The Golden 80s

It’s is yet another World Environment Day and the world is in lockdown because of Covid-19. While all of us care about the environment, there are three issues that are worth pondering over today. Governance : Some say that the main beneficiary of Covid-19 pandemic has been the environment. During the period of complete lockdown in India, the air quality was better and the noise levels were less. Social media users posted pictures of how they could see faraway mountains from their terraces, as the thick brown haze disappeared from the skies. But still things are not that rosy. We are still unhappy that despite nearly 30 years after the famous Rio Summit, our rivers remain polluted, forests are being destroyed, wild animals are being killed, and life in cities and villages are becoming difficult. Why is this so? What we are missing is strong and scientific Environmental Governance. Just like the anti-corruption charade, environmental protection has now become annual one-day affair...

The Greenpeace campaign to "to turn IT industry leaders into climate advocates and solution providers" is interesting. It looks like a serious effort, unlike the PR-led corporate environmentalism.

As another World Environment Day arrives, we in India think about when can we live in a pollution-free city. Anil Agarwal , the late Editor of environment magazine Down to Earth, asked the right question, When will India be able to control pollution? Ten years down the line, there is no convincing answer. Our cities continue to rot and we have stopped to care about the environment . We continue to engage in meaningless marathons, ramp shows, and awareness drives. Because these are the most easiest things to do. In Bangalore, school students staged a drama on the Bishnois , bellwether IT company Infosys held an awareness drive (the most cliched sleaze act conducted in the name of environment by the government and others), and others decided to plant saplings (nobody knows which species) and so on. In the media, journalists wrote stories that still reflected the "doomsday" scenario cultivated following the Rio Summit in 1992. A few of these articles often contain dispara...