Cse In News

Clean Air & Sustainable Mobility

Winter air pollution exhibits rise in most Indian cities, says CSE

Smaller and upcoming cities rising as air pollution hotspots, says report. The degrees of PM 2.5, essentially the most threatening of particulate matter, worsened in 43 out of 99 cities whose winter air in two years, 2020 and 2019, was in contrast by the Centre for Science and Atmosphere (CSE). Solely 19 registered “substantial enchancment” — and certainly one of these was Chennai. The restof the cities didn’t expertise vital change. Within the aftermath of the lockdown, a number of cities reported improved air pollution ranges however by winter, when lockdowns had been considerably eased, air pollution ranges had clawed again to pre-COVID-19 ranges, the CSE notes, underlining the numerous contribution of native and regional elements to a metropolis’s air pollution ranges. The cities with the worst air pollution spikes in 2020 over 2019 embody Gurugram, Lucknow, Jaipur, Visakhapatnam, Agra, Navi Mumbai, and Jodhpur. Kolkata is the one mega metropolis on this group. In 37 cities which can be in any other case displaying secure or declining seasonal averages, their peak air pollution ranges have risen considerably throughout winter. These embody Aurangabad, Indore, Nashik, Jabalpur, Rupnagar, Bhopal, Dewas, Kochi, and Kozhikode. Then again, in north India, different cities, together with Delhi, have skilled the reverse, that’s, a rise within the seasonal common however decline within the seasonal peak. Throughout winter, cool and calm climate traps and spikes every day air pollution, notably in north Indian cities situated within the Indo Gangetic Plain. This yr, the common degree of PM2.5 throughout the summer time and monsoon months was significantly decrease than the earlier yr because of the summer time lockdown. Nevertheless, the winter PM2.5 focus has risen in comparison with the 2019 winter in lots of cities throughout areas. “This bouncing again of air pollution post-lockdown unmasks the excessive impacts of native and regional air pollution. This calls for faster regional reforms to curb air pollution from autos, business, energy vegetation and waste burning to curb the winter air pollution and likewise maintain annual enchancment at a regional scale with velocity,” says Anumita Roychowdhury, CSE’s govt director in control of analysis and advocacy, mentioned in a press release. The evaluation is a part of the air air pollution tracker initiative of CSE. It’s based mostly on publicly accessible granular actual time information (15-minute averages) from the Central Air pollution Management Board (CPCB). The information is captured from 248 official stations underneath the Steady Ambient Air High quality Monitoring System (CAAQMS) unfold throughout 115 cities in 22 States and Union Territories. The CSE analysts solely thought of cities that had readings for each years in no less than 75% of the winter days (from October 1 to January 31). When ranked from essentially the most to the least polluted cities, 23 of essentially the most polluted cities are from north India. Whereas Mysuru is the least polluted, adopted by Satna in Madhya Pradesh and Kochi in Kerala, Ghaziabad is essentially the most polluted metropolis within the northern belt. There are solely 4 cities (Satna, Mysuru, Vijaypura and Chikkamagaluru) which have met the nationwide 24-hour customary (60 μg/m3) throughout the winter season. Satna and Maihar in Madhya Pradesh, and Mysuru in Karnataka, are the cleanest cities within the nation, in keeping with the report. The authors of the examine additionally emphasise that quite than mega cities, it was the smaller and upcoming cities that had been rising as air pollution hotspots. “ This report makes it amply clear that this winter air pollution problem just isn’t restricted to mega cities or one particular area; it’s an omnipresent downside and requires pressing and deliberate motion in all places. This requires faster reforms and motion in key sectors of air pollution — autos, business, energy vegetation and waste administration to manage winter air pollution and bend the annual air air pollution curve.”

Clean Air & Sustainable Mobility

Winter pollution shows rise in most Indian cities, says CSE

Clean Air & Sustainable Mobility

Pune ranked 79th in country for air pollution in 2020-21 by CSE

Pune ranked 79th in country for air pollution in 2020-21 by CSE PUNE Pune is among 16 cities from central and western India that have shown a stable trend in air pollution this winter, as compared to previous years, according to analysis of real-time data carried out by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). At the national level, Pune was ranked 79th in air pollution in 2020-21. The city’s average PM2.5 during the winter season this year was 59 (μg/m3), which was lower than the same period in 2019-20 by a factor of -7. On the other hand, Pune’s peak level pollution this winter was 103 (μg/m3), which was lower than the same period in 2019-20 by a factor of -3. The ranking for city was 23rd among central and western cities. The data was collected from eight stations across the city for the study, CSE said on Wednesday. “Winter is a special challenge when inversion, and cool and calm weather traps and spikes daily pollution. While the northern Indo Gangetic Plain is most affected, other regions also experience a rise, but with lesser intensity. This year, even though the average level of PM2.5 during summer and monsoon months was considerably lower than the previous year due to the summer lockdown, the winter PM2.5 concentration has risen compared to 2019 in many cities across regions,” says Anumita Roychowdhury, CSE’s executive director in charge of research and advocacy. Roychowdhury adds: “This bouncing back of pollution post-lockdown unmasks the high impacts of local and regional pollution. This demands quicker regional reforms to curb pollution from vehicles, industry, power plants and waste burning to curb winter pollution and also to sustain annual improvement at a regional scale with speed.” The analysis has studied 99 cities where data availability for two consecutive winters meets the minimum criteria of 75 per cent of data completeness requirement. “This analysis has helped to understand the regional differences in regional profile of winter pollution. Even though there is considerable regional variation, peak pollution episodes increased and synchronsed within the regions during winter. At the same time, uneven rise across monitoring locations and contiguous cities bring out the impact of local pollution,” says Avikal Somvanshi, programme manager, CSE’s Urban Lab team of the Sustainable Cities programme. The analysis is part of the air pollution tracker initiative of CSE and was based on publicly available granular real-time data (15-minute averages) from the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) official online portal, the Central Control Room for Air Quality Management. The data is captured from 248 official stations under the Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring System (CAAQMS) spread across 115 cities in 22 states and union territories. CAAQMS has many more cities in its network than included in the analysis. India’s most polluted Gaziabad – most polluted Delhi – fifth most polluted Smaller towns see higher winter pollution levels than mega cities Source: Centre for Science and Environment (CSE)

Clean Air & Sustainable Mobility

Winter pollution shows rise in most Indian cities, says CSE

Smaller and upcoming cities rising as air pollution hotspots, says report. The degrees of PM 2.5, probably the most threatening of particulate matter, worsened in 43 out of 99 cities whose winter air in two years, 2020 and 2019, was in contrast by the Centre for Science and Setting (CSE). Solely 19 registered “substantial enchancment” — and one in every of these was Chennai. The restof the cities didn’t expertise vital change. Within the aftermath of the lockdown, a number of cities reported improved air pollution ranges however by winter, when lockdowns had been considerably eased, air pollution ranges had clawed again to pre-COVID-19 ranges, the CSE notes, underlining the numerous contribution of native and regional elements to a metropolis’s air pollution ranges. The cities with the worst air pollution spikes in 2020 over 2019 embrace Gurugram, Lucknow, Jaipur, Visakhapatnam, Agra, Navi Mumbai, and Jodhpur. Kolkata is the one mega metropolis on this group. In 37 cities which might be in any other case displaying secure or declining seasonal averages, their peak air pollution ranges have risen considerably throughout winter. These embrace Aurangabad, Indore, Nashik, Jabalpur, Rupnagar, Bhopal, Dewas, Kochi, and Kozhikode. Alternatively, in north India, different cities, together with Delhi, have skilled the reverse, that’s, a rise within the seasonal common however decline within the seasonal peak. Throughout winter, cool and calm climate traps and spikes each day air pollution, notably in north Indian cities situated within the Indo Gangetic Plain. This 12 months, the common stage of PM2.5 through the summer season and monsoon months was significantly decrease than the earlier 12 months because of the summer season lockdown. Nonetheless, the winter PM2.5 focus has risen in comparison with the 2019 winter in lots of cities throughout areas. “This bouncing again of air pollution post-lockdown unmasks the excessive impacts of native and regional air pollution. This calls for faster regional reforms to curb air pollution from automobiles, business, energy vegetation and waste burning to curb the winter air pollution and likewise maintain annual enchancment at a regional scale with velocity,” says Anumita Roychowdhury, CSE’s govt director in command of analysis and advocacy, mentioned in a press release. The evaluation is a part of the air air pollution tracker initiative of CSE. It’s primarily based on publicly accessible granular actual time knowledge (15-minute averages) from the Central Air pollution Management Board (CPCB). The info is captured from 248 official stations underneath the Steady Ambient Air High quality Monitoring System (CAAQMS) unfold throughout 115 cities in 22 States and Union Territories. The CSE analysts solely thought of cities that had readings for each years in no less than 75% of the winter days (from October 1 to January 31). When ranked from probably the most to the least polluted cities, 23 of probably the most polluted cities are from north India. Whereas Mysuru is the least polluted, adopted by Satna in Madhya Pradesh and Kochi in Kerala, Ghaziabad is probably the most polluted metropolis within the northern belt. There are solely 4 cities (Satna, Mysuru, Vijaypura and Chikkamagaluru) which have met the nationwide 24-hour normal (60 μg/m3) through the winter season. Satna and Maihar in Madhya Pradesh, and Mysuru in Karnataka, are the cleanest cities within the nation, in keeping with the report. The authors of the examine additionally emphasise that moderately than mega cities, it was the smaller and upcoming cities that had been rising as air pollution hotspots. “ This report makes it amply clear that this winter air pollution problem just isn’t restricted to mega cities or one particular area; it’s an omnipresent drawback and requires pressing and deliberate motion in all places. This requires faster reforms and motion in key sectors of air pollution — automobiles, business, energy vegetation and waste administration to manage winter air pollution and bend the annual air air pollution curve.”

Clean Air & Sustainable Mobility

CSE says winter pollution increases in most Indian cities

The report noted that emerging small and upcoming cities as centers of pollution. PM2.5 levels, the highest risk of particulate matter, worsened in 43 of 99 cities whose winter air in two years, 2020 and 2019, was compared by the Center for Science and Environment (CSE). Only 19 registered “substantial improvements” – and one of them was Chennai. Other cities did not experience significant changes. In the aftermath of the lockdown, many cities reported an improvement in pollution levels, but in winter, when the lockdown was significantly relaxed, pollution levels reverted to pre-COVID-19 levels, CSE notes Was given, underlining the important contribution of local and regional factors. City pollution level The worst polluting cities in 2019 include Gurugram, Lucknow, Jaipur, Visakhapatnam, Agra, Navi Mumbai and Jodhpur. Kolkata is the only mega city of this group. In 37 cities that are otherwise showing steady or falling seasonal averages, their pollution levels have increased significantly during the winter. These include Aurangabad, Indore, Nashik, Jabalpur, Rupnagar, Bhopal, Dewas, Kochi, and Kozhikode. On the other hand, in North India, other cities including Delhi have experienced the reverse, ie an increase in the seasonal average but a decline in the seasonal peak. During winters, traps of calm and calm weather and spread daily pollution, especially in North Indian cities which are situated in the Gangetic plain of India. The average level of PM2.5 during the summer and monsoon months this year was significantly lower due to the summer lockdown than the previous year. However, winter PM2.5 concentration increased in many cities in the region compared to the winter of 2019. He said, ‘Jumpdown of lockdown after pollution exposes the high impacts of local and regional pollution. It calls for accelerated regional reforms to curb pollution from vehicles, industry, power plants and burn waste to prevent winter pollution and maintain annual improvements on a regional scale with speed, ” Anuma Roychowdhury, CSE executive director in charge of research and advocacy, said in a statement. The analysis is part of CSE’s air pollution tracker initiative. It is based on publicly available granular real time data (15-minute averages) from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). The data is captured from 248 official stations under the Continent Ambient Air Quality Monitoring System (CAAQMS) spread across 115 cities across 22 states and union territories. CSE analysts only considered cities that read at least 75% of the winter days (from 1 October to 31 January) for both years. When ranked among the least polluted cities, 23 of the most polluted cities are from North India. Mysuru is the least polluted, followed by Satna in Madhya Pradesh and Kochi in Kerala, Ghaziabad in the northern belt. There are only four cities (Satna, Mysuru, Vijayapura and Chikkamagaluru) that have met the national 24-hour standard (60 μg / m3) during the winter season. According to the report, Satna and Maihar in Madhya Pradesh, and Mysuru in Karnataka, are the cleanest cities in the country. The authors of the study also emphasized that instead of mega cities, it was small and upcoming cities that were emerging as centers of pollution. “This report makes it clear that this winter pollution challenge is not limited to mega cities or a specific region; It is a ubiquitous problem and requires immediate and deliberate action everywhere. This requires quick improvement and action in key areas of pollution – vehicles, industry, power plants and waste management so that winter pollution can be controlled and the annual air pollution curve can be reduced. “

Clean Air & Sustainable Mobility

Winter pollution shows rise in most Indian cities, says CSE

Smaller and upcoming cities emerging as pollution hotspots, says report. The levels of PM 2.5, the most threatening of particulate matter, worsened in 43 out of 99 cities whose winter air in two years, 2020 and 2019, was compared by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). Only 19 registered “substantial improvement” — and one of these was Chennai. The restof the cities did not experience significant change. In the aftermath of the lockdown, several cities reported improved pollution levels but by winter, when lockdowns were significantly eased, pollution levels had clawed back to pre-COVID-19 levels, the CSE notes, underlining the significant contribution of local and regional factors to a city’s pollution levels. The cities with the worst pollution spikes in 2020 over 2019 include Gurugram, Lucknow, Jaipur, Visakhapatnam, Agra, Navi Mumbai, and Jodhpur. Kolkata is the only mega city in this group. In 37 cities that are otherwise showing stable or declining seasonal averages, their peak pollution levels have risen significantly during winter. These include Aurangabad, Indore, Nashik, Jabalpur, Rupnagar, Bhopal, Dewas, Kochi, and Kozhikode. On the other hand, in north India, other cities, including Delhi, have experienced the reverse, that is, an increase in the seasonal average but decline in the seasonal peak. During winter, cool and calm weather traps and spikes daily pollution, particularly in north Indian cities located in the Indo Gangetic Plain. This year, the average level of PM2.5 during the summer and monsoon months was considerably lower than the previous year due to the summer lockdown. However, the winter PM2.5 concentration has risen compared to the 2019 winter in many cities across regions. “This bouncing back of pollution post-lockdown unmasks the high impacts of local and regional pollution. This demands quicker regional reforms to curb pollution from vehicles, industry, power plants and waste burning to curb the winter pollution and also sustain annual improvement at a regional scale with speed,” says Anumita Roychowdhury, CSE’s executive director in charge of research and advocacy, said in a statement. The analysis is part of the air pollution tracker initiative of CSE. It’s based on publicly available granular real time data (15-minute averages) from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). The data is captured from 248 official stations under the Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring System (CAAQMS) spread across 115 cities in 22 States and Union Territories. The CSE analysts only considered cities that had readings for both years in at least 75% of the winter days (from October 1 to January 31). When ranked from the most to the least polluted cities, 23 of the most polluted cities are from north India. While Mysuru is the least polluted, followed by Satna in Madhya Pradesh and Kochi in Kerala, Ghaziabad is the most polluted city in the northern belt. There are only four cities (Satna, Mysuru, Vijaypura and Chikkamagaluru) that have met the national 24-hour standard (60 μg/m3) during the winter season. Satna and Maihar in Madhya Pradesh, and Mysuru in Karnataka, are the cleanest cities in the country, according to the report.

Water Programme

Give young environmentalists a voice

India has always argued that climate is linked to development choices, livelihoods and equity. Don’t ask activists to narrow down their concerns The climate advocacy group, Fridays for Future, has been in the news recently due to the arrest of one of its members, Disha Ravi, in connection with allegedly playing a role in producing and sharing a protest “toolkit”. On the face of it, producing and sharing a toolkit is usual for advocacy groups seeking to mobilise attention and action around an issue, and it is hard to understand the serious allegations being made. Since I am not privy to the details of the case, I want to flag some broader, problematic, perspectives in the public conversation about this case . First, a prominent theme in public conversations around this episode is that climate activists should stick to narrow environmental issues. Environmentalists, some imply, should play among themselves in a sandbox at one corner of the public debate. The irony is that India and Indian stakeholders — activists, diplomats and political leaders alike — have played a leading role in successfully arguing that the climate crisis is not only an environmental issue, it is a question of development choices, livelihoods and equity. Notably, Fridays for Future appears to have taken on board this broader view: “ensure climate justice and equity” is the second “demand” listed in a August 2019 declaration on its website (the first and third are “limit temperature rise to 1.5 degrees C” and “listen to the science”). This recognition of equity is essential to ensuring that poor people and poor countries do not bear the cost of climate adjustment, which India has been in the forefront of arguing internationally. The bottom line is that environmental and social outcomes are inter-connected, and one cannot come at the cost of the other. This broad perspective on environment is just as salient domestically as it is internationally. And from this point of view, it is reasonable — and even necessary — to look at not only the environmental problems arising from farming, but also the social condition of farmers, and the political and economic forces shaping farmer choices. Calling for Indian environmentalists to limit the scope of their interests not only impoverishes the national conversation, but also contradicts a uniquely powerful Indian stance espoused by activists and government alike, and that has served the national interest well in climate negotiations. Second, it would be deeply problematic if the grumbling about the international linkages of the “toolkit” at the centre of this issue diluted the truth that it is strongly in India’s national interests to address environmental concerns; this is not just some international fiction. Environmental issues affect Indian interests in multiple ways. To begin with, the local environment is despoiled in much of India. The Centre for Science and Environment found that, as of 2018, 275 of 445 monitored rivers were polluted and that unprocessed solid waste is the norm even in many cities. A dire air pollution problem is taking a toll on the health of Indians, with air pollution estimated to cause 1.2 million premature deaths a year, about one-eighth of all annual deaths in India, according to Indian scientists who have contributed to the Global Burden of Disease study. While much remains to be done, some potentially useful steps have been taken, such as creation of a new Commission on Air Quality Management. In addition, the climate crisis is an enormous threat multiplier in India, according to a comprehensive Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology compilation. It could increase the destructive power of natural disasters, affect crop productivity, impact labour productivity through heat stress, disrupt the monsoons, and affect India’s water supply. Simply put, the climate crisis will make India’s development aspirations much harder to achieve. Not least, the landscape of economic opportunity and job creation, both in India and globally, is changing in response to the environmental and climate crises. In energy, fossil fuels are giving way to solar, wind and battery technology; in transport, the days of the internal combustion engine may be numbered — GM recently announced their phase-out; in food, meat substitutes are taking off, and all these changes are driven by environmental concerns. In some areas, the government is attentive to these changes, seeking to stimulate solar panel production, and battery technology and manufacturing. In brief, local pollution, climate damage and new economic opportunities tied to climate and environment are all important to our national interests. While an enormous amount remains to be done, the environment has long left behind the confines of the sandbox. What a time, then, to send a signal to the young citizens of this country — discouraging them from paying attention to, asking challenging questions about, and putting personal energy into acting on, the big issues of our day. India needs more, not less, engagement and energy around environmental issues. We may not always agree with the answers young activists come up with. We may sometimes disagree with the way in which they frame questions or seek attention for their cause. But as a society, we will be poorer if we silence them. Navroz K Dubash is a professor at the Centre for Policy Research, and the editor of India in a Warming World: Integrating Climate Change and Development

Sustainable Mobility

How FASTag has become the easier, faster and environmentfriendly way to collect toll fees

At present, all 631 national highways have FASTag facilities but it will take some time before it becomes the sole mode of toll collection. New Delhi: Earlier this week, the Narendra Modi government made FASTag mandatory for toll collection at national highways. In a statement Sunday, the Ministry of Road, Transport and Highways (MoRTH) said that any vehicle not fitted with the tag will have to pay double toll fee to access the highways. A FASTag is affixed to a vehicle and the fee is automatically deducted once the car passes through the toll plaza, eliminating the need to stop in queues. A senior official in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways told ThePrint that all 631 national highway toll plazas were operational with FASTags, along with 109 state-run toll plazas and 39 toll plazas that come under the MoRTH. However, the official added, it will still take some time before all plazas on national highways will be able to collect fees only through FASTag. At present, toll collection through FASTag makes up 85 per cent of the total collection, the official added. VDO.AI The official also noted that states like West Bengal, Chattisgarh, Bihar, Maharashtra and Kerala are yet to shift completely to FASTag. The national highways in Punjab and Haryana are also not operational currently because of the ongoing farmers’ agitation at Delhi borders. ThePrint takes a look at what FASTags are, how they are being implemented across the country and their benefits. Also read: Rs 1 lakh crore Delhi-Mumbai and Ambala-Kotputli expressways to be ready by March 2022 What are FASTags? FASTags, which aid electronic payment of fees at toll plazas, were introduced in 2016. Each tag has a unique code for a vehicle and when one drives through the toll plazas, the fee is automatically deducted after the system scans the code. They can be purchased and recharged on PayTM and Amazon, as well as websites of a few banks such as HDFC, Kotak Bank, ICICI and Axis Bank According to the senior government official, as of 17 February, there were 60 lakh transactions made through FASTags worth Rs 95 crore, which is 16 per cent higher than the transactions made last week. Once FASTags become 100 per cent operational in the country, the government expects an inflow of revenue worth more than Rs 100 crore. In the fiscal year, 2019-2020, electronic toll collection was worth Rs 11,294 crore, while in the fiscal year 2020-21 (up till 17 February) the total electronic toll collection was Rs 18,556 crores — an increase of over Rs 7,000 crores. India will also become the only country in the world to have one uniform e-toll collection facility once FASTags become the sole mode of toll collection. After these became mandatory Tuesday, more than 9.2 lakh (9,29,725) vehicles had signed up for FASTags as of Friday. Officials noted they expect the number of toll collections through FASTags to increase in the coming days. Also read: Onus on NHAI as new Modi govt rules require 90% of highway land arranged before work starts Benefits of FASTags FASTags have been a part of toll collection for years now, however, prior to this a hybrid model of collection was followed. One lane on the toll plaza was reserved for both cash payments and the tags. But this was counterproductive as it would lead to long queues, big traffic jams and more fuel emissions. According to Vivek Chattopadhyay, air pollution programme manager at the Centre for Science and Environment, once FASTags are installed in all vehicles and toll plazas, it will be easier to pass through them and it will result in lower fuel emissions that are harmful for the environment. “Due to the toll fee collection there were longer queues and more traffic jams, which resulted in an increase in fuel emissions,” Chattopadhyay said. He explained that when the engine of a vehicle is at the optimal speed (40 km/hour) it releases less fuel compared to a vehicle moving at an idle speed. “The same engine when idle is emitting twice as many pollutants and burns more fuel. It is a waste of fuel. FASTags are a much better alternative.” The central government is offering FASTags free of cost till 1 March to encourage their use. According to government sources, to ensure more efficient FASTag roll out on state roads, outreach programmes for states are in the pipeline.

Clean Air & Sustainable Mobility

How FASTag has become the easier, faster and environment-friendly way to collect toll fees

Sustainable Food Systems

Commentary: Zohnerism: The Art of selective communicationd

Dr. #SandeepGoyal explores the art of selective communication during this post truth era, the times in which it’s difficult to read what is written between the lines. Dr. Sandeep Goyal explores the art of selective communication during this post truth era, the times in which it’s difficult to read what is written between the lines. In 1997, a 14-year old schoolboy, Nathan Zohner, at Eagle Rock Junior High School in Idaho Falls Idaho, presented his science fair project to his classmates, seeking to ban a highly toxic chemical from its everyday use. The chemical in question is: Dihydrogen monoxide. Throughout his presentation, Zohner provided his audience with scientifically correct evidence as to why this chemical should be banned. He explained that dihydrogen monoxide causes severe burns while it is in gaseous form. It corrodes and rusts metal, kill’s countless numbers of people annually, it is commonly found in tumors, acid rain etc. and causes excessive urination and bloating when consumed. Zohner also noted that the chemical is able to kill people if they depend on it, and one experiences an extended withdrawal. He then asked his classmates if they would support a ban on dihydrogen monoxide. And surely, without much hesitation, 43 out of the 50 children present voted to ban this clearly toxic chemical. However, this chemical isn’t typically toxic at all; in fact, dihydrogen monoxide is simply H2O, which is nothing but water. Nathan Zohner’s experiment wasn’t a legitimate attempt to ban water but instead an experiment to get a representation of how gullible people can really be. All of the points that Zohner used to convey his argument were 100 percent factually correct - he just skewed all of the information in his favor by omitting certain facts. Zohner himself admitted that he was appalled that my peers were so easily misled. Read more: Sign of the times: Silencing Zillennials In recognition of his experiment, journalist James K Glassman coined the term “Zohnerism” to refer to “the use of a true fact to lead a scientifically and mathematically ignorant public to a false conclusion”. Today, Zohnerism is not just being ignorant about science or math, it is a term that best describes the gullibility of most of us when presented with facts and figures that simply overwhelm us by their seeming accuracy, erudition, methodical and sequential presentation; such that it sounds genuine and convincing. Truth TruthDr. Sandeep Goyal Zohnerism is today driving our daily consumption of news and shaping our understanding of most issues - our political dialogue, our economic narrative, our build-up of personalities, our assessment of events and happenings, our perspectives on religion, violence, tolerance, harmony, the books we read, the content we consume, the opinions we form. Almost everything. Everyone around us seems to revel in being economical with the truth but whatever is shared and circulated is slickly packaged in selective truth that is made out to be the entire truth. The malaise of Zohnerism has plagued advertising as a business in particular. The all-pervasive problem of brands and their agencies trying to persuade consumers with half-truth - actually “convenient” truths that much like Zohner’s school project don’t lie - but present it through motivated (sometimes even jaundiced) lenses. The recent Sebamed versus Lever battle that has now reached the Supreme Court of India is a repeat of Dove claiming superiority on its pH neutrality as a soap some years ago, annihilating all of competition and then enjoying the benefits of undisputed leadership. It worked wonderfully till, of course, German rival Sebamed decided to use the same pH claims to rubbish not just Dove, but Lux and Pears too from the Lever stable. Similarly, the recent controversy when Saurav Ganguly came down with a heart attack focused attention on Fortune cooking oil and its mumbo- jumbo claims of having “gamma oryzanol”, which made it “a heart healthy oil” - whatever that is supposed to mean? Not very far back, food researchers at the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) picked samples from 13 brands of honey, including Dabur, Patanjali, Baidyanath, and Zandu and subjected them to tests that are required under national food regulatory laws. Most of the brands passed muster but when subjected to one test, called the Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) that can ascertain the composition of a product at the molecular level, was done at a lab in Germany, only three brands (spanning six samples) passed: Saffola, Markfed Sohna, and Nature’s Nectar (one sample of two). Of course, a full-fledged war of claims and counter-claims followed over the next few days. The moot question is whether these brands were being economical with the truth. The point is that none of them was perhaps lying - they were just not telling the whole truth. They were all practicing shades of Zohnerism; playing on the gullibility of their consumers by saying stuff in their advertising that was true, yet not true. So where does that leave the ordinary consumer? Should he disbelieve everything brands say? Should he completely disregard all the glib talk of celebrities espousing brand benefits? The only antidote to Zohnerism is brand shaming. When the Advertising Standards Council of India, red-carded 12 liquor brands for dubious surrogates recently but did not disclose the names of errant brands publicly, what could be worse? This article has been written by the Author:-Dr. Sandeep Goyal

Clean Air & Sustainable Mobility

‘Strict policy implementation needed to check air pollution’

‘Strict policy implementation needed to check air pollution’ After a study claimed that as many as 54,000 people in Delhi have died due to air pollution last year, the environmental activists have said that there is a need for stringent implementation of policy such as electrification of vehicles in Delhi. According to a Greenpeace Southeast Asia analysis, air pollution caused by hazardous PM2.5 has led to the death of 54,000 people in Delhi last year. This is the period when the strict lockdown was imposed due to the spread of coronavirus in the country. Moreover, according to the Lancet report, which was published in December 2020, as many as 1.67 million deaths were attributable to air pollution in India in 2019, accounting for 17.8% of the total death in the country. Talking about the issue, Anumita Roychowdhury, an environmentalist, told The Sunday Guardian, “In the last few months, there have been several reports such as the Lancet report. Several reports have shown that air pollution is the top killer in India and the data are beginning to get a lot more granular. The reports are also showing the demographic profile, gender profile, the age profile of those deaths. According to all the reports that have been published in the recent months, it has shown that air pollution has become a public health emergency.” She further said, “It is now time to integrate our health indicators with our air quality planning approach and air quality management. My view is that we need policy response in planning and management of air quality strategies. The government should look for measurable improvements in air pollution.” Talking about the Delhi government’s Switch Delhi scheme, Roychowdhury told The Sunday Guardian, “Delhi has moved ahead with several actions in different sectors. In order to clean up the air, the government has to speed up multi-level strategies. As of now, Delhi has shut down all coal power plants. Coal and dirty fuels are not allowed in Delhi. Delhi has moved entire public transport and its fleets to natural gas. The government has banned entry of trucks into Delhi.” She further said, “Things have happened. We still have to do a lot more to meet the clean air standard. As part of the next step, the electric vehicles policy becomes very important. Delhi has already introduced Bharat Stage VI. Now the next step should go beyond the internal combustion (IC) engine. In order to achieve the target of 25% of electrification of the new fleet by 2024, the government needs to adopt a stringent implementation strategy. Delhi has to scale up to other strategies such as the expansion of public transport, managing the city’s waste better, and availability of cycling and walking lane.” Talking about the National Clean Air Programme and allocation of the funds for the programme by the Central govt, Roychowdhury told The Sunday Guardian, “Funding support is important to achieve clean air. It is a good step because earlier there was no such support from the governments. But whether the air is going to clean up by this funding or not will depend on how well the government is defining the strategy for implementation.”

DTE - Web

Mumbai’s air quality is worsening

Factories across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) burn two million tonnes coal every year, a new study by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), a Delhi-based non-profit, found. The study identified the Trans-Thane Creek (TTC), Taloja, Ambernath and Dombivali, which covers about 70 per cent of the industries operating in MMR, as the highest polluting region. “Mumbai is a coastal region and so, is not expected to have very high levels of pollution. But with rapid industrial and infrastructural development, air quality of the region has started deteriorating. The city needs to wake up and take corrective actions, to avoid turning into a pollution pressure-cooker like Delhi,” CSE programme director told Down to Earth. Another study shows that Mumbai recorded 25,000 deaths in 2020 which can be attributed to air pollution. Source: Down to Earth

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Down To Earth

India’s 88 industrial clusters present a bleak picture of air, water and land contamination, says CSE report

NEW DELHI: An evaluation of 88 clusters, identified by central and state pollution control boards (CPCB and SPCBs) as polluted industrial areas, has thrown up a "bleak picture of air, water and land contamination" in the country, said the Centre for Science and Environment’s (CSE) State of India’s Environment report 2021, released on Thursday. Referring to the CPCB’s evaluation of these clusters on different green parameters, the report said Tarapur in Maharashtra had emerged as the most polluted industrial cluster in the country followed by Mathura (UP), Bulandshahr-Khurja (UP), Moradabad (UP), Vadodara (Gujarat), Najafgarh drain basin (Delhi), Kanpur (UP) and Varanasi-Mirzapur (UP) between 2009 and 2018. Referring to the CPCB’s Comprehensive Environmental Pollution Index (CEPI) that factored in air, water and soil contamination to arrive at an index at scale of 100, the report – annual publication of the CSE’s Down to Earth – noted that 35 of 88 industrial clusters showed overall environmental degradation, 33 pointed to worsening air quality, 45 had water that was more polluted while 17 had land pollution that has become worse in 2018 compared to 2009. image0. “The overall assessment is that our air and water quality is under stress. All trends show that pollution is increasing and this has massive impacts on our health. Even during the lockdown, data shows that river pollution did not reduce. Clearly, we need to do much more to improve the quality of the air we breathe and the water we drink,” said Sunita Narain, director general of the CSE. On air quality parameters, the report found that the CEPI air quality score went up from 52 in 2009 to over 85 out of 100 in 2018 in Delhi’s Najafgarh drain basin whereas it went up from 48 in 2009 to 86 in 2018 in Mathura (UP). Similarly, Bulandshahr-Khurja area in UP nearly doubled its score and figured above 70 along with other clusters such as Gajraula (UP) and Siltara (Chhattisgarh). On the water quality front, Sanganer in Rajasthan and Gurugram in Haryana had the worst score in 2018 whereas Manali turned out to be the worst on land contamination parameters. “It is a telling verdict. The CEPI data clearly indicates that there has been no action over the years to control and reduce pollution even in areas which were already identified as ‘critically’ or ‘severely’ polluted,” said Nivit Kumar Yadav, programme director of the CSE’s industrial pollution unit. The report, which used publicly available data, also flagged India’s dismal performance in terms of sustainable development, noting how the country is currently figured at 117th position among 192 nations in terms of sustainable development where it is now behind all South Asian nations except Pakistan. “With respect to meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the five best performing states in India are Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Telangana. Going by the same parameter, the five worst performing states have been Bihar, Jharkhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Uttar Pradesh,” it said. Underlining impact of Covid-19, the report said the country was all set to usher in a ‘pandemic generation’ where 375 million children (from new-born to 14-year-olds) may suffer long-lasting impacts, ranging from being underweight, stunting and increased child mortality, to losses in education and work productivity. It noted that the pandemic also has its hidden victims -- over 500 million children forced out of school globally where India accounts for more than 50% of them. Looking at lessons which India has learnt over the years and more specifically during the pandemic, Narain said, “The good news is that we are learning to do things differently. We are adopting technologies that will be affordable to large numbers and so sustainable. This is where the answer will be – in differently done sewage treatment, to mobility systems that will move people and not cars."

Industrial Pollution

Struggle to breathe: Air quality in Mumbai is deteriorating. Coal use in Mumbai Metropolitan Region to be blamed: CSE

A new study by CSE warned that inaction may lead to Mumbai’s air turning as toxic as Delhi’s. Banning coal use, bringing in a clean fuel policy, strengthening air quality monitoring and modifying criteria to push ‘unclean’ industries out of the city limits are the need of the hour to improve air quality, it says.

Clean Air & Sustainable Mobility

Noida struggles for clean air as wind speed drops

Noida struggles for clean air as wind speed drops Noida and neighbouring Ghaziabad and Greater Noida suffered “very poor” air for 11th straight day on Thursday, according to the central pollution control board’s (CPCB’s) air quality index (AQI) Noida and neighbouring Ghaziabad and Greater Noida suffered “very poor” air for 11th straight day on Thursday, according to the central pollution control board’s (CPCB’s) air quality index (AQI). According to the data, Noida had suffered 14 days of very poor air, one day of severe air till date this February, as against only six days of very poor and no severe day in the same period last year. There has been only one day of satisfactory air this month. Analysts at the India Meteorological Department (IMD) say that the air is likely to remain very poor for the next few days due to slow wind. “The city’s air quality is likely to see only a slight improvement during the afternoons when the wind speed is at its peak. Overall, though, wind speed is very low. On Thursday, the maximum wind speed was 10 kmph, that too for only a few hours. The rest of the time it was almost calm. Due to this the particle pollutants don’t disperse leading to pollution,” said Kuldeep Srivastava, head, regional weather forecasting centre, IMD. Experts say that consistent wind of at least 8kmph is required to ventilate the region. They, however, added that there was more to the air pollution this year than just the meteorological factors. “Other cities too have suffered more highly polluted days this year. People talk of meteorology as the sole reason, but last year the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (Epca) was active and monitored the ground situation and the graded response action plan (Grap) was effectively implemented. In the absence of a larger powerful monitoring agency, measures like ensuring curbs on construction activities seem not to be that effective,” said Shambhavi Shukla, program officer, air pollution, centre for science and environment (CSE). The Supreme Court-appointed Epca was replaced last year with the central government-appointed Commission for Air Quality Management. According to the AQI, on a scale of 0 to 500, Noida recorded was 315 against 322 a day earlier, Greater Noida was 336 against 337 and Ghaziabad was 325 against 328. The AQI between 101 to 200 is considered ‘moderate’, between 201 and 300 is ‘poor’, between 301 and 400 is considered ‘very poor’ and above 400 is considered ‘severe’. According to the System of air quality and weather forecasting and research (SAFAR), the air quality is likely to improve from February 20. “Surface winds are low and forecasted to improve and change in direction to easterly. Better ventilation is likely to influence AQI positively. AQI is likely to stay in the lower end of Very Poor for the next two days. AQI is likely to further improve on 20th Feb,” said the SAFAR statement on Thursday.