Category Archives: Environment

When Worlds Collide #66: Indian Ocean: Wild West of the 21st Century?

Posted on 12 May 2013 by

Text of my ‘When Worlds Collide’ column published in Ceylon Today Sunday newspaper on 12 May 2013 Tuna Wars are hotting up in the Indian Ocean. At stake are the jobs of tens of thousands of fishermen, and nutrition of … Continue reading →

Posted in Communicating Development, Environment, Environmental management, Environmental policy, Indian Ocean, Sri Lanka, Sustainable Development | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

When Worlds Collide #62: Don’t be a Fossil Fool: Towards a Climate-smart Sri Lanka…

Posted on 13 April 2013 by

Text of my ‘When Worlds Collide’ column published in Ceylon Today Sunday newspaper on 14 April 2013 Last week’s column, on Sri Lanka’s climate change adaptation needs and priorities, elicited some predictable reactions. Environmentalist friends — with whom I frequently … Continue reading →

Posted in Air Pollution, Biofuels, Climate change, Communicating Development, Disaster Communication, Education, Energy Conservation, Environment, Environmental management, Environmental policy, Green Economy, Power & Energy, Public health, Sri Lanka, Sustainable Development, Transport | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

When Worlds Collide #61: Climate Change – Adapt Now or Perish Later!

Posted on 7 April 2013 by

Text of my ‘When Worlds Collide’ column published in Ceylon Today Sunday newspaper on 7 April 2013 As Sri Lanka sizzles in April heat, some ask: is this due to global warming? Well, not exactly: high temperatures are typical for … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Climate change, Communicating Development, Disaster, Disaster Communication, Environment, Environmental management, Science Journalism, Sri Lanka, Sustainable Development, Water, Water management | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

When Worlds Collide #60: Code Red for our Blue Planet?

Posted on 30 March 2013 by

Text of my ‘When Worlds Collide’ column published in Ceylon Today Sunday newspaper on 31 March 2013 Now it can be revealed. A highly advanced but devious alien race has been sapping the island of Sri Lanka of its freshwater, … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Biofuels, Climate change, Communicating Development, Conspiracy Theories, Environment, Environmental management, Environmental policy, Green Economy, Power & Energy, Public health, Public perceptions, Sri Lanka, Sustainable Development, Water management | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

When Worlds Collide #59: Seeking Clarity in Murky Waters

Posted on 24 March 2013 by

Text of my ‘When Worlds Collide’ column published in Ceylon Today Sunday newspaper on 24 March 2013 When it comes to collectively and rationally managing our freshwater, many Lankans seem to suspend their good judgement. Any passing conspiracy theory, no … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Climate change, Communicating Development, Conspiracy Theories, Environment, Environmental management, Environmental policy, Public health, Sri Lanka, Sustainable Development, Water management | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

When Worlds Collide #51: When Your Home Becomes a ‘Gas Chamber’

Posted on 26 January 2013 by

Text of my ‘When Worlds Collide’ column published in Ceylon Today Sunday newspaper on 27 January 2013 The new Global Burden of Disease (GBD) report, released in December 2012, says air pollution has become one of the top 10 killers … Continue reading →

Posted in Air Pollution, Biofuels, Energy Conservation, Environment, Environmental management, Poverty, Public health, South Asia, Sri Lanka | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

When Worlds Collide #49: Living with Our Toxic Heritage…

Posted on 12 January 2013 by

Text of my ‘When Worlds Collide’ column published in Ceylon Today Sunday newspaper on 13 January 2013 My column on 30 December 2012, which assessed the lasting influence of Silent Spring and its author Rachel Carson, was focused on the … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Communicating Development, Documentary Film, Documentary films, Environment, Environmental management, Environmental policy, Film making, Poverty, Public health, Sustainable Development | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

A New Look at Our Planet – and Island of Lanka – at Night…

Posted on 6 January 2013 by

I couldn’t write the When Worlds Collide column this week. Instead, here is a news feature I wrote for Ceylon Today, published on Sunday 16 Dec 2012: It helps to take a look at the bigger picture once in a … Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy, Energy Conservation, Environment, South Asia, Space Travel, Sri Lanka, Sustainable Development | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

When Worlds Collide #48: The Lasting Echo of Silent Spring

Posted on 30 December 2012 by

Text of my ‘When Worlds Collide’ column published in Ceylon Today Sunday newspaper on 30 December 2012 “The ‘control of nature’ is a phrase conceived in arrogance, born of the Neanderthal age of biology and philosophy, when it was supposed … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Biodiversity, Broadcasting, Environment, Environmental management, Environmental policy, Science Journalism, Sustainable Development | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

When Worlds Collide #45: Reimagine Development: Where Nobody Gets Left Behind

Posted on 9 December 2012 by

Text of my ‘When Worlds Collide’ column published in Ceylon Today Sunday newspaper on 9 December 2012 Paul Hermann Müller (1899 – 1965) was a Swiss chemist. He won the 1948 Nobel Prize in physiology (medicine) for his 1939 discovery … Continue reading →

Posted in Communicating Development, Education, Employment, Environment, Environmental management, Environmental policy, Generations, History, Poverty, Public health, Sri Lanka, Sustainable Development | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments