the hidden cost of a cellphone..

I want a new phone.
My old Nokia's is well, old. It is battered, hangs up at whim and is uncool. I have been eying other models-in-the-market. Cool, swanky models. In neon pink and classy black. Great features: Flash Camera X pixel, Blue Tooth. SMS, MMS, VLAN, 3G, GSM, GPRS and more such acronyms which i don't quite comprehend. I itch to get rid of the old. Its use is over. Almost, and i wanna move onto the Newer-Younger, model.
But before i could close the deal, I had some nasty thoughts, a prick of the ol' conscience.
Truth is, I can't afford one. And not just because i am broke, looks like Planet Earth is pretty broke too.

The mobile is made up metals and other components, many of which are toxic. I won't go into the fact that many of these are cancer causing, damage human nervous and reproductive systems--in fact the plastic contains phthalates, which are 'gender-bender' chemicals.
Here is another shocker, the green, and actual cost of that fancy cell phone: a typical mobile phone weighs say around 75 gms. To get that 75 gms more than 30 kilograms of rock has to be mined from the earth. Manufacturing the chips requires several hundred litres of water. And the energy to do all this burns huge amounts of fossil fuel.
I read in journalist Fred Pearce book Confessions of An Eco-Sinner that a phones typical two year life (and how many of us use a phone that long?) raises the weight of a phone's overall rucksack to about 75 kg, a 1000 times more than its actual--and we are not including the water.
The clincher is the origin of Colton-a bunch of minerals including Tantalum (guys, its there is just about everything from laptops to watches to jewelery). 80 per cent of this wonder metal is found in Congo. And so are one of the most endangered species on the planet, and a close relative--The Mountain Gorilla. Only about 400 on Planet Earth. Not only is the habitat of this critically endangered gorilla being destroyed and plundered by mining, it is being poached relentlessly. Mainly killed for bush meat by the locals displaced by the mines and pushed into desperate poverty. The western low land gorillas have been heavily poached too, and clearing the forest for mines means their home is shrinking by the day. The forests are being stripped for charcoal, to light the fires of the locals—and the miners.
Horrifyingly, mining for coltan is also funding the worst genocide which has killed lakhs of people. As the world hooked onto cellphones—it is believed there is one for every three people in the planet-- prices for the wonder mineral shot up, and the rebel militia cashed in, amassing fortunes in Swiss banks and using it for arms.
The weight of my mobile has got heavier, and the allure of the new model has dipped.
For the moment, I will give the I-Phone IV, the android or the N 500 a miss, even if my oldie has hung up and refuses to connect.
Maybe, that's a blessing!

@ prerna singh bindra

Environment concerns are not a luxury, Mr Prime Minister

PM's statement on September 6:Environmental concerns cannot emerge as the 21 century’s version of industrial control or license raj. They must not lead to "perpetuation of poverty".
Dr Singh here is news for you, India has amongst the worst environment monitoring and regulations on the environment, which is a major reason why investors flock here, dump their toxic wastes-while they prefer to keep their country clean.
The Env Impact Assessment reports are currently mere PR documents authored by the proponents themselves.
Here is another bit of news: About 90 per cent of projects sail through the MoEF which you deem 'anti-development'
Once cleared, subject, of course, to strict norms, there is simply no system of monitoring compliance of environment laws or standards,
And for the record, ecological damage is irreversible, and compliance with environment standards essentially translates to clean water, air, uncontaminated soil and food--which one would think are the right of the citizens of India.
Environmental concerns do not perpetuate poverty, Mr Prime Minister. They are not dispensable. On them depend our very existence. Unregulated industrialisation and development as defined by mines--with little thought to consequences--severs the poor and the vulnerable from natural resources on which they are dependent, and perpetuates poverty. Ecology helps meet the basic needs of the common man (including the 'privileged us') --and provides him livelihood.
Think, sir, where would your GDP and economic development when there is simply no water?

did you say animals have no feelings?

Who was it who questions that animals have no feelings, feel no pain..no grief? In the train tragedy which mowed down seven elephants, the herd was trying to free two calves trapped in the line. it wasn't just the mother..all the elephants in the herd were making desperate efforts, collectively, to save the young, and lost their lives, brutally killed in the process. Next day, a huge herd of 30-50 elephants revisited the site of the tragedy..they were restless, calling, trumpeting, uprooting nearby bushes and trees, halting the traffic..

the future of the tigers rests on politics

The tigers don't know it, nor do the elephants, those magnificently intelligent creatures--that so much of their survival depends on who walks the corridors of power in delhi. On whether the man in the hot seat will help protect them-or themselves. On whether he saves their home--forests, or sells it. Conservation is all about politics. and politics rarely cares about conservation--for its not about governance and vision-but about greed and votes and power. Exceptions to the rule, that rare political animal who works, please excuse

Tiger-eating men

No of people killed by sharks every year: Approx 20
Number of sharks killed by men for shark fin soup: Conservative estimate: 70 million
some shark species have gone extinct, many are on the verge of extinction.
No people killed by tigers each year: about 60.
three of the eight sub-species have gone extinct, two are on the verge of extinction..and the remaining are critically endangered. Because we have destroyed their home-forests, and also because we eat tiger penis soup and drink tiger bone wine
so, did we say man-eating tigers, or is tiger-eating men
Did you say killer sharks, or should it be killer-men.
think about it

'Man-eaters'

People: Please stop using 'man-eater on the prowl', 'killer on a rampage', when describing a fatal conflict situation. If you persist, next time you talk of your car, that energy-guzzling, toxic-spewing machine u so love, you may please use the same terminology--as a genre it kills far, far more people-thousand times over than tigers or elephants or leopard or sharks--or all of them put together.

i know just what's needed to lift the spirits: A brand new wardrobe. A voucher for a book store (note i didn't say diamonds, my demands are few). And wildlife watching-pure and simple-unadulterated by knowledge of threats looming over.

tiger stoned....

inspite of the horror scenarios, of the dismal wildlife stories, of the tiger crisis, that i do, i am positive, somewhere i feel we can, we must fight-to give them another day. today i am depressed--that we can stone a tiger, a young male, relentlessly--and tiger usually secretive, usually a gentleman just wanting to be-to carry on its business of life--hounded pushed to attack a ranger-one of the finest officers...i am depressed. do we have room for tigers-for elephants and leopards in india, and in our hearts?

tiger stoned....

inspite of the horror scenarios, of the dismal wildlife stories, of the tiger crisis, that i do, i am positive, somewhere i feel we can, we must fight-to give them another day. today i am depressed--that we can stone a tiger, a young male, relentlessly--and tiger usually secretive, usually a gentleman just wanting to be-to carry on its business of life--hounded pushed to attack a ranger-one of the finest officers...i am depressed. do we have room for tigers-for elephants and leopards in india, and in our hearts?

tiger stoned....

inspite of the horror scenarios, of the dismal wildlife stories, of the tiger crisis, that i do, i am positive, somewhere i feel we can, we must fight-to give them another day. today i am depressed--that we can stone a tiger, a young male, relentlessly--and tiger usually secretive, usually a gentleman just wanting to be-to carry on its business of life--hounded pushed to attack a ranger-one of the finest officers...i am depressed. do we have room for tigers-for elephants and leopards in india, and in our hearts?

to the dog

no, you do not stand a chance if you report to the Royal Society of Prevention of Cruelty to animals.
This may come as a surprise to you but not getting the Richi Pucci range of jackets does not count as cruelty

to the dog

yeah, enjoy your beauty sleep while your slaves slog to feed you, clothe you (ok, not really) and buy you fancy toys, and chick bone and lemon tree shampoo and teatree conditioner

to the dog

how do you manage to get so muddy and icky?
why then do you come in the house all excited--again as though you been away from the home and hearth for days--do you run and jump all over the Persian rug, the sofas?
And then proceed to jump and slober over my very expensive --and only-kanjevaram sari?
and why, do i still love you?

to the dog....

how do you know i am going to leave? what works in your mind that you slink away in a corner looking woebegone and morose as though the world, your world is coming to an end.
why do you make me feel like an axe murderer every time i leave the house?

to the dog..

you are ecstatic if you see me after a long gap of two minutes.
you are ecstatic if you see me after a long gap of two days.

to the dog

so who is it you love the most? No, i mean besides the AC.

to the dog....

they say that i am good, that i have done good--and perhaps in an afterlife i will reap the benefit for my good deed. Because i picked you up from the gutter and brought you home. Because i brushed you and bathed you and fed you. Because i gave you a home and loved you so.
but i think i did me a good deed. Because when i come back home-be it after two days or after two minutes you are thrilled and happy and exuberant. Because you lay at my fee or next to me, when i sit all alone-working, worrying.
because when i am sad, you let me be, sitting by my side-letting me know that you are there.
Because when i am happy you match my mood-jumping and running about in glee--and not pull me down.
IF i have saved you, you have saved me too.

Mother Nature?

how is it that when we derive everything--our survival, our comfort, our riches--from nature (think:water,electricity, diamonds, fuel, steel) and yet we continue to destroy it? why are we killing the goose that lays the golden egg? Or cutting the branch that we sit on?
We rape the forests, gouge the mountains, poison the waters, kill the river, slaughter the wildlife, pollute the air, pillage the valleys, flatten the hills.
We degrade, destroy kill Nature.
and we call her mother.

value of nature...

There is no doubting the economic value of nature, but how do you weigh the value of tranquillity, the spiritual serenity that is the blessing of a forest. How do you quantify the pleasure of catching a fleeting glimpse of hangul, the rarest deer in the world, or following the tracks of the grey ghost of the mountains, the snow leopard or being a witness to the power of the tiger as it downs its prey--a thousand pound gaur.
Such moments are rare today as habitats are razed and species fade away. Wilderness, in its truest form, is almost an impossible find. You would be hard pressed to find a place where no man has gone before...man has his footprint everywhere...

'Common'wealth?

Sadly, our value system has become so distorted that we link our international prestige to providing a 10-day Commonwealth Games whose chief characteristic is hiding beggars from public gaze so that foreign dignitaries will perhaps be fooled into believing that India has no beggars. This distortion of values is proved by Suresh Kalmadi getting Rs 1,600 crore for the games while the victims of Bhopal have now been given a supplementary amount of 1,500 crore. The games, for which the perfectly good roads of Lutyens’ Delhi are being paved all over again, get Rs 100 crore more.”

This comes from Mani Shankar Aiyer--a senior Congress leader. For once, i couldn't agree more,
What are we doing, where are our values? another innane, insane move i read today:
A Draft law gives Maharashtra SEZs the powers of a local body..here is the link: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/draft-law-gives-maharashtra-sezs-the-powers-of-a-local-body/642238/. how can we let this happen? where are the poor in all this? the ones whose land is grabbed for SEZ? shuttled out of their homes so that the rich can get richer? and they make a noise--the human rights activists, when people are relocated--with a fairly decent deal, now, and on a voluntary basis--out of forests--so that that can get more opportunities and into the mainstream, and out of the wilderness? why are there no protests over this one?
if you want further shocks, read the cover story on mining in frontline...

water...

doesn't come from taps. Really
It flows from glaciers which are melting.
and from forests which are being destroyed, degraded, devastated.
What, Dr Prime Minister, will happen to your GDP once you have no water?
i wonder if they taught you in school that water is the basis of life..though i guess where you come from, GDP is more important than life

on being single...

Inside of me, I am at ease being single, even if life isn’t all Haa Haa Hee Hee. There are no dire thoughts that I’ll die lonely and the body will lie undiscovered and the cadaver be eaten by the dog (Doberman, according to the irrepressible Bridget Jones). For one, I do have friends who I am sure will wonder when they stop getting panicked phone calls at midnight. Panicked, for the tap leaks, or I am stranded at the airport-which is as good a reason as any to have a Man around. For another, my dog loves me, and he won't make a feast of my remains. There is no terror either ,that the biological clock is ticking for reasons best left unsaid, nor the dread that we live in a world without Men. Let me rectify that one, there are Men(if you can call them that), but no Good Men-for that in itself is an oxymoron—and if I do hear sounds of protests from the male of the species, come forward mate, and debate. In the open. Like a Man.
I will leave the issue of the paucity of remotely appropriate male species aside-it will take forever, and I for one, belong to the school of thought that there is an equal scarcity of Good Women, and I am the last of them. So there.
As I had started saying, before I wandered astray, as I am wont to, I am at ease with Singledom within me, if only it were not for the outside world, which has taken it upon themselves to treat the single status as a disease of sorts. An infectious one. As though if one got too near their dearly beloved daughters it would catch and condemn the poor darlings from a similar fate. I tried to tell them that marital bliss is not always that, and does mean washing smelly socks and putting up with wet toilet seats and possessive mother-in-laws, but to no avail. I mentioned disease, because suddenly the whole world-your aunt, friend, neighbour, doctor, dhobi—want to cure and rectify-and dangle and parade these Men before you. Twice married, and counting. I couldn’t surely be single out of choice, they exclaim in horror, as I decline graciously. Why refuse holy matrimony, so what if the prospective bridegroom was suspected of axe murder. Ok, so I exaggerate, but I do draw the line at waking up, everyday of my life-or as long as the marriage lasts-with someone who lacks the IQ of even my dog (the dog understands-and obeys me), or stink like yesterday’s fish. So, please all you matchmakers out there-leave the Manhunt to me. Even worse are friends-though I baulk to use the word for this one-who imagine that I am on the prowl, (“a cat in heat” they called a sweet friend of mine, recently widowed, and still in mourning) and will lunge at their husbands. There is no humour here, my friend, this one saddens, sickens me. To imagine I would stoop so low, to betray a friend-for the sake of man. No. No way. No man is worth it. No man. And this one is for all you men out there too. I am single-I don’t know your command over the language, but last I looked in the dictionary, it didn’t translate to “desperate, looking for sex.” Truly, look it up, if you don’t believe me.

Going Solo

It is really not so terrible, travelling alone. Quite the contrary. It is quite painful if your fellow-traveller’s idea of a good time is to guzzle beer and sit in front of the idiot box (I have come here to relax, you know, not shop, walk, explore and so on). On a jungle safari, I would rather not have a companion who thinks that there is no paisa-vasool unless a tiger pops out from behind every bush and then wails like Banshee (EEEEEEEE, it will EAT me!) the moment he-she-they see one. On a working holiday, the burden of entertaining the martyred (Why have I come if all you do is work?) will effectively kill both components of your vacation: Holiday and Work. Anyway, me thinks that Superwoman does enough of a balancing act at home to worry about the same away from the hearth.
Thereby, I rest my case that the benefits of travelling alone outweigh the alternative. Except for the men. A lone wayfairer of the fair sex is, excuse my language, easy meat. It is as though she sported a signboard that said: I am alone! I am Easy. I am available.
The stunted male mind logically assumes that a woman on the move all by herself needs a male shoulder (actually, some other unmentionable part of the male anatomy). Noble being that he is, he offers to abbreviate the pain of the lonely female heart and warm her
desolate bed. All for a good cause. Of course, his heroic gesture is in most cases unwelcome. But then men seldom understand the word No.
The hints may be subtle, they usually start that way till the man in question becomes a little bolder if you make the mistake of allowing yourself a little smile: A warning here, if the smile is directed at him — in all innocence — will promptly label you a tease. The other kind of preposition is the swaggering, bold variety: How about a little fun, huh doll? I know you are dying for it, eh! Always, accompanied by a crude gesture. These types, trust me, are easier to handle than the more subtle characters. Same rule applies to the villain in question: The more sophisticated he is, more the chances of him being a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Don’t live under the illusion that the suited-booted type is safe, just because he comes attired in Armani suits and Gucci shoes. Again, danger lurks not just in remote places, the sophisticated corridors of a five-star hotel are just as vulnerable. A married man showing pictures of his wife and adorable offspring could be undressing you mentally, waiting for just the right moment to pop the question.
Aside: Men have their uses on a vacation, primarily carrying luggage, arranging rooms etc. Don’t fall for the trap, pay a coolie instead, men ask for payment in kind. In all my solitary forays, I have concluded that there are no rules or strict formula of the men-to-avoid-while-on-tour. I just assume the worst and get a pleasant surprise when I am proven wrong. At the risk of sounding egoistic, I have to say I am rarely wrong.


• Keep your distance. Be firm, polite and not too friendly till you are sure you can trust the guy. Getting too friendly initially sends the wrong signals.
• Never, ever, smoke, even if you are an addict. That translates as available in Man’s World. Ditto for drinks.
• Take a book with you, be rude and say you prefer the book to him.
• In extreme cases, you can hang a mangalsutra round your neck before the trip (not much of a deterrent). The trick is to call, or pretend to call husba +
• + nd — real or imaginary — and whisper sweet nothings on the cell when things get shaky.
• Try to be in safe situations, with people around you. If you are staying in a lonely place, turn in for the night, locking your doors. Always keep a handy penknife with you.

Dogs and Men

I love dogs. This invites a strange reaction: Is that because i hate men? I fail to grasp the relationship till a patient body explains that i love dogs 'coz they are faithful. Unlike men.
My take: . True.
But
I like, love, trust dogs. I like men--love and trust 'em? No, thanks.
And my love for dog is more dated than my mistrust of man.

What Men don't (and should )know about women

1) Yes, we love flowers(and not just on anniversaries and birthdays). But we love a thoughtful gesture even more. Genuine caring rates higher anyday.
2) Surprise us. We love it.
3) Women remember everything. Really. Where we fist met-where we met for our first date-when. No, we don't expect you to remember it all-but as i said, surprise us-occasionally.
4)We do have PMS-and the resultant mood swings, and depression. Its physiological, not psychological. We don't make it up. And we don't like it, either.
5)When we talk about our problems, we don't want practical solutions-atleast not initially-we just want to be hugged and be told that it is all going to be fine.
6) we don't mind porn-in fact we wouldn’t mind watching it with you-but don't hide it, please. thats' sneaky.
7) A woman forgives a lot-but be man enough to ask for it.
8) We are strong, independent, but that doesn’t preclude being feminine. We do like to be indulged. And occasionally, we don't mind you being possessive either.
9) Forgive us our occasional dramatics, and we will forgive you your silences, and grunts.
10) No matter how much your woman loves you, there are going to be three to seven days each month when she wants you dead.
11) I read this one somewhere-loved it-Breasts are not speed bumps to the promised land!
12) We want you to talk-be verbal-express. Burping is not it.
13)Listen. Laugh with us, trust us to cry in front of us—and we’ll be yours.

these are a few of my favourite things....

chilled cold coffee after a tired day..and white wine will do as well
--the warm trusting eyes of a pup..or my dog
--a cure-all hug, warm and tight
--snuggling up to watch a film, (plus a bucket of hot buttered popcorn)
--a walk up the mountain path..the sound of a stream
an unexpected wild encounter
--mists that envelope a green, green mountain
--watching stars on a silent, clear night
--the smell of fresh earth after the first rains
--calvin and hobbes
--discovering a book you had long hunted unexpectedly
--great book bargains and browsing at book stores

Alone

why is it that it i am not lonely when alone, but am alone in a crowd?

some more advice (ha ha) for the dog

A closed door does not mean that we-are-doing-something-very exciting-there or that you arent part of the family or most importantly, it does not mean the AC is on, and we are keeping out of it.
it's just a door that happens to be closed.


I know i am going out, i know that it makes you very sad. However, lets take things into perspective:

Do NOT stand by the window peering out with orphan eyes. I won't change my mind, and no, you can't go to the board meeting either.

I am NOT breaking up the family.

I am NOT going forever. I will be back shortly.

And yes, you succeed superbly in making me feel guilty.

dogs

people who imagine dogs as monsters out to get them are missing out in life, their loss

Water...

People worry about their children, plan for their future..
from the day they are born..
save for their education, save for their marriage
invest in property..
not a one worries that there will not be water for them to drink.or bathe in or cook vegetables, or wash their hands off, or cool off in a hot, hot summer's day.
Simply imagine a world without water..and imagine your child being part of it. if that world survives.

the tiger...

Saving tigers is not a luxury, no, not even for a populated country like India. We need to understand that the loss of a tiger is not just the loss of a tiger. It is the unfurling of yet another strand of the eco-system on which we depend, on which a large majority of our billions depend. It is about water, the basis of our life…no less than 600 rivers and streams flow out of the tiger’s forests in India. The ancients understood it—in many cultures tiger is revered as the Water God.
It is not about us saving the tiger, it is about the tiger saving us..

pesticides in my garden

The spray pesticides in our society garden, the fall guy who sprays it is masked --looking not unlike an alien-but what about us--and the children-- who then romp around in the garden? what about the birds & butterflies? One of the trees has a nest. I saw tiny babies --one beak peeking out--i wonder if it will survive this assault? Lets stop this. What about the plants? they are supposed to make our life healthy,the cleaner. But we go ahead and lace it with poison..as tho there isn't enough of it in the air.

Second Green Revolution. Help!

The PM, Dr Manmohan singh has said that the GM crops can help usher in the second Green revolution. Does the PM know the impacts of the first one. he should find out from the state he belongs to. Intensive use of fertilisers have degraded farmlands, soil fertility has suffered, yield has crashed-of rice and wheat and other crops--which has contributed to the whopping 19 per cent inflation in food prices. The country now produces less rice per hectare than its far poorer neighbors: Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Also, let’s not forget farmer suicides in Punjab..This is not me, environmentalist saying this, but The Wall Street Journal