The politics of empty words

The new buzzword in the climate research circles is vulnerability and adaptation. Just like most of the climate discussion the words have become so dense, that their meaning is lost on most, except the most conversant and involved. It is almost as if the effort is to convolute the science and to disfranchise the ordinary in the dialogue.

Hottest of them all

The first three months of the year 2002 were globally the warmest months ever recorded, say scientists. During these months, temperatures across the world were 0.71 C above the 1961-1990 average. "These three months were the warmest January, February and March since records began in 1860. Proxy records, for instance from tree rings, suggest they are in fact the warmest for a thousand years," said Geoff Jenkins of the uk government's Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research.

The Die Hards

life ravaged by war and drought has one hope: resilience of a people. "A good monsoon and a bit of peace will bring Afghan's life to normal," says J Gabriel Campbell of icimod. Take Kohistan district of Kapisa province for example. Just after usa bombarded and damaged water channels in January this year, residents came together to revive them. One week of community labour brought water to the channel.

$4.5 billion question

We are not starting from scratch. Our institutions have been substantially weakened. But they still exist," says Hedayat Amin-Arsala, minister of finance of Afghanistan Interim Authority. Hidayat's statement has more meaning now when the interim government is struggling hard to convene the Loya Jirga and to chart out his country's reconstruction through a new constitution.

Ecology over economics

LESTER Brown, founder of Worldwatch Institute, recently published the book 'Eco-Economy' - an ambitious and broad sketch of a new global economy that prioritises the ecological imperatives of our time. Brown refers to Thomas Kuhn who, to recapitulate, is the philosopher of science who made 'paradigm shifts' famous. It is widely believed that 'ecological economics', though still in its formative stages academically, may well be the next paradigm in economics.

Asian origins

Around 55 million years ago, Earth's climate underwent a short but intense bout of global warming, accompanied by dramatic shifts in plant and animal life. Of particular interest to paleontologists is the sudden appearance in the Northern Hemisphere of several groups of mammals, including the primates. Researchers have long wondered exactly where these creatures, which differed considerably from the animals they replaced, came from. A recent study indicates that at least one key group, and probably others, originated in Asia.

Profiting from disaster

What are your development plans for Mizoram, which has one of the richest natural resources in India? Mizoram has plenty of cultivable land and the government is thinking of developing the region with more and more cash crops. It also plans for a project that would improve bamboo cultivation, which is highly profitable. This will improve the economy of the region and also will help in reducing insurgency in the region. What commercial options are you eyeing as far as bamboo is concerned? Interviewee:  Zoramthanga

PERU

Ancient civilisations of Peru collapsed partially because of the El Nio weather phenomena, states a recent research by the archaeologists of the University of Maine. The archaeologists used mollusk shells to provide evidence for their theory. Mollusks are good indicators of climate because they are sensitive to temperature changes. The researchers found that two species of mollusk, Mesodesma donacium and Choromytilus chorus, which were commonly found in Peru disappeared 2,800 years ago.

Compromise on climate

history was created on July 23, 2001 at Bonn, Germany, when 180 countries finally reached an agreement on rules to implement the Kyoto Protocol, an international treaty to combat global warming, after almost six months of political uncertainty on the issue.

Tick with a bite

researchers in Sweden have linked the increase in the incidence of tick-borne encephalitis in Stockholm County to the global warming. The viral pathogen lives inside an insect, Ixodes ricinus and is transmitted to human beings when the insect bites them. The disease is characterised by symptoms such as high body temperature followed by tremors and dizziness due to inflammation of the brain.