another reason for alternate energy

Photo Courtesy: www.euronews.net

There are many many reasons why we should wean ourselves off of petroleum and advocate for alternate energy sources. One of the reasons has been all over the news. The Gulf of Mexico oil spill might be worse than the Exxon Valdez spill nearly twenty years ago. NOAA has concluded that oil is leaking from the rig at the rate of 5,000 barrels or 200,000 gallons a day. The Gulf of Mexico is a key area for the seafood industry and one of the world's richest fisheries and it could be badly affected, perhaps for years to come.

Oil spills are devastating to the environment. Oil once spilled onto the ocean forms a thick layer called the slick, which depending on the weather can split or get thinned out further to become the sheen. An oil spill far off the coast can be carried to the coastline due to wave action and can therefore affect coastal marine life. Coastal spills, unless cleaned up will stay around until it is broken down by weather or decomposed by bacteria - this takes a very long time. The gooey black tar-like substance coats everything it comes to contact with. On the surface of water, it is not only toxic but also cuts of oxygen supply to the waters below.

Coastlines and estuaries act as important nesting grounds, marine nurseries and oil spills in these areas prove devastating to birds, animals, juvenile fish, larvae and reefs. Microscopic diatoms and plankton are most severely affected and so are organisms like mussels, clams, crabs, other arthropods and burrowing animals. Birds and marine mammals when coated with oil can die by ingesting the oil trying to clean themselves or due to the toxic chemicals present in the oil. The effects of a spill this size might damage the ecosystem for years to come according to some biologists.

Burning the oil to clear it from the water faster which is what might be done will release more pollutants and GHGs into the atmosphere. Oil spills, volcanoes, earthquakes, tornadoes, forest fires - all man-made and natural disasters are no more localized events of catastrophe. Harm to a part is harm to the whole.

BP PLC the company responsible for the spill has stated that it will "take help from anyone". What happens to the people who depend on the Gulf for their livelihood, the ecosystem and the fishing industry is anybody's guess...

Every a****** who ever chanted 'Drill baby drill' should have to report to the Gulf coast today for cleanup duty - Bill Maher

my latest news

I have recently started writing for www.examiner.com and will be writing exclusively about corporate social responsibility. You can follow me here. You can also follow me on Twitter. I posted my first article on Examiner today and would love your feedback.

On here, I will continue posting issues relating to general sustainability and green living.

Thanks for the support and keep reading!

why CSR is important to SMEs

Last week I said that I will write a post about how small-enterprises can gain by employing principles of CSR and here it is. In a previous post I talked about how CSR plays an important role in current economic times and how companies that employ these principles have an edge over others.

First of all it must be stressed that CSR is not just policy, it is a principle of doing business. It is not something that is done as an add-on, it is something that is incorporated into your way of doing business. In this scenario, it offers businesses many benefits in terms of better shareholder relationships and also acts as a powerful tool for word-of-mouth advertising.

As mentioned in my last post, it offers SMEs added benefits in terms of strengthening their relationship within the community and acting as an example to make people's lives better. The most important reason why small companies should engage in CSR activities is to improve their export markets. Acting as a part of the supply chain means that export products to a big company needs to meet certain standards all along the chain. This is the single more important competitive benefit that SMEs have by incorporating CSR into their business. It is especially important for small businesses in emerging economies supplying to companies with multiple supply chains.

Secondly, mainstreaming CSR into any business is a challenge. By incorporating the principles of CSR in the early stages of growth, SMEs have another advantage over companies that have already reached a certain size. Forming principles, processes and structures becomes easier along with reporting and policy writing. Developing a culture of sustainability within the organization becomes more streamlined and employees know what it means to be sustainable.

Finally, it makes business sense. This is something that the larger companies are beginning to understand. When the small companies jump on this idea, the limits to green business has no bounds. Infact, the term might just become obsolete along with the term 'business as usual' because every business will be ethical, sustainable and profitable. This is a dream worth working towards...

goldilocks planet

Earth Day is becoming a big deal everywhere and we're all a happy bunch of treehuggers. I am always rather cynical about these things which seem to be a big deal one calendar day of the whole year. If you recall my post for Earth Hour last year, I expressed the same sentiment. This year Earth Hour came and went whilst I was in Chicago.

For Earth Day, I am in California - home of hippy-chic and the original renaissance center. Celebrations are set to take off everywhere this year. Recently I have been pondering our incredible planet aided no doubt by copious amounts of documentary watching. It fills me with this goose-bumpy feeling of belonging as well as paralyzing frustration. Somewhere in between the two is also a calm place that feels hopeful.

It feels so odd to be hopeful in the midst of chaos and yet I am and there are reasons why:
1) More and more businesses are taking note of sustainability issues and incorporating these principles into their activities
2) Small green-start ups are pushing the envelope in terms of technology and innovation forcing the big guys to get their act together
3) Most people are aware of the fact that there is something terribly wrong with our planet and something must be done. They are changing their life-styles, getting involved in their community, asking their government to make positive choices - all excellent signs
4) Governments are taking notice with EU rapidly pushing for better, cleaner, greener-everything
5) America has finally woken up from the dark Bush years and although the country is in serious debt, they are investing in increasing green jobs which is something they cannot out-source. Many cities in America are now making recycling and composting mandatory. Chicago recently started a recycling program which up until now, did not exist!
6) Emerging economies - India and China, are investing in greener technology; this combined with their already lower carbon lifestyle is a powerful move
7) Consumer awareness is at an all-time high, not only about planetary health but also of human health and these two are intricately connected. Meatless Mondays anyone?
8) NGOs and businesses are finally finally learning to work together and realizing that they are on the same side
9) Everyone is talking about it! The information out there is incredible, almost to the point of overload.This is great because it hastens the tipping point
10) The recession is forcing people to have some free-time to think, reflect and figure out what they want to do with their lives. Some of this reflection means that people are getting in touch with what really matters to them. Unemployment is not all bad!

My wish-list for the year:
1) More businesses to jump on the green-wagon especially SMEs who have the immense power to change the world around them and don't even realize it yet
2) More empowerment so that people have an easier time being green - education, awareness, tax-breaks, incentives, information - all of these will hasten a revolution yet to come
3) More docu-movies like Age of Stupid, Blue Planet, Sharkwater, End of Line etc to be made and publicly screened. These work in two ways: to educate, increase awareness and also to create within us a sense of wonder for the natural environment which is key to protecting what it so precious
4) More funding to discover new technology that can be used to improve quality of life everywhere
5) Less war, stable governments and less poverty - all of this provides an ideal environment for our focus to shift elsewhere

In addition to this, this year I want to:
1) Travel to a rain-forest and do a small expedition
2) Grow my own organic vegetables

Mars is too hot and Venus is too cold... Earth is just right. Anyone else reminded of the story involving a little girl and porridge? We live on an Goldilocks Planet - nobody knows if it is too far gone already, but I believe we can still try. We can still hang on to what we know is right and make choices that are least harmful.

Have a greener, cleaner year everyone. More power to you!

CSR and SMEs

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been around for a long time and has evolved to its current form after great many mutations. It is one of the key components of business today and addresses interaction of a business with its people, environment, customers and employees. It is also almost always talked about in the context of MNCs and big businesses. However it is time that even SMEs start taking notice of this business formula. One of the best ways that CSR can help SMEs is by influencing competitiveness and may also increase production and productivity. The idea is to start thinking of CSR as a part of business and not something you do as an add-on.

This concept was further explored in the CSR Practitioners workshop conducted by the Center for Sustainability and Excellence (CSE), Chicago. CSE offers an IEMA (Institute of Environment Management and Assessment) approved professional certificate to become a CSR Practitioner. Some of the concepts covered in the workshop included how CSR acts not only as an enhancement to business as usual but essentially how it is rapidly becoming business. As an aside, I highly recommend the workshop for its pace, content, presentation and the extremely helpful directors of CSE who conducted it.

It was only when I was working on my post-workshop project that I realized the far-reaching impacts of CSR practices on small-business models. Without over-simplifying CSR, smaller companies have a lot to take away from this concept; not only as a method of doing cost-effective business but also to create a USP for themselves in the market. According to recent reports, nearly 50% of all EU small business follow a sustainable business model. This proves that if capacities and competences in business intermediaries are increased; it will go a long way to help mainstreaming CSR in the SME sector.

If the four pillars of CSR are responsibilities in the workplace, marketplace, community and environment; SMEs play a pivotal role in all four avenues. 90% of the world's business comes from SMEs and they employ about 50% of the world's population. The kind of change they are capable of is community-based, continued investment to uplift their key stakeholders. This is something that CSR models based on big companies can never hope to achieve. Change at the grass-root level is what every ethical business dreams of and this is where small enterprises stand to gain enormously.

Diverting away from the kitschy big-business idea of CSR, small business have the advantage of direct interaction with the community from out of which they operate. What they need to be convinced about is whether or not it makes business sense for them to be 'socially responsible'. The answer is a resounding yes! Watch this space and I'll tell you why.

Picture: Tom Fishburne ©. Used with permission

upcycling in the windy city

My last weekend in Chicago was spent going to a craft fair and checking out various handmade things made from unwanted items - upcycling in effect. I must say that my first encounter with 'turning junk into funk' in a land of plenty was met with delighted surprise. Some of the creativity on display was rather cool for want of a better word. One stall in particular stood out for me.

Nancy Maize is a jewellery designer making creative pieces like necklaces, bracelets, rings and earrings using old watch gears and other items commonly termed as 'junk'. As they are hand-crafted all her pieces are one of a kind and quiet creative. She said that she started of making beaded jewellery for her son's project in school and has now graduated towards using bits of old watches, buckles, drawer handles etc to create artistic, wearable pieces. You can check out her website here.

Upcycling is not a new concept - it can be defined as creative recycling or value-added recycling. Every time you convert a piece of 'junk' into something of value, you are upcycling. At the fair I also met a woman who converted bottle caps into miniature portraits and magnets. Another used zippers to express her creativity by converting them into rosettes for hair-bands. She also used designs on old crockery and cut them out to convert into pendants.

With upcycling, the creative potential is limitless as you can convert, change, modify literally anything into something of value. There is lots of information out there on upcycling and how to convert something that is worn-down, worthless and old into something new and of use. It may even lead to new business ideas or attractive presents for family and friends.

Many of the women at the fair used their upcycled products as a means of additional income . As they always say, "one's man trash, is another man's treasure". I walked away from the fair with a fairly strong impulse to rummage through all my old stuff and get creative.

Photos: Akhila Vijayaraghavan ©
Image 1: Necklace made of old watch parts
Image 2: Headbands made of zippers

parking with dogs

I must say that I am a big fan of urban greenery. One of the things that I miss terribly whilst living in India is the lack of green spaces within cities. It does the getaway to the wilderness all the more meaningful but I think all cities should have a space for people to walk around in and enjoy greenery even if it is in the form of a small park with grass and a bunch of trees.

Most western cities have this concept down-pat with excellent parks sometimes several acres in size and almost always incorporating water-bodies. These urban ecosystems play an important role in preservation of those species that have evolved along-side humans like foxes, several species of birds, butterflies and other insects, as well as various kinds of plants and trees. Apart from this, these open spaces create a sense of equilibrium to the city and offer important aspects of recreation in the form of walking, running and biking trails.

Many cities take this concept further and incorporate within these parks an area for dogs and their owners. An enclosed area or a dog park where dogs can run around off-leash and 'socialize' with other canines. Whilst in Chicago, we took my friend's dog for one such jaunt and a merry time was had indeed.

It is curious to observe dogs off-leash and as an ardent dog person myself, it was fascinating to watch dog-dog interaction up-close. What was even more surprising, contrary to common belief is that dogs hardly ever fight once a certain hierarchy has been established. Some bigger parks also permit their owners to run around with their dog and play with them off-leash and this is not only great exercise for you but also a very good bonding ritual with your pet.

I believe human-animal interaction is very important not only to understand the environment better but also to reinforce our instinctual connection with Nature. Animals never lose this connection no matter whether they are wild or domesticated and through them we can regain the lost world of the vast wilderness.

Photo: Akhila Vijayaraghavan ©

farmers in the windy city

Long silence I know - I have been travelling but more on that later. I'm posting from The Windy City on this fine Sunday afternoon. Today I decided to do an off-beat thing and check out the local Winter Farmer's Market. This is the first farmer's market that I have been to in America and it was a good experience. Being indoors, it wasn't massive and the perfect size so you don't get overwhelmed. Upon entering you are immediately assaulted with delicious smells of cinnamon and herbs. I later followed my nose to the smell of cinnamon and found a farmer selling organic apple cider donuts and promptly gave in.

The string band that was playing provided a lively, country feel to the proceedings. I was surprised at the amount of organic produce on offer - apples, mushrooms, honey, herbs etc. A few of the farmers I spoke to were very upfront with the fact that they did not want to eat chemically treated, processed food and were very concerned about human, animal and environmental well-being. Many of the produce were also converted into home-made pickle, jam, pasta, salsa, bread etc - all laden with organic, natural goodness without of a trace of chemicals in sight.

I also met a free range meat farmer who had grass-fed beef on offer - much healthier than the grain-fed, hormone-pumped options found in regular supermarkets. He also had free range chicken and pork on offer. There was another farmer with free range eggs and yogurt, milk, ice-cream on offer. There were plenty of food samples to go around as well as things like organic tea and bread which you could buy. One of the couples that I spoke to were based outside the city and kept bees. In addition to harvesting their own honey, they also made products from bee-wax like lip balm, soap etc. Another farmer was selling fresh herbs like basil, rosemary, sage etc - I resisted the temptation to buy it all and reined myself enough to only walk away with a heavenly smelling pot of basil.

In a country full of super-processed, chemical laden food with a penchant for over-eating and obesity; a farmer's market in a small testament that America is finally learning to eat right. I have noticed this time around that there are a lot more organic produce on super-markets shelves, better labeling and healthier food choices. The rest I believe, will follow - hopefully soon.

Photo: Akhila Vijayaraghavan ©

pale blue dot

Photo Courtesy: NASA ©

The images of the Indian Ocean and North America were produced by researches at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center using images from the Terra satellite more than 700km above the Earth's surface. This is part of the Blue Marble series which is pieced together from thousands of images taken over many months by the satellite's remote-sending device Modis, of every square kilometer of the Earth's surface. These are the most true-colour images of the Earth released to date.

Looking at these images I can't help but recall Carl Sagan's words from his book 'Pale Blue Dot'. It is also the name of a photograph of the Earth taken by Voyager I in 1990 from a record distance . It features the Earth as a small blue dot in the black vastness of space suspended on a sunbeam. Below is an excerpt on the subject from a public talk he gave at Cornell University on October 13, 1994.

Look again at that dot. That’s here. That’s home. That’s us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every ’superstar,’ every ’supreme leader,’ every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there — on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.

The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds.

Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.

The Earth is the only world known so far to harbor life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand.

It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we’ve ever known.

I'm posting this here today to remind us why we do what we do.

eating the rainforest

Photo Courtesy: Lush Cosmetics. Wash your hands off palm campaign

I have been thinking about how to talk about palm oil without actually saying, "Save the Orangutans" - I have previously mentioned and believe that conservation efforts should be based on economic facts rather than the sympathy factor.

First of all, it must be said that palm oil is everywhere. Up until 2008 in the lead up to the famous Greenpeace campaign against Dove, palm oil was thought to be found only in cosmetics. Today however, palm oil is being used widely in the food industry as well. There is no requirement for it to be labelled 'palm oil' and manufacturers can get away with labeling it 'vegetable oil'. According to Palmoilaction - it is being used in products by Sara Lee, Cadburys, Pringles, KFC, Maggie Noodles etc. The most recent Greenpeace campaign video (below) highlights use of palm oil in Nestle Kit-Kat Bars. I wonder how these companies justify this in their CSR policies.

A previous post on wide-scale deforestation in Indonesia talks mainly about illegal timber. Palm oil means even more money than timber to some people. Global demand for palm oil is now more than 40 million tons per year making it the mainstay of Indonesian and Malaysian economy. Much of the land used for the cultivation of palm oil was former rain-forest. The destruction of rain-forests not only means habitat destruction but loss of valuable carbon sinks.

China, India and other emerging markets are the biggest buyers of palm oil. Since it is a cheap form of vegetable oil containing no trans-fats, it is used widely in food preparations. It is also a feasible source of bio-diesel - the irony is not lost to me. There have been several reports stating that preservation of rain-forests mean more money than its destruction but palm oil means the money comes quicker. Intact rain-forests contribute in many ways to a nation's economy by means of eco-tourism, carbon finance, etc.

A study in Conservation Letters last month estimated that if REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) is included in a cap-and-trade market for greenhouse gas emissions, payments for "avoided deforestation" could range between $1,500 and $11,800 per hectare, depending on when the carbon credits are allocated and sold. In comparison, the oil palm market was estimated to generate a net present value between $3,800 and $9,600 per hectare over a 30-year period.

Although a vast proportion of the Indonesian economy is dependent on palm oil, there is a way to make it more sustainable and the key here lies in increasing productivity in the areas already under cultivation without destroying new forests. How is this possible? Consumer awareness. When demand for palm oil reduces, the destruction of forests for oil will taper off. When this kicks in and carbon finance money is paid out, some of this will be invested into sustainable options thereby uplifting people out of poverty.

I honestly do believe that people living in crushing poverty do not destroy the environment out of malice but simply because they have no choice. Unless nations that are better-off demand that exploitation cannot continue, local governments of poorer countries will not seek alternatives. A seemingly micro-issue like palm oil is connected to the much larger macro-issue of food production, global warming and the global economy. The next time you go shopping consider this: you might be eating the rain-forest without even knowing about it.

Oh! and Save the Orangutans...

flee fleas!

My dog has suddenly become infested with fleas and ticks. I think ticks are the lesser of the two evils as they are easy to pick out and easy to kill. Fleas jump, don't die easily and cause my poor pup to constantly itch. In addition to his woes, he also has a bad case of doggy dandruff. The idea of using strong chemicals does not appeal to me for many reasons. First, his infestation is not so bad that it warrants the need of pesticides. Once before, I did use a chemical pesticide on him and he went into shock shortly afterwards which was a scary experience that I don't want to go through again. Second, I think it will make the dandruff worse. Third, most ecto-parasites are utterly immune to strong chemicals that it seems pointless to put him through the risk. The active ingredients in these solutions include chemicals such as imidacloprid, fipronil, permethrin, methoprene, and pyriproxyfen, all of which have caused serious health problems in animals in laboratories. Other forms of flea control - powders, collars, and sprays are no less harmful.

So with my arsenal of fighting tools reduced to the bare minimum, I began intensive internet searches for best possible herbal remedies. There were several things suggested among which:

• Rub aromatic oils like eucalyptus, citronella, lavender, tea tree oil mixed with an almond oil base directly onto the animal if infestation is bad
• If infestation is mild to moderate then dilute these essential oils and spray onto the animal or use as an oil bath and spray its bedding etc
• Using a citrus repellent which involves cutting lemon into quarters and steeping in boiling water, cooling and then spraying onto the pet as well as its living areas
• Feed animal with garlic, brewer's yeast tablets, apple cider vinegar as fleas don't like the smell of these
• Using diatomaceous earth
• Herbal flea and tick powders

So today I gave my dog a bath with herbal, chemical-free, human anti-dandruff shampoo and conditioner. The shampoo contained aloe vera and tea-tree oil in a creamy base. His last rinse consisted of a few drops of pure tea-tree oil in the bath water to take care of the dandruff. Once he was thoroughly dry, I rubbed a mix of turmeric and water into places where he itched the worse then dusted him all over with herbal flea and tick powder. After that, I let him sit for a couple of hours and I sprayed him and his bedding area with a mix of citronella and eucalyptus oil - I spray his bedding everyday anyway, in order to prevent mosquitoes from biting him. Essential oils like lavender and tea tree oil can be used only for dogs and not cats. Although these are good for control of flea infestation, prolonged use may result in lethargy and nausea.

I'm going to wait a week and see if this helps. In the meantime, I will continue with the spraying, dusting and watching for nausea. My next step will be rubbing him with eucalyptus and almond oil and perhaps the lemon spray. I have also been giving him vitamins to help with the dandruff. Perhaps, I will also try the garlic if he actually eats it. I have no idea where to buy diatomaceous earth so will skip that for now.

Previously, I have used a paste of neem leaves and orange peel for ticks post-bath which was very effective. He did look like a sad alien-type dog for a day until the pack fell off though. What I like most about herbal remedies is that even if he does end up biting himself, he won't be ingesting something that is harmful. The added eco-benefit is a big selling point.

Products used:

1. Himalaya anti-dandruff shampoo
2. Himalaya Protein Conditioner
3. Himalaya Erina-EP Powder

Himalaya is an Indian herbal drug company that makes herbal products for both animal and human use. Would love to hear from you about herbal remedies that do and don't work. Leave me your thoughts!

the business of cards

My post today is inspired by the fact that I had to get business cards printed. As I am in the 'green' business obviously there is the need to walk the talk. In my quick, preliminary research for business card printers online I found two companies in the States that offered eco-friendly business cards. One called Greenerprinter offered cards printed on chlorine-free, 50% post-consumer waste recycled paper. They were printed with VOC-free, soy-based inks and cost a bomb (in terms of what you would expect to pay in India). I also found another company called Pixxlz which offered all manner of eco-friendly things including business cards. I also found the EcoPrintingGroup approved by the FSC that provided a lot of paper products. Ultimately, I wasn't terribly comfortable with the idea of getting them shipped all the way from America. I didn't find very many companies in India who offered business cards except for Printbell. An email to their customer service team confirmed that they offer only 310 GSM 60% recycled paper and no information on the inks they used or if the paper was chlorine-free.

Armed with these facts I did a quick, simple cost-benefit analysis and am going with Printbell. I'm still unsure if they offer VOC-free ink; but all logic suggests that air-freighting business cards from America surely is more harmful than VOC-full ink. I'm still waiting for the cards and hopefully the reviews on the site match up to expectations.

Recycled paper products form a number of varieties which is worth educating yourself about. Each ton (2000 lbs) of recycled paper saves 17 trees, 390 gallons of oil, 7000 gallons of water, and 4100 kwh of energy. It also eliminates 60 lbs of air-polluting emissions and saves 8 cubic feet of landfill space. Recycled paper often matches the characteristics of virgin paper and is available in a range of colours that does not compromise on print quality. Chlorine-free paper is unbleached and does not contain chlorine which means that harmful chemicals including dioxins are not released into water supplies.

How do you get started? First of all look for recycled paper. Recycled paper products usually contain a symbol that looks like this - which indicates that it is made from recycled content. This is not to be confused with which merely means that the product can be recycled. Secondly look for the highest percentage of post-consumer content in the paper. This indicates the amount of waste paper collected from consumers and reprocessed. Pre-consumer waste paper is also available and this is manufactured from paper trimmings from paper mill and printer, printed materials that never reach the consumer etc. Thirdly do not fall for labeling that proclaims paper products to be 'environment-friendly', 'natural' etc. The Environmental Defense Fund has an online paper calculator that you can use to figure out paper needs.

There is a gamut of information online about the benefits and importance of recycling. Recycling is one the most easiest, simplest ways of reducing wastes. With a plethora of recycled products available in the market there is no excuse for anyone to use virgin material be it plastic or paper. For a quick check-list of recycling facts, look here. If there is one green-habit you start today; make sure that is recycling and the use of recycled products.

100!

This is my 101st post and the shortest one yet. I never really thought I would sustain this blog for so long. For the next 100 posts, I hope to increase readership and get some of this stuff actually published. Thanks for all the support - it kept me going! :-)

join the roar!

Stripey the cub (in photo) has become the symbol of the tiger conservation movement and the recent Save our Tigers campaign initiated by Aircel*/WWF. The year of the Tiger rings in on 14th February and with this, there is predicted to be an increase in demand for tiger products.

India is working very closely with China to ensure that poaching is curbed on both ends of the supply chain. Beijing's co-operation is critically important in order to ensure the survival of the species. With only 50 tigers left in the wild in China, poachers are likely to intensify their efforts in India. Is someone addressing this issue?The site also gives information on tiger reserves and tiger density in each reserve - out of the 37 sanctuaries in India 17 face a collapse in tiger population. I have previously blogged about the plight of our national animal and since then nothing has changed really, in the overall scenario.

So what can you do? According to the website which is not very informative you can donate, blog, tweet, or join the Facebook page. The Aircel campaign has its heart in the right place and it is a great start to creating awareness; but its impact remains to be seen. Since Project Tiger which has been the most successful program in the 70s lost steam; tiger conservation has always had its lulls and rises. There has never been a concentrated effort to increase tiger numbers, reducing poaching and ensuring protected habitat remain that way. More importantly there has not been much transparency, advocacy or public involvement in the process. Every census releases varying numbers regarding tiger population - for example, does the site explain how the number 1411 was arrived at?

Latest technologies in animal conservation and expert consultations are the need of the hour. It is also highly essential for the public sector and civil society organizations to attack bureaucracy. More importantly it is essential that every tiger campaign, indeed every campaign keeps people in the loop. The newest WWF initiative is an interactive map that gives a status report of tigers all over the world. According to their latest numbers there are 3200 tigers are left world over in the wild. Like I have argued previously, conservation efforts are dependent on rate of biodiversity loss which is tied into economic losses. Stripey no matter how cute and how much celebrity support he garners, will not stir public sympathies for too long unless a holistic picture is provided. I hope someone from Aircel is reading this: more information is needed on their campaign objectives, how they plan on achieving them and where they're getting their numbers from - for starters.

* Aircel is a mobile phone service provider in India

Photo Courtesy: www.saveourtigers.com

eggplant interrupted

I have spent a lot of time ruminating the phenomenal decision taken by Jairam Ramesh, India's Environmental Minister. I have concluded that in the face of corrupt politics and skewed ideas of agricultural progress: it is a monumental affirmation. It is more power to the GM Free India Coalition, to the science of right and indeed, farmers all over the nation.

Today I am slightly stunned because I doubted if this moratorium would actually happen - so clearly resounding its logical voice and based so solidly in scientific fact. This decision has come after public debates, back and forth consultations, news cycle after news cycle, protests and general chaos which is a confirmation to the power of people. The government will listen, it has to listen when what is being demanded is something as basic as safe food.

The hold on the commercial introduction of Bt Brinjal comes after key brinjal growing states announced their own state bans. The states of West Bengal, Orissa and Bihar which account for 60% of brinjal production announced a ban earlier this year. This was followed by bans in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Uttarakhand etc. The massive public pressure on the Environmental Ministry also has played an important role. Through a Greenpeace campaign alone; 40,000 emails landed up in Jairam Ramesh's personal inbox protesting the introduction of Bt Brinjal. These two important factors have worked together to lead to this triumph. It is a day of celebration for anti-GM campaigners, every sane politician (Sharad Pawar does not qualify), brinjal farmers, consumers and the glorious heritage of Indian agriculture.

Brinjal, eggplant or aubergine is indigenous to the sub-continent and India grows over 2000 varieties of brinjal in over 500,000 hectares of land. It has been doing so for almost 4000 years. I do wish the Indian government will take a cue from the outcome of the campaign and devise methods to change agri-policy by pushing for more organic food, less pesticide/fertilizer use and definitely no GM. The humble brinjal has become India's most talked about vegetable and I predict; the symbol of the country's anti-GM movement and hopefully from here, a desperately needed agricultural revolution. Jairam Ramesh has kept his promise for a "fair outcome", he is indeed the man of the hour and has restored a little faith in Indian bureaucracy.

However celebrations cannot last long and there is much to be done on the GE front. Currently there are several indigenous crops reaching the last stages of testing like rice, okra, tomatoes - all of which are widely cultivated and consumed. These GM 'events' are sitting in line waiting for approval. So the battle may be over, but the war still remains.

wake up and smell the contamination

The risk of GM contamination with non-GM and organic crops has long been one of the standing contraindications of the technology. Involving H&M again, there has been an expose that the Swedish clothing chain's organic cotton clothing is in fact contaminated with GM. This not only is a reflection of H&M but also of the Indian organic cotton industry.

30% if the tested samples contain contaminated GM and the cotton has been traced back to India which supplied half the global supply of organic cotton. This means that roughly 107,000 tons of fiber could have been contaminated. Sanjay Dave, the head of the Indian agricultural authority, Apeda, said that fraud was occurring on a “gigantic scale,” and fines were issued to third-party certification agencies such as EcoCert andControl Union as recently as April 2009.

Organic Exchange states that while GM contamination in organic cotton is growing in India--where it is estimated that up to 70% of conventional cotton is produced using GM seed--this is also true for all other regions that grow both organic and GM cotton. Contamination can occur at the farm where GM and organic crops are grown too close together and cross pollination takes place. The resulting seed on the fringes of the organic cotton crop may then contain the Bt gene. Opportunities also exist for accidental contamination to occur as the majority of organic cotton is processed in the same machinery as conventional/GM cotton.

The original expose in the Financial Times, German edition also mentions C&A and Tchibo. Wal-Mart is currently the biggest buyer of organic cotton and should their produce be tested as well? How does this effect the Indian cotton industry?

Cotton accounts for upto 38% of the country's export and the area under cultivation in India is the highest in the world (8.9 million ha). This accounts to 25% of the world area and employ seven million people for their living. This also accounts to huge portions of revenue which will be affected if our certifying bodies are not rigorous enough. Firmer rules need to be in place and enforced along the organic cotton production chain, including third party certification. Clothing retailers as well will keep the industry in check with more involvement in the supply chain and this will work as an additional measure of quality control.

The dangers of Bt cotton are well documented and this is the first major scandal of contamination that could have severe consequences to the cotton industry. When is the Indian government going to wake up and stop pushing for more GM?

tossing clothes

I came across something in the news recently that was rather shocking. There have been reports of Swedish clothing mega-chain H&M and American chain Wal-Mart are throwing away their unused clothing. Not just throwing them away, destroying them and then throwing them away. This story was covered in the New York Times and it is unsure whether it is the common practice of all H&M stores or just this one store on Manhattan Sixth Avenue.

On the H&M corporate responsibility website of course, there are claims that all unwanted clothes are donated to the needy. This however has its own consequences, the chief among which is that unwanted clothes affect local industries in the country in which they are donated. Although the intentions are good, the negative ramification include increased dependence of the West and downward spiral of the local economy.

In a follow up to the article, there has been another one run the next day with spokespersons from both companies claiming that "it will not happen again" and that the standard practice was to donate unwanted clothing to needy causes. The evidence pointed out in the NY Times article however is completely different. I'm only writing about this to high-light the vagaries in corporate social responsibility. CSR at the end of the day is a document of best practices followed by a company; it is a piece to paper that makes it looks like it is the greenest, cleanest, most ethical enterprise there is, which they well be. However, when even one store in a chain drops the ball, it leaves people wondering about the whole picture.

H&M is a favourite with many people that now needs some serious damage control if it wants to remain so.

close encounters with the endangered

I spent the last couple of days away from the city in Valparai which is situated in the Western Ghats of Southern India and is famous for its tea plantations and wildlife. About 3500 feet above sea level it is as pollution-free as it gets with strong enforcement of anti-litter/plastic rules and surrounded by rolling walls of green hills all covered entirely in tea. The faint smell of pesticides and fertilizers however do linger in the air which makes me wonder how much is being used to cover all the mountains and mountains of plantations we saw.

This aside, waking up to greenery and the much needed fresh air is a splendid treat. En route, the Indira Gandhi National Park situated in the Anamalai Hills is home to many endemic species that this area of the world is famous for: lion-tailed macaque, the Nilgiri and the common langur, Malabar giant squirrel, elephant, gaur, bison, spotted deer, sambar, barking deer and wild boar. Many of these species are also highly endangered and are being actively protected through many conservation programs.

This area is also rife with hydro-electricity projects which require vast area of forests to be cleared. It also consists of some huge dams like Aliyar, Sholiyar etc. One of the main attractions for me at Valparai was to spot the highly endangered lion-tailed macaque (Macaca silenus) which is also endemic to the area. Recent IUCN estimates place its numbers at 3000-3500. The lion-tail is an old world macaque and among the smallest of the macaque species and the most endangered. International trade is banned by their listing on Appendix I of the International Convention on Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and they are also protected by Indian law.

The lion-tail is shy and prefers to stay above in the thick canopy of trees hardly venturing to the forest floor which makes it not only difficult to spot but also means that it is unable to adapt to any other environment other than its natural habitat which is being rapidly destroyed. On the second day armed with my camera and other gear we ventured out in search of this elusive creature. Our guide got in contact with some wildlife wardens who constantly patrol the area from which they emerge around mid-day which is the forest on either side of the road. The patrol ensures that monkeys are spared from being killed by passing vehicles and people do not stop to feed them.

As we patrol with them they emerge slowly from the thick cover the bravest ones venturing forward first followed by the entire band. They were clinging to every branch and showing off their amazing acrobatic skills. This band of about twenty monkeys entertained and enthralled. They kept mostly to themselves and viewed us with curiosity and rarely kept still long enough for me to get a crisp picture. As they moved they stopped to feed on insects that they deftly pulled out from the hollow trees and shook branches to release seeds from the fruit. They also showed us how cautiously they cross roads to get to the other side.

We were told that this band was particularly adventurous and usually this species is not so forthcoming. Coming away later that day, what struck me most about the whole experience is that how rarely one witnesses endangered animal species in the wild and how much longer such meetings will last...

Photo: Akhila Vijayaraghavan ©