"Massive modern port projects across the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Ocean in the twenty-first century are where anxieties about the global economy, state sovereignty, and climate change converge."
Special issue of Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East on #ports in #SouthAsia
#Heatwaves have long been known to impact children's learning. But the intensity & duration with which they strike now are leading to much greater cumulative impacts
#ClimateChange is directly causing educational gaps worth years across the world
For policy makers who care about GDP than #education, what happens to the economy when your workforce cant keep up?
This is as true in the west as in the #GlobalSouth
"As the county on Friday experienced searing temperatures, the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) #Punjab issued an alert for #heatwave, #rains, and #storms expected this month."
Yup, thats THREE 'natural disasters' expected in the province this month.
Let that not distract you from the main headline - #schools will be closed because of them.
Well referenced article by a thinktank based in #Pakistan summarizing the mechanism for #ClimateChange derived food inflation being observed in the country.
Doesn't add anything new except the fact none of the listed issues are predictions - they are observations and cited.
#ClimateCrisis is here, and as in the Global North, farmers/gardeners can see it clearly, but the rest barely.
Editorial in Dawn - Pakistan's oldest English Daily:
"The writing is on the wall. The time for incremental steps is over. The scale of the challenge requires bold, decisive actions that reflect the urgency of the moment."
“For Pakistan, and Asia at large, building resilience is no longer a matter of choice but a necessity for survival in an era marked by unprecedented climatic upheaval. As we advance through 2024, let this be the year when we all proactively ensure that our communities are safeguarded and that the future is secure against the inevitable next storm.”
This looks so good - a Pakistani hand-drawn animated film! Made by Mano Animation Studios and director Usman Riaz, it looks like a cross between a Cartoon Saloon and a Studio Ghibli film!
"n K-P, the consequences of #GlobalWarming and #ClimateChange are evident in the changing of the #monsoon season, which now falls at a time when the #strawberry cash crop, a speciality of Charsadda, is to be cultivated."
".. unusual rains .. destroyed approximately 80 per cent of the fruit’s crop, leaving farmers in a deplorable state... "
"The ‘rooftop #solar conundrum’ is another issue, where increased tariffs have spurred demand for rooftop panels, leading to a decline in demand from the national grid.
...contribute to the ‘capacity payment conundrum’, ..purchasing agreements obligate the gov to make payments even when plants are not generating electricity."
Brilliant article on the challenges facing transition to renewables, and why its unlikely
"while the cost of renewable power is now lower than that of fossil fuels, renewables are not a profitable business. The particularities of the .. market structure are the causal factors here... Making sure that capital gets its pound of flesh has crippled the country."
Continuing the theme - why despite hitting #Pakistan's rooftop #solar target half a decade early the Gov is being forced to somehow put brakes on the renewables transition.
" this rapid growth in rooftop solar is creating costs that have to be passed on to poorer segments of the population"
The writer pins the blame on bureaucracy simply following policy/agreements, but like Ms Amirali's articles clarifies in the previous post "the capitalists want their pound of flesh" - this cost that was previously spread among the entire nation is increasingly being left for the poorer segments to pay, the ones who can't afford solar panels themselves, doubling their energy expenses.
While defending the profit interests of the financiers, the Gov is able to deploy this very valid excuse.
@vfrmedia the new "Lahore Masterplan 2025" has provisions for only approving building permits if they have green roofs or solar installations.
#Lahore has had active net-metering systems in place since 2011. Once solar efficiency hit high enough to make smaller installations worthwhile, the market exploded and the time lag for fully connected net-metered connections went from within 1 week to just over a month currently due to demand, mostly due to a shortage of smart net-meters.
You can install your system and use it as long as your application has been submitted and is in line. If its rejected (unlikely because the installers do such a good job of following codes), you get a grace period of making the necessary changes to correct the deficiencies, but there is no concept of a single outright rejection - its Gov policy to get as many panels up as possible.
Hello Southeast Asians and South Asians! I'm forming a collective for millennials and Gen Z who are interested in neuroscience, and information studies. Let's work together and offer opportunities to each other. Let's help each other in the Global South.
"#Pakistan could face up to 30-35 per cent water shortages during the upcoming kharif cropping season starting April 1. This could negatively affect some of the key cash crops like #cotton and revive inter-provincial controversy over water allocations."
Most of the article deals with water sharing and canal and power generation, but does devote one or two paragraphs to the actual culprit - low precipitation
Have recently got every into researching administrative records of past students. This was a fun post to do, where a member of the family of the student filled in some of the gaps that the administrative record masks