Wider Consequences of Pollution in the Indo-Gangetic Region
by Chand Prasad
The Indo-Gangetic Plain is indeed one of the world's most polluted regions, due largely to a combination of industrial activity and post-harvest burning of crop residue, as well as topography, wind flow, and weather patterns. The airborne pollutants from the Indo-Gangetic Region (IGR), coupled with rising global atmospheric temperatures, have been causing the ice in the Himalayas to melt faster. The dirty air from the IGR makes the glacier situation worse by depositing black carbon and dust on the ice, hastening the thaw.
With the exception of the polar regions, the frozen Hindu Kush and Himalayan ranges contain more ice than anywhere else on Earth. The glaciers feed ten of the world's most important river systems, including the Ganges, Indus, Yellow, Mekong and Irrawaddy, and directly or indirectly supply billions of people with food, energy, clean air and incomes.
The Himalayan glaciers have been losing almost half a meter of ice each year since the start of this century— double the amount of melting that occurred between 1975 and 2000. As melting continues, the predicted short term impact is increased flooding, but less ice in the glaciers could ultimately lead to drought. The affected area encompasses approximately 3,500km across Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal and Pakistan.
The Afghan/Pakistan region is of high interest to the U.S. military and policymakers. Afghanistan is strategically positioned between Central Asia, the Middle East, and South Asia. About 80% of conflicts in Afghanistan are related to resources like land and water, and to food insecurity—an immediate consequence of global warming, according to the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP).
For instance in Afghanistan’s Helmand area, water has instigated conflict for decades and been central to foreign intervention since the early cold war, when the United States got involved in irrigation projects. In the coming decades, climate change and growing instability will pose key threats to U.S. strategic interests in the Afghan/Pakistan region.
Geopolitical distractions aside, the solution to all problems of human existence requires embracing spiritual principles that were transmitted by Krishna’s pure representative, Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Prabhupada. Rather than pleasing the material body, the purposeful end for humanity is to serve Krishna, and having sought this end, all else shall be added unto us.
========================
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/every-human-should-be-alarmed-by-the-plastic-crisis-in-our-oceans/2019/10/26/88434802-eba4-11e9-9c6d-436a0df4f31d_story.html?
by Chand Prasad
The Indo-Gangetic Plain is indeed one of the world's most polluted regions, due largely to a combination of industrial activity and post-harvest burning of crop residue, as well as topography, wind flow, and weather patterns. The airborne pollutants from the Indo-Gangetic Region (IGR), coupled with rising global atmospheric temperatures, have been causing the ice in the Himalayas to melt faster. The dirty air from the IGR makes the glacier situation worse by depositing black carbon and dust on the ice, hastening the thaw.
With the exception of the polar regions, the frozen Hindu Kush and Himalayan ranges contain more ice than anywhere else on Earth. The glaciers feed ten of the world's most important river systems, including the Ganges, Indus, Yellow, Mekong and Irrawaddy, and directly or indirectly supply billions of people with food, energy, clean air and incomes.
The Himalayan glaciers have been losing almost half a meter of ice each year since the start of this century— double the amount of melting that occurred between 1975 and 2000. As melting continues, the predicted short term impact is increased flooding, but less ice in the glaciers could ultimately lead to drought. The affected area encompasses approximately 3,500km across Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal and Pakistan.
The Afghan/Pakistan region is of high interest to the U.S. military and policymakers. Afghanistan is strategically positioned between Central Asia, the Middle East, and South Asia. About 80% of conflicts in Afghanistan are related to resources like land and water, and to food insecurity—an immediate consequence of global warming, according to the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP).
For instance in Afghanistan’s Helmand area, water has instigated conflict for decades and been central to foreign intervention since the early cold war, when the United States got involved in irrigation projects. In the coming decades, climate change and growing instability will pose key threats to U.S. strategic interests in the Afghan/Pakistan region.
Geopolitical distractions aside, the solution to all problems of human existence requires embracing spiritual principles that were transmitted by Krishna’s pure representative, Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Prabhupada. Rather than pleasing the material body, the purposeful end for humanity is to serve Krishna, and having sought this end, all else shall be added unto us.
========================
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/every-human-should-be-alarmed-by-the-plastic-crisis-in-our-oceans/2019/10/26/88434802-eba4-11e9-9c6d-436a0df4f31d_story.html?
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.