Story
Our smaller future
A year ago, in this very column, I discussed the myopia of budget 2008, which did not touch upon events then beginning to unfold. Since then we have seen the world collapse and, perhaps, even change forever.
Climate lectures don’t make lessons
There was a jamboree in my town recently, a gathering of the powerful and famous, to discuss the climate change agreement the world must carve out in Copenhagen by end 2009. But what happened was rather discomforting: We Indians were publicly lectured, castigated and rapped on our knuckles for being bad boys and girls by one and all. UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon told us developing countries must make more efforts to address climate change and get on-board with industrialized world for solutions.
Tags:
Second Country Media Briefing on Air Quality and Urban Mobility
Colombo, April 27,2011
Almost every South Asian city today is reeling under severe air pollution and gridlocked urban traffic. Colombo has the advantage of having the sea by its side, but it is still struggling with polluting fuels, outdated vehicle technologies and rising numbers of private vehicles leading to massive congestion.
The public relations republic
Let me dare to predict how regulatory and corporate India will resolve IT major Satyam’s scandal/saga. The government will stand tall, its arms and branches spread out in never-ending enquiry, to provide tactical cover. Some fall-guys might be found: now-disgraced chairman B Ramalinga Raju could be sentenced, as could the auditing company official who signed the accounts; but it takes time to prove guilt, so that they will probably live a retired life in the comfort of their homes, out on bail. Meanwhile, the media will bray for blood.
Urban Rainwater Harvesting
See Also
Down To Earth
Growth thirsty
.jpg)
Groundwater level is plunging in Dhaka. Experts call for making rainwater harvesting mandatoryWater wise
A self sustained housing society, undaunted by water scarcityAravallis undermined
SC mining ban alone won't save Haryana's natural lakesTheir own suppliers
Scarcity teaches a village in Orissa how to manage its water supplyMining ban around Sasthamkotta lake
.jpg)
Conservation plan in the works for Kerala's biggest freshwater lakeNeela Hauz to breathe easy
Work to restore the Neela Hauz lake near Vasant Kunj in Delhi has finally started.
Watertight
Rate water fixtures for efficiency to cut wastageWhen will coliform matter?
India fails to notify standards for treated sewageA 138 km pipe dream
Bhilwara awaits next polls for waterGutter will sparkle
Ludhiana is going all out to clean up Buddha Nallah, the sole receptacle of its industrial filthPeople do pay for latrines
.jpg)
Four decades ago, when Bindeshwar Pathak began his work on changing unsanitary latrine practices, there were sceptics galore.Amul takes hygiene a step forward
At Anand, the dairy cooperative movement’s birthplace, no one will defecate in the open.Bengaluru catches drops
Act mandating rainwater harvesting boosts sale of filtersKolkata reconnects with its riverfront
An ambitious riverfront development project has been drawing many visitors in Kolkata.Review of film 'Wasted'
.jpg)
Wasted Swecha Productions directed by Anshul Uniyal and Vimalendu Jha 16 minutes WastedKolkata tanners unhappy with new relocation site
Until a decade ago, Kim Li Loi, Canton and Hot Wok, restaurants in the Chinatown locality of eastern Kolkata'sCETP employee in Gujarat sacked for exposing illegal discharge channels
Vishnubhai Patel was an operator-cum-fitter with Green Environment Services Co-operative Society Ltd.Packaged water @ 10 paise/litre
Rural water supply scheme for Andhra has no room for public opinion; price may be hiked laterRich waste water
Adelaide's wealthy don't mind paying fines
Natures own water purifiers
River banks are efficient water filters. Haridwar shows how to make most of them
2009 is full of promise
I spent a week at the climate change conference in Poznan, and realized the world is in deep trouble and deeper denial. Worse, the denial is now entirely on the side of action. It is well accepted that climate change is a reality. Scientists say we need to cap temperature increases at 2°C to avoid catastrophe, which means capping emissions at 450 ppm. We know global average temperatures have already increased by 0.8°C and there is enough greenhouse gas in the atmosphere to lead to another 0.8°C increase.
Tags:
Maintenance
Quality of stored water
To prevent leaves and debris from entering the system, mesh filters should be provided at the mouth of the drainpipe. Further, a first-flush device should be provided in the conduit before it connects to the storage container.
Tags:
The tale of 21st century’s dinosaurs
Have you noticed how the mighty automobile industry in the US is beginning to sound like the now infamous tobacco industry at the time of its collapse, taking cover behind the people it employed to whitewash its inefficiency and perhaps its sheer inappropriateness? The tobacco industry, in its last days of conviction, when it became clear that the science of toxicity of this leaf was real, hid behind farmers who grew it.
Tags:
The newer deal for a newer world
After months of downward spiral, the dreaded r-word must be uttered. The world’s major economies are into a recession. Equally recessive is the response of leaders who, after working extremely hard to privatize and deregulate, are falling upon a Keynesian idea, first applied after the 1929 Great Depression in the us, requiring governments to spend huge amounts of public money to bail out the economy.
A complicated bus-ride
What does Barack Obama’s election as president of the us have to do with buses in India? A lot. Obama stands for what he calls ‘change’—in the way we think and do business. But the call will remain rhetoric unless we translate it into practical, everyday life, changes. To do that, we must bring changes in our business model and, most importantly, in what is essential and what needs to be invested in.
 |
.jpg) |
 |
 |
 |
.gif) |
 |
.gif) |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
.jpg) |
 |