By Staff Writers
Dehradun, India (AFP) Jan 12, 2010Hundreds of ash-covered, naked holy men and millions of Hindu pilgrims are making their way to northern India to take part in one of the largest religious gatherings on Earth. …
The Mela marks the only public gathering of the Nagas, many of whom live in remote, spartan conditions in mountains, caves and communes in the Himalayas and other regions of India.
The highest ranked among them will ride in chariots decorated with marigolds and pulled by tractors, while others follow behind, carrying swords, tridents and saffron flags.
Naked and generally covered in a layer of grey ash, they are regarded by devotees as earthly representatives of the gods because of their self-sacrifice and denial of the material world.
Their isolation does not, however, prevent their organising for particular causes and they plan to use the 2010 Kumbh Mela to highlight the issue of global warming.
"Sadhus like us who go up to the higher reaches of the Himalayas to meditate have a clear picture of how bad the situation is," Soham Baba, considered as the head of the Nagas, told reporters recently in Kolkata.
"Pristine lakes and waterfalls that existed till a few years ago have dried up," he said.
"The Kumbh Mela will be the appropriate place to protest," he added. …
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Kumbh Mela focuses on global warming
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Ice911: Cool solutions for an overheated world
Global climate change is occurring. Are there any short-term yet reversible measures we can take to reduce future ecological damage while longer-term solutions are researched and developed?
Enter Ice911:
Ice911 is one such project, aimed at slowing down the melt of polar and glacial ice using ecologically friendly materials. These materials are designed and used in a way that allows them to later be removed if desired. These are important features to avoid any unintended ecological impacts.
Ice911 is an engineering approach to reduce the melting of the ice. It is a solution that can be rapidly implemented. It has the potential to slow down the melt, provide interim mammal habitat, and perhaps even rebuild the ice. …
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Scientist's hunger strike halts work on Himalayan dam
The near-death of one of India’s most distinguished scientists has halted work on a major hydroelectric dam in the Himalayas. Professor AD Agarwal, 77, former dean of the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi at Kanpur, has been on hunger strike for 38 days in protest against a project that would dam the waters of a Ganges tributary.
"The water ... is not ordinary water to a Hindu. It is a matter of the life and death of Hindu faith," Agarwal said, before beginning his fast in January.
This is his second fast in the past year, which he called off last week only after the Indian government agreed that it would look into electricity generation that would not impede the flow of the holy Ganges. The river must run free in order to maintain its sacred status.
However, this dam project is only one of the hundreds planned to for the Himalayan foothill regions of India, Nepal, Bhutan and Pakistan. The power needs of these nations are rising, but according to a recent report by the NGO International Rivers, many are being carried out with little environmental assessment. …
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