Seethe against smog, now
Why is it we cannot get our act together to implement actions against air pollution?
Why is it we cannot get our act together to implement actions against air pollution?
In countries like India, informal business is the existing order of the day
A subtle marketing drive is changing our food habits and we do not even know it
Gopichand is a national hero because he is the only Indian sportsperson who has publicly shunned endorsing soft drinks
Floods are destroying vast parts of the country because of how we have mismanaged our floodplains
Getting the AC maths right is the real energy game-changer
A model where small producers engage in a large-scale economic activity is an important model in the development laboratory of India
The cauvery evokes strong emotions. It brings angry people to the streets; chief ministers fast demanding its water. And why not? This water brings life to millions. From mega cities like Bengaluru to industries and farmers across Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and even Puducherry and Kerala, all want a share of its water.
It is clear that the world desperately needs a globalisation model that will work for all and not just some The Brexit vote—52 per cent of the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union (EU)—has important lessons for our desperately globalising world. It tells us that economic globalisation must be shaped by political globalisation. Growth that is not shaped by tolerance or is not inclusive will lead to anger and big consequences, mostly unintended. Brexit is the ugly face of that unintended consequence.
It is time we redefined what we mean by conservation and what constitutes gender issues. I am in Almora, where a group of anguished women are telling me how their already hard life has become harsher because of marauding monkeys and wild boar. Their stories are heart-rending. One woman tells me how her young daughter was attacked. Another one talks of how she was mauled. She shows me her scars. All talk about how their crops are being devastated. “We get one-third (yield) or even less now.” Nothing is left, another says.
It is time we accepted that each household and commercial establishment is a waste generator and so a potential polluter Last fortnight, I discussed the need to reinvent garbage management in our cities so that we can process waste and not “landfill” it. This, as I wrote, required households and institutions to segregate their waste at source so that it could be managed as a resource. It also means that we need to limit how much is dumped by imposing a tax on landfill. I want to follow up on this idea this fortnight.
Segregation at source should be at the heart of municipalities’ solid waste management system We know that we have a serious garbage problem. But the problem is not about finding the right technology for waste disposal. The problem is how to integrate the technology with a system of household-level segregation so that waste does not end up in landfills, but is processed and reused. It is clear that there will be no value from waste, as energy or material, if it is not segregated. But this is where our waste management system stops short.
It is time we understood that since drought is human-made it can be reversed
The city “shit-flow” diagram shows that the situation is grim as all cities either do not treat or safely dispose the bulk of the human excreta
One thing is clear—the solutions must work for the poor, for them to work for the rich Some fortnights ago, I had discussed the issue of poverty and environment. I had then said that the question today is not whether the poor are responsible for environmental degradation but whether environmental management works if it does not address inequality and poverty. Why?
Without proper mapping and a plan for its acceptable use, no one can prevent the Yamuna floodplain from being gobbled up