Text of my ‘When Worlds Collide’ column published in Ceylon Today Sunday newspaper on 24 June 2012

As government officials, activists, researchers and journalists from around the world converged in Rio de Janeiro this week for the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, everyone was clamouring for answers, solutions and agreements.

There are 50,000 bees and a lot of buzz, but where’s the honey asked fellow science journalist Aisling Irwin, consultant news editor at SciDev.Net.

For journalists, at least, there was no shortage of stories – if only we went off the beaten track.

I wanted to see real city beyond the tourist hype and summit frenzy. So, as the heads of state sat down for their talkfest at the Rio Centro convention centre, I walked the streets of downtown Rio.

The city had declared three days of holiday, life went on as usual. Planet saviours were in town, but the…