000-tobecategorised

Work by water researchers, including in the IPCC and the UN’s World Water Development Report 2020, has shown that changes in global water cycles are the bearers of much of climate change’s bad news. As the planet warms – due mostly to the energy sector – we are already witnessing the effects of too much or too little water at the wrong place and time.

https://science.thewire.in/environment/opinion-is-water-sectors-uncomfortable-knowledge-missing-at-cop28/ 

Water is life, but unfortunately, the global water community has been slow to provide its own unique response to climate change. They have chosen instead to play second fiddle to fossil fuel mitigation efforts, and to adapt to open-ended consequences when those measures fail to keep global temperature rise below the levels of absolute disaster. This is reflected in global multilateral accords such as the Paris Agreement, which have stressed reducing emissions, a task assigned largely to the energy sector, while the role of the water sector in dealing with both emissions and climate change impacts has occupied a much smaller space.

by Dipak Gyawali

28/11/2023

While embracing technological advancements, it is imperative not to compromise offline systems that have traditionally served as a lifeline for those with limited digital access.

https://thewire.in/government/navigating-pm-kisan-a-deep-dive-into-digital-challenges-faced-by-farmers 

 We discuss the obstacles encountered by those using the scheme within its digital framework. We trace changes in two specific aspects of the digital framework: access to information, and changing compliances. The changes in both aspects since 2019 impact not just ‘entitlement holders’ experience of the scheme, but also potentially hamper the seamless flow of benefits. Using case studies gathered in Andhra Pradesh (AP), Gujarat, Odisha, Rajasthan and Telangana, we illustrate the struggles of farmers and local officials in navigating PMKISAN’s digital landscape. This journey underscores the necessity for streamlined and accessible information systems to ensure any welfare programme’s success.

by Chakradhar Buddha and B.D.S. Kishore

30/11/2023

No rethink at the end of the tunnel November 22, 2023 https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/voices/no-rethink-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel/ , It is in this decade that the Himalayas have been tunnelled, blasted, cut, gouged, turned to rubble and concretised as never before in the range’s 50 million years of existence. Hydel projects, rail tracks at heights of 1,000 mtrs in narrow valleys, and road construction, all require tunnels. Rampant construction of hotels and torrents of unregulated tourism require tunnels for car parks. The railway tunnel from Karnaprayag to Rishikesh is 110 mtrs long. The total might exceed 400 km by the time all the dhams are connected. https://i.redd.it/no-rethink-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel-v0-nslc0pppxt1c1.png?s=890ba7828baf3cde6812070f4b8f8681d1b566bc

Response: by a Chandrasekar Punekar Typical selective outcry from activists lobby . Equipped with modern technologies , the world is accomplishing hitherto unsurmounatble tasks of creating great engineering marvel in construction. Be it tunnel under the sea , or reclaiming sea to build a city or making rail bridges and laying rail lines at high altitudes , modern engineering has accomplished daunting tasks. The Guanjiao tunnel in Tibet has been done much earlier without any accompanying disasters in Tibetans mountains , Eisenover tunnel in rocky mountains too was completed quite long ago . The problem with this world is that there are one too many Medha patkar kind to decry all projects concerned with development and progress to mankind .