Engineers require retraining, not the Ganga. This is where I left our conversation in my previous column. Why did I say this?

Hydropower is important. But how important? Is it important enough to dry out stretches of our rivers? Or is there a way to balance energy needs with the imperative of a flowing, healthy river?

I have been grappling with these issues for the past few months. But now that the committee (of which I was a member) on the hydropower projects on the Ganga has submitted its report, let me explain how I see the way ahead.

Since glass traps heat, buildings require more air conditioning. As a result, energy use goes up

Building green is definitely important. But it is equally important to know how green a green building is. Take the glitzy, glass-enveloped buildings popping up across the country. It does not matter if you are in the mild but wet and windy climate of Bangalore or in the extreme hot and dry climate of Gurgaon - glass is the in thing.

We need a food safety model based on societal objectives of nutrition, livelihood and safety.

Current policies on containing air pollution, particularly in cities, are regressive

Our health is not on anybody's agenda. Or we just don't seem to make the connections between the growing burden of disease and the deteriorating condition of our environment. We don't really believe science, which tells us each passing day how toxins affect our bodies, leading to high rates of both morbidity and mortality. It is true that it is difficult to establish cause and effect; but we know more than enough to say that air pollution is today a leading cause of both disease and death in India and other parts of South Asia.

The FM wants credit for acting on environment, but does the wrong things

The "mool mantra" of Budget 2013 is inclusive and sustainable development, says Finance Minister P Chidambaram. But, as far as the environment is concerned, there is no substance in the Budget that tells us how the direction of growth will be environmentally sound. Instead, the finance minister talks about the Cabinet Committee on Investment, which has been set up to fast-track clearances. There is no indication in his speech that this drive for investment will be cognisant of the needs for sustainability and will strengthen, not weaken, the regulatory system that governs green clearances.

The Maha Kumbh in Allahabad has perhaps no parallel in terms of the sheer size of the congregation. In less than two months over 100 million people are expected to come to this city, at the confluence of the Ganga and the Yamuna. But even as they celebrate the rivers it seems they don’t see the rivers, but only the ritual.

This mela is about how the Hindu religion — and I believe all religions — is based on a deep understanding of and respect for nature’s strength. But we now worship without reason. So people can take a dip in the polluted river but still believe that the dirt, the filth and the plastic that swims around them will not defile the river’s properties. Our strength has become our weakness.

How will solar energy be made to work in India? As I discussed in my previous article, there are three key challenges.

Grid-based solar power only reaches only households that are connected to energy supply, and simply subsidises costly solar for an already-reached population

India’s solar power policy is now entering round two. Much needs to be reviewed and reworked, since the business of solar energy has seen massive turbulence in India as well as globally. In the first phase (2010 to 2013) of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM), the target was to set up 1,000-2,000 MW of grid-based solar power in the country. By 2013, the country has indeed commissioned some 1,000 MW of solar power, but 700 MW of this target comes from a non-JNNSM state, Gujarat.

Every time people lose faith in the political establishment, urban middle classes embrace fascism and the poor take up arms against the state

The last image of 2012 is that of protesters storming central Delhi, outraged at the brutal rape of a young girl and the culture of violence against women. This outburst by the educated middle class, many of them young women, was spontaneous as much as it was leaderless. But as we move into the next year, we need to think about the government’s response to this protest and other demonstrations. We need to understand if the Indian state has any clue about what is going on under its nose — and feet.