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Environmental Progress thru Competition! Ganga Prasad G. Rao http://myprofile.cos.com/gangar Lok Sabha TV is a pleasant surprise. Yeah, they telecast some sessions of the Lower House, but it is far more than a peek in to the hell-house that we elect our representatives in to. And I don't just mean the cultural presentations. Late night this week, I happened to switch in to the Principal Advisor of the Planning Commission, Suresh Sethi, discussing energy policy matters on the channel. For once, I did not switch to the F channel. Believe me, my right hand almost twitched! Much of what he said was, for want of a better word, relevant, and though I did not see his way at many points along his talk, one sentence caught my attention. Mr Sethi said, and I quote (though not verbatim) “Competition (among producers) will enhance the environmental performance of our industry”. Well, I fervently hope so. Because my training in micro-economics and energy economics suggests an entirely different

Zip, Zap, Suuuuee me! Ganga Prasad G. Rao http://myprofile.cos.com Euro vehicle pollution standards and lead-free gasoline are so much in the news that one can't be faulted to presume the air is getting cleaner around us. But wait before you breathe too deeply! Would you care to walk out of your thickly curtained air-conditioned bungalow? At around 8:30-9 am on a cold morning to be precise. That's when the neighbor revs up his two-stroke scooter releasing a white plume. Now who would protest refreshing some benzene and carbon-monoxide to accompany your cuppa chai?! Join me as we find our way to work through the potholes and the braving the death-defying motoring strategies of the two- and three-wheelers. What's that smell? It can't be....thankfully, it isn't. It's only the foul smell from the rickety diesel-guzzling lorry in front of you. Defying all laws of physics, it seems to exist merely to spout soot and other toxics in to your lungs. Pardon me, how is dies

Holy Smokes! Ganga Prasad G. Rao http://myprofile.cos.com/gangar We Chennaites, conservatives and 'traditionalists' to the bone, may have adapted to rap tamil songs to accompany the annual Carnatic music festival, but when it comes to January, reading The Hindu while the cup of decoction coffee is still piping hot is still the 'in thing'. And January brings with it, besides the shrill religious music that interrupts many a tender moments, another traditional festival, Bhogi, the precursor to Pongal, the harvest festival. My ardent love for religion and Hinduism is quite well known. For the same reason, I generally stay clear of religious matters. But this one deserves attention. Over the years, the growing wealth among Indian families has been ostentatiously displayed in many ways including, unfortunately, overt displays of fireworks and the like. Come festival time - and the trend is to celebrate any and all festivals, election victories, five day match victory, ODI v

Nuclear Devastation via Coal Power? Ganga Prasad G. Rao http://myprofile.cos.com/gangar If you are an avid reader then perhaps you have noticed how certain articles are 'friendlier' than others, and not merely because they are well-written. I happened to come across one such undated piece on the internet. Authored by Alex Gabbard of the ORNL, it reveals how coal-fired power plants emit many times, repeat, many times more nuclear irradiating particles than nuclear plants. (I forwarded it to the MoEF). And we thought nuclear plants had monopoly rights on human irradiation! Surprising, yes, but is it a cause for concern? Consider this. In an age of global warming, half the world is unabashedly moving toward coal. India and China have turned coal in to a religion of the 'modern' day industrial revolution. China, as we hear, is adding a coal-fired power plant every week. And, going by the news in business papers, India is no laggard. (Any wonder coal beats other fuels by a