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?