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Ever since the publication of the IPCC’s ‘Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C’ in October 2018, there’s been a spurt of activities on the issue of global warming/climate crisis. And as if on cue, in its wake came a torrent of ‘climate fakery’–when group after group and government after government started declaring ‘climate emergency’.
Some of the most celebrated scientific ideas and books of the 20th century may not be useful for us in this century, while lesser-known works of the past acquire new relevance. Here, then, is a selection of such works, along with an invitation for readers to critique and contribute their own suggestions to this list.
There is a difference between an apple sold on a bandi and in a supermarket. It can happen that the price in the supermarket is lower, but it’s not difficult to understand that the ‘value’ added to it in a super market is more. Thus, the lesser the value added, the more sustainable it is.
Many people think that milk is normal good food. But a large part of the world until recently never consumed the milk of other animals. Even today, Eastern Asia as a rule does not use milk. So, for some, milk is the greatest food, while for others, milk is one of the five white poisons.
For the first workshop of Ecologise Hyderabad, we chose the topic of Rain Water Harvesting because it is of great current interest. We were both overwhelmed and humbled by the huge response we got for the workshop. The workshop was attended by 24 registered participants, 5 members of the Ecologise group and 5 resource persons.
It is a peculiar combination of technological, economic and geopolitical factors that has led to the present crash in oil prices, lulling many observers into dismissing peak oil. Through it all, the fact remains that the production of ‘conventional oil’, drawn mostly from established oil wells, has not gone up since its peak in 2008.
Some of us have recently created a small group called ‘Ecologise Hyderabad’. The aim of the group is to look at the many ecological crises of the city holistically, interact with experts and social activist and run programmes to strengthen the efforts of the activists in running green programmes in different localities of the city.
Peak Oil, Food Security and Urban Agriculture T. Vijayendra Abstract Peak Oil refers to the point when oil production reaches a peak, and henceforth can only fall. This has already happened. This has enormous implications for food security. It raises cost and prices of food because farm inputs – primarily fertilisers and pesticides – are petroleum
The Industrial Society or the Carbon Society The present social system that we are living is called Industrial Society. It began with the Industrial Revolution (1760 -1830) in the West and was followed by social revolution in various countries – Holland, France, England and the USA, ending the age old feudal society and ushering in
When we talk of sustainability, we often hear terms like eco-friendly technologies, appropriate technologies etc. To this, critics often say that we’re talking of going back to nature, we are being primitive, unscientific and that this is not possible. This article tries to provide a logic for eco-friendly, appropriate technologies using human and animal power.
Why climate scientist James Hansen’s exhortation to embrace nuclear power is just wishful thinking T. Vijayendra Climatologist James Hansen is the former head of NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies and one of the world’s leading advocates of the dangers of climate change. Last year, he joined senior scientist Ken Caldeira of the Carnegie Institution’s Department of
By T. Vijayendra, POI Founder-Member “Old age is a tiredness that does not disappear the next morning, as we ingenuously expected upon going to bed”. – Baldomero Fernández Moreno, Argentinean poet OLD AGE People above sixty years are considered old or senior citizens. It is the percentage of old people in the total population that is
T. Vijayendra argues that today’s population explosion is essentially a product of cheap oil, and that the end of oil means we will be forced to consider a new approach to population which many would find unpalatable now – but would ultimately help humans strike a balance between population and resource consumption The twentieth century was
T. Vijayendra, a Founder-Member of POI, writes to the group reminiscing on its formation and offering pointers towards the future It is just about a year since the informal group called Peak Oil India was formed (on June 7, 2013) and we decided to have a website. The website has been active for quite some
In the context of Peak Oil and the general depletion of fossil fuels, we often hear about Nuclear Energy as an option. However, if we look at the empirical data, we will soon discover that it’s not – even if we discount all the dangers associated with Nuclear Energy programme, such as waste disposal problems
By T. Vijayendra A pamphlet on World Kitchen Garden Day (August 25)! The idea of kitchen garden is becoming popular because of: • awareness on growing healthy food • rise in vegetable prices But why have prices risen?
By T. Vjayendra and Shashank Srinivasan ABSTRACT Wildlife across the world is endangered due to habitat loss caused as a by-product of modern human society in the past 200 years. Most attempts at conservation have been unsuccessful in the face of the consumerist juggernaut because they are being carried out without questioning industrial society or
By T. Vijayendra Peak oil means when the production of petroleum products has reached a peak and hence forth it will only fall. This has already happened. It heralds the collapse of industrial societies. Cities are energy consumers, not producers. With the fossil fuel era coming to a close, and no viable alternative energy source
