The Economics of Climate Change

The catastrophe of climate change is inevitable with the floods, tsunamis, irregular rains, cyclones and temperature rises that have been observed in recent years. Many lives were lost, crops damaged, and infrastructure destroyed as a result of the indirect effect of climate change. Studies by IPCC predict the average global temperature to change by 2.33–4.78°C because of the doubling of CO2 concentration. Stern Review puts the cost of failing to cut greenhouse gas emissions between 5 and 20% of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Climate change poses an increased threat to the already burdened ecological and socioeconomic system of India due to increase in population, industrialization, and rapid economic development. Impact of climate change on the economy of India is very much prominent as many of the factors vulnerable to climate change correlate directly to its economic development.

Agriculture constitutes the single largest component of India’s economy. It contributed 22% of the total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2003–04, and India’s agricultural activities fully depend on the weather. With the change in weather pattern due to climate change, crop yield may decrease, resulting in rise in price of essential food crop, thereby affecting the lower income groups of the society more adversely. Increase in surface temperature will also bring about plant diseases and pests, thereby further declining the crop yield. And since the farmers (both men and women) need to produce more crops as a result of the greater demand by the ever increasing Indian population, they will spend more hours toiling the farm. Women are responsible for around 65% of household food production, and due to reduction in crop yield, more time would be spent in gathering food that directly relates to lesser time for education, personal and family life, and her overall development.

The impact of climate change on water resources will affect the already water-depleted parts of India. Increase in surface temperature will lead to rise in the snowline, increasing the risk of floods in North India. The coastline erosion will happen due to rise in sea-level, resulting from melting of glaciers in the Himalayan and Hindukush ranges.

The major direct health impacts of climate change would be an increase in heart-related diseases and illness, thereby increasing the cost of heath and social well-being.

According to the estimates made by Fankhauser (1995), annual losses due to various factors would be around US$200 billion worldwide.

Solutions

Ever since human beings discovered fire, their need for energy has increased. India being on the verge of economic upliftment requires huge amounts of energy from all sources.

In the present context, India’s major energy need is being supported by its vast reserve of coal. About 74% of all electricity generated comes from thermal power stations fueled by coal. But coal is also one of the major green house gas emitters. So a need for a renewable source of energy becomes much more evident. Solar-, wind-, hydral-, etc. based power plants hold good promises for energy-starved India.

India imports almost 90% of all its fuel need that costs about Rs. 2,72,700 billion, and with rise in crude oil price, this amount may increase in the future. The rise in crude oil price is directly related to the cost of essential commodities, so a reality check on the same needs to be done. India cannot depend on imported fuel for long. It needs to come up with alternatives like biodiesel, algae-derived biofuels, and other transport-specific energy solutions.

The future of the Indian economy depends on the alternate energy and the Indian Youth should be the driving force behind the change so desperately needed by India.

By Gunajit

Is Print Media Dying a Slow Death?

There is a fundamental shift in communication and consequently in media as our daily mode of talking, writing and speaking has become increasingly dependent on computers. The fact that you are reading this on a computer endorses this change. The same is happening for businesses and enterprises as the news they get from the main stream media and newspapers is moving towards the online world.

The first act of a day for an analyst in an organization like ours is checking email, and opening up a browser. On this browser page, whether it be Yahoo, Google, or another, the news is one of the first things that they read. And slowly, we find our own ways to keep abreast of all the local developments through the Web – be it bookmarking our favorite news sites and subscribing to RSS feeds or alerts and customizing our preferences.

There is a silent but steady shift of viewership from traditional media to online media, blogs, RSS feeds, Newspaper and Television Websites. But still there is significant need of traditional media for certain industry verticals.

News headlines across the Web and print media flashed several announcements from leading news agencies and newspapers including USA Today, Associated Press, Gannett, Los Angeles Times, Star-Ledger, The Washington Post, and even The Wall Street Journal, about newsroom job cuts ranging from 10-20 percent of workforce. The job cuts reflect the huge losses incurred by the print business of these agencies which implies that traditional media is facing stiff competition from online/new media and losing some ground.

Contrary to above, there is interesting development in another communication realm where companies are increasingly investing intellectual capital in developing brand relationships and business-to-business marketing efforts – the Web 2.0 phenomenon. Blogosphere is suddenly turning out to be the most solicited place for corporate brand building. However, this will be a gradual transition, as people and companies have different learning curves for the social media.

Having said all that, I still have a strong feeling that people are tactile creatures, and they like to touch the newspaper and turn the pages, flip them over and eat and sleep on it. The sense of accomplishment that you feel once you have read the entire newspaper is unfathomable. For me, reading a newspaper is a different experience on its own and I have my own reasons for NOT staying away from it. My newspaper has never crashed. I can carry my newspaper or my favorite clipping anywhere while traveling, I do not need a WiFi connectivity or laptop. I don’t have to go through registration/signing in/customizing my newspaper. My newspaper is not made up of toxic un-recyclable material. And my newspaper provides correction updates with explanations, and it is not sneakily applied to the original story after I have read it. These characteristics of a newspaper would certainly reinforce my loyalty towards print media forever.

By Debanjan

An Ode to the Earth – My Home

I forget what it is to feel the first rays of the sun,
I live under the glare of artificial lights.

I forget what it’s like to feel the rain on my face,
I am too busy trying to avoid the next pothole.

I forget what it is to feel the earth beneath my feet,
I see only paved concrete wherever I go.

I forget how blue the sky can sometimes be,
I can’t see past the skyscrapers any more.

My flat is in the heart of the city,
My heart is still searching for my home.

I ache to be free from within, I ache to belong.
I want to feel in my soul, the bliss of being in my own home.

I lose you everyday in a thousand different ways.
And I can’t take it any more.

I will fight to keep you healthy, not for a coming generation or for a cause.
But because, you are me and I can’t let you go like this.

By A Geeta

Think about Yourself

What if you could think whatever you want to and whenever you want to? What if you felt joy, love and peace all the time, or even most of the time? Can you think of some old feeling that you would rather not be carrying around, or a behavior that you don’t like anymore and you would like to let it go? Now is the time. Your mind thinks as it was trained to. Over the years you have downloaded from your senses various thoughts, feelings, opinions and beliefs that rule over your life. Some of them may be quite helpful to you while others may be keeping you from realizing your full potential, or just being happy and prosperous.

You can consciously decide how you want your brain to work, and if there is something in your mind you no longer want to think about, you can now change it because it’s your mind and, of course, your thoughts. Your own mind may not believe this, and may even fear the idea, but if you would like to change what goes on in your mind and body the first step is in realizing that you can…absolutely. The other way you can do this is by accepting the things as they are rather than wishing that those would have been the way you wanted them to be. The second step in this process is in realizing what your thoughts and feelings are and how they are affecting your life. Which thoughts benefit you and which ones don’t? The next step is to consciously decide how you want to think and how you don’t. When I say this I also mean that we should give some priorities to negative thoughts in our life. Because every time one cannot have a bed of roses in one’s life, right???

The clearer your mind is as to what you want it to think, the easier it is for your mind to think about it. You would also make up your mind to face the negative things as well.

Once you have gained clarity in as to what you want your mind to think, it is simply a matter of programming your mind to think that way. Just like the way you learn a language, as you repeat ideas and feelings they become ingrained into your brain and are adopted into your own personality and behavior. Thought-forms can be created in your mind and firmly established so that your mind becomes the perfect servant to your own consciousness. Where there is a negative you create a positive, where there is fear you create courage and strength, where there is discord you create harmony. And believe me this really works. Though it sounds like forcing yourself to do this.

Look how enslaved most people are to their mental and emotional conditioning. There is absolutely no reason to stay in a contracted mental or emotional state; you can start shifting and reprogramming your mind once you decide to. This choice is the power that makes it happen. Your spirit is guiding you to make these choices, just as it guided you to read these words.

Emotionally, physically and mentally let us create those thoughts and feelings that bring greater prosperity, happiness and peace into our life. Why settle for anything else?

By Andrina Pais

Music to my ears

Some days back we had a small discussion on whether music distracts an employee while working.

Well, just thought of sharing a few thoughts on that.

I am one of those who are mild users (and I mean it in the true sense of the word) of music at work. The kind of music I listen to matters a lot too.

Having a research-oriented profile it’s important for me to concentrate and read between the lines. In case the music has nice lyrics and it’s one of my favorites, it will be difficult to focus on the task at hand. However, if it’s instrumental or heavy metal (No offence meant to Iron Maiden/Fans) there is no distraction. On the contrary it proves beneficial in keeping away all outside noise and allows me to focus on the project.

A nice gazal or a country number from John Denver (my personal fav…) will definitely go a long way in aiding your work. It helps you relax and soothes your already agitated nerves (Well ROD does that to you at times—wish I could be invisible at this point ;-) )

We generally have long days at work, which translates into a lot of yawns and sluggishness which reflects in our work. Well, besides a nice cup of coffee, peppy Punjabi beats or a Mambo No. 5 can lift your moods and WAKE YOU UP (Does this seem like an online diary already ;-) ?).

BY the way it’s scientifically proven that listening to music can reduce chronic pain and depression by up to a quarter (Source: Science Daily).

Well, enough said already, I guess it’s time to buy that attractive ear phone and shell some money for the iPod (even look alikes should do).

So at the cost of borrowing from a perky number … Get Jiggy with it people.

By Varun Kumar

Avalanche Biosphere Reserve, the Nilgiris

Date: September 20, 2008

Area: The Kundah East Forest (Madurai Range), Avalanche Biosphere Reserve (Estd: 2006), 10 km from Emerald and 36 km from Ooty near the Badaga Settlement

Temperature: 15–20 degree Celsius in the morning; 2–4 degree Celsius at night fall

Camera: Sony Cybershot with Zeiss M2B Lens Modifier DSC-H 50 10.1 MP, 18x OZ

Time: Early morning 5:00–7:00 o’clock; Late noon 4:30–6:00 o’clock; Late night 1:00–3:00 o’clock

Conditions: Drizzling, cloudy, misty and wind blowing at 40–60 miles/hr at the foothills

Height: 6526 Feet ASL

NOTE: This presentation includes the photos of a rare mountain tiger, a wild fox, a spotted deer (on the run) and a cliff vulture. © WWF-Ooty © The Nilgiris Wildlife and Nature Conservation Asscociation, Charring Cross, Udhagamandalam © Arunava Das (Fellow of WWF-Ooty).

I had been on a project visit to our base, called the Avalanche Biosphere Reserve, 36 km from Ooty. The place is named after the famous and the oldest hydel power plant of the Nilgiris, Avalanche Indo-Canadian Hydel Power Plant, strategically set up just on the steep foothills of the Doddabetta; it leads to the picturesque Avalanche Lake covered on all three sides by the Nilgiris dotted with Shola and Pine varieties of exotic plantations.

I am a part of the project entitled “The Study of Invasion of Exotic Varieties of Shola in the Nilgiris Grasslands” under Dr. Srinivasan from the University of Kentucky under the sponsorship of IUCN.

The temperature of the region was around 2–15 degree Celcius when I visited this place for research purpose. It is an untouched and unspoilt location in the Nilgiris. Here tourists are not allowed and that has come a long way in preserving the serenity of this area.



Fig: 1 A rare mountain tiger; I had shot this at the foothills of Doddabetta (Highest peak of the Nilgiri Mountain range). It had taken away a buffalo from the Avalanche Village (I was put up here) the previous day. There were little chances of finding it that day as it was already 2:00 o’ clock in the afternoon. Next day, at 5:00 o’ clock in the morning, braving the cold, mist, clouds and strong breeze, I set out for the forests. Luckily I saw the young male tiger in its early teens just a kilometer away from the dense undergrowth.


Fig: 2 The same tiger, getting finicky as I was approaching it.

Fig: 3 Sounded a roar, a warning as I went nearer.


Fig: 4 A wild fox shot at around 1:00 am on 21st September, 2008 on a Sunday.


Fig: 5 Cliff Vulture shot at dusk.


Fig: 6 A Spotted Deer on the run. Incidentally, it was being chased by a pack of wild dogs.

By Arunava Das

HAPLESS BENGAL, If Not HOPELESS

This is in response to the “Brilliant Article”, People!!! No Thank You by Vijai G, put up on the EmPower Research blogsite. Nice to know that Bangalore also had mills that were regarded as spearheads of industry yesteryears. I come from a place known as Chandernagore (It’s a French Town on the banks of the Ganges, 30 km upstream from Kolkata). It’s famous for Red Curd (Laal Doi) and once also boasted of the erstwhile Gondalpara Jute Mills that along with Tribeni Tissues was a common name in every household not only in Bengal, but also in India. Now the former has been shut down and the latter is running in the midst of losses.

Bandel, 20 km from Chandernagore and 52 km from Kolkata by train, once boasted of the world-renowned Dunlop Tyres and Industries. Now it is in shambles.

Perhaps you have heard of Hindustan Motors that manufactures the Ambassador, still the most sought after car for its hardiness and extra comfortability, which is also running under losses. It is located at Hindmotor, a place 19 kms downstream Chandernagore.

The people of Bengal are frustrated because whenever she (Bengal) has tried to stand on her feet, she has been pecked by unwanted political vandalism. First it was the CPM, then came the Congress, briefly, and finally it is now a tug of war between Trinamool Congress and CPM.

God has given us one earth and we had drawn lines on it and divided the land into entities that belong to you and me. I am thankful of the fact that the moon is the satellite of the earth and is far away from us. If it would have been on earth, we would have divided it too.

Such articles bring out the disgust that the people of Bengal are facing. Sourav Ganguly recently pointed out that he wants his daughter to grow up and settle in Bengal only, but is doubtful as he says “I don’t want Sana to grow up and see there are no jobs in Bengal”.

And CPM-led coalition government in West Bengal is dreaming out of no-where of Sourav becoming the BRAND AMBASSADOR of HAPLESS BENGAL, IF NOT HOPELESS.

By Arunava Das