Saturday Special

Mrs Batti is generally pretty supportive of the dhaba. But she is not afraid to tell me when she doesn't like something around here. Lately, she's been complaining about how we lay out lists of links--too messy, seems to be the main thrust of her complaint. I wish I could say that link layout was the only area of my life described by that adjective...but one has to start somewhere, so today, I'm trying to clean things up. Let me know what you think. 

[thinking. learning]

* failing marks: reading is basic to democracy

* missing pages:  a shrinking of world views
* dhaba on schools: what's wrong with our schools and why environmentalists should care
* censorship: haz speech? haz art? will censor 

[rights]
* petition: release Sudhir Dhawale now
* Binayak Sen: prisoner of conscience
* interview: Ilina Sen
* legaleze: the sedition law
* petition: Indian justice has failed Dr Binayak Sen
* K.G. Kannabiran passing: defending dissent and democracy
* song: word sound power
* domestic violence: why are we recalling this man?
* food security: diluting a right 

[2G]
* 2G denial: sorry we're hanging up on you
* 2G denial: head in the sand
* dhaba on 2G: how much is rs 1.76 lakh crore?

[climate]

* Cancún, take 1: deal rescues UN credibility but falls short of saving the planet 
* Cancún, take 2: Cancun clinches deal--for polluters
* Cancún, take 3: green lantern
* machinations: how the US built consensus to get a deal it wanted

Saturday Special: Toys from Trash, Toilets, Farmer Suicides, Bhopal and more

Toys from Trash: this deserves it's own post, and maybe someday, I'll get around to doing it.  Hear you will find not jut photos of toys from trash, but also pictures and diagrams that explain how to make them!  

Not all trash can be safely re-used: Greenpeace says the Mayapuri scrap market is still unsafe due to improperly disposed of radioactive material. Some kinds of poison takes a long time to clean up.


Which reminds us of Bhopal.  The anniversary is over, but the Bhopal gas disaster is still with us.  Go read and discuss the latest legal developments at the I'm a Bhopali blog. Why not give them a plug or a link as well?

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More bad news on the farm front.  
In The Hindu: Pest explosion leads to call for GM review.
More perspective from Devinder Sharma on the failure of GM cotton to reduce the need for pesticides.

"Their Final Letters," P. Sainath writes about farmer suicides in Counter Punch. 

In desperate times, suicide is not the only path people take.  Gladson Dung Dung asks, "Am I a Maoist?" 

****** 

Some things are more complex than they seem.  CFL bulb scheme will be the world's largest carbon credit project. But is there a plan for disposing of these wonderful mercury-containing bulbs?  (If there is, nobody seems to be talking about it.)

Nature's call isn't a dial away:  India now has more mobile phones than toilets. Sudhirendar Sharma argues that this matter is not as simple as it looks. He's right, and this article deserves to be read--but it may raise more questions than it answers.


Speaking of sanitation not being simple: In Mexico, what happens when farmers use sewage as fertilizer?

Also in Mexico, the climate summit in Cancun is not likely to produce much if things keep going . There is a lot to be depressed about, and symbolic actions are not going to solve the problem. Writing on the Indian Climate Youth Network's blog, Kabir says that what we need is "a call for all Davids to take on Goliaths."   

Have a great weekend!

A Small Victory, Low-tech Water and the Problem with Kit Kats

We can all celebrate a small victory this week: the government is willing to talk "coolly" to opposition leaders about the nuclear liability bill.  According to The Hindu:

The government was forced to defer the introduction of the Bill in the Lok Sabha on Monday after firm opposition from the Left Parties, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and environmental organisations.  

It is certain the government will try again, probably in a few weeks, so it's terribly important to keep the heat on this one.  Certainly, Greenpeace deserves some credit here--they've got 55,000 signatures on their petition.  If you haven't signed a petition on this bill, please sign these two:

On Line petition against the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill;

Greenpeace's petition against the Nuclear Bill

And if you need more information about why this is such a stupid, dangerous bill, you can start with what we wrote last week about it. 
Speaking of nuclear power: Coastal farmers battle nuclear plants. 

World Water Day is March 22. In honour of that, and the fact that we've been doing low-tech, greentech all week, here are some (mostly) low-tech water stories:

Modern rural ingenuity: Farmer invents and builds cheap check dams in Gujarat. Local water tables are rising. (Via Kabir at IYCN)

Anupam Mishra's TED Talk on the ancient ingenuity of water harvesting (via anon...)

In the don't believe everything you read category: this water pumping device looked too good to be true...as it turned out, it was.  (However, this pedal powered water pump looks like the real thing).

Still, water pumping isn't a solution by itself, since our water tables are falling: Vandana Shiva on Water Wisdom (via Kabir at IYCN)

Meanwhile, Delhi wastes half the water it gets!  And the migratory bird count is falling fast due to pollution in the Yamuna.

Finally, Greeenpeace tells us why we shouldn't eat Kit Kats.  That's not hard for me, since I never cared too much for Kit Kats, and I'm cutting down on my sugar lately anyway.  When I want a tasty snack, I like peanuts or popcorn, packed in recycled newspaper.

Saturday Special: Holi, Hull Hydro, Plastic, Trees, Toilets, and More!

First, I have to say my favorite part of this post is the colour-spattered sign over there on the right. What would I do without my resident 9 year old artist-extraordinaire?  I think he was so eager to take on this project this morning, because the alternative was to study how to write applications for leave and letters to the editor.  (I'll suggest he try to imagine he's a low ranking journalist; then maybe he could use the same form for both purposes--Dear Editor, I regret to inform you that due to a severe case of stomach pain....)

Holi is close at hand, so let me just say this: beware of toxic colours, and please no eggs on my head, people! Navdanya has more on how you can celebrate Holi without the poison.  And before you curse too loudly at the cheap plastic pichkaari that breaks in your child's (or your own) hands after one or two uses, remember it was probably inexpensive because India recycles 60-80% of it's post-consumer plastic. And recycled plastic is cheap, more environmentally friendly than new plastic--and more likely to break!  See, life requires sacrifice.  I say, just throw a bucket of water on them when they least expect it!

On a more serious note, if you didn't  get a chance to read our update last week on recent attacks on Himachal environmentalists, then please do now! And then go sign this petition against that violence and the Hull Hydroelectric Project.  There are not nearly enough signatures on that petition yet, so I'm going to keep hammering away for awhile.  We have to support rural environmentalists, especially when they are literally being attacked!

Sorry but the contest deadline is past for those wanting to get a used copy of Kaveri Gill's Of Poverty and Plastic.  We'll be announcing the winner of our first ever used-book give-away contest soon.  Now for our usual Saturday links:

pRiYA is back with The Plum Tree II.  Here's a great post on how we love trees!

Three via Space Bar:

At Siva's writes about sewage treatment in Bangalore.

Fun, yeah on sustainable toilets.

The Archdruid Report explains why neither perpetual motion machines nor our addiction to an energy-intensive economy work.

***

The Asian Age's NYT supplement has a full page of articles designed to make us feel like green issues are being taken seriously in the world.  I'm not convinced, but here are three of the more interesting articles they ran today:

Many relationships are feeling a green strain. (Need green advice about your relationship?  Write to the Green Light Dhaba's Agony Uncle!)

China seems to be beating the world in the race to build clean energy. Where's our plan to dominate solar?

Slower ships are more efficient ships.  But shouldn't we just ship less stuff?

***

Back from the Brink: Frontline story on biotech.

Have a happy and safe Holi.  The weather is warming--good time to think about a water cooler if you don't already have one! Read more in the second half of this post.

Saturday Special: Lost Cities, Sarai, The Onion and more

Sarai celebrated it's tenth year in Delhi last week with a wide range of activities and performances.  I've got it from reliable sources that Ashis Nandy made some interesting remarks about the many kinds of cities out there in the world: cities that define themselves in relationship to the village; cities that define themselves in relationship to other cities; ancient cities, lost cities, etc.  Delhi, of course, is many cities at once.  Regardless of what the organizers of the Commonwealth Games want us to think, the village remains important in the way this city understands itself, because most of the lakhs of people who come to Delhi do not come from Paris or London. 

Today, I'm taking the metro to Old Delhi and that's got to say something about what kind of city we live in. But it's Saturday, and I don't have the energy to write a serious essay about how we imagine the cities we live in.  Instead, I'm going to make an entirely different kind of contribution to this discussion. Here are the people at The Onion discussing another kind of lost civilization.

Will Facebook, Blogger, Twitter be next?

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P. Sainath on the ABC's of Indian Media: Advertising, Bollywood, Corporate power

A story worth watching: Shyam Saran resigns his post.

Will solar powered gadgets save the world?  (I doubt it.)

Saturday Special: Plastic, Trash, and Stuff

We've been talking trash again this week.  If you missed it, don't forget to read our interview with Kaveri Gill or our review of her important new book, Of Poverty and Plastic. (Find out how you might win a free copy of the book at the end of this post.)

Trashy links:

The Story of Stuff: The big picture, simply put.

Midway: plastic at sea. 
Plastic on your plates: is this green?




This is not green: broken ships at Alang. 
Pulitzer Prize winning series on ship breaking by Gary Cohn and Will Englund. 
William Langewiesche's article on ship breaking, originally published in The Atlantic.

Gas from Garbage: International Energy Agency report on getting methane from landfills in India. 
Can one American couple give up trash for a year?
Can bio gas help save Ranthambhore's tigers? 

What if a whole city turns out to be trash? Thanks to pRiyA at the (hibernating) Plum Tree for sending this story about the Darker Side of Dubai.
"Wonderland" of junk at The Plum Tree.
 

Trashy Dhaba leftovers, reheated: 
The Trouble with Trash (it's not just the condoms we should be worrying about)   
Floating Poison: The Platinum II is only a small part of a very dirty problem 

Saturday Special: Bt Brinjal Fast and GM Food Links

Association for Indian Development is asking us to fast today to show our opposition to BT Brinjal. By fasting privately, we can clarify our  own thinking; by fasting publicly, we encourage others to clarify their thinking. You can join the list of us fasting and find out more at AID-Fast to stop BT Brinjal.  If you are unable to fast, you can light  candle.  Either way, sign the petition.  

Here are some more links:

Indian Youth Climate Network's tells Jairam Ramesh what they think about Bt Brinjal.

Sujatha Byraven explains why being against genetically modified (GM) plants does not mean one is against science.  

Devinder Sharma on the Bt Brinjal fast. 

Need a novel to read while you fast? The Beast with Nine Billion Feet, which we reviewed earlier this week, raises a lot of interesting questions about genetic science.

Vandana Shiva on the connection between genetically modified crops and farmer suicides.

The Green Light Dhaba on farmer suicides.  

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While you are here, do grab a free feed.  After all, subscriptions are free!  And why not follow or blogroll the dhaba if you do that kind of thing?  If a prize would motivate you, it's not too late to get in our our Winter Subscription Drive.  Find out more, and see our "Best of the Dhaba, 2009" list here.

Saturday Special: Unconventional Green Resolution Advice

It's been a while since we ran a Saturday Special around here.  Before you check out our Green New Year's Resolution Advice (TM), do grab a free feed.  And why not follow or blogroll the dhaba if you do that kind of thing?  If a prize would motivate you, it's not too late to get in our our Winter Subscription Drive.  Find out more, and see our "Best of the Dhaba, 2009" list here.



If you are looking to make a New Year's Resolution, here are a few random ideas:

1) Don't stand for sexual harassment on public transportation.  Most guys don't grab body parts on our metros and buses, but a few bad eggs really spoil the ride for women and girls everywhere. And they get away for it because we all let them.  This year, give someone a piece of your mind at least once.  Find out more from people who are doing something about this at Blank Noise.

2) Wash your jeans less! Good for the environment, and according to JACK, the fashion guy over at J.Crew.com , it is also fashionably correct.(Go here to read more; Jack will also tell you when to wear a linen suit and how long your pants should be!)

 3) Become a vegetarian--or at least stop eating so much meat?
If you need some inspiration, try reading Jonathan Safran Foer's excellent essay, "Against Meat" or see why Bhagwad gave up meat here.

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From the No-Easy-Answers Department comes this resolution reminder: Green Tech isn't all green!  Many, many green products depend on stuff called "rare earth elements," which are not green at all.  Learn more here and resolve to use less stuff and energy.


Surprisingly, some people are still putting a bright face on the Copenhagen fiasco. Not Sunita Narain of CSE. Read about what she saw here.  And resolve to look our world's problems in the eye.

That's it for now.  If you've got other ideas for Green New Year's Resolutions, why not put them in the comments section below?

Saturday Special

The Saturday Special is coming out on Sunday this week, IST, but it's still Saturday somewhere in the world.  If you're new to the Green Light Dhaba, welcome! On the weekends, we usually just serve snacks; scroll down, or explore the left side of this page to read from our main menus.   If you like what you see, don't forget: subscriptions are free, so there's no need to miss a single issue.  Why not grab a feed or follow us?

This is the last call for the homework I gave last week: write a letter to a child and send it here; I'll post it on the Dhaba sometime in the next week or so. Details at the end of this post.

Snacks Menu

Learn about the Delhi Bus Rapid Transit System. An old post from Space Bar, looks at buses in a totally different way. 

Bhagwad on an economist who says poor people should die first.  On a related matter, if you've ever applauded economists like Nicholas Stern who analyze whether global warming is "worth it," you should understand something more about their assumptions.  Read this  for a hard look at the question. It's not a pretty picture.

Space Bar sent me this link about a mega project being considered in Europe.  Is this the answer we've all been waiting for, or is it the biggest land grab since the Scramble for Africa?  Or maybe we are just too fixated with technology?

Study: Americans think green more than they do green.

Last but not least: Nicolas Cage buys way to much stuff!

Saturday Special

I'm avoiding the computer this weekend! But I'm setting up Blogger to lay out a nice spread snacks for you at the Dhaba.

Weekend Menu

Bhagwad on Animal Torture and why he's giving up meat.

Annie Zaidi on money and the press; and Tea-Stall Politics.

Plasticgraduate on dogs.

Is there any point in trying to fight off industrial collapse? (Discussion at the guardian.co.uk)

It Too Late to Prevent Catastrophic Climate Change? (Latest science doesn't look good).

Attention People of Earth: Is this about colonialism? Exploitation of natural resources? Or just a huge spaceship full of friendly aliens who appreciate good...gravel?

Saturday Special: Star Power, Trash, Poetry, and the Usual Leftovers

Some of you may have heard the rumor, started on Facebook, I think, that I've been hanging out with the likes of Ranbir Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Saif Ali Khan, and Rahul Gandhi. Unfortunately, this is simply not true. At least not yet; I mean, who knows what the future might hold?

You see we were all featured in the October 16th issue of Yuva ("the magazine for young India"). And I've been getting missed calls from a few unknown numbers lately, so who knows...(if that's you Saif, don't hang up so fast, yaar; my balance is low, otherwise, I'd call you back for sure!)

Seriously, though, Yuva has been around for many, many years, but it is looking glossier and hipper than ever. I'm there because Supriya Nair, who writes a regular column on blogging for Yuva, saw the Green Light Dhaba and decided to interview me. I was very excited of course, but I played it cool, I think. We talked about the Green Light Dhaba, the Indian Youth Climate Network's website, and why inflation is an environmental issue.

Here's an excerpt from Supriya Nair's introduction to the interview:

I'm always looking for strong, eloquent voices in the political blogosphere and its outlying areas. And HB's mix of 'environmentalism, economics and outrage every Tuesday and Thursday' hit the spot for a number of reasons. I see a fair bit of eco-consciousness among people of my generation and younger, but their concerns and projects haven't translated into a space on the Internet yet. And while political anger always finds its way online in sporadic bursts of emotion, the entrance of a balanced, structured (there's something so reassuring about 'every Tuesday and Thursday') new voice editorialising issues issues that we're all deeply interested in seemed like an event to celebrate.

That's enough to make any green light turn red! If you want to read the actual interview, you'll have to run out and buy a copy of Yuva soon. (It's the one with Ranbir Kapoor on the cover; I'm pretty sure I was a close second for that honour, but I'm not bothered, because I'm not in this for the fame. And Ranbir is looking very, very sharp in that suit!)

OK, don't leave before checking out the links below.

Snacks Menu

More Trash and Junk

• Midway: What does trash do to Albatross chicks who live on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean? These photos will make your jaw drop. I know I ran it last week, but I'm putting it up again, because you have to see it!
• "Wonderland" of junk over at The Plum Tree: Legend says that if you know how to build a truck, you can get all the parts required to build it in the shops on Bangalore's Siddiah road. Go and see.
  

From here and there

• 350 poems about climate change: Thanks to poet Anindita Sengupta for sharing this on FB. There are a lot of compelling pieces here. It's worth a read
• Bollywood Star Power Goes to Canada: Film Hero, rugby player, and social activist, Rahul Bose is spending two weeks in Candada lecturing and knocking on doors in South Asian neighborhoods. He's urging Canadians to pressure their govenment to take climate change seriously at the upcoming talks in Copenhagan.
  

Leftovers:the Best of the Dhaba, Reheated

Just Last Week:

• The Trouble with Trash (it's not just the condoms we should be worrying about) Why India is importing load of trash--and why we need to stop.
• Floating Poison: The Platinum II is only a small part of a very dirty problem The Green Light Dhaba examines the ship breaking industry and argues that some jobs should be done right--or not at all.
  

What's Hot:

• Hari Batti Goes on the Road and Looks at Delhi Malls Over at Bhagwad's Place! Our first guest post.
  
• The "10,000 Year Flood" and other Fairy Tales: a realistic look at India's Extreme WeatherIt's almost unbelievable that we aren't talking more about the climate change/flood/drought connection.
• "Naked India"-- Will a well-tested bomb make you safer? We are faced with flooding and drought. Some say our security requires a new arms race.
• Pedal Power: a Photo Essay Here are pictures of some of Delhi's working class, green heroes.

Funnier than the Rest:

• Moonshots and Monsoons: A modest proposal for food security Just "one small step" and we could really do amazing things!
• The No Salt Man: Gandhi Ji's Birthday and the Limits of "Blogging for Change" Two wicked blog reviews, one sweet book review, and "bloggers that time forgot." If you aren't laughing by the time you get to the photo of Bhagat Singh, we'll give you a full refund!

How the World Works, Simply:

• The World is Not Fair and the GDP is Stupid: Economics for 9 Year Olds The title pretty much says it all.
• The Story of Stuff: Guest Lecture at The Green Light Dhaba A review of the short film, "The Story of Stuff," along with links to the video itself. Good weekend viewing.
• Elite Extravaganza: Guest Lecture by Nagraj Adve on one of India's dirty little secrets.

If that's not enough for you, you can check out our posts on King Fisher beer, Shashi Tharoor, ceiling fans, and a whole lot of other stuff over at www.greenlightdhaba.org!

We hope to see you back here next week.

Saturday Special: Snacks and Leftovers

Welcome to the Green Light Dhaba. For those of you who are new, we are Delhi's only "virtual dhaba." We talk about the environment and the economy, and we try not to make interesting things boring!

If you like what you see, please consider becoming a regular reader. There are a couple of ways to do that: you can "subscribe" to our feed; or you can follow us using Google Friends Connect or Networked Blogs. As we like to say, subscriptions are free--which is a mighty good price, even for a dhaba! Links to all those things are over there on the left and down just a bit.

On Saturday's we serve snacks and leftovers. In the snacks section, you'll find short bits and links that we think you will like. If you have ideas for material we could use in this section, please do let us know. Much of what you see in the snacks menu comes directly from readers like you! This week the menu is short, but I promise it won't disappoint.

In the leftover section, we have the best of the Green Light Dhaba, for those of you who might not have seen it all.

In case you missed it in Thursday's post, today (Saturday) is International Day of Climate Action. For events in India, go here. For events elsewhere in the world, go here! It's very important to send a strong message on this issue.

Snacks Menu

Trash and More Trash

Next week, we will look at the trouble with other people's trash, including used condoms and ships that are ready for the scrap yard. Here's a sneak preview at some links related to that story.

• Midway: What does trash do to Albatross chicks who live on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean? These photos will make your jaw drop.
• End of the Line: A photo essay on the shipbreaking industry in Bangladesh. From Foreign Policy.
• Dumped: Tehelka takes a look at our hunger for other people's trash.
• False Identity: Tehelka tells the story behind a huge tub of poison floating off our coast.
  

Leftovers:the Best of the Dhaba, Reheated

Just Last Week:

• No About Face on Climate Action; Yes to Indian Green--Cheap and Best! What was wrong with Jairam Ramesh's letter to the PM. What's right about water coolers and matkas!
• Hari Batti Goes on the Road and Looks at Delhi Malls Over at Bhagwad's Place! Our first guest post. Do check it out!
  
• Delhi's Malls and International Day of Climate Action A short post, back at the dhaba.
  

What's Hot:

• The "10,000 Year Flood" and other Fairy Tales: a realistic look at India's Extreme Weather It's almost unbelievable that we aren't talking more about the climate change/flood/drought connection.
• "Naked India"-- Will a well-tested bomb make you safer? We are faced with flooding and drought. Some say our security requires a new arms race.
• Pedal Power: a Photo Essay Here are pictures of some of Delhi's working class, green heroes.

Funnier than the Rest:

• Moonshots and Monsoons: A modest proposal for food security Just "one small step" and we could really do amazing things!
• The No Salt Man: Gandhi Ji's Birthday and the Limits of "Blogging for Change" Two wicked blog reviews, one sweet book review, and "bloggers that time forgot." If you aren't laughing by the time you get to the photo of Bhagat Singh, we'll give you a full refund!

How the World Works, Simply:

• The World is Not Fair and the GDP is Stupid: Economics for 9 Year Olds The title pretty much says it all.
• The Story of Stuff: Guest Lecture at The Green Light Dhaba A review of the short film, "The Story of Stuff," along with links to the video itself. Good weekend viewing.
• Elite Extravaganza: Guest Lecture by Nagraj Adve on one of India's dirty little secrets.

If that's not enough for you, you can check out our posts on King Fisher beer, Shashi Tharoor, ceiling fans, and a whole lot of other stuff over at www.greenlightdhaba.org!

We hope to see you back here next week.

Saturday Special: Snacks and Leftovers

Welcome!
Happy Diwali and welcome to The Green Light Dhaba, Delhi's only "virtual dhaba." We serve up fresh thinking on the environment, the economy, and justice every Tuesday and Thursday.

On Saturday's we serve snacks and leftovers. In the snacks section, you'll find short bits and links that we just weren't able to work into the main menu over the past week. If you have ideas for material we could use in this section, please do let us know. Much of what you see in the snacks menu comes directly from readers like you! In the leftover section, we have the best of the Green Light Dhaba, for those of you who might not have seen it all.

Snacks Menu

Environmentally friendly Diwali

• Celebrate an environmentally Safe Diwali: tips here.
  
• The life and times of an Indian homemaker: post and a long reader discussion on Diwali and animals.
• Live Mint told us last week how to part with a lakh or more for Diwali gifts that nobody with any taste wants. Ok, that may be unfair, but there is some really ugly stuff there: how about a Barbie Boom Box for your child? Only Rs. 4,199.
  
• Someone at Live Mint must have felt guilty, for selling us all those Barby Boom Boxes, they ran a story about some really rich people who give to charity and other good causes at Diwali. (Arjun Sharma, the man featured in this story, is the director of this environmentally friendly place, by the way; does he really want you to stop shopping at Diwali?) To be fair, the print edition today has some great stories about organizations that really do good work. Start by reading this story about a girl from Deepalaya school.
  

Arts, Culture and Blogging

• From extraction to consumption: Oil-- an exhibition by Edward Burtynsky at the Guardian. This is really compelling.

• Best Blog Action Post: Bloggers all over the world wrote posts about climate change. Mostly I was underwhelmed, though I confess I only read a dozen or so. Many were full of "feel good"...feelings about making a difference and such. Word Junkie, on the other hand, put up a really detailed climate change wishlist. Then a day later, she followed it up with this piece on Genetically Modified Food and the Green Revolution. If she keeps this up, I'm just going to post links to her blog instead of writing three times a week!
  

Leftovers:the Best of the Dhaba, Reheated

Just Last Week:

• Elite Extravaganza: Guest Lecture by Nagraj Adve on one of India's dirty little secrets.
• Pedal Power: a Photo Essay Here are pictures of some of Delhi's working class, green heroes.
  

What's Hot:

• The "10,000 Year Flood" and other Fairy Tales: a realistic look at India's Extreme Weather It's almost unbelievable that we aren't talking more about the climate change/flood/drought connection.
• "Naked India"-- Will a well-tested bomb make you safer? We are faced with flooding and drought. Some say our security requires a new arms race.

Funnier than the Rest:

• Moonshots and Monsoons: A modest proposal for food security Just "one small step" and we could really do amazing things!
• The No Salt Man: Gandhi Ji's Birthday and the Limits of "Blogging for Change" Two wicked blog reviews, one sweet book review, and "bloggers that time forgot." If you aren't laughing by the time you get to the photo of Bhagat Singh, we'll give you a full refund!

How the World Works, Simply:

• The World is Not Fair and the GDP is Stupid: Economics for 9 Year Olds The title pretty much says it all.
• The Story of Stuff: Guest Lecture at The Green Light Dhaba A review of the short film, "The Story of Stuff," along with links to the video itself. Good weekend viewing.

If that's not enough for you, you can check out our posts on King Fisher beer, Shashi Tharoor, ceiling fans, and a whole lot of other stuff over at www.greenlightdhaba.org!

We hope to see you back here next week.

Saturday Special: Snacks and Leftovers

Welcome!
If you're new here, welcome. The Green Light Dhaba is Delhi's only "virtual dhaba." We serve up fresh thinking on the environment, the economy, and justice every Tuesday and Thursday. Because we are new, we've also been working weekends. But the guys and I really need a little time off. So we came up with the idea of a "Saturday Special."

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, you'll still get a full menu of fresh thinking and a place to sit and talk.

On Saturday's we're going to try a new format: snacks and leftovers. In the snacks section, you'll find short bits and links that we just weren't able to work into the main menu. Some of them may turn into longer pieces in the future, and some of them are just for fun. If you have ideas for material we could use in this section, please do let us know. In the leftover section, we have the best of the Green Light Dhaba, for those of you who might not have seen it all.

Just one more thing, before we bring out the menu. We are a new here in cyberspace, so we need all the help we can get. If you like what you see, please give us a shout out, blogroll us, tell your friends, etc.

Snacks Menu

Arts and Culture

• Melting Man: Street art with a message.
• Photos by Han Bing, who is coming to Delhi in the Spring.

Makes you want to Shout

• Trudie Styler is a hypocrite! Thanks to Wordjunkie for sending this our way. Yep, Trudy's a Brit, so you can't say we only make fun of the Americans.
• A base on the moon is not enough for the Indian Space Research Organization; now they want to buy a space taxi for space tourists. Will we see Shah Rukh Khan in orbit by next Republic Day?
  
• If we don't figure out how to treat women, is it possible to solve anything else? Here's Akhond of Swat on "Eve Teasing".

Here and there

• There is an interesting discussion of birth control over on Smokescreen. (It's not just about population control.)
• For those of you who enjoyed the Story of Stuff, Bhagwad takes a look at the economy behind your plastic bag.

Leftovers:the Best of the Dhaba, Reheated

What's Hot:

• The "10,000 Year Flood" and other Fairy Tales: a realistic look at India's Extreme Weather It's almost unbelievable that we aren't talking more about the climate change/flood/drought connection.
• "Naked India"-- Will a well-tested bomb make you safer? We are faced with flooding and drought. Some say our security requires a new arms race.

Funnier than the Rest:

• Moonshots and Monsoons: A modest proposal for food security Just "one small step" and we could really do amazing things!
• The No Salt Man: Gandhi Ji's Birthday and the Limits of "Blogging for Change" Two wicked blog reviews, one sweet book review, and "bloggers that time forgot." If you aren't laughing by the time you get to the photo of Bhagat Singh, we'll give you a full refund!

How the World Works, Simply:

• The World is Not Fair and the GDP is Stupid: Economics for 9 Year Olds The title pretty much says it all.
• The Story of Stuff: Guest Lecture at The Green Light Dhaba A review of the short film, "The Story of Stuff," along with links to the video itself. Good weekend viewing.

If that's not enough for you, you can check out our posts on King Fisher beer, Shashi Tharoor, ceiling fans, and a whole lot of other stuff over at www.greenlightdhaba.org!

Let us know what you think of the Satuday Special, and we hope to see you back here next week.