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![]() Editor’s page, Down To Earth, July 31, 1996 "Will the US government care much if an Indian, Bangladeshi or a Maldivean were to drown because of rising sea levels?" But if there existed a framework of global democracy, a Bangladeshi would have the right to stop US citizens enjoying Mother Earth to a point that would threaten the very existence of his or her country. All environmental talk of only one Earth remains deeply hollow until such a democratic right is recognised and made legally enforceable." Editor’s page, Down To Earth, October 15, 1996 "Participation is a lovely word. For long it has been twisted around to mean anything according to the whims and fancies of the user of the word. The GEF ecodevelopment project could have provided the much needed space for institutional innovations that are desperately needed for people’s participation. But the project leaves all management decisions to bureaucracy, while people’s participation is left more or less in the same mould as ‘I speak, you listen’." Editor’s page, Down To Earth, October 31, 1996 "Among a host of environmental misdemeanours — crimes, really — the dramatic rise in air pollution in most Indian metropolises over the last one decade is a direct result of an inefficient state, both on terms of balancing responsibilities and precautionary actions. It is nothing short of a slow murder! Even as an environmentalist, I was not aware of all the contours of this highly technical problem of vehicular pollution. But this tailpipery struck me as a little imbecilic; as if only vehicle maintenance was at the heart of the problem. It has become clear to me that tailpipe checking is clearcut harassment of the citizen by the state in the name of environment. What is also clear is that vehicular pollution is a created problem, not a ‘natural’ one." Down To Earth, November 15, 1996
Down To Earth, November 30, 1996 "Cancer is a frightening word. As an environmental activist and writer, I have tried for years to promote nationwide concern about the deteriorating state of our environment. The idea of writing my own travails as an environmental victim had, however, never crossed my mind. But obviously, I could not have escaped what was and is happening all around me. My cancer, like most cancers, is related to environmental pollution. In India, cancer is still largely regarded as a relatively insignificant threat to public health." Down To Earth, November 30, 1996
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