Environmental Issues on Pitara Kids Network

What is Water Harvesting?

Fri, 09 May 2003 05:03:49 +0000

Come summer and the entire nation seems to have just one word on its lips – water. Year 2000 saw one of the worst summers recorded in the history of India. The drought in the state of Gujarat and Rajasthan was the worst in decades.

Fresh water, they say is a scarce resource. Is it?

During the monsoons every year, we allow huge amounts of fresh water to run off our roads and pavements into the drains where it mixes with the sewage and heads straight for the rivers where we dump waste. Did you know that this rain water is enough to see us through the summers?

What is the Ozone Hole?

Mon, 14 Oct 2002 11:03:48 +0000

On beaches as well as on the cricket ground, it is always possible to spot people with some kind of cream on their bodies or faces. Remember the South African pace bowler Alan Donald or ‘White Lightning’ as he is called, with “war-paint” on his face? No, it is not an attempt at camouflage, simply an effort to gain protection from the ultraviolet rays of the sun.

And therein lies a paradox – it is the light and heat of the sun that sustains life on earth, but among its many friendly rays are some harmful ones as well. These ultraviolet (UV, as they are called in all popular sunscreen lotions) rays can kill life forms, including humans, if they are exposed to it beyond a limit.

Venice is Sinking

Thu, 05 Dec 2002 03:58:37 +0000

Most people all over the world travel by the road. In a city in Italy however, waterways make up the primary commuting routes. The city of Venice, rich in architectural marvels, is best known for its canals. Unfortunately, this beautiful city of flat-bottomed boats (Gondolas), churches and quaint cobbled streets is sinking and sinking fast.

Venice is Sinking

Known as the ‘Queen of the Adriatic’, Venice is situated on 120 islands formed by canals in the lagoon between the mouths of the Po and the Piave rivers, at the northern extremity of the Adriatic Sea. And even the bits of firm ground have rather boggy foundations and all this is slowly getting eroded.

The Plastic Menace

Tue, 09 Jan 2001 02:18:05 +0000

Heavy rains lashed Mumbai city a few months ago, the worst rains in decades. The downpour literally brought the city to a standstill. And all because of discarded plastic bags. Plastic bags or polythene bags are essentially made of petro-chemicals.

These bags are very thin and in a strong wind can fly away from garbage bins and land on drains and rain-water channels. The bags then clog the drains as they do not let water to flow through.

Trees of Delhi – Under the Axe!

Tue, 14 Nov 2006 12:52:38 +0000

Where: The Capital city of New Delhi, India

March 26, 2007: Imagine you are in a city where there are a lot of trees, large parks, open spaces, playgrounds. Slowly, the city starts filling up with more and more people. These people need houses. They need transport, to get from one place to another. They need more schools, more hospitals, more office buildings, more markets, more space. How will they get this space, and who decides which space to use?

The Bt Brinjal Battle

Wed, 06 Oct 2010 08:52:52 +0000

Where: New Delhi, India

February 20, 2010 : India’s environment minister Jairam Ramesh had announced that Bt Brinjal, a genetically modified (GM) plant, would be introduced for cultivation across the country. A storm of public protests followed. As a result, the introduction has been put on hold for the time being. On February 9, 2010, the government of India announced that it needs more time to take a final decision.

Bt Brinjal is brinjal modified by the addition of a gene from ‘Bacillus thuringiensis’ (a bacterium). This gene makes the plant resistant to pests. Bt Brinjal was developed by an American company. If it is introduced it will be India’s first GM food crop. Bt Cotton has already been introduced in India.

Polluted India

Fri, 19 Nov 1999 14:45:31 +0000

Where: Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India

Hussain Sagar in Hyderabad is a lake famous for the thousands of migratory birds it attracts from other parts of India and abroad, in the winter months. But the seagulls, ducks and other migratory birds no longer find it hospitable. They only use it as a stopover and prefer to fly away elsewhere.

Too many idols spoil the lake

The lake has seen more clay idols of deities such as Ganesh and Durga being immersed in its waters than any other lake in the vicinity. The chemicals used to paint the idols are highly toxic. They contaminate the waters, the algae and the water plants in it.

Buried under a Garbage Mountain

Sat, 17 Feb 2001 18:54:52 +0000

August 5: Recently, a group of homeless people living in the streets of Manila came to know the meaning of a mountain of garbage. One such mountain loomed behind their makeshift shelter.

The pile of garbage grew and grew. Like Jack’s beanstalk. And, then, one day, it rained. The rains loosened the pile and it collapsed. On the houses of the squatters. Crushing them and the people in them, in the process.

The result: At least 218 people dead.

Dangerous Red Tide in HongKong

Sun, 04 Nov 2001 03:40:23 +0000

Sea beaches around HongKong have a problem. They regularly face the threat of a ‘Red Tide’.

The ‘Red Tide’ kills fish in sea farms and in the open seas. Actually, the ‘Red Tide’ is reddish brown algae that floats on water near the coastline. It enters the gills of the fish swimming about in the sea and kills them.

The gills are like noses of the fish. They help the fish breathe. When the algae enters the gills, it creates havoc.

Pushkar Lake Water or Sugarcane Juice?

Tue, 29 Apr 2003 20:14:14 +0000

May 19: If you take a glass of water from the famous Pushkar lake in Rajasthan, it looks like sugarcane juice. But, that is where the simile ends. It is neither sweet, nor does it smell fresh.

It has a rotten smell and you will not feel like tasting it. Plus, it has fish bones and mud in it – because, in the past two weeks, 200 fish weighing between 5-20 kilograms have died in the brown depths due to lack of life-sustaining oxygen, The Indian Express newspaper reports.

Global Warming

Thu, 14 Aug 1997 19:44:43 +0000

Konish Biswas, a student of Standard VIII puts forth his views on a problem that is affecting the whole planet.

Nowadays as you know, there is a lot of pollution in the atmosphere. The level of carbon dioxide and other such gases (known as greenhouse gases) is rising. These gases trap the heat and do not let it escape from the atmosphere.

Global Warming [Illustration by Sudheer Nath]

When the presence of these gases goes beyond a level, the temperature rises. This happened to planet Venus and today, it has deadly clouds of carbon dioxide. Its atmosphere is blazing hot.

More fuel to the CNG fire

Tue, 24 May 2005 13:26:52 +0000

August 16: It’s a nightmare either way. Too little, and we have thousands of autorickshaws and bus drivers in Delhi waiting for their turn to fill their fuel tanks with the new eco-friendly CNG or Compressed Natural Gas. Too much, and we have the gas pipe of a bus bursting when a careless attendant over-filled a tank at the Bhikaji Cama Place mother station.

On the other side, Petroleum Minister, Mr Ram Naik is now championing the cause of low-sulpher diesel, and more recently, LPG (liquefied petroleum gas), which we use as cooking gas. He is grumbling that gas wells have dried up.

A Problem, Naturally!

Tue, 23 Dec 2003 21:46:11 +0000

April 4: On April 1 or Fool’s Day, India’s capital, New Delhi, wore a deserted look. There were no public vehicles on the road. According to a Supreme Court decision passed two years ago, they were required to run on compressed natural gas or CNG, to ease the terrible pollution levels in the city.

For two years, two successive Delhi governments slept through the deadline, not bothering to create a system that would make the transition easy.

Indians: Masters of Junk

Wed, 02 Oct 1996 13:57:52 +0000

Where: New Delhi, India

In the last couple of years, in the Indian capital, Delhi, and in many other parts of the country, schoolchildren have led a very effective campaign against plastic – the material that is choking the earth.

But why do we Indians store so much junk? Well known sociologist Shiv Visvanathan tells us the reason in a simple and detailed way.

June 5, 2000: Indians are masters of junk. And out of junk they produce masterpieces. One such junk master is the sculptor Nek Chand who fashioned his sculptures from waste. The story goes that Nek chand was once invited to America to fashion sculptures, works of art out of waste. Nek Chand came back disillusioned and glum complaining that their junk was not so good, that its feel and smell was so alien.

Eleven-year-old Eco-ambassador

Sun, 30 Dec 2001 22:45:43 +0000

July 31: Somya Ahuja does not like the way people treat their environment. So she wrote an essay about it. And that essay led to her becoming India’s Eco-ambassador at a children’s conference in England recently.

Eleven-year-old Somya lives in Delhi – a city which has the distinction of being one of the most polluted cities in the world. The city’s roads are choked with cars, lorries, buses, tempos and three wheelers. Most of these vehicles belch poisonous gases.

The Misfortunes of Kera..la

Mon, 25 Mar 2002 05:14:00 +0000

December 9: What are the images that come to mind when one hears the name – Kerala? Beaches, backwaters and… coconut trees. Rows and rows of coconut (kera) trees swaying in the breeze along the coastline, a picture perfect sight in this coastal state in South India.

But this image might be in danger of disappearing. A very poor demand for coconuts combined with an all time low price for the fruit, is ruining the thriving coconut business in the state.

The Flood

Tue, 10 Feb 1998 10:58:25 +0000

Where: New Delhi, India

Every day, Indian newspapers carry reports that large parts of Bihar, Bengal and north-east India are flooded, causing loss to human and animal lives, and property. This happens year after year. What is the reason for these floods? An indepth report from ‘Gobar Times’, a children’s magazine on the environment brought out by the Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment.

The Flood

May 12, 2000: The mighty Himalayas get knocked out by the monsoon system every year. For four months in a year, the mountains get a concentrated battering by two gargantuan blue-grey fists — the Bay of Bengal monsoon current and the Arabian Sea current. As an opponent, the Himalayas are very big, but not very strong. After all, they once used to be the bottom of the sea, just sand and slimy sediments!

The Filmmaker

Tue, 04 Jun 2002 06:04:38 +0000

Shooting ‘Shores of Silence’, was probably more exciting than shooting a high-voltage action thriller for Mike Pandey and his two crewmembers. The small fishing boat that they rode the high seas in, was tossed by huge waves like a cork, threatening their life and equipment several times. But the three hung on, determined to shoot the sequence that was to be the highlight of the film – the capturing and slaughtering of giant whale sharks.

The Lake and the Birds

Wed, 15 Dec 1999 06:46:25 +0000

Where: Himachal Pradesh, India

March 8, 2001: The picturesque Pong Dam lake region in the mountainous state of Himachal Pradesh, is losing its lustre. A great deal of its charm has lain in the fact that it is north India’s largest refuge for migrating birds escaping harsh winters abroad. But not for long, if recent trends are any indication.

A low water level in the lake this year has forced the migratory birds to fly away one month in advance, says a report in The Indian Express.

The Final Verdict

Fri, 05 Mar 1999 15:42:11 +0000

Khushboo Banka is a IX standard student of MB Girls High School, Calcutta. Here, she puts forth her views about Mother Earth.

The Final Verdict [Illustration by Shinod AP]

Beyond the horizon, stands Mother Nature waiting for the final verdict – her destruction. She is serving a life-term of millions of years and she is sentensed by her own children. Yes, us Humans.

A few million years ago, when Nature became the mother of thousands of living things, she had not thought that her own children will become her murderers. But how can her children forget that without her they would not survive either? If she dies, who will take care of them? Where will they go? How will they breathe? Will they try to change their destiny?

The Chief Minister and the Butterfly

Thu, 17 Sep 1998 07:22:25 +0000

Where: Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India

July 1, 2000: Indian politicians are mighty people, especially when they are in power. Even Nature trembles before their arrogant minds. Some years ago, when India was ruled by a Congress-I government, its environment minister decided to build a guest house in Manali. Why not, you may ask. It’s a nice place. But there was one small problem – he wanted to have the course of a river changed so that he could have his guesthouse exactly where he wanted it.

High Performance, Low Pollution

Thu, 23 May 2002 15:44:47 +0000

With the number of vehicles and industries growing at an alarming rate in India, pollution levels are also shooting up. Most of us go about our daily lives feeling the impact of pollution in smarting eyes and asthmatic sighs, but we do not do much beyond talking about it. But there are some people who are actually thinking of ways in which to preserve a green environment so that we can all breathe cleaner air.