Sen. John Kerry does an Al Gore

Stepping into the shoes that we think Al Gore has now vacated since accepting the Nobel Prize, Sen. John Kerry takes over as the Next Big American Voice Against Global Warming. But despite the big press, the noises he is making are no different. And particularly, coming from another Presidential also-ran, they seem too much like - excuse the loaded ecological simile - a carbon copy. But, of course, this being G8 (as opposed to F1) season, the air is thicker with allegations than vehicular exhaust. And it's not surprising for America to flex its sanctions muscle in order to thwart third-world stances on the issue. Writing in The Daily Beast, the senator warns:

Atmospheric carbon-dioxide levels have risen 38% in the industrial era, from 280 to 385 parts per million (ppm). Scientists have warned that anything above 450 ppm—a warming of 2 degrees Celsius—will result in an unacceptable risk of catastrophic climate change.

And the characteristic refrain, painted over with stars and stripes, goes:

The bottom line is that failure to tackle climate change risks much more than a ravaged environment: It risks a much more dangerous world, and a gravely threatened America.

Echoes of An Inconvenient Truth? Why aren't we surprised? Perhaps the good senator, who hails from the cornfields of Iowa, should have read The Stern Review instead.

Carbon footprint - what a feat!

It's that day of the year when everyone gets excited about their carbon footprint, only to have nothing to do with it when the day is done. So far, the hubbub was restricted to corporates who chose the occasion of World Environment Day to make a grand pretence of atoning for their misdeeds - clever shareholder communication, in other words. But now, our otherwise unapologetic government has also jumped in. The tone of advertisements issued by government departments in India have always been a half-hearted, halfway effort between bone-numbing pedantry and pedagogic inanity festooned with mugshots of the irascible rascals responsible for siphoning off public money for their private interests. That's a lot of superlatives, yes. But consider this ad published today in The Times of India by the Karnataka Pollution Control Board:

1. It says 'Don't leave your carbon footprint on the earth'. Ah, how evocative. Now, will they please suggest a list of places where we can leave it? And isn't this whole business about reducing the carbon footprint since it's impossible not to leave behind one at all. It's clear that the gurus at the KPCB are latecomers into the talk. So don't even expect them to walk it.
2. Now, the only recycled material in this ad is the content, which is clearly lifted from any other public service noise that just anyone else in the world is making about 'carbon footprint', viz:

a) Use bicycles/ make cycling a habit: Cute, but the only cycling I get to do is in the gym. Because if I venture out into the real world on a bicycle, there is no guarantee of returning home alive riding it. Are there bicycle lanes anywhere in India? Of course, the KPCB can say that they are not the "concerned department", in more than one sense of the term. b) Plant and nurture trees: Try telling this to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), which has to date connived with the state Forest Department to rid the city of its green cover under the pretext of development works. And in the place of our banyans and peepals have come fast-growing copper pods, rain trees and gulmohurs - introduced species that are ornamental but otherwise practically useless. And so easily felled by a good gale.

That said, it's a good gesture. Even if the Board's responsibility ends here. Talking of pollution control, every month the Bangalore Traffic Police embarks on a conscientious mission to enforce discipline among Bangalore's polluting vehicles. They stop vehicles (apparently at random) and demand to see an emission test certificate - you know, the ones issued by those shady little booths attached to fuel stations. It's a High Court Order, they will tell you if you argue, and brandish in your face a faded photostat copy of something Devanagari. Now, this certification is a mere formality for most Euro II and Euro III vehicles but somehow, something magic happens and turns the attention of our devoted men in uniform from the smoke-belching and utterly un-roadworthy trucks, buses and three-wheeled tempos grunting past you with impunity to your own uncertified but otherwise unpolluting Euro II vehicle. Of course, you don't have to flex your cerebral muscles to deduce that the constables' discretion extends only to drivers of vehicles who look like they are carrying the requisite amount payable as fine. And yes, in the end everyone is fine with that and nobody raises an alarm. Such good citizens. As for carbon footprint - I know plenty of enraged drivers who'd like to leave a nice sooty one on the faces of those cops. It's World Environment Day. Enjoy it while it lasts.

Dehydrating the Ganga?

The July 19 issue of Tehelka carries a piece on the damming activity in the upper reaches of the Ganga. An excerpt: India has 4,500 large dams. Until recently, the pristine stretch between Uttarkashi and Gangotri boasted of only one: Maneri Bhali Phase I. But a series of consecutive hydro-electric projects are now in different stages of construction on this 125-kilometre stretch. Five major ones threaten the normal existence of the Bhagirathi, as the majestic Ganga here is called. If they go through as planned, it is feared the Ganga may completely disappear from large stretches, leaving the riverbed limp and dry. More here

The Gharial and the TV reporter

The more I read about the gharial episode in the Indian media, the more I am disgusted with the petty politicking that has driven me away from a career in that industry. And just for that, I am grateful. So it was refreshing to read Janaki Lenin's opinion piece in Tehelka and her blog on the media coverage of the issue on Wildlife Almanac. I saw some ridiculous coverage on the websites of NDTV and CNN-IBN (where one journalist has posted an idiotic blog) - and they all try to skirt the issue and fabricate connections that are irrelevant, irresponsible and dangerously speculative. The principal points - that of possible pollution of the Chambal and Yamuna rivers, at whose confluence these ancient reptiles breed, and the clear evidence of disease and the urgent need for authorities and experts to work together to control it - have been swept aside. I know from friends who are wildlife researchers that the Yamuna-Chambal confluence is perhaps the last stand not just for the gharial, but for otters, many species of waterbirds and quite likely even the Gangetic Dolphin. All this lobbying could put the wrong kind of pressure on the wrong authorities who will, inevitably, blunder with their decisions. And so, instead of investigating the issue and finding a timely and scientific solution to it, we will see the activism over this issue again deteriorate into the sad charade of appeasing vote-banks. And what of the gharial? Well, time will tell. Postscript: Some nut has stolen my copy of Tehelka from my postbox. I hope he/she/it develops a decent opinion on the Gharial crisis.