-informed governments, India and China must lead the way for the Developing World and indeed the whole World (25).

Decentralisation of power – from the Center to States, from States to Districts or sub-regions. The argument for such decentralization could be supported by “Covid-19 deaths per million of population” that is 0.1 in social humanist  Kerala versus 7 (India),  3 (China), 4 (Australia), 357 (US), 612 (African Americans), and 615 (UK) i.e. an Indian state, Kerala, is doing 70 times better than India as a whole (15).

Social justice – how to effectively empower those at the very bottom of the Indian social ladder and ending the apartheid of the caste system. Social humanism not destructive and deadly neoliberalism – India must revert to sustainable, pro-Humanity, pro-equity social humanism to maximize happiness, dignity and opportunity (15). Literacy, preventive medicine, and free education including free  preschool education and free life-long learning,  poverty kills,  learning saves lives and proper democracy needs an informed electorate (16). Annual wealth tax and much greater social equity to prevent  4.5 million Indians dying avoidably from deprivation each year – One Percenter-imposed poverty kills (18). Independent, taxpayer-funded, truth-telling  national media and mandated science-informed social humanist input to restore genuine democracy from the present One Percenter-dominated Mainstream media (19). Human rights and  justice for all with an independent Human Rights Commission,  and an Independent Commission Against Corruption. India must lead the world against Apartheid and Apartheid Israel (20). Socially empowering and poor-accessible innovations like targeted poverty alleviation, the  Grameen Bank and free, accredited education and vocational training to enable economic transformation of the poor (22).  Gender equality, and protection of women, children and minorities – abolish patriarchy and give a much  greater voice via a Children’s Parliament to children who will inherit a devastated planet (24).

Development – how do we create a model of development that serves the needs of the people of India and not the interests of global capitalism and its domestic lackeys. Reverse climate change – India must insist that historical polluters bear their exactly accounted share of the $200 trillion cost of reducing atmospheric CO2 back to 300 ppm CO2 (2). Carbon Price and inescapable Carbon Debt  –  India must insist that all nations meet their exactly accounted share of inescapable Carbon Debt (3). Renewable energy, re-afforestation,  biochar, energy efficiency  and sustainable  needs-based economy – India can lead the way to zero emissions and thence negative emissions for Developing countries (4). Climate genocide to disproportionately impact India and the Developing World which accordingly must take urgent action to minimize this looming catastrophe (5). India has a huge development advantage in that it has a very low annual per capita greenhouse pollution and can more easily achieve zero carbon emissions than Developed countries (6). Needs-based economy by eliminating damaging economic pursuits – resource limitations mean sustainable and essential resource use (12). Social humanism not destructive and deadly neoliberalism – India must revert to sustainable, pro-Humanity, pro-equity social humanism to maximize happiness, dignity and opportunity for all its citizens (15).

Adivasi rights – justice and respect for the original dwellers of the Indian subcontinent. Human rights and  justice for all with an independent Human Rights Commission,  and an Independent Commission Against Corruption (20).

Rural-urban divide – restoring the rights of farmers and rural populations to a fair share of national resources and the right to live with dignity. Literacy, preventive medicine, and free education including free  preschool education and free life-long learning,  poverty kills,  learning saves lives and proper democracy needs an informed electorate (16). Universal health care, good nutrition, good primary health care, basic housing and sanitation,  and a “basic life needs” social contract (17).

Human rights and  justice for all with an independent Human Rights Commission,  and an Independent Commission Against Corruption (20). Disaster preparedness and pre-emptive action – India is well placed to lead the Developing World in preparedness and urgent climate change action (21). Socially empowering and poor-accessible innovations like targeted poverty alleviation,  the  Grameen Bank and free, accredited education and vocational training to enable economic transformation of the poor (22).

*Dignity of Labour – those who work should rule over those who don’t. No – all have equal rights in a one-person-one-vote democracy. And “work” includes vital unpaid domestic work and vital unpaid care for children that are largely performed by women.

Protecting diversity – asserting the rights of all ethnicities, linguistic groups, religious communities, local cultures. Human rights and  justice for all with an independent Human Rights Commission,  and an Independent Commission Against Corruption. India must lead the world against Apartheid and Apartheid Israel (20).

Food security – how do we banish hunger from the Republic of India? Action on climate change (2-8). Water, arable land and sustainability – India must urgently emplace water saving, arable land saving, climate change, sustainability, re-afforestation and  land restoration measures (8). Avoidable Mortality Holocaust – India must abolish endemic poverty and thus prevent 4.5  million Indian avoidable deaths from deprivation each year (9). Population control and contraception – world population must humanely decrease by about 50% and India must rapidly achieve zero population growth (11). Vegetarianism,  plant-derived milk  and aquaculture – India must retain its world-leading position for efficient and sustainable  plant sourcing of dietary protein (14). Universal health care, good nutrition, good primary health care, basic housing and sanitation,  and a “basic life needs” social contract (17).

Redistributing wealth – overturning the obscene concentration of riches in the hands of the 1 percent. Needs-based economy by eliminating damaging economic pursuits – resource limitations means sustainable and essential resource use (12).

Annual wealth tax and much greater social equity to prevent  4.5 million Indians dying avoidably from deprivation each year – One Percenter-imposed poverty kills (18). Human rights and  justice for all with an independent Human Rights Commission,  and an Independent Commission Against Corruption (20). Socially empowering and poor-accessible innovations like targeted poverty alleviation, the  Grameen Bank and free, accredited education and vocational training to enable economic transformation of the poor (22).

Accountability in governance – to make public servants into real servants of the public. Human rights and  justice for all with an independent Human Rights Commission,  and an Independent Commission Against Corruption. India must lead the world against Apartheid and Apartheid Israel (20).

Ecology – restoring the health of the soil, water, air and forests of India. Action on climate change (2-8). Biodiversity preservation and re-afforestation  – India must urgently act to save what is left of wild nature through large land and even larger ocean reserves (7).

Energy – resolving the current crisis of both overconsumption by a few and under -consumption by the many, as well as  ensuring the greening of energy. Action on climate change (2-8). Renewable energy, re-afforestation,  biochar, energy efficiency  and sustainable  needs-based economy – India can lead the way to zero emissions and thence negative emissions for Developing countries (4). India has a huge development advantage in that it has a very low annual per capita greenhouse pollution and can more easily achieve zero carbon emissions than Developed countries (6). Stop dirty transport, dirty energy and air pollution deaths – 9 million people die from air pollution each year including over 1 million in India (10). Stop exploitation of natural gas – depending on the degree of systemic gas leakage, burning natural  gas can be dirtier greenhouse gas-wise than burning coal (13).

Gender – abolishing the usurpation of power and resources by men in every walk of life and restoring the rights of women and sexuality minorities. Gender equality, and protection of women, children and minorities. Human rights and  justice for all with an independent Human Rights Commission,  an Independent Commission Against Corruption. India must lead the world against Apartheid and Apartheid Israel (20). Gender equality, and protection of women, children and minorities – abolish patriarchy and give a much  greater voice via a Children’s Parliament to children who will inherit a devastated planet (24).

Children – they are the future of India literally and it is time their rights, concerns and needs are put right at the centre of all policy making. Action on climate change (2-8). Literacy, preventive medicine, and free education including free  preschool education and free life-long learning,  poverty kills,  learning saves lives and proper democracy needs an informed electorate (16). Universal health care, good nutrition, good primary health care, basic housing and sanitation,  and a “basic life needs” social contract (17). Gender equality, and protection of women, children and minorities – abolish patriarchy and give a much  greater voice via a Children’s Parliament to children who will inherit a devastated planet (24). Peace and mutual tolerance are crucial. Nuclear weapons ban – India and Pakistan should urgently remove nuclear weapons, settle the Kashmir issue, and abolish bigotry and communal violence (1). Likewise China and India must settle their differences immediately, and under secular and science-informed governments lead  the Developing World and the World as a whole to save Humanity and the Biosphere.

 

References.

 

[1]. “Nuclear weapons ban, end poverty and reverse climate change”: https://sites.google.com/site/drgideonpolya/nuclear-weapons-ban .

 

[2]. Stephen Hawking, “Brief Answers to the Big Questions”, John Murray, 2018, Chapter 7.

[3]. 300.org: . https://sites.google.com/site/300orgsite/300-org .

[4]. “300.org – return atmosphere CO2 to 300 ppm CO2”: https://sites.google.com/site/300orgsite/300-org—return-atmosphere-co2-to-300-ppm .

[5]. Professor Hans Joachim Schellnhuber quoted by David Adam, “Roll back time to safeguard climate, expert warns”, Guardian, 15 September 2008 : http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/sep/15/climatechange.carbonemissions .

[6].  James Hansen, “Climate change in a nutshell: the gathering storm”, Columbia University, 18 December 2018: http://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/mailings/2018/20181206_Nutshell.pdf  .

[7]. Gideon Polya, “Review: “A History of the Global Economy”- Indian Holocaust & Genocide ignored”, Countercurrents, 17 February 2019: https://countercurrents.org/2019/02/review-a-history-of-the-global-economy-indian-holocaust-genocide-ignored/ .

[8]. Gideon Polya, “Britain robbed India of $45 trillion & thence 1.8 billion Indians died from deprivation”, Countercurrents, 18 December 2018: https://countercurrents.org/2018/12/18/britain-robbed-india-of-45-trillion-thence-1-8-billion-indians-died-from-deprivation/ .

 

[9]. “Carbon Debt, Carbon Credit”: https://sites.google.com/site/carbondebtcarboncredit/ .

[10]. Gideon Polya , “Revised Annual Per Capita Greenhouse Gas Pollution For All Countries – What Is Your Country Doing?”, Countercurrents, 6 January 2016: https://countercurrents.org/polya060116.htm .

[11]. Sir Nicholas Stern, quoted in “Climate change: “the greatest market failure the word has seen””,   New Economist, 30 October 2006: http://neweconomist.blogs.com/new_economist/2006/10/stern_review_2.html  .

[12]. Alison Benjamin, “Stern: climate change a “market failure””,  Guardian, 29 November 2009: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2007/nov/29/climatechange.carbonemissions .

[13]. Pope Francis , Encyclical Letter “Laudato si”, 2015: http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20150524_enciclica-laudato-si.html .

[14]. Gideon Polya, “Green Left Pope Francis Demands Climate Action “Without Delay” To Prevent Climate “Catastrophe””, Countercurrents, 10 August, 2015: https://countercurrents.org/polya100815.htm .

[15]. International Monetary Fund (IMF), “Fiscal Monitor: how to mitigate climate change”. Executive Summary”, September  2019: file:///C:/Users/Gideon/AppData/Local/Temp/execsum-6.pdf   .

[16]. Gideon Polya, “Australia rejects IMF Carbon Tax & preventing 4 million pollution deaths by 2030”, Countercurrents, 15 October 2019: https://countercurrents.org/2019/10/australia-rejects-imf-carbon-tax-preventing-4-million-pollution-deaths-by-2030 .

[17]. Chris Hope, “How high should climate change taxes be?”, Working Paper Series, Judge Business School, University of Cambridge, 2011: http://www.jbs.cam.ac.uk/fileadmin/user_upload/research/workingpapers/wp1109.pdf .

 

[18]. Gideon Polya, “Inescapable $200-$250 trillion global Carbon Debt increasing by $16 trillion annually”, Countercurrents, 27 April 2019: https://countercurrents.org/2019/04/inescapable-200-250-trillion-global-carbon-debt-increasing-by-16-trillion-annually-gideon-polya .

 

[19]. Gideon Polya, “Climate criminal Australia ignores its hugely increasing Carbon Debt & massive subsidies for GHG pollution”, Countercurrents, 8 June 2019: https://countercurrents.org/2019/06/climate-criminal-australia-ignores-its-hugely-increasing-carbon-debt-massive-subsidies-for-ghg-pollution/ .

[20]. “Climate Justice & Intergenerational Equity”: https://sites.google.com/site/300orgsite/climate-justice .

[21]. “Stop climate crime”: https://sites.google.com/site/300orgsite/stop-climate-crime .

[22]. “Climate Revolution Now”: https://sites.google.com/site/300orgsite/climate-revolution .

[23]. Gideon Polya, “Exposing And Thence Punishing Worst Polluter Nations Via Weighted Annual Per Capita Greenhouse Gas Pollution Scores”, Countercurrents, 19 March, 2016: https://countercurrents.org/polya190316.htm .

[24]. US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, “Trends in Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide”: https://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/ccgg/trends/ .

[25]. William Ripple et al.., “World scientists’ warning of a climate emergency”, BioScience,  5 November 2019: https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/advance-article/doi/10.1093/biosci/biz088/5610806 .

[26]. Gideon Polya, “Extrapolating 11,000 scientists’ climate emergency warning to 2030 climate catastrophe”, Countercurrents, 14 November 2019:  https://countercurrents.org/2019/11/extrapolating-11000-scientists-climate-emergency-warning-to-2030-catastrophe .

[27]. IPCC, “Global warming of 1.5 °C”, 8 October 2018: http://www.ipcc.ch/report/sr15/ .

[28]. IPCC, “Global warming of 1.5 °C. Summary for Policymakers”, 8 October 2018: http://report.ipcc.ch/sr15/pdf/sr15_spm_final.pdf .

[29]. William J. Ripple et al., 15,364 signatories from 184 countries, “World scientists’ warning to Humanity: a second notice”, Bioscience, 13 November 2017: https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/advance-article/doi/10.1093/biosci/bix125/4605229 .

[30]. Gideon Polya, “Over 15,000 scientists issue dire warning to humanity on catastrophic climate change and biodiversity loss”, Countercurrents, 20 November 2017: https://countercurrents.org/2017/11/20/over-15000-scientists-issue-dire-warning-to-humanity-on-catastrophic-climate-change-and-biodiversity-loss/ .

[31]. Gideon Polya, “IPCC +1.5C avoidance report – effectively too late,  but stop coal burning for “less bad”  catastrophes’, Countercurrents, 12 October 2018: https://countercurrents.org/2018/10/ipcc-1-5c-avoidance-report-effectively-too-late-but-stop-coal-burning-for-less-bad-catastrophes .

[32]. Andrew Glikson, “Inferno: from climate denial to planetary arson”, Countercurrents, 8 September 2019: https://countercurrents.org/2019/09/inferno-from-climate-denial-to-planetary-arson .

[33]. Clive Hamilton, “Earth Masters. Playing god With the Climate”, 2013.

[34]. WBGU, “Solving the climate dilemma: the budget approach”: http://www.ecoequity.org/2009/10/solving-the-climate-dilemma-the-budget-approach/ .

[35]. Australian Climate Commission, “The critical decade 2013: a summary of climate change science, risks and responses”, 2013: http://climatecommission.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/The-Critical-Decade-2013-Summary_lowres.pdf  .

[36]. Andrew Glikson, “The IPCC’s final warnings of extreme global warming”, Countercurrents, 10 October 2018: https://countercurrents.org/2018/10/10/the-ipccs-final-warnings-of-extreme-global-warming/ .

[37]. Gideon Polya, “Body Count. Global avoidable mortality since 1950”, that includes  an avoidable mortality-related history of every country from Neolithic times and is now available for free perusal  on the web  : http://globalbodycount.blogspot.com.au/  .

[38]. “Climate Genocide”: https://sites.google.com/site/climategenocide/ .

[39].  Phillip S. Levin and Donald A. Levin, “The real biodiversity crisis”, Macroscope, January-February 2002: http://www.soc.duke.edu/~pmorgan/levin&levin.2002.the_real_biodiversity_crisis.html .

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[44]. Prosun Bhattacharya, David Polya, Dragana Jovanovic, “Best Practice Guide on the Control of Arsenic in Drinking Water”, IWA, 2017.

[45]. Farhana S. Islam, Andrew G. Gault, Christopher Boothman, David A. Polya, John M. Charnock, Debashis Chatterjee & Jonathan R. Lloyd, “Role of metal-reducing bacteria in arsenic release from Bengal delta sediments”, Nature, volume 430, pages 68-71, 2004: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jon_Lloyd2/publication/8478243_Role_of_metal-reducing_bacteria_in_arsenic_release_from_Bengal_delta_sediments/links/00b49515adf73e2e30000000.pdf .

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[48]. Gideon Polya, “Water crisis, Global Avoidable Mortality Holocaust,  water Apartheid, global warming & Mina Guli”, Countercurrents, 17 May 2019: https://countercurrents.org/2019/05/water-crisis-global-avoidable-mortality-holocaust-water-apartheid-global-warming-mina-guli/ .

[49]. Gideon Polya, “Kerala flood disaster is not natural but man-made –  warning for India & world”, Countercurrents, 21 August 2018: https://countercurrents.org/2018/08/kerala-flood-disaster-is-not-natural-but-man-made-warning-for-india-world/

[50]. Giuling Wang et al., “The peak structure and future changes of the relationships between extreme precipitation and temperature”, Nature Climate Change volume 7, pages 268–274,  2017: https://www.nature.com/articles/nclimate3239 .

[51]. John Abraham, “Global warming is increasing rainfall rates”, The Guardian, 22 March 2017: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2017/mar/22/global-warming-is-increasing-rainfall-rates .

[52]. Neha Madaan, “Warming Indian Ocean impedes rains: Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology”, Times of India, 17 June 2015: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Warming-Indian-Ocean-impedes-rains-Indian-Institute-of-Tropical-Meteorology/articleshow/47698910.cms .

[53]. Mathew Koll Roxy, “The curious case of Indian Ocean warming”, Journal of Climate, 4 November 2014: https://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/10.1175/JCLI-D-14-00471.1 .

[54]. Mathew Koll Roxy , Kapoor Ritika, Pascal Terray , Raghu Murtugudde , Karumuri Ashok , & B. N. Goswami , “Drying of Indian sub-continent by rapid Indian Ocean warming and a weakening land-sea thermal gradient”, Nature Communications, volume 6, Article number: 7423, 2015: https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms8423 .

[55]. Raghu Murtugudde, “Western Ghat’s biodiversity is a major source of moisture for monsoon”, The Hindu Business Line, 4 May 2018: https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/science/western-ghats-biodiversity-is-a-significant-source-of-moisture-for-monsoon/article23772839.ece .

[56]. Rohit Inani, “As land degrades, India struggles to save its farms”, Scientific American, 19 September 2019: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/as-land-degrades-india-struggles-to-save-its-farms/ .

 

[57]. UN Population Division, “Data”: https://population.un.org/wpp/DataQuery/ .

 

[58]. “Stop air pollution deaths”: https://sites.google.com/site/300orgsite/stop-air-pollution-deaths .

 

[59]. Philip  J. Landrigan et al., “The Lancet Commission on pollution and health”, The Lancet, Vol. 391, No. 10119, 2017: https://www.thelancet.com/commissions/pollution-and-health .

 

[60]. Aaron J Cohen, Michael Brauer et al., “Estimates and 25-year trends of the global burden of disease attributable to ambient air pollution: an analysis of data from the Global Burden of Diseases Study 2015”,The Lancet, April 2017: http://thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(17)30505-6/fulltext .

 

[61]. Gideon Polya, “Action cost/deaths ratios for Covid-19, malaria, infant health,  starvation, poverty and pollution”, Countercurrents, 17 April 2020: https://countercurrents.org/2020/04/action-cost-deaths-ratios-for-covid-19-malaria-infant-health-starvation-poverty-pollution/ .

 

[62]. Gideon Polya, “How much negative carbon emissions, negative population growth & negative economic growth  is needed to save planet?”, Countercurrents,  28 November 2018:  https://countercurrents.org/2018/11/how-much-negative-carbon-emissions-negative-population-growth-negative-economic-growth-is-needed-to-save-planet/ .

 

[63]. Irene Banos Ruiz , “China’s new love affair with dogs – as pets, not food – presents environmental  problems”, DW, 21 June 2016:  https://www.dw.com/en/chinas-new-love-affair-with-dogs-as-pets-not-food-presents-environmental-problems/a-19197523 .

[64]. Marilyn Waring, “If Women Counted”  (introduction by Gloria Steinem), 1988.

[65]. “Marilyn Waring”, Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marilyn_Waring .

[67]. Richard Dawkins, “The Selfish Gene”, Oxford University Press, 1976.

 

[68]. “Gas is not clean energy”: https://sites.google.com/site/gasisnotcleanenergy/home .

[69]. Are we doomed?”: https://sites.google.com/site/300orgsite/are-we-doomed .

[70]. “Methane Bomb Threat”: https://sites.google.com/site/methanebombthreat/ .

[71]. “Too late to avoid global warming catastrophe”: https://sites.google.com/site/300orgsite/too-late-to-avoid-global-warming .

[72]. Gideon Polya, “Gas leakage makes Australia a world leading per capita greenhouse gas emitter”, Countercurrents, 18 February 2020: https://countercurrents.org/2020/02/methane-leakage-makes-australia-a-world-leading-per-capita-greenhouse-gas-polluter/ .

[73]. Gideon Polya, “Worsening Climate Emergency And Record CO2 Emissions Demand Vegetarian Diet For All To Help Save Planet”, Countercurrents, 20 June 2016: https://countercurrents.org/polya200616.htm .

[74]. “Current worldwide annual meat consumption per capita”,  ChartsBin:  http://chartsbin.com/view/12730 .

 

[75]. “List of countries by GDP (nominal) per capita”, Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)_per_capita .

 

[76]. Gideon Polya, “Biofuel famine, biofuel genocide, meat & global food price crisis”, Global avoidable mortality: http://globalavoidablemortality.blogspot.com.au/2008/05/biofuel-famine-biofuel-genocide-meat.html .

[77]. Brian Ellis,   “The New Enlightenment. On Steven Pinker & beyond”,  Australian Scholarly Publishing , Melbourne, 2019.

[78]. Gideon Polya, “Review: “The New Enlightenment” by Brian Ellis – World Government & Humanism to save Humanity”, Countercurrents, 7 October 2019: https://countercurrents.org/2019/10/review-the-new-enlightenment-by-brian-ellis-world-government-social-humanism-to-save-humanity .

[79]. Colin White, “A History of the Global Economy. The Inevitable Accident”, Edward Elgar Publishing, UK, 2018.

[80]. Gideon Polya, “Review: “A History of the Global Economy” – Indian Holocaust & Genocide Ignored”, Countercurrents, 17 February 2019: https://countercurrents.org/2019/02/review-a-history-of-the-global-economy-indian-holocaust-genocide-ignored/ .

[81]. Steven Pinker,  “Enlightenment Now. The case for reason, science, humanism and progress” , Penguin, 2018.

[82]. Gideon Polya, “Enlightenment Now” by Steven Pinker – Climate Genocide & Avoidable Mortality Holocaust ignored”, Countercurrents, 7 Septmeber 2019: https://countercurrents.org/2019/09/review-enlightenment-now-by-steven-pinker-climate-genocide-avoidable-mortality-holocaust-ignored .

[83]. Yuval Noah Harari , “Sapiens. A brief history of humankind”, Vintage 2011.

[84]. Gideon Polya, “Review: “Sapiens. A brief history of humankind” – Palestinian Genocide, Muslim Holocaust & Climate Genocide Ignored”, Countercurrents, 19 March 2019: https://countercurrents.org/2019/03/19/review-sapiens-a-brief-history-of-humankind-palestinian-genocide-muslim-holocaust-climate-genocide-ignored/ .

[85]. Brian Ellis, ”Social Humanism. A New Metaphysics”,  Routledge , UK , 2012.

[86]. Gideon Polya, “Book Review: “Social Humanism. A New Metaphysics” By Brian Ellis –  Last Chance To Save Planet?”, Countercurrents,  19 August, 2012: https://countercurrents.org/polya190812.htm .

[87]. Brian Ellis, “Rationalism. A critique of pure theory”, Australian Scholarly, Melbourne, 2017.

[88]. Gideon Polya, “Review: “Rationalism” by Brian Ellis, Countercurrents, 14 August 2017: https://countercurrents.org/2017/08/review-rationalism-by-brian-ellis .

[89]. Gideon Polya, “Demonetisation, WW2 Bengal Famine and horrendous Indian avoidable mortality then and now”, Countercurrents,  11 January 2017: https://countercurrents.org/2017/01/demonetisation-ww2-bengal-famine-and-horrendous-indian-avoidable-mortality-then-and-now/ .

 

[90]. “Citizenship Amendment Act protests”, Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizenship_Amendment_Act_protests .

 

[91].  Arundhati Roy, “The Ministry of Utmost Happiness” , Hamish Hamilton, 2017.

 

[92]. Gideon Polya, “Review: “The Ministry of Utmost Happiness” by Arundhati Roy – Empathy”, Countercurrents, 12 October 2017: http://www.countercurrents.org/2017/10/12/review-the-ministry-of-utmost-happiness-by-arundhati-roy-empathy/ .

 

[93].  Binu Mathew, “Modi’s visit to Israel: embrace of two deadly ideologies, Hindutva and Zionism””, Countercurrents, 5 July 2017: https://countercurrents.org/2017/07/05/modis-visit-to-israel-embrace-of-two-deadly-ideologies-zionism-and-hindutva/ .

 

[94]. Gideon Polya, “Palestinian Genocide-imposing Apartheid Israel complicit in Rohingya Genocide, other genocides & US, UK & Australian state terrorism”,  Countercurrents,  30 November 2017: https://countercurrents.org/2017/11/palestinian-genocide-imposing-apartheid-israel-complicit-in-rohingya-genocide-other-genocides-us-uk-australian-state-terrorism/ .

 

[95]. Arundhati Roy, “Arundhati Roy: after the lockdown we need a reckoning”, Financial Times, 24 May 2020: https://www.ft.com/content/442546c6-9c10-11ea-adb1-529f96d8a00b .

 

[96]. “Covid-19 pandemic in Kerala”, Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic_in_Kerala .

[97]. Worldometers, “Covid-19 Coronavirus pandemic”, : https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/ .

[98]. Gideon Polya, “Covid-19 timeline exposes falsehood of US & US lackey Australian anti-China blame game”, Countercurrents,  20 May 2020: https://countercurrents.org/2020/05/covid-19-timeline-exposes-falsehood-of-us-us-lackey-australian-anti-china-blame-game/ .

[99]. Gideon Polya, “Per Capita Covid-19 Deaths In Anglosphere 5-Eyes Intelligence-Sharing  Nations Correlate With Neoliberal Greed”, Countercurrents, 17 May 2020: https://countercurrents.org/2020/05/per-capita-covid-19-deaths-in-anglosphere-5-eyes-intelligence-sharing-nations-correlate-with-neoliberal-greed/ .

[100]. James Lloyd, “Coronavirus: can herd immunity protect us from COVID-19?”,  Science Focus, 13 April 2020: https://www.sciencefocus.com/news/coronavirus-can-herd-immunity-protect-us-from-covid-19/ .

[101]. “Literacy in India”, Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literacy_in_India .

 

[102]. Madeline Ostrander, “How preschool can make you smarter and healthier”, Nova, 10 April 2015: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/science-of-preschool/ .

 

[103]. “Free university education”: https://sites.google.com/site/freeuniversityeducation/home .

 

[104]. Gideon Polya, “Free University Education Via Accredited Remote Learning – All Education Should Be Free For All”,  Countercurrents, 31 January, 2016: http://www.countercurrents.org/polya310116.htm .

[105]. Oxfam, “Time to care”, 2020: https://www.oxfam.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Oxfam-report-time-to-care-inequality-200120-.pdf .

[106]. Gideon Polya, “Rampant Orwellian falsehood in neoliberal Australia – and in your country too?“,  Countercurrents, 1 March 2020: https://countercurrents.org/2020/03/rampant-orwellian-falsehood-in-neoliberal-australia-and-in-your-country-too/ .

 

[107]. Thomas Piketty, ”Brahmin Left versus the Merchant Right: rising inequality & the changing  structure of political conflict  (evidence from France, Britain and the US, 1948-2017)”, WID.world Working Paper Series No. 2018/ 7: http://piketty.pse.ens.fr/files/Piketty2018.pdf .

[108]. Gideon Polya, “Piketty analysis of Trumpism – inequality and populist nativists versus high education globalists”, Countercurrents, 30 October 2019: https://countercurrents.org/2019/10/piketty-analysis-of-trumpism-inequality-populist-nativists-versus-high-education-globalists/ .

[109]. Thomas Piketty,  “Capital in the Twenty-First Century”, Harvard University Press, 2014.

[110]. Gideon Polya, “ Key Book Review: “Capital In The Twenty-First Century” By Thomas Piketty”, Countercurrents, 1 July, 2014: https://countercurrents.org/polya010714.htm .

[111]. “1% ON 1%: one percent annual wealth tax on One Percenters”: https://sites.google.com/site/300orgsite/1-on-1 .

 

[112]. Gideon Polya, “4 % Annual Global Wealth Tax To Stop The 17 Million Deaths Annually”, Countercurrents, 27 June, 2014: http://www.countercurrents.org/polya270614.htm .

 

[113]. “Mainstream media censorship”: https://sites.google.com/site/mainstreammediacensorship/home  .

 

[114]. “Mainstream media lying”: https://sites.google.com/site/mainstreammedialying/  .

 

[115]. Gideon Polya, “Mainstream media fake news through lying by omission”, MWC News, 1 April 2017: https://sites.google.com/site/mainstreammediacensorship/2017-04-01 .

 

[116]. Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky, “Manufacturing Consent. The political economy of the mass media” , page 306, Pantheon, 2002.

[117]. Gideon Polya, “US-imposed Post-9-11 Muslim Holocaust & Muslim Genocide”, Korsgaard Publishing, Germany, 2020 (for details see: https://korsgaardpublishing.com/portfolio/23945/ .

[118]. “Universal Declaration of Human Rights”:  https://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/ .

[119]. Gideon Polya, “Apartheid Israel Excludes Occupied Palestinians From All Provisions Of  The Universal Declaration Of Human Rights”,  Countercurrents, 20 May, 2012: https://countercurrents.org/polya200512.htm .

[120]. . Nelson Mandela quoted in “Nelson Mandela quotes: A collection of memorable words from former South African president”, CBS News, 5 December 2013: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/nelson-mandela-quotes-a-collection-of-memorable-words-from-former-south-african-president/

 

[121]. Gideon Polya, “Review: “One World Digital Dictatorship” by Soren Korsgaard – Digital Nightmare”, Countercurrents, 23 January 2020: https://countercurrents.org/2020/01/review-one-world-digital-dictatorship-by-soren-korsgaard-digital-nightmare   .

 

[122]. “Grameen Bank”, Wikipedia:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grameen_Bank .

 

[123]. Aravind Adiga, “The White Tiger”, Atlantic Books, 2008.

 

[124]. “The White Tiger (Adiga novel)”, Wikipedia:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_White_Tiger_(Adiga_novel) .

 

[125]. Greta Thunberg, “No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference”, Penguin, 2019.

 

[126]. Gideon Polya, “50 reasons for free university education s we bequeath the young a dying planet”, Countercurrents, 19 March 2017: https://countercurrents.org/2017/03/50-reasons-for-free-university-education-as-we-bequeath-the-young-a-dying-planet/ .

[127].  Gideon Polya. “Polya’s 3 Laws Of Economics Expose Deadly, Dishonest  And Terminal Neoliberal Capitalism”, Countercurrents, 17 October, 2015: http://www.countercurrents.org/polya171015.htm .

[128]. “India –China clash: 20 Indian troops killed in Ladakh fighting”, BBC, 16 June 2020: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-53061476 .

Dr Gideon Polya taught science students at La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia for 4 decades. He published some 130 works in a 5 decade scientific career, most recently a huge pharmacological reference text “Biochemical Targets of Plant Bioactive Compounds” (CRC Press/Taylor & Francis, New York & London , 2003). He has published “Body Count. Global avoidable mortality since 1950” (G.M. Polya, Melbourne, 2007: http://globalbodycount.blogspot.com/ ); see also his contributions “Australian complicity in Iraq mass mortality” in “Lies, Deep Fries & Statistics” (edited by Robyn Williams, ABC Books, Sydney, 2007: http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/ockhamsrazor/australian-complicity-in-iraq-mass-mortality/3369002#transcript   ) and “Ongoing Palestinian Genocide” in “The Plight of the Palestinians (edited by William Cook, Palgrave Macmillan, London, 2010: https://countercurrents.org/polya170612.htm ). He has published a revised and updated 2008 version of his 1998 book “Jane Austen and the Black Hole of British History” (see: http://janeaustenand.blogspot.com/  ) as biofuel-, globalization- and climate-driven global food price increases threaten a greater famine catastrophe than the man-made famine in British-ruled India that killed 6-7 million Indians in the “forgotten” World War 2 Bengal Famine (see recent BBC broadcast involving Dr Polya, Economics Nobel Laureate Professor Amartya Sen and others: http://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/history/social-economic-history/listen-the-bengal-famine  ;  Gideon Polya: https://sites.google.com/site/drgideonpolya/home  ; Gideon Polya Writing: https://sites.google.com/site/gideonpolyawriting/ ; Gideon Polya, Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gideon_Polya ). He has recently published Gideon Polya, “US-imposed Post-9-11 Muslim Holocaust & Muslim Genocide”, Korsgaard Publishing, Germany, 2020 (for details see: https://korsgaardpublishing.com/portfolio/23945/ ).When words fail one can say it in pictures – for images of Gideon Polya’s huge paintings for the Planet, Peace, Mother and Child see: http://sites.google.com/site/artforpeaceplanetmotherchild/ and http://www.flickr.com/photos/gideonpolya/  .

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