CSE’s Fortnightly News Bulletin [June 10, 2009]
=============================
An e-bulletin from Centre for Science and Environment, India, to our network of friends and professionals interested in environmental issues. Scroll to the bottom of this page for information on how to subscribe and unsubscribe.
INSIDE:
* From fortnightly magazine Down To Earth
– Editorial: Time to be different (By Sunita Narain)
– More on NREGA on the India Environment Portal
– To keep in touch with the latest follow India Environment Portal on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/indiaenvportal
* SPECIAL: From River Pollution Updates
– Delhi’s interceptor plan for the Yamuna
– Related: Latest pollution trends in the Yamuna
– DPR of the interceptor plan
* Interactive map of Delhi’s water supply
* Database on threatened lakes
– Web Exclusive: Detailed area wise map of the threatened lakes of India
– From Down to Earth: Supreme Court bans mining in Aravalli hills, but this may not save its lakes
* Cover Story from Down to Earth: Crank it up
– Press Release: Indian sugar mills generate as much green energy as windmills, and at half the cost
– More on India Environment Portal
* News, features & other stories
– Climate change: More floods, no winter
– Climate sciences: Grim forecast for mets
– Special Report: TB part of urban culture
– Health Science: The art of giving birth naturally
– Transport Cost: How deadly traffic pollution can get
– Features: Who’s Environment Day?
– History: The beer purity law
– Food: Contemplate and meditate
– Science & Technology: Pillow talk
– Science &Technology: No, the asteroid didnt kill the dinosaur
* Gobar Times: Environment Today
* Training programmes
– Understanding EIA: From screening to decision making ( New Delhi June 22 26, 2009 )
– Urban rainwater harvesting: Advanced course for working professionals ( New Delhi July 06 -10, 2009 )
* Opportunity
– Be a climate change researcher/campaigner for CSE
=============================
Down to Earth – Editorial: Time to be different.
(By Sunita Narain)
=============================
The new (old) government is back. The question is if it has learnt its most important lesson: how to enjoin its political agenda to the agenda of government.
Let me explain. It was not the Indo-US nuclear deal, which won the Congress Party the elections. It was the national rural employment guarantee programme, which provided people entitlement to work, gave them cash to survive drought or a flood. Similarly, it was not the ecstasy of the stock market, the opening of the retail sector or the grandiose special economic zones that won the day. This government was re-elected – as its leaders reminded people in their rallies – because it gave better prices to farmers, wrote off loans and gave tribals and other poor forest dwellers rights over their land.
In other words, it got elected for all the wrong things, as the reformists put it. The reformists have already made it clear, now the noisy, obstructionist Communist formation is out, they want more reform. They want it fast. They want to divorce politics from governance. They want populist things, good to win votes and rally people, out of the way. Already, corporate leaders have taken over the airwaves to hammer in the market reform agenda. People seem already forgotten.
So are we in for another interregnum between elections, when the government will focus on the real agenda of the corporate world and forget the issues that got it the votes? Or will this second-term government grow up and understand good politics is also good governance?
After all, this is a time the entire free-market loving world is learning greed is not so good, and that a corporate-driven agenda creates havoc. Today, all countries are re-evaluating their policiessome seriously. All top know-it-all economists agree they still dont know how the world economy will fare. They are beginning to admit, albeit in whispers, the consumer-driven economic model shows fatal weakness. It is now clear countries are more vulnerable when driven by the assumption people living somewhere else will have an infinite ability to spend and consume. In these times, we also need a new growth model, driven by resilience and sustainability.
This is a time for difference. Instead of focusing on bankrupt ideas – disinvestment in the public sector; FDI in retail; privatization of insurance, banks and pension funds – we can think of strategies that combine the needs of all with growth for all.
Take the employment guarantee scheme, dismissed as a corrupt, inefficient programme. The fact is this scheme is no different from what the rich world is today re-discovering in the name of Keynesian public investment-driven recovery programmes. It invests public funds to create public assets with the labour of poor people. The opportunity lies in using such labour to build assets: for relief against drought, for instance. The national rural employment programme is already the worlds biggest ecological regeneration effort – just under a million water bodies being dug, desilted or renovated. We must make sure these water bodies are not just holes in the ground, but will capture the next rain and recharge the aquifer.
It is possible. Doable. Peoples desperation and demand for work, already recognized, must now be converted into a demand for development. People will use their labour to plan their village regeneration plans and then build their own durable assets. This is not possible without giving people rights over their resources – their local forest and their water resources. This is the reform the top leadership must believe in and back.
Another big-ticket concern is dryland and rainfed agriculture. Most of India today, after years of public investment in surface irrigation structures, remains dependent on increasingly variable rain. The monsoon is the true finance minister for most poor Indians. We must recognize multipurpose agriculture as practised in dryland areas – combining coarse cereals with animal care and its products all mixed with off-farm products like artisanal craft – is one way to build affordable and resilient economies. Today our policies discount and destroy these local economies. Tomorrow, our strategies must build on their strengths. For instance, fiscal policies must recognize crops that minimize the use of water – more crops per drop – and include coarse cereals in the public distribution system. Simultaneously, we must build local water security, to enhance productivity. We must do this not by increasing costs of cultivation but reducing costs and investing in resilience.
The third challenge is to invest big in building employment opportunities for the future. But this will demand recognizing jobs where we do not see they exist. Currently, all our policies push for organized business, in retail or in manufacturing. But we forget this business is not labour intensive and tends to collapse when the world sneezes. We need employment which is domestic, built on multiple opportunities and comprises millions of enterprises.
The next reform must be in education and health – reinvent ways to ensure the systems are efficient, affordable and accessible to all. Public investment in these sectors does not work if it is not accountable. And private investment will not flow into these sectors, which, being about the poor, are not profitable. So, we will have to do things differently, without dogma, with the idea of reform for those who voted the government to power.
Postscript: Remember, corporate India had anointed Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi their prime minister. They had dumped this government and its prime minister. This government is in power not because of them, but because of the poor. This trust must be kept. It is time to be different.
Read this editorial online: http://www.downtoearth.org.in/cover_nl.asp?mode=1
To comment, write to cse@equitywatch.org
————————————–
On the India Environment Portal: NREGA
http://indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/search/apachesolr_search?keys=nrega&op=Search
————————————–
Acid Test: Better health programmes coming soon
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/image/acide_test/acide-test20090615.htm
=============================
SPECIAL: River Pollution Updates
=============================
Delhi’s interceptor plan for the Yamuna: A review
The river will remain dead despite massive investments planned during 2009-2012
Read more http://www.cseindia.org/misc/water_newsalert.asp
Download detailed review of the interceptor plan. Read it and tell us your views
http://www.cseindia.org/misc/pdf/CSE_interceptor_analysis.pdf
————————————-
Related stories on the India Environment Portal: Latest pollution trends in the Yamuna
http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/node/274553
Will Ganga get its life back?
Factsheets on pollution, action plans on India’s ‘national’ river
Read more http://www.cseindia.org/misc/ganga/ganga_action.htm
=============================
Check out the interactive map of Delhi’s water supply
http://www.rainwaterharvesting.org/delhi_waterv4.htm
=============================
Database on threatened lakes
=============================
Web Exclusive: Detailed area wise map of the threatened lakes of India
Click on the map to read about the background, news stories, know about the people working in the area to conserve the lakes and much more…
http://www.rainwaterharvesting.org/public_interest.htm
————————————–
>From Down to Earth: Supreme Court bans mining in Aravalli hills, but this may not save its lakes
The Supreme Court on May 8 banned mining activities in Faridabad, Gurgaon and Mewat districts of Haryana.
Read the full story http://www.downtoearth.org.in/cover_nl.asp?mode=2
=============================
Down To Earth (http://www.downtoearth.org.in/)
=============================
Cover Story: Crank it up
Even a sugar mill can generate power, make extra profit, and minimize waste. Its about cogeneration. On Environment Day, a business story
Read the full story http://www.downtoearth.org.in/cover_nl.asp?mode=3
————————————–
Press Release: Indian sugar mills generate as much green energy as windmills, and at half the cost
Read the full release http://www.cseindia.org/AboutUs/press_releases/press-20090605.htm
————————————–
More on India Environment Portal http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/node/277212
Report: Framework for programmatic CDM projects in renewable energy
http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/node/275785
Report: A sustainable India energy outlook
http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/node/269633
=============================
News, features & more…
=============================
Climate change: More floods, no winter
Mumbaikars need to brace themselves for more disasters, as extreme weather events such as the deluge on July 26, 2005 may not be a one-off event.
Read the full story http://www.downtoearth.org.in/cover_nl.asp?mode=4
————————————–
Climate sciences: Grim forecast for mets
Meteorology isnt what it used to be. Predicting monsoons may become costlier now.
Read More http://www.downtoearth.org.in/cover_nl.asp?mode=5
==============
Health Science
==============
Special Report: TB part of urban culture
Stressful lifestyle, smoking and even exposure to pollution can make anyone vulnerable to tuberculosis
Read More http://www.downtoearth.org.in/cover_nl.asp?mode=6
————————————–
Special Report: The art of giving birth naturally
A motley team of experts teaches pregnant women how to avoid a caesarean
Read More http://www.downtoearth.org.in/cover_nl.asp?mode=7
————————————–
Transport Cost: How deadly traffic pollution can get
Traffic pollution is known to cause chronic bronchitis and asthma, killing thousands every year.
Read More http://www.downtoearth.org.in/cover_nl.asp?mode=8
==============
Features: Who’s Environment Day?
Remembering environmentalists who were there long before June 5 became Environment Day in 1972.
Read More http://www.downtoearth.org.in/cover_nl.asp?mode=9
————————————–
History: The beer purity law
Germany passed the decree in 1516 to keep cheap ingredients out of the popular drink
Read More http://www.downtoearth.org.in/cover_nl.asp?mode=10
————————————-
Food: Contemplate and meditate
The Burmese people are a great exponent of slow food
Read More http://www.downtoearth.org.in/cover_nl.asp?mode=11
==============
Science & Technology
==============
Pillow talk: Exam tomorrow? Hit the sack early tonight
Read More http://www.downtoearth.org.in/cover_nl.asp?mode=12
————————————–
No, the asteroid didnt kill the dinosaur
Volcanic eruptions drove dinosaurs to extinction
Read More http://www.downtoearth.org.in/cover_nl.asp?mode=13
=============================
Gobar Times
=============================
Environment Today: Celebrate World Environment Days
on all 365 of them in a year!
http://www.gobartimes.org/20090515/20090515.asp
=============================
CSE short courses, events
=============================
The Anil Agarwal Green Centre (AAGC) seeks to make knowledge investments in society through education and training programmes. Courses help participants better understand issues that lie at the interface of environment and development policy, science, technology, poverty, democracy and equity.
*Understanding EIA: From screening to decision making (New Delhi June 22 26, 2009)
There is a genuine need to develop the capacity of the state-level regulators and State Level Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC) to screen and scope the EIA process, to conduct transparent public consultations and to evaluate the EIA reports, especially after the new EIA notification. At the same time, there is a need among CBO, NGOs, academicians, and environment managers to review and interpret EIA report, as they are technical in nature.
Course content
– Exposure to all aspects of EIA, from its theory to the practical such as better understanding regarding
– Better understanding of the EIA process from screening, scoping, data collection to impact assessment as well as the role of public consultation
– Better understanding of the environmental and social impacts of the industrial and developmental projects
– Better ability to review EIA reports and identify its strengths and weaknesses
– Increased ability to play active role in post-EIA monitoring.
Course details > http://www.cseindia.org/aagc/eia.asp
Course contact:
Sujit Kumar Singh <sujit@cseindia.org>
Tel: +91 (011) 29955124/125 (Ext. 281); Fax: +91 (011) 29955879
————————————–
* Urban rainwater harvesting: Advanced course for working professionals (New Delhi July 06 -10, 2009)
This course is for civil engineers, architects, urban planners, environment consultants, municipal water managers, policy makers, government officials and NGOs interested in learning more about the theory, practice and policies of urban water harvesting.
Course content:
– Overview Water yesterday, today and tomorrow
– Science of rainwater harvesting – sessions on groundwater, hydrogeology and hydrometeorology
– Technology of rainwater harvesting – principles, components, planning, design & construction techniques
– Harvesting the citys water endowment – harvesting rainwater from residential and institutional buildings, colonies, industries, public areas like parks, airports, forested areas etc
– Policy framework for rainwater harvesting – water policy and legislations
– Fiscal incentives and disincentives
– Making water everybodys business: a primer for action, strategies for catalysing rainwater harvesting
For details: http://www.cseindia.org/aagc/rwh-professionals.asp
Course contact: Salahuddin Saiphy (salah@cseindia.org)
Phone: M: +919871189564; + 91 (011) 29955124/5 (Ext. 280); Fax: 29955879
=============================
Work with CSE: Climate change researchers, campaigners
=============================
True? False? Don’t Know?
– Climate Change is too serious a business to be managed by Green Activists
– Climate Change can be averted only if India and China control their emission
– Sir Nicholas Stern is the greatest political thinker of our times
If you know the answer, you are a possible Researcher / Campaigner on Climate Change at the Centre for Science and Environment
.
Apply soon: Send your detailed CV to jgupta@cseindia.org
=============================
About this e-mail
=============================
You are receiving this newsletter because you have asked to be included in our list, attended a CSE event or requested information. To stop receiving this e-bulletin, please e-mail: cse@equitywatch.org with the word ‘unsubscribe’ in the subject.
CSE is an independent, public interest organisation that was established in 1982 by Anil Agarwal, a pioneer of India’s environmental movement. CSE’s mandate is to research, communicate and promote sustainable development with equity, participation and democracy.
Contact CSE: http://www.cseindia.org/aboutus/feedback.htm
Address: 41, Tughlakabad Institutional Area, New Delhi – 110062
E-mail: cse@cseindia.org
Privacy policy: http://www.cseindia.org/misc/privacy.htm
Subscribe to this e-newsletter http://equitywatch.org/phplist/?p=subscribe&id=6