Opinion
Teaching sustainability values
07 Oct 2009 |
Dr Leena Srivastava
| Financial Chronicle
In a recent conference in Istanbul, a delegate expressed wondrous surprise that her three year-old daughter displayed concern for water conservation while brushing her teeth. She said that she would not expect such behaviour from older children or indeed adults. Her wonder would come as a surprise to most in the poorer countries of the world where conservation is a way of life … conservation of water, of energy, of space, of paper and so on are values ingrained in us from childhood. Don’t waste food, take as much as you can finish - a common diktat in most households. Share your meagre resources – a common refrain.
Revamp environment laws
05 Oct 2009 |
Mr Sakarama Somayaji
| Financial Cronicle
The Awakening, a science fiction novel by Risto Isomaki published in the late 1990 had a very interesting storyline. In it, the West Siberian permafrost and offshore methane hydrate deposits started to melt, releasing huge quantities of methane into the air.
And soon, people started to suffocate to death when the atmosphere became too poisonous for them. Purely fictitious at that time, but less than a decade later, I am not so sure. A sentiment also echoed by the author of the novel.
CSR and sustainable development
21 Sep 2009 |
Dr R K Pachauri
| The Economic Times
Capitalism and the role of private enterprise are currently being questioned across the world, particularly after the last year's economic meltdown and the current economic recession, which has gripped the world. Criticism, which appears largely valid, focuses on the factors that led to the current crisis.
There is now widespread acceptance of the fact that a lack of effective regulation of private sector activity combined with unethical decisions at the leadership level in the corporate sector have been the main cause of the current impasse.
How to make good neighbours
08 Sep 2009 |
Dr Leena Srivastava
| Financial Chronicle
India seems to be in the eye of the storm perpetually - be it related to geographical tensions or around the issue of climate change or even vis-Ã -vis the trade negotiations. Of course, the key Indian stakeholders, as expected and as is probably right, are protesting loudly about the unfair accusations and the vulnerability of their population but seem less than successful in putting their point across.
A fluid situation
26 Aug 2009 |
Dr R K Pachauri
| The Hindustan Times
The current drought affecting several parts of India is merely a symptom of a growing problem that this country must address with forward vision. Lack of access to good quality and adequate quantity of water for the citizens of India renders meaningless progress in all other fields. There are varying estimates of total useable water resources in the country, but the consensus clearly points to a quantity below 1,000 billion cubic metres, which translates into water availability per capita far below the scarcity benchmark of 1,000 cubic metres. Demand in the future will grow rapidly with increase in irrigation, rapid industrialisation and greater household consumption, particularly with rapid urbanisation.
Lessons in transport management
25 Aug 2009 |
Dr Leena Srivastava
| Financial Chronicle
We need a new culture of energy conservation, prime minister Manmohan Singh said in his Independence Day speech this year. He said this in recognition of India\'s dwindling natural resource base as also in the context of the challenge of climate change that the world is facing.
Almost exactly a week later, the chief minister of Delhi is reported to have told the deputy chairman of the planning commission that the eastern and western peripheral highways need to be completed at the earliest to avoid the threat of Delhi\'s traffic system collapsing due to the rapidly increasing vehicular population in the capital — which co-uld happen in a short span of two years!
Far-sighted policymaking and investment decisions can ensure energy security
24 Aug 2009 |
| The Financial Express
Energy insecurity is a matter of grave concern for all. More so for India. The country is already on a shaky wicket importing 75% of its oil consumption with 75% of these imports from just one region—West Asia. What is even more worrisome is that our rapidly rising import of coal are fraught with uncertainties, as mentioned above.
Government versus governance
11 Aug 2009 |
Dr Leena Srivastava
| Financial Chronicle
Listening to the same grudges being voiced on a routine basis po-ssibly makes us immune to the malaise around us. The challenge of poor governance is one such silent virus that has invaded us and is threatening the lives of millions of people in India. Examples of the occurrence of this virus abound but, as in the case of number of deaths, get reduced to mere statistics.
Comme Ci, Comme Ca (Anatomy of a decade)
09 Aug 2009 |
Dr R K Pachauri
| The Financial Express
In actual fact the decade of the 1950s did not set a very good platform for protecting the environment. It is, of course, true the environmental problems associated with industrialisation and rapid growth of several sectors had not appeared on the scene in that period, but political and other compulsions at the time led to large-scale deforestation for instance, the cost of which we are still paying. Besides, our dependence on the former Soviet Union for heavy industry resulted in some technologies that were largely energy intensive and polluting in nature.