rainforests

Rainforests are amongst the major casualties  of climate change. They are nature's gifts to mankind offering numerous natural resources such as medicinal plants and herbs. They are also serve as a habitat for a variety of plant and animal species. The most colorful plant and animal species are found here. To a great extent these forests sustain themselves by generating about 50% of the rainfall in the area through evaporation and condensation through the trees. In addition to sustaining themselves they also support the microclimate of the surrounding area and play a important role in replenishing waterbodies, preventing soil erosion ,  facilitating agriculture and acting as a carbon sink . They support a huge human population directly or indirectly.

                                      This beautiful ecosystem is now at risk due to lack of regard for this precious asset. Excessive logging and clearing to make way for forests and farms is destroying the se rainforest and the species they nurture. The effects have been terrible. In 2004-05 brazil cleared 18,00 square kilometers of rainforest and faced a severe drought in 2005. In addition to such disasters we are helping to accelerate the pace of climate change by destroying the rainforest.

                                       There are various efforts by individuals and organizations to stop this destruction. One such effort is being promoted through a website called www.rainforest concern.org. The website has been beautifully designed with earthy colors and breathtaking images of the rainforest. There is a slideshow of rainforest images on the opening page of the site which reveals the beauty of the forest. The site also has a massage for its visitors in the form of a e- leaflet which is a visual treat. The site is very informative with various sections on rainforest facts, climate and carbon, education and  resources, how individuals can help, rainforest visit etc. It sis best to visit the site and make your own discovery. I am sure it will be a pleasing experience and one may end up doing something important for mankind by participating in one of their programs. 

climate change and water

water, the most precious natural element on earth is threatened due to climate change impact. Although large land masses may be submerged and sea levels may rise due to melting of ice, availability of water for drinking and farming will reduce due to climate change. The reasons are many and varied. Due to receding glaciers water level in rivers will reduce. The ground water table will fall due to increased evaporation and drying up of replenishment sources. The ground water in coastal areas will get salinated due to sea water ingress in underground water due to sea level rise.
These effects are already being seen in various parts of India. In the Indian state of Kashmir the villages near Srinagar face a water shortage due to reduction in water in the glacier fed lakes. In orissa groundwater in kanhupur, Kendrapara district and in kirtania, Balasore district has become saline due to sea water ingress.
Despite these looming shortages water in cities is being lst due to leakages during supply. In Europe 15-25% of water is lost in supply. Singapore is in a better position with losses amounting to 5%. In Thailand 85% of the water used to be lost during supply. Now this has been reduced to 8%. Both these countries achieved this by pricing water higher which led to water being treated as a valuable commodity. Singapore has achieved such a level of water purity that one can drink water from any trap. Perhaps other countries need to follow these examples to tackle the water crisis.

insect and animal species and climate change

climate change is having a profound impact on various species of insects and animals. It affects them in two ways. It either destroys or disturbs their habitat in various ways. the terrestrial animals near the coasts lose their habitats to the rising seas. The Sunderbans is submerging at the rate of 20 hectares per year shrinking the natural habitat of the Royal Bengal tiger in addition to displacing thousands of humans. Those not on the coast lose their habitats because of the inability of plant or tree species , which constitute their habitat, to survive in the modified conditions. One example is the Amazon rain forests where it has become difficult for trees to survive as the water beneath the ground is drying up and tree roots have to grow deeper and deeper to find water. In this struggle for survival only the sturdiest of the trees survive. The habitat of the Polar Bear is also threatened by the rapidly melting ice. It is losing its camoflage and the cold environment in which it is accustomed to live.
Species in the sea are not faring any better. Due to warming sea-surface temperatures and increasing acidity of the seas many species are relocating or diappearing from the seas. The rising temperatures and increasing acidity of seas also inhibits the growth of phytoplankton on which many sea creatures survive. Thus climate change is altering lifeforms, supported by the earth for billions of years, in a big way.
As the habitat of various species is theatened they are relocating in search of new spaces. In this process they often come into conflict with humans. For example in America Pythons are moving Northwards to areas where they were never found (www.discovery.com). Insect species have also appeared in new and unexpected places. Seven people died of white nile virus in New York last year. This virus is carried by insects and was never found in New York. Similarly a number of people were affected by chikungnya desease in Italy. It is spread by mosquitos and was unheard of in Italy.
Such habitat shifts of insects and animals can prove catastrophic for humans. Such shifts should be stopped before they result in large scale uncontrolled epidemics.

carbon offsetting

Limiting the amount of carbon in the atmosphere the most  important issue in the  effort to control Global Warming.  The carbon emissions of nations are continously monitored ,published and analysed to fix responsibility for reduction of emissions. At present an attempt is being made to reach a concensus on reduction by negotiation. But if these measures fail it is quite possible that pressures through trade barriers, higher taxation etc.would be resorted to which could be most damaging for developing countries although the developed countries are the biggest emitters. At present carbon levels are measured through per capita emissions.Hence it would be fair to assume that attempts at reduction should start occuring at individual lev
el with individuals from developed countries taking a lead. This is where carbon ofsetting comes in.

                            Individuals in many developed countries are paying to offset the carbon that their activities such as flying long distances and driving generate. Themoney generated is used for activities such as planting of trees,,
construction of wind farms etc. The idea was first floated by Kyoto protocol and is cating up fast with companies offering individuals a chance to calculate their carbon footprint and provide oppurtuinities for offsetting it. Such oppurtuinities are being offered by a number of airline companies who give their customers a choice of paying a little extra to offset the emmissions due to flying. One of the companies offering to offset carbon emissions due to flying is Atmosfair. It is a non profit organisation which works on gold standards which is a standard set by worldwide fund for nature and other environmental NGOs for voluntary carbon offset projects.This is indeed an appreciable effort towards caron reduction as it acts as a source of non governmental funding  which may not be forthcoming for such projects. Gradually such funding may also be used for conservation of rainforests which are disappearing fast due to felling of trees necessitated by economic necessities of some developing countries.
                                     Information on carbon footprints is available on www.liveneutral.org and www.carbonfootprint.com.
    

climate change and the poor in India

If climate change is allowed to occur at its present pace we would be putting poor who constitue 40% (2.6 billion) of the world's poor at a serious disadvantage. The people contribute the least to greenhouse gases and would suffer the most as they do not have the necessary resources to adapt. The emissions by the rural poor in India are estimated to be 335 to 462 kg per capita annually which is neglible. In fact the rich emit five times that amount and have adaptation options ranging from choice of residential location to a variety of livelihood options and a level of economic security. Unfortunately the nations responsible for maximum emissions are also home to the more affluent human beings whose icomes are 10 to 12 times those of their Indian counterparts. These people can a numer of adaptation the most obvious ones being huge land resources, access to advanced technology and purchasing power. Global warming may, in fact be a boon for them with a reduction in heating costs and higher agricultural productivity. the total emissions of USA are 5 times that of China and 15 times those of India. One of the most damaging and visible impacts of climate change is increase in frequency and intensity of disasters. This is applies particularly to hydrological disasters.
India has a 7500 km long coastline which houses numerous communities depending on marine resources. Poverty and dependence on marine resources force them to live in vulnerable areas along the coast. They are the first casualities in times of disaster. They are required to face frequent floods, cyclones droughts etc. From 2000 to 2004 about 2.6 million people were killed in natural disasters 98% of whom were from developing countries. It is this vulnerability of the poor in developing countries like India that so many people are killed.
India has set a growth target of 8-9% annually for the next five years for which it plans to increase its generation from coal based power plants thus adding to global warming. It would be good if somebody would spare a thought for India's rural poor.

carbon trading

It is surprising how an important issue like Global warming has been diluted by escape provisions such as carbon trading. Rich nations, which are the worst polluters, can buy Carbon credits and continue to pollute. These nations can continue to pollute while the poor nations earn carbon credits to sell by cutting down their emissions at the cost of development. At the end of the day the carbon levels continue to remain the same and the world continues to stand on the brink of environmental catastrophe.
While individuals and nations continue to profit through carbon trading, communities and species arond the world continue to bear the brunt of Climate Change without contributing to it. The situation is similar to punishing a bystander on a crime scene. If only the haves of the world would have been more sensitive to the needs of have nots. The Carbon credits would be of little use when half the world is submerged and most of its species have disappeared. It is surprising that in the process of making its life more livable a part of the world is making life unlivable for another part of the world and for various species of the world. The world does not belong only to the the humans. it has been made what it is by its plants and animals too who will be the first casualities of human follies. How can we singlehandedly destroy a shared asset? since when did humans become so cold hearted, so unfair?

people's car vs environment

January 2007 started with a sensational event in the field of transportation which created ripples amongst city dwellers in India who were dvided amongst those who could hardly contain their excitement and those who shook their heads in despair. The happy ones saw big possibilities in a small car, the Tata nano, and the others saw another bundle of problems being added to the already choked roads. concerns were raised about pollutions, road safety, parking spaces and most of all implications for climate change. The concern emerged from the fact that greater car ownership would increase the demand for petrol and lead to increased emissions.
The fears of the group of people concerned with the city environment seem to be largely unfounded. The small car may in fact help to improve traffic situations thus reducing emissions. The traffic scene in India can at best be described as chaotic for most towns. This is largely due to non -segregation of slow and fast moving modes of traffic. The merger of the two modes creates a stop and go situation with continous stops and accelerations which greatly increase fuel consumption and emissions. Replacement of two wheelers and three wheelers, which are the main slow modes, with a small car would greatly improve flow conditions on roads and reducing fuel consumption and emmissions. Secondly the small car promises a higher mileage pr litre of petrol than any of the existing cars. This factor also contributes to lower petrol consumption. Thirdly availability of a fast and smooth means of travel may prompt users to look for residential options in the suburbs which offer a better and cheaper quality of life.Such a phenomenon has already occured in the west when horse drawn buggies were replaced by cars. A fourth advantage is that due to its small size the car would not be space intensive which is as it is a scarce commodity in cities. Finally due to its low purchase cost (2500$) and running cost(20 km to a litre) it may be a popular travel option for students who could carry their grouping tendencies to travel and resort to car pools.
Considering the above the future seems to be bright for urban roads and urban environment with major auto makers competing to match the achievements of an Indian car company.

A preview of the future

Climate change is being talked about globally at various forums and leevels. Feverish attempts are underway to avoid taking steps for mitigation. Blamegames are being played at the global level between nations with each one accusing the other of being responsible for bringing the world to the edge of an environmental abyss. But in the cacophony of all this activity the irreplaceable element which is being lost every day is time. Every day and every year that passes in these grand negotiations for the extent and nature of action to be taken to avoid the catastrophe brings the world closed to the abyss and the biggest casualities in the entire beureaucratic process are the common people. This is particularly true of the poor ones in developing country. Many of these dont understand the concept of climate change and do not contribute to it in any way. These people are facing the impacts in their daily lives and are regularly facing loss of live, livelihood and possessions. These people are affected by one of the most powerful and dangerous elements namely the deep blue sea. Due to climate change the sea is relentlessly advancing on the coastal settlement and appropriating land, houses, livestock and people in the process. The land submergence that climate change analysts talk about for 2050 and 2100 has already begun. Though the climate change negotiators living in the cities have not yet experienced it but they probably may not have to wait too long and by then any action they take would be a case of too little, too late.
One of the areas which has been witnessing such drastic climate change effects is the state of Orissa in India. The state is located on the coast of Bay of Bengal and has coastline of about 500 km. The state has a long history of natural disasters which have intensified in the recent years due to climate change. The Bay of Bengal is said to be rising by about 3mm every year. It has been estimated that a 1mm rise in sea level can submerge 425 acres of land. It can only be imagined what a 3mm rise would do. The state seems to have been singled out for a sound thrashing by nature. The small settlements of villagers along the coast are facing a variety of climate change impacts and are overwhelmed by the wrath of nature that they are being made to bear. One such coastal settlement is the village of Satbhaya. As the level in the Bay of Bengal continues to rise the sea is advancing forward and submerging land and everything else on it. In about 10 years the sea has submerged about 150 acres of land in the area along with 5 villages located on it. These villages were located in the vicinity of Satbhaya and housed a vibrant community of farmers. Satbhaya too is a village of farmers who earn their living through paddy crops. It is surprising that the village has no fishermen despite being located so close to the sea (about 500 meters). However the abscence of a fishing community is easily explained if we consider the fact that about 10 years back the sea was 4 to 5 km away from the village and the paddy fields right behind it and adjoining it. Now the advancing sea has destroyed agriculture to a great extent due to salt water intrusion into the agricultural fields during every high tide. The underground water which was the only source of drinking water has turned saline. The very houses of the villagers face the threat of submergence and have been shifted to the tops of sand bunds constructed to protect them from storms and cyclones. However these bunds themselves are getting eroded as there is no plantation on them to hold the soil. The situation has reached such a sorry state as the government department which makes the bunds and the one which does the plantation are different and have separate priorities. To add to the woe of the villagers the village is located deep inside a reserved forest where no new construction is permitted. Thus any plans to resttle them in the vicinity can not be thought of or approved. One is required to cross a Crocodile infested river on a rickety boat just to reach the village. The villagers are thus sandwitched between the sea and the forest with no option left except to wait and watch everything they hold dear getting submerged beneath the advancing waves of a agressive sea.
While this drama is being played in a corner of the world the people have the power to do something and avert a catastrophe are busy playing their own power games. We do not know when this show will end, but the way things are going the story seems to be heading for a painful and tragic ending for por communities on the coasts of the world.