A collaboration with the legendary Indra Sinha

Click on the image to enlarge and read.
Copy: Indra Sinha, The Great Indian Clearance Sale
Art and Illustration: The Great Indian Clearance Sale

A few writers can make people as uncomfortable with their words as Indra Sinha. And when he saw our Bhopal appeal, he thought it could be infinitely more powerful with facts about the tragedy. Here it is then: An open letter to the Prime Minsiter. Published in Bhopal on the 31st of December. Hope the nation sees the truth.
More on Bhopal by Indra Sinha:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/dec/04/bhopal-25-years-indra-sinha
http://www.greenworld.org.uk/page189/page189.html

Did it hurt when they took away your eyes?

Click on the image to enlarge and read.



Read the fantastic Down to Earth story here: Subterranean Leak.

You: Sold!

Click on the image to enlarge and read.




Our favourite magazine Down to Earth speaks our language! The November 30 cover story is a powerful expose on how environmental clearances are being given with total disregard to sense, rules and everything else. The great sale is on, and unfortunately, they are selling you. Find out how. Read the Down to Earth story here.

I've seen the future, brother: it is murder.

Click on the image to enlarge and read.

The shit, as the say, is going to hit the fan in December. If you read the text on the image you will know why. Here is the full report.

And here are the reasons why you must oppose GM Food. Because if you don't there is going to be nothing left to oppose. We lose our food security, we lose our sovereignty.

But the future does look bleak. We at The Great Indian Clearance Sale have tried to bring you facts that you do not notice otherwise. What you do with the facts, is up to you.

The Great Indian Lab Rat

Please click on the image to enlarge and read.

It's simple really.
The pro GM Food lobby says GM Good is harmless.
Concerned scientists say, there is no proof it is the case. In fact, their independent researches show that indeed GM Food is harmful and may cause irreversible genetic contamination in the food and environment.
There is only one way to find out. Conduct proper long term tests.
And not introduce GM Food till then.
Introducing them without proper testing, will be undemocratic and inhuman.
We are no lab rats.

In the above poster, when you click and enlarge it, you will find arguments used by the GM Food companies. Beneath each of those is also a rebuttal to those arguments, as presented by scientists around the world. Read and think about it.

Most importantly, please write to the Prime Minister of India and register your protest. Also cc it to the environment minister, Shri Jairam Ramesh. He has invited public opinion till December 31, 2009.

Here are the mail ids of our respected minister: jairam@vsnl.com, jairam@sansad.nic.in, mosef@nic.in

PROTEST WITH ONE CLICK

You can also click and register your protest here with I am no Lab Rat.

or here with Greenpeace.


Here's some more information:

Do we really need GM Crops to solve world hunger?
A recent article in National Geographic says that sustainable agriculture and not GM Crops is the solution.
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2009/06/cheap-food/bourne-text

And here is a brilliant debate in the New York Times. The best minds debate the issue - Can bitech cure world's hunger:
http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/26/can-biotech-food-cure-world-hunger/

We need proper tests:
Gene flow from Bt brinjal to wild relatives, if commercialized, would therefore be virtually certain. Whether the Bt gene becomes a permanent part of the environment in India would then depend on the properties of the gene in the wild plants–something that cannot be predicted without performing tests. No such tests have been performed according to the records available.
http://www.gmwatch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11611:gene-flow-testing-for-bt-brinjal-useless-expert

But are these tests possible?
Agritech companies such as Monsanto, Pioneer and Syngenta don’t let their seeds be tested. For a decade their user agreements have explicitly forbidden the use of the seeds for any independent research. Under the threat of litigation, scientists cannot test a seed to explore the different conditions under which it thrives or fails. They cannot compare seeds from one company against those from another company. And perhaps most important, they cannot examine whether the genetically modified crops lead to unintended environmental side effects.
Research on genetically modified seeds is still published, of course. But only studies that the seed companies have approved ever see the light of a peer-reviewed journal.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=do-seed-companies-control-gm-crop-research

Why Bt Brinjal is no solution.
http://www.financialexpress.com/news/bt-brinjal-is-no-solution/532815/2

Vandan Shiva on Bt Brinjal
http://www.financialexpress.com/news/trouble-on-the-plate/532814/

The case against GM Crops which answers many questions.
http://www.sgr.org.uk/GenEng/CaseAgainstGMcrops.html

Harassing Farmers
The Public Patent Foundation (PUBPAT) rejected four key Monsanto patents related to genetically modified crops that PUBPAT challenged last year because the agricultural giant is using them to harass, intimidate, sue - and in some cases literally bankrupt - American farmers.
http://www.pubpat.org/monsantorejections.htm

So what's the climate action day all about. And why Indians should stand up and be counted.

October 24th. The International Day of Climate Action.
You have heard about it. You have seen the 350 banners. You have seen the Indian newspapers flimsily mention it.
So what's the big deal?
Well, for starters, this is the revolution we have been waiting for.
We always say, politicians are corrupt and won't do anything for our country.
We always say, oh but what can people do?
Two words. Civil Disobedience.
Two days from now, the people of the world will gather together, from wherever they are, and stand united. There will be millions of voices demanding a fair, ambitious and binding deal on climate change.
No bullshit. No false solutions. No political nonsense.
Our climate is not their business. And this is what October 24th is all about.

So what happens if Indians don't stand up and be counted?
We make a statement that we don't care. And that, friends, is an open invitation to a lot of bogus solutions like 'clean coal' and 'carbon trading' and 'GM Food' which will be sold cheap to willing buyers. And if the country of Gandhi doesn't care about civil disobedience, it becomes an easy prey to hawkish businessmen and politicians setting out ot make a quick buck. You have all seen how powerful the Bt Brinjal / GM Food lobby is. Wait till you see the clean coal brigade. It's got greedy governments on its side.

It's our future at stake here. And which is why stand up and make yourself be counted. Let's add a couple of more thousands to the number if not millions. It will be a start. Remember, Copenhagen is not about the governments, it is about us. And seeing all the people around the world coming together, it's already successful.

Onwards and upwards!

350.org PowerPoint Slideshow

View more presentations or Upload your own.

You can catch the latest on the biggest civil disobedience movement in the history of the world, here:



Click here for climate justice action:



Because the world needs to know:

Are those brinjals in your brain, or are you just happy to read this post?

Screw the science.
That’s the rule, the climate sceptics, companies and their lobbyists seem to play by.
And then one day this happens.
A Monsanto owned company files a report saying how good Bt Brinjals are. Also known as GM foods and so on.
A committee approves the report and lo and behold the Bt Brinjals get an, dramatic music please, environmental clearance!!!

What a dark day for India.

And many such dark days later, Bt Brinjal will be unleashed upon Indians. The first food crop to be tested on humans, anywhere in the world.
All in the name of climate change – lack of food – the immense power of GM Crops logic.
Of course, Europe has banned GM Food. There are massive protests in America. But India, as always remains open for exploitation.
Because our minister says: there are arguments for it, and there are arguments against it. And we will decide once we have looked at all the arguments.
So, what have we been doing all these years?

Let me present some quick facts.

The Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC, the clearing house for all gm crops in India), has cleared Bt brinjal on the basis of test results submitted by seed company Mahyco, which has developed the crop.

Mahyco is owned by Monsanto.

Activists managed to get their hands on Mahyco’s test results through a Right to Information petition. They sent the results to several independent scientists for review. Two scientists got back. Their analyses showed inconsistencies in Mahyco’s interpretation of the test results.
They also showed the tests were inadequate.

Mahyco claimed it did not find any significant difference between Bt brinjal and non-Bt brinjal in the biosafety tests. The company said it carried out toxicity and allergenicity studies on rats and its impact on soil microbes. It also assessed the impact on beneficial insects and the environment. Based on these, the GEAC cleared them for large-scale field trials. But the data is generated and analyzed by the company itself, said Suman Sahai, geneticist and convenor of the non-profit Gene Campaign. “There have been instances when companies have fudged data for obvious reasons.”

But our minister says: there are arguments for it, and there are arguments against it. And we will decide once we have looked at all the arguments.

This is no college, and we are in no classroom debate session. This is about the health and safety of a billion people. This is about food safety. This is about food standards. And if you don’t know how harmful genetically modified crops are, even after there is so much science that proves it, say so. Admit that you have been ignoring the overwhelming proofs against GMOs. Do whatever, but don’t pass that law which will cause an irreversible damage to our country, our environment, our health and our food security.

And if a debate really helps, I invite our environment minister to an open public debate on the issue. I am no scientist. I am an ordinary Indian, but I have something that will make me win this debate.

It’s called common sense.

Here are some questions and their answers. Click on the links. And you too can invite the environment minister for a nice little debate.

But first, write a letter to the environment minister. Please. Click here.

(Click on the questions to know the answers. Open in a different window)

Does India need GM crops? Are they safe? How much does the consumer know?

Biotechnology has failed in the world, why promote it here?

What are the health hazards, and how does it affect the land and environment?

What's the risk factor? And, isn’t it about MNCs continuing with their monopolistic hegemony by selling GM seeds in third world countries?

Why I still oppose GM Crops?

To hell with GM Crops. How can organic farming stop global warming?

Write a letter to our environment minister. Please.

Sir,

It is heartbreaking to hear that Bt Brinjal has been given an environmental clearance.
Around the world, there is genuine opposition backed with facts that GM food is dangerous. We request you to please stop it from being introduced in the country.
Our country does not need GM food. In fact, the world doesn’t need GM Food.
We wanted to put a counter argument here against GM food, but we are sure there will be many qualified people who would present a solid case against it.
Here is a Center for Science and Environment report on the same:
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/full6.asp?foldername=20090415&filename=news&sec_id=9&sid=42

Sir, as Indians and as a citizens of the world, we humbly request you to please not introduce GM food.

Sincerely,

Here are the mail ids of our respected minister: jairam@vsnl.com, jairam@sansad.nic.in, mosef@nic.in

The anatomy of our greed

Click on the image to enlarge and read. The poster is based on Arundhati Roy's various essays, Shoma Chaudhary's brilliant articles in Tehelka, and common sense.

Just think about this before you start shouting like a television anchor who is baying for blood:

The Fifth Schedule of the Constitution grants tribals complete rights over their traditional land and forests and prohibits private companies from mining on their land.

Human rights activists have long argued that the real intention of the Salwa Judum in Chhattisgarh was to capture tribal land — brimming-rich with minerals — and hand it over to private companies. The fact that 600 tribal villages have been evacuated in the last few years gives credence to this theory. If tribals no longer live on that land, the inconvenient Fifth Schedule of the Constitution will not apply.

-From the powerful story in Tehelka by Shoma Chaudhary. Click here to read.

About time you read the Fifth Schedule?

Here's a bit more on it.

Here is Arundhati Roy's powerful essay on which this poster is based.

Read it word for word. It will open your mind.

And here is the interview every Indian must listen to. They have a transcript for you to read as well.

From the interview:

AMY GOODMAN: Arundhati Roy, we just have less than a minute. What gives you hope?

ARUNDHATI ROY: What gives me hope is the fact that this way of thinking is being resisted in a myriad ways in India, you know, from the poorest person in a loincloth in the forest saying, “We’re going to fight,” right up to me, who’s at the other end, you know. And all of us are joined together by the determination that, even if we lose, we’re going to fight, you know? And we’re not going to just let this happen without doing everything we can to stop it. And that gives me a tremendous amount of hope.

That says it all, doesn't it?

A public service announcement

Click on the image to read

The Great Indian Sale is offering a free check-up for you and your loved ones. Just spend a little time on this blog. Look up at some of the posters, read a few links. If at the end of it, you do not feel outraged enough at what is happening to our country, then the monster may have already eaten away your soul.

But there is a way to reclaim it. If you really want to, that is. It's going to be tough, but you need to start asking questions. For example: Why do I think going to a mall is a perfectly healthy exercise, when I KNOW going to a park will be better for me?

This will lead to the second question: What the hell happened to the parks?

And the third: What about the forests?

And the fourth: And the rivers?

The next step is a bit obvious. Take these questions to those people you have elected. You are paying their salaries.

We have surveyed and found that there is an alternative to reclaiming the soul too. It's making extensive trips to malls and spending as much money as possible. Just stuff the emptiness left by your soul with burgers and colas. It's working with a lot of us Indians it seems.

Here's a little link for you to think about: George Monbiot talking about climate change and why not to blame the poor for it.

And in the specific Indian context, you may want to see this wonderful video by Greenpeace:

Anyone for a revolution?

Some images from our second entry to the EJC competition. Please read the entry here, and leave a comment, start a debate. We should discuss the ordinary Indian citizen's point of view at this international forum.

Will COP 15 change anything?

TH!NK2 Climate Change is a 3 month blogging competition with a focus on UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen (COP15) in December 2009. Some 90 bloggers from 43 countries, including all 27 EU Member states, India, China, Brazil and the USA, the world's biggest players in climate policy, will come together on the European Journalism Centre's thinkaboutit.eu platform, to exchange ideas and debate the issues of climate change.

Here is The Great Indian Clearance Sale's entry into the competition. Have a read and leave a comment on what you think. Click here.

Find out if you have the virus. Take the Bhopal Gas Tragedy test.

Click on the image to enlarge it, and take the test.

Shri Ramesh says: the greenery around the abandoned premises of Union Carbide was better than most other places, and asked “Would it have been (so) with all the toxicity around?” Hope Mr. Ramesh is aware tht even Chernobyl site is teeming with nature but still not fit for humans http://bit.ly/3k4vDw

“I went inside today, touched toxic material and I am alive. I am not
coughing,” Jairam Ramesh on visiting Union Carbide Factory in Bhopal.
He also "advised" 25 years after thetragedy, it was time to move on. Really? http://www.alternet.org/environment/20627?page=1

Here's the latest report from Center for Science and Environment which shows just how contaminated the water and soil is, in Bhopal.

http://downtoearth.org.in/webexclusives/story1.htm

International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal:

http://bhopal.net/

Reports in Hindu:

http://beta.thehindu.com/news/national/article19277.ece

Times of India:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/india/Bhopal-gas-victims-burn-Jairams-effigy/articleshow/5011375.cms

Indian Express:

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/truth-about-bhopal-gas-leak-tragedy-uncomfortable-says-jairam/516435/0

Frontline story about TATA and Dow:

http://www.thehindu.com/fline/fl2402/stories/20070209001704300.htm

Paint it black

Click on the image to enlarge and read.

You have been saying a couple of things about this blog.

You say, this is too pessimistic.

You say, tell us the solutions.

You say a lot and don't do much.

Alright. Here's a deal. We are going to tell you what to do about the fact that the food you are eating is poisoned by genetically modified ingredients.

And we are going to tell you about what to do about the toxic paint you have been putting on your walls.

But first, you must know about these two things in detail.

Here's the first one. About food.

Greenpeace released this study today and it tells you the brands which use those sick ingredients. Click here. You know you want to. To make it easy we are making the whole damn line clickable. Click and download the report and read it. Remember it's the food you eat. Every single day.

And then number two.

The toxic paint you have been putting on your walls. Which causes stunted growth in children. Ironically, they use cute kids to sell you those paints. Click here to see the report. Damn, you have to read it and it's hard work. But hey, it's the children!

And now, what to do. Let's make this simple. You know the culprit brands. You are too lazy to write to the ministry. So here's what you can do in one easy step.

Boycott these products.

Surely, you don't want to bring home poison and feed it to yourself and your kids. Or, are you o.k doing it?

Now, don't start whining.

A call to arms

Click on the image to enlarge.

Will anything positive come out of Copenhagen? The answer is a well known one. It is a resounding "no!". Even as you read this, powerful lobbies are at work, stuffing governments with money and ill-logic. By December, all the selling and dealing will be done. And there will be no remarkable solution, no powerful legislation. Just empty promises.

Then why are we fighting?

Because Copenhagen is not about the government and not about the lobbyists. It is about us. 6 billion of us. It is about making each one of us aware and informed about the dangers we agce as a planet. So we can say NO and STOP to the industries and the businessmen and the governments.

There is no army, no government, no lobby in the world that can stop 6 billion voices.

This is a call to arms.

Talk about the issues that face us. Discuss them. Spread the word. And start making a stand. If we are to die, let us do that with honour. And not with carbon footprints on our faces. That is an ugly death.

Here are a few links that will tell you how to get involved. Click on each to know and see some amazing things.

24th October. Day of Action. Don't forget.

Greenpeace: 100 days to save the climate

The Age of Stupid. A film that MUST be screened.

Watch HOME on your computer. A film by Yann Arthus Bertrand.

Here is an interesting idea.

And here is a countdown clock to Copenhagen. Which you can download from here.

And if you have any doubts, watch a 13 year old speak:

Hello, tiger conservationists

The death of the tiger points to a bigger, more sinister problem. The problem of people’s rights caused by our greed for land, and hunger for money. And the ease by which the creators of this problem divert our attention.

In the name of development we are violating human rights with an abandon only seen in savages of past. While poor people are being driven away from their lands, all sorts of justifications are available.

If Vedanta wants a tribal hill, it is necessary in the name of development to drive tribals out of there.

If Tata wants a factory land, they are given fertile land and farmers driven away from it.

The tiger is on the verge of extinction. And who do we blame? Tribals.

While the tribals right to forest bill has been passed (and diluted), the dissent in tiger conservationists voices is apparent. They have been crying hoarse that the tribals should be driven out of these forests.

And most of us believe and buy that argument.

It’s too easy to believe. Tribals crowd the forests, hence tiger dies. Foolproof.

Or, is it?

Here is an amazing story of how tribals and animals co-exist. And why we must go back to their culture if we want to preserve our country.

http://infochangeindia.org/Environment/The-paradox-of-environmentalism/The-tribal’s-right.html

The tribals aren’t stupid people. Their knowledge and ways of co-existence with the environment is what we need.

People’s rights to their land and environment are not conflicting issues. The conflict is brought about by corporate greed. And the blame falls on indigenous people.

In this confusion caused by short term solutions, we will not only lose the tiger, we will lose our country and all that it ever stood for. To the lowest bidders. The Great Indian Sale is on.

Don’t let them tell you that tribals are the sole reason for tigers going extinct.

http://infochangeindia.org/Agenda/Reporting-conflict/Is-it-really-tiger-vs-tribal.html

The Down to Earth story about tigers:

http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/node/40407

And some more news on the Forest Rights Act:

http://www.downtoearth.org.in/full6.asp?foldername=20080131&filename=news&sec_id=4&sid=1#

And here's how they kill animals for fur in China. If you read the Time magazine story here, you can well imagine this is what the poachers do to the tigers in our own backyards.

So you'd rather save water when it comes to a choice?

Just in case you didn't notice, according to NASA's new and detailed study, North India's groundwater levels are depleting rapidly. "If measures are not taken to ensure sustainable groundwater usage, consequences for the 114 million residents of the region may include a collapse of agricultural output and severe shortages of potable water."
Oh and tigers are about to become extinct.
So what's the relation between tigers and water? Click on the poster to read. This isn't fiction, this is science. You may recognize the logic from primary school.

Happy Independence Day

Click on the image to enlarge and read.

Every day, every single minute a poor farmer is being driven away from his land. His land is being given to corporates to build malls, industries and other temples of development.A Buddha statue is to be installed at the cost of $250 million dollars. It will displace 2990 families. Where will they go? Will they ever get compensated? Has anyone ever got compensated?

This Independence Day let’s stop saying everything is going to be alright.

No it will not. Unless we start questioning our systems in larger numbers than we have ever done before. Make use of RTIs. Question. Question. Question. And if you don’t get answers, demand them.

This Independence Day let’s stop saying everything is going to be alright. This Independence Day, let’s start making things right.

The Land Acquisition Act is dispossessing millions of Indians of their homes, their basic human rights. And that’s neither pessimistic, nor optimistic. That’s plain and simple reality.

This poster is based on a powerful Tehelka story by Magsaysay Award winner, Sandeep Pandey. Click to read it.

A little idea to help bring electricity to villages.

Click on the image to read the idea in nice big font and see the images.

India is making all kinds of noises about climate negotiations. No, we won’t do it. The west will have to pay. Alright. The west should pay. Agreed. And what are we going to do with the money? Invest in alternate energy, clean energy. Yeah right. And how are we going to do that?

Let’s take wind energy for instance. For years now it has been sucked dry due to corruption. And the government can’t do better than to make committees which investigate how the wind turbines blow away the monsoon clouds. Did they employ kindergarten students in that committee? And what was the result? How dare politicians make such comments in the first place? We should have an immediate IQ assessment test of our leaders.

It’s been said here, and we will say it again. We need to cap corruption to stop climate chaos. Carbon’s got nothing to do with it.

Here’s the full story on wind energy. Do yourself a favour. Read it and start asking questions.

And while our rich look at wind energy as an ‘alternative’ way to save taxes, the poor of the world by their ingenuity are building wind turbines and generating their own electricity. See the amazing video below. If the poor of India were to do that, guess what would happen to them? They would be bollocked into jails and branded as anti-social elements.

Fairy Tales we will be telling our children

You can read the fairy tale if you click on the image and make it bigger. And should you feel you can't read it, it is reproduced below in three parts, which you can click and read. And fresh off the press is a "proof" of this fairy tale: click here.

Animal Farm

Forget carbon emissions, India needs a cap on corruption to fight poverty.

Click on the image to enlarge and read.

It would almost seem that India was really serious about tackling poverty the way it is rebuffing the world leaders. We will not cap carbon emissions, we have gone and thundered to the world. Like not capping carbon was the magical cure.
Boom! In a momentous explosion of soot and dust and CO2, India will gain its place amongst the decadent. We will too have a lifestyle to feel screwed about. We will build temples of consumption, more temples that is. There are already a zillion malls. And we will eradicate poverty.
Boom! Like that.
But.
What about thousands and thousands of crores of rupees that are required to alleviate poverty, that are already there. They just vanish in the black holes of corruption.
(More than 100,000 crores rupees every year are consumed by hungry officials.)
And that is the reason why poverty is never going to be eradicated from this country.
Carbon’s got little to do with it.
If we don’t cap corruption and we refuse to cap our emissions we will be left with one of the most corrupt and one of the most polluted countries in the world and a planet in peril.
Correction. An even more corrupt and an even more polluted country, and a planet even more closer to annihilation.

Read about the rice scam and the coal import contract in the latest issue of Outlook.

Here is the farmer scam in detail. 82,000 crores! What are the politicians doing with all this money? Buying mountains in Switzerland so they can shove them up their wrinkly behinds in their old age?

http://www.tehelka.com/story_main42.asp?filename=Ne180709the_rat.asp

Here are some very inspiring warriors fighting against corruption. Join them if you are clueless as to what to do about the problem.

JN Jayashree is married to a bureaucrat who has spent his career protesting against bribery and swindling in government practices. When she started to fear for her husband's safety, she decided to start up a blog to protect him and document their anti-corruption movement.

http://www.guardianweekly.co.uk/?page=editorial&id=479&catID=1


And here is a unique concept called Zero Currency. They print zero currency notes so that if someone asks for bribes, you can hand over zero rupee notes to them.
http://zerocurrency.org/

You can download the zero currency notes here:
http://india.5thpillar.org/ZRN

As always a little google will help you find scores of others. Unless you are happy to breathe the monoxide and call it development.

If you love the Himalayas, well, too bad.

Click on the image to enlarge and read.

Himalayas. Our last escape. Every one of us runs to the hills to get a sense of life and reality.
Over the last few years haven’t we all noticed how the Himalayas are being eaten away? There has been a rumble of construction in ecologically fragile areas. There has been much too much garbage strewn around hopelessly.
There has been dams which have come up without any environmental clearance. And you didn’t know that perhaps, there are plans afoot to build a massive ski village (which will use acrylic to make snow, hurray!) that will host winter Olympics and some such. The grandson of Mr. Ford is involved in that, no less.
The truth is, we can say goodbye to the Himalayas.
While we were busy “raiding da Himalayas”, they were busy being sold off.
Forest fires were busily ‘degrading’ forests. Poachers were busy ringing death knells in the night of god knows how many species.
So unless you want to go to the Himalayas and spend time in swanky malls, there isn’t much hope left for you.
Before I forget. Some years back a Delhi girl landed up in Kasauli and looked around and asked, incredulously, what…no McDonalds?
Here are a few links. Just remember, the news is all around you. Look for it in places you don’t look for. We are sure, if you know what is going on, maybe, maybe you will act.
Unless you are desperate for a Chicken Mc Nugget in the valley of flowers.

Ps: before you see how we are destroying the Himalayas, here is a little paragraph on how “environmental clearances” are being attained for everything:

http://tehelka.com/story_main41.asp?filename=hub310109environment_clearence.asp

Are we destroying the Himalyas? Hydro-electric projects in Himalayas

http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org/cgi-bin/blogs/voices.php/2007/11/13/are_we_destroying_the_himalayas

Himalyan Ski Village in Himachal

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/ski-village-in-himachal.html

In Arunanchal 104 large hydroelectric projects of a cumulative capacity of 55,556 MW coming up:
http://www.tehelka.com/story_main38.asp?filename=cr120408rumble_jungle.asp

Dam on Ganga riverbed govt announces pilot study

http://www.livemint.com/2008/11/12230236/Govt-announces-pilot-study-on.html?d=1

Happy reading.

An open letter to our environment minister.

Click on the image to enlarge and read the letter.

Don't look for links to get convinced. Look around you. Everywhere. The evidence of what polythene bags do is staring at your face. And if you must, watch this one video:

The poor little rat.

Open publication - Free publishing - More agent orange

CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO VIEW FULLSCREEN

All that you wanted to know about GM Crops but were too unconcerned to ask.

Click on the image to enlarge.

Let’s play a little game.
Let us give you a bumper crop or two and make you rich for a while. In exchange, we will only control your food industry, your farming and agriculture.
No, this isn’t a game called SUCKERS, this is the reality of GM Crops.

If your crop fails, buy more seed from us. Sell something and buy it. Your house, your land. Sell it. C’mon.
Didn’t we tell you, GM Crops are seedless. We control them. You will have to buy them from us again and again.
And when pests develop resistance to them, we will sell you another improved version!
So goodbye to small farmers and hello to corporations. Five or so companies will control the food supply of this planet. Including your country.

The company which controls GM Crops is a company called Monsanto. Yes, the same company behind such amazing inventions such as Agent Orange.
Agent Orange is the code name for an herbicide and defoliant used by the U.S. military in its Herbicidal Warfare program during the Vietnam War.
4.8 million Vietnamese people were exposed to Agent Orange, resulting in 400,000 deaths and disabilities, and 500,000 children born with birth defects.

Oh but you don’t care. You are a city slicker and why would you bother about farmers? Did we ever tell you about genetic pollution and how easily it would affect your health? Why should we? Google it and it’s all there.

Here is a little video of someone you don’t pay much attention to. Only if you did. Oh, only if you did, our sale would never take off.

Here are a few links that if you bother to read will make you aware of our nasty little plan. Don't say we didn't tell you.

Why are farmers committing suicide and how can we stop this tragedy?

Biotechnology has failed in the world, so why promote it here?

And a couple of links on how Monsanto swindled India with the 'magic' Bt Cotton.

http://www.scidev.net/en/features/gm-in-india-the-battle-over-bt-cotton.html

http://www.grain.org/btcotton/?id=398

Since this post was written, there have been remarkable developments. Monsanto recently admitted that BT Cotton has developed resistance to bollworms. So they are now selling a new version! More in this TOI report:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Bt-cotton-failure-a-profit-ploy/articleshow/5673195.cms

Worried about power cuts? They will soon be solved.

The Great Indian Clearance Sale is on and the only thing in short supply is common sense.

We are getting away with this delicious sale because no one in our country listens to sense. Here are two people who can lead us into the future with our heads held high, but then, we love hanging our heads in shame don’t we?


First up, here is Sunita Narain:
Another big-ticket concern is dryland and rainfed agriculture. Most of India today, after years of public investment in surface irrigation structures, remains dependent on increasingly variable rain. The monsoon is the true finance minister for most poor Indians. We must recognize multipurpose agriculture as practised in dryland areas—combining coarse cereals with animal care and its products all mixed with off-farm products like artisanal craft—is one way to build affordable and resilient economies. Today our policies discount and destroy these local economies. Tomorrow, our strategies must build on their strengths. For instance, fiscal policies must recognize crops that minimize the use of water—more crops per drop —and include ‘coarse’ cereals in the public distribution system. Simultaneously, we must build local water security, to enhance productivity. We must do this not by increasing costs of cultivation but reducing costs and investing in resilience.

Here is the powerful editorial:

http://www.downtoearth.org.in/editor.asp?foldername=20090615&filename=Editor&sec_id=2&sid=1


The dispossessed in India have nowhere to go to. Vandana Shiva

If you have THREE minutes of your precious time, here is another amazing lady, Vandana Shiva. You will see how the west will sell us clean coal and other such, and we will lap it up, and we will get sold:



Oh and while you are on the internet, why don’t you check out some other videos of Vandana Shiva, and read what Ms. Narain says.

Good luck, if you don’t.

Delhi's water problems? This is how we did it.

Click on the image to enlarge.

Do you think we should also start the business of water tankers? They are pretty popular in Vasant Kunj. We will infest the water with less worms. White, wriggly worms. Promise! You will have to pay a little more for the water though.
Now, if you have time read a few links that pay tribute to our treacherous minds:

http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/taxonomy/term/1266

http://downtoearth.org.in/full6.asp?foldername=20090215&filename=news&sec_id=4&sid=4

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Govt-nod-for-DTC-parking-on-Yamuna-flood-plain/480102/

Here is our CM saying Yamuna cannot be cleaned before the games. Ha! Ha!

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/cant-clean-up-yamuna-before-the-games-says-sheila/480493/2

Double Speak

So much for the green Commonwealth Games, Yamuna and our insatiable stupidity.
Here are a few links:

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Govt-nod-for-DTC-parking-on-Yamuna-flood-plain/480102/

http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/taxonomy/term/1266

http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/enviornment/india-to-host-green-commonwealth-games_100201381.html


And here is Double Speak on the issue of “Degraded Forests”.
Which one do you believe?

1.
I believe forest cover is better than monoculture plantations, for the former are multi-layered eco-systems. Our first challenge is to preserve the existing forest cover, roughly 24 percent, and to improve its quality. Nearly 60 percent is degraded forests, which we must improve to high-density forests. That will have a tremendous impact on carbon sequestration. But India’s targetted 33 percentgreen cover can only come from afforestation.

Jairam Ramesh in an interview to Tehelka. Here is the interview:

http://www.tehelka.com/story_main42.asp?filename=hub270609the_forest.asp


2.

Bloomberg cited Mr Jairam Ramesh environment minister as saying that India will expedite environmental approvals and allow mining in degraded forests to double the nation’s coal output.
Mr Ramesh said the country needs to increase coal production to 1 billion tonne in the next 7 years to feed new power plants. He said “Our power plants won’t materialize unless we produce a billion tons of coal.”
He said “As far as we are concerned, all degraded forests are go and all medium or heavy density forests are no go.”

Is anyone listening? Hello?

Our customer service

And here are the links. The news has been staring at our faces all along. Maybe we did not notice enough:

Criminals in 15h Lok Sabha

and

Dynastic Politics

Selling now: Forests

Click on the image to enlarge.

Here are the facts:

No such thing as a degraded forest exists. Even in the terminology of the Forest Survey of India. But of course, if we 'degrade' the forests, it's easy to exploit them.
So lo and behold, we have 'degraded forests'.
Common sense tells us that we need forests. So what does it take to 'upgrade' forests? Do we have so much green cover that we can do away with 55% of our forests that our environment minister says are degraded?

Here are a few links:

http://bit.ly/xF6fh

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2009/20090620/nation.htm#7

and

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2009/20090619/main5.htm

An excerpt:

Sunita Narian-led Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) and the National Forum of Forest People and Forest Workers (NFFPFW) say the expression ‘degraded forests’ was unclear and ambiguous, thereby making the decision controversial.

NFFPFW forest rights activist Souparna Lahiri termed it the move as a “preemptive kind of comment”. “The minister said around 55 to 60 pc of the forestland is degraded. I don’t know whether the data he is quoting is correct.”
As per Forest Survey of India classification, said Lahiri, no terminology as ‘degraded forest’ existed. “Forests have been classified as open forest, dense forest and very dense forest.