Melting pot

One day we are told by expert agencies, quoting various studies, that climate change and global warming is leading to the melting of Himalayan glaciers. The next day, our esteemed environment minister, Jairam Ramesh, pulls out a report and says there is no `conclusive evidence' of any melting of Himalayan glaciers. So, who do we, the citizens of this country and of planet earth, believe?
It was only two years ago that the intergovernmental panel on climate change, the co-winner of the Nobel peace prize in 2007, had warned in a report that the glaciers were receding faster than in any other part of the world and could "disappear altogether by 2035 if not sooner."

Even the United Nations Environment Programme has estimated that the bursting of glacial lakes is likely to become a major problem globally, especially in South America, India and China.
However, just when there is a need to arrive at some broad consensus on tackling the impending crisis that stands to threaten the very existence of mankind, our environment minister has flagged a report to refute these findings, saying that it is a "western" view.

Who is right? As laypersons, we are confused.
For, views can vary and debates can go on endlessly between the developed and developing world, but one thing is clear -- eventually, it is the poor and vulnerable who stand to suffer the most.

In fact, developing nations are already facing the bitter consequences of global warming and greenhouse gas emissions.

We are losing more and more people each year to heat waves, droughts, floods and diseases caused by unclean drinking water and polluted air.
India, in particular, needs to act fast on the issue of climate change, as it is burdened by a huge and vulnerable population.