Climate Change Can Trigger Wars, Warns Expert

An expert from the Washington State Intelligence Department has warned that climate change-induced damage to global ecosystems and resulting competition for natural resources may trigger wars and conflicts among nations in the future.

Jurgen Scheffran, a scientist at the University of Illinois, while reviewing recently published research, concluded that “the impact of climate change on human and global security could extend far beyond the limited scope the world has seen thus far.”

Scheffran is working with the Program in Arms Control, Disarmament and International Security and the Center for Advanced BioEnergy Research at the university. “The associated socio-economic and political stress can undermine the functioning of communities, the effectiveness of institutions, and the stability of societal structures. These degraded conditions could contribute to civil strife, and, worse, armed conflict,” he wrote.

Reality Bites

In fact, “large areas of Africa are suffering from scarcity of food and fresh water resources, making them more vulnerable to conflict. An example is Sudan’s Darfur province where an ongoing conflict was aggravated since droughts forced Arab herders to move into areas of African farmers.”

Other regions of the world – including the Middle East, Central Asia and South America – also are being affected, he said.

Scheffran’s review included a critical analysis of four trends identified in a report by the German Advisory Council on Global Change as among those most possibly destabilizing populations and governments.

They include degradation of freshwater resources, food insecurity, natural disasters and environmental migration.

In his analysis, Scheffran noted that the number of world regions vulnerable to drought was expected to rise. Water supplies stored in glaciers and snow cover in major mountain ranges such as the the Andes and the Himalayas also are expected to decrease, he said. “Most critical for human survival are water and food, which are sensitive to changing climatic conditions,” Scheffran said.

“The degradation of these critical resources, combined with threats to populations caused by natural disasters, disease and crumbling economic and ecosystems,” he said, “could ultimately have ‘cascading effects.’”

Response and Possible Steps in Ameliorating the Situation

“Although climate change bears a significant conflict potential, it can also transform the international system toward more cooperation if it is seen as a common threat that requires joint action,” he said.

One of the more hopeful, recent signs on that front was the 2007 Bali Climate Summit that brought together more than 10,000 representatives from around the world to draft a climate plan.

In addition to global cooperation, Scheffran believes that those occupying the earth now can learn a lot about the future by studying the past. The great human civilizations began to flourish after the last ice age, and some disappeared due to droughts and other adverse shifts in the climate.

The so-called Little Ice Age in the Northern Hemisphere a few hundred years ago was caused by an average drop in temperature of less than a degree Celsius.

“The consequences were quite severe in parts of Europe, associated with loss of harvest and population decline,” Scheffran said. “Riots and military conflicts became more likely, as a recent empirical study has suggested.”

These data point to an increasing dilemma that the world is going to face in the wake of fast climate changes that are already affecting the seasonal patterns of the world. It is leading to increased frequencies of flooding and cyclones that are rampaging different parts of the globe.

These staggering findings are a real threat to the very existence of mankind on earth and it’s high time that nations come together and try to solve this issue.

By Arunava Das

Are They Life Savers or Killers?

Yesterday while watching TV I was shocked to hear a piece of news – 49 babies died during clinical trials at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi.

The drugs used were zinc tablets for treating zinc deficiency, olmesartan and valsartan for treating blood pressure-related problems, rituximab for treating chronic focal encephalitis and gene-activated human glucocerebrosidase for treating Gaucher's disease, which affect the liver. And the most important point is that these drugs were meant only for adults. Why do our doctors do it then? Are they life savers or killers?

India has become the top destination in Asia for clinical trials of foreign drugs. Trials here cost around 20–60% less than that in industrialized countries. Does this mean that our babies don’t have the right to live? Were these children made guinea pigs because they were from poor families?

Why do Indians face these problems in the best medical colleges and public hospitals in the country? Doesn’t our government feel that our babies are the pillars for the developing nation? Would we have accepted this crime if it had happened to our babies? I urge our younger population to stand by the poor parents and shout against this so that even a single baby in India is not lost due to clinical trials. Our babies are precious!!!

By Dhanya

Human Might

The wind blowing at my face,
I want to see, yet I can't;

Beautiful flowers, colourful birds,
Beauty of the woods, lush green trees.
Yellow sun, clear blue sky,
Bardwisikhla marching in March.

Calmness of the breeze,
Sound of the pouring rain;
An old house beside the tree,
Butterflies in the garden.

The wind blowing at my face,
And I don't want, yet see;

Concrete jungle, dark clouds,
Smog on the roads, dust in the trees;
Murder in the skies,
Open dustbin and flies.

Clear day, rainy night,
Hunger and food fight;
Jam-packed roads, beggars on the street,
Use and abuse of Human Might!

By Jeshal (Gunajit Brahma)

Where is God?

In the sweetness of the flowers’ hue,
In the chillness of the morning dew,
In the toughness of the hills
And energy of the windmills,
In the blue of the oceans
And the forests’ magic potions,
In the roughness of the high seas
And stillness of peace,
In the smile of the child
And roar of the wild,
In the coarseness of the sea sand
And life on land,
God is everywhere,
Bold, Alive and Bare!!!

By Shilpa Shri

Mother

Grief-stricken through night and day
On the shore like a dead bird I lay
The voice stuck like an arrow in the bark
The song no more sings the lark.

I miss you, I miss you, I miss you,
This is what I chant,
Just one wish I ask of you,
“Lord, Will you grant?”

Come, Hold my hand,
Walk me to your Land,
There, among the Angels, She lives, like a Dame,
Mother! After that day, Life has never been the same.

By Shilpa Shri

INDIAN – The World in a Word

We receive countless “please-forward-otherwise-you-will-have-bad-luck-for-seven-years” mails nearly everyday. But sometimes, we also receive mails that we are not likely to forget in a hurry. One such mail I received a long time back had a photograph that I have given below. While the photograph is self-explanatory, I can’t help penning down a few thoughts about it.

I don’t know where this place is or who took this photograph. I just know that when I looked at it, I felt stunned, euphoric, intrigued, and proud, all in the same moment.

I wonder who wrote that board. And I realize that it’s just another Indian. Who else would find one common thread of unity hidden behind seemingly unrelated words?

To me, being an Indian means so many feelings rolled into one complex, inexpressible, and strong emotion. It’s so electric, sometimes it shakes me. And I find most people around me reacting to patriotism just as strongly, sometimes even more.

As India celebrates its 61st anniversary, I find myself wondering what India would look like if she were a living, normal person like one of us. Would she appear as a woman in a white saree with a crown on her head and a trident spear in her hand? Or would she appear in chains like the freedom-fighters used to portray her in the pre-independence years – dejected, defeated, and waiting? Or would she just look like a proud, happy mother who has just witnessed her child taking its first steps?

Two hundred years is a long time. It is not easy to shrug off the chains that bound us for such a long time. Sixty years, however, is a remarkably short time for the amazing feats we have accomplished! And yet, it is not just scintillating achievements that make an Indian uniquely different. When I try to see beyond the stoic face of today’s Indian professional who carries a smart phone in one hand and a laptop in the other, I find a complex individual sculpted by years of tradition, hard work, conflict, struggle, and persistence. I see a human being who recognizes freedom of the mind and spirit as top priority, who despises unfairness, and reaches out to help someone less fortunate. I find a spirit that loves laughing and expressing; a person who has worked really hard to be successful and takes pride in achievements. I see strong emotions, easy expressions, and great patience. I see righteous anger against biases of all kinds, whether it be based on gender or religion or caste. I see stress, tension, declining health, and pressures unimagined 50 years ago. I also see a lot of faith, trust, and sincerity and the dogged determination to change things for the better.

That is the Indian I see in each of us – the personality I can identify with. Just such a one as you and me – discovered that an Indian is not just a Hindu, or a Muslim or a Sikh, but the complex whole of all religions, traditions, and cultures melted and fused together to form the rarest of personalities.

“India is like a palimpsest upon which layer upon layer of thought and reverie has been inscribed and no succeeding layer could completely erase what was previously inscribed” – wrote Jawaharlal Nehru in The Discovery of India. Indeed, India’s personality is multifaceted as a diamond, reflecting myriads of lights and colors in startling ways. India is a melting pot of numerous cultures. This is the one land where mighty warriors came to conquer and were conquered themselves.

Refreshingly humorous, deeply understanding, infinitely expressive, thoughtful, kind, generous, and wise beyond the collective age of humanity – that’s what I see India as. And, the Indian of today carries all that within.

By A Geeta

Telecom Service Provider Advertising - Comes of Age

How many students can a single teacher educate? ....Woh to "Kabka" ho gaya!
I have been following the Airtel "Kabka" ads with a great deal of interest - I think its a super idea for a campaign, and excellently executed - strikes a real chord with atleast the modern/ urban couple --- strangely, a 7 year old child I know also really likes it. I think this is a good mix of functional benefits conveyed to an audience along with building a warm fuzzy emotional feel to the brand -- also the campaign ensures that diverse features are explained thru different ads.

Similarly, the new Idea Education campaign is just brilliant - this is another brand that has been experimenting/ and so far was only I think marginally successful at establishing the theme/ "idea" behind the brand - but this campaign is bang on. Not only that, it has been utilizing multi media - I actually saw it also via my yahoo messenger icon - and, judging by the very positive reactions on the interactive/ blog like microsite, its going to be a huge hit.

Interestingly, both these successful executions take very different marketing angles - one is very focussed on the feature set; the other is focussed on the larger/ "building market" objective - they both also as a result showcase a widely divergent target audience. They both do use celebrities - bollywood ecelebrities at that.

Having said that, they are both exceedingly enjoyable and memorable campaigns - kudos to the marketing and agency teams!