As scientists continue to research the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic, one fact has become clear: Deforestation is linked to emerging diseases. When humans destroy forests to create land for human use, whether it’s for farming, mining, logging, infrastructure development, or urban expansion, biodiversity is diminished. And as some species go extinct, the ones that remain and even flourish in degraded[Read More…]
While the famous Ganga and Yamuna rivers have at least received some attention regarding their protection, several of their important tributaries have been badly neglected even at a time when their protection needs urgent attention. Ultimately of course this neglect of tributaries will prove very harmful for the Ganga-Yamuna river system as well. The Ken river deserves special attention among[Read More…]
by Steve Taylor and Orin Langelle Brazil is set to unleash several varieties of genetically engineered eucalyptus, which will worsen a bad situation. Valued for its termite-resistant wood for building purposes, pulp to create products like writing and toilet paper, and its oil, which has numerous health and household benefits, the eucalyptus tree generates big business worldwide. Native to Australia[Read More…]
Universal constants are a set of mathematical values, fine-tuned to incredible precision to sustain the clockwork functioning of the universe. Life on Earth is a microcosm of those very forces, seamlessly blended to create relationships between nature and man, flora and fauna, wind, and waters, which culminate in a delicate ecosystem, a vibrant balance of life that is inviolable, that[Read More…]
Oceans are experiencing rapid and dramatic changes as a result of human activity. Data indicate that during the last twenty to twenty-five years, concerns have been raised regarding uncontrolled collection and exploitation of genetic resources from the deep seabed. Today, many nations across the world are in a race to mine the deep sea bed for valuable minerals. WHAT IS[Read More…]
Baba Mayaram is a freelance Hindi journalist from Madhya Pradesh. He grew up in a village in Hoshangabad District and has worked as a journalist in Indore and Raipur. He mainly covers anti development struggles, indigenous people’s lives and struggles, environment and nature watch. He is also a poet of Satpura range of mountains. Dr. Lokesh Tamgire has worked in[Read More…]
Water. Data centres. The continuous, pressing need to cool the latter, which houses servers to store and process data, with the former, which is becoming ever more precious in the climate crisis. Hardly a good comingling of factors. Like planting cotton in drought-stricken areas, decisions to place data hubs in various locations across the globe are becoming increasingly contentious from[Read More…]
One year after India banned nineteen single-use plastic items for tackling plastic waste, the situation on the ground tells us a different story. Banned single-use plastic items are found to be available everywhere in most urban areas in India. Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MOEF&CC), through a notification in 2021, prohibited the Manufacture, Import, Stocking, Distribution, Sale[Read More…]
We know that plastic is choking the planet. But it could be killing us, too. In 2019, the European Commission’s Scientific Committee on Health, Environmental and Emerging Risks published a statement that identified 14 emerging health and environmental issues. Right near the top of that list was plastic waste. The committee emphasized the “urgent” need “for a better assessment of hazard and[Read More…]
The framework of our civilization is premised on the destruction of the planet. The struggle for environmental justice in Africa is complex and broad. It is the continuation of the fight for the liberation of the continent and for socio-ecological transformation. It is a fact that the environment is our life: The soil, rivers, and air are not inanimate or[Read More…]
For all the well-documented sources of environmental pollution—think chemical manufacturers, energy plants, mining operations, and agricultural processes—there’s another major source of contamination that continues to get short shrift by those charged with protecting the nation’s waterways and the public’s health: Pharmaceuticals and personal care products. “Across the board, we don’t have our heads around this problem,” said Emma Rosi, senior[Read More…]
We are witnessing a historical push toward the dismantling of imperialism, the decentralization of power, and the welcoming of non-White, non-European values into conservation. Whenever you talk about race relations here in so-called ‘America,’ Indigenous communities [are] always the last ones on the rung,” says Wanbli Wiyan Ka’win (Eagle Feather Woman), also known as Joye Braun, a front-line community organizer[Read More…]
New research shows we’ve long underestimated the environmental benefits from kelp forests. Now these important ecosystems are threatened. Floridians are bracing for an unwanted visitor this summer: sargassum. A 5,000-mile-long island of this rootless seaweed is floating around the Atlantic, and large swathes of it are expected to wash ashore in Florida and other states in the coming months. Smaller amounts have[Read More…]
Around the world, significant issues are negatively impacting water security. While the situation appears dire, cooperation initiatives show some signs of relief. In May 2023, the Arizona Department of Water Resources imposed restrictions on the construction of new housing in the Phoenix area, citing a lack of groundwater. The decision aims to slow population growth in one of the fastest-growing[Read More…]
The United States has so far backed country-specific over global plastic-reduction targets, but relying on national targets alone undermines the sincerity and cohesiveness of a global effort to reduce plastics and their associated emissions. On this World Oceans Day, by far the largest threat to ocean health is plastic production and pollution. So policymakers and marine lovers alike should be paying[Read More…]
Recent preliminary findings of important research conducted by the Central University of Rajasthan has identified over 31 hills in the upper Aravalli range that have disappeared during just the last 20 years or so. This has been recorded in the context of Naraina, Kilwar, Kotputli, Jhalana and Sariska ( Rajasthan ), with heights of 200 to 600 meters above sea[Read More…]
There is widespread acknowledgement that the present-day structures of society are ill-prepared to address the needs of humanity in its current travails. Therefore, cooperation and reciprocity should be our highest priority. The stronger the ties of fellowship and solidarity, the greater will be the power of constructiveness and accomplishment in all the planes of human activity. In the economic sphere[Read More…]
The big challenge for environment movement today—grow, expand, broaden, link with justice and peace movements The biggest hope for resolving life-threatening environmental problems of our planet increasingly rests now not with the world-level political leadership, which has failed miserably in many critical contexts, but instead with those highly committed environmental activists who have many significant achievements to their credit despite[Read More…]
World Environment Day is celebrated annually on June 5th, and it serves as a global platform to raise awareness about environmental issues and encourage positive action. In India, this day holds significant importance as the country grapples with a range of environmental challenges. It is a time to reflect on the state of the environment, acknowledge achievements, and collectively strive[Read More…]
The natural surroundings of tourist destinations play a significant role in attracting visitors. However, the contamination of these environments by plastic garbage poses a threat to tourism. When tourist spots are littered with plastic waste, the likelihood of visitors choosing these destinations decreases, resulting in a significant decline in tourist numbers and subsequent economic losses. The tourism sector resumed operations[Read More…]
The Supreme Court is effectively axing a major component of the Clean Water Act, rolling back 50 years of wetland protection in a declaration of war against nature by changing a word in the text of the Clean Water Act. Seldom, if ever, will repercussions of a Supreme Court decision be so far-reaching and detrimental to life for the planet.[Read More…]
World Environment Day is observed every 5th June, to encourage awareness and action for protecting the environment. It is a “global platform for inspiring positive change” [Ref.1], to address climate crisis caused by global warming (GW). Homo Sapiens population on Planet Earth was 0.3-billion in 1000, and under 2-billion in 1900. It is currently 8-billion-and-counting. It is only in the[Read More…]
Tens of thousands of American horses are slaughtered every year due to a loophole in federal policy. Horses have played a unique role in American history. They have helped us discover new lands, carried soldiers into battles, and plowed farmers’ fields. It’s no accident that so many monuments of Americans throughout history show them seated on a horse. To this[Read More…]
The most extraordinary feature of earth is the diversity of life on it. This variety of life is adversely affected by alterations of ecosystems by human activities. Humans have always been part of biodiversity and there are many more moral as well as scientific reasons to preserve it. Leopard from Jhalana leopard reserve, Jaipur ( Rajasthan) India is one of[Read More…]
Large scale death of exotic Italian bees has been reported recently in many apple orchards of Himachal Pradesh. This news has been highlighted in the local media mainly in the context of the economic loss suffered by orchard owners who had purchased boxes of these exotic bees to facilitate the pollination process in their orchards. The death of bees has[Read More…]
Environmental degradation is a significant issue caused by human activities like overconsumption[i], industrialization and deforestation[ii], leading to unsustainable economic growth. The negative consequences of environmental deterioration are widespread and include pollution, biodiversity loss, animal extinction, deforestation and desertification, global warming, and numerous additional issues [iii], and it is crucial to manage the ecosystem properly to prevent further damage. Environmental degradation[Read More…]
Tourism as an economic activity has boomed substantially and is adding to local and seasonal pressures on the water supply systems of tourist destinations worldwide.[i] The fact that the theme of the 2013 UN World Tourism Day highlighted tourism’s contribution to water access serves as an example of how the issue of water use by the tourism industry has garnered[Read More…]
There is a growing crisis out in the southwestern part of our country that has a message for us all. Politicians and the mainstream media from all over the country are ignoring it or generally treating it as a “one-time” issue to cover, not understanding that it is a sign of great importance for all Americans and the world. The[Read More…]
Dr Sameer Sharma Chairman,APPCB Sri B Sreedhar Member Secretary, APPCB Sub: Abuse of science against victims of environmental crime – active role of APPCB Sirs, We are deeply concerned about the abuse of science by Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board (APPCB) in environmental regulation to silence the victims. There are umpteen examples. We shall take the case of Uranium Corporation[Read More…]
Citizens protesting against felling of trees are pejoratively called “environmental activists”, “buddhijeevi-andolanjeevi”, and worse, by a certain section of politicians and people. Transcending political ideology, state and central governments, and powerful persons intoxicated with the promise of money flowing out of the current model of development, view all public protests with undisguised hostility. Bengaluru police demonstrated government-sanctioned hostility when it[Read More…]
To Joint Secretary (Plant Protection), Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare, Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Govt of India, Krishi Bhawan, New Delhi-110 001. E Mail: jspp-dac@gov.in. Sub: Comments/ Suggestion on the Draft Insecticides (Prohibition) Order, 2023 Ref. : 1. Gazette Notification, No.:S.O 701(E), dated 2nd February, 2023 Gazette Notification, No.:S.O 1512(E) dated 18th May 2020 Gazette[Read More…]
by Doug Tallamy, Daniel Klem, and Jim Cubie, J.D. Prevent your backyard from being an “ecological trap” by taking these key actions to protect wildlife. Imagine a wildlife refuge that does not protect its wildlife. How could this be possible? It is not only possible, but it is also likely unless we take action to prevent it. Unfortunately, many advocates of[Read More…]
The scene is unforgettable and unforgivable: an elected official, the deputy prime minister of Australia, cutting loose about a fish species introduced into the country by his ancestors, and demanding their annihilation. During the near-lunatic display by Barnaby Joyce, even his own colleagues betrayed embarrassment and alarm at the full-throated shrieks of “carp, carp”. With crazed eyes and crimson face,[Read More…]
In India maize or corn has been traditionally known as a nutritious and tasty food crop grown predominantly on small family farms. It is relished in the form of mainly home baked rotis. In addition corn on cob heated on simmering fire is also a highly enjoyable food, particularly during rainy season. Similarly maize has been cherished in many cultures[Read More…]
Forever Chemicals are found everywhere from the depths of the Mariana Trench to the mountaintop of Mt. Everest. Following 80 years of manufacturing various PFAS chemicals, the world is swimming in chemical permanence. And yes, it is a toxic price society pays for modern-day conveniences — made easy! But maybe it would be better if “products made easy by PFASs”[Read More…]
The recent tragic development of many houses ( and other buildings) being devastated and many families having to leave their homes in Joshimath and to a lesser extent in some other parts of Uttarakhand has once again raised serious questions regarding the path of development being pursued in the Himalayan region. A crucial question relates to whether such concern will[Read More…]
With oceans, countries, populations, and governments inundated by a plague of plastic worldwide, it may be useful to focus on the single-use plastic bag choices made by two cities, in the same U.S. state, located at a distance of only 64 miles (104 km) from each other. Both Santa Fe and Albuquerque share many qualities and conditions, foremost among them a distinctive cultural mix[Read More…]
Reports and images of a large number of badly damaged and cracked up houses and other buildings in Joshimath town of Uttarakhand, located at a height of over 6000 feet, have shocked and distressed people even in distant parts of the country as they have a deep emotional and cultural attachment to the Himalayan region and its people. While the[Read More…]
People of Markhera village had been facing increasing difficulties due to water shortages. Water table was declining and water level in wells was going down too. Hand pumps were often reduced to just a trickle. As women here bear most water related responsibilities, their drudgery in fetching water from more distant places increased. Many of them had back ache from[Read More…]
In Bundelkhand region of Central India water tanks have constituted a very important component of efforts of communities to meet the water needs of people over the centuries. In particular the period of Chandela and Bundela rulers from 9th to 18th century has been identified as a time when royal patronage was extended to communities for creation of several thousand[Read More…]
“Union Environment Ministry’s response vindicates our evidence and pointers on serious regulatory compromises in India’s appraisal and approval of GM mustard”: Coalition “Govt. should respond to each point with evidence, if regulatory processes were indeed correct and robust – we challenge the Ministry to do so” New Delhi, January 8th 2023: In a brief reply put out today, the Coalition[Read More…]
During recent months a determined struggle by villagers in Zira area of Ferozepur district, Punjab, has been demanding the removal of a highly polluting factory to save the soil and water of their region. As a result of this pollution water and soil have been badly damaged and groundwater was found to be very contaminated. The recent crackdown of[Read More…]
In 2023 the 50th anniversary of the famous Chipko Movement is being observed. This name (which translated from Hindi means hug the trees) and the movement it represents has caught popular imagination and become almost a household name in India. This refers loosely to a series of efforts, starting about 50 years back in India’s state of Uttarakhand, in West[Read More…]
by Sachin P S & Nidhi Hanji[1] The term ‘piracy’ is often invoked when creative works are copied and distributed without permission of the rightful and original owner of the work. Global and Indian laws prevent such piracy. Similarly, the illegal accessing, appropriation and commodification of sovereign biodiversity and associated traditional knowledge, as also genetic modification of bioresources in such[Read More…]
Nicobar Mega Infra Project – destructive of the local ecology and detrimental to the interests of the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal communities- Revoke clearance for the project To Shri Bhupender Yadav Union Minister for Environment, Forests & Climate Change (MEFCC) Dear Shri Yadav, I have enclosed here a copy of my letter dated 15-11-2-022 addressed to you on a mega infra[Read More…]
Water is a finite resource on our planet. We can only rely on what we have, which translates to about 2.5 percent of drinkable fresh water. Of that amount, only 0.4 percent currently exists in lakes, rivers, and moisture in the atmosphere. The strain of this limited supply grows by the day and as this continues, the detrimental impact will continue to[Read More…]
Dear friends, I am a baby elephant living in a camp made by human beings to rehabilitate orphaned ones like me, train and prepare me to be of use. I can see questions in your eyes about how I became an orphan. Though I do not claim to remember all the details there are moments I recollect walking close to[Read More…]
The historical agitation by the coastal people of Trivandrum has crossed 120 days. The struggle has been going on at Vizhinjam all these days under the leadership of the Trivandrum Latin archdiocese raising 7 demands including the demand that construction of the harbour has to be stopped and the destruction it has already caused to the coast to be enquired[Read More…]
Diversion of 130.75 sq km of heritage forest land in Greater Nicobar island for a Mega Infrastructure Project violates every conceivable environmental norm To Shri Bhupender Yadav Union Minister for Environment, Forests & Climate Change (MEFCC) Dear Shri Yadav, I refer to the Hindu news report (https://frontline.thehindu.com/environment/massive-infrastructure-project-proposed-by-central-government-threatens-great-nicobar-island/article65991977.ece) on an “in-principle” clearance accorded by the Forest Wing of your Ministry for[Read More…]
Worldwide, eleven thousand (11,000) sharks will be killed within the next 60 minutes. That’s 180 sharks per minute; it’s a bloody affair. One hundred million (100,000,000) are killed per year, mostly for shark fin soup. In fact, the shark-fin trade is responsible for 75% of sharks killed each year even though more than 50 countries have some kind of shark[Read More…]
While conservation and protection of environment should get very high priority in development planning, avoidable problems have been created whenever conservation has been pushed into a narrow path where it gets alienated from the concerns and needs of local people and communities. One aspect of this narrow approach, promoted by elites who frequently dominate conservation groups, relates to strong opposition[Read More…]
We are currently seeing rising food prices due to a combination of an engineered food crisis for geopolitical reasons, financial speculation by hedge funds, pension funds and investment banks and profiteering by global grain trade conglomerates like Cargill, Louis Dreyfus, ADM and Bunge. In addition, agri firms like Bayer, Syngenta (ChemChina) and Corteva cynically regard current circumstances as an opportunity[Read More…]
Thousands of people in U.S. cities have been left without access to clean water. Communities say institutional racism is to blame. The United Nations General Assembly recognized “the right to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation as a human right that is essential for the full enjoyment of life and all human rights” on July 28, 2010. Yet, 12 years later,[Read More…]
Fossil fuel stakeholders have been seeking new revenue in the petrochemical industry in general, and plastics in particular. As the private transportation sector shifts focus to batteries, biofuels, and green hydrogen, fossil fuel stakeholders have been seeking new avenues of revenue in the petrochemical industry in general, and in plastics in particular. That’s bad news for a world already swimming—literally—in plastic[Read More…]
Revoke amendments to Mines & Minerals (Development & Regulation) Act, 1957 (MMDRA), especially with reference to entry of private companies in beach sand mining To Shri Rajiv Gauba Union Cabinet Secretar Dear Shri Gauba, I have time and again cautioned the government not to amend the Mines & Minerals (Development & Regulation) Act, 1957 (MMDRA), as proposed by the Ministry[Read More…]
The Indian Himalayas stretch majestically for nearly 2500 km across 13 states and union territories. Nearly 50 million people live here, but the number of people whose life is closely influenced by the Himalayas is many times more, with a heavy concentration in the densely populated Gangetic plains. For all their outward grandeur, the Himalayas are geologically young and fragile[Read More…]
The hasdeo aranya region in Chhattisgarh is considered as an environmentally very sensitive is again in controversy due to the protest which have has started against coal mining. In Hasdeo aranya region which is rich in biodiversity and ecologically sensitive, people from three villages and activists have again started protest against clearance given by Chhattisgarh’s forest department for the second[Read More…]
According to the Marine Stewardship Council, depletion of fish stocks is the most urgent threat to the world’s oceans. Ninety-three percent (93%) of the world’s major marine fish stocks are classified as fully exploited, overexploited, or significantly depleted. “Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing is a pervasive, far-reaching security threat.” (Source: Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing, United States Coast Guard,[Read More…]
This being the first Monday in October means the Supreme Court is now back in a new session along with its newest member and the first Black woman Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. Among its many cases the first to be reviewed is Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency, pitting landowners Michael and Chantell Sackett of Idaho against the Environmental Protection Agency’s[Read More…]
Every year, thousands of wild horses and burros are chased by helicopters and ripped from their native land in terrifyingly brutal, and often deadly, roundups. After capture, they are corralled in crowded dry lot holding pens, where many contract diseases or injuries and some then die or are killed. Some of the captured wild horses and burros are adopted out or sold[Read More…]
The release of eight cheetahs into the Kuno National Park ( Madhya Pradesh) by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 17, although accompanied by a media blitz, has raised several questions. The animals were flown from Namibia to Gwalior and from there they were taken to the release site in a helicopter. Official sources have stated that this is the[Read More…]
In Kolawalpur village of Banda District (state of Uttar Pradesh), many farmers complained bitterly that the miners of river sand had destroyed their farms and standing crops. What is more, threat of floods in the rainy season and the river drying up in the dry season had increased due to the excessive extraction of sand from the river using heavy[Read More…]
Here we go again, playing God and toying with Promethean fire. Having done a comprehensively brutal job of killing off the thylacine, known in popular parlance as the Tasmanian Tiger, along with a growing number of other species, there is interest in reviving and ultimately returning them to the wild. And, as with any deity, the choice resides in the[Read More…]
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Vemband Wetland in Kerala is a Ramsar Site, and also a Critically Vulnerable Coastal Area (CVCA). One of the three meeting points of the lake’s waters and the Lakshadweep Sea is at Thottappally in Purakkad Panchayat of Alapuzha. It is a Marma Point. About 600,000 cubic meters of mineral sand has been dredged out from the River[Read More…]
Crop stubble burning has so far attracted concern mainly in the context of Punjab and nearby areas. Its most widely discussed impact has related to increase in air pollution in Delhi and some other nearby cities. However what is not often realized is that in a more quiet way this is also spreading in several other parts of the country[Read More…]
As we mark the United Nations International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies on September 7 and raise demands for better air pollution management, we also stare at the crop residue burning and approaching winter season when air quality levels in large parts of the country touch hazardous limits. Central and state governments spring into action with various measures as pollution[Read More…]
We lived in Shillong in Meghalaya for two years when my father was posted there with the Indian Air Force. That is where we learnt so much about India’s rare orchids which grew quite happily in the jungles around. In Fact there was a beautiful Orchidarian which was close to our home off Laitumkhrah in the busy downtown area. The[Read More…]
A team of activists launched a demonstration on Sunday on September 4th, to oppose the construction of a Metro car shed in Mumbai’s Aarey Colony and raised slogans against the Maharashtra government’s decision to undertake the project. Around 100 persons 100 comprising Students, Dalits, Adivasis and activists of many NGOs, Political Parties. and social organisations.,participated. Heartening to witness involvement of[Read More…]
In recent months there have been growing signs of increasing assertiveness of environmental movements in Punjab. This should be widely welcomed and is much needed, given the rapid degradation of environment here at several levels in recent decades. There was an impressive and successful mobilization recently to save the Mattewara forest in Ludhiana from the onslaught of an ill-conceived industrial[Read More…]
On 21st August, A protest demonstration was staged at Picnichen Spot, Opp Shaheed Birsa Munda Statue, Aarey forest, Mumbai. It opposed the present Maharashtra Government of Shinde-Fadnavis in installing Metro 3 depot at Aarey and to project the truth behind depot politics and land scam. More than 500 persons protested, from a broad strata of society.. Students, Dalits, Adivasis and[Read More…]
The August Tree Festival will be held from 15th to 31st August, 2022 all over India. The participants of the festival will go outdoors and observe 166 common tree species. The festival has 2 challenges – to observe more than 200 trees and as many Ficus trees as possible during the 17 days of the festival. One school and one [Read More…]
With 161 votes in favour, and eight abstentions*, the UN General Assembly adopted a historic resolution on Thursday, declaring access to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, a universal human right. The resolution, based on a similar text adopted last year by the Human Rights Council, calls upon States, international organisations, and business enterprises to scale up efforts to ensure a healthy environment[Read More…]
A small group of dedicated activists today rallied in front of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) headquarters calling for the commission not to issue a second extension certificate to the controversial Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) a $5.5 billion 303-mile-long interstate natural gas project. The 42-inch diameter pipeline is facing opposition from numerable groups with issues related to global warming,[Read More…]
Dear Sisters , Today 5 of us women have left our homes to participate and sit as Satyagrahis in the small pandal near Thiruvannathapuram Domestic terminal where the Anti Adani Vizhinjam Port struggle reaches its 50th day. Many of you may wonder why we are here and what we are trying to communicate by this Satyagraha. Titled the Indefinite Satyagraha[Read More…]
To E. Tendayi Achiume, Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, Xenophobia and related intolerance, UN Re- Testimony at the civil society expert consultation by Prasant Paikray from India (Odisha) Dear E. Tendayi, I Prasant Paikray, the Spokesperson of Anti Jindal Anti POSCO Movement from Odisha, India do make the following submissions humbly for your understanding and intervention:[Read More…]
“With 35% loss globally since 1970, wetlands are our most threatened ecosystem, disappearing three times faster than forests. Wetlands’ services for climate mitigation, adaptation biodiversity, and human health outweigh all other terrestrial ecosystems.” (Source: Wetlands are Being Lost at Alarming Rates, Global Wetland Outlook, 2021) Sudd is Africa’s largest freshwater wetland at roughly 3,500 square miles in an otherwise dry[Read More…]
Punjab has one of the lowest forest coverage in the country as only about 4 per cent of the land here is reported to be under forest. Hence, apart from making longer-term efforts to increase its forest cover, it is extremely important to save its few remaining precious forests and it is in this context that the impressive mobilization that[Read More…]
Interview : Milan Sekulović, President ‘ Save Sinjajevina’, Montenegro Sinjajevina forests located in Montenegro in the Balkans are rich in bio diversity where pastoralists and other forest dwellers lived in complete harmony with nature. Growing militarisation is impacting not only our environment but also threatening to uproot communities who have lived in the forest for years and sustained it.[Read More…]
America’s highest court has limited the EPA’s authority to regulate power plant emissions. Signed into law by President Richard Nixon in 1970 with the intention of reducing and controlling air pollution nationwide, the Clean Air Act is the nation’s primary federal air quality law, giving the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the authority to regulate air emissions from sources that are[Read More…]
Today I along with leaders of people’s Movements like Lingaraj convener of Paschim Odisha Krusak sangathan, Lingaraj Azad of Niyamgiri Suraksha Samiti and Narendra Mohanty of Human Rights were going to Kapand of Banei Subdivision to attend a meeting of villagers who are protesting against a proposed polluting industry of Kai International Ltd which will destroy a village forest and[Read More…]
Respected Chief Minister of Kerala, We are a group of people living in different parts of Kerala and working in social-cultural –educational –political and environmental fields. We are deeply concerned about the equitable and sustainable development of the State based on social and ecological justice. The fishers of this State whom you referred to as Kerala’s army has been praised[Read More…]
In the Brazilian Amazon, as deforestation reaches record levels and rivers are increasingly polluted, the illegal gold mining contributing to these problems continues largely unabated. The response of the government has been to increase military action to curb environmental crimes in Brazil. Far from achieving this purpose, however, the military intervention has only led to tragedies in the region, directly or indirectly. A source from[Read More…]
While the pipeline network has been expanding in Himachal Pradesh as a result of the emphasis placed on speeding up drinking water supply, at the same time drinking water scarcity from an increasing number of places is being reported. One basic reason for this is that a significant number of natural water sources including rivers, streams and khuds are being[Read More…]
A scientist went against the grain on her industry’s rule against anthropomorphizing nonhuman animals—here’s what she discovered. Editor’s note: At 15, Catherine Raven left home and headed west to work as a national park ranger. She later earned a PhD in biology and built an off-the-grid house on an isolated plot of land in Montana, making a living by remote teaching[Read More…]
Do you remember the iconic Union Carbide image from the 1950s or early 1960s? The one with the giant hand coming from the sky, pouring pesticides onto Indian soil. The blurb below the image includes the following: “Science helps build a new India – India has developed bold new plans to build its economy and bring the promise of a[Read More…]
Social Environment is also crucial for Natural Environment, ignoring which no pious wish, no sci-tech can cure Nature Several species have shown their ability to change natural environment to some degree, Humans showed what maximum destructive changes can be done (an in some limited small-scale cases the opposite was tried). But ‘humans’ do not mean just a sum of some[Read More…]
Come 5 June, the world will once again be ‘celebrating’ ‘World Environment Day’! There will be the usual plethora of events, plenty of fanfare and with many competing for ‘photo-ops’ to show how much they are doing for the environment! There will be the ‘mad rush’ to plant saplings, for politicians to take to the broom, on streets which have[Read More…]
Who killed the baby? Who put fields on fire and why? Who spewed poisons in fresh village air? And, who robbed water underground? Moreover, will you only ban stubble burning without addressing the whole issue? An 18-month-old girl, Roopa, who stayed in hutments of migrant workers, was charred to death after a fire broke out in around 40 hutments in[Read More…]
Tigers and leopards are among the 10 apex predators most threatened by the world’s roads. Designed for speed and efficiency, roadways across the globe are effectively killing wildlife whose futures are intrinsically linked to the future of the planet: apex predators, those species including big cats like tigers and leopards who sit at the top of the food chain and[Read More…]
Birds are the most endearing friends of humanity, so why is it that we are hearing less often the Good Morning call of sparrows and why is it is increasingly more difficult to see the enchanting spectacle of a dancing peacock? A recent study stated that over the last 5 decades the number of birds declined by about 3 billion,[Read More…]
by Wes Jackson and Robert Jensen In a 1970 poster for the first Earth Day and a cartoon the following year, Walt Kelly’s Pogo offered a hard truth about ecological crises: “We have met the enemy and he is us.” That doesn’t mean there are no differences in individuals’ contribution to those crises. Landowners, not agricultural workers who harvest crops,[Read More…]
Former Monsanto Chairman and CEO Hugh Grant is currently in the news. He is trying to avoid appearing in court to be questioned by lawyers on behalf of a cancer patient in the case of Allan Shelton v Monsanto. Shelton has non-Hodgkin lymphoma and is one of the 100,000-plus people in the US claiming in lawsuits that exposure to Monsanto’s[Read More…]
Deomali is a huge bauxite mountain range in Koraput district of Odisha. It is the property of the people of Odisha as a whole. The mountain peak is called Mount Mali. It has 33 fountains. People are living on agriculture and for that they profusely rely on the water of the fountains. The Mali mountain belongs to everyone. So, the[Read More…]
In areas that experience more political tensions including those relating to conflicts, environmental problems tend to be sidelined and neglected. This can lead to less remedial actions than in other comparable areas, while problems continue to increase. This can be seen in Jammu and Kashmir. While environmental problems have been widely discussed in the context of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh,[Read More…]
Protecting the Ganga river is a cause dear to the heart of all Indians. Nowhere is the need for protection greater than near the origin of the Ganga river or Gangotri, in Uttarakhand Himalaya. So it is shocking to know that thousands of trees face the threat of being axed here in the near future. A strong national campaign is[Read More…]
by Dr Anupam Bhandari & Tristan Partridge Introduction The Chipko Movement is one of the most well-known popular movements in India, if not the world, and is frequently cited as an influence on subsequent activist groups – marking something of an environmental revolution in India. At root, it was the movement for saving trees in the Himalayan regions of Uttarakhand.[Read More…]
Over 3 million trees are cut in a year to pave the way for public infrastructure projects, according to official estimates. While replying to a question in Parliament in March the Environment Minster responded that nearly 31 lakh ( 3.1 million) trees were cut down for construction and development of public infrastructure projects across India in year 2020-21. He added[Read More…]
There has been a great surge of united actions by tribal communities against the Par-Tapi-Narmada River Link Project following which the central government and the Gujarat state government have suspended the project for the time-being. Apart from protests by tribal communities, the fact that the Congress party has extended its support to the opposition of this river-link project and that[Read More…]
The wood-pellet industry has full-scale operations smack dab in the heart of British Columbia’s Inland Temperate Rainforest, the last rainforest of its kind in the North. The fabled rainforest contains cedars of up to 12-15 feet in diameter and up to 2,000 years old. Its extraordinarily rich ecosystem is home to 2,400 plant species and numerous wildlife species. It is[Read More…]
by Thomas Klikauer and Meg Young Our world is rapidly moving towards the rather inevitable global insect apocalypse unless we stop the three enemies that got earth into a life-threatening trouble: a) the destruction of the natural habitat of insects – the concreting of nature; b) Big-Agro-Business’ rampant Über-use of insecticides and other deadly chemicals, i.e. no more chemical warfare[Read More…]
by Tzeporah Berman and Ina-Maria Shikongo The growing global outcry against the destruction caused by the oil and gas industry has pushed leaders to address their actions to fight the resulting climate and ecological crisis. Yet, the divergence between the ‘climate champion’ rhetoric—which was on full display at last year’s COP26 conference—and leaders’ concrete climate commitments needs to be scrutinized and put to test. The[Read More…]
Recently former legislator of Himachal Pradesh Bambar Thakur has made a strong indictment of indiscriminate and illegal tree felling at various places in Bilaspur District. He has pointed out very specific sites where such felling of trees has taken place. He has also alleged that when local persons have drawn attention to such felling no action has been taken and[Read More…]
In a country expert in killing off mammal species at a rate exceeding that of others (to be fair, there are so many more to destroy, with more to come), Australians now face the prospect that the koala, one of its most singularly recognisable animals, has its days numbered. Divergent attitudes to such animal species, notably indigenous ones, has been[Read More…]
Despite increasing budgets for water conservation and irrigation, real benefits are not reaching the villages of Bundelkhand region in Uttar Pradesh. Wrong priorities, poor planning, alienation from people and corruption have all combined to deny badly needed benefits of widely publicized government schemes to the long-suffering people of Bundelkhand. The recent revival of Kachnauda irrigation scheme in Lalitpur district[Read More…]
Factory farms are the Grim Reapers of civilization, inhumanely penning up and slaughtering cows, pigs, and chickens by the tens of millions, as well as unintentionally, but effectively, poisoning, maiming and/or killing birds, insects, amphibians, mammals, and crucial life-supporting ecosystems that are key to human life. And, it’s legal. Factory farms have suddenly arisen out of nowhere, e.g., in Iowa[Read More…]
I am the Agar wood or Oud tree that has been growing for more than 5 decades in the green campus of the heritage space in the city –the Residency and Guest house . It would be better to say that I “was the agar tree” because now I am just logs with little or no life left in me.[Read More…]
Man-made chemicals have exceeded the limits of safety for the planet. This statement comes from the first-ever major scientific warning based upon a study of the dangers posed by the flood of chemicals across the globe as three hundred fifty thousand (350,000) chemicals slosh throughout the planet. “We have overwhelming evidence of negative impacts on Earth systems, including biodiversity and[Read More…]
The 14 year old brother and 10 year old sister hurried with their mother across the crowded city to reach their grandmother’s shop by the road side . Most evenings they came here to help the grandmother pack up the containers and other materials, untie the long chain of masks that she sold ever since Covid phase and also drop[Read More…]
by Rosemary Mason and Colin Todhunter The volume of pesticide use and exposure is occurring on a scale that is without precedent and world-historical in nature. Agrichemicals are now pervasive as they cycle through bodies and environments. The herbicide glyphosate has been a major factor in driving this increase in use. These statements appear in a 2021 paper ‘Growing Agrichemical[Read More…]
The first step in reviewing any new legislation or amendment to an existing legislation, is to understand the intent and purpose of what is proposed. In reviewing the Biological Diversity (Amendment) Bill, 2021 as introduced in the Lok Sabha on December 9th, 2021, the intent and purpose are evident through the reading of the following: (i) Section 4 of[Read More…]
For a long time a gigantic and recklessly ambitious project proposed in India for linking about 37 rivers at 30 or more places had been largely dormant. Things started moving in its favor after the 2014 elections and the installation of the NDA government. Within about two years this project had been pushed ahead quite a bit.Now with the[Read More…]
The financial wizards of Wall Street have devised a new way to profit from Mother Nature. They’ve created a class of stocks called Natural Asset Companies that will control the earth’s resources such as water, wildlife, forests, minerals, and farmland. The project was developed by the Intrinsic Exchange Group in partnership with the New York Stock Exchange, the Inter-American Development[Read More…]
Ecocide must be elevated into an international crime—on a par with genocide and war crimes—and fall within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court. The first United Nations Scientific Conference on the Environment, also known as the First Earth Summit, was held in Stockholm, Sweden, from June 6-15, 1972. Ιt established a Declaration of Principles and adopted an action plan with recommendations for[Read More…]
In October 2020, Pesticide Action Network India and PAN Asia Pacific released the report ‘State of Glyphosate Use in India’. It concluded that the use of the world’s most widely used herbicide is rampant. Despite this, it noted that its disturbing effects on the environment and the health of farmworkers and the public are not being addressed (see: State of Glyphosate[Read More…]
The paradox of combating climate change is that the extent of the emergency extends far beyond the actions taken by individuals to mitigate the climate crisis, yet collective action is what is most required to address this issue. There are so many examples of this dilemma—from recycling to how power is being generated, to what people should consume. In each case, broad-based action is required[Read More…]
As children in Bangalore we always found dragonflies in the garden. Catching them by their papery wings we would cruelly tie strings to their tails. Seeing them sail about the garden with the strings trailing behind them, set us off into paroxysms of childish laughter. Those wonderful icons of our childhood which were found in abundance across the world are[Read More…]
On December 1, 2021, a bench of the Rajasthan High Court comprising Chief Justice Akil Qureshi and justice Sudesh Bansal ordered that notices be sent to the state government over rampant illegal mining of stone in the Thob village of Barmer district in Rajasthan. Over 20 letters have been written to local police, officials of the district administration and the[Read More…]
Environment is human right, said and resolved a recent UN meet. It’s a reiteration of an already discussed issue – essential to all of the human society. It’s a much important issue to the peoples in countries facing forces ravaging environment; and, ravaging of environment is an act against people as the act denies people’s right to life and existence.[Read More…]
If a bridge collapses soon after construction, the contractor would be blacklisted. If someone cheats a bank, they will not be allowed to manage public moneys, whether in a bank, mutual fund, insurer or even as a KYC processor. But if someone illegally mines our shared inheritance of mineral wealth, we wonder why there is no such prohibition. India’s National[Read More…]
by Thomas Klikauer and Meg Young About four million years ago, we departed from our closest ancestors – the chimpanzees. This allowed us to become what we are today: human beings, the upright walking homo erectus and homo faber – the toolmaking hominids. Crucially, this also means that we are descendants of the chimpanzees and not of the neighbors next door – the bonobos, who were mistakenly also known as[Read More…]
There is widespread agreement that a number of very serious environmental problems together threaten the future of our planet. These problems inter-act with each other, are related to each other and at a practical level, we and other species have to bear their combined burden at the same time. Despite this rather obvious reality the response to these problems[Read More…]
Major portions of the Amazon rainforest have shifted from a carbon sink to a carbon source. This shift has severe planet-wide negative implications. Studies of the Amazon Rainforest over the past decade have shown telltale signals of an impending shift from a carbon sink of heat-trapping gases to a source of greenhouse gases. It’s a dangerous shift that will destabilize[Read More…]
On November 1, United Nations Secretary General António Guterres opened his remarks at the UN COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, with these words: “The six years, since the Paris Climate Agreement, have been the six hottest years on record. Our addiction to fossil fuels is pushing humanity to the brink. We face a stark choice: either we stop it, or[Read More…]
The seasonal stream rolling down along the north-western boundary of our over a century old house in the small hill town of Bhimtal, suddenly became turbulent following the continuous down pour since the early morning of October18. Our house is situated in the lowermost terrace of an orchard that surrounds it. By 10 pm it had rained enough for the[Read More…]
In August 2019, in the middle of heavy monsoon rain and floods, my sister Sudakshina Sen (an avid wildlife photographer) and I arrived at the Western Ghats in southwest India, a global biodiversity hotspot. One day, we got stuck on the sinuous state highway SH-78, due to fallen trees on the road from the storm. Parked by the roadside was[Read More…]
If people in India are told that the Ganga and Jamuna meet in Bangladesh then they will not believe this easily as they know very well that the Ganga and the Yamuna/Jamuna meet at the famous sangam (confluence) near Prayagraj, or near the city of Allahabad, a very famous place of pilgrimage as well as tourist interest. However the fact[Read More…]
In 1871 photographer William Henry Jackson and painter Thomas Moran joined an expedition to the Yellowstone region of the United States, which they documented in a series of powerful and moving creative works. Soon after, Jackson’s and Moran’s images became the catalysts for Congress to designate the very first national park at Yellowstone. This little-known detail, that artists played a major[Read More…]
NAPM extends its full solidarity and support to the crucial 10-day long foot march undertaken by hundreds of adivasis from the Hasdeo region of Chhattisgarh to protect their forests and home lands from destructive coal mining. Starting from 4th October 2021, more than 250 Adivasi residents from 30 villages of the Hasdeo Aranya region of Surguja are currently marching[Read More…]
Snow geese, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico. After spending the winter in New Mexico, the snow geese go to the Arctic (Alaska, Nunavut, Siberia) for nesting and rearing their young. (Photo: Subhankar Banerjee, 1998). After a long stretch of public inattention, biodiversity conservation is a hot topic again, as if we had suddenly been jolted into awareness[Read More…]
Air pollutants are responsible for 7 million premature deaths a year worldwide, says the World Health Organization (WHO). The WHO has called it “one of the greatest environmental risks to health.” On 22 September 2021, the WHO has issued strict new standards for air pollution levels. Data suggests that the air in many regions across the U.S. contains much higher[Read More…]
In recent decades India has heard a lot about such appealing, consoling programs like the Ganga Action Plan, the Yamuna Action Plan, the National River Conservation Plan and finally Namami Gange. So it is all the more disturbing to know from recent reports and other indicators that the problem of river pollution remains serious, endangering health of human beings and[Read More…]
Today, September 26, 2021, is World Rivers Day. World Rivers Day is a global celebration of the world’s waterways, observed every year on the last Sunday in September. Established in 2005, it highlights the many values of rivers and strives to increase public awareness while encouraging the improved stewardship of rivers around the world. Rivers in every country face an[Read More…]
While we observe World Lung Day, let us also pay heed to the latest policy guidelines on one of the major preventable risk factors of deadliest of lung diseases: air pollution. The World Health Organization (WHO) has released its latest Air Quality Guidelines that after rigorous scientific review has lowered the maximum upper limit of six top deadly air pollutants.[Read More…]
This month, the leaders of nation states from around the world have been gathered in New York City to attend the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly. Covid, climate and biodiversity are among the topics they are expected to address. Indeed, on September 21, in his sobering yet passionate address to the assembly, UN Secretary-General António Guterres focused attention on all[Read More…]
Hundreds of environment defenders have been murdered in countries. Environment defenders face lethal attacks and violence. Global Witness in Last Line of Defence report said: In 2020, we recorded 227 lethal attacks – an average of more than four people a week – making it once again the most dangerous year on record for people defending their homes, land and[Read More…]
Instead of restoring the degraded Sukhatal, developmental authorities are converting the alive wetland into a dead swimming pool, thereby killing its wetland status forever and creating deadly repercussions for the Nainital Town. A wetland restoration project is expected to repair a degraded wetland back to its original and healthy condition. For this, the wetland is modified without disrupting its original[Read More…]
It seems utterly beyond debate but acknowledging legal rights to clean hair has assumed the makings of a slow march over the years. The 1956 Clean Air Act in Britain arose from the lethal effects of London’s 1952 killer smog, which is said to have taken some 12,000 lives. The Act granted powers to establish smoke-free zones and subsidise householders[Read More…]
Globally, bees and butterflies, the winged beauties of the insect-beasty world, are dying, vanishing from habitat and planet. Bees and butterflies are pollinators. Without them, there will be no flowers. But it does not stop there. The agricultural food chain of humanity collapses. A horrifying explosion of worldwide starvation then results. What happens when people are chronically hungry? What are[Read More…]
Half of Nagaland is degraded, flags new report Six states in northeastern India were among the top 10 places in the country with the highest rates of desertification between 2003 and 2018, according to a recent report. These are Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Tripura, Nagaland and Meghalaya. Punjab, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand in northern India also witnessed some[Read More…]
A recent report by Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) reveals that uranium contamination of groundwater is on the rise with Punjab and Haryana being the most affected. Groundwater continues to be extracted at frightening proportions in India and the fear of severe depletion of groundwater resources in the coming years is real. As if this is not enough, the available[Read More…]
Environmentalist and campaigner Dr Rosemary Mason recently wrote an open letter to the head of the Pesticides Unit at the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), Jose Tarazona. (Since this article was written, Jose Tarazona has stepped down from his position and the letter has been forwarded to his successors, Manuela Tiramani and Benedicte Vagenede.) Mason wrote to Tarazona because the[Read More…]
As the drive to expand renewable energy capacity speeds up, there is a rush for lithium and other materials around the world. What will the expansion of rare earth mining in Latin America mean for the indigenous communities and workers who have historically borne the harms of extractivism? Thea Riofrancos, author of Resource Radicals (Duke University Press, 2020), explains how the energy[Read More…]
The people of Kendrapada district of Odisha are fighting peacefully for last two years to save their river Kharasrota. This river is the lifeline of farmers, fishing communities and other communities living besides the river. The Kharasrota river is the source of life and livelihoods for the people of Odisha in general and people of Kendrapada and Jajpur in particular.[Read More…]
The Biden EPA has put a stop to use of the pesticide chlorpyrifos on food crops, thereby reversing a decision by the Trump administration to allow it to continue to be sprayed on vegetables and fruit in spite of an Obama administration order in 2015 to ban the pesticide for public health reasons. This is but one of many examples[Read More…]
While any new large-scale deforestation immediately attracts attention, the more insidious change of species often escapes attention and concern. However these changes can be very important. In particular if the share of broad-leaf species like the oak reduces significantly, then the soil and water conservation role as well as flood protection role of Himalayan and foothill forests will be lost[Read More…]
My city sits on the western edge of a body of water that has figured large in the nation’s history, Lake Erie. My wife and I are fortunate to live in the part of Toledo where the lake is literally our front yard. Grade school history classes, consisting mostly of memorizing wars and generals, taught that in the first battle[Read More…]
In one of his first acts in the White House, President Joe Biden signed an executive order to have the United States rejoin the Paris climate agreement. It signaled an important step in the country recommitting to action to tackle climate change after the Trump administration withdrew the United States from the accord and worked to roll back environmental regulations nationwide. Biden’s[Read More…]
On July 12, the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Secretariat released the first draft of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework, deleting what is arguably the most important enabling condition: “to consider, where appropriate, the rights of nature,” replacing this language with “employing rights-based approaches.” This framework would have been the first international treaty to recognize Nature’s rights. It was undoubtedly noteworthy that[Read More…]
Landslides are becoming increasingly frequent and destructive, and the last week of July 2021 has been particularly worrying in India in this context as within the span of a few days in Maharashtra, Western Ghats and Himalayan region landslides claimed over a 100 human lives. This is part of a rising trend of landslides becoming more destructive in India as[Read More…]
Marine Expert Statement Calling for a Pause to Deep-Sea Mining . Signed by 530 marine science & policy experts from over 44 countries The deep sea is home to a significant proportion of Earth’s biodiversity, with most species yet to be discovered. The richness and diversity of organisms in the deep sea supports ecosystem processes necessary for the Earth’s natural[Read More…]
To Shri Bhupender Yadav Minister Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change (MEFCC) Govt of India Dear Shri Yadav, Rarely do persons with such credible professional background as you have, especially in the highly specialised field of environmental jurisprudence, are asked to preside over the MEFCC. Let me welcome you to your new assignment, with the earnest hope and belief that you[Read More…]
In many fruit orchards exotic species are being introduced arbitrarily with a view to improving yields and income. However in the hurry to achieve these objectives it is often forgotten that exotic species can also lead to the introduction of new pests and predators as well as leading to extensive damage to native species. These exotics can be harmful for[Read More…]
Recent new initiatives of the Punjab government to bring real greenery to the state need to be widely welcomed. This state really needs environment protection, particularly as what was falsely called green revolution in farming caused such immense ( and entirely avoidable)ecological ruin. The new measures announced show much promise of increasing the overall green cover, and if adequate precaution[Read More…]
The National Green Tribunal has very recently given orders to the chief wildlife warden of Punjab and other related authorities to investigate the sudden mass death of about 400 parrots in Faridkot town of Punjab and take appropriate remedial action. However this mass death of parrots is not a one-time event. Bird-lovers and lawyers associated with them in Faridkot have[Read More…]
Background In 2017, hundreds of small-scale farmers and farm workers were poisoned – and over 20 died – in just a few weeks whilst spraying pesticides on cotton fields in the district of Yavatmal. A key product involved was the insecticide Polo, manufactured by Syngenta. The use of Polo’s active ingredient diafenthiuron is long banned in Switzerland and the European[Read More…]
NAPM strongly opposes the destruction of Buxwaha protected forest region in Madhya Pradesh, for proposed Bunder diamond mining project. Government must immediately withdraw all projects which threaten the ecological and socio-cultural significance of Buxwaha 5th July, 2021: NAPM condemns the decision of the Government of Madhya Pradesh to carry out the proposed Bunder diamond block in the Buxwaha protected forests[Read More…]
A number of articles and series of news stories have already appeared in the mainstream media regarding the exceptionally illogical, and troubling new rules and regulations of the recently appointed administrator of Lakshadweep, Praful Khoda Patel, who served earlier as a home minister in the Narendra Modi-led Gujarat government. The actions taken by the new administration received much attention in[Read More…]
On June 30 2021 Channel 4 broke the news of a senior Exxon Mobil lobbyist captured on camera explaining how US senators were roped into efforts to block climate change legislation. This should give us in India pause. Could such things be happening here too? In 2018, PM Narendra Modi was awarded the United Nations ‘Champion of the Earth’ award. Readers[Read More…]
He began on RN Breakfast by claiming that he, and his company, would be open and transparent about mining operations. But Lucas Dow, chief executive of Adani’s Australian operations, soon revealed in his June 25 interview that his understanding of transparency was rather far from the dictionary version. When asked how the Carmichael Coal Mine was getting its water, he[Read More…]
Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot announced in the last budget that a Fintech Park would come up in state capital Jaipur, attracting investment of about Rs3,000 crore. Over four lakh sq metres of land near the airport, adjoining the B2 Bypass and Tonk Road, would be allotted for it. “Many chartered accountants and IT professionals belonging to the state are[Read More…]
Why the demand for restoring river ecosystems by decommissioning highly disruptive dams is picking up? The Snake river in the USA has been declared the most endangered river of the country this year by the organization American Rivers. The main reason is that the various species of the wild salmon fish, the most critical species of the river system, have[Read More…]
A newly published analysis in the journal Frontiers in Environmental Science argues that a toxic soup of insecticides, herbicides and fungicides is causing havoc beneath fields covered in corn, soybeans, wheat and other monoculture crops. The research is the most comprehensive review ever conducted on how pesticides affect soil health. The study is discussed by two of the report’s authors,[Read More…]
To float over such an aqueous body is to find a majestic creature unparalleled in beauty and expanse, stretching at 2,300km. There are other stunning formations on the planet, but the Great Barrier Reef has such dimension, form and cocksure brilliance as to make others shrink, not so much because of beauty as due to sheer scale and ecological variety.[Read More…]
Today, the world is witnessing the Covid-19 pandemic, accompanied by other pandemics like the information pandemic (infodemic) and the Covid-19 waste pandemic. The burgeoning consumption and improper disposal practices of face masks by the community worldwide have given rise to a new environmental challenge. These materials are getting into waterways from where they reach the freshwater and marine environment, adding[Read More…]
Some four months ago, a devastating flood ravaged the Chamoli district in the Indian Himalayas, killing over 200 people. The flood was caused by a massive landslide, which also involved a glacier. Researchers at the University of Zurich, the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL) and ETH Zurich have now analyzed the causes, scope and impact[Read More…]
Many questions still remain unanswered by Assam forest department over the mysterious deaths of 18 wild Asiatic elephants on Bamunipahar in Nagaon locality on 12 May (as the authority claimed) because the final report rested on the assumption (not scientific analysis) that the bulky animals died due to electrocution by a major thunderbolt. Analysing many loopholes in the investigation report,[Read More…]
In the second major container ship accident in Sri Lankan waters in the past year, the X-Press Pearl, which was awaiting entry to Colombo port, caught fire on May 20 after a chemical leak. All attempts to douse the fire failed and the ship sank about 10 nautical miles off the west coast of Sri Lanka, creating major problems for[Read More…]
Italian police has found out that there are criminal syndicates, mainly the Camorra, involved in illegally hunting of date mussels in Naples, which is tearing down the reefs of Naples, mainly along the Amalfi coast and around the island of Capri. After three year long probe including wire taps, surveillance, and nearly hundred suspects, the police eventually cracked down with[Read More…]
To create global awareness about the importance of a healthy environment, world environment day is celebrated every year on June 5. Also known as, Eco day or simply Environment day, world environment day was established by UN General Assembly in 1972. Its celebrations are theme-based and each year a particular theme is declared by United Nations. The theme of first-world[Read More…]
The special theme of the World Environment Day observed on June 5 relates this year to the restoration of ecosystems, certainly a subject of very great importance in times of so much ecological ruin. It is even more encouraging, and of more durable value, that the United Nations has declared 2021-30 to be the UN Decade for Ecosystem Restoration and[Read More…]
There is an increasing realization that the mobilization of people on environmental issues will be increasingly important in the days and years to come. Left to themselves the world leadership will be unable to make some of the most important changes in time. So a considerable strengthening of environmental movement all over the world with a clearer vision and proper[Read More…]
Traditional Wisdom and Community Involvement Contribute Best to Saving Precious Drops of Water While the need for rainwater harvesting is now very widely recognized, the results achieved at many places are not very good. Hence there is much to learn from the experience of those organizations which have achieved high levels of success and repute in such efforts. Quite often[Read More…]
“ As long as river-sand was being used only for construction needs of village there was no problem at all in this use. Problems arose when sand started being mined from here to meet the massive needs of big cities.” We were sitting in a group meeting under a tree in Bundelkhand region. The subject was to prepare a memorandum[Read More…]
Bundelkhand region in Central India is spread over a vast area of 13 districts included in two states of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. In recent decades this region has increasingly been in news during to serious drought situations and water scarcity. A study some years back by a leading voluntary organization Vigyan Shiksha Kendra pointed out that it is[Read More…]
Disturbing reports have been appearing from several parts of the country of rivers ravaged by sand-mining mafias to the extent that the very survival of some of the smaller rivers serious harmed in this way has been threatened. Much of this mining is clearly illegal and controlled by powerful local mafias who do not hesitate to confront and even attack[Read More…]
The strong action by the Himachal Pradesh High Court, particularly the Chief Justice L. Narayana Swamy and Justice Anoop Chitkara has raised expectations that at long last there will be better care of life-giving trees and the decisions taken by these judges will become a trend-setter for further judicial as well as government actions for giving much more attention to[Read More…]
To the Kerala Government which assumed power on 20.05.2021 In 2018 when Kerala was struck by the worst ever flood of the century, beyond and above the tragedy and catastrophic consequences were raised many questions and suggestions about how this small State should be rebuilt. In 2021 a month ago before we queued up before the polling booths the same[Read More…]
Everyone likes birds. What wild creature is more accessible to our eyes and ears ,as close to us and everyone in the world as universal as birds David Attenborough A healthy planet and rich biodiversity are essential for our health and wellbeing. The emergence of COVID -19 has underscored the fact that when we destroy biodiversity, we destroy the system[Read More…]
Seaspiracy is a powerful new documentary about the hazardous, unruly world of industrial fishing and stomach-churning abuse, overuse, disregard for life, as shown on Netflix, released by Disrupt Studios March 24th 2021. The opening scene of the film sets the tone with a long-shot of an isolated fishing trawler at sea as the voice-over of a former fishing vessel crew[Read More…]
The Web of Life is under attack but almost nobody is aware because it’s happening mostly below surface. Scientists have identified a rampant worldwide Bugpocalypse that’s methodically killing the planet’s most significant and most crucial life support system, and it’s intentional! The victim is soil, which is the life source for 95% of the foods we cram down our throats[Read More…]
Respected Sri. E Sreedharan, you are welcome to wash your feet in Bharathapuzha now This note is written by someone who does not have any personal connection with you. We have spoken twice over phone. I contacted you in December 2017 with a request to speak in a convention organised by Bharathapuzha conservation committee at Pattamby Govt. Samskrutha college to[Read More…]
After sparking controversy in other countries including India, the technology of genetically engineered mosquitoes is now leading to widespread protests in Florida USA. Here the biotechnology giant company Oxitec in collaboration with local officialdom is moving ahead with a pilot project to release millions of genetically engineered mosquitoes in Monroe County over a period of two years or so. The[Read More…]
And out again, I curve and flow To join the brimming river, For men may come, and men may go, But I go on forever. The famous lines of the poem, ‘The Brook’ remind us of the beautiful river with sparkling water reflecting the rays of the sun on the bright sunny day and of our innocent childhood when we[Read More…]
On 9 April 2021, retired physician and health and environmental campaigner Dr Rosemary Mason wrote to the Danish Environmental Protection Agency (DEPA). She wanted to draw the agency’s attention to the findings that indicate the glyphosate-based herbicide Roundup causes high levels of mortality following contact exposure in bumblebees (glyphosate-formulated herbicides are the most widely used weedicides in agriculture across the[Read More…]
Till mid-April an extended spell of dry weather was causing deep concern in Himachal Pradesh. The state government was making preparations to meet drought-like conditions in a big part of the state. At several places an unprecedented number of forest fires had been reported even before the onset of summer. Several villages and even urban settlements had already started suffering[Read More…]
The ‘New Deal’ part of the Green New Deal is mostly good and necessary. But the ‘Green’ part has a big hole at its center: the lack of a direct mechanism to rapidly reduce the use of fossil fuels in the economy; therefore, it cannot guarantee their elimination on a crash deadline. It relies instead on an erroneous assumption that[Read More…]
Last year, BJP and Congress quarrelled over who was responsible for establishing Asia’s largest Solar Plant at Pavagada Taluk in Tumkur district of Karnataka. BJP claimed the largest solar park was in Rewa, Madhya Pradesh, which is now controlled by the party. Meanwhile, Congress said it was responsible for developing the largest solar park at Pavagada. D K Shivakumar, Karnataka[Read More…]
The people of Navalewadi village in Pune district awoke to the panic-stricken roars of a leopard on Tuesday morning. A healthy two-year-old female leopard had been splashing around in a 25-feet-deep well, and seemed exhausted. The villagers alerted the forest department. A team of four, comprising forest staff joined by members of NGO Wildlife SOS was dispatched to the spot.[Read More…]
As the summer advances, there are increasing reports of acute drinking water shortages from many villages. A recent report from Himachal Pradesh, for example, says that over 400 drinking water schemes of Shimla and over 220 schemes of Mandi have been hit by a spell of dry weather. This is the situation in early April and the situation is likely[Read More…]
Since March 2020, a struggle has been waged by Karbi and Adivasi farmers of Mikir Bamuni Grant village in Nagaon district of Assam against the forceful takeover of their lands for the purpose of constructing a solar power plant by Azure Power Forty Private Limited. In each formal statement Azure Power continues to parrot that they are not in violation[Read More…]
Apple orchards have been highly prioritized in the development path adopted by several Himalayan regions. So it is important to emphasize that the apple orchards t should opt for more sustainable paths, instead of going in for hurried ways which may prove to be costly later and cause ecological ruin as well. The creation of apple orchards over large areas[Read More…]
Butterflies are recognized the world over as the most beautify insects. Just watching them fly or sitting on a flower is such a source of joy. Children can spend a long time doing just this, or running after them. Just as I was writing this, I heard a few children call out. They were looking with undiluted joy at a[Read More…]
A silent crisis that has been building up over recent decades may ultimately assume the form of one of the biggest risks to world food and farming system if allowed to proceed unchecked. An increasing number of scientists and conservationists are issuing warnings on the basis of urgency that if the many-sided risks for bees, butterflies, moths, humming birds, other[Read More…]
Humanity has reached a critical decade A new report, published on 14 March, 2021 in the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences’ journal Ambio, points out that humanity is hurtling towards destruction unless we have the collective wisdom to change course quickly. Here is a link to the article: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13280-021-01544-8 The Ambio article was written as part of the preparation of[Read More…]
Valuing Water is the theme of the 29th World Water Day this year. Valuing Water and Enabling Change also happened to be the theme of the Annual Report of the World Economic Forum’s 2030 Water Resources Group (now hosted by the World Bank) last year. Clearly, no one who ever had to go without a glass of water for a few hours on a hot summer day needs to[Read More…]
Even though so many mighty rivers flow in Himalyan region which take water to such vast plains , it is a fact that many Himalayan villages face increasing and acute water problems. While generally these become more acute in the summer season, this year water shortages started being reported from earlier days in Himachal Pradesh, reflecting a wider trend. A[Read More…]
This year much higher incidence of forest fires has been reported from Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. Generally the risk becomes high only in the summer season but this year the risk started during winter and has already recorded very high damage at the time of writing on April 4. To get an idea of the extent of damage let us[Read More…]
In recent years the Matra Sadan Ashram in Hardwar has emerged as a hub of efforts of saints and activists for protection of Ganga river. So far three saints associated with Matra Sadan have died here fasting for protection of Ganga , while at the time of writing two other saints have been on fast for several weeks. One saint[Read More…]
The first stories of Chipko ( hug the trees to save them from felling) movement came from Chamoli district in Garhwal region where Gaura Devi and other hill women chased away workers who had come to fell trees. However by the late 1970s when as a young reporter I started writing on this movement, consciousness regarding this movement had spread[Read More…]
A BASIC UNANSWERED PHILOSOPHICAL QUESTION An always basic, on-going, unanswered philosophical question is: Are human beings in the 21st century truly capable of learning how to live side-by-side one another in relative perpetual harmony with the natural world that surrounds them? From time to time over the years the historic Bowser Nature Trail, and its fragile greenbelt escarpment slope, located[Read More…]
To Shri R P Gupta Secretary Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MEFCC) Govt of India Dear Shri Gupta, I understand from a Down to Earth news report (https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/forests/draft-amendment-to-forest-conservation-act-may-dilute-protection-to-forests-76145) that your Ministry is about to issue several crucial amendments to the Forest Conservation Act which exempt from its purview a wide range of projects (“strategic”, “linear” projects) and introduce[Read More…]
African Elephants are such magnificent animals that when the IUCN press-note popped up on my email, my heart plummeted to read that they are critically endangered and endangered. The note attributes the decline over several decades due to poaching for ivory and loss of habitat. The African forest elephant is now listed as Critically Endangered and the African savanna elephant[Read More…]
Although dam related issues of Uttarakhand have been receiving more attention at the national level, there are serious dam related concerns in the neighboring state of Himachal Pradesh as well. To give just one example, so many years have passed since the displacement of many villagers from the submergence area of Pong Dam, but their serious problems still continue and[Read More…]
On 19th March I along with Ananta , social activist, Advocate Pradosh Mohanty and Adv. Gaiendra Pradhan visited the villages like Kandadhuda, Beleimunda and Ratanpur in Hemagiri Block of Sundargarh District severally affected by acute pollution by MCL coal transport since 2012. We met with villagers including women who were ill treated, beaten by the police as well as school[Read More…]
Protecting Natural Forests, Regenerating, Mimicking Old Forests to Create New Ones Today March 21 is UN International Day of Forests , also called World Forestry Day. While protection of natural forests has always been very important, at no other time was this more important than in present time with its unprecedented threat of climate change and survival crisis, many sided[Read More…]
We should be much more cautious about the loss of such sweet friends We are aware of some losses and we take steps to prevent them. But some losses occur over a longer period of time and we realize only too late that we have lost something very precious. Such is the feeling that millions and millions of human being[Read More…]
To Shri R P Gupta Secretary Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change (MEFCC) Govt of India Dear Shri Gupta, Please read this letter in continuation of my earlier letter dated 19-3-2021 on imprudence on the part of your Ministry allowing ex-post facto approvals for projects coming up in violation of the CRZ notification. I have had an opportunity to[Read More…]
To Shri R P Gupta Secretary Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change (MEFCC) Govt of India Dear Shri Gupta, I have just come across a disturbing news report that your Ministry has issued orders permitting industrial projects to obtain post-facto CRZ clearances (https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2021/mar/18/centre-allows-projects-to-obtain-post-facto-coastal-regulation-zone-clearance-2278359.html). If this report is factually correct, I am afraid that, by issuing such a[Read More…]
In 2016, when CEO Ata Safdar of Reckitt Benckiser, a UK-based firm, offered an apology to all those who had been affected by a toxic product that his firm sold in South Korea, an angry relative of one of the victims slapped him – an act caught on camera. RB’s toxic humidifier disinfectant had caused over 1,500 deaths, many of[Read More…]
Why Has Humanity Been Most Cruel Towards These Creatures Who Have Served Most Selflessly? If there was a prize for guessing the name of the life form which has served humanity ( as well the overall life-nurturing conditions of our planet)in the most valuable way with the greatest continuity and most selflessly, then perhaps very few will venture to suggest[Read More…]
March 2, 2021 was the five year anniversary of the murder of Berta Cáceres, who opposed the Agua Zarca dam in Honduras. That date was less than one month after the deaths of dozens of people from Dam disaster in Uttarakhand, India. The two stories together tell us far more about consequences of the insatiable greed of capitalism for more[Read More…]
Indian climate activist Disha Ravi was arrested by the police on 13 February 2021. The Government of India has charged her with sedition. As is common, the case will drag on for years and she would have to attend innumerable hearings – torture in itself. Already, she has spent ten days behind bars before being bailed out on February 23.[Read More…]
To, The Union Minister of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Govt. of India, New Delhi The Union Minister of Tribal Affairs, Govt. of India, New Delhi The Chief Minister of Odisha, CMO, Bhubaneswar Subject: Halt the Expansion of the Kulda Mines, Odisha; Safeguard the Land and Livelihoods of Adivasis and Ensure Compliance with Environmental Norms. Sirs,[Read More…]
Ecocide is the destruction of large areas of the natural environment as a consequence of human activity. That destruction of “large areas” has grown so conspicuously large, so threatening to all species, including human existence, that a group of international legal experts is working to submit a draft of a new law “Ecocide” to the International Criminal Court (“ICC”) at[Read More…]
There is a huge tectonic place below the land mass of India known as “Indian Plate.” The rotation of the earth is causing this plate to continually move northward just like any matter moves to the top in a centrifugal machine. The Indian Plate crashes into the Tibetan Plate as it moves to the north. The pressure between these two[Read More…]
NAPM condemns the state violence and the attempt to stifle the voices of farmers expressing their concerns regarding NIMZ – Zaheerabad, Telangana.Review the process of massive land acquisition and flawed ‘public hearing’ for NIMZ – Zaheerabad: Address all concerns raised by farmers, affected people, scientists and activists NAPM is disturbed by the increasing number of instances of blatant police[Read More…]
Disaster struck Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district on 7 February 2021 morning after a portion of the Nanda Devi glacier broke off. The sudden flood in Dhauli Ganga, Rishi Ganga and Alaknanda tributaries of the Ganga caused death of over 50 persons and nearly 150 workers missing till 15 February, 2021. Most were workers in different projects in the area, along with[Read More…]
A week back while I sat in the car waiting for my father, outside the branch of a commercial bank, I noticed a young man walking on the pavement. He was drinking soda from a green, plastic bottle that he thoughtlessly chucked at the corner of the pavement after chugging the soda in a hurry. I watched the urgency in[Read More…]
Following the terrible disaster in Uttarakhand questions are likely to be raised once again regarding the safety and desirability of the many dams and hydel projects in the Himalayan region. What started as a natural disaster got much aggravated due to the various complications created by hydel projects and their tunnels., The workers and employees of these projects appear[Read More…]
Villages in Challakere taluk, Chitradurga district of Karnataka have been impacted by the illegal and unscientific diversion of nearly 10,000 acres of pristine Amrit Mahal Kaval grasslands to create a Science City. Kavals are unique ecological landscapes that are dominated by grasses and are perhaps the gene banks of future staples. They support livelihoods that are carbon neutral. But unfortunately,[Read More…]
When we see all around that so much is being said and done in the name of environment protection, it seems very surprising that on the whole environment protection is not really progressing and environmental conditions are in fact deteriorating from the point of view of most indicators. This situation can be better understood if we see clearly the different[Read More…]
Researchers finding microplastic in the placenta of pregnant women buzzes precursor alarms to life on earth. Plastic has prevailed in every sphere of the planet earth, from deepest trenches in the ocean to the highest mountains; even the mother’s womb could not escape plastic. By 2040, scientists estimated that earth would be dumped with 1.3 billion tonnes of plastic, in[Read More…]
On January 6, 2021, as many of us in the United States were glued to TV watching the horrors of the insurrection against the U.S Capitol, the AFP News in France posted, on its Facebook page, an infographic built with data provided by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which “confirmed the extinction in 2020 of 36 plant[Read More…]
The future of the world’s largest rainforest looks bleak. A new report for Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development concluded that the Amazon rainforest will collapse and largely become a dry, shrubby plain by 2064. Development, deforestation and the climate crisis are to blame, study author and University of Florida geologist Robert Toovey Walker found, UPI reported. Walker reviewed recent research, offering that heavy development in Amazonian[Read More…]
Sanitation has been perhaps the weakest link in the urban development effort of India. The path towards better cities involves above all a big breakthrough in decentralized sanitation solutions and linking these with increasing greenery. First and perhaps foremost, there should be waste segregation at source level, whether home or workplace, so that we have at least four categories –[Read More…]
Written by Sandeep Pandey, Shobha Shukla and Bobby Ramakant 16.7 lakh people died in India in 2019 because of air pollution accounting for 17·8% of the total deaths in the country (source: The Lancet Planetary Health). Air pollution was the 4th leading risk factor for premature death globally, accounting for nearly 12% of all deaths, with more than 6.67 million in[Read More…]
While the social benefits of ecologically protective, organic and/or natural farming are so obvious, it is sometimes said that in economic terms this may not be so beneficial for farmers and this thinking becomes a big hurdle in the spread of ecologically protective farming. However the advocates of ecologically protective farming and low external input farming give several important reasons[Read More…]
It is certainly good news that the United Nations has declared 2021-30 to be the UN Decade for Ecosystem Restoration. At the outset as a justification for this it can be stated without risk of contradiction that the need for ecosystem restoration was never greater than in present times. There has been so much devastation, and taken together this has[Read More…]
All aware citizens know the state of Bangladesh environment. Bangladesh courts of law regularly rule in favor of environment. Bangladesh media cover the area every day. Bangladesh environment activists regularly stand for environment. The commoners take care of environment and nature within their capacity, which is chained by capitals. And, some capitals regularly, everyday and all the time, exploit and[Read More…]
The dying state of Indian rivers calls for serious actions by the public and the government at large During my recent conversation with Mr. Tapas Das, I was shocked to know the sorry state of the rivers in our country. While he mentioned that the water flow in Ganga reduced by as much as 57% in most parts between 1975[Read More…]
Written by Aastha Dhiman, Mitesh Rajput and Ravneet Kaur Solid waste management in India is one of the most misunderstood topics in the country. It is one of the most pertinent issues due to the wave of rapid urbanization and subsequent lifestyle changes that come across along with it. The per capita waste generation of urban areas in India is[Read More…]
Am I doing my part in protecting the environment? Am I entirely aware of how to do the required? Are the government’s policies in favour of the protection of the environment or corporate-driven? Is media bringing the relevant environmental issues in front of me? These are just a few questions, and there are many more which come in our mind[Read More…]
For the past two decades, 75-year-old Swami Shivanand Saraswati has been an eco-champion, fighting for the cause of protecting the holy river, fasting with fellow seers of Matri Sadan, and most importantly posing the right questions for the decision-makers. Surviving on just five glasses of water and living at a small forest-ashram in Haridwar, environmental advocates like Swami Shivanand Saraswati[Read More…]
Environment can’t escape contradictions. Exploitative economy with its antagonistic connections to environment creates antagonistic contradictions with and within environment; and, the antagonistic contradictions are inescapable in the economy. Capitalism intensifies the contradictions. Two revolutionaries, Marx and Engels find: “Our own age, the bourgeois age […] has simplified class antagonism. More and more, society is splitting into two great hostile camps,[Read More…]
The River Ganga is facing challenges of preserving ecological integrity due to declining flow and degrading water quality primarily due to pollution, illegal mining & quarrying of rocks, and unsustainable ways of constructing dams and barrages in the foothills of the Himalayas. Also, the ongoing and planned construction of hydroelectric projects on the river Ganga and its tributaries in the[Read More…]
Have you ever noticed, what is your source of information? From where do you get the daily news? Is it social media, TV news or newspaper? Irrespective of the news, do you think you get all sort of information which is of monumental importance to you and the society? Well, I think, in the world where we have got ourselves[Read More…]
Water might become the most sought-after commodity in the world and the most traded resource on the exchanges if the depletion and mismanagement of water resources continue at the present rate. Several cities around the globe have become ground zero, and many are on the verge of falling into this category. India is a land where water resources are revered[Read More…]
“Dadi Canal is to the Dochnipora what Indus was to the Harrapan Civilization and Nile to the Egyptian Civilization” The Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir is situated in the subtropical and sub- temperate latitudes hence is characterized with great variations in terrain and altitudes. Consequently, it experiences the extremes in the mean monthly and annual range of temperatures. The[Read More…]
In the land where people worship nature and treat plants, trees, animals, and rivers as Gods and Goddesses, India performs abysmally low on environmental indicators. India is the second most polluted country after China. Moreover, 21 out of 30 cities around the world with the worst air quality are in India (Regan, 2020). According to the IQAir quality index, Kolkata[Read More…]
Whenever we hear about serious problems relating to farmers and farming and how to resolve them, we hear this generally in the context of three versions. One version is of existing and upcoming big business interests who want to have an increasing role and ultimately domination in the farming sector. The second version is of the government which while supporting[Read More…]
Just as it takes grit and perseverance to break the mighty mountains, standing up to the oppressor demands conviction, solidarity and sustained agitations. Dhinkia, a small village in the costal district Jagatsinghpur of the Odisha state is a living testimony to this. Famous for its sweetest paan (betel vines), the village (also a Gram Panchayat) for decades has seen the[Read More…]
The return of Lord Rama from Lanka to Ayodhya after defeating Ravana was celebrated by lighting diyas, earthen lamps etc. And historically speaking, this is the primary reason behind celebrating Diwali or Deepawali, although different communities have different reasons for celebrating the same. Even if we flip over the pages of our books, we would find the mention of the[Read More…]
As these are increasing warnings of distinguished scientists against Genetically Modified (GM) crops, the strong GM lobby led by some of the biggest corporate interests (who are bent on dominating world food system using GM technology) is now using several tricks to find a way past these warnings based on growing scientific evidence against GM crops. Dr. Pushpa M.[Read More…]
“Djab Wurrung women are in an abusive relationship with Victoria’s government.” Sissy Eileen Austin, The Guardian, Sep 14, 2019 It was a penultimate day in the Australian state of Victoria. The state government had announced that some of harshest coronavirus lockdown restrictions in the developed world would be easing. Melbourne’s restaurants, bars and cafes could resume inviting customers through their[Read More…]
To Shri R P Gupta Secretary Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change (MEFCC) Government of India Dear Shri Gupta, The National Environment Policy, 2006 (NEP) emphasises the need to conserve the rich biodiversity heritage of the country in the following statements. “Pay explicit attention to the potential impacts of development projects on biodiversity resources and natural heritage.[Read More…]
What is the price of this view? One of our big challenges in wildlife conservation is to stop poaching and habitat degradation which leads to animal human conflict which always has only one ending, destruction of the animal. The backbone of the conservation team in a Reserve Forest or a National Park is the Forest Guard. This individual lives inside[Read More…]
Yeah! You!! What are you doing in my home? Let me introduce you to the tiger. He is not an object. He is not a spectacle. He does not exist for your pleasure or like all politicians, for photo ops. He is not living in your land; you are encroaching on his. The tiger (gender neutral term as it refers[Read More…]
As of September 29th, Brazil’s Bolsonaro government has fired the civilian-run National Institute for Space Research (INPE), which has monitored the Amazon rainforest for the past three decades. INPE is being replaced (drumroll please) by the Brazilian military as the new watchdog over the world famous rainforest. Voila, worldwide concerns about deforestation are… ah… indeterminate, vague, unspecified. All along, the[Read More…]
Machines are not bodies. A body knows how it feels, a machine does not. The goal and purpose of life for humans and other living beings is to create and contribute to the peace and harmony in our environment so that we can be in touch with the feelings in our bodies and in those around us. To be happy[Read More…]
“Only the Dead Have Seen the End of War” – Plato. This wisdom is as valid today as it was 2,500 years ago. Wars go on and on. They are exactly the anti-dote of sustainability. Though, they may be the only “sustainability” modern mankind knows – endless destruction, killing, shameless exploitation of Mother Earth and its sentient beings, including humans.[Read More…]
Cotton is the only genetically modified (GM) crop that has been officially approved in India and has been cultivated (illegally then legally) in the country for more than 20 years. Although GM mustard has been approved for commercial cultivation by India’s apex regulatory body for GM crops (the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee, GEAC), a public interest litigation led by Aruna[Read More…]
Letter to the Prime Minister E.A.S.Sarma Maharanipeta Visakhapatnam To Shri Narendra D Modi Prime Minister Dear Shri Modiji, India’s groundwater resources have come under severe stress as a result of increasing pressure on the same for urban water needs in cities and towns and from irrigation requirements in the rural areas. In many parts of the country, the rate of[Read More…]
Amazon Day, a day of celebration for over 100 years on September 5th has passed. Amazon Day commemorates the year 1850 creation of the Province of Amazonas, encompassing 60% of Brazil and extending into Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela, and French Guyana. Meanwhile, illegal fires in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest rage on, and on, and on stronger than ever.[Read More…]
Many of us – the readers of Countercurrents – are eating plastic although we do not buy the plastic for eating. There are incidents of recalling of several food items, because there were traces of plastic in those foods items. Almost 60,000 pounds of Pilgrim’s Pride chicken nuggets were recalled back in June because they may contain plastic. Now, scientists have found[Read More…]
500 academics, scientists and researchers from India, across various educational institutes, have written an open letter to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change listing their concerns with the Draft Notification of the ‘Environmental Impact Assessment’ 2020. Together, the signatories come from over 130 research institutes and universities, including the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Indian Institutes of[Read More…]
An eastern bluebird perches on a branch, watching the ground As the bleary summer days are coming to an end, lately I have been thinking a lot about birds and nature in general. Because of the ongoing pandemic due to the coronavirus when all normal activities have been rerouted, we are finding alternatives to live our day, and such thoughts[Read More…]
Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. -Voltaire Humanity has been the witness of glory and upheavals since history. A history that has long been constructed to corner the reality that stalks now and then. Utmost resistance of reality also leads to an explosion, explosion of fragmented truth, which if given a shape from the[Read More…]
How Mumbai’s new coastal road poses a threat not only to the environment and fishing communities but also to sites of historical, religious and cultural importance. The Haji Ali dargah as work proceeds on the Coastal Road project. | Photo credit: Aaran Patel. Every city, every place on earth is defined by characteristics, landmarks, or certain quirks of nature which[Read More…]
Ignorance can be the best escapism, but if we are cognizant about the history of agriculture and the morphology of earth, we will know that a spectre haunts the living today. The spectre of science in proliferating scientificity and genealogy of knowledge on food production haunt us today. Food for self is transformed into food for others under the realm[Read More…]
The draft environmental impact assessment (EIA) notification 2020 proposed by the Indian Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change dilutes further the current EIA Notification 2006. Proposed changes in the name of “ Ease of doing business” relax further and totally overhaul the environmental clearance system to benefit large corporations and mining MNCs. Many of the proposed clauses in the[Read More…]
Reports on the Adani group’s projects worldwide show massive illegalities, ecological and environmental destruction, human rights violation, tax evasion, money laundering and corruption. An ongoing coal based thermal power project in India which will supply its entire power to Bangladesh and import coal from Adani’s Carmichael mines in Australia, points to crony capitalism, exploitation, corruption and violation of laws. Who[Read More…]
A report said: “Siberia, the proverbial coldest place, […] is experiencing record warm temperatures, melting sea ice, and massive wildfires — changes to the environment that even the scientists most urgently tracking the climate crisis didn’t expect to see for another several decades.” (Bridget Read, “The Arctic is on fire, and we should all be terrified”, The Cut, July 6,[Read More…]
Given the inability or unwillingness of the government to convene a monsoon session of parliament in time, people’s movements and groups are organizing an online Janta Parliament with 11 thematic sessions various public interest issues from 16-21st August. Today, in the Environment session of the Janta Parliament, about 30 speakers from various parts of India presented their views on the[Read More…]
On 6 July 2020, an article extolling the benefits of genetically modified (GM) crops appeared on the BloombergQuint website based on an interview with Dr Ramesh Chand, a member of the key Indian Government think tank Niti Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India) . On 17 July, another piece that placed a positive spin on GM crops and gene editing[Read More…]
E Urbanization and industrialization has taken over the world in the name of development , which lead to a rapid decline in our environmental treasure. In order to curtail this environmental depletion, the Government has introduced an assessment that controls the utilization, acquisition, and usage of natural resources by employing the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA). This assessment is mandatory for[Read More…]
Scientists and environmental groups have expressed alarm after new data revealed there were 28 percent more fires in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest this July compared with the same time last year. Satellite images released by INPE, Brazil’s space research agency, on Saturday revealed 6,803 fires in the Amazon last month. There were 5,318 in July 2019. Citing official data, a Reuters[Read More…]
Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) is a regulatory process that aims to strike a balance between economic development and the environment. However, with the recent publication of Draft EIA Notification in March 2020, this balance has been disrupted. It allegedly strikes upon the foundations of the EIA process and emphasizes more on facilitating ease of doing business than the conservation of[Read More…]
Since I was a child in the 1980’s I have heard calls to protect the Amazon. I remember watching videos of massive trees being cut down, soil washed away, and areas of lush forest burnt and cleared. I was told McDonalds was the villain, as the land was being destroyed for cattle farming, soy monoculture and fast-food burgers. As a[Read More…]
Amidst the corona virus pandemic, the government of India (The Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change) unveiled the Environment Impact Assessment 2020 draft to the public in March 2020 seeking to replace the 2006 version of the law. The latest draft has already created a lot of hype amongst the concerned citizens, with many environmental activists and climate[Read More…]
Co-Written by Surabhi Agarwal, Lubna Sarwath and Sandeep Pandey Disregarding Ravi Chopra’s Recommendations on the Chardham Project Will Destroy the Already Fragile and Threatened Ecology of the Himalayan Region The ecologically sensitive citizens had barely recovered from the excruciating death of Professor G.D. Agrawal aka Swami Gyan Swaroop Sanand, who gave up his life after a 112 days of fasting[Read More…]
There is a welcome awareness about the need to protect tigers in the wild and the wild places they live. Welcome even more because it comes now at a time when the tiger population in India (numbers are even more elusive and ephemeral than the tiger) has fallen from 100,000 in 1900’s to less than 3000 today. Frankly, one needs[Read More…]
The British government, regulators and global agrochemical corporations are colluding with each other and are thus engaging in criminal behaviour. That’s the message put forward in a new report written by environmentalist Dr Rosemary Mason and sent to the UK Environment Agency. It follows her January 2019 open letter to Werner Baumann, CEO of Bayer CropScience, where she made it clear[Read More…]
As India went into a lockdown to prevent the spread of the Covid 19, we witnessed a different kind of opening-up of our Protected Areas. As we worked from home, we were greeted with reports of several controversial projects being given a go-ahead in and around some of the most biodiverse regions, ironically by the Standing Committee of the very[Read More…]
At Cerrejon (Colombia), the largest open-pit coal mine in Latin America owned equally by BHP (Australia), Anglo American PLC (United Kingdom) and Glencore (Switzerland), the situation of the indigenous people is progressively worsening. Cerrejon Limited has informed the workers that “all the existing shifts will be unified into a single 7-day work, for three days off.” With the enforcement of the new shifts, “workers[Read More…]
The death of John Lewis is a reminder that power concedes nothing without a struggle and that social and ecological justice is a consequence of generational efforts. Building a fair, just, and prosperous ecological future, rooted in social and ecological justice means fundamental change of how we treat one another, how we govern, how we work, how we protect and[Read More…]
In Chile, the Covid-19 pandemic is raging with an unprecedented speed. There are more than 300,000 confirmed cases with one of the highest per capita infection rates of 13,000 cases for every 1 million people. The economy is severely experiencing the repercussions of Coronavirus-caused restrictions and the historically high national unemployment rate of 11.2% is an indicator of such damage. Chileans have took to the[Read More…]
Background The conservation of endangered carnivores is critical to maintaining the structure and balance of diverse ecosystems. Today, drivers of ecosystem change such as climate change, overexploitation of habitats, and land-use change are pushing many vulnerable species towards extinction at alarming rates. The Asiatic cheetah is one such species that roamed the grasslands of India before it was declared extinct[Read More…]
Respected Sri Narendra Modi ji, We understand that the Union Ministry of Coal is going ahead with the auction of 41 coal blocks in MP, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Jharkhand and Maharashtra and that the private players to whom those coal blocks will be allotted will have the freedom to mine the coal and put it to any end-use they wish. Apparently,[Read More…]
A long series of never-ending dystopias have generated during the COVID 19 pandemic. The mega corporates from time immoral have quenched their thirst by exploiting and extracting resources from the earth without anticipating risks and harm. The dystopias of mishaps in various industrial units have led to corporate wrongdoing in our country. The saga of catastrophes from Chhattisgarh gas leak[Read More…]
Co-Written by Aamir Altaf & Nisar Wani The earth , the air, the land and the water are not an inheritance from our forefathers but on loan from our children . so we have to handover to them at least as it was handed over to us. (M.K. Gandhi) Lal Koul a canal flow from Bumhama through Drugmulla, shalpora,[Read More…]
I’ve known rivers: I’ve known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow of human blood in human veins. My soul has grown deep like the rivers – Langston Hughes A bridge is always beautiful. This bridge is located in Ghorashal, Narshingdi, Bangladesh on Shitalakhya River Until the Harvard College admission acceptance letter came I did not see[Read More…]
The British conservationist Gerald Durrell once remarked that the koala was “the most boring of animals”. Its brain size, proportionally the smallest of any mammal, evolved to cope with its slow metabolism. But the spectacle of these singed, toasted animals was a terrifyingly cruel one to behold. As good stretches of Australia burned over the last bushfire season, the sheer[Read More…]
We understand war through the sound of bullets and the sight of dead bodies of soldiers. If someone asks the people of the border areas, many facets of the war will be revealed, beyond media coverage, official reports, and hyped-up patriotism. War can sometimes take the form of a flash flood or that of a drought. These are not wars[Read More…]
Municipal authorities mercilessly chopping grass in parks in Mumbai and elsewhere are doing a distinct disservice to the city, to Nature and to people who love to walk on grass which is not only fun but also immensely beneficial to health. Mr Praveen Pardeshi, the former municipal commissioner of Mumbai, had a good understanding of these issues. Thick grass is[Read More…]
Two large blobs of dust blown off of Africa’s Sahara Desert – which some experts say could be the biggest and most intense Saharan plume in 50 years – are on their way to North America, driven by the same high-pressure system that pushes hurricanes across the same route. The largest is already over the Gulf of Mexico and parts[Read More…]
If I were to be asked ‘What is the most pressing problem faced by the world today?’ I would not say Covid-19. Not terrorism or nuclear proliferation either. No, not even the Hollywood’s favorite end-of-the-world events: alien invasions, zombie apocalypse etc. It is the problem regarding which we are most inadvertent: the irreversible damage we are causing to this delicate[Read More…]
Stop Corporate Loot in Eco-Sensitive & V Schedule Adivasi Areas of Central & Eastern India Objections by 3 State Governments & People’s Movements must be considered by PM Urgent Rethink Needed on Anti-Climate ‘Coal-Centered’ Energy Economy! 24th June, 2020: National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM) condemns the diabolical design of the current regime, led by the Prime Minister to ‘virtually[Read More…]
The theme for this year’s Environment Day was ‘Time for Nature’. The global community chose to celebrate biodiversity in 2020 for its innumerous contributions. Primarily, biodiversity is relevant for food, water, timber, medicine, intrinsic value, religious beliefs, tourism, and life-supporting system. However, in this pandemic era, it has got even more to offer. Before discussing the impacts of COVID-19 on[Read More…]
Kerala must lead by example in environmental & forest governance: Protect Western Ghats, Chalakudy River & Adivasi Livelihoods National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM) calls upon the Govt. of Kerala to immediately withdraw its ‘revived’ proposal to construct the ecologically destructive Athirappilly Hydro Electric Project (HEP) in the heart of the Western Ghats. We take strong exception to the recent[Read More…]
The central government today initiated the auction of 41 coal blocks, including 20 of Jharkhand, for commercial mining. It again exposes the crony capitalism of the government. Ironically, the move, touted as an atmanirbhar initiative, takes away all ownership rights of the land owners and Gram Sabhas and opens up natural resources for more corporate plunder. It is deeply worrying[Read More…]
Dear Baiju, Wonder where you are…but somewhere inside the minds of some of your friends we know that you are there walking your gentle and quick steps like the swift barking deer in the dense undergrowth of the cool evergreens of Vazhachal along the Chalakkudy River close to your family – your mother, wife and 3 children you gifted to [Read More…]
The University College , Thiruvananthapuram, is one of the oldest and prestigious Institutions of Higher Education in India, established in the year 1866 to impart English Education to the common folk of the erstwhile Travancore by H H Sri Ayilyam Thirunal Ramavarma Maharaja. The then Principal of the College was John Ross, a scholar of great repute. Having reached sequicententinnial [Read More…]
June 5th 2020 dawned clear and bright, rain-washed and hauntingly beautiful in their tribal hamlet of Sambarkodu in Attapady region of Palakkad , Kerala. Appu and his friends were all prepared to participate in the outdoor activities being planned today by the elders including their mothers and aunts. Amidst the lockdown that had taken away their freedom and lightness of[Read More…]
A FABLE FOR TODAY Five year old twin brothers Udit and Sooraj loved hearing stories, in any form and length – real life stories, fairy tales, animal and wild ones with songs and action…Knowing this, their grandmother who was a primary school teacher set up a small space in their city home where children of their age could gather and[Read More…]
The World Environment Day (henceforth WED) was initially started by the UN General Assembly in 1972, on the first day of the Stockholm Conference. The objective of this conference was primarily based on, to connect the human with nature and promote the interactions, so that harmony between environment and human could be realized. The WED is being celebrated on 5th[Read More…]
The story of the Sundari is as fascinating as its namesake—the Sundarbans, the world’s largest contiguous mangrove forest, situated across coastal Bangladesh and the state of West Bengal in India where it is also a UNESCO world heritage site, a designated national park, a tiger reserve, and a biosphere reserve. Sundari is as elusive as the most celebrated resident of the Sundarbans—the Bengal tiger. One[Read More…]
Imagine this now: we try to create an acknowledgement for the loss of nonhuman lives in the Sundarbans caused by Cyclone Amphan—animals and trees; individual and relational; immediate and over time. That would be a monumental task and take not days or months but years and possibly even decades. Even after all of that efforts get expended, the tragedy will[Read More…]
What will we do when this SARS Covid-19 lock down is over? Will we go back to frantically doing what we were doing before…, rushing madly towards meeting our goals of livelihood without thinking of the damage we have been doing to the environment which had a short respite from us? Will we go back to doing with a vengeance[Read More…]
by Niranta Gohain, KK Chattradhara, Manash Jyoti Chutia, Suraj Gogoi & Parag Jyoti Saikia OIL were given environmental clearance to drill for hydrocarbons in the Dibru-Saikhowa National Park recently. On 27th of May a major explosion took place in one of its drilling wells causing havoc. This is a preliminary report on the event ‘The obligation to endure gives us[Read More…]
Submission made by Human Rights Forum (HRF) to the High Power Committee (HPC) probing the styrene gas leak on May 7, 2020 from the LG Polymers India Pvt Ltd (LGPI) plant at RR Venkatapuram in Visakhapatnam. The Human Rights Forum is a citizens’ forum established with the objective of working for protection of Constitutionally guaranteed/internationally recognised rights of the people.[Read More…]
Every year, 5 June is celebrated as World Environment Day globally. Also called People’s day, this day is meant to encourage people to save and protect the environment. World Environment Day 2020 is spotlighting the importance of Biodiversity. According to the United Nations, the theme for this year is ‘Biodiversity’ with the slogan[Read More…]
The food crisis that could follow in the wake of the various lockdowns that were implemented on the back of the coronavirus may have long-lasting consequences. We are already seeing food shortages in the making. In India, for instance, supply chains have been disrupted, farm input systems for the supply of seeds and fertilisers have almost collapsed in some places[Read More…]
Dehing-Patkai protected area is located at upper Assam in Northeast India. This vast tropical rainforest is also known as Amazon of east in India. Last few weeks are seen statewide protest against coal mining in the protected area. The protest and campaign was mainly on social media platforms due to COVID-19 nationwide lockdown. Thousands of students, activist, environmental enthusiasts and[Read More…]
Lockdown tryst with Biodiversity – Episode 1 Serious and sincere, little Aadi walked the hot and burning slope of the hill opposite his suburban home with his parents – he was happy that the trio could be together after a long time because of the lockdown. Not fully aware of the impact of this pandemic, Aadi did realise that his[Read More…]
The sector must meet the environmental norms to ensure ‘our right to breathe in clean air,’ says CSE report New Delhi: With barely two years to go before the deadline hits India’s coal-fired power plants to meet the stringent new emission norms by 2022, which were set in December 2015 by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC),[Read More…]
The National Green Tribunal had asked all States to finish preparing People’s Biodiversity Registers by end of January 2020. This made various States make greater efforts to mobilise volunteers in local government in Taluk Panchayat. Collecting and documenting wild plants is a beautiful task and a never ending one, as new species are added to these registers every day by[Read More…]
20th May, 2020: NAPM express its grave concern at the numerous recent moves of the Govt of India to dilute pro-people, pro-environment legislation and push forth massive projects that are detrimental to national interest. Instead of investing in robust public health infrastructure, amidst the worst pandemic, the nation-wide ‘lockdown’ is being used as an opportunity to ‘clear’ many controversial projects.[Read More…]
To Members of the Expert Appraisal Committee Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change (MEFCC) Govt of India Dear Members of the EAC, I understand from the enclosed Agenda notice that the EAC will be holding its 33rd meeting on 18th–19thMay, 2020 for considering the proposals involving violation of EIA Notification. I further understand that Item No 33.4.4 concerning a proposal submitted by LG Polymers[Read More…]
Those who know me the best know the many number of years that I’ve fought to protect and foster forests, meadows, wetlands, wild animals and peoples across the world, including ones in a lepers’ colony not located in the USA. I started in my direction as a toddler and got better in my associates tasks year by year. Yet as[Read More…]
The Human Rights Forum (HRF) calls for criminal prosecution of management of LG Polymers as well as officials of regulatory bodies for the criminal negligence that led to leak of toxic gas on May 7. The case registered against the LG Polymers must be pursued diligently and to the fullest extent rather than diluted as has[Read More…]
Following the court decision in the US to award in favour of Dewayne Johnson (exposure to Monsanto’s Roundup weed killer and its active ingredient, glyphosate, caused Johnson to develop non-Hodgkin lymphoma), attorney Robert Kennedy Jr said at the post-trial press conference: “The corruption of science, the falsification of science, and we saw all those things happen here. This is a[Read More…]
Stop cutting down trees for biomass… STOP WOODY BIOMASS! That should be a bumper sticker on every vehicle in America and around the world as easy-to-read bumper stickers are more effective than many forms of advertising. And, just for starters, maybe plaster that new biomass bumper sticker over the old one that reads: “My child is an honor student at….”[Read More…]
Oh My!!! What is Amy Goodman of Democracy Now going to do about the apparent feud between her political priest Michael Moore and her Ecological Guru McKibben? She has proudly and frequently presented both on her show as experts on the environment, economics and politics. Michael Moore’s new film, Planet of The Humans, shows miles and miles of footage of[Read More…]
This year Nature has given us a clear message. It sent us COVID 19 and halted capitalism for 4 months, made us stop burning fossil fuels and use just the bare essentials. And it has rewarded us with clean air, cleaned up our rivers and lakes, improved our human relations and restored wild life. There are dolphin in the Ganges[Read More…]
The Black Sea is dying. Under the current bad environmental conditions, more than one hundred sixty million people in Bulgaria, Ukraine, Russian Federation, Romania and Turkey are exposed to danger. The amount of marine litter in the Black Sea is twice as high as in the Mediterranean Sea. The concentration of some toxins exceed their threshold value, according to results[Read More…]
Celebrating 50 years of Earth Day, Michael Moore, executive producer and the director Jeff Gibbs re-released their daunting and alarming documentary about the heart and soul of America’s Green Movement in a compelling film: Planet of the Humans (2019). According to Michael Moore: “This is perhaps the most urgent film we’ve shown in the 15-year history of our film festival.”[Read More…]
Fifty years ago I and other conservationists and public health advocates were thrilled with the idea of an annual Earth Day celebration to honor our planet. At that time, I had more requests from television and radio to speak about health, nutrition and the early natural food movement. I had never received before any requests to speak about the environment,[Read More…]
Text and photos: Andre Vltchek and Mira Lubis An old road between Balikpapan and Samarinda passes through the poor villages, through rural slums, as well as stalls selling second-rate local fruits. The cheap, unhygienic eateries, are now half-empty. While the traffic is still heavy here, the ‘real action’ is somewhere else; a few kilometers away, where the new motorway is[Read More…]
A vast ozone hole, probably the biggest on record in the north, has opened in the skies above the Arctic, on the other side of the planet from the infamous hole that forms each year above the Antarctica, better-known Antarctic ozone hole. It rivals the Antarctic ozone hole. Scientists from the European Space Agency said this week that this rare[Read More…]
Certain phases in one’s life remain etched in indelible colours for the simple reason that they are a combination of “the firsts”. For me my 20s were when so many “firsts” happened – the first time I met someone from Delhi who wore a safari suit in pastel colours, the first time I got a corduroy jeans as gift, the[Read More…]
According to the experts, the health hazard inflicted on people by long-standing air pollution is likely to impact the fatality rate emerging from Covid-19 infections. Polluted air is known to cause respiratory diseases and is responsible for at least 8m early deaths annually. This means that Covid-19, which spreads through respiratory droplets is expected to have a more serious impact[Read More…]
To Shri C K Mishra Secretary Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change (MEFCC) Govt of India Dear Shri Mishra, It is reported widely that your Ministry is thinking of relaxing the environment impact appraisal norms for bulk drug units. I sincerely hope that these reports are incorrect. From what I have observed over the last decade or so, in[Read More…]
In recent news, several significant events were simultaneously happening across the world. Here are just a few of the seemingly most relevant ones. Many Californian beach goers are using the wrong sort of sunscreen. They should be using the zinc oxide type. Yet there are just so many people at the beaches in that state with around forty million people[Read More…]
As the human onslaught against life on Earth accelerates, no part of the biosphere is left pristine. The simple act of consuming more than we actually need drives the world’s governments and corporations to endlessly destroy more and more of the Earth to extract the resources necessary to satisfy our insatiable desires. In fact, an initiative of the World Economic[Read More…]
A significant proportion of coal production in India is credited to Jharia mines in Jharkhand state in the east of the country. For the communities in Jharia, coking coal is an essential part of their life. But the excessive extraction is essentially for serving coal as an ingredient in steel production. After the US and China, India is currently the[Read More…]
by Robert T. Walker, Aline A. Carrara, Cynthia S. Simmons, & Maira Irigaray Brazil’s divisive President Jair Bolsonaro has taken another step in his bold plans to develop the Amazon rainforest. A bill he is sponsoring, now before Congress, would allow transportation infrastructure to be built on indigenous territory. Such lands cover 386,000 square miles of the Brazilian Amazon – one-fifth of the[Read More…]
Throughout the history of Western Civilization there are times,but only on rare occasions, when people en masse feel compelled to run into the streets, similar to the storming of the Bastille 1789,screaming at the top of their lungs: “Stop the Madness!” Now is one of those times, as only recently Feb 2020 the Trump administration signed a regulation to remove[Read More…]
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation was launched in 2000 and has $46.8 billion in assets (December 2018). It is the largest charitable foundation in the world and distributes more aid for global health than any government. One of the foundation’s stated goals is to globally enhance healthcare and reduce extreme poverty. The Gates Foundation is a major funder of[Read More…]
According to the World Air Quality Report 2019, 21 out of the top 30 most polluted cities are located in India New Delhi, February 25: With 90% of the global population breathing unsafe air, air pollution poses not only to be an environmental but a severe human rights issue. The latest data from continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations across[Read More…]
Indian Medical Association writes to Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar, asks to include all non-attainment cities in National Clean Air Programme .IMA has also demanded the ministry to increase the number of monitoring stations across the country New Delhi, 21 February : Indian Medical Association (IMA) has expressed grave concerns on the worsening air quality levels in the country. In a[Read More…]
(Coal fired power plants in India have repeatedly missed the emission deadline set by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change) For the first time, Greenpeace Southeast Asia and the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) have quantified the global cost of air pollution from fossil fuels, finding that it has reached an estimated US$8[Read More…]
WASHINGTON – – A fishing and farming community in Gujarat, India will challenge a ruling from a federal judge in the District of Columbia that the International Finance Corporation (IFC) – part of the World Bank Group – is immune from being sued for damages inflicted by a coal-fired power plant that it negligently funded. EarthRights International represents the community,[Read More…]
In 2017, UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Hilal Elver, and UN Special Rapporteur on Toxics, Baskut Tuncak, produced a report that called for a comprehensive new global treaty to regulate and phase out the use of dangerous pesticides in farming and move towards sustainable agricultural practices. In addition to the devastating impacts on human health, the two[Read More…]
This month Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro proposed a new bill promoting mining, expanded agriculture, and energy production on indigenous lands in the Amazon. Accordingly, private developers as well as private hedge funds will occupy and develop land that’s been home to indigenous people for thousands of years. Meantime during Bolsonaro’s first full year in office, deforestation increased by 85%. More[Read More…]
Environmentalist Dr Rosemary Mason has just written the report ‘Bayer CropScience rules Britain after Brexit – thepublic and the press are being poisoned by pesticides’. It has been sent to editors of major media outlets in the UK. In it, she outlines her concerns for pesticide regulation, health and the environment in a post-Brexit landscape. This article presents some of[Read More…]
A Bengal tiger in the Sundarbans, which crosses India and Bangladesh. In describing the Sundarbans (beautiful forests), Amitav Ghosh, an internationally acclaimed writer wrote in his novel, The Hungry Tide: “A mangrove forest is utterly unlike other woodlands or jungles. There are no towering, vine-looped trees, no ferns, no wildflowers, no chattering monkeys or cockatoos. Mangrove leaves are tough and[Read More…]
The Government of India published the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Notification in 1991, approved the Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP) in 1996, and appointed the Kerala State Coastal Zone Management Authority (KCZMA) for implementing it in 1998. After two decades of its coming into being, the government says there are 26,000 buildings constructed in violation of the CRZ Rules in[Read More…]
Two fires were on the headlines not long ago, though they were taking place at countries one-third of the world circumference apart (about 14,000kms) – Brazil and Australia. And one architect of those, who was given the Title of “Captain Chain-Saw” as the destroyer of the Amazon rainforest by the big media houses like Telegraph (of the UK) or Bloomberg[Read More…]
We the following Adivasi organisations in India unanimously condemn the decision of the Queensland government to extinguish title of over 1385 hectares in Wangan and Jalingou country in Australia for the proposed Adani coal mine in Queensland’s Galilee Basin. We are shocked to understand that such a decision affecting the indigenous people of Australia was made without even any public[Read More…]
A common claim is that genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are essential to agriculture if we are to feed an ever-growing global population. Supporters of genetically engineered (GE) crops argue that by increasing productivity and yields, this technology will also help boost farmers’ incomes and lift many out of poverty. Although in this article it will be argued that the performance[Read More…]
There is mounting evidence that a healthy soil microbiome protects plants from pests and diseases. One of the greatest natural assets that humankind has is soil. But when you drench it with proprietary synthetic chemicals or continuously monocrop as part of a corporate-controlled industrial farming system, you can kill essential microbes, upset soil balance and end up feeding soil a limited doughnut diet of unhealthy[Read More…]
Air pollution is a big killer. Air pollution has also been linked to an increased risk in depression and suicide. More than 160,000 people could die in the next decade from strokes and heart attacks caused by air pollution, a charity has warned. The British Heart Foundation (BHF) said there is an estimated 11,000 such deaths per year at the[Read More…]
All Nature Conservation Activities/ Struggles Will have the nature of Nature itself The coolness of trees The calmness of rivers The ability of wind To set in a motion all that it touches A person devoid of kindness Love and care A person without a rainbow and a song in his/ her heart Can never be part of a Nature[Read More…]
DEMOLITION OF BUILDINGS VIOLATING COASTAL REGULATION ZONE (CRZ) NOTIFICATIONS IN KERALA, INDIA, 2020 Executive Summary The Kerala State is the biggest violator of the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Notification, which regulates construction activities in the sensitive coasts of the sea and the backwaters in India. According one report, there are 1800 buildings, including star hotels, luxury apartment blocks, shopping malls[Read More…]
Reports cite that India’s carbon emissions are growing at a faster rate than the United States of America or China. The World Air Quality Report 2018 prepared by Greenpeace revealed that of the 20 most polluted cities in the world, 18 are in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. In January 2019, the Government of India launched National Clean Air Programme (NCAP),[Read More…]
Daniel Maingi works with small farmers in Kenya and belongs to the organisation Growth Partners for Africa. He remembers a time when his family would grow and eat a diversity of crops, such as mung beans, green grams, pigeon peas and a variety of fruits now considered ‘wild’. Following the Structural Adjustment Programmes of the 1980s and 1990s, the foods of his[Read More…]
Out of total capacity of 166472 MW which has to install FGD by December 2022, only 1320 MW has been done till now As India continues to grapple with unprecedented air pollution levels, one of the largest polluters, thermal power plants aren’t seeming to make serious efforts to reduce emissions. On 7th December, 2015, the Ministry of Environment and Climate[Read More…]
Environmentalist Dr Rosemary Mason has just written an open letter addressed to three senior officials in Britain: John Gardiner, Under Secretary of State for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in the British government; Chris Whitty, the Chief Medical Officer for England; and Chris Wormald, Permanent Secretary at the Department of Health and Social Security. Her letter focuses[Read More…]
Extremely hot, windy and dry conditions are forecast for much of Australia this week, meaning the hundreds of fires already burning across the country will be intensified, and more blazes are likely to start. In South Australia, maximum temperatures above 40C are set to continue until the weekend, causing extreme fire danger in several areas, including the Mount Lofty ranges,[Read More…]
Deforestation on protected Indigenous lands in the Amazon was almost three times higher than the loss of trees in the region as a whole and the highest since 2008, finds a new study based on satellite imagery. The data from Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (INPE) studied by the Socio-Environmental Institute (ISA), a group working with Indigenous people, show that between August 2018 and[Read More…]
At the beginning of the nineteenth century, it is estimated that the total number of passenger pigeons in the United States was about three billion birds. The bird was immensely abundant, as illustrated by this passage written by the famous ornithologist, naturalist and painter John James Audubon: ‘I dismounted, seated myself on an eminence, and began to mark with my[Read More…]
State and private sector power plants are the worst when it comes to cleaning up their act to reduce pollution from power generation, central sector is not doing great too. New Delhi, December 5: On November 2, due to unprecedented air quality, Health Emergency was declared in New Delhi. Much of the public narrative about pollution in Delhi and North[Read More…]
The UK-based Independent online newspaper recently published an article about a potential link between air pollution from vehicles and glaucoma. It stated that according to a new study air pollution is linked to the eye condition that causes blindness. The report explained that researchers had looked at vision tests carried out on more than 111,000 people across Britain between 2006[Read More…]
Little less than 2% of the power plants comply with the emissions norms set by MoEFCC This year, on November 2, 2019, due to severe air pollution, a health emergency was declared in India’s capital, New Delhi. While much of the media’s attention remained focused on Delhi, major parts of North India, beyond the capital, also faced severe pollution menace.[Read More…]
Throughout its history, Earth has experienced five mass extinction events. See, for example, ‘Timeline Of Mass Extinction Events On Earth’. It is now experiencing the sixth. The Ordovician-Silurian Extinction, which occurred about 439 million years ago, wiped out 86% of life on Earth at the time. Most scientists believe that this mass extinction was precipitated by glaciation and falling[Read More…]
Every October as the rains recede, Delhi prepares to choke on poisoned air which peaks for 3 months from around Deepawali. This year the Delhi Government even asked public for suggestions on how to cope with these recurrent foul air episodes, which was particularly bad this year. PM2.5 (particulate matter below 2.5 microns in diameter) concentrations, a good surrogate for[Read More…]
Citizens participating in preservation of environment are an important aspect of fighting decay of environment. Scientists have proposed (“Researchers explore how citizens can become agents of environmental change: A blueprint for how to educate people to maximize their impact.”) a blueprint for methods of educating people to maximize impact of people’s participation. By walking in the woods, rafting a river,[Read More…]
Delhi’s choking is in the news every year during this period. This year, it broke all the ‘box office’ records of worst air quality. The Supreme Court ‘acted’ as a ‘concerned’ authority. It asked the Delhi and other related government to ‘stop’ ‘blame’ game. It has given some order and ‘decided’ that ‘enough’ is ‘enough’. Arvind Kejriwal blamed the Punjab[Read More…]
An indigenous Amazon Guardian has been shot dead by loggers and another wounded after they were ambushed by loggers. Paulo Paulino Guajajara, known also as Kwahu Tenetehar, was shot in the neck and died in the forest. His colleague, Tainaky Tenetehar, was shot in the back and arm but escaped. The Amazon Guardians have been patrolling their territory in the[Read More…]
We condemn the clandestine and illegal manner in which the Odisha government is facilitating the transfer of land acquired from the local betel vine growers and fisherfolk in Jagatsinghpur district to Jindal Steel Works. The alienation of agriculturally fertile land from the peasantry for the purpose of industry snatches away from them their perennial source of income and livelihood. The[Read More…]
The Prime Minister of Australia is fuming. Having made his mark on Australian politics by being the mining sector’s most avid defender, Scott Morrison was disturbed by the week’s events in Melbourne that saw clashes between police and protesters outside the sixth annual international mining and resources conference. It made sense for the protesters to kick up a fuss at[Read More…]
About 12,000 years ago, late stone age humans precipitated the neolithic (agricultural) revolution that marked the start of the steady rise to civilization. Coincidentally, this occurred at the same time as the beginning of what is now known as the Holocene Epoch, the geological epoch in which humans still live. However, since the industrial revolution commencing in about 1750, just[Read More…]
The renowned author and whistleblower Evaggelos Vallianatos describes British environmentalist and campaigner Dr Rosemary Mason as a “defender of the natural world and public health.” I first came across her work a few years ago. It was in the form of an open letter she had sent to an official about the devastating environmental and human health impacts of glyphosate-based weed[Read More…]
Promoters of genetic modification (GM) in agriculture have long argued that genetically engineered Golden Rice is a practical way to provide poor farmers in remote areas with a subsistence crop capable of adding much-needed vitamin A to local diets. Vitamin A deficiency is a problem in many poor countries in the Global South and leaves millions at high risk for[Read More…]
An International Monetary Fund (IMF) report on climate change mitigation advocates a Carbon Tax of $75 per ton of CO2 by 2030 that, if progressively implemented in the G20 countries alone, would prevent an estimated 4 million air pollution deaths by 2030. However the effective climate change denialist Coalition Government of Australia, a G20 country that is among world leaders[Read More…]
Campaigner and environmentalist Dr Rosemary Mason has just written an open letter to Bayer Crop Science shareholders and Chairman of the Board Werner Wenning. She has also sent them a 13,000-word report. Mason is appealing to shareholders to put human health and nature ahead of profit and to stop funding Bayer. In her report, she sets out why shareholders should[Read More…]
A much bigger fight lies ahead for sensitive citizens after the brutal felling of over 2000 trees under cover of darkness in Aarey colony in Mumbai. The massacre was carried out for the Metro rail project on October 4 and 5. The Metro project may provide a fast ride when it finally comes up but this may be at[Read More…]
The globalised industrial food system that transnational agri-food conglomerates promote is failing to feed the world. It is responsible for some of the planet’s most pressing political, social and environmental crises. Whether it involves the undermining or destruction of what were once largely self-sufficient agrarian economies in Africa or the devastating impacts of soy cultivation in Argentina, localised, traditional methods of food production have given way[Read More…]
One of the greatest physicists that the world has ever witnessed was Sir Issac Newton. Many of us have a presumption that the theories established by this genius are applicable only in the world of physics, but the truth is, his laws even have a major impact on the functioning of the society we reside on. Newton during his lifetime,established[Read More…]
In Mahatma Gandhi’s lifetime climate change or threat to environment was not yet a perceived problem. Therefore it is no surprise that there is no explicit mention of it in Gandhi’s concerns. Yet his entire worldview was environment friendly. Protection of environment or non-destruction of nature was in-built in his philosophy. He expected his most ardent followers, especially the ones[Read More…]
Much of the following article is based on a new 20-page report by environmentalist Dr Rosemary Mason. Readers are urged to access the full report containing all relevant citations here. In a new paper published in King’s Law Journal – ‘The Chemical Anthropocene: Glyphosate as a Case Study of Pesticide Exposures’ – the authors Alessandra Arcuri and Yogi Hale Hendlin state: “As[Read More…]
The fiftieth anniversary of the first Earth Day of 1970 will be in 2020. As environmentalism has gone mainstream during that half a century, it has forgotten its early focus and shifted toward green capitalism. Nowhere is this more apparent than abandonment of the slogan popular during the early Earth Days: “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.” The unspoken phrase of today’s Earth[Read More…]
Currently, India stands out at the Global Environment Performance Index due to an enhanced rate of air, water, and land pollution. The emergence of industrialization and urbanization brutally impact the environment around us. The loss of biodiversity due to such constant transformation has become a global concern. Around the world, people have initiated countless measures to promote alternatives to protect[Read More…]
Global Ecological Sustainability depends critically upon ending the logging and burning of old forests and letting them recover, expand and reconnect “Each act of cutting and burning old trees diminishes and contributes to the pending collapse of the biosphere… The cutting and burning of old forests ends, as a prominent aspect of the coming Great Transition required for equitable and[Read More…]
The information below and the quotes were taken from the 12-page report that accompanied Rosemary Mason’s recent open letter to the Chief Medical Officer to England, Sally Davies. It can be accessed here. Although the following focuses on the situation in the UK, the chemical onslaught on our food chain is global. For instance, researcher and policy expert Devinder Sharma,[Read More…]
We tend to feel that it’s only the sea creatures that suffer at the hands of fishermen, bulk fishing their food. But, when seals and other marine animals prey on fish caught in these fishermen’s net, we as lay people do not realise that it can be costly both economically and ecologically. It can reduce the amount of sell-able fish,[Read More…]
Political posturing aligned with commercial interests means that truth is becoming a casualty in the debate about genetically modified (GM) crops in India. The industry narrative surrounding Bt cotton is that it has been a great success. The current Modi-led administration is parroting this claim and argues its success must be replicated by adopting a range of GM food crops,[Read More…]
Fires are destroying Amazon rain forest for the last three weeks with nearly 75,000 fires ravaging. According to Brazil’s National Institute of for Space Research(INPE). there has been a increase of 80 % fires compared to last summer. Three football fields of land in the Brazilian Amazon are deforested every minute. This week, the intensity of fires is so high [Read More…]
‘The soul of India lives in its villages’ Mahatma Gandhi While cosmopolitan cities and even many villages are being polluted increasingly, there are some villages which are resisting environmental pollution by the people living there. One such village is Khonoma in the North East of India. History Khonoma is Asia’s first green village in the hills of Nagaland. The village[Read More…]
Colonialism is setting the world on fire. Taking leadership from the people who have been resisting its violence for centuries, while protecting non-extractive ways of life, is our best hope of putting out the flames. It was an epic case of projection. Lashing out at the attacks on his Amazon-incinerating policies, Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro accused French President Emmanuel Macron of having[Read More…]
On 28 October 2018, Jair Bolsonaro was elected President of Brazil with 55.1% of the vote – and with a gigantic help from Cambridge Analytica. At the World Economic Forum (WEF) in January 2019 in Davos Switzerland, Bolsonaro made a sumptuous presentation, “We Are Building a New Brazil”. He outlined a program that put literally Brazil up for sale, and especially[Read More…]
Pope Francis urges protection of “that lung of forests” and French President Macron says G7 nations pledged help at summit Brazil’s army on Sunday deployed aircraft to battle the raging fires in the Amazon as global concern and outrage over the potential consequences—and the destructive causes—of the disaster grow. The military operations involving C-130 aircraft to put out fires came after Brazil’s far-right President Jair Bolsonaro triggered global[Read More…]
In his first speech to parliament as British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson said: “Let’s start now to liberate the UK’s extraordinary bioscience sector from anti-genetic modification rules and let’s develop the blight-resistant crops that will feed the world.” Johnson reads from a well-rehearsed script. The ‘GM will feed the world mantra’ is pure industry spin. There is already enough[Read More…]
Satellite imagery reveals that at least a quarter of the Amazon rainforest is on fire or covered in soot and ash across the four Brazilian Amazonian states: Amazonas, Rondônia, Mato Grosso and Pará. A combination of dry summer heat exacerbated by climate change, planned burnings and expanded deforestation of the Amazon rainforest has sparked at least 9,507 new wildfires in[Read More…]
