CSE, the Center for Science and Environment, headed by a great environmentalist Sunita Narain has been doing monumental work in spreading awareness and fighting for environmental issues. She is the editor of an excellent magazine, Down to Earth. A recipient of national and international awards, and listed among the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine 2016, she is also an amazing human being----petit and elegant, unassuming, simple and warm, belying her gigantic stature in the country and world.
On 4th June (eve of World Environment Day) her book of essays, culled from those published over the last 25 years (it was also the 25th anniversary of the magazine) was released. "Why I should be tolerant" was released before a packed house. A panel of 4, including Sunita Narain and leading journalist Ravish Kumar discussed various aspects of environmental issues, which are covered in the book. Among the current topics raised by Sunita Narain and Ravish Kumar was the proposal of converting Lutyen's Delhi (an oasis of green) into a smart city. Sunita also elaborated on her choice of the title, when questioned about its aptness!
Signed copies of the book and other publications of CSE were on sale at the venue. It was a memorable program, and any one attending is sure to have come away with a feeling of pride and admiration at what an individual and her organisation is doing, and hope for the future.
Some of Sunita Narain's most memorable assertions during the function:
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Environmentalism of the poor is happening, but we are not listening to it
The most powerful nations would like us to believe that there is no other side.
In an information rich age, we are knowledge poor.
Anything that is inconvenient is ignored in the international climate discourse.
Part of the problem is that we think everybody else will solve it.
Why I should be tolerant is because we can't let the rich take charge of the future at the cost of the poor.
We are in a world where getting an inconvenient opinion out is very difficult. That is intolerance.
You might look at these links to read articles and learn of the excellent work done by Sunita Narain and her team, and her untiring efforts over the last 3 decades. It is thanks to her that ordinary citizens have been alerted to toxicity in food items and even paint.
http://www.cseindia.org/node/221
http://www.cseindia.org/blog_entries_by_author/6
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/
No words are enough to do justice to her unflagging commitment and contribution to make the planet a better place................
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| Ms. Sunita Narain before the book release |
and even if you are not fluent in Hindi, do look at the videos of Ravish Kumar's popular program Prime Time (on NDTV Hindi)---he is a journalist par excellence, possibly the most balanced/objective in the current scenario. He has gained widespread recognition, and very recently, the recipient of the best journalist of the year award.
http://www.ndtv.com/video/list/shows/prime-time
http://www.ndtv.com/topic/ravish-kumar
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| Ravish K. giving a sound bite to a news channel after the release |
