Natural Farming Workshops on Vegetable Crops in Punjab

Kheti Virasat Mission proudly announces series of natural farming focused on vegetable crops to be addressed by Eminent Natural Farming Master farmer Mr. Subhash Sharma (Yavatmal , Maharashtra) .
Mr. Subhash Sharma one of India’s best known organic farmers, commenced the first session with a review of his own farming practices over three decades. Speaking only in Hindi, he recalled how as a farmer he had been inducted into the methods of a purely “destructive science”. “In the process of farming with chemicals,” he confessed, “I destroyed almost the entire micro-organism population in the soil, trees, birds, seeds, water, soil and personal energy and that is what caused the reduction in the yields.” (more…)

Oppose Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill!

Dear Dr. Singh,

We, the undersigned, hereby express our grave concern over the recent
press reports that ‘The Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill 2009’
is planned to be tabled in the ongoing Budget Session of Parliament
and the UPA government is apparently bent upon rushing it through
without holding fair and transparent public consultations, regardless
of its profound consequences.

A quantum leap in installed capacity for nuclear power generation,
from the current level of 4,120 MW to 63,000 MW by 2032, which you
have committed yourself to, is but an invitation to disaster given the
intrinsically hazardous and potentially catastrophic nature of the
industry. It is necessary to further bear in mind that the health
burden, clean-up and recovery costs for damages arising out of any
nuclear accident are irreversible in consequence and generational in
effect, poisoning not just human beings in the vicinity of a nuclear
plant but the web of life itself through air, water and soil
contamination.

Yet, pretty much shockingly, the nuclear liability bill, approved by
the Union Cabinet in last November, understandably overriding strong
objections even from two nodal ministries, viz. Finance and
Environment, appears to pave the path for the entry of private
enterprises, known to cut corners to maximize profits, not just as
equipment suppliers but also as operators of nuclear power plants.
(more…)

Public Discussion on the Proposed Biotech Regulator Bill

Alliance for GM Free & Safe Food invites for Public discussion on the proposed Biotech Regulator Bill in India
Sunday, March 7th 2010 at Seminar Hall,
Mahatma Gandhi State Institute of Public Administration, Sector 26, Chandigarh
Time: 2.30 pm onwards

Why to oppose BRAI?

Greetings! India has been witness to a big debate that unfolded in recent months about the need for and wisdom behind the introduction of GM (Genetically Modified) crops like Bt Brinjal. The technical facets to the debate as well as the socio-political, ethical, legal and economic facets came to the fore as the Union Minister for Environment & Forests, Mr Jairam Ramesh, took up public consultations on the subject before announcing his decision of an indefinite moratorium on the release of Bt Brinjal in the country. Citizens engaged with this issue pertaining to the safety of their food and choices being allowed. This process also witnessed a certain democratisation around Science & Technology policy/decision-making in this country.

As this process unfolded, the need for a credible regulatory regime in the country was articulated from all sides. It was hoped that the moratorium period would be used to address the glaring problems in design and implementation of a regulatory regime around GM issues in India and this is what the Environment Minister said in his decision-note too. (more…)

India’s Holy Ganges to Get a Cleanup

Crossposted from the wallstreet journal

India’s Holy Ganges to Get a Cleanup

Government Embarks on $4 Billion Campaign to Treat Heavily Polluted Waters;
Devout Hindus Revere River as ‘Goddess’

By KRISHNA POKHAREL

VARANASI, India—More than a million devout Hindus bathed in the Ganges River
Friday, braving the risk of terrorist attack, stampede and petty crime for
the chance to wash away the sins of a lifetime and open the gateway to
heaven after death.

But perhaps the greatest threat to the devotees who flocked to Haridwar,
India, on one of the most auspicious days of the triennial Kumbh Mela
festival, was the water itself.

The river is intensely polluted with sewage and industrial waste.
Water-treatment facilities have been unable to keep up with India’s rapid
growth, often held back by a shortage of funds and other resources.

A dip in the Ganges River in India is believed by devotees to wash away all
sins. But increasingly it has become heavily polluted with sewage and
industrial waste. Now, thanks to a $4 billion government program aims is
introducing new technology to treat and clean the river.

Now, the spiritually cleansing waters of the Ganges are about to get some
cleaning of their own. The Indian government has embarked on a $4 billion
campaign to ensure that by 2020 no untreated municipal sewage or industrial
runoff enters the 1,560-mile river. (more…)

Oppose BRAI !

Even while some of the most important legislation such as the Women’s Reservation Bill and the Food Security Bill are crying for an early passage in the Parliament, the Government has shown a surprising hurry, almost bordering on obscenity, to introduce a new Bill called the Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India in the current session of Parliament. It does not need a detective’s skill to understand the reason for this urgency. The national debate around Bt Brinjal steered by the Environment Minister Shri Jairam Ramesh and the direction in which it moved the national consensus has put the cat among the genetically engineered pigeons. They are now ready to fight for their life; hence this coordinated aggression with their political agents.

The BRAI (Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India), still shrouded in secrecy, has a number of most disconcerting provisions that cause profound concerns among all of us who are demanding a democratic debate on the need to bring in genetic engineering technology into the arena of food and farming in India. The Bt Brinjal debate was the first of its kind and offered a glimmer of hope that we, as citizens of this country, can participate in making the decisions on what we grow and eat. But even before this glimmer can grow into a beacon, efforts are afoot to extinguish it by introducing the draconian BRAI Bill.

There is a need to look at the introduction of this Bill in the context of the developments that have taken place in the past week. The most significant is the letter shot off by the Agricultural Minister Mr Sharad Pawar, who has complained that “significant investment had already been made by private and public organisations in developing BT crops and all that would go waste if GM cultivation was banned.” Similar is the argument of the Science and Technology Minister Shri Prithviraj Chavaan, who is reported to have argued that “the moratorium was sending out wrong signals and was stopping investments in Indian agro-technology.”

The other important development is the intervention of the PM’s economic advisory group led by one of our coldest economic thinkers, Dr Rangarajan. This Group has come up with the advise that “After the success of Bt cotton and the benefits it has brought to farmers in Gujarat and Maharashtra, it is imperative that the government must have a clear policy on genetically modified crops,” The council has also urged the government to “……bring the results into the public domain at the shortest possible time”.
The insistence on shortest possible time is significant for the reason that it is symptomatic of a stock market approach and not that of a sound science. Sound science in food, medicine and agriculture always looks at long term impacts of any organism introduced into environment, food and health systems. Short cutting this process can only result in unprecedented harm our environment, health and food systems.
(more…)

NAAM Opposes the Civil Nuclear Liability Bill

National Alliance of Anti-nuclear Movements
42/27 Esankai Mani Veethy
Parakkai Road Junction
Nagercoil 629 002
Tamil Nadu, India
Phone: 09865683735

Press Release: NAAM Opposes the Civil Nuclear Liability Bill

Kuppan sins but Suppan gets punished! That is exactly how the infamous Civil Nuclear Liability Bill of the UPA government works. According to this legislation, if there was an accident in a nuclear power facility, the onus for paying the damages will be on the operator of the facility and not on the supplier of the equipment or the builder of the facility.

Let us give you an example. Some 18 years ago, on February 27, 1992 (to be exact), a 79-year-old American woman called Stella Liebeck from Albuquerque, New Mexico ordered a cup of coffee from a local McDonald’s restaurant. She had placed the coffee cup between her knees and pulled the lid to add cream and sugar and in the process spilled the entire cup of coffee on her lap. Liebeck suffered third-degree burns and had to be in hospital for eight days while she underwent skin grafting. When McDonald’s turned down Liebeck’s claim of her medical costs, she sued the company for “gross negligence.” The trial took place in August 1994 and the jury concluded that McDonald’s was 80% responsible for the incident and awarded Liebeck US$200,000 in compensatory damages and $2.7 million in punitive damages. The judge reduced these amounts a bit and both parties settled out of court for an undisclosed amount less than $600,000. If this case was conducted along the lines of the Indian Civil Nuclear Liability Bill, the local franchisee or the server who served the hot coffee would pay the damages to Liebeck and McDonald’s themselves would go scot free. (more…)

Petition to stop the Hull Hydro Project

To: Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister
WITHDRAW HULL HYDRO PROJECT

TAKE IMMEDIATE ACTION AGAINST PERPRETATORS OF VIOLENCE ON SAAL GHAATI BACHAO SANGHARSH MORCHA ACTIVISTS!

Shri Prem Kumar Dhumal

As you may already be aware, on 14th February 2010, five people, including Zilla Parishad Member and veteran environmentalist, Ratan Chand, Up-pradhan Jadera Gram Panchayat, Mansingh (Chamba District) and three other residents – Hemraj, Laxman and Manoj, were attacked and seriously injured by contractors of the Hul Hydro Power Private limited. The attack happened at village Chungah (Silla Gharat Panchayat) where the villagers had gathered to hold a meeting a to oppose the construction of the 3.8 MW Hul Hydroelectric project being constructed on the Hul Nala, a tributary of the Ravi River. The locals of several Panchayats in the Saal Valley, who have mobilized under the banner of the ‘Saal Ghaati Bachao Sangharsh Morcha’ had been opposing the construction of the hydroelectric project due to its impacts on the local forests, water resources and environment since 2005. Several peaceful rallies have been carried out against the projects in the last 5 years. (more…)

Convention on Communities, Commons & Corporations

PERSPECTIVES invites you to a convention COMMUNITIES, COMMONS AND CORPORATIONS the struggle for rights and resources

24TH February, Wednesday: 1:30 pm to 5:30 pm
Ms. Arundhati Roy (Activist and Writer), Mr. Prashant Bhushan (Advocate, Supreme Court), Mr. Felix Padel (Anthropologist working in Niyamgiri, Orissa), Ms. Joya Mitra (Activist and Writer, West Bengal) (more…)

It’s not the Science that Matters

As more and more writers cry foul, saying that our current way of life is fine, and the status quo is worthy of retention and worship, I feel that it is necessary to put the Science in perspective. The duty of Science is to find out why things that happen are happening, in the hope that if something is wrong, it can be corrected. As far as I’m concerned, things are wrong, and we can correct them. But writers of late have begun casting slurs on the name of Climate Science, saying that there is a conspiracy theory among millions of scientists all across the globe.

But while people debate whether it is right or wrong, we must remember that, after all, the Science of Climate Change does not matter that much.

What really matters is:

Monsoons are failing, crops are failing,
droughts are prevailing, along with floods.
People are hungry, children are wailing,
“development” is sucking our Earth’s blood.

I cannot drink the water in the streams,
nor eat the snow that falls from the sky,
some would have be believe that nothing has changed,
but I know that the worst is yet to pass by.

I visit the city and can’t see the next block,
the smog is choking, people’s hearts are locked.
In the countryside too, the problems exist:
people struggling hard, just to subsist. (more…)

Jai Ram Ji ki to Bt. Brinjal!

Dear Friends,

Honorable Environment & forest Minister Mr. Jairam Ramesh has created a milestone in Indian democracy by saying no to Bt. Brinjal. Its a victory of all those who have created a nation wide movement to stop the Genetically Modified crops from entering the food chain. We in Indian Youth Climate Network congratulate the Anti-GM activists who have left no stone unturned.

In the below given press statement Minister has said “No to the commercialization of Bt. Brinjal” in a very clear & sound manner.

Press Relase from Press Information Bureau:
Decision on Commercialisation of Bt Brinjal

“Following a series of nationwide consultations, the Minister for Environment and Forests (I/C) today announced his decision on the production and use of BT Brinjal. He also made public a copy of his exhaustive report which relies on inputs received from stakeholders from all across the spectrum of scientists, civil society, academics, Chief Ministers of various states and others concerned. Following is an excerpt from the statement issued today:

“Based on all the information presented in the preceding paragraphs and when there is no clear consensus within the scientific community itself, when there is so much opposition from the state governments, when responsible civil society organisations and eminent scientists have raised many serious questions that have not been answered satisfactorily, when the public sentiment is negative and when Bt-brinjal will be the very first genetically-modified vegetable to be introduced anywhere in the world and when there is no over-riding urgency to introduce it here, it is my duty to adopt a cautious, precautionary principle-based approach and impose a moratorium on the release of Bt-brinjal, till such time independent scientific studies establish, to the satisfaction of both the public and professionals, the safety of the product from the point of view of its long-term impact on human health and environment, including the rich genetic wealth existing in brinjal in our country.

A moratorium implies rejection of this particular case of release for the time being; it does not, in any way, mean conditional acceptance. This should be clearly understood.”

As Climate Talks Stumble, U.N. Process in Question

Leaders of the BASIC countries (Brazil, South Africa, India, China), along with Mexico, met during last year’s Group of 20 summit in L’Aquila, Italy.

A key deadline for countries to submit emission reduction goals to the United Nations as part of the recently negotiated Copenhagen Accord passed last Sunday. The U.N. received commitments from 55 nations, but 139 countries remain unsupportive of the political statement, leading the international body to push back the commitment deadline indefinitely.

Since the high-level climate change summit in Copenhagen concluded in December, global climate talks have been in a state of confusion. Two parallel tracks are already under way – one that includes the United States and one that omits this significant world emitter. The Copenhagen Accord, some say, threatens to introduce a third procedural track, complicating the already tense deliberations.

The Accord, a non-binding political statement introduced at the 11th hour of the Copenhagen summit, has been praised by some for garnering stronger commitments from major developing nations, which could in turn deliver a binding global climate treaty. Yet its formulation has also threatened to destabilize the nearly 20-year old process developed under the U.N.’s Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the leading international body for climate change negotiations.

The United States, Brazil, South Africa, India and China formulated the Accord with the understanding that the text would later be adopted by all 194 nations. But many participants considered this outcome to be undemocratic and a departure from a U.N. process meant to offer equal voice to every nation.

Implications of the Accord

Many had hoped that the Copenhagen conference would deliver a legally binding international treaty on climate change, or at least provide direction on many of the core components under negotiation. But the Accord itself contains little of these details and provides instead for countries to set their own emission reduction targets unilaterally.

Among other elements, it states that 2 degrees centigrade is the target above which global temperatures must not rise; it proposes the mobilization of $30 billion by 2012 and $100 billion by 2020 for developing countries to address climate change; and it calls on developed and developing countries to submit their national actions on climate change to the U.N. by January 31, a deadline that has now been postponed “indefinitely.”

Sanjay Vashist, director of Climate Action Network South Asia (CANSA) said that without larger consensus, the Accord reflects “an outcome of a flawed negotiating process…negotiated by a small group of countries,” rather than the 194-nation body.

There are further reservations about the Accord’s content itself. While the text addresses several key negotiation issues, many crucial details remain undetermined. “It is far from clear where the funding [for climate change mitigation and adaptation] will come from, if it is genuinely new and additional, and how it will be allocated and channeled,” said Saleemul Huq, a senior fellow with the International Institute for Environment and Development’s climate change group, who co-authored a recent report on climate finance.

(more…)

Bin Laden – How to respond

This has been crossposted from www.itsgettinghotinhere.org

Climategate was a well coordinated, strategic and devestating attack on the Copenhagen climate talks in December last year. With unprecedented moves from U.S. and China in the run-up, the world’s media and attention was hooked onto the alleged manipulation of data at the University of East Anglia. That stolen information framed the entire negotiations, and set it up for failure.

Today the prospect of a clean-energy economy faces a new threat.

Osama bin Laden has called for the world to boycott American goods and the U.S. dollar, blaming the United States for climate change, according to a new audiotape released today. Right-wing media outlets including The Daily Telegraph, Drudge and Fox News, are already seizing on the al-Qaida leader’s comments. All this on the same day that the American administration formally announced it’s 2020 carbon targets, and a 39% increase in wind-power.

Those in the struggle for a clean-energy economy and safe climate future, should ask themselves why bin Laden would come out with this statement. This is the man who has shown no concern for human life, indeed revels in killing innocent people – why does he now care about rising sea-levels?

His plan is to drive the wedge between the climate cynics and climate activists even further, and it’s already working. This is the perfect story to kill any federal climate bill in the U.S. In fact it’s the perfect strategy if you desire chaos and destruction.

Any association with him immediately demonises the climate movement, and will maintain the stranglehold of oil-rich nations over the American economy. More worryingly in the long term, a world in the throws of extreme weather and an unpredictable food-supply is rich pickings for a fanatic totalitarian.

1. So how should the environmental movement respond?

2. Immediately and unequivocally condemn his comments. We can’t let ourselves be aligned with a terrorist. Bin Laden isn’t an environmentalist and cares nothing about climate change (because that would mean caring about people).

Whatever your feelings on climate change; don’t use his comments for your cause, because actually he will be using you.

How will we remember Copenhagen

I wrote this poem on new years and thought I would share it:

The morning that followed
Our message was echoed.
A failure! A failure!
My heart in despair.

The science lost, funding tossed,
No commitment in sight.
A stench of injustice,
The result: A failed plight.

“What more did you expect?”
Accusing voices chimed,
“Your efforts are a waste
Of carbon, cash and time”.

Is it a failure?
Were we mistaken?
How will we remember
Copenhagen?

How will we remember
Copenhagen?

I will remember the:

Forming of three fifty
In hundreds of states.
The Hundred thousand
Who marched till late.
Millions worldwide that stood,
And more that signed
In protest for the rights
For all Human Kind.

I will remember the:

Largest mobilisation
In world’s history.
Working in unity.
Despite culture or country.
Rising above divisions
In the “social order”;
Be religion, gender
Or a political border.
(more…)

Memorandum to Minister of Environment & Forest on GM Crops

TO: Shri JairamRamesh, Minister for Environment & Forest, Government of India
FROM: Indian Youth Climate Network
DATE: January 29, 2010

SUBJECT: Genetically Modified food is not the answer to Climate change induced crisis.

Genetically modified crop has long been seen as the technological solution to crop losses due to diseases, pests and climate change as well as stagnating yields. Only one GM crop, Bt. cotton, has been introduced in India so far with limited success. Now, as the country readies itself to grow the first GM food crop, Bt. Brinjal, we ask that all considerations regarding its safety and efficacy be considered along with the alternative (to GM crop) viable options before embarking on commercialization of the technology.

The context
We the Youth of India strongly feel that not all alternatives and aspects have been considered before the introduction of GM crops in India. Given that a large part of agriculture in the country is still sustainable agriculture (not commercial farming) we need to give due considerations to implications of this technology, its numerous facets– the situation worldwide, the role of the USA and big transnational companies, the productivity and chemical use of GM crops, food safety issues involved and so on. Studies worldwide have shown limited success of GM food crops, some like the recent study by Professor Gilles-Eric Seralini of the France-based CRIIGEN pointed out that Bt. brinjal had not been properly tested from the safety and environmental point of view. He further observed that in feeding trials significant differences were noted in animals fed with Bt. brinjal compared to those fed non-Bt. brinjal. Differences that he concluded ‘raise food safety concerns and warrant further investigation. The GM Bt. brinjal should be considered as unsuitable for human and animal consumption.’ (more…)

A trip to resurgent Mountains of India

(July 18,2008)

Last day, we had a trip to amazing place in Delhi namely, Okhla Landfill near Tuglakabad fort, the emerging mountain range of Delhi. It is the smallest landfill site in Delhi with an area of 50 acres. The beauty of the region cannot be explained in words. A young fold hill rising from the ground surface, here geomorphological or geological processes are not contributing in this noble cause. But the domestic activities at our homes and construction sites are fulfilling the absence of geo-processes. The site has a very fragile ecology, we need to conserve it. The biodiversity is also emerging, crows flying in the sky, grass and other plants growing around, cows and dogs moving around satisfy the criteria of rich biodiversity. This hill started emerging in 1995, but the load is more than its capacity. Everyday more than 1150 M.T. is contributed to increase the height and make it a mountain. Even this place also fulfills the eligibility for a volcano too, as gases are fuming out. (more…)