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Green Rating of Indian Iron and Steel Sector Green Rating Project (GRP) of Centre for Science and Environment undertook environmental rating of major iron and steel plants of India. The ratings were done based on life-cycle analysis using more than 150 parameters. GRP team also inspected the factories and met with local stake holders to get their opinion about the plants. Companies would be given the prestigious Five Leaves Award. CSE would also release a book on the Environment status of the Indian Steel Sector.

http://cseindia.org/userfiles/grp_invite.pdf

Sir,

Environmental degradation is growing into a grave concern in various parts of the world today. Countries especially in developing regions are suffering from problems emanating from a combination of factors including population growth, concentration of population in cities, industrialization and poverty, resulting in air pollution, water contamination, decline in sanitation, degradation of forests and soil, loss of biodiversity, marine pollution etc. 

Moreover pollutants released in countries around the world are spreading across boundaries and transcending generations to cause problems of a wide range, such as climate change and acid deposition. These problems are not only threatening human health & living but also undermining the foundation of development for future generations with the diminishment of environmental resources. 

In order to eliminate poverty and preserve the benefits of the environment for the future, actions must be taken to address environmental issues based on the concept of sustainable development. We team of experts drawn from various fields started a non government organisation in the year 1998 by name “Green Universe Environmental Services Society" renowned as the “GUESS”.

We are one of the leading civil societies in India committed towards sustainable development initiatives. For the past decade we are fighting against various environmental degradation issues and initiating change through reinvention & innovation. Our objective is to make our planet free from happening series of disasters due to man made mistakes in the name of development & technological advancement.

Today climate change is great concern to the society. Global warming effects are too severe resulting in frequent natural disasters like uncertain rain fall, drought, cyclones, tsunamis, earth quakes, depletion of ground water, seasonal changes, climate shift, soil fertility degradation, increase in temperature etc.

Countries like India 70% of the population depend on agriculture and allied sectors. changing climatic conditions are transforming most of the agricultural fields & farm lands in to deserts. The farmers and rural masses are losing livelihoods and migrating to urban areas which causing lot of pressure.

India is going to face severe food crisis in near future due to high level growth rate of population and climate shift. World population touched 7000 Million and by 2050 expected world population would be around 14000 Million. Situation is alarming. 
At this juncture feeding 1500 Million population would be a hectic task.

Considering the above facts it is the time to react and to take up various sustainable pro environment & adaptive measures through climate resilient farming activities.
The forest cover is being reduced year after year. Let us join hands and take up sustainable income & employment generating massive plantation activity. We have wonderful such project plans on hand to implement. 

It is not about how much wealth we have created for our children but clean water, pure oxygen & disaster free world make the difference. “Let us arise, awake and stop not till the green globe is achieved.”   www.guessfoundation.org

Thank You
OSK REDDY 

PH. NO. 9494947894

 Corrosion causes contamination of drinking water with sewer leading to Gastroenteritis outbreak in Bangalore

“The patients were mostly from the Okalipuram slum. The slum-dwellers have drawn illegal [water] connections and the underground drainage system is not sound. As the water pipeline is corroded, the chances of sewage mixing with drinking water are high.”

http://corrosion-awareness-for-public.blogspot.com/2012/05/cappings-corrosion-causes-contamination.html

You know how much energy is available within the scientific community to resolve corrosion issues faced by Public. The situation in industries is totally different. It is driven by the investment capabilities of asset owners to do research and find solutions for complex problems. If the assets are owned by Public, who will extend "Helping" hands for finding answers? Public only. It is purely Public-Public collaboration to resolve our own issues. We need energy to alarm the community through human-powered transmission.

We can ping at this time. Most importantly, CAP is an eco-friendly Movement.

Do you like to own a CAP-cycle and ping? 

Hi Friends,

For all my fellow colleagues in Climate Change domain, below is a link to get a handy document worked by me on the Clean Development Mechanism – the only mechanism under Kyoto Protocol that involves developing nations.

http://www.slideshare.net/PriyankaAbbi1/cdm-a-quick-overview-13038455

Will keep coming with further update and information on various topics in the area. 
 

For any other information or clarification, I am easily approachable and accessible.

Have a great day!

We all as professionals in the field of climate change have heard of the SRES Scenarios published by IPCC in 2000 for use in their Third Assessment Report. The whole idea behind constructing the SRES scenarios was to explore future developments in the global environment with special reference to the production of greenhouse gases and aerosol precursor emissions.

These narrative storylines are based on relationships between two major factors:

1. Forces driving greenhouse gas and aerosol emissions
2. Evolution during the 21st century for large world regions and globally  

Each storyline represents different demographic, social, economic, technological, and environmental developments that diverge in increasingly irreversible ways.

To put it in simple words, the four storylines combine two sets of divergent tendencies: one set varying between strong economic values and strong environmental values, the other set between increasing globalization and increasing regionalization. 

After determining the basic features of each of the four storylines, including quantitative projections of major driving variables such as population and economic development taken from reputable international sources (e,g, United Nations, World Bank and IIASA), the storylines were then fully quantified using integrated assessment models, resulting in families of scenarios for each storyline. In all 40 scenarios were developed by six modelling teams. All are equally valid, with no assigned probabilities of occurrence.

Six groups of scenarios were drawn from the four families: one group each in the A2, B1 and B2 families, and three groups in the A1 family, characterising alternative developments of energy technologies: A1FI (fossil intensive), A1T( predominantly non-fossil) and A1B (balanced across energy sources). Illustrative scenarios1 were selected by the IPCC to represent each of the six scenario groups.

The final and complete SRES scenario data can be viewed and downloaded following the link below: http://sres.ciesin.org/final_data.html

Sources: Nakicenovic, N. et al (2000). Special Report on Emissions Scenarios: A Special Report of Working Group III of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, U.K., 599 pp. Available online at: http://www.grida.no/climate/ipcc/emission/index.htm

Haryana Space Applications Centre (HARSAC), conducts 6 week Summer Training Program on Remote Sensing and GIS for P.G. students at Haryana Space Applications Centre (HARSAC), Hisar.
Summer Training Program for Students pursuing Master degree in Environmental Science/ Bio-Sciences/ Geography/ Geology/ Geophysics/ Agricultural Sciences/ Computer Sciences/ Information Technology or B.Tech. in Computer Science/ I.T./ C.S.E./ Civil Engineering. 40 Course Fee: Course Fee of Rs. 1000/- is to be paid in cash or through demand draft in favour of Chief Scientist, HARSAC after the confirmation of admission by HARSAC.

The ten seed technique by Dr.Ravi I. Jayakaran is an amazing tool to generate information on a wide range of issues from community problems in Health , Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, HIV/AIDS, MED, Education, Gender & Development, CEDC, Marriage, etc. The Ten Seed Technique is a modified Participatory Learning and Action (PLA) tool that t can enable illiterate community members to participate in the discussions about their community’s needs.

It is useful in gathering qualitative information on various issues, especially related to the perceptions of the community and the way people see themselves in relation to others. The technique is very flexible and therefore versatile, enabling its use in combination with other techniques and also for collecting a wide range of information. The 10 seed technique enables probing deeply into different dimensions of an issue, for carrying out what is referred to as “opening up” the information. This essentially involves going deeper into an issue after starting at the absolute basic level.

This technique relies on using the Right brain function so that the full potential of the brain for perceptive analysis is utilized. The right brain is initiated into action by visuals such as pictures, and three dimensional items. When we use seeds to depict aspects of information, the visual created by the seeds (strong contrast of colors between the seeds and background), helps the Right brain play a dominant role in the analysis. The right brain is the more powerful part of the brain, because it is the creative side, more perceptive, more analytical and also has access to the information both in the left brain and the subconscious mind. Thus today the technique is even used with those who are literate! For best results, facilitation must aim at getting the group to ‘move the seeds first’ then describe the section…rather than preparing a list first and then trying to slot the seeds in!!

The various areas where the ten seed technique plays an important role are Trend analysis, seasonality diagram, livelihood analysis, expenditure analysis, problem analysis, disease incidence, Wholistic World View Analysis (WWVA), Capacity – vulnerability (C/V) analysis, Rapid Food Security Status Assessment (RFSA), gender disaggregation etc. The range of areas is wide spread.

A brief description on how the ten seed technique can be used for few of the activities:

Trends analysis: The group is asked to think of all the things that have changed in their community since the past. They are then asked to list the things that have changed. In front of each issue that has changed they are asked to prepare two columns, representing the situation – “then” and “Now’. For each area of Change, they are asked to use 10 seeds and distribute them between the ‘then’ and ‘now’ columns. The trend of change then becomes obvious and allows for a lot of discussions.

Livelihood analysis: The group is asked to imagine the entire income of the whole village from all sources, throughout the year is represented by the 10 seeds.( To make it easier they are asked to imagine it all to be converted into money as some of it is generated in cash and some in materials). They are then asked to divide the seeds into groups representing the sources of the income. Use of the ten seeds here enables us to find out.

World View Analysis (WWVA): This exercise is done by combining the Livelihood analysis and the problem analysis information of the village with the information on uncertainties in the village. This is an exercise that involves the whole village and is usually carried out after carrying out a debriefing to the whole village of information gathered in their village. The details of this exercise and how to conduct it have been extensively documented in a document called, “WWVA-Wholistic World View Analysis”, written by the author of this book. It is a technique for carrying out a capacity-vulnerability(C/V) analysis of the village with the villagers active participation for community Resource development planning. The next exercise mentioned namely: Capacity –Vulnerability (C/V) analysis is also done from the data generated using the C/V analysis and the information from the innermost circle and the outermost circles enable us to identify the Capacities to be developed and the Vulnerabilities to be reduced. Both these issues have been documented extensively in the book mentioned above.

How it works: After initial rapport building with the group, explain that the purpose of the exercises is to understand and learn about their community from their perspective. The facilitators of the exercise should then explain the purpose of the specific subject that they propose to explore with them.

To initiate discussion for a community-wide needs assessment, ask the group to imagine all the problems and needs that are faced by the community as a whole. Active participation can be enabled by giving everyone an equal chance to share views. For example, you may elect to form two groups out of one community – one of women and one of men – so that women can feel comfortable participating in the discussion. Strong personalities might need to be filtered out; they may be able to be reasoned with in order to understand the importance of the participatory process, given projects that will occupy them, or taken aside for a key person interview.

Each individual community need, as it is identified by a community member, is drawn graphically on a large sheet of newsprint – or right on the ground. The technique is a very visual one that allows the literate and illiterate to participate as equal partners and contribute meaningfully to the discussion.

Each workshop participant is given 10 seeds as voting tokens to be used in prioritizing the needs with a 10-Seed vote. Villagers vote in privacy and place seeds on the illustrations of the identified needs they feel are the most important. They are free to spread their seeds across several needs – or to place all 10 on a single need that is most important to them.

Once all of the individuals have placed their seeds, the participants are asked to discuss the results. The collective tokens will show a prioritization of the needs identified by the community — by which need has the greatest number of seeds.

The 10 seed technique enables probing deeply into different dimensions of an issue, for carrying out what is referred to as “opening up” the information. This essentially involves going deeper into an issue after starting at the absolute basic level.

For example, after finding out about the health status of a community, one can then go deeper into it to find out reasons for difference, link it with their wealth status and go further into exploring the type of health care each group is able to access. This “opening up” process can continue and find linkages to education level and attitudes.

It is important that the facilitators carrying this out with a positive attitude. This essentially means being open to new perspectives and ideas without pre-assumptions. Success is guaranteed when one develops this ‘listening attitude”. If handled correctly, the exercises will generate animated discussions among the participants.

The “Ten Seed Technique” book is especially written for the use of field and grass roots level staff, but can be used at any level of planning and project design.

Link: http://www.fao.org/participation/Ten-Seed%20Technique-Revised.pdf

For those who argue that Human is the superior form of God's creation and existence then wondering whether they have any answer for this question - How did trees/plants discovered that solar energy is the infinte and most reliable source of energy and why did we human's failed??

Please read this to know what can we learn from Trees the super efficient creatures on this earth.
This one is incredible as this is done by a 13 year old prodigy who took inspiration from the life giving tree and its structure designed to trap the solar energy. This innovation is marvelous both in its observation and understanding of natures design and incredible as it was done by a 13 year old kid. I can see the future generations are going to be more responsible and better at the development of technology than us. 
http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2011-08/13-year-old-designs-breakthrough-solar-array-based-fibonacci-sequence

The science embedded in the design of the Tree.. Please  Read Aidan’s award-winning and inspiring essay here, 
http://www.amnh.org/nationalcenter/youngnaturalistawards/2011/aidan.html 

Hope you enjoyed reading this

cheers

kanna

Hi,

Greetings from BHN Consulting! We are a leading Executive Search firm; currently we are looking for candidates for our one of the Top Construction Contracting Co. Ltd.

 Kindly reply to this mail with your updated profile.

 Company: One of the Top Construction Contracting Co. Ltd.

 Job Location: Angul (Orissa)

Experience: - 7 to 12 Yrs

Position: Environmental Engineer

Qualification: BE/B. Tech with ME/M.Tech in Environmental

If you are interested then please forward me your resume on bhn4.mumbai@bhnservices.com with following details:

 1. Current CTC

 2. Expected CTC

 3. Notice Period

4. Total Year of Experience

 5.Current location

 If this requirement it's not suitable pls. forward it to suitable candidate

Thanks & Best Regards,

Trupti

BHN Consulting (I) P Ltd.

(022 65615101) /(09987679469)

Dear All,

Hi I am pooja from BHN Consultancy. we have got this opportunity for top Engineering Company for Mumbai Location. kindly go through it and revert with your updated profile at bhn3.mumbai@bhnservices.com.

Position : - Port Planner  - Job Code -2

Qualification : -M Tech / ME in Civil Engineering with Port Planning  as specialisation
JD :-         Planning of Ports & Harbors with ability to access number /type of berth, jetty from Berth Occupancy norms

        Design layout of Oil Jetties, Container Terminal, Bulk Terminal, Docks.
        Preparation of FR&/ DPR for ports projects
        Preparation of contracts for Breakwater, Jetties & Capital Dredging Works

Position :- Marine Geotechnical  - Job Code- 3
Qualification : -M Tech / ME in Civil Engineering with Specialization in Marine geo-tech/ Reclamation
JD :- Marine Geo technical analysis of Breakwater and other Coastal structures
Reclamation planning and design
Preparation of BOQ

Position :Sr Marine Structural –Job Code-  4

15 Years in Marine/Ports sector
        Education:UG - B.Tech/B.E. - Civil, Marine PG - M.Tech - Civil, Marine, -Structural Analysis and design of maritime structures such as jetty, quay wall, diaphgram wall,breakwaters etc.
-Computation of forces arising due to Berthing, Mooring, Wave,Current, Differential water pressure, earthquake and wind.
-Thorough understanding of relevant codal requirements pertaining to maritime industry. Exposure to OCIMF guidelines will be considered as an asset.
-Preparation of drawings for maritime and associated structures involving detailing such as fender fixing location, bollard fixing details, vendor drawing review, rail fixing and drawings review, precast elements numeration, conveyor G.A etc. Production of sketches for development of CAD drawings.

Hello Friends, 

I have recently graduated with a Master's degree in Environmental Engineering and looking out for a job. Unfortunately I don't have any experience in the environment field but I am willing to learn and take an initiative. I have over a year's experience as a Senior Research Assistant in Biotechnology company. My email id is meetali.joshi@gmail.com. Any help would be highly appreciated. Thanks 

Regards,

Meetali Joshi

There is an opening for an local environmentalist for a reputed organisation, looking for recycling their products based at Bangalore.
You should be passionate about the environment and willing to work with the community.
If you are interested, you can contact me on jimgreenearth@gmail.com/Sheetal at arms05@armsindia.net

Hello,

I am working as HR-executive for BHN Consulting.

We are having opening with a Top company.

GREETINGS …, BHN … MUMBAI

One of our number one group in India having Global presence is looking for following positions, will be based in Mumbai , Maharastra, India. Kindly go through the JD mentioned below and apply to this mail with a copy of your detail cv, mentioning the job code. This is an great opportunity with a Great group to work.

Position : - EIA Coordinator and Functional Area Expert (FAE)- Job Code -1

Education Qualification:Graduation, Post graduation, Doctorate or equivalent in relevant field.

JD :-     Key Responsibilities:

1)     Coordination for conducting Environmental Impact Assessment studies for the sectorsPorts & Harbour, Power plants (Thermal),

2)     Report preparation and review.

3)     Presentation and liasioning with regulatory agencies like Pollution Control Boards (PCBs), Ministry of Environment & Forest (MoEF) etc.

Key Skills Required:

1)     Have expertise in Functional Area expertise like Air Pollution monitoring & control, Air Quality Modeling, water pollution monitoring and control, Hydrology, Groundwater Conservation, Risk management and hazard management etc.

2)      Good writing and communication skill

Should be NABET accredited under Power & Porst & Harbor

 If intrested than please forward your profile to bhn3.mumbai@bhnservices.com

Most of us have heard the saying "don't believe everything you read". Most of us are used to the Nigerian "help me, I am stranded without money in a foreign country" scam, as well as "forward this mail to ten people and be blessed forever" emails. Hopefully, most of us do not believe what we read, at least, not in such cases.

So when I read about the wonderful miracles Bt Cotton was performing for the poor farmers of Maharashtra, I was skeptical.

This "story" appeared in the Times of India (TOI) on 28 August 2011. It extolled the virtues of Bt Cotton and stated how so many farmers had benefited from it. Apparently, certain farmers were reaping its riches by earning Rs. 20,000 more per acre (emphasis not mine) thanks to savings on pesticides. After having read so much about Bt Cotton and the stories of farmer suicides in Maharashtra (note that I do not enclose the word stories within quotes; after all, these suicides really happen), I was confused. Bt Cotton (and indeed, all genetically modified products) is shrouded in controversy for a variety of reasons. And yet, here was this "consumer connect initiative" (super-suspicious terminology in my book) signing its paeans. Some excerpts from the TOI "report":

The entire country knows Yavatmal for the farmers suicides,especially cotton growers. But there are two villages in this suicideprone (sic) district of Maharashtra where the picture appears to be just the opposite.There are no suicides and people here are prospering on agriculture.The switchover from the conventional cotton to Bollgard or Bt cotton here has led to a social and economic transformation of the villages in past three-four years.

Farmers from Antargaon and Bhambraja,the two villages where no suicides have been recorded,claim that their income from Bt cotton has not just helped them get rid of the compounding loans from moneylenders,but has also fulfilled all their aspirations of sending their children to the nearest convent schools at Arni,a taluka place and get their daughters married as lavishly as people in cities do.

Mangoo Chavan,another farmer from Banjara community earns less (Rs 5,550 per acre) but is proud to have cleared his bank loan and invest in irrigation.We have thrown away the moneylender. No one needs him anymore, he said.

Turns out the "story" is propaganda, exposed by The Hindu in its 10 May 2012 edition. The expose has been written by none other than Palagummi Sainath (better known as P. Sainath), a much-respected development journalist based in India. I recommend you read Sainath's careful investigation of how the miracle numbers are nothing but a cruel joke.

The farmers from the two regions have poured open scorn on Bt Cotton. A study of the 365 farm households in Bhambraja and the nearly 150 in Antargaon by the Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti (VJAS) shows why. Almost all farmers with bank accounts are in critical default and 60 per cent of farmers are also in debt to private moneylenders. A data sheet from a village-wide survey signed by Nandu Raut, one of the farmers championing the cause of Bt cotton in the TOI "version" tells a very different story. Even the places seen in the images of the "original story" are not in Bhambraja or Antargaon.

As The Hindu responsibly points out, while none of the farmers reduced the issue of the suicides or the crisis to being only the outcome of Bt Cotton, the expose helped puncture many myths about its miracles. The paper also approached Mahyco-Monsanto (the company selling Bt Cotton seeds) for their take on the issue, particularly why the "story/consumer connect initiative" were run during the Parliament session when the Biotechnology and Regulatory Authority of India (BRAI) Bill was to have come up. Surprise, surprise... there were no concrete answers from the company.

There are questions as to why The Hindu chose to expose this "story" now (price wars between the papers? Nah, I doubt it). But I wonder what the reporters of the "original story" thought when they were writing it; did they seriously believe the farmers? Were the farmers "coerced" into making the statements? After all, the same farmers have debunked the "story" vociferously. Why did a paper such as the TOI take this "story" up? Why did it appear twice in the same paper? Whatever happened to accountability? Will Mahyco-Monsanto be penalized for the misleading "consumer connect initiative"? Why did TOI not produce a balanced story in the first place? I think the last question worries me the most. Perhaps TOI will get into damage control mode and come clean about it. It owes its readers that much.

Green Enterprise Promotion Council (GEPC) has been formed to work for the promotion of green oriented businesses worldwide. All kinds of green oriented enterprises can be members of GEPC. This would provide a platform for NGOs, research organizations, consultancies, businesses, policy makers and other stakeholders to work together and share knowledge in matters related to green, sustainable and responsible business practices.

Events, conferences, seminars, training programmes, research, publications and consultancy would form the core activities of  GEPC. Genesis of GEPC could be attributed to the initiatives of few environmental – and green business experts.

GEPC would be soon organize a  larger get-together of likeminded enterprises, organizations, consultancies, policy makers soon. ABSE a sustainability training & consultancy services provider, India Development Solutions, GSME News, Samadhan Foundation, Institute for Development Studies and Enterprise Research, Institute for Environment and Development Studies are some of the founding members of GEPC.

For more details: kindly contact: Mr. Bhavesh Jha: mailtogepc@gmail.com : 91-9971635600

I am working in the Bauxite Mines of NALCO. I want to conduct  a study by some agency to conduct a biodiversity study , find out endangered fauna if any and prepare a biodiversity conservation plan in and around Mines. Which are the agencies that carry out such studies ? Is the study report required to be authenticated/approved  by some statutory body ?

Since inception IIFM Bhopal maintained its 100% Summers and Final placement record. This year for PGDFM 2010-12 batch we achieved more than 100% placements. Companies varies from various Forest departments to Environmental consultancies, NGOs, Wild Life NGOs. While a lot of corporate also participated in placements program and offered profiles in banking & finance, marketing, market research, Supply chain Management, EHS & EMS. Two students were offered International Placements by Aditya Birla Group. PSUs also participated in Placement Program, IDBI Bank was one of the major recruiter in IIFM this year. So at the end of the day 2010-12 batch received an average CTC of nearly Rs. 7 lacs. While for Summer Internship 145 offers were made for 2011-13 batch of 90 students along with decent stipend. I am feeling happiness and proud to be a part of IIFM.

Milind Sonam is running 1500 KM from New Delhi to Mumbai. Follow the GREEN RUN at http://green.ndtv.com/milind_diary.aspx

Ever since climate change and its probable effects on earth became common knowledge, much has been written about the topic. The world has been riveted by various climate change negotiations that have taken place and at times frustrated at their slow pace. The very process of proposing (let alone implementing) a solution to this grave problem is so convoluted that most of us would be forgiven for posing questions that perhaps only the au courant climate change experts can answer. For instance, how can you and I, who have a vital stake in a global solution to the climate crisis, become actors in the effort to resolve it? In what manner can people on the ground, particularly the underprivileged, participate in decision making on climate issues? How might the disadvantaged peoples of the South articulate and express their concerns given the asymmetries of power between developed and developing nations? Praful Bidwai’s The Politics of Climate Change and the Global Crisis: Mortgaging Our Future answers these questions eloquently.

One of South Asia’s most widely published columnists, Bidwai is a social science researcher and activist on human rights, environment, global justice and peace. Clearly, a work of love, the book has been put together very painstakingly. The results are obvious not just from the selection of topics as chapters, but also the collection of notes at the end of each chapter, pointing readers to explore, educate and seek answers of their own accord. The book is a marvellous example of intelligent critiquing but it does not stop there; it goes on to suggest possible solutions to dilemmas in the climate change arena.

Aside from the history of climate change negotiations and where they stand today (a must for all students of climate change), Bidwai tackles India’s role in the crisis, how it should respond and why its sabre rattling (read “growth at all costs”) has been to the country’s own detriment, in a very frank and transparent manner. While Bidwai accepts that India has a powerful case on the right to development because a majority of its people lack the bare necessities of survival, he believes that the government is wrong in insisting that the world must respect and accept the economic model India is pursuing. After all, India’s myopic stance on GDP growth at all costs has not helped the poor thus far, and is not likely to help them in the future.

Low-carbon path is the only way to go, and Bidwai excels at describing the many practical and proven options available to the government in pursuing this path, be it reducing energy use in agriculture, regenerating abandoned rocky land by organisation Seeds to Fruit in Tamil Nadu, sustainable water use through the system of rice intensification, or junking the ubiquitous energy-guzzling urban bane called the air-conditioner for passive (read “free”) cooling methods. As Bidwai puts it “at the core of this agenda is the imperative to raise the standard of living of the poor, and reach modern energy services to them”.

Particularly insightful is Bidwai’s scathing critique of the Indian National Action Plan on Climate Change, LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating system of the US Green Building Council, Carbon Capture and Storage, and the most revered (or reviled, depending which side you are on) invention in the field thus far—the Clean Development Mechanism or CDM.

The book would not be complete without a discussion of nuclear power in general, what it means to India, and why it is a false promise for nations aspiring to a low-carbon economy. Bidwai includes an entire chapter on the global revolution wrought by renewable energy technologies such as wind and solar power. In a nutshell, the book is highly recommended reading for politicians, citizens, entrepreneurs, researchers and students—in that order.

Mahazareen Dastur is an environmental researcher and writer in Mumbai. She blogs at mahazareendastur.blogspot.in. This review originally appeared in Down to Earth at http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/making-sense-climate-debate.