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CSE’s Weekly News Bulletin

October 19, 2020

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BULLETIN HIGHLIGHTS
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  • Editorial by Sunita Narain
  • Stories from Down To Earth
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  • Online Events
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  • New Publications
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editorial
The Clean Air Concern
Sunita Narain
Editor, Down To Earth
Twiiter @sunitanar Twitter: @sunitanar
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Last straw to stubble burning
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Should farmers get paid for not burning their fields? This is an extremely contentious issue today as the northern Indian region stares at another winter, when stubble is burnt in fields and winds bring the pollution to cities like Delhi — already choking from the spit of vehicles and local sources of pollution. The logic behind this is that rewarding farmers with cash would dissuade them from burning their fields.  

My logic, as an environmentalist and campaigner for clean air, is that this will be a perverse incentive. In other words, it will get easily abused so that there is more stubble burning as there will be the promise of the reward; and each year the amount of the reward will have to be raised. The incentive will become the perverse reason for doing what is clearly wrong. But, I am being screamed at in social media platforms; the taglines being that “I am elitist, ignorant, out of touch with reality” and, of course, “anti-farmer”.

That said, it is a fact when the reward was given last year — the Punjab government disbursed some Rs 29 crore to 31,231 farmers — the number of stubble fires actually went up from the previous year. But that is not even the point.

Farmers need assistance — there is no question about that. I am not even talking about the larger problem of agrarian distress, where farmers are caught in the pincer between high prices of inputs as against the need to depress food prices for consumers. This system that discounts the labour of farmers ends up discounting their soil and water systems as well. It needs to be fixed... Continue Reading
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Announcements – Online Events
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Training
Webinar
Power to the Norms, Oct 21, 2020, 4.00-5.30 PM
Training
Online training
Safe Water, Sanitation and Health for all during and post COVID19, Oct 28- Nov 30, 2020
Training
Online Global Training Programme
Faecal sludge management in rural areas, Oct 30- Nov 12, 2020
 
Training
Online Training
Understanding Environmental Laws for Better Environmental Management, Nov 1-10, 2020
Training
Online Training
Making Data Meaningful, Nov 2-7, 2020
Training
Online Training
Sustainable E-Waste Management, Nov 5-10, 2020
Training
Online Training
An Introduction to Climate Change, Nov 18- Dec 1, 2020
Please visit www.cseindia.org for more training programmes and announcements.
From Down to Earth
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Why India needs to step up its act on recycling
India generated 3.2 million tonnes of E-waste in 2019; details of 90 per cent of this waste are undocumented  
Looking for a new avatar in COVID-19 times
What we now need is smart, systemic action to get the food to those who need it and improve it for those who have it, says FAO Director-General 
How 10 billion people could live well by 2050 – using as much energy as we did 60 years ago
Achieving such a world requires radical action on all fronts, including the mass rollout of the best technologies available
It’s time we recognise the lives and livelihood of rural women
Rural women are active agents of socio-economic change. There is a need to pull them out of the stereotypical roles of caregiving
Video: How did the snow lion become the symbol of Tibet?
Tibetan political activist and writer delves into history to talk about mythical creature’s origins
Changes in South Africa’s rainfall seasons could affect farming and water resources
Trends across different rainfall zones demonstrated patterns that can be linked to changes recorded for large-scale climate systems, the study found
More from Down To Earth
 
New Publications
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Training
Clean Air Blue Skies
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CSE Publications
UGANDA: Policy Strategies to Augment Groundwater through Rainwater Harvesting
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CSE Publications
Managing Biomedical Waste in India
Download Free
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Training
Policy Brief 2020-21: BS-VI Leapfrog what more to do
Download Free
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Training
Policy Brief: Strategy for Inspection of On-Road BS-VI Vehicles
Download Free
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Training
What to do with old vehicles?
Download Free
Download
For more titles, please visit www.cseindia.org or write to rchandran@cseindia.org
Please visit www.cseindia.org for more training programmes and announcements.
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Best Regards,
Team CSE
 
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