Archives for December 2007

The Amazon debate rolls on

December 12, 2007 by Leave a Comment

It’s a cliche really, the impact of the state of the Amazon forest on mother earth’s climatic horoscope. Yet the lengths to which governments go to put the burning issue under the mat defies logic of any degree.

A recent report by environmentalists showcased at the UN Climate conference at Bali that climate change coupled with deforestation could fatally impair nearly 60 percent of the evergreen forest by 2030 has still not put the Brazilian Government on action mode. Instead the govt has come out with a counter that there has been a sharp drop in the rate of deforestation.

Lets decipher the facts as they stand.

The key points of the green brigade is as follows.

An important component of the world’s cooling mechanism will be lost
One fifth of the world’s fresh water under threat
30 percent of the world’s flora and fauna face extinction, not to mention the species not discovered
The world’s largest “carbon sinks” or absorber of CO2 will be destroyed
Deforestation releases CO2 into the atmosphere (55.5 billion to 96.9 billion by 2030) – not a nice scenario to envision
Logging, livestock expansion and drought will clear 55 percent of the rain forest
Rainfall predicted to decline by 10 percent
A small rise in temperature of 3.6 degrees will tip the environmental balance leading to floods, droughts, rising sea levels, heat waves and diseases

Logging is rampant in the Amazon Forests

The Brazilian Governments pooh pooh on the issues is spelt out below.

Predictions on the Amazon’s longevity to be taken with a pinch of salt considering its complexity and size
Enviroment ministry says rate of deforestation is down by 20 percent between August 2006 and July 2007
4,333 square miles lost this year compared to 5,420 square miles last year.
Increased enforcement of environmental regulations.
Low prices of soyabeans resuling in lesser forest areas cleared for cultivation.

As arguments and counters fly fast and thick, it cannot discount the fact that we are truly on the way to environmental imbalance and it’s time that Governments practise continual improvement to the processes in place. The Amazon needs an Amazon effort, a comprehensive shift to sustainable logging processes, better land use policies and more funding to increase forest cover. It is time the rich countries gave a hand by reducing emissions that can mar the overall effort. Simply put it needs a more concerted effort.

Chew on more here. And some more prespective here.

Australia inks Kyoto Protocol

December 9, 2007 by Leave a Comment

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd Labour Government decision to sign the Kyoto Treaty marks a significant change in the country’s direction towards Global Warming and its repercussions. The new PM signed the papers that will ratify the proposal on Dec 3rd, his first official act that has been welcomed by all as a kangaroo jump as far as global co-operation on this issue is concerned.

The signing that coincided with the start of the post-Kyoto talks in Bali is a major fillip to the Global warming control bandwagon that has to hit the fast track if sustainable preventive action has to be taken. The ratification will become effective 90 days after being received by the UN; hence it will be March, 2008 before the Aussies become full fledged Kyoto member. Incidentally, the previous conservative government has used Australia’s heavy reliance on coal for energy and export income as an alibi to not sign the global treaty.

Hopefully Australia’s decision will put some pressure on George Bush to implement a change in US policy towards Global Warming.

Suicidal Society? – Sure it is

December 1, 2007 by Leave a Comment

The Rotary club sent me an invitation. I went. They said that the meeting agenda was on keeping our surroundings clean. I listened. Water, land, air, fire, sky – All these five vital elements were to be discussed. Their use by mankind thoroughly debated. Agenda set, meeting started. Traces of self promotion by the participants filtered through. The issues under the hammer though were noble and timely. I sit.

Quite a substantial number of members of the Rotary club filled the seats. In between all of them sat an English lady going by the name Nadia. Came to know that she was a lot into social service and surrounding cleanliness campaigns. Felt a little ashamed. That our country needed an English lady to set things in motion made me feel guiltier. She helped out in her own way. Yet we don’t need help to litter our streets in our umpteen ways. Anger fills me. I make no attempt to hide it.

The Rotary big guys spoke. All on the city’s cleanliness state or lack of it. Lot of light thrown – On our people’s propensity to litter without a care in the world, on overflowing drains, on overturned bins, on open manholes, the whole works. Long winded takes on the probable reasons like lack of education / awareness followed. Lots of educational institutions dot the landscape. What have they taught? This worried all present.Why are private institutions not taking the lead? Questions flew. Answers stayed put. Some speakers stressed on waste and litter to be strictly disallowed on public places. Some wanted filmmakers to make movies on these issues. A few laughs rose. No heated discussions. Hot Coffee, Tea followed though. I felt uncomfortable that what I sought didn’t seem like happening. Just more questions. Not many answers.

Next to speak was the English lady Nadia. Suicidal Society – Her topic started. Startled – I got interested. Sat Straight.

The speech started on individual discipline. The man who keeps himself and his neighborhood and surrounding areas unclean is in effect digging his own grave. The speech caught fire. The issues cascaded. Lack of enough provision in houses for dirty and used water to find their way into the public drains. Stagnant water that facilitate breeding of mosquitoes and bacterial threats. Uncouth men and women who spit on public roads and property. Effluents from factories that totally pollute ground water. Gases, smoke and carbon emissions from manufacturing units. Minute cotton fluffs in cotton mills that can pose hazards. Each issue with grave repercussions for mankind. both directly or indirectly. Simple truths be told, Man is setting himself to kill the other by not keeping his surroundings clean. It hit me like a hammer thrust in my heart. Beautifully, attractively, in ways seemingly beneficial to all, in many more different avatars, man is using nature’s vital five elements the wrong ways and pressing the button to his own destruction, a suicide attempt at best. The speech made many speechless. Nadia’s simple talk doesn’t just apply to Coimbatore or India, but all of developed and developing countries that lose sight of keeping the surroundings and environment clean.

My own take on this issue falls on the legal system given more teeth to pull up offenders who fail on the cleanliness front. Private agencies coming in the fray and taking responsibility is one end of the spectrum. The real responsibility lies with the individual. Just like suicide attempts in India would entail one year imprisonment; this environmental degradation should also be treated as a punishable offence by law. Only the law can create a new world when people don’t seem to really care. Just like Russian laws in Stalinist era or euro laws pertaining to the same, or better still New Zealand (a great example), implementing such laws in India is the only way out. As a popular saying’s interpretation goes – You cannot request a peacock to gift you a feather. It can neither understand nor oblige. You just have to grab it.

The Indian government, central and state better wakes up and implement strict laws on hygiene and cleanliness of surroundings and environment. That for me is today’s pressing need.

<This rotary club meeting was held in Coimbatore during the last week of November.>