Save forests. Stop Deforestation.

Our forests are disappearing at a rapid rate. Stop Deforestation. Start afforestation.

Done by: Badrinarayan. R

This PPT was presented in Sri Sankara Senior Secondary School, Adyar, Chennai on 3/12/2010  for Biodiversity Year 2010 celebrations…

Link between Biodiversity and Humans

Here is a presentation about how the flora and fauna(biodiversity) around helps humans: Link between biodiversity and humans

Done by: Akshat Jain

(Credits: Slideshare)

This PPT was presented in Sri Sankara Senior Secondary School, Adyar, Chennai on 3/12/2010 for Biodiversity Year 2010 celebrations…

Interviewing Mrs. Padmini Mani

As many of you may be aware, Kodaikanal is a beautiful little hill town in Southern India which has seen tremendous efforts of its  residents to make it a plastic-free zone. The RE:bags team interviewed Mrs. Padmini Mani, who was one of the pioneers of this initiative. She is the founder of ‘My school Satya Surabhi’, a school for the underprivileged in the remote hills of Kodaikanal. The REbags team interviewed Mrs. Padmini Mani, who was one of the pioneers of this initiative. She is the founder of ‘My school Satya Surabhi’, a school for the underprivileged in the remote hills of Kodaikanal.

Padmini & Ram Mani of My School Satya Surabhi

REbags: How did this idea about the ban of plastic in Kodaikanal occur to you? How many of you have been involved in this?

Mrs. Padmini:  At the outset I would like to congratulate you for taking up the menacing issue of the use of plastic. Please spread the word and keep up the fight.
The idea occurred to me when I visited The U.S in 1990 I noticed that the roads and other places were not littered with plastic which looks ugly to say the least. I came back to India and wanted to clean up Kodaikanal. Since I was teaching my task became easier I motivated a group of students whom I made aware about the dangers of Plastic use and then we started hands on cleaning movement, we went about talking to shops, restaurants and homes showing them how plastic is harmful to the environment.

REbags: What was the response of the people? Were there any protests?

Mrs. Padmini: Initially the response of the people was very negative because they did not realize the dangers and hazards of Plastic use. There were no protests but the plastic continued to show its ugly face. We wrote to the Green Bench as also the Collector. All we received was lip sympathy. But with the help of like-minded friends, we were able to take this initiative forward.

REbags: Is there a penalty if this is violated?

Mrs. Padmini: At last plastic is officially banned in Kodaikanal and there is a fine of Rs. 500/ if you are caught using plastic.

REbags: Do you have any such plans for any other places?

Mrs. Padmini: Not as of now. However I continue to tell people, restaurants and other offenders wherever I go. The plastic menace in Kodaikanal is still not resolved. The tourists still use it because they are lazy. Another reason is that there is not enough publicity. In this regard the Government should take up the matter on a war footing and we now rely on young people like you with zeal.

REbags: How do you create awareness for this concept in the mind of your students and teachers?

Mrs. Padmini: We talk to our students every day, show by example, that if there are mounds of plastic nothing will grow in that place, as plastic is non-degradeable. Thus spoil the environment. It is a continual war and needs the cooperation of the Government, public, and workers. As long as there is a big and powerful lobby (the plastic bag industry) we may not be able to get rid of its rampant use. But we will keep trying and believing in what we are doing.

REbags: Can you give us some guidelines that we can all implement?

Mrs. Padmini:

• SPREAD AWARENESS – Educate the public in the dangers of the use of plastic. They themselves have to say NO to plastic.
• PLASTIC DISPOSAL – All plastic has to be disposed of separately. People should be taught and encouraged to separate the plastic from the organic waste, in their homes itself.
• TEACH BY EXAMPLE – Never accept anything in a plastic packing.
• Keep sending APPEALS AND REPRESENTATIONS to the Government, Panchayat and other Government bodies.
• DO NOT GIVE UP.

See below some links to see how Mrs Padmini Mani is inculcating ecological sensitivity in young minds.

• A clean clean Kodai
  Sensitivity to Nature

Celebrate Diwali by lighting lamps, not by blasting childhood and the Environment.

The name Diwali is itself another name of the word Dīpāvali (दीपावली ), which translates into row of lamps.

Diwali involves the lighting of small clay lamps (diyas)  filled with oil to signify the triumph of good over evil.

Then how did these harmful fire-crackers come into the picture?

Pyrotechnics or the commonly known fireworks have become an inseparable part of festivities not only in India but all over the world. India produces roughly <span>Rs. 250 crores</span> worth of firecrackers annually. Despite the erratic fluctuation in the market prices this commodity sells liker hot-cake during almost all national festivities including marriages, victory celebrations and other occasions of revelry. Of these, Diwali is one festival which accounts for the highest consumption in our country.

Some Heart-Rending facts :

1. The fourth largest air pollutant in Chennai. One day of Diwali celebration causes the amount of pollution equivalent to those caused by vehicles in 37 days (That’s a lot!)

2. The temperature in Chennai increases by 1.6 degrees on an average over the next 11 days after Diwali.

3. It leads to neurological diseases, ASTHMA, deafening and skin infections.

4. It kills at-least 13% of Chennai’s bird population. The stray animals get harassed and it causes a lot of problems to the resident population.

5. The wash off from the crackers causes leaves behind cancer causing residues in the ground water. The effulgent, colourful and deafening crackers come out of the tiny hands of over one and half lakh children compelled to toil day and night in suffocating worksheds, anticipating death or mutilation due to the explosive nature of the material they handle.

6.The matches & fireworks industries of Sivakasi, Virudh Nagar, Sattur districts of Tamil Nadu state are holding more than a lakh of children, crushing the very enjoyable span of their childhood. Besides, Agra, Jhansi, Lucknow, Kanpur, Etawah, Varanasi districts of Uttar Pradesh; Jaipur, Bikaner, Udaipur of Rajasthan; Bhopal,, Indore, Raipur of Madhya Pradesh; Rohtak, Bhiwani of Haryana, Howrah, 24 Pargans of West Bengal also account for child employment in thousands in this extremely hazardous industry. Even places unknown earlier for firecrackers have been reported of having illegal firecrackers units. 100 child labourers were rescued last year from 15 such illegal firecrackers units in the town of Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh.

7. The production pace gets accelerated during September-October to meet the enormous demand during Diwali. To cope up with the target, thousands of children are employed on casual basis.

How can we tackle the menace?

• “Charity begins at home”. First, we must stop using Firecrackers.
• Educate our children about the darker side of this illuminating object. In its place, provide your children with colourful candles, attractive toys etc. The children might be obstinate in the beginning. But certainly they will watch the point with our perseverance and commitment.
• Spread the message among your friends, relatives and well-wishers. Try to arrange an informal family get-together of theses persons, well ahead of Diwali and explain the plight of the children engaged in the industry. Try to convince them and the children on the wasteful extravaganza, the environmental pollution, risk of accidents and dangers to lives and property involved in lighting fireworks.
• If you happen to be a teacher, or doctor, or people’s representative, social worker, or a village head your responsibility naturally assumes greater dimension. Try to educate the children, parents and others taking few hours off your schedule. You are doing a world of good to those lakhs of children for whom Diwali or Dussera does not convey anything special than a killing routine at work.
• Social workers can organize wall-writing, distribution of handbills, personal contact of head-masters/head-mistresses etc. The children will easily get influenced through their teacher. If possible the teachers can arrange a rally in their area to highlight the issue.
• During the festivities of Diwali, Dussera and other religious functions, cultural programmes like street drama, audio-visual programmes etc. cam be organized.
• Contact press/media and get them involved in highlighting the issue. Press statements be issued covering the entire gamut of the campaign. Launch a signature campaign in support of boycott of fireworks involving prominent personalities of the area.

Would Lord Rama like it if we trouble and irritate others?

THEN WHY BURST CRACKERS?

LETS STAND UP AGAINST FIRE CRACKERS.

Current status of the Plastic ban in Rajasthan

Rajasthan manufacturers oppose plastic ban

Manufacturers’ association says the move will lead to closure of almost 400 units and render thousands unemployed.

Opposing the proposed ban on use of plastic in Rajasthan, an association of plastic manufacturers today said over 400 industrial units would face closure and thousands of employees rendered jobless if the order is implemented from August one this year.

Allegations were made by politicians that the state government is indulging in false propaganda to harass and exploit plastic manufacturers, adding that over 500 plastic recycling units would also face closure if the ban is imposed.

Cows – sacred in India – frequently asphyxiate after trying to eat the bags.

Any infringement of the notification could result in five years imprisonment or a fine up to Rs100,000 (£1,372) or both. Recurrence of the offence may lead to a penalty of Rs5,000 (£68) a day.

Earlier this July,

The government had announced a complete ban on plastic bags.

The measure was first proposed in May after local municipal corporations had complained of blocked sewer lines, drainage systems and water distribution pipelines due to plastics buried in the soil, providing breeding grounds for malaria and dengue fever.

In Mumbai in 2005 India experienced massive monsoon flooding partially as a result of drains blocked by plastic bags, resulting in over 1000 deaths.

Similar flooding happened in 1988 and 1998 in Bangladesh, which led to the banning of plastic bags in 2002.

Rise above plastic.

REbags

PLASTIC KILLS.

When nature gives us SO much why are we destroying it?

REACT NOW. Give up plastic,use its Eco-friendly alternatives such as cotton bags,jute bags,etc.

Plastic kills OVER a 100 cows in India everyday.

Plastics do not biodegrade. They only become smaller and smaller through a process called photodegradation.

That seems like a solution of sorts, right? If the plastic is so small that we don’t see it then it sort of goes away, right? Wrong. What happens is that plastic floats just like the food marine life normally eats so they do. They end up starving because they cannot digest the plastic.The same happens with birds. Because plastic appears as food to them they ingest it, ultimately starving because their body cannot rid itself of the plastic pieces.If that wasn’t bad enough, plastic has the ability to actually attract and absorb oil based or hydrophobic elements like PCB. So not only is the plastic alone a hazard, but it can also contain nasty poisons on top of it adding another layer of danger to marine life.

So what to do? Be plastic aware. Would you believe that only 5% of plastic gets recycled? Do your part and take the extra step to make sure all of your recyclable plastic gets recycled. Purchase reusable water containers instead of bottled water. Go on a beach clean up. Refuse to purchase items that are over packaged in plastic.