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481 Comments
- seltaeb4, on 04/15/2009, -12/+650Wow. And we think we've known economic hardship when one of the six McDonald's in town closes down.
- inactive, on 04/15/2009, -13/+640While this is going on around the world, the top news on CNN is "Teabagging!"
- Lasereth, on 04/15/2009, -23/+416Buried for sensationalist headline. 1,500 suicides, sure, but not one gigantic mass suicide.
- zip000, on 04/15/2009, -4/+229The title was somewhat misleading - at least to me. When I hear "mass suicide" I think of a bunch of people all together in a group killing themselves, e.g. the Heaven's Gate cult or the Jim Jones cult.
This is still horrible, but not the same thing. - InfiniteNothing, on 04/15/2009, -6/+164Water is the new oil
- morningmatters, on 04/15/2009, -3/+127NPR has done much better job in explaining this.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?story ...
Basically, a few decades ago Western governments (the US was mentioned in the article) urged India government to adapt to a new "green farm" policy which was to only produce high yield crops rather than going to for the traditional mix of crops. These high yield crops are then exported to other countries, making many farmers wealthy.
The catch to all of this is that the high yield crops need a lot more water than normal mixed crops. Because India itself does not produce the required amount of water naturally, the farmers started to dig for water. After decades of this practice now there are no more water left to dig. What's worse is that the soil has been destroyed in the process. I think many farmers are finally realizing this now, but it is too late and they are stuck to pay debts on the drilling equipments.
IMO this is just another case of what happens when a government puts short term profitability in front of long term sustainability. - Veedek, on 04/15/2009, -1/+117Wow, I just heard a story a couple days ago on NPR about the troubles of farmers in India who practice Western style farming techniques that use massive amounts of fertilizers and water. They have to drill so deep to get water now that they are hitting brackish water which just kills the crops anyway. Some are trying to push a movement to sustainable farming.
- Crimsoneer, on 04/15/2009, -20/+116Meaningful? It's a huge waste of life that is going to leave their families with no support, and bring thousands down into poverty.
This isn't meaningful, it's cowardly: running away from life and leaving your family with debts they'll never be able to pay off. - ohplease, on 04/15/2009, -3/+84Mass Suicide would mean they all killed themselves at the same time. They didn't.
- UglieJosh, on 04/15/2009, -12/+81Bah, McDonalds is no gourmet meal but it does the trick if you are hungry, in a hurry and don't have much cash. This is a scenario that happens to me all too often.
- mikbunn, on 04/15/2009, -2/+60This.
I was expecting some Jonestown *****. - grantHamNeck, on 04/15/2009, -4/+60Something similar is happening in australia:
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2009/04/murray-d ... - Daxx22, on 04/15/2009, -17/+71As tragic as that is, it's still ***** hilarious.
- evisr8r, on 04/15/2009, -8/+61Blame Monsanto - This has been a pretty big trend if not all at the same time. They cant afford their seed prices and end up owing money when the crop grows in again, so they'll be sued and possibly imprisoned. Patented seeds.
- booyahbitch, on 04/15/2009, -68/+121I wish they would all close down! That is the worse excuse for food I have ever seen.
- Dalhectar, on 04/15/2009, -15/+67Buried for lack of relevancy. When the first comment is about relative degrees of economic hardship, and someone goes off reservation talking about the quality of McDonalds food stock...
I think it misses the point.
The article's headline is misleading too. Mass Suicide implies a plan and organization, as if 1,500 people decided to make a political statement by killing themselves at the same time. The article mentions no such plan, no organization. - Barackalypse, on 04/15/2009, -11/+53Any chance Congress will follow their lead and do the same, given they've put this country into debt far beyond what these farmers had?
- 15thPD, on 04/15/2009, -4/+45Yeah, everybody knows when you hit 30, suicide makes perfect sense.
- Rain12913, on 04/15/2009, -0/+38You're right, it will never get better for them. But it will also never get worse, and the fact that it seemed so unlikely in their minds that things would ever get better that they chose to end their lives just to prevent things from getting worse is sad.
- pintocat, on 04/15/2009, -1/+38Only if they were bombing innocent people with their suicide.
- scootinger, on 04/15/2009, -3/+40I'm afraid you have Digg confused with Freerepublic.com?
- MelissaOfTroy, on 04/15/2009, -3/+37Dugg because I can't believe I haven't heard this story until just now or from any other news source. This is so sad.
- inactive, on 04/15/2009, -2/+34How do you know they won't be reincarnated as a non-suicidal farmer? Huh?
- Dumbledorito, on 04/15/2009, -5/+36Oh yeah? We lost a STARBUCKS!!!
- edrodgers731, on 04/15/2009, -5/+35That was the original problem. The sustainable method in India wasn't cutting it and people were starving. Sustainable farming in India means that people will go hungry.
It's the population that is not sustainable. - okayokayokay, on 04/15/2009, -0/+28I know, right? Totally misleading!
I'm willing to forgive a little sensationalism if it gets the world to pay attention to India's very REAL problems, but to call it a MASS suicide is simply ludicrous! - Bloodwine, on 04/15/2009, -10/+37Similar problems will be coming to the U.S. in the near future. In the state I live in there have been warnings for the past couple years that our water tables are depleting, mostly thanks to the farmers.
Dust Bowl 2.0, here we come!! - Tyr7BE, on 04/15/2009, -0/+26It's what plants crave.
- CedEx, on 04/15/2009, -0/+25Monsanto has GM seeds that sprout into plants that do not produce seeds, thereby requiring the farmer to buy seeds every year.
- jivatmanx, on 04/15/2009, -1/+25Desalination is extremely energy intensive, and not a viable solution for anyone not living close to a coast, anyway.
What they - and really, most of the world - needs to switch to, is hydroponic farming. Hydroponic farming uses only an incredibly minuscule amount of water, and most can be re-cycled through it. It is also free of pests and does not require chemicals and create agricultural runoff. - americanoboy, on 04/15/2009, -1/+25not really. it'd be in the news for about a week before all the networks turn back focus to teabagging
- JohnEHubertz, on 04/15/2009, -77/+100...and the corporate consumerism sold as "prosperity" drains the land, the people... the world.
Thanks for this fine digg - it is rare that such meaningful acts are brought to our attention in the United States. - inajeep, on 04/15/2009, -1/+24I blame the people that eat the food that farmers grow.
/s - morningmatters, on 04/15/2009, -0/+22Here is the link to the story
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?story ...
The "Western" style of farming was to only produce high yield crops with export in mind rather than to produce a mixture of crops for domestic usage. Because the high yield crops require a lot more water, Indian farmers started to drill for water. After decades of this practice, good soil are destroyed and there are no more usable water left in many places. The farmers are finally realizing the hole they are in now. They are committing suicide because the government won't (and likely can't) do anything about this. - Ghoztt, on 04/15/2009, -5/+26:(
Desalinization should seriously be looked into. - nitsua11513, on 04/15/2009, -0/+19i think it might make things more clear if it said:
"human drinkable water is the new oil"
is that better? - DankBuddz, on 04/15/2009, -3/+20Right, oil is renewable, but its takes forever. The same is happening with water, people are are using it before the groundwater supplies have a chance to recharge. So yes, water is the new oil. Just because something is a renewable resource doesn't make it infinite.
- Gguillorn, on 04/15/2009, -5/+21What the ***** are you talking about? Some substance would be nice.
- Veedek, on 04/15/2009, -2/+18Indeed.
- v4vishal, on 04/15/2009, -0/+16It is not mandatory to comment on every story you read.
- edrodgers731, on 04/15/2009, -1/+16If we don't do it in the techno-industrialized world because it's so cutting edge / really expensive / really difficult, what makes you think rural Indian farmers can pull it off?
- Bloodwine, on 04/15/2009, -1/+16There was an interview with an Indian farmer on NPR the other day, he was having to deepen his well to 300 feet to reach the water. They are having to dig deeper by several feet each year.
When India adopted Western-style farming almost 50 years ago, the water table was near ground level so all they had to do was pretty much plant the seeds.
However, Western-style farming requires a lot of irrigation since they no longer rely on rain water, which is depleting their water tables. They are heading towards a serious risk, even the Indian government admits that it is a very serious concern. - booyahbitch, on 04/15/2009, -1/+16NOW That is a SHAME!!!
- Rain12913, on 04/15/2009, -1/+16Good, I hope you feel the same way when your next loved one dies. If not, call me up and tell me and I'll give a ***** less for you.
- Punjabdasher, on 04/15/2009, -0/+15It's funny, the state my parents are from, Punjab, is generally known as the most productive farmland in India and it used to be (probably still is) the bread basket of India. This is probably because of where Punjab is situated, it has first dibs on major rivers that flow from the Himalayas, which seemingly gave the farmers there an unlimited supply of water. But what has recently been happening is many farmers have been planting rice. Rice is an extremely water intensive crop, and since so many farmers have started planting it water levels have begun to lower drastically. This is stupid on the farmers part as the price of rice has been driven down a lot in India since so many of them decided to plant rice. Because of this, some farmers (including my farm) have reverted to growing the original crops that are more environmentally sustainable such as sugar cane and wheat. This is for two reasons: 1. It is more environmentally feasible and 2. It is significantly easier to actually sell these products.
- Jimbob200, on 04/15/2009, -3/+18suicide + reincarnation?
- DankBuddz, on 04/15/2009, -3/+18"The water level has gone down below 250 feet here. It used to be at 40 feet a few years ago," Shatrughan Sahu, a villager in one of the districts.."
Just another talking point to use against the next dumbass that laughs about the importance of water conservation... there's plenty of them. - Snarfy, on 04/15/2009, -0/+15It's no solution. The problem isn't lack of water; the problem is too many humans.
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