Friday, November 24, 2017

Scythes are a solution to Delhi air pollution



Screenshot from NDTV Prime Time program, November 9, 2017


"Delhi has earned the unenviable distinction of becoming the most polluted city on Earth this month, as air quality has reached epically bad proportions... merely breathing the air was, at its worst, like smoking 50 cigarettes in a day..."
-- Vox, November 23, 2017


"Why this spike in pollution?...Farmers in the neighboring states are burning straw from their last rice crop to clear fields for planting the wheat crop... The state of Punjab alone produces about 20 million tons of paddy straw. Roughly 85 to 90 percent of that is burnt in the field."
-- The Washington Post, November 11, 2017


"Stubble burning is the ‘main villain’ behind the severe pollution in Delhi and neighbouring areas, the Delhi High Court said on Tuesday."
-- The Hindu, New Delhi, November 7, 2017


The NDTV news program "Prime Time" looked at how the air pollution is linked to the use of combine harvesters. As seen in the following video (an unofficial translated version), host Ravish Kumar suggests that instead of scapegoating the farmers, we try to understand their plight. He describes how scythes could be part of the solution to India's air pollution problem:



NDTV Prime Time program, November 9, 2017
(unofficial translated version - English)







Sources:

Delhi's off-the-charts smog, explained
Vox, Nov 23, 2017, Updated by Umair Irfan
https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2017/11/22/16666808/india-air-pollution-new-delhi

Delhi is blanketed with toxic smog. This is why.
The Washington Post, November 11, 2017
By Aseem Prakash, Nives Dolšak, Thomas Bernauer and Liam McGrath 
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2017/11/11/delhis-been-hit-with-toxic-smog-why-its-political/

Stubble burning the main reason for poor air in Delhi: HC
The Hindu, New Delhi, November 7, 2017
http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/stubble-burning-the-main-reason-for-poor-air-in-delhi-hc/article19999044.ece

"Vikalp" on NDTV Prime Time
Unofficial English Translation of the PrimeTime news coverage on the scythe
Published on Nov 22, 2017
[translation of original broadcast on Nov 9, 2017]
https://youtu.be/9J2eUoRD8NY

Ravish Kumar Prime Time ; 9nov17 |
Air Pollution किसान है जिम्मेदार ? Vikalp Machine, Delhi Odd Even
Published on Nov 10, 2017
[original version as broadcast on Nov 9, 2017]
https://youtu.be/dky88Lf21PY