Archive for April, 2009

Given the election fever in Delhi there are lots of candidates who are projecting themselves as the best for the country. Different parties have different forums in which they are able to project a party image as well as their candidate profiles that would work for the country and its people. Among this cacophony of various candidates and parties trying to make themselves heard--one voice of a national party on the radio really stands out. He is promoting himself using audio media very creatively. He has a very unique way of singing himself rhythmically on the radio. He has a whole rhyme about who he is, and what he stands for, and he even has a name rhymes with its surname, as Tarunsing Tawar. At least I am curious to see what he looks like… Whether that is enough to get him a seat in Parliament is anybody’s guess and time will tell if this strategy works or not. But that is not important. What matters is that he is able to make himself heard on a popular mass media over and above every one else and people will remember him for a long time, irrespective of his winning. Being heard is as important as actually taking the actions, to bring about the ecological change that our city needs or we want to promote. Full story

350.org is an international grassroots campaign that aims to mobilize a global climate movement united by a common call to action. By spreading an understanding of the science and a shared vision for a fair policy, 350.org works to ensure that the world creates bold and equitable ... Full story

They call it "global" warming for a reason. Over the next 8 months, 350.org aims to spark a truly international movement to confront the climate crisis. The 350.org team is composed of organizers from every continent (except Antarctica) and we work with hundreds of organizations around the world. In preparation for an International Day of Climate Action this October 24, we are looking to hire a ... Full story

Moving the Earth....on her Day! (Launch of  Green Generation Youth & Delhi Environment Action Network) Earth Day 2009 was celebrated today by Development Alternatives (DA), Nehru Memorial Museum & Library (NMML) and the Ministry of Environment & Forests (MoEF) at the NMML with much energy and enthusiasm. Over 300 school children participated from over ... Full story

Yamuna River passing through the city of Delhi is the main source of drinking water supply to the city. Seventy percent of water supply for drinking water in the city comes from this river. While bulk of the water for drinking comes from Yamuna River as much as 3,538 metric liters of waste water flows through 19 drains out falling into the river every day. Rivers have an automatic rejuvenation quality naturally provided and at any given time 10 percent of the volume of water is flowing and not stagnant. But Yamuna suffers from inadequate flow and quantum of water. It is not want of spending money, as much as Rs. 1200 cr. worth of efforts were spent on Yamuna Action Plan Phase I (YAP I) and Yamuna Action Plan Phase II on creating the infrastructure in treating the waste water that gets generated per day in the city. Setting up of Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) along 42 towns and cities in the upstream of the river was part of the YAP I, while the Phase II was mainly focused on Delhi Metropolitan city. Serious deficiencies and backlog in sanitation and waste water services has resulted in the dwindling of water flow as this is 80% of the source of pollution in the river. The main challenge in Phase II was to ensure that the waste water coming from the development of informal housing along the river bank is provided with sewage and sanitation collection network. This proved to be an extremely difficult challenge for Municipal Corporations within the Delhi Metropolitan region. Full story

More than 300 school Children to begin the Green Generation Campaign on Earth Day April 22 Earth Day will mark the beginning of the Green Generation campaign on April 22, 2009 when hundreds of children from schools across Delhi will gather at the Nehru Memorial Museum & Library (NMML), Teen Murti House to ... Full story

Urban based youth-led organizations in developing countries who are working to improve the living conditions of their communities can now apply for financial assistance from UN-HABITAT, the United Nations Human Settlements Programme.   The Opportunities Fund for Urban Youth-Led Development will provide grants between $5,000 and $25,000 to organizations led by young people, aged 15-32 years.    "In this ... Full story

With a total of 10 years of experience in ground level conservation, anti-poaching, and rehabilitation work, Tiger Watch - a Non-Governmental Organisation working out of Sawai Madhopur - on the outskirts of the Ranthambore National Park in Rajasthan - has put together its experience and knowledge - invaluable for those making a sincere and serious effort towards conservation. Full story

This is to invite everyone to the premier launch of Palash Sen and Euphoria's next big launch - 'Payenge aisa ek Jahaan' - a music video on climate change.  Composed and sung by Dr. Palsh Sen and directed by Akbar and Azam Quadri, this video song produced by Oxfam India hopes that the music video will impress ... Full story

Historically megacities with the spread and population matching that of Delhi or Mumbai has been a very 20th Century phenomenon, mainly built by migrants. Until then the most stable human settlements have been agrarian villages, which were primary producers of agricultural products that took care of food, clothing, and locally produced tools and crafts. House or road contractions were community activities. Local trade in surplus ... Full story