Centre for Science & Environment , Delhi : An E-Bulletin from CSE on November 16, 2006
CSE’s Fortnightly News Bulletin [November 16, 2006]
An e-bulletin from the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), India,
to our network of friends and professionals interested in environmental
issues. Scroll to the bottom of this page for information on how to
unsubscribe.
INSIDE:
– Press release: Winter woes: Delhi headed for air pollution disaster
– Green Schools Award: India’s most environment friendly schools
– Editorial: Making space for emissions
– Cover story: SEZs: Advantage government, battle lost for farmers?
– Podcast: Hear what’s new in Down To Earth
– Blogging Kyoto: Daily updates from COP
– News: Killer asbestos finds backers at Rotterdam Convention
– News: Government’s new draft rehabilitation policy half-baked
– News: Action against polluting units gives Goa villagers some relief
– Features: West Bengal village sits on archaeological treasure
– Science: Endosulfan may finally have a destroyer
– Jobs: Wanted reporters for Down To Earth magazine
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Press release: Winter woes: Delhi headed for air pollution disaster
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With the mercury dipping, the air in Delhi is getting heavy with dust
and smoke as the cold weather blocks the dispersal of pollutants. This
low-hanging shroud, in turn, impairs visibility and chokes lungs. A new
assessment by CSE of the trends in peak pollution levels during winter
months since 1998 has revealed that pollution during the season —
despite a climb-down in 2003 — has begun to rise once again.
Find out why Delhi is at risk of losing the air quality gains made from
its past action >>
http://www.cseindia.org/campaign/apc/press_20061114.htm
Sign up for CSE’s Air Pollution Bulletin, a monthly newsletter on
developments in the fight for clean air.
The newsletter features:
– Policy police: Comments from Anumita Roychowdhury, head of CSE’s clean
air campaign
– Action alert: In-depth analysis of new regulations, developments and
politics of air pollution
– Smog digest: A news digest on vehicular pollution compiled from 80
leading newspapers
Sign up for this newsletter by clicking the link below>>
http://www.equitywatch.org/phplist/?p=subscribe&id=4
You can follow the same link to sign up for CSE’s other newsletters:
– E-Pov: In-depth news and analysis on environment, poverty, governance
and updates on the NREGA Act
– Body Burden: Exploring the critical link between health and environment
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Green Schools Award: Rewarding environment awareness
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For over a year, students have been monitoring the environmental
performance of their schools under the Gobar Times Green School
Programme. All participants performed a rigorous self-audit following a
set of guidelines outlined in the Green Schools Manual. Now it is time
to announce the winners of the Green Schools Award for India’s top
performing schools. You are cordially invited to attend the awards event.
Date: November 27, 2006
Time: 3:30 pm onwards
Venue: Stein Auditorium, India Habitat Centre, Lodi Road, New Delhi
Awards will be given in the following categories:
– Top green schools of India
– Green teachers’ team award
– Best students’ audit team award
For more information visit>>
http://www.cseindia.org/programme/eeu/gsp_award.htm
To sign up to become a green school>>
http://www.cseindia.org/programme/eeu/gsp/gsp_index.htm
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Editorial: Making space for emissions
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By Sunita Narain
What does the ubiquitous auto-rickshaw and the plush aeroplane have in
common, other than getting us from one place to another? The
auto-rickshaw, as India’s largest manufacturer Rahul Bajaj will tell
you, is the symbol of democratic mobility – it provides transport for
large numbers of people at what he says is affordable costs. But these
vehicles are technology poor, and extremely polluting. How then do you
control emissions from these vehicles, which are sources of employment
for the poor; which drive the not-so-well-off from one place to another;
and are manufactured using poor technology? How do you balance interests
of equity and access with the interests of clean air and health?
Two approaches are possible: one, to find fuel and technology options to
reduce emissions. Delhi, for instance, now runs autos on compressed
natural gas; Kathmandu has a fleet of battery-operated autos; and
Bangalore is experimenting with LPG . But if this emission-efficiency
happens without controls on numbers of vehicles, then the ‘clean’
atmospheric space created will be gobbled up and decimated by the hordes
of private vehicles on the roads.
The other approach would be to create ecological space for
auto-rickshaws to emit. In other words, atmospheric space would be
allocated based on the number of people a vehicle transports. Cars,
which transport fewer numbers, would have to be reduced. This would also
mean that we should reduce the numbers of auto-rickshaws and replace
them with buses, which carry even larger numbers. If the bus is
emission-free, we get a double win – where mobility is possible without
damaging our health and the health of our planet. Call it moving from
autocratic pollution to democratic pollution control.
But what does this have to do with aircraft? The fact is that airline
travel is also getting “democratised” – large numbers of people travel
in planes in both low-cost carriers and on short-haul routes. The
question is two-fold: how will this growth of air travel affect global
carbon emissions? How will the pollution from aircraft be shared within
the atmospheric space of the world, particularly when greenhouse gas
emissions are skewed by power and wealth.
We know that aircraft are responsible for greenhouse gas emissions. What
is disputed is the degree of responsibility airlines should assume in
limiting global emissions. The airline industry argues that its
contribution to total human-made emissions is minuscule – less than 3
per cent of the world’s annual carbon dioxide emissions. Scientists say
this could be underestimated as high-altitude emissions are more
damaging. Nitrogen dioxide from airline engines leads to formation of
ozone, and are worried about the impact of cirrus clouds formed by
aircraft, which they believe contribute to global warming. If all this
is accounted, the contribution of air travel to global warming is
possibly closer to 5-9 per cent.
However, what is beyond dispute is that the airline sector is the
fastest growing source of greenhouse gases. In Europe, emissions from
air travel increased by an estimated 73 per cent between 1990 and 2003,
and are spiralling. Environmental NGOs estimate that this growth of
airline emissions has just about cancelled out a quarter of the emission
reductions made by European countries in the same period.
The Kyoto Protocol, which seeks to limit the emissions of the
industrialised world, does not include international aviation emissions
in its controls. Instead, the UN’s International Civil Aviation
Organisation was to address this issue, but has done little since. Now
Europe is rocking this boat. In July, the European parliament voted in
favour of measures to cap airline emissions in the future. When (and if)
this scheme goes into effect in two to three years, it would involve
creating a European airline emissions trading scheme – effectively
putting a price on their emissions.
But protest is mounting. The aviation industry is calling it a “tax on
holidays”. They scream that budget airlines and recreation travel will
be hardest hit by this tax.
The problem is that global airlines, the mode of transport for the rich,
have had a sweet deal. For instance, international flights do not pay
fuel tax. They also get other exemptions, including huge financial
bailouts from public funds when they are in trouble. Now this mode of
transport is expanding its market – competing with cheaper railways,
roadways and other modes of transport. Then budget airlines – in Europe
and in India – are growing exponentially and are forcing their
competitors to cut costs further. The only option is to push governments
for lower taxation and more (not less) sops. In India, the clamour is to
reduce the domestic tax on aviation fuel.
But here the similarity between autos and planes ends. The fact is that
airline travel cannot be considered ‘survival’ emissions but are
‘luxury’ emissions. The fact also is that the rich in the world have
overused their atmospheric space (or pollution quota) and that the poor
need to be compensated for this overuse. The sad and unfortunate fact
also is that the poor are most vulnerable to adverse climate changes.
Therefore, a tax on the airline industry is needed to pay for the unused
carbon quota of the poor or indeed their adaptation costs. This
‘entitlement’ payment will then provide incentives to invest in
technologies that do not add to global emissions.
The auto-plane principle is simple: we will need to free up the occupied
ecological space and then fill it up with things that can benefit all
and do not blow up our present and future. Simple, yes, but unpalatable?
– Sunita Narain
To comment, write to >>
editor@downtoearth.org.in
Read the editorial online >>
www.downtoearth.org.in/cover_nl.asp?mode=2
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Cover story: SEZs: Advantage government, battle lost for farmers?
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Of late, the Indian government has been pushing forth its new policy on
special economic zones (SEZs), envisaging big revenue generation and
creation of infrastructure. But setting up of SEZs is not a simple task
as it entails massive land acquisition and subsequently, displacement of
farmers. Much of the land involved is fertile, agricultural land, though
the government has said it will only acquire wasteland now. This is a
hard task as it is difficult to identify whether a piece of land is
indeed waste. Under such circumstances, where they risk losing
productive land, farmers are slowly gearing up for a fight against the
high and mighty. Will they succeed?
Read online >>
www.downtoearth.org.in/cover_nl.asp?mode=1
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Podcast: Hear what’s new in Down To Earth
===============================
Want to hear the latest from Down To Earth every fortnight? Get our new
audio podcast for a briefing on what’s in the issue. Subscribe to the
podcast using free podcast software such as Juice or Itunes.
What is a podcast? How do I download podcast software?
http://www.softease.com/podcasting/podcastingguide.htm
Feed URL>>
http://feeds.feedburner.com/DownToEarthIndia
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Blogging Kyoto: Daily updates from COP
===============================
Down To Earth is in Nairobi, Kenya, this week covering COP-12/MOP-2, the
annual UN climate change conference.
The high-level conference will feature discussions on the Clean
Development Mechanism, the future of the Kyoto Protocol after 2012 and
negotiations on a fund to help developing countries adapt to climate change.
Visit our blog for the daily inside scoop on the conference. Post your
comments and suggestions on side events you want covered and questions
you had and we will do our best to address them.
For daily coverage from November 10-17, 2006 visit >>
http://climateequitywatch.blogspot.com
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More in Down To Earth magazine
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News: Killer asbestos finds backers at Rotterdam Convention
Parties to the Rotterdam Convention, an international treaty governing
trading in toxic substances, have failed to add chrysotile — the most
common form of asbestos — to the prior informed consent (PIC) list.
According to PIC, exporting countries must inform importers about the
substance before shipping it. The opposition to list chrysotile, an
industrial toxin that causes diseases like lung cancer and mesothelioma,
was led by Canada and supported by a few countries, including India.
Read complete article >>
www.downtoearth.org.in/cover_nl.asp?mode=3
———————————-
News: Government’s new draft rehabilitation policy half-baked
The centre recently released a new draft rehabilitation policy. This is
the watered-down version of a previous one prepared by the National
Advisory Council, which the government had dumped earlier this year. The
new policy has many shortcomings: firstly, it does not take into account
development-induced displacement, and secondly, it deviates from the
issue of enforceable rights and compensation for the loss of livelihoods.
Read online >>
www.downtoearth.org.in/cover_nl.asp?mode=4
———————————-
News: Action against polluting units gives Goa villagers some relief
The Panaji bench of the Bombay High Court has upheld the Goa State
Pollution Control Board’s decision to issue closure notices to three
polluting units in Cuncolim Industrial Estate. The order came in
response to a PIL, which was filed after local authorities failed to
curb pollution in two nearby villages, which have been devastated as a
result of the pollution. Villagers allege that these units, most of
which manufacture ferro alloys and steel, dump waste into water bodies
or bury it, causing great danger to their lives and health.
Read online >>
www.downtoearth.org.in/cover_nl.asp?mode=5
———————————-
Features: West Bengal village sits on archaeological treasure
Lohapur, a tiny village in West Bengal’s Birbhum district, has a problem
of plenty. Excavation of a 16 sq km patch of land invariably leads to
discovery of stone artefacts belonging to the Pala dynasty (750-1150
AD). Even though villagers are proud of their possessions (almost every
family owns one), they do little for maintaining these treasures from
the past. Most of the time, figurines can be seen lying around, covered
with moss or vermilion. Some of the more precious ones, villagers
allege, have been stolen by outsiders.
Read online (subscription required) >>
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/full6.asp?foldername=20061115&filename=news&se
c_id=50&sid=26
———————————-
Science: Endosulfan may finally have a destroyer
Scientists at Indian Institute of Technology Madras have discovered a
bacterial mixture, which breaks down the deadly pesticide, endosulfan,
into environment friendly inorganic chemicals. This happens under both
aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Endosulfan enters the air, water and
soil during its manufacture and use. Exposure can lead to birth defects,
hyperactivity, nausea, dizziness, headaches and sometimes even
convulsions.
Read online (subscription required) >>
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/full6.asp?foldername=20061115&filename=news&se
c_id=4&sid=5
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Jobs: Wanted reporters for Down To Earth magazine
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CSE is looking for reporters for Down To Earth magazine. The candidate
should have 1 to 5 years of professional experience. Freshers can also
apply.
The job requires:
– Willingness to travel to little known parts of India
– Ability to make sense of complex information and statistics
– Ability to write clearly in English
The magazine looks at all matters of general interest — politics,
economics, finance, markets, diplomacy, conflicts — through the science
and environment perspective.
E-mail your resume to jgupta@cseindia.org
===============================
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