c o n v e r s a t i o n s: Wake up to Climate Change

Introduction

“niiti”, a Sanskrit word means, in different contexts, policy, ethics, tenets. To us, who belong here, it is our raison d’etre, our touchstone. So we constantly turn to our ethics and tenets when we re-examine the basis of what we do and how we do it over and over again. This is our space to engage with our core, with you, our readers and companions on the path towards an equitable society in the deepest meaning of the word. Over the past years, there are several social issues and organisations that we have engaged with and been enriched with both experience and knowledge along the way. We believe that in creating a conversation platform for those engaged in the field, including some of our clients, partners, all of you out there who have reached this site wanting to be the change and others who have expertise to comment and critique, we can actually crowd-source actions and solutions for some of our most pressing social issues.

Some of these stories feature organisations and people who have been the change; others highlight innovative approaches to long-entrenched social issues; yet others point to ways in which change can be facilitated, simply. If you are inspired by them as well and motivated to replicate their work, or want to share inputs on other bright examples like these, do write to us at info@niiticonsulting.com.

This is your platform. Feel free to contribute, critique, and most importantly, converse.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Wake up to Climate Change

The Cancun climate talks resulted in some progress especially in the area of financial agreements made to preserve forests. However, in 2010, the world saw another drought strike the Amazon forests. The forests currently form the lungs of the earth absorbing more than one-quarter of the world's atmospheric carbon, making them critical to the discussion about global warming.

Scientists and researchers have estimated that 8.5 billion tonnes of CO₂ will be released into the earth’s atmosphere due to the absence of the trees which were once part of the Amazon. What is worrisome is that there was a similar drought that occurred in 2005. Climatologists claim that the droughts of 2005 and 2010 are consistent with the idea that global warming will cause more droughts in future, emit more carbon, and potentially lead to a climate change crisis.

Though this news has appeared in through several channels and in mainstream media, the enormity of the situation does not strike till our own experience of extreme weather conditions, unavailability of crops and extinction of local plants and animal species. An interesting graphic (given below) by InfographicWorld (representing the deforestation of the Amazon), provides a stark wake up call.

Introduction

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Wake up to Climate Change

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