=============================================== CSE's Fortnightly News Bulletin (September 16, 2011) ===============================================
Down To Earth covers new ground this fortnight -- the rising levels of noise in our cities has become a prime irritant for most of us who are forced to live and work in these concrete jungles, and DTE's new investigation burrows deep into the problem and what can be done about it. There's a host of other news and features to look out for in the regular magazine, while Web DTE brings you more stories from beyond: watch out for a Reporter's Diary on disappearing wetlands in Assam. On the programme front, climate change is hotting up, with two mega CSE conferences on the anvil. Read on. ===================================================================================================================== Sign up to receive this e-newsletter http://equitywatch.org/phplist/?p=subscribe&id=6 To unsubscribe, just click http://www.cseindia.org/content/please-enter-your-email-id-unsubscribe-cse-newsletter If you have any questions or concerns about subscription, please contact Vikas Khanna at [email protected]. ======================================================== EDITORIAL: A monsoon warning by Sunita Narain ======================================================== As I write this my city Delhi is drowning. It started raining early this morning and within a few hours the city has come to a standstill. The television is showing scenes of traffic snarled up for hours, roads waterlogged and people and vehicles sunk deep in water and muck. The meteorological department records that some 60 mm of rain has fallen in just about 6 hours; 90 mm in 24 hours; and with this the city has made up for its deficit of rainfall this season. In other words, in just about 24 hours Delhi and its surrounding areas got half as much rain as they would in the entire month of September. Delhi, like all growing cities of India, is mindless about drainage. Storm water drains are either clogged or do not exist. Our lakes and ponds have been eaten away by real estate. Land is what the city values, not water. So when it rains more than it should the city drowns. This month almost all parts of the country are hit by rain and flood. We don’t know the extent of damage because putting together news from across the country is difficult and the national media, obsessed as it is with corruption and the antics of politics, fails to present us with the scale and magnitude of breakdown and suffering. Then we also take for granted that at this time of the year there will be rains and then floods. We do not look for news in these events; that there is something unusual about the ferocity of the rain and the extent of the damage. I say this as a keen recorder of these events. Each year, unfailingly, around this time I end up chronicling the floods in most parts of the country. But each year, as I learn and write, I find the floods grow in intensity. Each year, the rain events get more variable and more extreme. Each year, the economic damage because of floods and rain increases. This year, for instance, the Himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh says its bill for rain damage is Rs. 334 crore, roughly half the year’s budget for roads and infrastructure. As many as 30 lives have been lost as rivers have broken their banks, landslides have destroyed homes, hydropower stations have been shut and roads and crops damaged. What is worrying is the emerging pattern. Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal says that in his state rains were normal in June, deficient in July and hyperactive in August. A record 342 mm of incessant rain within 24 hours on August 13 left the state shell-shocked and deeply damaged. In Gujarat rains have left behind trails of damage. Over the past two months in different regions of the state, there have been cloudbursts and torrential rains, which have led to flash floods, ravaged homes and killed 140 people. The common thread in the events is the manner in which the rains have come—abnormally heavy rains with huge sub-regional variations. For instance, earlier this week, Becharaji taluka in Mehsana district of north Gujarat recorded 62 mm of rain, equivalent to a third of its annual average. On one single day, the otherwise dry region of Kachchh got nearly as much rain—some 250 mm—as it gets in a year. Even as I write this, another region of India, Odisha, is struggling to cope with floods of high magnitude. Some 0.7 million people are already displaced as the Mahanadi has burst its banks at many places. My colleagues tracking developments there say this is mainly because there has been heavy rainfall in the catchment of the vast Hirakud dam. As a result in less than 24 hours the Hirakud managers, without warning and notice, opened all its 59 gates, releasing huge volumes of water into the already swollen river. This part of the country, which was recorded to have deficient rains of 40 per cent, is now in surplus. In just three days enough water has fallen to make up for the shortfall. There is no doubt, therefore, that something strange is afoot. Scientists will tell you that there is a difference between weather and its natural variability and climate change, a pattern brought about by human emissions heating up the atmosphere faster than normal. Scientists who study the monsoons will tell you that they are beginning to make that distinction between “normal” monsoon and what is now showing up in extreme rain events. This when the monsoons are a capricious and confounding natural event, hard to predict and even harder to pin down. Clearly, it is time to accept that we are beginning to see the impact of climate change. It is time to demand that the world change its ways to mitigate emissions. It is equally important we change the way we deal with water. The opportunity lies in making sure that every drop of the rain is harvested for future economic use. Since rain will come in more ferocious events we must engineer for its drainage and storage. Channelising and holding rain water must become the nation’s mission. This does mean that every waterbody, every channel, drain and nullah and every catchment has to be safeguarded. These are the temples of modern India. Built to worship rain. Built for our future. Post your comments on this editorial online at http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/monsoon-warning ======================= MORE FROM DOWN TO EARTH ======================= - Cover Story: Deafening Noise Constant exposure to noise can make one deaf. The major culprit is road traffic. Can one avoid noise? http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/deafening-noise - Analysis: Auto yes to coal High powered panel recommends freeing coal blocks in forests http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/auto-yes-coal - Feature: Every breath you take Pollutants in the air damage more than the lungs, warn health experts http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/every-breath-you-take - Feature: Rent an e-scooter An electric two-wheeler service in Pune promises to make commuting cleaner, easier http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/rent-e-scooter - News: Barrages spur protests Odisha wants to dam surplus water downstream of Hirakud dam. But where’s the surplus? http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/barrages-spur-protests - News: Courts act to protect floodplains Centre dithers on banning encroachment in river zones http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/courts-act-protect-floodplains - News: New safety norms for toys Meant to check use of toxic phthalates http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/new-safety-norms-toys Crosscurrents: Holistic approach Civil society and government agencies are responsible for sustainable development http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/holistic-approach - S&T: The air just got dirtier Nonvolatile herbicides lost more through vapourisation http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/air-just-got-dirtier - Patently Absurd: The fine line for judges Judges have recused themselves in a number of cases but there are no clear guidelines on what constitutes conflict of interest http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/fine-line-judges - Interview: with Sanjay Dave, new head of Codex Alimentarius Commission, the UN body on food safety standards http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/poor-nations-need-codex-education Down To Earth is now on Facebook and Twitter. Do follow us, share, comment, and discuss and stay in constant touch with our reporters on www.facebook.com/down2earthindia and twitter@downtoearthindia. ========================== Web DTE ========================== Reporter's Diary: The great wetland grab Guwahati allows construction on wetlands, but will not spare poor settlers on hills. A photo narrative by Sayantan Bera http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/great-wetland-grab Web Special: Your toothpaste may cause cancer A study finds dental products contain nicotine http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/your-toothpaste-may-cause-cancer =========================== On India Environment Portal =========================== - Sub-portal on South Asia and Sustainable Development: Provides in-depth information through news, reports, analysis, opinions and events, linked to other key institutions and websites etc. Please do contribute studies, reports, court orders etc, especially from our neighbouring countries in the South Asian region. http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/indepth/term/9790 - CSE Environment Photo Library CSE's perspective and collection of photographs is now here to help illustrate your views on environment. Reach the online CSE Environment Photo Store at http://www.flickr.com/photos/csepictures - Follow us on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/indiaenvportal and join us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/indiaenvironmentportal/228015872817 - Get linked. List and provide links of your organisation (or your library's website) on the portal as a 'free-to-use' online resource on environment. For any assistance, please contact [email protected], [email protected] ============================================= LEARNING WITH CSE Courses offered by Anil Agarwal Green College ============================================= Training Programme on Urban Rainwater Harvesting Date: September 27-30, 2011 Course modules: - Overview Water yesterday, today and tomorrow - Science of rainwater harvesting - Technology of rainwater harvesting - Harvesting the city's water endowment - Policy framework for rainwater harvesting - Making water everybody's business - A primer for action Course details: http://www.cseindia.org/content/training-programme-urban-rainwater-harvesting-september-27-30-2011 For more details, contact: Sushmita Sengupta Tel: 011 - 29955124 Fax: 011 - 29955879 Email: [email protected] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Managing Information in the Digital Age: Training Programme on Library, Information Management and Web-based Outreach Date: September 27-30, 2011 Course Modules - Planning and managing resource centres in the digital age - Sourcing information (print/electronic, internet for research) - Organising Information: Classification & Indexing (including digitized resources) - A primer on managing audio-visual resources (films, photos, Cds, etc.) - Digitisation and e-documentation of news clippings, articles, reports and documents - Building contact databases - Knowledge creation and dissemination (Information Services/Products) - E-mail for outreach (mass mail using open source s/w) - Online presence : reaching out through the web - Potential of social media and web 2.0 for information dissemination and communication Course details: http://www.cseindia.org/node/1653 Register online: http://www.cseindia.org/node/997 For more details contact: Kiran Pandey Prgramme Director-Library and Information Management Phone: +91 (011) 29955124/125 (Ext. 287) Mob: 9968767698 Fax: +91 (011) 29955879 Email: [email protected], [email protected] ----------------------------------------------------------------- Decentralised wastewater treatment and reuse Date: September 28-October 1, 2011 Last date for applying: September 15, 2011 Some fellowships for participants from South Asia available. Course contact: Deblina Dwivedi Email: [email protected] Mobile: 9899596661 ---------------------------------------------- Covering India: Where Journalism Meets Environment Date: November 1-30, 2011 This certificate course is designed as a hands-on 'boot camp', and targets those interested in a career in mainstream or niche news media, development communication, civil society campaign and advocacy initiatives, and industry CSR, among others. Course Modules: - Environment as a subject of coverage - Ecological rights, natural resource management and food security - Urban growth: contemporary challenges - Climate change policies, politics - Hands-on research labs - News writing & editing studios - Supervised field-based reporting and writing Some fellowships for participants from South Asia available. Course details: http://www.cseindia.org/node/2607 Course contact: Sharmila Sinha Emails: [email protected] / [email protected] ================================ UPDATES FROM OUR PROGRAMME UNITS ================================ Conference on Clean and Sustainable Mobility for All: An Agenda for Reforms This two-day CSE conference will be held in New Delhi. It aims to build a dialogue among the key target groups to help raise policy and public awareness regarding mobility crisis in our cities and the reforms underway to address the crisis. Dates: September 28-29, 2011 Venue: Gulmohar Hall, India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road, New Delhi For more details, contact Vivek Chattopadhyay at [email protected], 9811793923 Also visit http://cseindia.org/node/3060 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- South Asian Media Briefing Workshop on Climate Change, 2011 Journalists from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, interested in the climate debate, are invited to apply for the two-day workshop in Delhi. Date: November 16-17, 2011 For online registration, click http://cseindia.org/node/2937 For more details, visit http://cseindia.org/content/invitation-cses-south-asian-media-briefing-workshop-climate-change-2011 or get in touch with Papia Samajdar at [email protected] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Second National Research Conference on Climate Change CSE, in association with the Indian Institutes of Technology in Delhi and Madras, is organising the Second National Research Conference on Climate Change. The conference will be held in Delhi. We invite abstracts from faculty, students, and practitioners in the areas of climate science, impacts, adaptation and mitigation. Date: November 5-6, 2011 Abstract submission deadline: September 25, 2011 For more details, visit http://cseindia.org/content/2nd-national-research-conference-climate-change ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Jaipur Citizen's Survey: Transport and air quality challenges CSE's Clean Air Campaign team is organising a citizens’ survey in Jaipur to understand the challenges of air pollution and transportation that the city faces, and identify the way forward. Would you like to volunteer your participation in the survey? Just fill out a form at http://cseindia.org/node/1190 and send it to us. ------------------------------------------- RainWater Harvesting Technical Support Every Friday between 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm, CSE provides detailed technical guidance to interested individuals, RWAs and institutions to implement rainwater harvesting. The technical assistance will be provided at CSE’s office at 41, Tughlakabad Institutional Area. For details, see http://www.cseindia.org/content/catch-rainwater-solve-your-water-problems -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Technical advice: Decentralised wastewater treatment systems Every second and fourth Friday, meet our experts at CSE, 41, Tughlaqabad Institutional Area for guidance on planning and designing these systems. For details, contact Deblina at [email protected] or call her on 9899596661. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Environment Health Bulletin The second edition of The Environment Health Bulletin, a quarterly by CSE's Food Safety and Toxins unit, will be out on September 21. This edition will include articles on energy drinks, endosulfan, pesticide management bill, BRAI bill and the Food Safety and Standards Act. To subscribe, please get in touch with Savvy Soumya Mishra at [email protected] ==================================== >From our stores =================================== CSE introduces its new range of 100% organic T-shirts. To check them out or place an order, visit http://csestore.cse.org.in/t-shirts/100-organic-t-shirts.html. ==================================== About this e-mail ==================================== You are receiving this newsletter because you have asked to be included in our list, attended a CSE event or requested information. CSE is an independent, public interest organization that was established in 1982 by Anil Agarwal, a pioneer of India's environmental movement. CSE's mandate is to research, communicate and promote sustainable development with equity, participation and democracy. -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________ -------------- next part -------------- _______________________________________________
