NEWS ARCHIVE
The Economic Times reports: The International Energy Agency has said it was significantly increasing its five-year growth forecast for renewables, thanks to strong policy support in key countries like United States, China, India and sharp cost reductions. Renewables have surpassed coal last year to become the largest source of installed power capacity in the world….
Read More about NEWS UPDATE #117
NEWS ARCHIVE
Live Mint reports: Environment minister Anil Dave has said that his ministry was thinking of giving environmental clearances for industrial projects within 60 days, or half of the present 120 days. “When the Modi government took charge, it used to take 300 days to grant clearances; this has been reduced to 120 days” he said….
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NEWS ARCHIVE
Live Mint reports: By 2030, without significant investment into making cities more resilient, climate change may push up to 77 million more urban residents into poverty, said a new World Bank report. It stated that a growing number of natural disasters, economic, social, and environmental shocks and stresses, pose the greatest risk to rapidly-growing cities….
Read More about NEWS UPDATE #115
NEWS ARCHIVE
The Guardian reports: The International Monetary Fund has urged governments to take action to tackle a record $152tn debt mountain before it triggers a fresh global financial and economic crisis. New research covering 113 countries had shown that debt was currently 225% of global GDP, with the private sector responsible for two-thirds of the total….
Read More about NEWS UPDATE #114
NEWS ARCHIVE
Scroll.in reports: India will ratify the Paris agreement on climate change today, after President Pranab Mukherjee gave his assent to the deal. The move was originally announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who said the government had chosen Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary for the occasion. The Union cabinet had approved the move on September 28….
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ALTERNATIVES
Australian educator, author and co-inventor of Permaculture, Bruce Charles ‘Bill’ Mollison, died on the 24 September 2016. He has been praised across the world for his visionary work, and left behind a global network of ‘peaceful warriors’ in over 100 countries working tirelessly to fulfill his ambition to build harmony between humanity and Mother Earth….
Read More about Obituary: Peaceful warrior: Permaculture visionary Bill Mollison
NEWS ARCHIVE
The Guardian reports: Environmental destruction and landgrabs could lead to governments and individuals being prosecuted for crimes against humanity by the international criminal court following a decision to expand its remit. The ICC said it would prioritise crimes that result in “destruction of the environment”, “exploitation of natural resources” and the “illegal dispossession” of land….
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NEWS ARCHIVE
The Washington Post reports: Wilderness areas on Earth have experienced alarming losses in the past two decades, a new study suggests. Researchers have concluded that a 10th of all the world’s wilderness has been lost in just 20 years. South America lost nearly 30 percent of its wilderness area, and Africa lost about 14 percent….
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NEWS ARCHIVE
Partha Sarathi Biswas reports: Kishore Tiwari, chairman of a task force constituted by the Maharashtra government, is emphatic in blaming nationalised banks for farmer suicides in the state. “They have no qualms in writing off debts owed by big corporates, but harass farmers to death even for paltry crop loans of Rs 50,000,” he alleges….
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A view of the Vizhinjam fishing harbour
Aneesh/Wikimapia
Conflict/Dispossession
The National Green Tribunal has virtually given the go-ahead for the proposed mega port at Vizhinjam, to be built and run by the Adani group, setting aside appeals by local fisher folk and environmentalists. Here’s a closer look at what’s at stake at Vizhinjam, and why many consider it another developmental disaster in the making….
Read More about Adani’s Vizhinjam port: Another development disaster in the making?
ALTERNATIVES
Bjorn Lomborg, long known as a ‘contrarian’ environmentalist, recently triggered a heated media debate when he claimed that organic farming cannot provide food security for the world, and even asserted that it is bad for the environment. Here we present Lomborg’s original column in USA Today and a selection of voices that counter his view….
Read More about Debate: Can organic farming feed the world?
NEWS ARCHIVE
Pavitra Mohan reports: In rural India, where 833 million Indians (70%) live, people are consuming fewer nutrients than are required to stay healthy, according to a National Nutrition Monitoring Bureau (NNMB) survey. On an average, compared to 1975-1979, a rural Indian now consumes 550 fewer calories and 13 gm protein lesser than they used to….
Read More about NEWS UPDATE #109ALTERNATIVES
Developed by Dr. Ashok Kundapur, this project seeks to harness energy from the ocean to generate clean electric power all round the year at over 80% of installed capacity, way better than any conventional power plant burning coal or Uranium. He is seeking funds to develop a fully functional prototype, through the Milaap crowdfunding platform….
Read More about Call for donors: Clean ocean energy project in Udupi, IndiaCLIMATE CRISIS
India is presently in a strange situation–there’s an unrelenting drought in some parts of the country, while rain has inundated other parts, leading to loss of life and property. Like our droughts, our floods too are often manmade, critics say–a product of official incompetence, ignorance and apathy. These examples from across the country show they may have a point….
Read More about Spotlight: India’s perennial (manmade) flood problem
ALTERNATIVES
The revised version of a talk given by Soujanya Mantravadi at the Future of Energy for Hyderabad workshop held at La Makaan, Hyderabad on 24. 07. 2016, organized by Ecologise Hyderabad. It explores the implications of the end of the fossil fuel era and ways in which residents of Hyderabad can start preparing for it….
Read More about The end of the fossil fuel era and Hyderabad’s energy future
ALTERNATIVES
The renowned American ecological economist, Gandhian thinker and author Prof. Mark Lindley will be delivering a series of lectures in Bangalore, starting from 25th. Academic institutions hosting him in the city include IISc, NIAS, Azim Premji University, ATREE and Gandhi Bhavan. The lecture tour is being organised by the Ecologise network and Graama Seva Sangha….
Read More about Ecologise Event: Lecture tour by Prof. Mark Lindley in Bangalore
NEWS ARCHIVE
Down to Earth magazine reports: The Himalaya-Hindu Kush mountain range and the Tibetan Plateau is referred as the ‘Third Pole’, which directly supports 120 million people through irrigation systems. Recent findings suggest that temperatures there have increased by 1.5 °C in the last 50 years and 509 glaciers have disappeared in the last 50 years….
Read More about NEWS UPDATE #108
NEWS ARCHIVE
Darryl D’Monte reports: As many as 160,000 people will die every year in India by 2050 due to decreased food production because of climate change, an Oxford study predicts. India ranks second in the mortality forecast after China, where as many as 248,000 are expected to die for this reason. Surprisingly, the US ranks fifth….
Read More about NEWS UPDATE #107
Ecologise Events
Soujanya Mantravadi writes: The workshop was attended by 32 participants. Organised by three members of the Ecologise group and five resource people, the programme was intended to send out a strong message that the energy aspects of the city is goes beyond electricity. The workshop witnessed elaborate and edifying discussions between the participants and speakers….
Read More about Ecologise Hyderabad: Energy Workshop Report
