Monday 14 December 2009

Quick gun Murugan vs. Vandana Shiva- The coming battle between Saffron and green

James Lovelock- y'know, the guy who accidentally discovered the hole in the ozone layer while looking for life on Mars- advocated the creation of a genetically modified virus to kill off India's methane farting cows.

Now, it is true that one could change their diet so as to reduce methane emissions but, given wholesale corruption, there is no effective way of ensuring that cows switch to such fodder. Of course, an open ended commitment- like free electricity to the Agricultural sector- could be made. But that would be a perverse incentive- not to mention fiscal hara kiri. In the same way that free electricity means unsustainable depletion of groundwater levels, so too would a free fodder scheme result in an ecological disaster.

I know that the consideration quoted above has no bearing on practical politics. The Saffron and the Green can work out a modus vivendi based on wasting huge sums of public money on Green Goshalas- everyone is happy- while of course the real problem gets worse. (Unless of course- as the figures suggests- the whole climate change this is just a pious fraud and huge boondoggle).

Still what cheers me is the prospect of a High Noon showdown between Vandana Shiva and Quick gun Murugan. Don't say I didn't warn you. Mind it.

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