So, we have now almost 2000 environmental professionals on this network working in 1000+ environmental organizations, trying to solve thousands of problems that can be beneficial to the society.
I would like you to share with us today, just one fundamental environmental problem that you are trying to solve with your efforts. If what you are working on is not solving a problem, why not? If given a chance, how would you work differently to solve a environmental problem in a innovative way that can impact the community or the village or the town or the society that you are intimately connected with.....
So, if you went back to school again, what would be the specific topic that you would work on to win, may be the INTEL Science Award???
Come share your inner vision and let's energize the young members of our network to use the ideas to come up with some path breaking innovations....
CK
Replies
Hi Chandra,
One discussion.........................but many questions which are neither simple to answer but not to be left unattended. What's your intellectual level yaar. Almost you have put a cryptic question.
1 One fundamental environmental problem which we are trying to solve and not able to solve......................This itself is a fundamental problem that we are not able to decide what exactly is the most important fundamental environmental problem, is it water crisis, food crisis, poverty, air pollutions, water pollution, developmental activities or our instincts very difficult.
but somehow we are working for one or the other to solve and you know that this is not a mathematical problem which can be solved in a minute, hour, day or so. The environmental issues to be resolved in a very subtle way, educating the people, making them accept it (may be slowly since a sudden change is not acceptable by most of us). So the question of not solving in my view to emphatically say does not arise if we are really committed and have a burning desire.
definetely we need to think in a innovative and a different way as there is a great saying WINNERS NEVER DO DIFFERENT THING, THEY DO THINGS IN DIFFERENT WAY. we need to adopt a different approach at different situations.
Going back to school doing some special work to win some awards as you said INTEL Science Award may be we will leave it to the present generation. What we have not done in the past lets do it now. we have learnt enough lessons till date. Now we are in a mood to do things rather than working for awards
But i would say that you have really made me to think in a right and straight way rather that thinking like a rolling stone.
with great love
Raghava
MSWM-NIEP.doc
The EIA committees of the MoEF Govt of India sit on monthly meetings to hear on the EIA cases of many projects everyday.
People come from various places in India and travel by planes, cars and use huge amounts electricity just to show a 10-15 minutes slide show to the 10-15 member sectoral committee. I feel that the amount of CO2 generated from the project proponent's travels, electricity usage and also the committee members' carbon foot print make a huge environmental impact on each individual project, and which is not counted in to check the project's indirect affects on the environment.
Solution:
The government can opt for a easy solution that will reduce much of the carbon footprint.
MoEF has regional offices and state level authorities have State EIA committees at pollution control board offices of each state.
Now MoEF can connect these huge network of offices via online networks something like cisco.
The respective project proponent can travel to the regional state level MoEF office or the Pollution Control Office and present their slide shows through this linked network.
This can reduce a lot of air and car travelling that has to be done by many project proponents throughout India to come to New Delhi.
So instead of travelling all the way to Delhi they will travel a much lesser distance to the respective regional MoEF office or State level PCB office within the state thus reducing the amount of travel
CO2 and also mainly the travelling costs of that particular project and organization.
This procedure may use some electricity but compared to the present situation of all the travelling and use of hotels and other accommodations and much more this proposed solution's usage can be negligible.
There are many private organizations around the world that are using such technologies for possible meetings and other such simple purposes.
Let's be simple and use the technology that is available
I was on an EIA project for a Gas based TPP of the Karnataka state owned organization. The project is proposed in one of the most sensitive ecological areas in the south western area coast of India near Gokarna.
I conducted a brief social assessment of 15 villages located near the project site and that will be severely affected by the TPP.
As most of us could identify the major loss is fishing and other local employment opportunities of the locals and their homes.
When I spoke to the villagers there I discovered that most of them are not aware of a TPP and the pollution that it can create and the loss of lands and livelihoods.
Some people who knew are happy for the TPP's invasion due to probable employment opportunities and business expansions and infrastructure development that might happen around the area. Some are even dreaming about possible continuous power supply that they are lacking (at present during summer in this area there is power cut for minimum of 3-4 hours).
During the assessment I also met few environmentalists who are trying their best to stop the invasion of the TPP. Though each one of them has their own views and points to fight on and their own interests their main aim is to stop the plant from establishing in the area.
One of the environmentalist pointed out that there should be a proper social assessment done by the government authorities before even planning the project and all the local including the environmentalist should be involved in the assessment. Few others strongly protested.
Anyhow coming back to my observations I found that there is absolutely no knowledge about a TPP and its affects. Few people are not aware of any developments in the area about the TPP.
So I see as the basic flaw in the process if EIA in our country.
I think the social assessment should be conducted long before the EIA is done and a project is planned.
Firstly the people of the local area should be educated about the possible affects of a project on the livelihood and other elements.
For example in the Ireland, A Retail Impact Assessment and Social Impact Assessment are mandatory before the planning stage of any super market in any area. This is will asses and analyse the possible social impacts on people and on local business.
So Just like the EIA and SIA should be inherited into the environmental law of India. A SIA committee should be formed on regional basis in every state.
So before a project is up for an EIA it has to pass through the SIA committee long before the final structural planning stages with alternative project sites (atleast 4-5 sites chosen).
A standard set of procedure, check list points to be addressed in the SIA should be made mandatory.
If the project fails the SIA procedure this should not be passed and thus scrapped.
I am a bit vague in explaining this but as I wanted to keep it brief to be able to read thus a short brief.
I believe that the commercialization of the environmental issues is the fundamental environmental problem and I wish if I could solve it today!!
My efforts: I am doing whatever I can do to counter this problem at my level.
Regards
Dr. Shekhar
The fundamental problem I would like to solve is disposal facility of waste to environment. As a result we are disposing our waste (Industrial/domestic), we can see the lots of garbage in our surroundings. These are creating a lot problems to our Health due to unhygienic situations.
We must develop proper disposal facility for waste (Industrial/domestic) so that we could be able to give a fresh environment to our successors.
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