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Drug Abuse By Dr Arvind Kumar 26th June is observed as International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking every year. It is an exercise undertaken by the world community to sensitize the people in general and the youth in particular, to the menace of drugs. With a turnover of around $500 billion, it is the third largest business in the world, next to petroleum and arms trade. About 190 million people all over the world consume one drug or the other. Drug addiction causes immense human distress and the illegal production and distribution of drugs have spawned crime and violence worldwide. Today, there is no part of the world that is free from the curse of drug trafficking and drug addiction. Millions of drug addicts, all over the world, are leading miserable lives, between life and death. India too is enmeshed in the quagmire of drug abuse, and the numbers of drug addicts are increasing day by day. A UN report says that about one million heroin addicts are registered in

Spend Nuke Money for Development By Dr Arvind Kumar According to media reports, nine nuclear weapons states are anticipated in the next 10 years to expend $1 trillion on acquiring and updating their systems. The reports indicate that the group Global Zero, US-based think-tank, whose goal is total nuclear disarmament no later than 2030, has calculated the nuclear weapons expenditure figures for China, France, India, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States. The Global Zero is seeking to focus attention on the high price countries pay for their nuclear arsenals in a time of increasing government budget restraints. Nuclear costs among the nine nations in 2011 are estimated at $100 billion, with similar annual numbers anticipated throughout the decade. According to Global Zero estimates, nuclear arsenal expenditures take up roughly 9 percent of the countries' total military spending; that percentage is anticipated to increase as traditio

Rapid Urbanization - Bane or Boon? By Dr Arvind Kumar Currently, the largest population shift in human history is taking place in different parts of globe. Every month, there are 5 million new city dwellers created through migration or birth in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. China alone has an estimated 200 million "floating" citizens with one foot in a village and the other in a city. If current trends continue as expected, between 2000 and 2030, the urban population of Asia and Africa will double, adding as many city dwellers in one generation as these continents have accumulated during their entire histories. Between now and 2050, the world's cities will add another 3.1 billion people. This will be matched by an almost as dramatic decline in rural population. The United Nations Population Division predicts that the population of the world's villages and rural areas will stop growing around eight years from now and that, by 2050; the rural population will

Natural Disasters By Dr Arvind Kumar The Internal Displacement Monitoring Center in its recent report has stated that in 2010, 42 million people worldwide were forced to flee their homes because of natural disasters. Being the worst year on record, 2010 saw problems worldwide, with 15 million forced to leave their homes in China and 11 million in Pakistan because of flooding. Disasters of 2011 are already piling up, with cyclones, earthquakes and floods on every continent. The number of people displaced in 2010 was more than double the 17 million displaced in 2009 by natural disasters such as the floods in China and Pakistan and earthquakes in Chile and Haiti. The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres, stated that issues of climate related to displacement is one of the most important challenges of our times. Sensible planning is needed before the next disaster. In March 2011, 590,000 people had to leave their homes in Japan, after the Tohoku-Pacific earthqu

World Solar Day By Dr Arvind Kumar The World Solar Day is being held nationally in the Canada, the U.S. and UK on Saturday, June 18 and in Australia on November 19 with events by cities, non-profits, companies and the solar industry. The objective of observing the Solar Day is to encourage public participation and awareness of how solar energy can reduce monthly energy bills - while providing much-needed "green" jobs for the economy. Growing from one event for Solar Day 2009 - a bio-diesel buses tour of solar homes and businesses hosted by the City of San Francisco – Solar Day in 2010 grew to events hosted by cities and the solar industry in 26 U.S. cities. Multiple cities issued proclamations declaring an Official Solar Day for their city events. Buying a solar installation costing some million rupees for a home or business is one time investment and perhaps the ultimate economic commitment for both a green lifestyle and working environment. Solar can be thought

Arizona Fires & Climate Change By Dr Arvind Kumar A rizona in the United States is currently in the grip of wildfires encompassing more than 700 square miles of the region. Besides, more than 4,300 square miles of Texas has reportedly been swept by monster wildfires. The massive columns of acrid smoke drifting eastward are a kind of smoke signal with the warning that a globally warming world is not a matter of some future worst-case scenario. Rather it’s happening right here, right now. According to preliminary media reports, walls of flame 100 feet high rolled over the land like a tsunami from Hades. The heat from such a fire is so intense and immense that it can create small tornadoes of red embers that cannot be knocked down and smothered by water or chemicals. Reports indicate air tankers have been dropping fire retardant on what is being called the Wallow fire in Arizona and firefighting crews have been mobilized, but the fire remained “zero contained” for most of la

Illegal Mining of Rivers By Dr Arvind Kumar Swami Nigamanand’s death in Haridwar has once again brought into focus the rampant illegal mining around the River Ganga. Swami Nigamanand had gone on a fast to protest illegal mining along the Ganga near Haridwar. Most mining operations along the Ganga here are illegal and where government permits have been given, contractors often illegally mine deeper and outside their permitted areas. However, with little official supervision, unscrupulous contractors are plundering the Ganga River bed without any royalty payments to the government, allowing for huge profits. This is not happening in Haridwar alone, almost all big and small rivers are being illegally mined without any care or caution for the serious consequences of flash floods, soil erosion, silt or loosening of embankments. The nemesis of this illegal mining falls on the people whose livelihoods are dependent on the rivers and who inhabit the embankments. There is need for buil

Rising Forest Density According to a recent study in the online journal PLoS One, rising forest density in many countries is helping to offset climate change caused by deforestation from the Amazon basin to Indonesia. The study, based on a survey of 68 nations, found that the amount of carbon stored in forests increased in Europe and North America from 2000-10 despite little change in forest area. It is further revealed that the size of trees in a forest -- rather than just the area covered -- needed to be taken into account more in U.N.-led efforts to put a price on forests as part of a nascent market to slow global warming. And experts in Finland and the United States have opined, "Higher density means world forests are capturing more carbon." The study also reveals that trees soak up carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas, as they grow and release it when they burn or rot. Deforestation in places from the Congo basin to Papua New Guinea is blamed for perhaps 12

Nuclear Terrorism Danger By Dr Arvind Kumar In a recent collaborative report, released by the Harvard University's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs Russian and U.S. experts have warned of the continued worldwide danger that terrorists might acquire and use a nuclear weapon. According to Rolf Mowatt-Larssen, a Belfer Center senior fellow: "If you look at the U.S. and Russia together, we own about 90 percent of the problem -- more of the weapons, less of the nuclear materials. So it's only right that these two countries share their expertise and look hard at ways to work together to lower the risks." The first such expert analysis on nuclear terrorism by the two former Cold War rivals warns, "If current approaches toward eliminating the threat are not replaced with a sense of urgency and resolve, the question will become not if but when, and on what scale, the first act of nuclear terrorism occurs." While advising steps for increas

Scourge of Child Labour By Dr Arvind Kumar According to the latest released by the International Labour Organization (ILO), about 115 million children, of them forty-eight million children in the Asia Pacific region, are involved in hazardous work. This is work that by its nature or the circumstances, in which it is carried out, is likely to harm children’s health, safety or morals. Children working in many different industries and occupations can be exposed to such risks and the problem is global, affecting industrialized as well as developing countries. Hazardous work is among the worst forms of child labour which the international community has targeted for elimination by 2016. The need for urgent action in order to reach this target was both the theme of The Hague Global Child Labour Conference in 2010 which adopted a Roadmap for the elimination of the worst forms of child labour, and has been endorsed in the ILO’s Global Action Plan. There is a dire need to provide a gl

Ganga Dussehra By Dr Arvind Kumar Ganga Dussehra is celebrated on Dashmi Tithi of Shukla Paksha Jeyshta Masa. This day, sacred river Ganga had descended on earth from heaven. This year it is being observed on 11th June. When Ganga Dussehr a falls in Hast Nakshatra, it is believed to remove worst kinds of sins. Ganga descended on earth in Hast Nakshatra, hence, this day is more significant in comparison to other days. Ganga Dussehra is a festival of faith and devotion. As per the scriptures, bath and donations have great significance on this day. If due to some reason a person is not able to have bath in Ganga, he should perform Ardhaya nearby river and do the Tilodak and Tarpan. All sins of life are removed by performing bath, donations and Tarpan, on this day, therefore, this festival is called Dussehra. Out of all the rivers, Ganga is considered the most sacred and remover of sins (Papamochini). Having a dip in Ganga, gives salvation to a person. After performing rigi

Slow Global Economic Growth By Dr Arvind Kumar T he World Bank, in its latest released report, Global Economic Prospects, has forecast slower economic growth the rest of this year and next. The World Bank is projecting a deceleration of gross domestic product (GDP) gains in the US, the euro zone, and the developing economies of Asia and Latin America compared to 2010. The only region where it foresees faster growth is Sub-Saharan Africa. In the US, Europe and Japan - where the so-called “recovery” has been characterized by anemic growth following the collapse of 2008 and early 2009, sustained high unemployment, and brutal attacks on the living standards of the working class - even slower GDP growth will mean a deepening of the slump. The bank estimated that the world economy will expand by 3.2 percent this year, down from 3.8 percent in 2010. Global growth in both 2012 and 2013 is expected to edge up just 3.6 percent - below the 2010 rate. The growth of developing economi

Bleak Prospects for Durban Summit By Dr Arvind Kumar In a recent media interview, Achim Steiner, the chief of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) has plainly expressed his fears of failure at ‘a very critical moment’ in the history of UN climate change talks scheduled to be held at Durban in South Africa in November-December 2011. Asserting that at this point, when everyone should be extremely concerned about ‘what we will walk away with from Durban’, Steiner further said: "Without a global climate agreement, we will never be able to achieve the levels of emissions reductions that are needed and with every year that passes, the time window is getting narrower." He further laments that efforts to achieve CO2 emissions cuts in a shorter future timeframe would pose "a much greater risk to the global economy, national economies and to human wellbeing.” On the other hand, the latest International Energy Association figures show that greenhouse gas emissions soared by

World Oceans Day By Dr Arvind Kumar 8th June is observed as World Oceans Day (WOD) every year, since the delegates at Rio Earth Summit in 1992 decided to mark June 8 every year as World Oceans Day (WOD). The Ocean Project, working with the World Ocean Network, is trying to create greater awareness of the significance of the ocean in our lives and the varied ways in which people can effectively engage themselves in the preservation of Neptune's riches. The survival of our species depends on our living in peace and harmony, especially in the bio-system that sustains us. On this auspicious day, people all over the world, dressed in blue to honour the ocean, will take a pledge: Ø Never to distress the sea by taking away its beaches and in turn making ourselves vulnerable to the effects of beach erosion; Ø That any development on the coast is done only after scientific studies determine that the step is not destructive; Ø That we cannot poison our own food by indiscri

Cluster Approach to Food Security By Dr Arvind Kumar According to a recent news report released by IRIN, a 2010 evaluation of the "cluster approach" conducted by the Global Public Policy Institute (GPPI) and Groupe Urgence Rehabilitation, Development (URD) has recommended the setting up of a new global food security mechanism or "cluster", to support disaster-affected food insecure communities. According to coordinator of this programme, Graham Farmer, the new cluster is led jointly by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme(WFP). It is also reported that one of the tools deployed by aid workers in emergency responses to such things as floods, droughts or earthquakes is the "cluster approach", first implemented in 2005. A "cluster" consists of groupings of UN agencies, NGOs and other international organizations around a sector or service provided during a humanitarian crisis. While explaining the rational

Nuclear Power Plants and People By Dr Arvind Kumar Nuclear catastrophe wrought by nuclear power plants recently in Japan’s Fukushima has brought into focus the location of these nuclear plants in proximity of densely-populated areas and safeguard measures being adhered to thereby. Recent research has found that two-thirds of the world’s 211 power plants each have more than 172,000 people living within a 19-mile radius. That’s more than the population around Fukushima. Indeed, 21 plants have more than one million people living within 20 miles, and six have more than three million. Nuclear power plants are often located in highly populated areas. That’s because they were designed to provide electricity for people. And the closer the plants are to those people, the less energy required to get that power there. So, just how close are these plants to people? And how many people are we talking about? The KANUPP plant in Karachi, Pakistan, has the most people living in its immediate

World Environment Day 5th June is observed as Environment Day throughout the globe annually. World Environment Day was first celebrated on 5th June in 1972, and has since become an important vehicle through which the UN stimulates worldwide awareness of the environment and encourages political attention and action. In the face of continuing deforestation (currently estimated at 5.2 million hectares worldwide per year) nothing could have been more pertinent than this year's theme of 'Forests: Nature at Your Service' which underscores the intrinsic link between quality of life and the health of forests. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has named India, for the first time, as the global host of World Environment Day 2011 on June 5, for "embracing the process of a transition to a Green Economy." The five sacred elements which make the environment live-able are water, air, fire, earth, and our spirit or senses. Our relationship with them help

Asia’s Water Problems By Dr Arvind Kumar Recent reports indicate that much of central China along the Yangtze River has been in the grip of a five-month drought that has dried up rivers, reducing hydroelectric generating capacity and leaving many people and large swaths of farmland short of water. Meanwhile, China's total water reserves have fallen sharply since 2000. Over the next decade, water consumption is forecast to rise from nearly 600 billion cubic meters last year to 670 billion cubic meters in 2020. The World Policy Institute (WPI), a nonpartisan U.S.-based think-tank, says that the competition between water and energy needs is a critical economic, security and environmental issue that has not yet received the attention it merits. Steven Solomon, author of Water: The Epic Struggle for Wealth, Power and Civilization , calculates that each day every person living in an industrialized nation consumes an average of four-plus tons of water. Of course, most of it is n

Donors for Africa According to data released recently by the World Bank’s DATA Report 2011, for the past five years, the DATA Report has monitored the historic commitments to sub-Saharan Africa that the G8 and European Union made in 2005. These promises were due to be delivered in 2010, a year that also marked the crucial two-thirds point for the world to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015. In 2010, development assistance to sub-Saharan Africa was the highest on record. However, the increases over the past five years still fell short of the commitments made in 2005, and the prospect of scaling up efforts to meet commitments beyond 2010 could be in jeopardy. Flat lining or even cuts from some donors threatens to undermine recent progress made in fighting HIV/AIDS and malaria, boosting agricultural productivity and sending children to school. The road to 2015 is less clear than the path to 2010, with budgets tightening and some countries lacking overall targ