IN 1981, in Nampula, Mozambique, a young Swedish doctor named Hans Rosling was puzzled. More and more people were coming to his clinic suffering from paralysis in their legs. Could it be an outbreak of polio? No. The symptoms were not in any textbook. His puzzlement turned to alarm. With Mozambique slipping into a civil war, might it be chemical weapons? He packwed his wife and young children off to safety and continued his investigations.
The resolution of the mystery sheds light not just on paralysis of the legs, but on one of the biggest economic questions—why do humans have an economy at all?
Let’s return to Mozambique in due course. First, an outback adventure. In 1860, Robert Burke and William Wills led the first European expedition across the interior of Australia. Burke, Wills and their companion John King ran out of food on the return journey. They became stranded at a stream called Cooper’s Creek, unable to carry enough water to cross a stretch of desert to the nearest colonial outpost at the unpromisingly named ‘Mount Hopeless’.
William Wills wrote, ‘We have been unable to leave the creek. Both camels are dead and our provisions are done. We are trying to live the best way we can, like the Blacks, but find it hard work.’
By ‘the Blacks’, Wills meant the local Yandruwandha people, who seemed to thrive despite conditions that were proving too tough for Burke, Wills and King. The Yandruwandha gave the explorers cakes made from the crushed seed pods of a clover-like fern called nardoo—but later Burke fell out with them and, unwisely, drove them away by firing his pistol.
Denne historien er fra February 01, 2021-utgaven av Down To Earth.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra February 01, 2021-utgaven av Down To Earth.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Trade On Emissions
EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, a tariff on imports, is designed to protect European industries in the guise of climate action.
'The project will facilitate physical and cultural decimation of indigenous people'
The Great Nicobar Project has all the hallmarks of a disaster-seismic, ecological, human. Why did it get the go-ahead?
TASTE IT RED
Popularity of Karnataka's red jackfruit shows how biodiversity can be conserved by ensuring that communities benefit from it
MANY MYTHS OF CHIPKO
Misconceptions about the Chipko movement have overshadowed its true objectives.
The politics and economics of mpox
Africa's mpox epidemic stems from delayed responses, neglect of its health risks and the stark vaccine apartheid
Emerging risks
Even as the world gets set to eliminate substances threatening the ozone layer, climate change and space advancement pose new challenges.
JOINING THE CARBON CLUB
India's carbon market will soon be a reality, but will it fulfil its aim of reducing emissions? A report by PARTH KUMAR and MANAS AGRAWAL
Turn a new leaf
Scientists join hands to predict climate future of India's tropical forests
Festering troubles
The Democratic Republic of Congo struggles to contain mpox amid vaccine delays, conflict and fragile healthcare.
India sees unusual monsoon patterns
THE 2024 southwest monsoon has, between June 1 and September 1, led to excess rainfall in western and southern states such as Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, while others like Nagaland, Manipur and Punjab recorded a deficit.