In part 2 of Episode 12, we delve a little deeper into the aspect of understanding climate change and ecological disharmony from the perspective of traditional Hindu philosophy. As What UnEarth has pledged to do from Episode 11, we’re raising funds for any cause, NGO, or civil society organization, our guests deem worthy. Dr Meera Baindur, our guest for this episode, feels intensely for the cause of our street cleaners and garbage pickers, a class of society so important to us, yet equally often taken for granted and ignored in their times of need. I’ve prepared a list of several organizations across India working towards the betterment of these same frontline warriors, which you can find on our instagram page. Check it out. Donate generously. And stay tuned till the end of the episode to find out how you can be a better hindu, a better climate activist, and how both those things might just be the same. Find out more @WhatUnEarth

The NITI aayog SDG Report has put out hundreds of pages of data on how sustainably developed Indian states really are. This is surprising for many reasons. Because as country, we are starved for data. And as per the Report itself reveals, we’re also starved for food. Topping the charts for the worst performing Index out of the 17 SDGs, is that of achieving ‘zero hunger’ a target that India is missing by nearly 200 million people. Which means that if ‘undernourished people in India’ was a separate country by itself, it would be the 8th most populated country..in the world. The report has some startling revelations – over one third of our children under 5 are underweight and stunted, while over half of India’s pregnant women are anaemic. No wonder the second worst performing index, is gender equality

There’s a lot to uncover in the 350 pages of niti aayog’s 2021 report on india’s performance in achieving the UN sdgs. Here’s an outline in under a minute. The report is essentially divided into 4 chapters. Three of these are pretty much entirely made up of data, comparing how sustainably developed India states really are. we’ll get to those. The other chapter, however, deserves some attention. Because what it repeatedly stresses about, for nearly 50 pages, is the importance of government ‘partnerships’ with NGOs in ensuring India sustainably develops. At one point, the report outright says “Civil Society Organizations play an essential role in providing a voice to the vulnerable”. That’s beautiful…maybe now the government will stop cracking down on NGOs, and arresting protestors? Or is the only vulnerable voice in need of protection that of the incumbent?

The NITI Aayog has put out its annual report detailing India’s progress in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs. This Report, however, is of particular importance, not just because its one of the rare occasions in recent times when the central government has put out comprehensive data, but it also acknowledges that we only have a decade left until things get really bad. The report basically compares the different Indian states and their performance against each other in achieving various SDG, such  as No Poverty, Zero Hunger, and Climate Action. Guess which Indian State performs the best! Hint: its kerala. Since the government has been generous with the data, I’m going to be as detailed in analyzing the report. Watch this space through the next week.

Why do we celebrate 5th June as World Environment day? Because nearly half the year has gone and you’ve miserably failed in your new years resolution of segregating your trash. It’s a reminder to be a better person in the second half of the year. No, okay, seriously though. 5th June is celebrated as world environment day as it marks the beginning of the UN Stockholm Conference, the first real global acknowledgment of humanity’s polluting effect on our ecology. In many ways, the Stockholm declaration, a result of the conference, has shaped many of the ideas central to the climate movement, including the idea of sustainable development. That’s right, we’ve been talking about sustainable development since 1972. 50 years later, how is India doing in achieving that goal? Watch this space to find out.

Here’s proof for why bad ecology leads to bad economy. A recent report has revealed that 7 of the top 10, and 43 out of the 100 cities most exposed to environmental risks are in India. This isn’t news though. We’ve heard it year after year, and frankly, it seems like nobody -really- cares. It’s okay a couple million die each year because of polluted air, at least we’re getting that 5 trillion economy right? Well, maybe not. Because this report isn’t by a human rights organization, it’s a research firm analysing business risk, and they recommend that global companies should invest in low risk cities across the world. If this anti-national report is to be trusted, india’s is going to have to become a lot more aatmanirbhar a lot faster.

The Delhi High Court recently held that the construction of Central Vista Avenue is of national importance and cannot be stopped. owing to the fact that no rules were being broken and the project has to be completed by November 2021, or else we risk causing hindrance to the Republic Day celebrations 2022, guys the Republic day celebrations! There’s so much to celebrate about our republic this year…right?! I personally welcome this judgment, and the strict adherence to timelines of national importance. this is the judicial activism that was missing! Finally we can enforce the Supreme Court mandated deadlines for rejuvenating river Yamuna, or cleaning the air in Delhi, both of which have been pushed forward indefinitely for past 30 years or so…right?

Remember the Draft EIA 2020? The law that reduced public participation, exempted projects from seeking approval, allowed for post facto clearance, basically destroyed environmental protections? Yeah, that draft EIA 2020. Well, a government report has analysed 20, 42, 157 objections in 10 different Indian languages, sent in by the Indian public for over a period of 5 months, and for some magical reason, they’ve concluded that there ‘this EIA might not be the best idea’, and that the government should reconsider the law in the larger interest of environmental protection

DISCLAIMER: The title of this episode is an attempt to use humour to being attention to the fact that humanity finds itself in a Do-Or-Die situation due to climate change, and our solution to our climate crisis might lie in shaping our lives according to the nature worshipping, ecologically harmonious ancient Hindu philosophy. The title does not attempt to suggest the supremacy of Hinduism over other religions, and does not intend to offend any religious denomination. Joining us in Episode 12, we have Dr Meera Baindur, one of the most incredible scholars of that unique but undeniably useful intersection of environmental philosophy and traditional Indian philosophy. Dr Meera has obtained a Doctoral degree focused in Environmental Philosophy and also authored a book titled “Nature in Indian Philosophy and Culture”, which makes her the perfect guest to help us understanding the intricacies of intersectionality of Indian philosophy, ecology, and climate solutions, and maybe provide a little light to this confused nation, this lost civilization, this insta-Ram generation. With Dr Meera, we attempt to learn about what it means to be living in harmony with nature, learn why Hindus have worshipped nature, learn about the importance of rituals in combatting ecological disharmony, learn why Dr Meera’s guru once said 'heenandushyate Hindu', and learn how ancient Indian philosophy might provide the answer to solving climate change, in Episode 12 of What UnEarth.

Find out why the Bihar Government ended up adopting Greenpeace India's Kedia Living Soils Program model across various districts in the state. Full episode streaming across all major podcast platforms! Link in bio. Learn more @WhatUnEarth