GigaWhat: Renewable energy, limited land
Everything Environment by Mongabay India
Release Date: 03/11/2022
Wild Frequencies #3: Us and Them
Everything Environment by Mongabay India
If we listen closely, a bird’s call reflects what humans have done to its landscape, and a forest soundscape tells us about habitat health. Listen to the third episode of Wild Frequencies to learn how scientists use bioacoustics to understand animals in a landscape altered by humans. Wild Frequencies is a three-part mini-series by Mongabay-India, where wildlife researchers from India share their stories of sounds from the animal world. They decode those wild frequencies for us, one song, one howl, and one chirp at a time. Follow Everything Environment by Mongabay India for more episodes. For...
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Wild Frequencies #2: Know Them
Everything Environment by Mongabay India
Can we figure out animal behaviour by listening to the sounds they produce? In this episode, you’ll hear from scientists who listen closely to wildlife ranging from large mammals to insects. Wild Frequencies is a three-part mini-series by Mongabay-India in which wildlife researchers from India share their stories of sounds from the animal world. They decode those wild frequencies for us, one song, one howl, and one chirp at a time. Follow Everything Environment by Mongabay India for more episodes. For show notes, visit our Guests: Seema Lokhandwala, Elephant Acoustic Project Manjari...
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Wild Frequencies #1: Find Them
Everything Environment by Mongabay India
Most wild animals are not easy to spot. They are often hidden, camouflaged, or just not around when you are. But instead of trying to ‘see’ them, what if we try and ‘listen’ to them? After all, animals communicate. For some researchers, all this talking and chattering is gold. They use sounds to find animals that are difficult to observe and also to count them! Wild Frequencies is a three-part mini-series by Mongabay-India, where wildlife researchers from India share their stories of sounds from the animal world. They decode those wild frequencies for us, one song, one howl, and one...
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Trailer: Wild Frequencies
Everything Environment by Mongabay India
Animals communicate. And some researchers listen to what they are saying. Hosts Shreya Dasgupta and Kartik Chandramouli travelled to different parts of India and spoke to multiple scientists to hear stories of sounds from the animal world. They will decode those wild frequencies for us, one song, one howl, and one chirp at a time. Wild Frequencies is a three-part mini series exploring an emerging science called bioacoustics, which is helping us learn more about wildlife and find ways to protect it. Follow Everything Environment by Mongabay-India for episode updates. Hosted by Shreya Dasgupta...
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Environomy #6: A Challenge Across Generations
Everything Environment by Mongabay India
In this sixth and final episode of Environomy, we will explore how India has dealt with issues related to biodiversity and climate change since the 1991 economic reforms. Since the national government has taken a strong position on climate change in recent years, this episode will also try to connect the past with the present and the future. Explore other episodes of Environomy where S. Gopikrishna Warrier took us through the journey of how environmental economics got interlocked after the economic reforms of 1991. This is a journey for which he had a ringside ticket as a journalist, reporting...
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Environomy #5: The One That Got Missed
Everything Environment by Mongabay India
Though farming contributes less than 20% of India's GDP, it provides livelihood support to nearly half of the country's population. It is an extremely challenging occupation, with many from the younger generation unwilling to pursue agriculture. When the post-economic reforms financially benefited sections of Indian society, how did the farmers feel left out? In the fifth episode of Environomy, the host discusses the impact of economic reforms on the agricultural sector. Through Environomy, S. Gopikrishna Warrier takes us through the journey of how environmental economics got interlocked after...
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Environomy #4: India Buys A Fast Car
Everything Environment by Mongabay India
There are traffic jams on India’s hill stations and mountain roads across the year. It wasn’t always like this. Increased incomes of the Indian middle class after the 1991 economic reforms translated to improved mobility. Many made their way to the mountains. And the most significant impact of India's increased mobility has been on the environment of the mountains. Through Environomy, S. Gopikrishna Warrier will take you through the journey of how environmental economics got interlocked after the economic reforms of 1991. This is a journey for which he had a ringside ticket as a...
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Environomy #3: Playing With The Pillars
Everything Environment by Mongabay India
The legislature, the executive, and the judiciary, form the three pillars of Indian democracy. The legislature consisting of the parliamentarians, and legislators are the policy makers who draw up acts and policies. The executive is the government, consisting of the Prime Minister, Council of Ministers, Chief Ministers, and their officials. The judiciary are the lawyers and the judges in the courts, from the lower ones to the Supreme Court and also the National Green Tribunal. During the past three decades, the legislature, the executive, and the judiciary, recalibrated their positions....
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Environomy #2: They Came, They Rapped, They Lobbied
Everything Environment by Mongabay India
In the early 1990s, the anti-Tehri dam and anti-Narmada dam movements were India's most well-known environmental protests. It was not as if only environmental activists were involved with these movements. The developments in Tehri and Narmada were watched keenly by people across the country. In the coming decade, something changed. In this episode, hear about how a distinct economic and political identity for the Indian middle class after the economic reforms of 1991 changed the way in which they dealt with environmental issues. Through our show Environomy, S. Gopikrishna Warrier will take you...
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Environomy #1: The Middle Class Unbottled
Everything Environment by Mongabay India
How did the 1991 economic reforms impact the course of the Indian environment in the past three decades? Listen to Environomy's first episode, where we will look at how the Indian middle class acquired a distinct economic and political identity after the economic reforms of 1991. Through our show Environomy, S. Gopikrishna Warrier will take you through the journey of how environmental economics got interlocked after the economic reforms of 1991. This is a journey for which he had a ringside ticket as a journalist, reporting and writing on the environment for the past three decades. Writer and...
info_outlineLet's visualise the sheer expanse of one of India's largest solar parks, the Pavagada Solar Park in Karnataka. An aerial view of the site shows a never-ending sea of glass panels and wires spread across 13,000 acres. That is about 1/4th of the size of Kolkata city.
Then there are smaller solar and wind power plants too. Some are even a fraction of the Pavagada solar plant. These power projects that harness unlimited sunlight and wind need another critical resource, a limited one… land.
Land is essential to install solar panels, wind turbines and transmission lines. And in a country such as India, land is scarce. Most of the land has a human footprint. It could be private or community farmland. Or it could be the village pasture where cows and sheep graze, or it could be a parcel of land that's considered sacred for centuries and worshiped by communities.
In the race to achieve clean energy targets, the pressure falls on such land parcels beyond city boundaries and the people who depend on them. It's well acknowledged by the government, renewable energy companies and all stakeholders in the sector that land availability and acquisition are critical challenges in renewable energy projects.
On the other hand, communities risk losing rights and access to land with unfair or no compensation. So how sustainable and just are clean energy projects in their current form?
Listen to GigaWhat and explore some of the biggest questions, challenges, and opportunities in India's transition from fossil fuel to clean energy sources.
Mongabay-India is an online publication dedicated to bringing you stories on science and the environment in India.
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GUESTS:
Karthik Ganesan, Fellow and Director of Research Coordination, Council on Energy, Environment and Water
Mrinali Karthick, Database and Collaborations Lead, Land Conflict Watch
Leo Saldanha, Environment Support Group
Sikari Rongpi, farmer, Mikir Bamuni
Kawe Ingtipi, resident, Mikir Bamuni
LINKS:
The Anatomy of A Solar Land Grab
CREDITS
Host: Mayank Aggarwal
Writer and producer: Kartik Chandramouli
Additional reporting: Nabarun Guha
Audio editor: Tejas Dayananda Sagar
Copy editor: Priyanka Shankar
Additional voiceover: Saumitra Shinde
Podcast production assistant: Ayushi Kothari
GigaWhat cover art designer: by Pooja Gupta