"It is with great sorrow that we announce that Ms. Mailamma, the leader of the anti-Coca-Cola struggle in Plachimada in Kerala, passed away on January 6, 2007.
Mailamma was a central figure in the campaign to hold Coca-Cola accountable for water shortages and pollution in the area" via IndiaResource.org
I sincerely hope that her efforts bring about a positive change. Increase awareness on water issues and sustainability. Help create a sound public policy. And not get lost in petty politics. IndiaTogether has an excellent article here
"Why is the LDF keen to confine the legal arguments to medical issues, when clearly there are other considerations? The party isn't saying, but it is not to be forgotten that it was the previous LDF government which, in 1999, welcomed the Coke factory to Plachimada. Making political capital out of the CSE report but turning a blind eye to the core issues may have given the party an opportunity to appear energetic in its opposition to the bottling plants, but also quietly backtrack in court.
...
The task before the government is quite clear cut," says Brahmaputran, of the Plachimada Pathana Samithy. He wants loopholes in laws that govern the environment, water resources, and health to be plugged, and more importantly, he wants decisions that affect local communities in a big way to be made by them, not in the state capital or in New Delhi"
7 comments:
First of all let me thank you for visiting my blog :-) :-) :-).
Feeling very good to see that you are a nature lover :).
Hey,
You might want to read about the Global Risk report 2007. It talks of the environment too. I did not read it yet.
http://www.weforum.org/en/initiatives/globalrisk/index.htm
Alex,
Many thanks for the links. The countries that are going to be most affected by climate change are the ones which are probably the least carbon polluters. Mumbai is among the cities most impacted by sea level rise.
Insurance companies in the US are already denying coverage for homes in the coastal areas
thanks for ur kind comment..
i have put a new post regarding ur comment
if u get time, pl see.
so happy to see ur blog and to know ur concrn about nature
i was a tv journalist doing programes on environment and humanrights and recently shifted to teaching job
ANYWAY, HAVE A NICE TIME
http://www.businesspundit.com/50226711/coke_and_water_do_the_conservationists_know_what_they_are_talking_about.php
Read this and you will wonder how much these greens know.
Anonymous,
Thanks for the link. But I find it really hard to relate to businesspundit point of view.
In countries where water is plentiful and people are rich and drink bottled water more than regular water using 2.72 litres of water to produce 1 litre of bottled water might be okay.
In plachimada things are different. Reliable ground water is no longer there. Water tankers now come in to provide water for the local people. Isn't that tragic ?
Even worse, the sludge from the plant (which Coke said was a good fertilizer for local farmers) contained dangerous amounts of Cadmium. BBC reported it way back when
I am pretty sure Coca Cola and the likes have enough resources and money to look at desalination.
Business attitudes need to change. Environment and sustainability issues need to be an integral part of business decisions and operations
Recently i had a chance to read Al-Gore's "inconvenient truth" and it will leave you speachless - have we done that much damage to earth? keep up the good work, we need more warriors like you!
http://www.indigolog.com
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