Characterized both by a high density of human beings and a rich diversity of flora and fauna, India has often found itself conflicted by priorities. The struggles of coexistence between animals and humans in India has always subsisted. A variety of attitudes towards man and nature’s coexistence have resulted in different outcomes. As we learned throughout the semester, early ...
ENV 240: Indian Environment and Ecology
Hindu rituals and the environment
Hinduism and the environment The five elements of earth, air, fire, water, and space are believed to make up brahman in the Hindu faith. Upanishad explains that “From Brahman arises space, from space arises air, from air arises fire, from fire arises water and from water arises earth”. Brahman represents the divine and ultimate god. Any pollution done to the earth is ...
The Green Revolution: Defining Success
In our travels we have seen examples of India’s massive agriculture industry. Farmers selling produce on the side of the road, rice paddies covering the landscape, and agricultural research universities for example. Most of these developments are in some way the result of rapid agricultural industrialization during the 60s and 70s in what is now known as the Green Revolution. ...
Environmental Injustice: A World In Crisis
You are woken up in the middle of the night by the sound of screams. When you go outside you find chaos, people are running from a thick white cloud, one that quickly engulfs you leaving you gasping for air. You try to run, but cannot escape. You are clinging to life. One by one you watch the life disappear from the eyes of your neighbors, your family, and your friends. Their ...
Bandipur Tiger Reserve – Safari Catalog
On November 3rd, after a six hour bus drive from Coimbatore, we reached the Bandipur Safari Lodge in Karnataka. I stayed in a cabin called Tiger with Hannah. Our room had a huge tiger painting on the back wall, foreshadowing the beautiful cat that we would see later that night during our first Indian safari. In total, we went on four safaris during our stay at the Bandipur ...
Care For Your Neighbor
After a long bus ride from the Bandipur tiger reserve, we finally arrived in Bengaluru, which is located in the southern state of Karnataka. While we were in Bengaluru, we spent a few days at Visthar, an organization that focuses on sustainable development and social justice. For me, our stay at Visthar has been the most reflective part of the trip, allowing me to understand ...
International Environmental Racism
Made in China. What do you first think of when you hear these words? Does a McDonald’s toy come to mind? What about a Wal-Mart gadget? Made in India. Do you think of jewelry or clothes? These words are on most mass-produced items that are sold in America. It is unexpected to buy an item that says, “Made in The United States of America.” Many of the US’s products are made in ...
Drinking Pesticides: The Effects of Climate Change on Farmers
Do you know where your food comes from? Apart from the supermarket or vendor that you buy your food from, do you know who grows this food? Have you had a conversation with the farmer? Not many people know where their food is grown or by whom, or if these farmers live happy lives with enough money to care for their families or if they barely make ends meet. For thousands of ...
Ecofeminism and Why Scientists (and everyone else) Should Care about the Humanities
We just came back from Bangalore where we studied for a while at a place called Visthar in the outskirts of the city. While at Visthar, we had a series of lectures about the environment, specifically how to care for the environment and for the people, animals and plants that make it up. Here’s a highlight reel of our time at Visthar, the lectures and experiences that I most ...
Let’s dive into some reefs. Shall we??
Spending the past two weeks in the Andaman Islands, our group got to experience a side of this trip that we haven't seen much of, but we have learned a lot about—biodiversity. Up close and first hand we had the chance to see rainforest ecosystems, mangrove ecosystems, and of course marine ecosystems. While we were in the Andaman, we worked with the Andaman Nicobar Environmental ...
