Vandana Shiva, ISEC - Biodiesal Myth

[pseudophile]

Prophetic. Biofuels can be just as bad, if not worse than traditional oil, gas & coal. Taking agricultural lands out of food production is one of the largest negative factors in biofuel that cannot easily be quantified and is usually overlooked. Vandana Shiva is a remarkably perceptive speaker on many issues that affect our freedoms and quality of life.

[mosesxiaomin]

Many scientists had pointed out that biodiesel is NOT ecologically more sensible then gasoline. It is NOT a solution to global warming. All it does is to strengthen our dependence on farming corporates and destroy small farms together with our healthy food system along the way. It is a sure way to commit global suicide.

[azadsyed]

becca111222333,

waht hell youre talking about? simply stupid and crack!

[Julissa279]

They don't have "nothing". At least they were able to feed themselves whereas afterwards they couldn't even do that. They may want western commodities but not at "any" cost. They don't have this US mentality. Material things are not worth life itself! and they know this because they have greater global awareness like many other countries in the world. Are they going to bury you with your material things? This is a global issue. "The meek shall inherit the earth"

[meamgadhu]

Don't get me wrong, there are commited doctors, educators who sacrifice a lot to do good work in rural areas, but I have never seen it from this tribe. Also, of course its easy to call somebody fascist, just like the jumbled-up logic that you give in calling big business Fascist, or in tainting every form of development as bad. and by the way, are you an indian? if not, please STFU, and form a back to nature hippie commune in your own country.

[meamgadhu]

I call her fascist because I am Indian and it pains me deeply to hear her make these judgements on my behalf, to hear her prescribing something on our behalf that most of us do not want. I also have an extreme and irrational reaction to her because not she is making money in a business related to poverty and hunger. As far as I am concerned it is the height of hypocrisy, for from this tribe I have never seen anything worthwhile being done.

[meamgadhu]

No one outside these conference rooms and her western audience knows who Vandana Shiva is. Do you know why?? Because she is not one of us and she does not represent our concerns. The villages in garwhal and Ladakh that she is talking about desperately want highways and more energy consumption. Do you know the number of children that die in these garwhal villages because of their distance from the nearest medical facilities? because of the lack of roads ??

[meamgadhu]

TonyKaku....To answer your first charge: I stand by what I said about these hi-flying social workers I grew up in delhi and worked in television for some time. I covered these events including two of Vandana Shiva's organisation(all held in some of the best conference facilities in India, in Delhi), I have seen these people and I know on a first hand basis some of the up and coming in this circle and I can pretty well judge their motivations and their business.

[fishdish2]

Agreed. Corruption is home-grown but that does not rule out that change can be made. These people have a point that ghetto could listen. That is, power to the people. Change of the society has to start from all levels, and decisionmaking is responsible when all parties get heard and accounted for. You can't just bypass 1.4 billion people and read from schoolbooks if you want to build a nation's economy.

[TonyKaku]

And your second comment? Who is this "we"? You should at least have had the honesty to type "I" instead of making a false appeal to majority fallacy.

And finally, it works great to call people "fascist," doesn't it. You don't need to put work into forming a valid argument that way.

Pathetic.

[TonyKaku]

Meamgadhu, where to begin?

First off, you start off with an informal fallacy (poisoning the well) that you can't even be bothered to substantiate. Great. So what do we have? Just libel.

[fishdish2]

Vandana Shiva rocks. She is speaking only about the things that matter and taking affirmative responsibility of her words. She has personally sued the Monsanto company in India for illegal practices. She is a good example. Who needs McDonald's or Wendy's anyway? Heck, the first and last time I went in Wendy's i got a stomach flu. Now i'm a vegetarian and i have no sign of illness.

[meamgadhu]

Fshdish,whenIsay McDonald's I don't mean it literally, I just qoute it as a symbol of choice and consumption power. My point is that we want development with all its trimmingsincluding McDonald's, no matter waht the quality of food, we want to have choice and to be able to have conspicous consumption just like the west does.

[meamgadhu]

I agree on Monsanto, there are a lot of groups opposing the Genetically Modified seeds in India, not just Vandana Shiva, but give us the choice to chose what is good for us, and reject what is not.

[fishdish2]

OK, Vandana Shiva has her own opinions and that has to be noted. But what is wrong with India? It's adopting "western" values without questioning them. It's building up infrastructure without hearing the locals. It's building up for the rich elite in Delhi and Mumbai and ignoring the needs and aspects of the people in the grassroots. It's assimilating into industrialist idealism blindfolded. Indeed, conversation about these topics is important but when is it going to happen?

[meamgadhu]

1stly- I don't care about western values, that's an individual choice, but I care about money, I care about roads, highways and all the material aspects of life.I agree on the GM seeds issue, but my problem arises when someone slams all the various aspects of development and talks about villagers being happy with nothing.They are seriously deluded if they think that villagers don't want automobiles and refrigarators and a Colour televisions with 90 useless channels.

[fishdish2]

Development yes, industrialism for profits only? Well...

Do you know where Shahi Paneer in Delhi Mc Donald's comes from? Do you know if MacDonald's is responsible for the food and not just the image? (i had much better food deep in the rural Uttar Pradesh) Do you know who now has the right to take private taxes for Basmati rice? Do you know that toll roads could be tax-funded? Well... I thought to ask what would benefit all Indians apart from just the richest families?

[meamgadhu]

MsShiva is one of a tribe of hi-flying social workers that many of us abhor,born into privileged households, public school eductaions these hypocrites make a living andthey launch their revolution through conferences and banquest, they will not be seen working with the farmers committing suicides but more at glitzy eventslaunching a thousand programs and revolutions blabbing and bullshitting to glory,Her patronising attitudeis nsulting

[meamgadhu]

This woman is talking thru her fat, fundamentalist ass....we want to consume more energy, you fat f@3$^* we want more McDonalds, Wendy's and we want bigger cars, roads and industries....and so do those villagers in garwhal and Ladakh...u are nobody to dictate your fascist fudamentalist tendencies and take up the cause of villagers and farmers who would rather not have you...