2013年7月30日

Why 847 is an important number for India

In India, climate change is not a mainstream issue. For a vibrant democracy of 1.2 billion people, a sound scientific community and a hyper active media, one would imagine an issue that threatens the lives of a majority of Indians would be discussed, but it isn't! And we are asking public personalities in India to help change this and elevate global warming to the national discourse. Sign this petition and urge them to speak out! In June, the northern state of Uttarakhand experienced one of its worst floods in recent history. A state that nestles within it, piligrimage sites that attract millions of people from around the globe. The image below is poignant and scary in which we see the idol of Lord Shiva (the bringer of destruction) drowning in the flood waters. Unrestricted contruction of buildings on river basins, unchecked tourism, reckless growth of dams and poor policy lead to devastating impacts on human and animal life and the economic costs of dealing with the floods is billed at $ 1.2 billion. Whilst the above reasons made the floods worse, the fact remains that the state received 847% excess rainfall between 13-19th June 2013. The melting Himalayas added to the intensity of the floods which is now dubbed as a "Himalayan Tsunami". We are asking everyone to sign this petition and urge public personalities in India to raise the profile of the issue. As simple as a tweet from some of them (who have millions of online followers) can spark off a much needed discussion on global warming in India. Help create the new discource on climate change in India!  

In India, climate change is not a mainstream issue. For a vibrant democracy of 1.2 billion people, a sound scientific community and a hyper active media, one would imagine an issue that threatens the lives of a majority of Indians would be discussed, but it isn’t! And we are asking public personalities in India to help change this and elevate global warming to the national discourse. Sign this petition and urge them to speak out!

In June, the northern state of Uttarakhand experienced one of its worst floods in recent history. A state that nestles within it, piligrimage sites that attract millions of people from around the globe. The image below is poignant and scary in which we see the idol of Lord Shiva (the bringer of destruction) drowning in the flood waters.

Unrestricted contruction of buildings on river basins, unchecked tourism, reckless growth of dams and poor policy lead to devastating impacts on human and animal life and the economic costs of dealing with the floods is billed at $ 1.2 billion. Whilst the above reasons made the floods worse, the fact remains that the state received 847% excess rainfall between 13-19th June 2013. The melting Himalayas added to the intensity of the floods which is now dubbed as a “Himalayan Tsunami”.

We are asking everyone to sign this petition and urge public personalities in India to raise the profile of the issue. As simple as a tweet from some of them (who have millions of online followers) can spark off a much needed discussion on global warming in India. Help create the new discource on climate change in India!