Awards boost their morale

It has been two decades since the Bhopal tragedy. There has been no justice and the survivors fight on.

It has been two decades since the Bhopal tragedy. There has been no justice and the survivors fight on. Two of their most visible faces, Rashida Bee and Champa Devi Shukla, have just won the highly prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize.

It's surprising how much international support these two women, poisoned themselves and never previously having been campaigners, have gathered. Last year, an American woman joined hands with them and went on a fast. One organisation that doesn't give a damn, however, is Dow Chemicals. Dow now claims that it does not have anything to do with the compensation. Of course, the rest of the sane world has proved them wrong by honouring these women.

But it doesn't end here. These women will use the award money for awarding those people who fight corporate crimes in India. That is why one agrees that these women are Erin Brockoviches.

Plant that dwarfs

Environews, the journal of the International Society of Environmental Botanists, published from Lucknow, has dug out this nugget on the oldest living plant, King's Holly, discovered in 1937 and now 43,600 years old. The plant is located in Tasmania and has 500 clone bushes and is nearly 1.2-km long. The plant has a clear advantage: it simply drops a shoot into the ground and before you know it, it's taken root. Whatever the survival strategy, it has worked well and made us all feel like dwarfs seen in the blink of an eye.

(If you feel for Planet Earth, write to earthwatch1@rediffmail.com)