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Emissions disputes symptom of eco-nationalism

The UNDP’s Human Development Report released on Tuesday, whose contents were reportedly “trashed” by Montek Singh Ahluwalia, deputy chairman of the Planning Commission, focuses on the impact of climate change on development indices. The report says that the effects of climate change would, for the first time, erase benefits of development achieved in previous years. The other point made is that whether a particular country — anywhere on the globe — takes action or not to curb emissions, the impact would be more pronounced in developing countries of Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands.

India takes great pride in its traditional proclivity for nurturing a universal consciousness. Its leaders have made a habit of quoting from the scriptures to proclaim how the world is one big family — Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam. India’s decisionmakers shouldn’t let themselves fall into the very same trap that the developed world is trying to get out of. It is clear that carbon footprints are to be taken seriously. Since emissions do not stay put within national boundaries and since anyway, India would be among the worst hit if global warming continues unabated, eco-nationalism would only drag us deeper into the morass. But then, this is not a problem that can be solved by India, or the developed world alone.

There has to be more thought on what would constitute universal criteria for emissions reduction, which would be fair, equitable and acceptable to all nations. First, we need to clear the decks at the conceptual level. It’s not an either/or choice between clean air and economic growth. Policy needs to factor in both issues.

Vedanta ruling should encourage eco-friendly business

 The recent Indian Supreme Court ruling that restrains UK-based Vedanta Resources from going ahead with its bauxite-mining project in Orissa underscores the merits of globalisation. Two weeks after Norway’s state pension fund pulled out $13 million from Vedanta citing environmental reasons, the apex court said that Vedanta’s Indian arm, Sterlite, would have to set aside about $180 million for forest regeneration and tribal development in Orissa if it is to go ahead with the project. The verdict marks a first in many respects.
    An important lesson to be drawn from it is that it pays to go green in a globalised world. Environment is not merely the concern of naysayers. Shareholders and consumers take decisions based on environmental factors, which can have a global impact. Only a few months ago, Canadian aluminium major Alcan withdrew from a bauxite-mining project involving an Indian partner after its shareholders were persuaded that the joint venture did not comply with environmental norms. The World Bank is chary of projects that have uncertain environmental implications. A number of companies have figured out that being environmentally and socially conscious can work wonders for their brand image, particularly in the West, where consumer decisions are hugely influenced by such factors. Oil companies are forced by such pressure to set aside funds not only for greening the earth but also for finding ways to curb carbon emissions.
    Vedanta is perhaps the only ‘globalised’ verdict to have come out of the Indian legal system. The apex court was forced to take cognisance of the Norwegian government’s observations and issue directives to the Indian arm of the UK-based company. In an age of free exchange of goods and ideas, this does not come as a surprise. Just as companies based in the developed world earn consumer goodwill through acts of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in poorer regions, they stand to pay a price for neglecting social objectives. Whether one likes it or not, civil society groups and the media will play a greater role in shaping decisions of those in the government, judiciary and corporate world than ever before.
    Globalisation has done wonders for India Inc. If firms like Infosys are central to creating a new brand image of India, it is not only for the quality of their products but also for their corporate governance practices and record on CSR. The wider the perspective, the better the bottom line.

Every one of us on the planet at some time or other has probably given thanks to an unseen power, irrespective of the faith we were born into or follow.
    There is one God, there is one earth, and there is divinity in each person and every living thing. If we joined together under the canopy of the sky and the sacred earth and shared in God’s bounties, we would find the peace and love which we all pray for. What a haven this world would be if only we treated each other with kindness and sweetness. If we could only begin with our own individual lives, we would set the wheel of peace in motion.
    A story from Aesop’s fables is instructive. The North Wind and the Sun once entered into a debate over who was more powerful. They agreed to a contest: whoever could make a person remove his coat, would win. They selected a man who was making his way home on a long trip on foot.
    The North Wind took the first turn. It blew its wind hard, trying to blow the man’s coat off. It huffed and puffed, but the harder the wind blew, the more intently the man wrapped his coat tightly around himself. The North Wind tried for a long time to get the man to take his coat off, but it did not work.
    Next, it was the Sun’s turn. It began to send warm, loving rays onto the man. Eventually, the man began to feel warm and unbuttoned his coat. The Sun continued steadily to shine. Finally, when the man felt warm enough he took off his coat.
    With a smile, the Sun turned to the North Wind and said, “As you can see, my warm, loving ways made the man remove his coat, whereas your strong, forceful ways caused him to resist”. Likewise, love and gentleness always win over force.
    Some people feel that they can get the best out of others by being forceful, harsh and critical. Hardly anyone responds positively to such treatment. We feel that we have to treat others severely to get them to do anything.
    However, quite the opposite is true. We can be more persuasive by using the power of love and gentleness. People get discouraged when they are spoken to harshly or abruptly. They shut down and withdraw, but when people are given loving and encouraging words, they want to go out of their way to do more.
    How can we attain this level of kindness? It is often said that in order to attain outer peace, there must first be inner peace. Through meditation we can achieve the inner peace that comes with the knowledge of ourselves and of God. If each person would attain inner peace and treat others with love and kindness, it would not be long before we find outer peace reigning in this world.
    Even while attending to our daily obligations, we can find opportunities to show love and kindness to others. There are so many ways to spread God’s love to those around us. A kind word, a helping hand, a gentle touch can help brighten another’s day. With this angle of vision, we will find ourselves doing whatever we can to eliminate the pain and suffering of others.
    Adding honey to life makes the world more loving. Adding the warmth of love makes things go more smoothly. If we can be like the Sun and send warm, encouraging words and smiles to others, we will find that we can be more effective in whatever we do.

The preliminary tiger estimate submitted by the Tiger Task Force to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh a fortnight ago reveals that the majestic feline is more endangered now than it was in the last estimate in 2001-2002.
    If the controversial pugmark method had accounted for 3,642 tigers in the country four years ago, the refined methodology approved by the Tiger Task Force and executed by the National Tiger Conservation Authority and the Wildlife Institute of India indicates that there could be less than 1,700 tigers in the wild now.
    The preliminary estimate submitted on November 1 to the PM by the member secretary, National Board for Wildlife, shows that the central India has lost more than half of its tiger population due to poaching and habitat fragmentation. From a robust 1,233 cats, it is now down to 461.

For example, if Madhya Pradesh boasted 710 tigers in 2002, the numbers have drastically come down to 300. The percentage of decline in Chhattisgarh is alarming. If there were an estimated 227 tigers four years ago, there are a mere 26 now. Maharashtra too has lost more than half of its population (from a viable 238 to a vulnerable 103). Rajasthan, which forced the Union government to constitute the Tiger Task Force after tigers vanished from the Sariska and Ranthambore reserves—is left with 32 cats as against 58 in 2002.
    With the estimate for central India—done in three phases—being disappointing, conservationists are concerned that the figures for most of India, which is to completed by December 2007, could be even worse.
    The NTCA and WII have drawn the PM’s attention, urging him to address the sourcelink situation on a priority. They have attributed the decimation to fragmentation of habitat. “The assessment reveals fragmentation of forest connectivity around source population—tiger reserves and protected areas and forest areas outside protected areas. This indicates that they hardly have any viable tiger population. This calls for addressing the source-link situation on a priority,’’ the National Board for Wildlife says.
    Though the central India estimate is alarming, the Karnataka forest department is confident its tigers are safe in its reserves. “Though the WII is yet to release the figures for Karnataka (401 in 2002), we are confident that we have a viable population,” said chief wildlife warden I B Srivatsava.

 The US economy is expected to slow down in 2008, sending markets the world over, including India’s, into a flutter. Oil is close to $100 a barrel and the subprime crisis cloud has not blown over. What are the possible consequences for India? Rupee appreciation is set to increase, as a weak US economy and easy interest rates spur capital flows into India. A stronger rupee will continue to neutralise some of the increase in oil prices. However, exports are likely to be hit by a strong currency and weak demand. Should India be worried?
    India’s current account deficit, now about 2.1 per cent of gross domestic product, is unlikely to worsen, as remittances, now about $27 billion, have never been affected by slowdowns in the world economy. Merchandise exports are expected to come to terms with a rising rupee and grow at 12-15 per cent in the medium term, even as services exports no longer rise at 30 per cent per annum. However, India’s best bet against the inevitable ebbs and flows in the world economy is to generate internal demand.
    India is better placed to do so than China. Its foreign trade accounts for about 35 per cent of its gross domestic product, against 80 per cent in China’s case. India’s growth took off in the Tenth Plan period (2002-07) when savings and investment picked up dramatically to cross 30 per cent of gross domestic product. The private sector accounts for about 75 per cent of capital formation, a trend that can be sustained if the government continues to create the right conditions.
    Investment in education is necessary to sustain growth, in view of the skills shortage in industry and services. The Eleventh Plan proposes to increase spending on education from 7.7 per cent of the central plan outlay to 19 per cent or Rs 275,289 crore. Skill creation would transfer about 50 million surplus people out of agriculture to industry and services and enhance farm productivity. A $500 billion investment in infrastructure through public-private partnerships would address supply bottlenecks and generate a stream of incomes. Apart from capital infusion, higher output per unit of labour and capital used can alone sustain long-term growth. This, rather than short-term market and currency movements, should concern our policymakers and entrepreneurs.

Water Transport Plan Looks Like Taking Off A Decade After Invitation Of Global Tender

After a decade’s delay, the Rs-1300-crore water transport project on the west coast — which will connect Nariman Point and Borivli — is all set to take off following chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh’s intervention. “There has been an inordinate delay in implementing the project but, after Deshmukh’s recent review meeting, we expect it to go ahead in a timebound manner. The chief minister himself will monitor its progress on a regular basis,’’ a senior official told TOI on Thursday.
    Way back in 1998, when BJP leader Nitin Gadkari was the state public works department minister, a global tender for the water transport project was floated. But the actual tender was allotted only in 2003. It then took more than two years to obtain an environmental clearance for the project as the project involved major constructions on the shore and in the sea; all this added to the delay.

    The Satyagiri Shipping Corporation-led consortium, headed by Nitin Joshi, too, is now hopeful of obtaining an early clearance from the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation, headed by senior NCP leader Anil Deshmukh. “We submitted a fresh proposal to MSRDC as one of the consortium members moved out and three new ones were added. We are sure the new proposal will be cleared soon,’’ Joshi told TOI on Thursday. The dream plan includes, besides more than a dozen hovercraft with a sitting capacity of 100 each, a special marine ambulance on the Nariman Point-Borivli route. “It’s a new concept. It will help a patient reach any hospital in the suburbs from Nariman Point in 20 to 50 minutes,’’ Joshi said. There were initially five members, including Joshi’s own company, in the consortium. But one of the members dropped out and three new members joined it later. “We want complete transparency in our transactions. We, therefore, immediately informed the MSRDC on the new composition of the consortium,’’ he added.
    Joshi said Nariman Point would be connected to Borivli via Bandra, Juhu, Versova and Malad. “The total distance will be covered in 50 minutes and it will take less than 20 minutes to reach Bandra from Nariman Point. So far as fares are concerned, though we are undecided, we expect that it will be nearly Rs 50 for the distance between Nariman Point and Bandra,’’ he said.
    Joshi was hopeful that completion of the project would take less than two years after the receipt of the letter from the government and the allotment of land for the stations. “The land will be utilised for providing basic infrastructure and amenities for the passengers,’’ Joshi said.
    PWD minister and MSRDC chairman Anil Deshmukh confirmed that his government received a revised proposal from Satyagiri. “The consortium has apparently been recomposed and we are examining the financial status of the new members. Credit-rating agency Crisis has been appointed for studying the proposal,’’ Deshmukh said. 

The Gangotri glacier is receding 23 metres each year. This is not the only Himalayan glacier vanishing, all of them are
    The sea level is set to rise by 20 feet. As much as 20% of India’s coastal areas are threatened by the rising sea. The recent floods in Mumbai are a grim reminder of what might be in store
    More than a million species are today threatened and could be extinct by 2050. Within 25 years, 3 lakh people will die every year worldwide because of the devastation resulting from global warming
    Global warming—two words that today spell the most urgent issue facing humanity. We no longer have the luxury of time to debate the issue. As top Indian environmentalist R K Pachauri, who currently heads the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, says: “If there’s no action before 2012, it’s too late. What we do in the next two-three years will determine our future. This is the defining moment.’’
    The time is over for arguing that the developed western countries are responsible for the current mess and should, therefore, clear it. It’s too late to determine who ignited the fire. It’s raging and before it mars the future of our children, we need to act.
    Each one of us has a role to play. The Times of India has been highlighting several simple measures in our day-to-day lives that can slow down global warming. But action has to go beyond individuals.
Corporate houses and communities must realize the immediacy of the issue. Scientists have recommended that the international community should
    commit itself to meaningful
    emission cuts. Enlightened individuals realize that we cannot have a better tomorrow if there is no tomorrow for the Earth itself. The Times of India applauds their vision. To hold them up as role models, and encourage others to follow suit, we announce the JSW-Times of India Earth Care Awards for excellence in climate change mitigation and adaptation, with technical assistance being provided by the Centre For Environment Education and The Energy Research Institute.
    It’s the only world we have. Let’s heal it.

Life has two layers: the essential, and the accidental. The essential is never born, never dies. The accidental is born, lives and dies. The essential is eternal, timeless; the accidental is just accidental. We become attached to the accidental and we tend to forget the essential.
    You become attached to money but money is accidental. It has nothing to do with essential life. You become attached to your house or car, spouse, children and relationships. Relationship is accidental; it has nothing essential in it. It is not your real being.
    You have become attached to ‘my’ and ‘mine’ — to possessions. And you have completely lost track of your being. You have completely lost track of ‘i’. ‘My’ has become more important. When ‘my’ becomes more important then you are getting attached to the accidental. When ‘i’ remains more important and ‘my’ remains a servant, then you are a master. Then you live in a totally different way. Using the word ‘i’, in an absolutely nonegoistic sense it means your being. The accidental man lives on the periphery. The essential man remains centred.
    You create a world of illusions around you. You get attached to things which are not going to be with you when you die. You go on being identified with things which are going to be taken away from you. Become more and more essential and less and less accidental. Only that which is eternal is true; only that which is going to be for ever and ever is true. That which is momentary is untrue. The momentary has to be watched and not to be identified with.
    This game of ‘my’ and ‘mine’ is an absurd game — but this is the whole game of life. This earth was there before you ever came here, and this will be here when you are gone. The diamonds that you possess were there before you ever came here, and when you are gone those diamonds will remain here — and they will not even remember you. This game of possessiveness is the most foolish game there is — but this is the whole game.
    People who become certain about the accidental are going to be frustrated, their certainty is going to create much frustration for them. Their certainty will create expectations, and they cannot be fulfilled — because the universe is not there to fulfil your expectations. It has its own destiny. It is moving towards its own goal. It does not care about your private goals.
    All private goals are against the goal of the universe itself. The essential man comes to know, to feel, that ‘I am not separate from the Whole and there is no need to seek and search for any destiny on my own. Things are happening, the world is moving. There is no need for me to make any struggle, any effort; there is no need for me to fight for anything. I can relax and be’.
    The essential man is not a doer. The accidental man is a doer. The accidental man is, in anxiety, tension, stress and anguish, continuously sitting on a volcano — it can erupt any moment, because he lives in a world of uncertainty and believes as if it is certain. This creates tension in his being: he knows deep down that nothing is certain.
    When things are no longer important, only consciousness becomes important. When things are no longer significant, a new search, a new door opens. Then you are not rushing towards the without: you start slipping into the within. The kingdom of godliness is within.