Coal Dilemma: can India grow without coal?
India is the ‘kingdom
of coal’—the third largest producer in
the world. But the very foundation of this kingdom
is based on faulty facts and inefficient technologies.
Arani Sinha and Suparna Mukherji
scrutinize the coal sector of India to find out the
causes and effects of India’s dependency on
this fossil fuel.M
If we change the way we perceive society,
the divides and paradoxes can be reduced
India is a country
of extremities. While it boasts of its
nuclear strength, about 600 million people
are still living in darkness, more than
150 million do not have access to health
clinics, and farmers’ suicide is
still prevalent in various parts of the
country. In an interview with Arani
Sinha, Sir Mark Tully,
eminent media personality and former Chief
of Bureau, BBC India, talks about these
paradoxes and what the country needs to
do to maintain a balance between progress
and sustainability. .. read
more
Can
coal be clean?
Maintaining
the balance between the growing energy
demand and environmental safeguards is
one of the biggest challenges for India.
Clean coal technology is deemed as one
such way by which we can strike this balance.
However, several environmentalists claim
that the technology is not all ‘green’.
Ritu Gupta analyses this
technology to figure out its future role
in safeguarding the environment.
The
Shwe
Pipeline Project: fight for fuel vs
fight for environment
The
Shwe Pipeline, which will cross
the entire stretch of Myanmar to
pump oil and natural gas to the
Yunnan Province of China, is facing
tremendous opposition from the environmental
and human rights groups and the
local people. However, despite immense
ecological hazards associated with
the project, the construction work
has reportedly begun. Nava
Thakuria reports on the
present status of the project and
the various people’s movements
to halt its progress.
Down
the drain: the state of Delhi’s
nullah network
Delhi’s
huge network of nullahs/drains can
solve the city’s waterlogging
and water shortage problem. However,
the network has been completely
neglected and over the years, most
of them have turned into open sewers
carrying raw sewage into the Yamuna.
While groups like the ‘Restore
Nullah Initiative’ try to
revitalize the entire network in
the city, Amruta Sudhalkar
provides a citizen’s perspective
on the issue.
One of the most
awaited events of 2009, COP15, ended
without any consensus, but just
an ‘accord’ that was
noted and not adopted. Various interpretations
related to the failure of COP15
are making headlines. Nava Thakuria
presents his reading of the conference.
Fuelling
debate: How feasible is the shift
from traditional to LPG cookstoves
In developing
countries like India, a major section
of the population is still dependent
on traditional forms of cookstove,
which not only put pressure on forest
resources, but also increase families’
exposure to indoor air pollution
and cause climate-forcing emissions.
A P Muhammed Afsal
highlights the problems of traditional
cookstoves and the initiatives taken
by the government to expand the
reach of improved ones.
.read
more
Maintaining
the balance between the growing energy
demand and environmental safeguards is
one of the biggest challenges for India.
Clean coal technology is deemed as one
such way by which we can strike this balance.
However, several environmentalists claim
that the technology is not all ‘green’.
Ritu Gupta analyses this
technology to figure out its future role
in safeguarding the environment.
The
Shwe Pipeline, which will cross
the entire stretch of Myanmar to
pump oil and natural gas to the
Yunnan Province of China, is facing
tremendous opposition from the environmental
and human rights groups and the
local people. However, despite immense
ecological hazards associated with
the project, the construction work
has reportedly begun. Nava
Thakuria reports on the
present status of the project and
the various people’s movements
to halt its progress.
