Tag: environment
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Civic Architects: The Policy Generation Group
In a democracy, people and their well being is at the core of an exemplary public policy mechanism, which is why proactive mass action can determine the fate of the policies that the State formulates. It is thus crucial that people demand sustainable solutions for existing concerns that deserve carefully crafted policies. We believe that…
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Climate Change & Food Policies in the age of Social Media
If the current policies of India are to be critically examined, the response aims to focus on short-term and ad-hoc goals rather than long term sustainable solutions. Current social protection programmes are deemed expensive in nature and are based on a narrow understanding of people’s need. An important factor in the adaptation process…
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Sea Level Rise: The Silent Disaster
Sea-level rise is one of the major challenges identified in the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Special Report ‘Global Warming of 1.5°C’. It is almost certain that we will experience at least one meter of sea-level rise, with some models estimating this will happen within the next 80 years, inducing serious implications in the…
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Global Carbon Project: Course Correction for Carbon Consumption
By Shashank Shekhar Shukla, Banaras Hindu University, Uttar Pradesh. “Limiting global warming to the 2015 Paris Agreement goal would need Carbon Dioxide emissions to reach net zero by about 2050.” Last month, levels of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere reached a new record high. This continuing trend means that future generations will have to…
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Central Pollution Control Board: A story of wasted potential?
By Drashti Vadhel, Rizvi College of Engineering, Mumbai. Rapid industrialization in the country, coupled with an emphasis on the development of a “Modern India” has led to an increase in the amount of pollutants being generated everyday. The economic growth of India has come at the cost of deterioration of its environment. Be it in…
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Milking the Symbiosis Dry: Ecological Damage of the Dairy Industry in India
By Ishita Puri, St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai Fritjof Capra, in his book The Systems View of Life remarked “As the twenty-first century unfolds, it is becoming more and more evident that the major problems of our time – energy, the environment, climate change, food security, financial security – cannot be understood in isolation. They are…
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Sustainable Livelihood through Education-The Way Forward for the Northern Hilly Areas
Ever increasing consumption, rapid growth in population and modern production systems have resulted in greater demand for natural resources. Hilly areas of Northern India are particularly vulnerable to the consequences of climate change and indiscriminate exploitation of nature, as they are rich sources of biodiversity and natural resources. In these challenging times, sustainability is the…
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India running out of Air: Can we rescue the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981?
India’s toxic air has led to a health as well as an economic crisis. As per the World Bank, India lost 8.5% GDP in 2013 due to air pollution, which roughly amounts to $221 billion; the situation has only worsened in the last 6 years. India has some Acts and Programs in place to prevent…
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The curious case of Punjab Preservation of Subsoil Water Act, 2009 and Air Pollution
By Akshat Jain, Madras School of Economics, Tamil Nadu. India is going through a period that can be regarded as its worst environmental crisis. The air quality index in India is worsening with every passing day. 7 of the world’s 10 most polluted cities are in India. Many reasons have been cited for the plummeting…
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Solid Waste Management in India’s Mega Cities: Crossroads for Smarter Cities
India’s metropolitan cities are often touted for their superior development models. However, when it comes to the subject of Solid Waste Management (SWM), the status quo is particularly severe in the four major Indian cities. This Policy Brief examines the status of Solid Waste Management in the cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru & Chennai while…