Fight to Save Yamuna

The advent of Commonwealth Games in India in 2010 instils fear in me. Yes, fear more than the pride. For more than a year now, I have been reading about Delhi Government’s mega plans for Commonwealth village. Of course, government’s decision for Commonwealth village is commercially driven. This article will tell you how much Commonwealth Games Village would be worth and what is it about.  The construction of Commonwealth Games village started in August this year amidst protests from various quarters.

Read the complete article here at my other blog, Its A Free World.

World Environment Day!

June 5 is World Environment Day. This year’s World Environment theme is to have a low carbon economy. The slogan is: Co2: Kick the Habit.

Few days back, I had also found a cute, kids game called Toxic Town. It tells you all the sources of carbon emissions including innocent ones like cow’s fart. Have a look at the game by clicking the image below.

One of the important mantras of a great environment is Recycle. So I decided to recycle my five old posts on Environment. (I know that was a cheesy introduction, that was to make you smile. Now you did! ) Some of these posts (like ragpickers) are really close to my heart.

My first Go Green Post: I included a photo feature from TIME and a google video of Al Gore‘s controversial documentary An Inconvenient Truth. In the comments section, I found Shromon who then promised to write this post about how carbon credit works.

Blog Action Day Post: For Blog Action Day, I wrote a collection of links for green games or other games that taught children about green environment.

Ban that Bulb: This post was written to encourage the use of CFLs instead of incandescent bulbs. Check out the stats for bulbs in Delhi in the post. Avoid zero watt bulbs too. Sometimes, when my folks bring that bulb home, I quietly change it. Don’t keep chargers and TV cables plugged in when not in use, they too use electricity. I included this amazing Common Craft video that tells you why CFLs are beneficiary in long run.

Hail Our Ragpickers: This is my favorite post, one that I wrote for my other team blog Its A Free World. You would be surprised to know how these kids are mistreated when they keep our cities clean. This old post, still generates comments from some citizens who are willing to pitch in. You can find out the links to related NGOs in the comment section of this post.

World Earth Day post: It has four videos about environment from One-minute video Environment contest.

10 Reasons Why My India is Regressive

1. Corruption: India is 83rd on world corruption index as per Transparency Index. Most bureaucrats and politicians in the country are corrupt. There is no honesty in corruption as well. In India, bribing also does not ensure that your work will be done or not. So most entrepreneurs prefer to bribe outside of India to set up an industry. 🙂

Some days back, Hindustan Times broke a story that most Indians knew in their heart. There was misuse of Red Cross funds meant for Kargil soldiers by IAS officers. We all know how various unscrupulous individuals and groups duped millions of people by asking money in name of Kargil. But the money never reached those for whom it was meant. 😦

2. Insensitivity to Environment Hazards: India has not yet woken up to the importance of conserving environment and energy.

• We still use bulbs in place of CFLs. It is not even apparent what could be other reasons of not using CFL other than cost? Do we get poor quality of CFLs in our country?
• People who take care of India’s recycling are poorest of the poor – ragpickers. Their effort is largely unrecognized. We should also not have manual scavengers work in such unprotected conditions.
• Asbestos is banned in US and EU because it is carcinogenic and also an environment hazard. But as per Outlook magazine, current Indian government is considering to revoke 20-year-old ban on asbestos mining. Forget environment, what about all those workers who would suffer from lung cancer, asbestosis, mesothelioma, a painful cancer of chest wall lining. Doesn’t this government care for its people?

7-12-2007: News That Caught My Attention Today

Following three pieces of news caught my attention today:

1. Supreme court allowed Women to work as bartenders: We got rid of one of the archaic laws today. Supreme Court observed that to not to allow women as bartenders was unconstitutional. Of course, it was gender-based bias. The court also emphasised that the hotel or restaurant needs to ensure safe working conditions for female bartenders. Now even a 21-year-old can be bartender. 🙂

                          Image Source: Sarina Bains/Tufts Daily

2. Lead India Show Live on TV: The eight Lead India finalists I wrote about in a previous post will now fight it out on TV on Star One. The host of the show is Anupam Kher. Watch first episode tomorrow at 8.

3. Global Warming is destroying nature: Several species are dying out (extinct) gue to climate change. 3,000 flying foxes dropped dead. Giant squid migrated north to commercial fishing grounds off California. Butterflies have gone extinct in the Alps. Most plants and animals were affected in Bali. Habitats of polar nears and penguins are melting away. Coral reefs and microscopic plankton that blue whales and other marine mammals eat for food are also dying due to acidic ocean water.