The Hindu Business Line : We're all pilots on the spaceship called earth

AIR pollution kills three million people each year. There is a loss of 90,000 sq.km of forest sources every year. Of the nearly 10,000 species of birds, 70 per cent have been declining in number. These and more shocking facts confront one in the preface to Textbook on Environmental Law by Dr N. Maheshwara Swamy, published by Asia Law House (www.asialawhouse.com). Protection of environment is not a modern concept, notes the author. "Ancient Indians worshipped certain plants, trees, animals, birds and so on." Thus, earth, sky, sun, planets, air and water were symbols of god.

Environmental auditing, one of the new avenues for the profession, "discloses the commitment of the industry with regard to its environmental policy." It envisages three main activities, states the book, and these are: pre-audit, on-site audit and post-audit.

Courtrooms are increasingly busy with cases that have an environmental tilt. For instance, when the State government wanted to construct a twelve-floor building for ministers using a plot reserved for a garden, the Bombay High Court said no. Likewise, in M. C. Mehta vs Union of India, the apex court directed the closure of a factor that was creating air pollution by holding that every citizen has a right to fresh air.

In F. K. Hussain vs Union of India, the question that arose before the Kerala High Court was as to how in the Lakshadweep Islands potable water supply could be augmented consistent with the maintenance of ecological balance.

To provide immediate relief to persons affected by accident occurring while handling any hazardous substance, there is the Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991. Section 4 of the Act imposes a duty on the owner to take out insurance policies before he starts handling of hazardous substance. Towards the end of the book, there is the discussion of law to protect wildlife — provisions of which were invoked against some high-profile Bollywood personalities.

Essential read for those interested in the welfare of the planet.

A seven-letter word

STRIVE, understand, create, condition, envision, savour, and soar. A line of verbs, but that is how you Spell SUCCESS in your life, notes Peter Colwell. The book, published by Manjul (manjulindia@sancharnet.in), lays out a roadmap for achieving your goals, and "will motivate you to look past your limitations and to eliminate negative forces in your life that sidetrack you from your destination."

The foreword urges: "To truly live your dreams, you must be willing to do whatever it takes to change your life."

First, set some exciting and challenging goals, and start telling people about them. Why? "Because when you publicise your goals, you force yourself to set your ideas into motion. Telling someone else about your goals transforms your mind from a state of inertia to a state of action. Suddenly your goals, which were once just ideas, begin to take shape and develop a life of their own — because now you've given yourself a great reputation to live up to."

Next, conquer emotional clutter and eliminate the inner barriers. Here's a simple tip: "Do what you can today to be as productive, helpful, and loving as you possibly can. When you practice limiting your concerns to what needs to be done this very day, you'll greatly reduce the number of worries and problems you experience."

Eliminate the word `excuse', exhorts the author, and one hopes you don't find an excuse to explain why it is not possible to do so. "Choose the less-travelled road — the path of personal accountability." Write this formula in bold letters: "Action + belief = change."

Get ready for greatness, is the fourth commandment. "Being mentally prepared will not insulate you from failure and disappointments, but it will give you the tools you need to succeed when opportunities arise." Become your own fortune-teller, demands Colwell. "When you give others the power to run your life and dictate your future, you put yourself in a terrible spot. Your self-esteem goes out the window, as does your ability to make your own decisions and the quality of your own life."

Enjoy the journey and the destination. That is to `savour' your mini milestones along the way. "We often get caught in the trap of rushing from one moment to the next without taking the time to absorb the impact of our achievements and appreciate their value." By minimising the significance of accomplishments en route, you would be making your life a big blur.

Lastly, soar. That is, build on your success; because success occurs in waves. "Stretch your success," though being content to stay where you are may feel like the comfortable thing to do. "If you don't stretch yourself form time to time, you may never know the pleasure of finding out exactly what you're capable of."

A must-read for those seeking success.

Combat coverage

A KEY turning point in the Vietnam War was a special report by Walter Cronkite of CBS. He had just returned from a visit to Vietnam and he argued that the war was a `bloody stalemate' and that outright military victory was virtually impossible.

Upon watching this, the US President Johnson told his aides, "It's all over." This anecdote, cited in the intro to War and the Media projects the `adversarial' model of journalism — where `truth' becomes an important commodity in the era of rolling news.

The book, edited by Daya Kishan Thussu and Des Freedman, and published by Vistaar (www.indiasage.com) is about `reporting conflict 24/7'. It aims "to provide a framework for analysing the interplay between the media and its representations of war and conflict in an era of sophisticated information warfare and news management."

Thus Aijaz Ahmad opines that the US can never defeat `terrorism with a global reach' because for all its barbarity and irrationality, religiously motivated `terrorism' is also a `sigh of the oppressed.' Ted Magder rues: "While we have managed technically to overcome space as a barrier to communication, we have not accomplished the art and practice of a global dialogue."

Jean Seaton does some plain speaking: "Leading audiences to the understanding of real difference and real change is what we all most need from the news... The other real job for the news, one in sharp tension with empathy, is that of describing the real divergences between people." Writing on live TV, Daya highlights how in wartime reporting, when a great deal of disinformation/ misinformation is in circulation, the journalist's task of sifting truth from half-truths, rumours or even downright lies, becomes complicated. Cynthia Weber has this to say: "The media circulate non-knowledge not by ignoring news stories but by representing them in such a way that their exclusive focus on one aspect of the story makes it possible to neglect other, potentially more important aspects of the same story." Don't miss this book if you're in media.

Tailpiece

Overheard at the party office:

"They are recruiting ex-heroes and heroines! What do we do?"

"Let's hope they leave the singers and dancers for us!"

ReadingRoom@TheHindu.co.in

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We're all pilots on the spaceship called earth