I meet a lot of farmers in India. Two-thirds of India’s 1.3 billion people depend on farming. When they learn that I do research in environmental sciences, the first question they ask is, “How is climate change going to impact agriculture in India?” Unpredictable Monsoon The answer is not clear. Indian rainfall seasons have shown no specific trend over the past hundred years, and it is extremely difficult to predict the impact of warming or cooling. The farmers … [Read more...]
GM Crops: More Important to Africa’s Food Security Than Ever
The economic situation in Africa has improved a lot since the 1990s. Yet, rampant poverty and food insecurity still impact millions of lives there. Currently, there is a huge demand/supply gap in the agricultural sector. At least three hundred million are malnourished. The United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization defines food security as “a situation that exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that … [Read more...]
China and India are growing their coal ambitions
Contrary to the perception of the mainstream media, China and India are increasing their coal capacity, and not moving away from it. On multiple occasions in 2020, soldiers from China and India engaged in border skirmishes resulting in casualties on both sides and months of trade uncertainty. The Indo-China border tension appears to have eased now, but did the heightened tension between the Asian energy giants impact the trade and growth of the Fossil fuel sector? China … [Read more...]
The Myth of Glorious Renewables
We all love energy solutions that make life better. It is an undeniable fact that coal propelled the Industrial Revolution and led to the alleviation of poverty in the West. More recently, the oil reserves in the Middle East have made it one of the most economically developed regions in the world. Despite their continuous support to the global economy, these fossil fuel sources have now become unpopular among the climate-sensitive, anti-fossil fuel, green lobbyists and environmental … [Read more...]
Africa’s priority: Unrestricted energy development
Africa has been recording fast economic growth in the last two decades, with an average annual GDP growth of 4.6% (2000-2016). However, that has not been sufficient to meet the developmental goals and poverty is again on the rise. In recent years, poverty rose slightly in Africa for the first time in more than a decade, especially in countries like South Africa, Niger, and Uganda. To make things more challenging, COVID-19 has had a negative effect on the GDP. The GDP of South Africa—the … [Read more...]
Wind turbines take a terrible toll on birds
There is a narrative on wind turbines that we hear so often: wind turbines are clean and green, and they help us tackle climate change through emission-free energy generation. Anything contrary to that narrative might seem untrue, especially after mainstream media’s relentless promotion of the narrative for the past one decade or so. As a young field ecologist, I’ve witnessed and studied about bird collision mortalities in the most serene Special Protected Area for bird conservation at … [Read more...]
Eco-anxiety: A dangerous and unscientific doomsday construct
“Eco-anxiety” is now a popular term. It is being increasingly used in the media to describe an anxiety condition resulting from the fears about the coming environmental destruction. Climate Xchange for example, defines Eco-anxiety as a “feeling of stress, grief, helplessness, and fear of uncertainty associated with the grim outlook for our climatic and ecological systems if business continues as usual.” The American Psychological Association defines Eco-anxiety as “a chronic fear of … [Read more...]
No, Sen. Harris, Climate Change Does Not Threaten Our Air and Water
U.S. Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett encountered a barrage of questions about a wide range of issues during her confirmation hearings. Some were about climate change. Democratic vice-president candidate Sen. Kamala Harris wanted to know Judge Barrett’s views on climate change. She asked, “do you believe that climate change is happening and that it's threatening the air we breathe and the water we drink?” Judge Barrett declined to comment on the matter, as she referred to … [Read more...]
Biden vs. Obama on Fracking
Fracking — a procedure to extract natural gas from earth — made headlines recently after Vice President Mike Pence and Democrat vice presidential candidate Senator Kamala Harris brought it up during their debate. Leading up to the 2020 elections, both Democrat presidential candidate Joe Biden and Senator Harris, on various occasions, have remarked that they will end fracking. But during the vice presidential debate, Harris denied Biden’s anti-fracking stance and instead remarked … [Read more...]
Climate Strike: Instilling Fear and Creating a Scientific Void
People around the world participated in a climate strike on September 25, joining climate activist Greta Thunberg’s Fridays for Future “school strike” movement. Protestors in Toronto blocked an intersection, while those in Moscow danced in their custom-made green shirts. In India, children protested in front of the ministry of environment, holding placards with dubious claims. There were strikes even in Beirut, where the supposed danger from climate has been far less than other … [Read more...]
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