A life Dedicated to Nature.

Much before the `Chipko movement' started by Sundarlal Bahuguna to protect the Himalayan trees, far away in a sleepy village in Palakkad, an illiterate daily wage worker started a `one-man' mission to plant trees on road sides and public office compounds.

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'Polluter must pay and polluter will pay,'

Government today made it clear that 'polluter must pay' for the environmental and maritime losses arising out of
the collision of the two ships off Mumbai coast early this month.

'Polluter must pay and polluter will pay,' Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh told the Rajya Sabha in reply to a short duration question on the oil spill resulting from the collision of vessels on August seven.

He said studies by different institutions have been commissioned for ascertaining the impact of the oil spill on the fishery sector
and other economic losses.

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Artic Ocean going to get Ice Free.

Global warming had began to show its evil faces.A research report says that the ice sunk Artic ocean is getting ice free due to global warming.And it is not a far away dream or thing.It is going to happen in 2010 itself or by 2015.What will be the consequences is unpredictable.I think it is the time to wake up.Don't waste time now.Be active in protecting our nature and environment.

You can read the news here.

1010101010 Lights Out

1010101010 Lights Out' is a novel campaign initiated by Exnora International after its success in its 99999 Lights Out Campaign for creating awareness on Global Warming.

10101010 in action: A '10 minute' public display of unison, when everyone will switch off their lights for 10 minutes at 10 pm on the 10th day of the 10th month of the 10th year of this millennium, in support of the fight against 'Global Warming'.

The Lights Out Campaign also aims at cutting down carbon footprint by individuals and organisations by 10% before 10th October 2010 and continue further reduction after that date. The ExNoRa Magic Book will serve as an evidence of one's contribution to save Earth , how one has reduced consumption of gas, electricity , fuel and water.

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How to reduce Global warming ?

“Clouds reflect sunlight and cool the planet. Clouds with bigger droplets tend to be darker and clouds with tiny droplets for the same amount of water are whiter. If the droplet number in the clouds is increased, the reflectivity increases and it will increase rainfall on land and also slow down global warming,” Prof Govindasamy Bala, the lead author of the study from Indian Institute of Science (IISC),Bangalore told PTI today.

Read more .

China surges ahead of U.S. in clean energy race

China spent almost double that of the United States on clean energy investments last year. According to a report China is going to take the lead as the world's premier green energy power. China's clean energy investments increased by 50 per cent last year while in the U.S., the investments fell by 42 per cent.

Last year China invested 34.6 billion dollars on expanding its renewable energy capacity. The global investment was $162 billion in 2009. This was the study report released by the Pew Charitable Trusts, which measured the growth of clean energy investments in the world's major economies.

The U.S. invested only $18.6 billion last year. They lost the top spot for most investments for the first time ever. My country India invested $2.3 billion only, ranking tenth among the G-20 group of countries.

“There are reasons to be concerned about America's competitive position in the clean energy marketplace. Relative to the size of its economy, the United States' clean energy finance and investments lag behind many of its G-20 partners,” said the report. “The U.S. is on the verge of losing its leadership position in installed renewable energy capacity, with China surging in the last several years to a virtual tie,” the report noted.

Last year was the year of global downturn. Still China expanded its renewable energy capacity significantly. It spent $586 billion on stimulus plan devoting an estimated $30 billion to green projects.

Now, China trails the U.S. by less than 1 GW in terms of overall renewable energy capacity. China has 52.5 GW of installed capacity. Out of this capacity, 12.2 GW is in wind energy. This sector had grown rapidly following a government plan to support a fixed-rate feed-in tariff.

The Chinese government had targeted increasing the installed capacity for wind to 30 GW by 2020. India slightly trails behind China with 11 GW installed capacity. India aims to reach 17.6 GW by 2012. The report ranks India fifth overall in terms of installed capacity, with 16.5 GW.

The report found that in spite of the recession last year, the overall global investment in clean energy fell by only 6.6 per cent. The report also forecasts a 25 per cent growth in the coming year, estimating a $200 billion investment in 2010.

Big B for Save Our Tigers Campaign

Tiger is the National animal of India.But the sensational news is that it is on the brim of extinction.Yes, tiger had become an endangered species in India.At this last hour the Bollywood mega star Amitabh Bachchan had announced that he would lend his face and voice to the cause of saving the majestic tiger from becoming extinct. Mr. Bachchan is the ambassador of “Save Our Tigers” campaign initiated by NDTV and Aircel. He will use his popularity to drive home the message to save the tiger.

Mr. Bachchan said the tiger symbolize our country's wildlife wealth which is in danger because of illegal hunting and ineffectiveness of our systems to stop its killing: Hence a collective action is the need of the hour. It is not only for the government and wildlife experts but to keep our nation’s pride symbol. So it is our responsibility to not only initiate a public movement but also to ensure that it gains momentum across the nation.

“If my face and voice can be used to impress people about a national cause then I am all for it. I liked the fact that the electronic media has started this campaign as its penetration is more. It was important that awareness to save this beautiful animal was propagated across our country” Mr Bachchan said at a press conference in New Delhi on the occasion of NDTV – Aircel campaign starting. “We should leave the tiger alone so that it doesn't feel entrenched. In the coming months if I can convince even one person about the need to follow this righteous path then I will be extremely happy. As artistes our faces are used to endorse products that attract consumers and if they can be converted into a national cause then I will be the extremely gratified” Mr. Bachchan added.

“Two years ago we were the first ones to draw the attention of citizens and the government to the rapid decline of tiger population in India. Our signature campaign ‘Save the Tiger' led to the formation of Special Tiger Protection Force by the Prime Minister” Dr. Roy ,the NDTV Director said.

World Wildlife Fund (WWF) India secretary-general and CEO Ravi Singh said the campaign was mainly focused in creating awareness about the present status of tigers in India. For this, hitting stories and documentaries on the threats and issues concerning the survival of tigers will be screened before public. There will also be a live non-stop programming for a day. It will disseminate facts about tigers with the objective of creating a public outcry. It may also help to raise funds for protecting the tigers from disappearing from their traditional homeland.

The Mangrove theme park closed

The Mangrove theme park of Pappinisseri Eco-Tourism Society closed following the central order.The theme park on the banks of Valapattanam river was served a copy of the order of Union Ministry of Environment and Forests.As soon as getting the order the gates of the park closed down.The park was opened on April 12, 2010.

The theme park was under criticism since its opening. The opposition was mainly from United Democratic Front on political bias.Also environmentalists strongly opposed the movement.But the ruling Communist (Marxist) lead society went ahead taking it as a prestige issue. The main accuse was that the theme park was established in violation of the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) rules.Due to this it was a burning issue in state legislative assembly.

But the CPI(M) district secretary told that the park was an initiative to conserve mangroves by planting saplings.But the developments carried out there was really destroying the existing mangroves. So the works are to be stopped which had happened now.

New environment clearance norms

The union ministry had imposed many rules for the protection of nature and environment. The department is keen in observing many of them.Now the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests has come out with new norms for environmental clearances. As usual it also faces allegations of delaying project approvals.

The Ministry has decided that from July 2010 onwards all final environment impact assessment reports which is essential for any clearance must be prepared only by agencies accredited by the National Accreditation Board of Education and Training and the Quality Council of India. Consultants must include an accreditation certificate with the report for approval.

The Ministry has also decided to put a time limit on the validity of the terms of reference issued to undertake detailed assessment reports, effective from this April. Since these terms are site-specific and dynamic and dependent on site features, land use and the nature of development, they will only be valid for two years. Extension of one year may be possible.

Oil Spills

Oil Spills are a major problem nowadays. It is marine pollutant in fact. Recently we had heard about the oil spill in Gulf of Mexico and had witnessed the photos of birds struggling for life that had socked in oils. Also President Obama and his Mexican counter part visited the Mexican coastal recently to have a first hand experience of the disaster.

Just go through this article.

World Environment Day Celebrated.

With the motto “Global Warming – Tree is the reply” , the Govt Engineering College Kozhikode NSS Unit celebrated the World Environment Day. A simple function was arranged in the campus , presided by the college Principal Prof. P.A. Saheeda.

The chief Guest of the day was famous environmentalist and Dr. Nujoom, Professor , Aligarh University. He had authored the book ‘ Chaliyar Rekhakal’ , a book in Malayalam about river Chaliyar in Kerala.

In his talk he told that the Environment Day had just become a day of celebration only ,without sincerity. Authorities plant trees in one side and allow indiscriminate demolition of hills and fields. Speech goes on one side while opposite action is carried out in other side. He also told that it was birds that spread the seeds of trees to create forests. But due to the thoughtless actions of humans the ecological balance had lost. As a result many bird species extinguished.

Dr.Joymon , Lecturer in Mathematics and Abid Tharavattath , Computer Programmer felicitated the function. After the meeting the chief guest planted a tree in the main yard of the college , followed by honourable Principal and others. Many trees were planted at different places in the campus. Also there was an interaction with the chief guest.

World Environment Day.

Today is World Environmental day. Almost all the people in the world have a thought on environment on this day. And this thought is found to be active only on this day which is the tragedy that our country face.

On this environment day many organizations organize different types of activities. Earlier it was seminars , speeches and debates conducted. Now the style had changed. Most of the organizations plant trees in their premises or in public places. In my state Kerala a project named “My Tree” is launched in 2007 and is continuing. Under this project each school student is given a tree to plant in his home. He has to look after it. It will be assessed annually by a team appointed by school authority. According to the growth of the tree he will be given grace marks in Exam!!! The same project had extended to colleges also with the name “Our Tree”. Kerala received Indiragandhi Vrikshamitra Award for this project.

Unfortunately most of the students does not care on the tree planted after this day. He remembers it just on coming the next June 5th. It means that these activities are carried out due to an external pressure , not due to his innate intension. This attitude is to be changed first. If one does some activities to save his environment for his and future generation’s benefit it should come from his deep mind. It should not be a forced action. It should not be for marks.

Today also many organizations would have planted a lot of trees all over the world. Still the global warming threat is hanging over our head. So I think not only on June 5th every year but also on all good occations like Birthday, marriage anniversary etc in our family we have to plant a tree in memorium to it and make this world a forest of good memories.Please try to spread this message as far as possible.

Four Industry proposals rejected

Here is a glad news for all the environmental activists of India. The standing committee of National Board for Wildlife, headed by Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jayram Ramesh had rejected four Industry proposals and postponed another two.

The rejection include the proposal to build a port at Poshitra in Jamnagar of Gujarat. The site was within the Gulf of Kutch Marine National Park , an ecologically fragile region rich with marine biodiversity.

Another rejection was the proposal of laying pipe to draw water from Majthal Wildlife Sanctuary in Himachal Pradesh. The proposal was by Ambuja Cement to expand their cement plant. Drawing water for commercial purpose is violation of Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972 and hence can’t be allowed – the committee noted.

The third rejection was two mining projects in Goa. The proposed projects were near wildlife sanctuaries. The committee noted the Supreme Court direction that no polluting activity should be carried out within 10 kilometers of the boundaries of protected areas.

The fourth rejection was the proposal to carry out a two dimensional seismic survey within the Narayan Sagar Sanctuary in Gujarat.

The postponed projects are one in Andhra Pradesh and the other in Rajasthan. The Andhra Pradesh based proposal was the reduction of Kolleru Lake Sanctuary area while Rajasthan based proposal was the divertion of forest land from National Chambal River Sanctuary for lift irrigation and hydropower projects. Both postponed noting that further detailed studies are required before taking a decision.

According to Jayram Ramesh the rejection were according to the need to protect the environment.

Action plan to exploit new and renewable energy

An action plan has been chartered out for exploiting new and renewable energy resources in my state Kerala. The action plan was worked out in an inter ministerial meeting on the activities of the ANERT ( Agency for Non Conventional Energy and Rural Technology). This was worked out due to the delay in setting up a centre for capacity building in new and renewable energy and Conservation Society (C-CNREC).

As a flagship project for coordinating the projects the total energy security mission was established. Many proposals for biomass gasifiers have been put forwarded by ANERT. The 20.61 Mega Watt Projects are with the support of both World Institute of Sustainable Energy and Energy Resources Institute.

The central government had offered financial support for establishing the corporate structures for public – private partnerships. As a first step a company namely Kerala Renewable Energy Company Pvt Ltd is proposed to set up. The district panchayaths and corporations will be involved in the proposed company. But the movement is with snail’s pace.

The company will have a paid up capital of Rs 10 crore and an authorized capital of Rs 50 Crore. Out of these ANERT will have 50% equity share while district panchayaths and corporations will share the remaining 50% . The latter share contribution will be met from the funds already deposited with the agency.

The Paining Earth - A thought for earth on Earth Day

 April 22nd is celebrated as International Earth Day.Here is some pieces of thoughts on mother earth.


Air pollution makes a lot of problems to Human beings. A healthy man inhales about 16Kg of air daily.

Man can live without food for about five weeks and without water for five days. But he can’t live even for five minutes without air. Fresh air is so essential for life on earth.

The air pollution directly affects the lungs. Polluted air is highly harmful to children. In winter season the air pollution results in smog (smoke = fog) formation. Smog is dangerous to all living beings. It also causes motor accidents in high traffic roads.

Water pollution is another pollution created by the hands of man. The main agent of Water pollution is chemicals. Nowadays we use more than 60000 chemicals for different purposes. Out of these the non-biodegradable chemicals are the threat to life on earth.

The coolants from reactors are normally discharged to water. As a result water get heated. This will cause the oxygen to escape from water. Consequently the living beings of water get endangered.

Also the colours used for various purposes in paper mills , coir factories ,leather factories , textile mills etc are discharged to water after use. This also pollutes water seriously.

Soil pollution is another type of pollution. Plastics , crockery , paper ,polythene , automobile parts etc etc are the main objects of soil pollution . About 1000 crore ton solid wastes reach soil yearly!!!

Industrialized countries exploit third world countries by exporting their various types of wastes to these countries. The third world countries import these wastes without recognizing that they are the waste of Industrialized countries.Even our country India also had trapped in this net.

Fluorine is the most poisonous substance affecting the living beings.Chlorine , Argon , Lead etc also cause harm to all living beings.

Sulphur dioxide , Hydrogen Fluoride , Ozone , Hydrogen Chloride , Nitrous Oxide , Nitrogen Dioxide , Ammonia , Hydrogen Sulphide etc affect plants and trees. The disease called necrosis caused by pollution destroys the cells in leaf. Another disease called chlorosis destroy the chlorophyll in leaves and badly affect photosynthesis. Pollution may cause untimingly shedding of leaves.

Thus pollution is storming and all living beings are under its octopus hands. The whole biosphere activities will get upside down due to this pollution. New kinds of environmental problems are arising due to thoughtless activities of man. The nuclear weapons radiate dangerous rays to whole earth.

So it is the duty of new generation to be free themselves from all these activities. We should encourage all activities that nurture our nature and discourage all those destroy our nature.

Mainstreaming Green Energy

Combating climate change , securing energy supply and meeting ever increasing energy requirements are the main challenges our society is facing in the present time. Renewable energy is fast becoming a mainstream energy source in response to these concerns in an increasingly globalised market place.

The Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry of India and Madras Chamber of Commerce & Industry in collaboration with the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy are organizing a conference on “Mainstreaming Green Energy” on 29^th April in Chennai.

Source: The Hindu Dated 13/4/2010

Applications invited

British Council India invites application for the International Climate Champions 2010 Programme. It is aimed at youth in age category 18 – 23 who has an active interest in environment and climate change.

As a  British Council International Climate Champion, one will raise awareness , address impacts through a project and contribute to the growing international consensus on the need to tackle climate change. The British Council will support the chosen candidate with training and guidance , opportunities to meet with decision makers , to network at local, national and international levels.

Applicants should be an Indian citizen between 18 and 23  years of age as on May 31 , 2010 and should have a climate change project idea. Download application form and send it to lcf.projects@in.britishcouncil.org on or before May 15

Source : The Hindu Dated 13/4/2010.

Join the 'Earth Hour'

This Saturday, the symbols of our civilization, iconic buildings and landmarks from India to Australia to America, will stand in darkness, to help bring to light one of the biggest challenges of our generation-- Climate Change.

The 'Earth Hour' that began as a show of solidarity against climate change has today become a global movement. It brings together a whole generation of humankind, from across the world and across all walks of life, in celebration and contemplation of the one thing we all have in common - our planet. It is a call to stand up, to take responsibility, to get involved and lead the way towards a sustainable future.

Join the 'Earth Hour' by switching off all lights this Saturday - 8.30 PM - 9.30 PM. Just for one hour.

 

For more details please visit  www.earthhour.in

World Water Day - A thought after 50 years.

Here is a narration of story that may take place after 50 years in this earth.On this World Water Day read it carefully.

My name is Water.My parents put this name to me in calculation that it will be a strange name and strange substance on one day.And that day had came.Today it is 2060 March 22, another World Water Day.

On this day there is no water in earth.I am only 60 tears old now.But you will not believe me .You will say that I had hit a century and still not out as a burden to earth.

When I was 10 years old this day was celebrated in my school.I still remember that day.My headmaster asked me to write an article on this and to put it in School's blog.I wrote it and it got a lot of appreciations from all over the world.In that days I used to bath in ponds in my house.Also there was a river near to my house where also I used to bath at evening.The fresh flowing water of river and cool water of pond were some magnificient scene.

There were a lot of ponds and wells near to my house.People were happy to share water with those poor people who had no wells and ponds.At evening all went to bath in river and to enjoy the breeze.The path to river and all roadsides were full of trees with high canopy.

Ladies used to bath oiling their long hairs and cleaning it with leaves and flowers of shoe flower.People used to bath twice daily.All the houses were adorned with flowering plants and leafy plants.I used to water them daily.All this was the story of fifty years back.And today the story is too worse.I wish to share it also here.

I hadn't bathed for about five years now.I just took an oil bath.You know what is it? A piece of cloth will be socked with oil and it will be rubbed all over the body.Both my kidneys are going to fail due to lack of water drinking and I will become a memory soon.

Today ladies have no long hairs.They can be seen only in old photos.All are like bald headed now irrespective of male and female.Due to scarcity of water it is impossible to clean head and hairs.So the only way is to shave it fully.So all adopt this method.

 You will wonder to know that only some countries have water deposits now .They had put a large amount in their budget for protecting it and the country also.The waterless countries are constantly threatening them about an attack to get water from there.Around a pond or well about 50 soldiers are constantly rounding with most modern arms.

I was asked to drink 8 glasses of water daily.Now I am not allowed to drink more than half a cup of water.Hence my skin had turned dry and scaly.Almost all are suffering from skin diseases.There is no solution for this.Being treeless areas there is no shade, no oxygen and no fruits.The average life span of human had shortened to 40 years.Living 40 years is too much difficult also.

What to do now?I had no idea.Water cannot be synthesised in laboratories.Can you see a heap there ?It was the river that I mentioned earlier.All the warnings were given in my childhood days.But we didn't care.Now the only way is to experience it.On next World Water Day I may not be here to put such a post.

Ice deposits on moon – Chandrayan Strikes again.

The Miracles by Chandrayan – 1 , the first moon mission of India launched on 2008 October 22 continues. Months ago Chandrayan – 1 identified the presence of water in moon. American space agency NASA’s ( National Aeronautics and Space Administration) Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3), one of the instruments on board of Chandrayaan-1, had recognised that water was getting formed even in the sun-lit regions of moon. That was a wonderful observation after reporting some failure of Chandrayaan-1.

Now another instrument on board of Chandrayaan-1, had discovered huge deposits of ice in the north pole of moon. More than 40 craters with ice deposits had discovered in the moon’s North Pole by Miniature Synthetic Aperture Radar (Mini-SAR) of NASA. Both the poles of moon are permanently shadowed regions and are cold. So scientists guessed that these areas will have high ice deposits. Mini-SAR’s mission was to explore this guess. When the pictures caught by Mini-SAR analysed the miracle that world expected came out. The craters have a diameter varying from 2 kilo meter to 15 kilo meters. It is estimated that about 60 crore metric tone of ice deposits will be there in moon.

Mr. M. Annadurai’s ( Project Director, Chandrayaan-1 and 2 ) response on the discovery of this ice craters was as follows.

“A positive direction for future explorations with respect to lunar resources and pursuit of pure science. We are seeing a large number of craters . That gives an indication of a good quantum of polar ice on the moon. Earlier, we had seen the physical phenomenon of water getting formed in one region. We are now seeing water getting retained in another region as ice deposits. This is called volatile transportation. These discoveries indicate that we had a good combination of instruments on board Chandrayaan-1. They could not have been made by other optical instruments which need sunlight to see what is there.”

The findings of Mini-SAR have published in the journal, Geophysical Research Letters. The team behind the findings consist scientists from 13 agencies over U.S. and India. The Indian Scientists include Chandrayan – 1 principal scientist Prof. J.N. Goswami , Director of Ahmedabad Physical Research Laboratory and Mr. M. Chakrabarti of the Space Applications Centre, Ahmedabad.

The immediate response by Prof. J.N Goswami was “an interesting and new result.”.

“ It is quite interesting from our perspective. We thought it would be there, and it is there. I am confident that whatever signals we are getting are correct.

We are now finding it in solid form. So this is very important. Water is an important resource if people want to go to the moon ” Prof. Dr. Goswami added.

Prof. Paul Spoodils, the principal investigator of the Mini-SAR experiment at the Lunar and Planetary Institute, U.S.A says “the pictures and data receiving from Mini-SAR, M3 and LCROSS are a clear indication of water creation, migration, deposition and retention are occurring on the moon ”

“The new findings add to the growing scientific understanding of multiple forms of water on the moon,” the release in Geophysical Research Letters said.

The 11 scientific instruments that flew on board of India’s Chandrayaan-1 include the Mini-SAR , Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) and Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) all by NASA.

The discovery is a golden quill on the cap of Indian Space Research Organisation (I S R O )also as it is the brain behind Chandrayan – 1. As an Indian all of us are proud on this discovery. We can expect more and more miracles by our proud Chandrayan series in future.