Novel Scare

COVID-19 has spread
All across the globe, almost.
With over 4000 death counts
And over 1,27,000 infected,
Countries struggle to contain it.
The World Health Organization declares it a pandemic.
This is unprecedented.
Along with the health crisis, the world economy is in a quandary.
A time for self-isolation, if needed
But to collaborate and support each other, surely.
A global crisis looms large.
Humankind …

The sky is red
As the summer sets in Australia,
The country especially New South Wales,
Is engulfed with bushfires.
Some reports suggest
27 death so far and many lost their homes,
Millions of hectares of land burned,
Half a billion animal affected,
Potentially millions of them died,
One third of koalas killed,
Even some species …

Hope and wish
Another economic slowdown?
Yes, if we go by the recent International Monetary Fund (IMF) alert,
Which downgrades the growth to 3 per cent for 2019.
This is said to be the worst in last decade.
This is happening primarily due to decline in manufacturing activity,
And also because of US-China trade conflicts,
Higher …

Gasp Chamber
With air quality at dangerous level
This time around air pollution in Delhi
Led to health emergency.
Several desperate measures were taken,
Banned on construction activities,
Plying of vehicles with odd-even numbers on odd and even dates
Schools closed for few days,
Alas! not with desired results.
The Supreme Court of India fumes,
Governments scramble for actions, politicians blame each other,
And the saga …

Gasp Chamber
With air quality at dangerous level
This time around air pollution in Delhi
Led to health emergency.
Several desperate measures were taken,
Banned on construction activities,=
Plying of vehicles with odd-even numbers on odd and even dates
Schools closed for few days,
Alas! not with desired results. …

 
An outage
That lasted a weeklong (11th July’19 onwards)
Again re-emphasizes the GNSS vulnerabilities.
As stakes are high, so are the worries.
There will be plausible explanations
To such technical incidents
Yet they do not lessen the likely consequences.
Voices making the case for complementarity among GNSS systems
And lobby for back-up system
Gain further credence.

Bal Krishna, Editor
bal@mycoordinates.org

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‘Plastic’ concerns
Dead whales with kilograms of plastics in their stomach.
An appalling sight
Increasingly being common in Europe and Asia coast.
In May in coast of Sicilia, in April in Sardinia
And in March in the Philippines.
The list goes on.
We dump million of tonnes of plastic debris in seas and oceans
Causing monumental damage to the marine flora and fauna
Aquatic …

Protecting privacy
When a trade off is made
Between convenience and personal information
We not only underestimate the value of the information
But many a times underestimate its potential exploitation, as well
And we do not realize when and how
The technology that otherwise is pushed as a facilitator,
Turns into a surveillance tool.
Is it true that in bio-techno sphere
Where we live …

Setting an example
As the state of Odisha in India grapples with the aftermath of cyclone Fani,
What deserves to be appreciated
Is the initial response of the Odisha government.
Timely weather alerts, preparedness and public participation
Have played the key roles.
Though Fani has caused massive devastation,
Loss of lives were limited to 41
Given …

When fake is in vogue
Not only in our physical world
But has percolated in cognitive arena as well.
Forces with vested agendas armed with powerful tools
Like facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, etc.
Appears to have taken over our minds.
There have been reports that a few technical giants
Are said to have waged a war …