GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE AND GOA: QUESTIONS FROM A VILLAGE CALLED MOIRA
By Nazar da Silva <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
BINGO! The world’s biggest polluters are laughing all the way
to the bank. (B.I.N.G.O. is now the accepted acronym for Big
International Non Governmental Organisations). As natural
calamities continue to make distressingly frequent headlines
the world over, there is one class of individuals who gloat.
They belong largely to the corporate world, and
increasingly they are sitting across the table with
bingos. Because the scale of disasters is so
mind-boggling, the senses of the spectator world
are benumbed; the values of 'good' people are
compromised.
It is in this scenario that spin-doctors are deluged with a
frenzy of work, but the damage control they are engaged in
has little to do with saving victims. On the contrary: their
sole interest -- what they are paid to do, is to save the
hide and the turf of the powerful.
Whistle-blower: A highly qualified whistle-blower and former
trainer of hundreds of petroleum engineers and geologists at
the Imperial College of Science and Technology, London, is
Dr. Jeremy Legget. He was a young and comfortable insider in
the mid-1980s when he started reading scientific journals
that conveyed disturbing signs about the build-up of
greenhouse gases that atmospheric physicists were becoming
concerned about.
As he got to know more about the subject, the tension between
his growing environmentalism and his job came to a head. He
ended his 'blue skies' romance with the oil cartel. Today he
is CEO of Solar Century and Fellow in Solar Energy at Oxford
University.
Oil Clique: The myth of 'blue skies' however persists with
the help of glossy ads and brilliantly conceived commercials
that plague the medium of TV. The soothing music and sense of
comfort induced by panoramic scenes of incredible beauty are
at stark variance with the reality that thousands of victims
of eco-terrorism are exposed to today throughout the world.
Eco-terrorism is a mild term to describe the oil
clique that operates from the White House of US of
A. Referred to as the 'Big Oil' cabinet because of
the six members that include Condoleezza Rice and
Dick Cheney who are closely linked to the industry,
the country has been dubbed the 'climate pariah'
for having backed out of the Kyoto Agreement.
Michael Moore’s documentary film 'Fahrenheit 9/11' serves
only to confirm a long held suspicion about the destruction
of the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein. The agenda was always
control of the oil fields: 'yesterday's firm ally' overnight
became 'today's sworn enemy'.
Goa Scenario: What is happening in Goa today is an
enactment in miniature of what is happening on the
world stage. We have a combination of an
irresponsible government, a compliant bureaucracy,
the machinations of an insensitive oil corporation
and an electorate that is either half asleep or
concerned about its own potbelly.
It is incomprehensible to us that that climate change in the
North can cause a tsunami in the South; or that ozone
depletion in Canada can cause global warming and consequent
floods in India. We live in a cocoon of our own. We believe
God is on our side; but the important question is: are we on
God's side?
If we are on God's side, we would be protective of the
environment that he has created for us; we would be living in
harmony with nature and in peace with our neighbours,
whatever their gender, creed or colour. We would ensure equal
opportunities for all. And, we would not go to war for oil.
If we are on God's side we would be discerning about the
governance of our State and wary of the promises of those in
whose hands we entrust our well being. Especially, we would
be cautious about those who sow confusion in our minds. In
the time-honoured tradition of 'green wash', that is what the
oil cartel is doing worldwide: presenting the smiling face of
climate change to a gullible people. And that is what the Oil
Corporation is doing in Goa too.
Vital Questions: In the tiny village of Moira (Pop. 4000,
area four sq.km) questions are being raised about the
intentions of BPCL. These are some of the questions:
Why women? (Think Nursing and Pregnant Mothers).
Why has BPLC chosen to appoint women entrepreneurs for
operating their petroleum storage facilities?
Are they unaware of the occupational health hazards for
anybody, more so nursing and pregnant mothers, who breathe in
the toxic fumes in such situations?
Why the green belt? (Think small village economy.)
Why is BPCL targeting horticultural land in rural areas to
locate their petroleum storage facilities? Are they unaware
of the potential damage to the environment and ecology from
spillage, leakage and leaching of toxic substances into the
soil, ground water and air?
Why residential rural areas? (Think peaceful homes, quiet
neighbourhoods.) What purpose does it serve BPCL to locate
their storage facilities in residential areas of a village?
Are they unaware that many homes in the village depend on
their well water for drinking and cooking?
Riding roughshod: In consort with their global big brother,
BPCL is striving to present the smiling face of climate
change to the trusting people of Goa. They say they will
provide their service "at the door-step of the farmers". For
goodness sake! Our village is not situated in some remote
pampas! We are within three kms of the nearest pump in
Mapuca. In any case, we are marginal farmers and none are
into mechanised farming yet. So why is BPCL and Goa's
bureaucracy riding roughshod over the aspirations of a little
village? Why do they rely on an antiquated Petroleum Act,
1934 that fails to even acknowledge the provisions of Goa
Panchayat Raj Act, 1994 for participatory democracy? Ours is
a struggle for justice and peace. We will persevere.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Nazar da Silva can be contacted at 709 Sataporio, Moira Goa
Phone 2470290.
GOANET-READER WELCOMES contributions from its readers, by way
of essays, reviews, features and think-pieces. We share
quality Goa-related writing among the 8000-strong readership
of the Goanet/Goanet-news network of mailing lists. If you
appreciated the thoughts expressed above, please send in your
feedback to the writer. Our writers write -- or share what
they have written -- pro bono, and deserve hearing back from
those who appreciate their work. GoanetReader welcomes your
feedback at goanet@goanet.org
----------------------------------------------------------------
Goanet, 1994-2004. Building community, creating social capital.
----------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Goa - 2005 Santosh Trophy Champions |
| |
| Support Soccer Activities at the grassroots in our villages |
| Vacationing in Goa this year-end - Carry and distribute Soccer Balls |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
