Diverting the Netravati? NO PLEASE!

The Netravati is a small perennial rain-fed river originating in the Western Ghats of India. This 100 kilometer long river is the life line for the district of Dakshina Kannada and the city of Mangalore.  The Netravati flows travel nearly half of its length in the Western Ghats and only the remaining half is available for human activities. Along this stretch, human activity has already caused considerable damage to this river’s biodiversity through the construction of numerous dams and a mini hydel power plant. Off late there has been some about of political gossip and tension regarding the now proposed river diversion project. Below, I have tried to reason out the potential damages that Mangaloreans would incur if the project is executed.

The diversion of the Netravati to Kolar would lead to an alteration of the natural flow regime of the river. This change in the flow regime would lead unexpected increase / decrease in the flow and changes in the seasonality / timing of flow events – all of which would lead to both drought like scenarios and sudden flash floods. Any reduction in river run off would lead to influx of sea water into the river system causing salination of the existing water sources.

The Netravati flows through the scenic Western Ghats bio reserve. Any alteration to the flow would lead to unimaginable loss and damage to this natural beauty. The destruction of this biodiversity would be directly reflected on the local climate and more importantly on the local health.

The Netravati joins the Arabian Sea at Mangalore through an estuary. Estuaries are precious ecosystems that aid in the breeding of fish. A reduction in the river run off into the sea would lead to changes in the estuarine structure causing tremendous harm to marine life. Mangalore would directly be affected in the form of reduced fish yield.

The entire survival of the ecology of Mangalore revolves around this river. The flora and fauna are all heavily dependent on the habitat and support provided by the Netravati. The local population too is heavily dependent on this river. Industries like MRPL and the new MSEZ are too a part of the demand group. This river may be perennial but is not a surplus river. Every year the people of Mangalore face a difficult situation in summer due to reduced river flow. At times the situation turns so grim that water supply to major industries is shut down to ensure that the people have water to quench their thirsts.

The proposed diversion of the Netravati is on the assumptions that the river has surplus water. The very idea that the river is water rich is farce. The proposal is unscientific and unethical. The river diversion needs to be stopped.

Kindly voice your opinion on the issue by posting a comment below.

Food Security - an impossible scheme?

Last week the government of India passes a landmark bill – ‘The Food Security Act’. As per its provisions, the government guarantees that each of the nation’s citizens has enough food to sustain upon. All throughout the world, every government tries to achieve food security for its citizens. Food security is also closely linked to internal security. The recent Arab Spring conflicts have been directly linked to a shortage of wheat in the area.  Food security is the ultimate decider of internal stability, good economy and a progressive environment in any country. Today as every country tries to catch up with each other in this mad race called ‘development’, they are increasingly pursuing the agenda of providing sufficient food for all citizens. But this mad race is also one of the primary reasons for a larger problem – global warming. So the question today we must all ask is – will global warming impact our food security?

The scientific projects made today linking crop output to climate change vary. Nevertheless there exists strong empirical evidence that a rise in temperature would reduce the protein content in staple foods like rice and wheat. Studies also suggest that further increase in temperatures would completely shut down fruit production by plants. Not just veggies, even the meat industry would be drastically affected because fodder on which this industry runs is an agricultural produce. A number of factors have been identified to have a decisive role in deciding the quality and quantity of crop output.

Global warming would result in unpredictable changes in local weather patterns. Food production by plants depends on a variety of factors, most important of which is the right weather. All plants are seasonal in their activities. They shed their leaves, produce flowers, and produce fruit – all during different climatic conditions. Global warming would cause sudden unpredictable changes such as long spells of dry weather followed by sudden heavy downpour. Such incriminating weather patterns would wreak havoc amongst the plants, who would be confused and may prematurely shed leaves, produce fruit etc.

Climate change would result in changes in wind / ocean currents and precipitation patterns. This would result in changes in the water availability and soil salinity, both of which would damage the crops. Crops would also be damaged due to an increase in the occurrences of flash floods, cyclones (hurricanes) and landslides.

Human suffering as a result of decreasing food security caused by climate change has already started. The sudden rise in global food prices in 2008, only shows that our food crops are increasingly at risk of uncertain weather patterns.  Such spikes in food prices will only increase in the years to come.

As governments throughout the world rush in to counter short term inflation in food prices, they are all ignorant about the simple concept linking climate change and food output. India’s ambitious Food Security Act will simply be an impossible plan if the government does not initiate steps aimed at countering global warming.

Every government knows that is at stake, but simply chooses to ignore the fact and carry on with their business as usual attitude. In Europe however there is an increasing awareness amongst the governments to take steps aimed at mitigating climate change. When will our government awaken? Or is this ambitious food security plans a simple mirage?

We the people are the losers. We cannot sit silently and watch. It’s time we question them and their policies. Wake up!

Your health and climate change

There is a lot of noise these days about global warming and how it threatens to annihilate the human race. There are also numerous versions and theories both supporting and discrediting this. Before this catastrophic event occurs, there would exist a very long process of human suffering and torture at the hands of a merciless nature. If I may ask – what is the one thing that you wish to have till the end? While wealth would definitely be a priority, health would be the most important one. Good health brings happiness and happiness is the healthiest of human emotions. So before climate change wipes out our race, what suffering has it got at stake for us?

Global warming as the term suggests is causing an increase in the average surface temperature of the earth. Warmer surface temperatures would result in a variety of ill effects affecting people of all ages alike. A prolonged spell of hot weather, with high relative humidity and less cooler nights would induce severe heat related stress on elderly people, leading to death. 

Warmer surface temperatures would also cause an increase in the breeding rates of rodents and pests – which are disease carriers. There would be a decrease in the overall quality of water, as the microorganisms purifying this water would reduce their functioning as a result of a warmer climate. This would lead to an increase in water borne diseases. Warmer atmospheric conditions would result in an increase in ozone production. Ozone in the lower levels of the atmosphere is a pollutant and together with pollen would lead to deadly cases of respiratory diseases amongst the new born and the elderly.

Climate change is also going to influence our health through a number of indirect factors. Topping this list is – natural disasters. Climate change would result in numerous natural calamities often with devastating effects. Changing precipitation patterns coupled with a warmer atmosphere would result in longer dry spells with sudden heavy downpour causing annual flash floods. People living along the coasts would be forced to migrate due to rising sea levels and non-availability of fresh drinking water. People would also be force to relocate due to adverse weather conditions, land slides, earthquakes, increased volcanic activity and food availability. This mass relocation of people would instantly lead to a rise in the number of diseased population.

The second factor is the reduction in the quality of available fresh water. The United Nations Organization estimates that about one third of the world population would be deprived of quality drinking water by 2050. This would result in an increase in the spread of water related diseases. 

Another important factor is food scarcity. Changing soil patterns, failing monsoons, annual flash floods and increase in surface temperatures would result in large-scale crop failure. Lack of adequate food intake would result in further aggravation of the spread of diseases. Finally, scientists claim that there would be a hundred per cent rise in the occurrences of new incurable diseases, many of which (MERS, SARS, H1N5 etc.) are already causing wide spread panic.

The question we need to ask ourselves today is – where are we headed? Is this the future you want to live in? Is the future you want your children to grow up in?

It’s high time we make a choice and chose our alliances. Climate change and its catastrophic effects can be mitigated. A deep thought provoking approach must be initiated by every local and national government for this cause. People must be educated and enlightened. Governments must have a plan for its citizens. If we still chose to be ignorant and consider living foolishly, then we would simply suffer and die a painful death and our children would curse us for the gifts we have given them.

We can change the world! Let’s join together and act! Wake up!

Gifting your child a thirsty future?

As the famous English saying goes – “3 minutes without oxygen, 3 days without water, 3 weeks without food”, water without a doubt is the fuel that drives life. From the beginning of time, water has been accorded a very special status by mankind and is considered holy in almost every religion on the face of this earth. But man has changed, so has his attitude. At a time when governments are spending millions searching for water on outer space (thus accepting the fact that water is a giver of life!), we humans along with our governments are simply destroying quality water on earth.

We all learnt in school that water covers most of the surface of the earth, but only a mere 2% of which is potable. Out of this nearly 60% is locked up as ice in mountain glaciers and polar icecaps. The ever increasing global temperatures are forcing these icecaps to fast melt and thus converting even this scarce source of fresh water into salt water. So where are we headed? Is the future going to be thirsty? And who is to blame?

 

Most of us live in cities and have access to potable water – good quality or not. Most of us are ignorant about the need to intake quality water. Lack of water purification facilities and rampant pollution of underground water (mainly due to poor sewage systems) is adding to these woos. And then there is the problem of unplanned, unethical, selfish and mindless drilling of bore wells. In Bangalore (India’s IT Capital), the depth of the bore wells have increased by nearly 500 feet in the past 5 years alone! The question is how deep can we go? And is there enough water down there?

Did you know that out of the 7 billion people inhabiting the earth, 783 million do not have access of good quality water? Did you know that about 3.4 million people die every year of water related diseases? Did you know that every 21 seconds a child dies due to lack of access of water?

So how is climate change going to worsen the situation? Well for starters, global warming induced sea level rise will reduce the availability of fresh water along the coasts by as much as 50%! (PS: 40% of the world’s population lives along the coasts). Changes in precipitation patterns will further aggravate the situation. Fast receding glaciers and ever decreasing mountain snow-pack would reduce the annual feed of perennial rivers. Failure of monsoons would lead to drought like situations even in areas considered water-rich. Scientists estimate that by 2050 nearly a third of the world’s population would be deprived of quality drinking water. Will I be on that list? Will our children be on that list?

Where are we headed folks? It’s a selfish world we live in and it is high time we wake up do something about it. 

The first question that you need to ask yourself – “Am I gifting my child a thirsty future?” No? Then please join hands and together we can ensure that our kids drink good water. Change begins at home. Be conscious about the use of water and encourage your neighbours to follow suit. But this is not enough. In developing countries like India, the poor sewage systems and lack of water recycling plants are fast reducing the quality of available ground water by mixing of sewage in it. Therefore the need of the hour is to pressurize the government servants and elected representatives into ensuring the purity of the already scarce ground water. Every parent must come together and ensure that the water bodies in their localities are devoid of pollution. Elected representatives must be put to task and questioned when they come begging for votes during the elections. What we need is a revolution like the Arab spring to secure the quality drinking water.

It’s a selfish world we live in, but if we truly love our children, then we cannot afford to be selfish. Change begins at home. Wake up!

The six degrees unto death

Global Warming- not a new phrase right?

While our world leaders are politicizing it and scientists are shouting 'crisis', and we honorable earthizens are sitting silent digging our own grave. We are a simple bunch of uneducated folk - who simply do not make any attempts to learn and explore. Its human nature to be so. But the situation is grim and time is fast running out. We have to wake up and rise.

"There should have been panic on the streets," says Mark Lynas in his book, Six Degrees, "people shouting from the rooftops, statements to parliament and 24-hour news coverage." . It's a very serious problem we are dealing with.

In an article titled"Acceleration of global warming due to carbon-cycle feed-backs in a coupled climate model", published in November 2000 in the scientific journal Nature - the UK Met Office’s Hadley Center for Climate Change, rings the loudest possible alarm bells. In layman's language, Hadley simply expresses its helplessness, while calling for an immediate response to this problem . According to this report, nature itself would become increasingly uncomfortable and would turn violent. There would be unpredictable changes in the weather patterns, which at first would be less violent and the latter would even turn fatal. Acute shortage of food and quality drinking water would plague the world and man would be forced to even turn to cannibalism! It would be an absolutely lawless world, filled with misery and grief, until nature finally pulls the plug.

It's human tendency to accept and understand only the facts that please us. Global warming sadly is one of those unpleasant facts. Mark Lynas states "The end of the world is nigh, and it's already been published in Nature."  Therefore it is essential for us to first understand the implications of our actions, effects of climate change and then try and implement a few proven solutions. As step one towards our learning process, let us understand the gradual changes that are going to happen around us, as global temperatures rise .

1c Increase - Ice free Sea absorbs more heat and accelerates global warming; fresh water lost from a third of the world's surface; low-lying coastlines flooded.

2c Increase - Europeans dying of heatstroke; forests ravaged by fire; stressed plants beginning to emit carbon rather than absorbing it; a third of all species face extinction.

3c Increase - Carbon release from vegetation and soils speeds global warming; death of the Amazon rain forest; super-hurricanes hit coastal cities; starvation in Africa.

4c Increase - Runaway thaw of permafrost makes global warming unstoppable; much of Britain made uninhabitable by severe flooding; Mediterranean region abandoned.

5c Increase - Methane from ocean floor accelerates global warming; ice gone from both poles; humans migrate in search of food and try vainly to live like animals off the land.

6c Increase - Life on Earth ends with apocalyptic storms, flash floods, hydrogen sulfide gas and methane fireballs racing across the globe with the power of atomic bombs; only fungi survive.

I assume this brief prediction sums it all. It’s a selfish world we live in, filled with ignorant and stubborn people. On an international level a lot of tantrums are thrown by world leaders about the steps that they would take (at a time of their convenience) and how through these steps they would be saviors of mankind. But the reality is – any government that tries to push towards policy reforms concerning climate change is isolated internationally. The best example is that of Ecuador – which recently gave up its vows to prevent drilling in the pristine Yasuni National Park. 

You may now wonder – why don’t the world leaders act? And why aren't the big business houses that control these world leaders pushing them to act?

The answer is extremely simple. Two per cent of the world’s population (comprising of these business and world leaders who in-turn control 98% of the wealth), have already invested in technology that would probably transport them to another planet, where they would live safely. What about the rest? Oh yes, we are the fools living in this selfish world.

It’s high time we open up our eyes and understand the truth. Let us all join hands and fight to secure a future for our children.

(For a more in-depth analysis of how the world leaders are out to destroy us and what can be done to save ourselves, please read my book Shall we save the Earth?)

Oh foolish man!

We live in a time of uncertainty and imbalance. An unstable currency, price rise, instability, poor governance – all these could make one feel as though these are troubled times. On the brighter side we are in the golden space age. Sci-Fi movies of the seventies are turning out to into reality. Technological advances have certainly made our lives comfortable and certainly very complicated. The internet boom, the reduced commuting times, smart phones, faster computers, smart gadgets – all seem to have come as gift from the almighty himself.

We live in an age where anything that is smarter, faster and better is acknowledged and the rest discarded. Our obsession with this new age philosophy has also reflected on our demands for better health. It is after all common understanding that a good health is an integral part of a good life. I spoke to my grand mother a few days ago with the intension of understanding the health situation during her days as a young adult. I was surprised to learn that they enjoyed a healthier childhood than the one we had, even with poor sanitation and low food availability.

Human health can be easily regarded as one of the most important priorities of mankind and the total monetary expenditure in this sector can only be matched by defense. Billions of dollars are invested every year on healthcare research and yet as the day passes by – we are in a more insecure health situation. The basic question we can then ask is – why?

Our grandparents and our parents were brought up in an environment which was pristine. The low pollution levels, good quality food and water, favorable temperatures – made their childhoods memorable. The situation has however drastically changed in the last twenty years! I pity the kids born today!

The high levels of pollution welcome them into this earth offering them gifts of respiratory illnesses; they grow up into an uncertain future of sudden climatic changes and unpredictable weather patterns. Their lives would be miserable!

It’s a foolish world we are a part of, and we are equally ignorant. I have a beehive on the ceiling of my third floor apartment balcony. The moment the other tenants in the apartment complex noticed it – they saw free honey; their immediate reaction – burn it down. Even after my repeated attempts to make them understand the importance of bees to maintain the natural cycle of life, they were unrelenting. This standoff continues to the day. Introspecting on their replies, I was convinced that this generation of young adults / parents has either become extremely heartless or is just ignorantly stubborn.

I would go with the fact that most of us are ignorant. But the situation warrants that we must open our eyes and act. Global climatic changes would drastically affect our lives and those of our children. No parent amongst us would want to gift his / her child an uncertain future. We do a lot of sacrifices for our children - most notably by building a strong monetary system to support them. But we never pause to think about the basic necessities that would be required for their survival - good food, clean air and pure water. If you are a parent reading this, I am sure you have now understood what is at stake. Educate yourself first, then your neighbor.
Spread the word and save the world!
It’s a foolish world we live in. You can opt to make it less foolish!

Let greed not destroy us,

Wake up!