Rahul Goswami

Drought stalks India

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The first reports of drought-related suicides have begun filtering in from the district press. Farmers in the eastern coastal state of Andhra Pradesh are taking their own lives – the toll is said to be 20 farmers over the last 40 days. The state is one amongst many which has so far been forsaken by the South-West monsoon in 2009…An official with the state agriculture department has called the conditions the worst in 50 years. But the state government has still not declared Andhra Pradesh as hit by drought. Such declarations have in India become politically charged positions that the state ruling is forced to take, instead of being policy conclusions that can quickly bring relief and rehabilitation.

Drink entire: against the madness of crowds

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I wonder if there might be some magic elixir, as the Bradbury short-story hinted at, that could take us away from the madness and anger swelling up around us these days in the public realm. A very narrow but loud and aggressive demographic has been ignited against health care reform and climate change policy and this sparking fuse is growing closer to the combustible source. There is unquestionably a close parallel between the people who have been motivated to erupt at town hall events and those who have been hurt the most by the economic downturn over the last year.

ODAC Guest Commentary – The Wicks Report

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“There is no crisis”, states the introduction to this paper. We suggest that Mr Wicks is therefore not entirely in command of his brief. This paper gathers together many well-known, but selective and sometimes outdated, data. The conclusions are therefore rather predictable from the outset. There is little critical thought to be found here. For example, Korea is cited as a case study of successful, stable energy importation.

The Next Oil Shock

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When will the next oil shock occur? This is a question of interest to many, but it’s not much in the news lately. People tend to forget last year’s crisis. They’re now preoccupied with a barely functioning economy which was further hobbled by the oil price spike in 2007 and the first half of 2008.

My Clunker Pickup Is Too Old To Junk

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Of all my old, junk machinery, I like my pickup truck the best. I could not function without it. I use it to haul hay, straw, manure, mulch, lambs, rams, calves, pigs, chickens, corn, wheat, grandkids, apples, firewood, logs, cans of gas, rototillers, dirt, lawnmowers, water tanks, fencing, gates, posts, lumber, chainsaws, shovels, forks, concrete blocks, trash for the recycler, gravel, rocks, railroad ties. To name a few.

Confronting the Challenges of Community, Part One

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There exists today, a trinity of situations that confronts those of us who live in Western culture: global climate change, the peak and eventual end of non-renewable sources of fossil fuels (oil and gas), and economic meltdown.  These issues are old news for much of the world.  We in the wealthier nations are going to join the global community in attempting to find ways to survive and live amidst enormously trying circumstances.