the real climate warrior: padmasri thimmakka, aged 100+

not greta/mia/rihanna, not woke sjw like disha ravi or nikita jacob, certainly not the stubble burners of punjab.https://swarajyamag.com/blogs/thimmakka-and-chikkanna-they-raised-trees-to-fill-a-personal-void

saalamaruda thimmakka ("thimmaka of the avenue of trees") nurtured 100s of trees, creating a 5km long oasis of greenery along with her late husband. they didn't have children; instead, they nurtured these trees as though they were their children. 

Fighting for peace..

Dear Greta,
Children are suffering from acute respiratory ailments due to stubble burning by your newly found farmer friends. The Nobel committee wouldn't approve of this, don't you think?

Quick notes: Kurds betrayed, Anglocondescension...

• Why did America abandon the Kurds? "We had so much trust in America. We never thought America would accept Iranian proxies using American weapons against their allies."  Less than 72 hours after Trump heralded a get-tough-on-Iran policy, the US just did the opposite in Kirkuk and alienated the Kurds, its longest and most stalwart counter-terrorism ally in Iraq.



• Anglocondescension: "We are sorry to have disappointed you. But maybe we Spaniards have grown up and no longer need to be lectured". Europe Is Tiring of 'Anglocondescension'



• Chabahar already impacting Pakis: Already half the wheat flour mills and related businesses have closed down in Peshawar.



• India is among world's hottest: India is quickly becoming one of the hottest countries in the world, which is triggering significant weather impacts and affecting its economy. 



• Rajeev on alt-meat: Generating Meat In Labs: The Technology, Opportunities And The Consequences



• How to Install Solar Panels:




• Bleeding because of Amazon: Sellers are protesting against Amazon India’s returns policy by pulling back ads



• “Second war of economic independence”: A century after freedom fighters launched a movement against British goods — the backlash against Chinese products is ramping up.



• Bye-bye globalization: Republican tax bill unveiled in the U.S. Congress could disrupt the global supply chains of large MNCs by slapping a 20% tax on cross-border transactions they routinely make between related business units. The proposal could run afoul of WTO and other international tax treaties



• Marxist dogma: Calls for Lenin's body to finally be buried ahead of 100th anniversary of Bolshevik revolution



• The state of apostates in Muslim countries: Imagine if other countries criminalized Islam

Imagine if over a dozen Western countries criminalized Islam, if the “crime” could be met with death, often at the hands of the public. 1/

— Sarah Haider (@SarahTheHaider) November 7, 2017

Quick notes: Libertarians rising, Han menace...

• Libertarians Rising: Clinton 41.4%, Trump 36.5%, Johnson 8%



• Italy cracks down on Hans: A crackdown on the powerful Chinese community in Tuscany draws the ire of China's foreign ministry.



• Still under 'British' rule: Private holders, including British companies, still hold about five lakh acres of land in Kerala.



• Mythbusters tests global warming theory Does CO2 warm air?




• Peter Sagan's droolworthy bike:

Quick notes: Sureshbhai Patel, El Niño...

• How about a big fat civil suit? Trial begins for Alabama officer in encounter that paralyzed Sureshbhai Patel, an unarmed 57-year-old Hindu.



• India crawls in front of foreign speculators: Full MAT relief for FIIs



• New tech for Darshan: Not just Holy, Tirumala is turning smart too



• Mission Indradhanush: India has eliminated tetanus as a mass killer, one year after getting rid of polio.



• Artificial state: "Since its founding in 1947, Pakistan has remained an artificial state that is uncertain of itself. The country is under major geopolitical stress -- in large part because of its rivalry with India. The expansion of its influence over Afghanistan is important to Pakistan because it gives it a feeling of strength."



• Water scarcity: El Niño dries up the monsoon, could have impact next year too




• El Niño weather pattern: El Niño May Bring Record Heat, and Rain for California.... video: El Niño, How It Happens



• Global weather: A Very Early Yet Highly Accurate Guide to This Coming Winter

Loving this El Nino GIF from NASA. 1997 on the left, 2015 on the right. pic.twitter.com/OiOKGxS9TC

— Angela Fritz (@angelafritz) August 13, 2015

Quick notes: Heat wave, Manasarovar water...

• 2000 heat-wave deaths: “The number of heat wave days may go up from about 5 to between 30 and 40 every year.” Night-time temperatures are rising too. (..experiencing this first hand lately..) Additionally, owing to the rising temperatures, UV rays emerging as a serious menace for people’s health. ...Not one Namo tweet on heat-wave toll!



• Petition: Stop the Bottling of Mansarovar Lake water in Tibet



• Ethical Eating: The Plants (and Animals) Are Watching Us



• UPA-3: NDA’s environmental clearance record not significantly different from UPA’s (Swachh Bharat notwithstanding).



• Guess who?

Sheepish DM from one of #India's most corrupt journalists asking me about Pranab Mukherjee's interview to the #Swedish newspaper. #G37

— Chitra Subramaniam (@chitraSD) May 28, 2015




• Penprick

On Swappable Batteries

Tesla should consider selling its cars without batteries. Considering that a Tesla battery costs about $30K, a Model-S minus the battery should cost significantly cheaper.

This will succeed once the buyer has the option of of leasing the battery from a battery-rental-cum-charging/swapping-station -- a fusion of a car-rental and a gas-station (..instead of renting a whole car, you just rent a charged battery.. instead of filling gas, you get your depleted battery swapped with a fully charged one). Thus, battery maintenance and replacement will no longer be the buyer's headache.

This is not very different from how we buy the phone instrument while taking a cell phone service of our choice (..pre-paid, post paid, 3G, 4G..). This might go a long way in expanding the electric car market.

Tesla Motors: Battery Swap

(an Inferno original :) )

Climate Change at the Third Pole

The glaciers of the Himalaya are the Third Pole. They feed the giant rivers of Asia, and support half of humanity. For centuries snow has supported human survival in Ladakh. Climate change is changing this. Less snow is falling, so there is less moisture for growing crops. In village after village, we are witnessing the end of farming where snow melt on the fields was the only source of moisture. Reduced snowfall also means less snow in glaciers, and less streamflow.

The shorter period of snowfall prevents the snow from turning into hard ice crystals. Therefore more of the glacier is liable to melt when the summer comes. Climate change has also led to rain, rather than snow, falling even at higher altitudes. This also accelerates the melting of glaciers.

Meantime, heavy rainfall which was unknown in the high altitude desert has become more frequent, causing flash floods, washing away homes and fields, trees and livestock. Climate refugees are already being created in the Himalaya in villages such as Rongjuk. As one of the displaced women said "when we see the black clouds, we feel afraid." 

Vandana Shiva: Climate Change at the Third Pole

Tehelka: Climate change dries up water in Ladakh

Power, Pollution And The Internet

Worldwide, data centers use about 30 billion watts of electricity, roughly equivalent to the output of 30 nuclear power plants. Only 6 percent to 12 percent of the electricity is used for powering the servers to perform computations. The rest was essentially used to keep servers idling and ready in case of a surge in activity that could slow or crash their operations. 

NYT: Power, Pollution and the Internet

License Plate Auctions And Lotteries

“What do we need gross domestic product for if we don’t have health?”

The municipal government of Guangzhou, a sprawling metropolis that is one of China’s biggest auto manufacturing centers, introduced license plate auctions and lotteries last week that will roughly halve the number of new cars on the streets.

The crackdown by China’s third-largest city is the most restrictive in a series of moves by big Chinese cities that are putting quality-of-life issues ahead of short-term economic growth, something the central government has struggled to do on a national scale. 

 NYT: A Chinese City Moves to Limit New Cars

At some point, Indian cities will also be compelled to curb private vehicles. 

Hitchens: Call Pak an Enemy

Christopher Hitchens again eloquently writes on why a spade must be called a spade, and Pakistan needs to be called an enemy.

China Racing for Piece of Arctic

China appears to be racing to stake its own claim for arctic resources in the polar north. Should India be worried?

Well, I don't think India can compete in the northern arctic circle, but it does have a clear view across the Indian ocean to the southern polar antarctic circle.

Meanwhile, if China increasingly uses melting northern arctic sea routes to get to Europe, then that could reduce its reliance on the String of Pearls strategy and Pakistan. The Moscow-obsessed Atlanticists could then content themselves in promoting Sino-Russian competition and rivalry in the northern arctic, as opposed to the more politically sensitive Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean.

Notice how the Chinese have quickly moved to exploit Iceland's financial distress to gain a foothold there.

WikiLeaks Shows US Manipulated Copenhagen Accord

The WikiLeaks dizclosures have revealed how the US manipulated the Copenhagen Accord on Climate Change.

Krauthammer Slams India, China on Copenhagen

Well, at least he didn't call India a dictatorship like China's.

Global Warming vs Hot Air

Newsweek's Sharon Begley claims that India should agree to emissions cuts like Kyoto, because it would suffer more than rich countries:

http://www.newsweek.com/id/213967

And yet there are other articles which speak to the contrary:

http://www.physorg.com/news170583964.html

Krugman Playing Eco-Card

lKrugman the Atlanticist seems to be dangerously playing the eco-card, in order to come up with new ways to constrain rising powers like China. He wants to impose eco-taxes on countries that don't meet his environmental standards. This would inevitably be extended to India and anyone else, too. The Atlanticists seem to want the poor Asians to starve, so that they can keep their jacuzzis and air-conditioning running full blast. Krugman seems to be angling for a North-South conflict.

Eco-Protectionism Aimed at India

Here come the new eco-protectionist measures aimed at India. Note that their abhorrence for CO2 still doesn't allow them to transfer low-greenhouse nuclear power generation technology.

Polar Politics - Greenland to Vote on Independence

Greenland is to vote on whether it should gain further independence from Denmark. I think this is positive news. The bulk of the population are local Inuit ("Eskimo" is considered a derogatory slur), and are not of Danish descent.

India should certainly reach out to an independent Greenland, to help its indigenous people gain solid footing in the international community. Their country is also quite rich in natural resources such as oil and natural gas, which India could trade for by offering various development-related deals, as it has done in Africa and CentralAsia.

The independence of Greenland would basically take tiny Denmark out of the running for exploiting the northern polar region - a race which has recently started to heat up, as global warming opens up the previously frozen waters to maritime passage.

India may not be very near to the Arctic Circle of countries, but we do seem to be laying the groundwork for possible future expansion into Antarctica, the last unexplored continent which has a land area greater than USA+Mexico combined. As you know, India is one of the small circle of countries which has an Antarctic station. Its Antarctic program is run by the National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research. They have ongoing programmes to train students for future Antarctic missions. Perhaps those seeking a more adventurous and exotic experience might be interested in this, as Antarctica is a very scenic place. By the end of this year, or early next year, India will be shifting from its Maitri station to a newer site in Larsemann Hills, closer to the Russian and Chinese stations. Its greater freshwater supply would help to support a larger facility. I think India should do more research into tensile structures or air-supported construction, etc, as these could one day help support populated settlements in places like the Himalayas or Antarctica. It's also a way for our larger low-level industries like textiles and cabling to move upmarket. (They're also more easily erected or dismantled, in case Mamta Banerjee decides she wants shut down your site.)

Australia claims over 40% of Antarctica as its own land, and gets upset everytime foreign countries announce their intentions to build a base on the continent. The rest of the world doesn't recognize Australia's claims of course, and continue to do as they please.

Kashmir Valley Drying Up

The Kashmir Valley is in danger of drying up. Aww, how sorry I feel for them -- NOT. Apparently, the Kolahoi glacier that supplies the Valley of Kashmir with drinking water is rapidly disappearing, due to global warming. Hell, if I'd known about the fundamental importance of this glacier before, I'd have suggested dropping a dirty bomb there. Let's see how long people can shriek at us with parched throats. The outflow from the glacier also ultimately feeds the Jhelum river in Pakistan. So they'll get hit too.

The Economist seems to be alarmed, saying that it would intensify conflict in Kashmir. Nah, I think it's the opposite. A little dehydration should help to pacify these rabid maniacs quite nicely, and give them pause for thought.

Is poor Pakistan not getting all the water from us that it wants? Well, don't blame us, blame global warming. Revenge is a dish best served dry.