A mega conference that may determine the future of the planet opens in Copenhagen tomorrow amid widespread fears that years of labyrinthine, almost tortuous, negotiations won't yield what science demands. An estimated 15,000 delegates from 192 countries are expected to converge at the 15th UN Climate Change Conference to finalise a set of strategies to reduce or limit emissions of Earth-warming greenhouse gases [GHG] in the period beyond 2012. But...

Transgenic Cotton being hastily pushed in India, says researcher Technological alternatives available to switch from conventional production NEW DELHI: A panel discussion on ‘GM Foods and Food Security’ held here on Thursday highlighted differing opinions on the controversial subject, although the majority opinion was in favour of GM crops. Participating in the discussion, organised by the Institute of Economic Growth, Ronald Herring of Cornell University pointed out that Bt Cotton in India played an...

India must resist developed country pressure to cut its greenhouse gas emissions, goes the cry. Such a position helps only the rich, in a tearing hurry to grow richer, the environment be damned. It is in the interest of India’s poor for the country to adopt a stringent policy regime to control emissions domestically and thus contribute to a binding deal to cut emissions globally. Climate change has been identified...

It has been a bumpy ride, with developed countries failing to make definite commitments and India hinting at a shift of stance. THE last leg of the climate change talks held in Barcelona, Spain, on November 2-6 in the run-up to the all-important 15th Conference of the Parties (COP-15) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Copenhagen in December did not result in any dramatic development...

HAS GREEN REVOLUTION FAILED INDIA'S POOR? Green Revolution Vs Rain-fed Farming OVERVIEW: Of late India’s fabled Green Revolution has come under severe attack. Many development thinkers believe that it has unfairly skewed India’s agriculture policy in favour of the farmers whose land is already or potentially covered under irrigation. The basic criticism is that the Green Revolution has been largely irrelevant for India’s 60 per cent cultivable land which is un-irrigated. These...