Category Archives: Ecology and Environment
No Dams On The Brahmaputra, Pleads Northeast
With reports that China plans to build at least 21 dams on the Yarlung Tsanpo and several others on its tributaries, the fear is that Assam and Arunachal Pradesh would be badly affected. Indian engineers have raised apprehensions that China might have plans to divert the 78 billion cubic metres (bcm) of water to its […]
125 Trees Cut To Make Way For Cricket Stadium
Around 125 trees were felled from Saturday onwards for the 75 metre pitch and pavilion area at the site earmarked for the international cricket stadium at Tivim. A section of the villagers alleged that GCA had violated the assurance given to the high court of Bombay at Goa that no trees would be cut and no work […]
China’s Spreading Sands
On China’s western frontiers, a massive afforestation drive to battle the spread of the desert reveals fast-expanding efforts to combat climate change. View slide show
Four Myths That Hold Back Progress In Fighting Climate Change
The U.N. Secretary-General has presented options for raising $100 billion a year to promote development while fighting climate change. This is timely, but for such funds to make a difference, we must get past a set of myths that prevent the efficient use of resources. Myth no. 1: Energy efficiency can’t meet energy needs.
India Racing To Buy an Untried Reactor?
India is slated to purchase up to six of these reactors, of which the first two alone carry an estimated price tag of €11 billion. A memorandum of understanding for the sale of two EPRs was signed in 2009 and there are chances that a framework agreement will be signed during French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s […]
Carping At Cancun
The government’s offer at the United Nations Climate Change Conference at Cancun – to submit India to international measurement, review and verification – makes for a welcome change after Japan’s decision last week not to extend the Kyoto Protocol. The only international treaty obliging rich countries to cut their emissions, Kyoto is not perfect. But it was a start […]
Chhattisgarh’s Industrial Jungle
Chhattisgarh is set to become the largest producer of thermal power, cement and sponge iron. The push is on to install 77 per cent of India’s current thermal power capacity, 51 per cent of the country’s present cement capacity and 31 million tonnes of sponge iron capacity, which is equal to India’s current capacity. The […]
On Day 1, Copenhagen ghost haunts Cancun
On the first day of the 16th annual climate change conference that began in Cancun on Monday, it became clear that the countries had made little progress from the failed previous meet in Copenhagen, but had actually moved backwards on certain issues. The opening day of the two-week conference saw countries restating their old positions and […]
India’s Special Economic Zones: Socioeconomic Blunders In The Making
No scheme of the Indian government has evoked as much controversy in recent years as the creation of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) for industry aimed at exports. This has resulted in the displacement of poor farm families and villagers, brutal land acquisition, and gross human rights violations by the state at the behest of private […]
The Murky SEZ Story In Goa
The order of the Goa bench of the Bombay High Court squashing and setting aside the land allotment to developers of seven designated Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in the state has put the brakes, temporarily or not, on unplanned and mindless industrialisation. As of now the Goa Industrial Development Corporation has four months to make […]