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

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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.

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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.

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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

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

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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.