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SARID's Editorials, Articles, and Reviews (2003-2004)
•
Global Warming
and Melting Glaciers In South Asia
By Jasmin Mehovic & Janaki Blum, SARID, September 17, 2004
Melting glaciers in the world’s highest mountain range are swelling
local lakes, triggering flash-flooding in the narrow valleys below. This
trend will accelerate in the next half decade, creating social and economic
problems not only for the villages in the Himalayan foothills but also
for the entire South Asian region.
• Arsenic
Poisoning in Bangladesh
By Jasmin Mehovic and Janaki Blum, Cambridge,
MA, September 2004
An effective mechanism for interaction between governmental and nongovernmental
organizations and research communities, involving data sharing and coordinated
action, would significantly accelerate the search for an antidote to the
arsenic contamination, for improved healthcare for the afflicted, and
for a better assessment of arsenic poisoning on the global scale.
• Of
Quilters and Karachites
By Salma Shakir, Karachi, Pakistan, August 2004
Women’s empowerment was a great conservational piece for us. Most
men cringed at the thought of wearing a tee shirt which said “Empowering
women for a better future.” One man said, “empowering women?
They already have more than they need! What do women need with power anyway,
all they do during the day is cook one ‘salan’ and clean,”
he so calmly explained.
• The
Bhopal Ruling: An Important Victory in an Ongoing Struggle
By Jasmin Mehovic, Cambridge, MA July 2004
Further victories of Bhopal’s
victims would be a catalyst of positive changes not only in India but
throughout the Third World. In an era when multinational companies are
becoming larger, more influential, and more numerous, a successful resolution
of Bhopal victims’ demands would bring forth a whole new way of
dealing with these powerful companies, limiting their dominance over the
leadership and elites of poor countries.
• The
Importance of Vocational Training for Afghan Refugees in Iran and Pakistan
By Jasmin Mehovic, Cambridge, MA, May 2004
The success of the repatriation
process should be measured not only by how soon the refugees leave their
host countries, but also by the level of their integration into the
workforce upon their return back home. Although the United Nations has
stepped up efforts to provide vocational training to Afghan
refugees, there is much more that could be done.
• Rainwater
Harvesting in Sri Lanka
By Vinod Moonsinghe, Sri Lanka, May 2004
The uninterrupted supply of water for domestic purposes in Sri Lanka
has long been taken for granted. The water-supply infrastructure has
not kept pace with needs and rainwater harvesting has not been promoted
as in India, where urban authorities have amended their by-laws to facilitate
it
• Challenges
and Promises of Afghan Cinema
By Jasmin Mehovic, Cambridge, MA, April 2004
Afghani films have shown the potential of moving pictures to depict
historical developments in a way that no other medium can do at the
present time, with the same ingenuity and charm seen in movies made
by their neighbors. And as much as the movies from the region have been
an inspiration for the Afghan filmmakers, Afghan films, in turn, have
become an inspiration for film lovers throughout the world.
• Soma
Thero and Christmas
By Vinod Moonsinghe, Sri Lanka, December 2003
The
demise of the Venerable Gangodawila Soma, a ‘Television Cleric’,
a champion of the Sinhala-Buddhist (as opposed to the pristine Buddhist)
cause, has seen an unprecedented (in the case of a clergyman) public
display of emotion. (With links)
• The
Bar Reef Special Management Area Plan
By Vinod Moonsinghe, Environment Foundation Ltd.,
Sri Lanka, December 2003
Although it was declared a marine sanctuary in 1992, there has been
virtually no management of the Bar Reef, off the western coast of the
Putlam district, and it is under threat both from natural enemies and
from human activity. Now it is at the centre of an effort at conservation
through sustainable development with popular participation.
• Piecemaking:
Vocational Training for Underprivileged Women in Pakistan
By Salma Shakir, Karachi, Pakistan, SARID Project
Coordinator, June 2003
I have been a quilter for over two decades, and enjoy piece making.
SARID recently funded me for a quilting project in Pakistan. The idea
behind my project was to introduce the principles of American quilt
making to women who already had some needlework experience in order
to ease their labor.
• Waste:
A Global problem
By Vinod Moonesinghe, SARID project coordinator
for Sri Lanka, May 2003
An Italian-registered ship unloaded 184 containers in Colombo harbour
under controversial circumstances. The incident raised fears that Sri
Lanka was to be a dumping ground for toxic waste from more industrialised
countries. But it also focussed Sri Lankan views on the global nature
of the waste disposal problem.
• Dolphins,
War & the Environment
By Vinod Moonesinghe, SARID project coordinator
for Sri Lanka, May 2003
Soon after the forces of the United States of America captured a foothold,
two especially trained bottle-nosed Atlantic dolphins were flown in
to seek mines in the approaches to the Iraqi deep-sea port. These are
not the first marine mammals that have been used in war. However, the
use of dolphins in the Iraq war highlights the dangers to the environment
that are likely to proceed from the conflict.
• Ants
& Humans: Flood Defence in a Wetter World
By Vinod Moonesinghe, SARID project coordinator
for Sri Lanka, May 2003
This activity of an obscure species of insect was in contrast to the
seeming inability of humans in Sri Lanka to cope with seasonal flooding.
How we are able to predict, prevent and otherwise cope with the problem
of flooding has been thrust to centre-stage by the calamity of mid-May,
during which extremely high precipitation combined with earth-slips
to produce unexpected flood levels.
• Housing
Design for Hot Arid Regions
By Javed Sultan, Cambridge, Massachusetts, AIA,
SARID Executive Director, May 2003
Following a review of submitted housing plans and given the hot, arid,
climate of Mali coupled to the desire to have a cost effective solution,
the following Physical Design is recommended: 1. Internal Courtyard
the design should incorporate an internal courtyard. The courtyard concept
has several advantages ...
• The
Use of Ultraviolet Radiation for Controlling Microbiological Fouling
in a Wastewater System
By Arif Jaffer, Baker Petrolite, December 2002
Sodium hypochlorite systems are safer than chlorine gas, but they are
less cost effective to install and operate. This paper evaluates the
UV disinfection process to determine whether it is a viable option for
wastewater plants. It also evaluates options for controlling the scaling
that is expected with high TDS local wastewater and determines the cost
effectiveness of this type of disinfection method.
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