Wicked Minds - Issue #6 - Climate Grammar
It's increasingly clear that climate change is the grammar of human existence, the framing issue under which all other issues are discussed. Like what Democracy and Freedom were during the times of revolution in Europe and independence struggles in the rest of the world.
Since it's the grammar, we never know what story will first establish it's presence in a given nation or geography. In the West, it's primarily been about the power of fossil fuel companies. That's not a story we tell in India for oil companies aren't our favourite corporate villains.
But we are an agrarian nation, and it shouldn't surprise us if global climate politics enters India on the backs of the ongoing farmer movement. There's a distinct possibility of that happening with Greta Thunberg's tweets in support and the subsequent arrest of Disha Ravi.
Of course, the opportunity has arisen because there's an attempt to reframe the narrative around the farmer's protests - that its an international liberal conspiracy (hatched by teenagers?) undermining Indian sovereignty, but if we set aside the specific people involved, this is the first time when a major mass movement is embracing the language of climate change.
Technology knows best
If politics is one avenue to address climate change, technocracy is another.
Opinion | Innovation, Not Trees. How Bill Gates Plans to Save the Planet. - The New York Times — www.nytimes.com He has billions to donate for crises from coronavirus to climate change, and more hope now that Trump is out of office.
Surveillance and Climate
After 9/11, the United States set up a series of 'fusion centers' in which data from various sources were aggregated and used by the police to 'detect' terrorists. I was surprised when I found out that environmentalists were among the biggest targets of fusion center investigations, but perhaps I shouldn't have been. That mentality might be coming to India too.
India Targets Climate Activists With the Help of Big Tech — theintercept.com Tech giants like Google and Facebook appear to be aiding and abetting a vicious government campaign against Indian climate activists.
Standalone Climate Politics
Europe has many successful Green parties. Do we need a similar one in India? This article thinks so, even if the underlying reasons could be problematic. An idea whose time has come?
India needs a national green party. The ‘guerrilla gardeners’ with covert political affiliations are just not cutting it — timesofindia.indiatimes.com Children in schools, morning walkers in parks, executives on the metro – India was masking up much before the world was hit by Covid-19. Even cricketers on the field had taken to checking the AQI...
Coal is Dead
The market is falling for coal, and even the UN Secretary General - not an office known for bold pronouncements - is getting in on the action.
Cancel all planned coal projects globally to end ‘deadly addiction’, says UN chief | Coal | The Guardian Call comes at event hosted by UK government, which is under pressure over planned coalmine in Cumbria