p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } By Nityanand Jayaraman Is Jairam Ramesh a smooth, cunning and crafty fox? That's what he claimed to be at a journalism school convocation in Chennai on May 3, 2011. Invoking philosopher Isaiah Berlin's spin on an ancient parable called “The fox and the hedgehog,” the …
On June 12th, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh made national headlines when he "earnestly appealed" to the Odisha government to avoid force when taking people's land for the POSCO project. He called upon them to respect "dialogue and discussion" and "democratic processes." The Minister's "concern" followed the statements of national Congress …
‘We want free parking…..’ is the petulant tantrum of the rich in Delhi. Read this news…The trader association of one of the most happening, and upmarket area in Delhi – Khan Market has moved the High Court to oppose the orders of the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority to …
If you believe the financial press, one of the biggest environmental stories this past year has been the question of "go" and "no go" areas for coal mining. It looks like a typical clash between the "green lobby" represented by the Environment Ministry (supported by environmental NGOs) and the so-called …
The severe quake that hit Japan earlier this month and the devastating tsunami that followed it were unfortunate. These two events triggered a series of explosions at Fukushima Daiichi and a few other nuclear power installations. The Dept. of Atomic Energy (DAE) quickly got into a denial mode saying that …
One of the major events organized by the Ministry of Urban Development is the Urban Mobility Conference held in New Delhi in the first week of December each year. The theme of the latest conference held on 3rd, 4th and 5th of December 2010 at the Grand Hotel, New Delhi …
The time has come to develop a national consensus, define the national position and determine red lines for future negotiations, otherwise we risk endangering our future growth prospects. A new paradigm has emerged at Cancun. Instead of the multilaterally agreed emissions reduction targets of the Kyoto Protocol, there is now …
For multiple reasons, the winters are the worst in Delhi, India - harsh winters, limited air movement, and restraining meteorological conditions worsen the already topped out air pollution problem. Access the real time air quality monitoring data from nine stations in Delhi here, operated by the Central Pollution Control Board …
On my last couple of days in Cancun, while vestiges of the sense of despondency and low achievement of the initial days remain, Indian environment minister Jairam Ramesh's impromptu statement on "binding commitments" and "appropriate legal form" has jerked many pundits -- especially those from the subcontinent -- up. The …
How does the UNFCCC select its various locations for its annual climate change meets? What I am hinting at is, why Cancun? Why, for that matter, Copenhagen, Poznan or Bali? I have been told that cities vie for the honour, just like a sporting event such as the Olympics or …
I have reached Cancun few hours’ back to attend the 16th Conference of Parties (CoP-16) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and have been greeted with news that can only be characterised as bad or worse. The most talked about of these is the ‘all-or-nothing’ position …
The post-2012 emissions reduction commitments for Annex 1 countries under the Kyoto Protocol (KP) are presently going nowhere. Japan had fired the first salvo when in the opening plenary, it categorically stated its opposition to the second commitment period of KP. Now, countries like Australia, Canada, and some European nations …
One of the eight Missions under India's National Action Plan on Climate Change, the revised National Mission for a Green India (GIM for short) professes responding to climate change by a combination of adaptation and mitigation measures, which would help: enhancing carbon sinks in sustainably managed forests and other ecosystems; …
Navi Mumbai airport gets 'green' signal - Business Line, 23 November 2010 The Warming of Antarctica: A Citadel of Ice Begins to Melt - Environment 360, 22 November 2010 One of the biggest challenges in our responses (or lack thereof) to climate change has to do with scale. Politicians have …
For a naive and non-scientist, it would be obvious that the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is a clean fuel. Especially in the cities, it is the most common fuel for domestic cooking. There is also a small fraction of light duty vehicles which run on LPG and has proven to …
Developing countries must guard against a repeat of the situation at Copenhagen, where negotiations under the UNFCCC were deliberately stalled, and Heads of State/Ministers from developing countries were pressured to agree to “something” to save the climate regime from collapse. At Cancun this is likely to be ending differentiation between …
“…………… what was the question?” If you ask someone living in one of our medium or large cities to name the most serious civic problem faced by his city, he will more likely than not say it is the growing problem of traffic. Whether it is the businessman stuck in …
(From my website http://eassarma.in) While India is seriously engaged in global climate talks, it has simultaneously launched a highly misconceived plan to set up private “merchant” power plants based on coal. It has literally become a laissez faire strategy, without any concern for the livelihoods of the people whose lands …
I suggest that the Government of India issues the following statement of policy on production, use and release of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). (1) GMOs are produced through the use of genetic engineering technology in which a gene belonging to one organism and often coding for a particular protein performing …
Shri Jairam Ramesh, the Minister of State for Environment & Forests should indeed be complimented for reviewing the clearances given for Vedanta (Bauxite Mining), POSCO (Steel Plant) and a few other projects. I welcome these decisions. They have certainly set a new trend in environment governance in the country. From …
