[Assam] Don't drink water!!: India's water, milk, vegetables and its Soft drinks still unsafe: CSE study

umesh sharma jaipurschool at yahoo.com
Sat Aug 5 16:32:54 PDT 2006 

http://www.downtoearth.org.in/cover.asp?FolderName=20031231&FileNAme=anal&sid=1&sec_id=7
   
  India's ground water has pesticides - and thus so do softdrinks etc made from it. Maybe softdrinks atleast do not have the germs present in Indian drinking water .
   
  Moral : don't drink water in India.
   
  Umesh
   
  from the article:
   
  "But we were concerned about pesticide contamination. We wanted to understand more. So we did another study, this time on soft drinks. These companies also used groundwater. Our study helped to place on record that water was increasingly poisoned and even products like soft drinks, peddled through high value brand ambassadors, were unsafe. "

  
csewhatsnew at lists.csenews.org wrote:
  Date: Thu, 03 Aug 2006 22:34:53 +0530
To: csewhatsnew at lists.csenews.org
From: csewhatsnew at lists.csenews.org
Subject: Soft drinks still unsafe: CSE study - CSE News Bulletin [August 3,
2006]

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=============================

CSE's Fortnightly News Bulletin [August 3, 2006]

=============================

An e-bulletin from the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), India, 
to our network of friends and professionals interested in environmental 
issues. Scroll to the bottom of this page for information on how to 
unsubscribe.

INSIDE:

- New study: Nationwide study confirms pesticides in soft drinks still
- Editorial: Globalisers retreating into little shells
- Debate: Experts debate why the Indian cotton market is driving farmers 
to suicide
- Training: Rainwater harvesting, Environment Impact Assessment
- Gobar Times: The 'must-buy' generation
- News: Dispute over forest and revenue land in Himachal Pradesh
- Science: Nitrogen fixing plants to reduce fertiliser dependence
- Science: Carbon dioxide emissions threaten marine life

=================================

Cola war: CSE still finds unsafe levels of pesticides in soft drinks 
nationwide.

=================================

Three years ago, we released our report on pesticides in soft drinks. A 
Joint Parliamentary Committee was set up to investigate the matter. In 
February 2004 it published its report, endorsed our findings and 
directed the government to set up standards for soft drinks. But since 
then little has happened.

In our latest cover story in Down To Earth, we reveal how the companies 
have worked the system to their advantage so that standards, which have 
been finalised, have not been notified. Read how the letter of the 
health secretary was strategically used by companies to meet their 
objectives. Read the companies' reasons for not having standards and how 
these are completely wrong.

But that is only half the story. We also wanted to know if the companies 
have cleaned up their products. We checked. We collected bottles from 
across the country and tested them in our pollution monitoring 
laboratory. This time, the laboratory was accredited and we used 
advanced GC-MS equipment to reconfirm the findings.

We found that nothing has changed -- the drinks are still unsafe. All 
bottles we checked had pesticides in levels far exceeding the standards 
laid down by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). The problem is that 
these standards have been finalised but not notified. The reason for 
this is simple.

The Ministry of Health maintains that it must do long term research 
before it can finalise standards. It does not explain why this research 
has not been done in the past three years.

We hope that the government will not play into the hands of the industry 
this time around, and will finally set mandatory standards. We know that 
this is a small step in the battle for regulations, and clean food and 
water. But it is an important one and we need your support. Do read our 
research and post comments on our message board.

We have said in Down To Earth, "We don't know if we will survive. But we 
know that the issues we are concerned with, will gain strength. They are 
too important to be knocked around by a few companies, even if they are 
the world's most powerful ones. These issues concern our bodies. Our 
health."

- Sunita Narain, Chandra Bhushan, Kushal Yadav and the rest of the CSE team.

Read the latest cover story: Cola casualties>>
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/cover_nl.asp?mode=1

Access our findings, message board, and find out the latest in the fight 
for soft drink standards>>
http://www.cseindia.org/cola.asp

For comments email>>
feedback at cseindia.org

=================================

Editorial: Globalisers retreating into little shells

=================================

By Sunita Narain

In 20 years, the world has come full circle: in the mid-1980s the 
process of globalisation intensified with the rich countries taking the 
lead in interconnecting countries because it was in their interest. Now 
in 2006, the same rich countries find the process of globalisation - 
economic and ecological- too hot to handle.

Read the full editorial online>>
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/cover_nl.asp?mode=2


=================================

Debate: Panel of experts debate what drives cotton farmers to suicide

=================================

Cotton farmers are caught in a vortex of debt accentuated by faulty 
extension services, discriminatory international trade regimes and 
skewed tariffs. Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Punjab and Maharashtra have 
thus seen a spate of farmer suicides. CSE organised a round table of 
experts to debate what can be done. Read views from top economists, 
farmers, scientists and from industry.

Read full article>>
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/cover_nl.asp?mode=3


===============================

Training programmes

===============================

Urban Rainwater Harvesting (New Delhi, September 4th-7th 2006)


The 'Urban Rainwater Harvesting' training program will build on over two 
decades of CSE's experience with rainwater harvesting. Our four day 
intensive training program includes hands-on workshops, interactive 
seminars, detailed case studies, a field trip and classroom instruction.

Course modules include :
- RWH: Tradition and relevance today
- Urban water scenario: Case studies of four Indian cities, FAQs on RWH, 
role of the community
- Potential of RWH in major cities: Demand side management & supply, 
status of groundwater, role of lakes and ponds in natural recharge
- RWH Planning: India’s geological, hydrogeological, geomorphological, 
metrological conditions
- RWH Structure design: Monsoon pattern, terrain, water table, soil 
conditions etc.
- Components of RWH: Technique of RWH, with case studies
- Maintenance, monitoring: During construction, after implementation
- Preparing cost estimates
- Impact assessment: Effective methods to ensure better performance, 
promoting RWH in the community
- Policies on RWH: Legal, fiscal initiatives

Deadline for registration: August 18th 2005

For more information and to register>>
http://www.cseindia.org/misc/rwh_course.htm

------------------------------------------------

Understanding Environment Impact Assessment: From screening to 
decision-making (New Delhi, August 28th - Sept. 1st 2006)

Civil Society members and state regulators alike are invited to a 
training programme on Environment Impact Assessments (EIA's). EIA has 
become an indispensable tool to inform decision-makers, regulators, the 
affected public and other interested groups about the environmental, 
social and economic costs of a proposed project. But the EIA is a 
complex process, and reports are very technical in nature.

To help understand the process, CSE has developed a five-day training 
programme, 'Understanding EIA: From screening to decision-making'. This 
hands-on training programme, conducted by CSE staff, is based on years 
of research and close observation of the entire EIA process, across a 
host of industrial sectors and situations.

(There is no course fee)

Deadline: Nominations are being accepted on a first-come first-serve 
basis, and must reach CSE by August 15th 2006

For more information visit>>
http://www.cseindia.org/misc/eia_form.htm

Contact>>
Sujit Kumar Singh < sujit at cseindia.org >

------------------------------------------------

Managing information resources in the digital age (New Delhi, August 
22-25, 2006)

This hands-on training programme, led by CSE's experienced staff, covers 
the following modules:

- Sourcing information (information acquisition & research)
- Classification & indexing (including digitised resources)
- Developing & managing audio-visual resources (films, photos, CDs, etc.)
- Electronic Documentation: Library automation, building simple databases
- Digital library fundamentals (IT for information management)
- Web-based tools for information outreach
- Information outreach: Product planning, services & marketing

Deadline: August 5, 2006.

Register Online>>
http://www.cseindia.org/misc/library_form.htm

Contact>>
Kiran Pandey < kiran at cseindia.org >

=================================

Environment for beginners: Gobar Times

=================================

Today, commercials for all consumer goods—from burgers to bikes—are 
created with a specific age group in mind. From three-year-old tots to 
eighteen-year-old young adults. Companies across the world are spending 
billions to ‘get em while they are young’. Result? Kids are moving from 
cradles straight to the shop counters with remarkable ease. But what 
does the future hold for this ‘Must-buy’ generation?

Find out in this issue of Gobar Times>>
http://www.gobartimes.org/20060731/gt_covfeature.htm

Green schools - Login at 
http://www.cseindia.org/programme/eeu/gsp_index.htm download the latest 
activity sheet. This month's topic is electricity.

================================

More in Down To Earth magazine

=================================

News: Dispute over forest and revenue land in Himachal Pradesh

A Rs. 550 Crore (USD 120 million) Hero Honda plant in Himachal Pradesh 
was to be the driver of industrial expansion in the state. The project 
breezed through the clearance process. But dispute over the 
classification of land has brought the project to a halt. Sixty seven 
percent of the state's land belongs the forest department. Ever since 
the Forest Conservation Act (FCA) 1980 came into force, disputes over 
land has become more intense.

Read complete article>>
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/cover_nl.asp?mode=4

----------------------------------

Science: Nitrogen fixing plants that may reduce global fertiliser dependence

A team of scientists have published a study in Nature that might lead 
the way for genetically modify crops to fix nitrogen from the air, 
reducing dependence on nitrogen fertilisers. Production of nitrogen 
fertiliser
s accounts for half the fossil fuel used in agriculture

Read complete article>>
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/cover_nl.asp?mode=5

----------------------------------

Science: Carbon dioxide emissions threaten marine life

Global carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels are altering 
ocean chemistry and threatening marine organisms, including coral reefs, 
says a US report.

Read complete article>>
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/carbon.asp

===============================

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© Centre for Science and Environment
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Umesh Sharma
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 1-202-215-4328 [Cell Phone]

Ed.M. - International Education Policy
Harvard Graduate School of Education,
Harvard University,
Class of 2005

weblog: http://jaipurschool.bihu.in/
 		
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