Learning from kids..

I recently made this poster for my nephew who's in the 4th standard, for his summer homework.. It re-kindled my love for nature and protecting the environment..

A group of people - 40 altogether - we went to see the movie “An Inconvinient Truth“.

I highly recommend it, regardless of the fact that Al Gore is in the main role - as a key note speaker on the issues of global warming.

I say “regardless” because some people may think the movie is biased just for one reason - that he’s the main character. In fact he is not. He’s just the person who tells us how important it is to save our planet from ourselves.

You will read plenty of information on the Internet about the movie, or about the global warming. I can recommend the official web site.

101 Reasons To Turn Veggie

I have a few favourite websites i goto and will post things from them too by and by, but below there is a very nice article which i got off:

http://www.flex.com/~jai/articles/101.html

I have reproduced it word for word… please read, get warned, and spread it around… not just to read, but have people completely stop eating meat and related stuff…

ONE HUNDRED & ONE

REASONS TO GO

VEGETARIAN

People Land Air Water Efficiency Animals Health

PEOPLE

1. Every year in the UK we feed our livestock enough food to feed 250,000,000 people while in the world 30,000,000 people die of starvation
2. 20 vegetarians can live off the land required by one meat eater
3. Every 3 seconds a child dies of starvation somewhere in the world
4. If Americans reduced their meat consumption by 10% it would free 12,000,000 tons of grain - enough to feed 60,000,000 people (the population of Great Britain)
5. If all Americans became vegetarian, it would free enough grain to feed 600,000,000 people (the population of India)
6. Intensification in animal farming has displaced 1,000,000's of people from their traditional lands - eg. indigenous people in south & central america, native americans in north america & crofters in Great Britain - this is continuing today
7. People displaced from their lands into cities succumb to dietary deficiency, diseases, parasites & opportunistic diseases
8. In third world countries 1 in 10 babies die before their first birthday
9. The UK imports �46,000,000 worth of grain from third world countries to feed our livestock
10. Due to overgrazing 850,000,000 people live on land threatened by desertification & over 230,000,000 already live on land so severely desertified that they are unable to sustain their existence & face imminent starvation
11. 1,000,000,000 people in the west gorging on meat & dairy leave 1,000,000,000 to waste away & 3,500,000,000 teeter on the brink

    LAND

12. If they continue to clear American forests to raise cattle at the present rate, in 50 years there will be none left
13. 1 acre yields 165 lbs of beef or 20,000 lbs of potatoes
14. 8/10 of cultivated land in the UK is used to grow food for animals (14,732,000 hectares)
15. It takes 16lbs of high protein soya to produce 1 lb of beef
16. Since 1945 in the UK we have lost 95% of flower meadows, 50% of ancient woodlands, 40% of heathlands, 50% of wet lands & 224,000 km of hedgerows all due to animal farming
17. Pressure on land due to meat farming leads to soil erosion 6billion tons/year in the USA
18. If everyone went vegetarian upto 90% of land used for animal farming could be taken out of production & used to replant woodlands, leisure activities etc.
19. 25% of Central america's forests have been destroyed for cattle grazing since 1960
20. Between 1966-1983 38% of the Amazon rain forest was destroyed for cattle grazing
21. 90% of cattle ranches established on cleared forest land go bankrupt in less than 8 years as the land becomes barren due to nutrient loss & overgrazing
22. Overgrazing by cattle is destroying the land & increasing desertification, nearly 430 million acres in the USA alone has suffered a 25-50% reduction in yield since first grazed
23. An inch of topsoil takes 200-1000 years to develop - yet in the USA they have lost around 1/3 of their prime topsoil in 200 years (around 7 inches) due to animal farming
24. Land will be lost due to rises in sea level due to global warming due to animal farming

    AIR

25. The destruction of the rainforest by cattle farmers is destroying the lungs of the planet & reducing the worlds capacity to replenish our oxygen supply
26. The 1,300,000,000 cattle in the world emit 60,000,000 tons of methane per year (methane is a greenhouse gas & leads to global warming)
27. Burning of forests, grasslands & agricultural waste associated with animal farming releases 50-100,000,000 tons of methane per year
28. Combining these figures, 25% of methane emissions are due to animal farming (not including the billions of sheep, pigs & poultry so the real figure is much higher)
29. Fertilizer used to grow crops to feed to animals releases nitrous oxide - thought to account for 6% of the greenhouse effect
30. Fertilizer, weedkiller & pesticides sprayed on crops enter the atmosphere creating a noxious carcinogenic cocktail
31. CFCs are released into the air from refrigeration units used to store decomposing flesh (meat), milk & butter - CFCs are destroy the ozone layer
32. Ammonia from animal urine also pollutes the atmosphere
33. CO2 is released by burning oil & petrol in lorries, ships, abattoirs, dairies, factories etc. associated with meat & dairy production
34. Emissions from large chemical plants which produce fertilizer, weedkiller & other agricultural chemicals are also poisoning our air

    WATER

35. 25 gallons of water to produce 1lb of wheat & 2500 gallons to produce 1lb of meat
36. UK farm animals produce 200,000,000 tonnes of slurry (liquid excrement) every year, the majority of which ends up in our rivers
37. Bloody waste water from abattoirs ends up in our rivers
38. In the USA every second humans produce 12,000 lbs of effluent while farmed animals produce 250,000 lbs
39. Nitrates & pesticides used on crops grown to feed livestock end up in our rivers
40. Meat & dairy farming uses 70 litres of water per day per animal in the UK or 159,250,000,000 litres per year in total
41. The water used to produce 10 lbs of steak is equivalent to the average consumption of water for an entire household for an entire year
42. Depletion of groundwater reserves to grow crops for animals & to supply abattoirs will lead to greater water shortages
43. Aquafers (stores of underground water) in the San Joaquin valley in the USA are being drained at the rate of 500,000,000,000 gallons/year to produce meat
44. 18% of all agricultural land in the world is irrigated & as global warming increases (partly due to animal farming) it will cost $200,000,000 to keep these systems going
45. The water used to produce a 1000 lb beef steer is enough to float a Destroyer battleship
46. The liquid waste from the various parts of the meat & dairy industry flow into the rivers & from there into the seas polluting them & encouraging huge algal blooms to grow

    EFFICIENCY

47. To produce 1calorie of energy from meat takes 60 calories of petrol, whereas growing grains & legumes to directly feed people produces 20 calories for each calorie of fuel used ( thats 1200 times more efficient)
48. Meat & dairy farming uses billions of gallons of oil to run tractors, fuel ships & lorries (to move animal feed & animals), pump billions of gallons of water to irrigate fields & run slaughterhouses, power refrigeration units to prevent the corpses from decomposing & to power sewage plants to clean up some of the pollution produced
49. Cattle convert only 6% of their energy intake (mainly grains & soya) into flesh, the remaining 94% is wasted as heat, movement (which is why they keep many animals in very close confinement), hair, bones, faeces etc
50. 1lb of beef takes 1 gallon of petrol to produce
51. A family of four eating beef for a year uses enough petrol to run a car for 6 months (obviously depending on how far you drive!)
52. If the full ecological cost of meat was passed onto the consumer - the price would be quadrupled (at least)
53. The EC spends �100,000,000's to subsidise animal production resulting in lakes of unwanted milk & mountains of unwanted meat & butter. This money could be better spent encouraging organic fruit, vegetable & grain production
54. In the USA in 1979 145,000,000 tons of crops were fed to cattle resulting in only 21million tons of animal bodies - the cost of the wasted crops was $20,000,000,000
55. Between 1950 & 1985 grain production in Europe & the USA increased massively but 2/3 was fed to animals
56. 70% of all grain is fed to animals
57. Eating vast quantities of animal flesh, eggs, milk & butter is a luxury that most of the planet can not afford

    ANIMALS

58. Fishing with drift (and other modern) nets weakens & destroys ecosystems by indiscriminately killing billions of sea creatures & disrupting the sea bed
59. Fishermen's nets kill 10 times as many other animals as the fish they are hoping to catch
60. Fish caught in nets die an agonising slow death of suffocation
61. Each year 15,000,000,000 land animals are slaughtered for food & an unknown but much larger number of sea creatures (including 1000's of dolphins caught accidentally)
62. Chickens are crammed into battery cages with upto 3 other birds, they are unable to even spread their wings & many can not even stand up
63. Unwanted male chicks (because they can't lay eggs) are gassed or pulped while their sisters go to the battery sheds
64. Chicks are debeaked without anaesthetic to prevent them injuring each other in the unnaturally confined conditions they are kept in - this is equivalent to having your fingernails pulled out without anaesthetic
65. Modern farming methods using growth hormones & artificial lighting mean that many chickens out grow their bones, resulting in fractured & broken legs
66. Sows are kept tethered in stalls 1.3 x 1 metre on concrete or slatted floors - they can not even turn around
67. Poultry raised for meat are kept in windowless broiler sheds, with around 20-30,000 in each shed, they live in an area of 10-20 cm square - fighting due to overcrowding is common & like battery hens they commonly suffer from supperating bed sores
68. Broilersheds are artificially lit 23 hours a day to produce rapid growth
69. Animals travel between farms & to slaughter in overcrowded transporters with no food or water - resulting in stress, injuries & deaths - legal requirements are widely ignored
70. 95% of poultry suffer injuries before being killed & 30% suffer broken bones
71. Problems with stunning practices mean that many animals have their throats slit while still conscious (around 6% of cattle or 200,000 per year) & are then dipped in tanks of scalding water (to loosen feathers, bristles etc.) again while fully conscious
72. 4000 animals die spurting their blood out every minute in a British slaughterhouse
73. Calf leather comes from animals killed at just 2 weeks old
74. Cows were fed on the ground up remains of other cows & sheep - the result is thought to be BSE (mad cow disease) in the USA cattle are fed partly on recycled plastic pellets
75. Cows only give milk for 10 months after they have a calf - so they are routinely artificially inseminated (ie. mechanically raped) to keep them pregnant & milking - their calves are taken away (usually at 12 hours old) for meat or export to veal crates
76. Cows would naturally live upto 20 years but are slaughtered after 5-7 years when their milk production begins to fall
77. In the UK animals are killed by first being stunned with electricity or a captive bolt gun (ie. a bolt is fired into their heads) before having their throats slit & being plunged into boiling water - all this happens on a production line with the animals being hung upside down from a moving conveyor belt - this is factory farming
78. "Animals are those unfortunate slaves & victims of the most brutal part of mankind" - John Stewart Mill (philosopher)
79. Veal calves are confined in stalls in the dark, unable to move & are fed on pigs blood , chocolate & dried milk (we are drinking the rich fresh milk of their mothers)
80. Cows naturally produce 5 litres of milk per day for their calves - under the intensified systems of modern farming they produce 25-40 litres per day - resulting in swollen & inflamed udders - at this rate they are soon worn out
81. Large areas of land are under monoculture to grow crops to feed to animals - these areas are wildlife deserts supporting fewer & fewer species.

    HEALTH

82. Vegetarians have a 20% lower rate of mortality from all causes (ie. they live longer & don't get sick as often)
83. Meat is full of traces of antibiotics, hormones, toxins produced by stress & pesticide residues that become concentrated from all the crops they have eaten
84. Fish contain heavy metals & other pollutants -many of which originated on farms
85. The world health organisation recommends a diet low in saturated fat, sugar, salt & with plenty of fibre - exactly what you get on a vegan/vegetarian diet
86. Farmed animals contain upto 50% saturated fat in their bodies
87. Vegetarians have 24% reduced risk of getting heart disease & Vegans a 57% reduction (heart disease is the biggest killer in the UK accounting for 50% of deaths)
88. Obesity is rare in vegetarians, obesity is related to many diseases
89. Vegans & vegetarians have lower blood pressure & cholesterol levels - high levels are associated with heart disease, strokes & kidney failure
90. Vegetarians have a 50% reduced risk of dying of diabetes
91. Vegetarians have a 40% reduced level of cancer than the general population thought to be because they have a higher intake of vitamins A,C & E
92. Vegetarians have a reduced risk of developing gall & kidney stones
93. 80% of food poisoning is due to infected meat (faeces, bacteria etc.) after all meat is decomposing flesh - most of the rest is due to salmonella in eggs
94. Osteoporosis due to calcium loss from bones is mainly due to the sulphur content in meat & casein protein in milk that cause calcium to be lost in the urine - the countries with the highest meat & dairy consumption are those with the highest levels of brittle bones
95. 50% of people do not have the enzyme to digest milk properly & milk allergy is related to asthma & eczema
96. Meat eaters have double the rate of Alzheimers disease as Vegans & Vegetarians - some people also think that Parkinsons disease is also linked to meat eating
97. Egg yolk is a dense concentration of saturated fat & the white is high in albumin protein associated with leaching calcium into your urine. Butter is 80% saturated fat, cream is 40% saturated fat & cheese is 25-40% saturated fat
98. Meat eaters are two and a half times more likely to get bowel cancer than Vegetarians
99. The cling film used to wrap meat in supermarkets & butchers contains chemicals linked to falling sperm counts in men
100. Chinese people (living mainly on a vegetarian diet) consume 20% more calories than Americans but Americans are 20% fatter
101. Of 2,100,000 deaths in the USA in 1987, 1,500,000 were related to diet (ie. meat & dairy)

AND I COULD GO ON !

If you've read this far, I hope that you are beginning to see that the Meat & Dairy industry is a major contributor to misery on this planet. It is destroying the health of people in rich countries, starving those in poor countries, it is torturing & killing billions of animals every year and in the meantime it is one of the major factors in the destruction of the environment - so what does the meat & dairy industry have to say in it's defence?

Well their only real point is usually "Meat is tasty" - fair enough a lot of people enjoy the taste of meat - but there are plenty of delicious alternatives (just consider the huge range of vegetarian dishes in Indian cooking - one of the oldest & most sophisticated cuisines in the world) and if you really crave meat & dairy, nowadays there are plenty of healthy non animal alternatives - just look in the supermarket & health food shop. So I hope you will agree it's pretty pathetic to consider all the evidence & then say "well I know you're right about the environment & health & the animals - but I just love my meat"

Take Action!!

Take Action!
This blog shows you how much carbon dioxide you can prevent from being released into the atmosphere and how much money you can save by making some small changes in your daily life. It’s our hope that the calculator will promote action, awareness and empowerment by showing you that one person can make a difference and help stop global warming.
There are many simple things you can do in your daily life — what you eat, what you drive, how you build your home — that can have an effect on your immediate surrounding, and on places as far away as Antactica. Here is a list of few things that you can do to make a difference.

Use Compact Fluorescent Bulbs
Replace 3 frequently used light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs. Save 300 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $60 per year. Take the Energy Star pledge.


Inflate Your Tires
Keep the tires on your car adequately inflated. Check them monthly. Save 250 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $840 per year.


Change Your Air Filter
Check your car's air filter monthly. Save 800 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $130 per year.


Fill the Dishwasher
Run your dishwasher only with a full load. Save 100 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $40 per year.


Use Recycled Paper
Make sure your printer paper is 100% post consumer recycled paper. Save 5 lbs. of carbon dioxide per ream of paper.


Adjust Your Thermostat
Move your heater thermostat down two degrees in winter and up two degrees in the summer. Save 2000 lbs of carbon dioxide and $98 per year.


Check Your Waterheater
Keep your water heater thermostat no higher than 120°F. Save 550 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $30 per year.


Change the AC Filter
Clean or replace dirty air conditioner filters as recommended. Save 350 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $150 per year.


Take Shorter Showers
Showers account for 2/3 of all water heating costs. Save 350 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $99 per year.


Install a Low-Flow Showerhead
Using less water in the shower means less energy to heat the water. Save 350 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $150.


Buy Products Locally
Buy locally and reduce the amount of energy required to drive your products to your store.


Buy Energy Certificates
Help spur the renewable energy market and cut global warming pollution by buying wind certificates and green tags.


Buy Minimally Packaged Goods
Less packaging could reduce your garbage by about 10%. Save 1,200 pounds of carbon dioxide and $1,000 per year.


Buy a Hybrid Car
The average driver could save 16,000 lbs. of CO2 and $3,750 per year driving a hybrid


Buy a Fuel Efficient Car
Getting a few extra miles per gallon makes a big difference. Save thousands of lbs. of CO2 and a lot of money per year.


Carpool When You Can
Own a big vehicle? Carpooling with friends and co-workers saves fuel. Save 790 lbs. of carbon dioxide and hundreds of dollars per year.


Don't Idle in Your Car
Idling wastes money and gas, and generates pollution and global warming causing emissions. Except when in traffic, turn your engine off if you must wait for more than 30 seconds.

Reduce Garbage
Buy products with less packaging and recycle paper, plastic and glass. Save 1,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide per year.


Plant a Tree
Trees suck up carbon dioxide and make clean air for us to breathe. Save 2,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide per year.


Insulate Your Water Heater
Keep your water heater insulated could save 1,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $40 per year.


Replace Old Appliances
Inefficient appliances waste energy. Save hundreds of lbs. of carbon dioxide and hundreds of dollars per year.


Weatherize Your Home
Caulk and weather strip your doorways and windows. Save 1,700 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $274 per year.


Use a Push Mower
Use your muscles instead of fossil fuels and get some exercise. Save 80 lbs of carbon dioxide per year.


Unplug Un-Used Electronics
Even when electronic devices are turned off, they use energy. Save over 1,000 lbs of carbon dioxide and $256 per year.


Put on a Sweater
Instead of turning up the heat in your home, wear more clothes Save 1,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $250 per year.


Insulate Your Home
Make sure your walls and ceilings are insulated. Save 2,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $245 per year.


Air Dry Your Clothes
Line-dry your clothes in the spring and summer instead of using the dryer. Save 700 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $75 per year.


Switch to a Tankless Water Heater
Your water will be heated as you use it rather than keeping a tank of hot water. Save 300 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $390 per year.


Switch to Double Pane Windows
Double pane windows keep more heat inside your home so you use less energy. Save 10,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $436 per year.


Buy Organic Food
The chemicals used in modern agriculture pollute the water supply, and require energy to produce.


Bring Cloth Bags to the Market
Using your own cloth bag instead of plastic or paper bags reduces waste and requires no additional energy.


Turn off Your Computer
Shut off your computer when not in use, and save 200 lbs of C02. Conserve energy by using your computer's "sleep mode" instead of a screensaver.


Be a Meat Reducer
The average American diet contributes an extra 1.5 tons of greenhouse gases per year compared with a vegetarian diet. Eliminating meat and dairy intake one day a week can make a big difference.

Ditch the Plastic
2.5 million individual plastic water bottles are thrown away every hour in the US. Start using a reusable water bottle and just say no to plastic!

Even though fuel prices are gradually coming down yet saving some money on fuel is not a bad idea. I guess almost everyone has heard the term "Car Pooling" but i don't know how many of us follow it. A lot of people might say they don't know how to arrange people for the car pool. Well there are definitely people at your work place!! Or maybe you can take the initiative to organise a car pool club at your workplace. And if you don't like the people you work with( a very frequent occurence) you can click here. This is India's largest car pooling website. And is active in almost all cities. Tehy can find the most ideal car mates for you based on location on pick up and drop, timings etc.Well hope you implement the idea. And save some more.

Plant A Tree This Diwali

The front page news in HT delhi on 30th october was that this has been the cleanest diwali yet since 2001. Credit goes to educating people around delhi about the harmful effects of crackers. Keeping a check on the number of licensed cracker shops around delhi and lastly inflation.
I'm sure the last one had a greater affect on people as compared to the first two. Whatever be the reason I, for one , was very happy. I too celebrated diwali. Without crackers. AND i pledged to plant a tree.
I found it much more relaxing on my conscience, and it was better to buy seeds from a nursery than to go in a dusty ground, scuffle with people, bargain with the shopkeeper, find out half the crackers don't burn, and smell the fumes and bear the noise of the crackers all evening.
I've made up my mind to plant a tree every holi, diwali and on my birthday and take care of it.
I hope every one who reads this post maybe just pledge at least one tree an year.
Hope you have a wonderful year ahead.

SAVE PETROL!!

Alright, this post is especially for those people who own or who drive vehicles. With the cost of automotive fuel increasing every month not only will we save our own money but also have a contribution in saving the environment. So lets begin with the tips:

1. Always drive in the proper gear.

2. While driving if on a relatively empty strech drive on the highest gear.{ Please don't make this an excuse to drive at unsafe speeds}

3. In most speedo-meters there are marking curves drawn to the left of the speed indicators. The one painted green is the one which will earn you the maximum average.

4. When stuck in a traffic jam or at a red light there are loads of fuel to be saved:a) Switch of the vehicle.b) If its too hot and the AC is on and you don't want to switch off the vehicle then only keep the blower on and switch off the AC button.c) If the traffic is inching forward don't follow them. Stay where you are. You burn the maximum fuel by inching forward.d) I no its irritating to sit there doing nothing and everyone tends to get fidgety,but don't keep pressing/turning the accelerator.

5. Choose a strech of road with less turns the slowing down and speeding up process is also costing us a lot.

6. When accelerating the vehicle switch off the AC button and only keep the blower on.

7. Find out which brand of fuel gives the maximum average to your vehicle and try your best to fill the same one.
I hope the readers follow atleast some of the tips given above and save their own money and save the environment.Thanks for reading. Hope you drive safely. Do visit this site again.
Thank You

SAVE WATER!!

Although petrol is costly and water comparitively cheaper(at most places) its more important to save water.Now i write a few tips to save some water.

Some are very common but few are new.Some common one's:

1. Don't leave the tap on while:a) brushingb) shavingc) bathing(preferably take a bucket bath over a shower)

2. Check all the taps and toilet flushes in your house to check if they are leaking and get them repaired if required.

3. Also check the water tanks and geysers for leakages and get them repaired.4. Leaking pipes can be repaired by simply using products like M-Seal Wet set and others. It costs only 5 rupees.

Now some new tips:

1. If you are washing your vehicle or getting it washed, get it cleaned/clean it using a damp cloth instead of using a lot of water everyday. It not only saves water but also saves your vehicle parts from rusting soon.

2. In places where water coolers are used do take care when they are being filled with water. Try to avoid water overflows.

3. Install a water level meter in the storage tanks of your house/housing society to avoid overflow.

4. In houses using RO water purifier systems almost two thirds of the water output is contaminated and hence not fit for use. This comes out through a separate output in all water purifier systems. Instead of throwing the water arrangement can be made to store the water and use it to clean the house, clean utensils. A direct connection can also be made to the toilet flush.

5. Report any water pipe/storage tank leaks in your neighbourhood to the local water board.
Lets all do our part to save this life sustaining substance. I'm sure we all will be benifited by it.

U'VE GOT MAIL

All of us have email id's. Most of us have multiple email id's. Every time we open our email accounts we see this caption"YOU HAVE ___ UNREAD MESSAGES". The blank space may read a few thousand.
Even the read mails that you've stored might reach thousands in number.
Well here's some new fact that I saw on TV. For every 1 mb of data we store online, the energy consumed is equivalent to the energy released in burning .37 kg of coal. So for every 1 MB .37 kg of coal. 378.88 kg for every 1GB. So you'll think wat can we do in dat?? Well what we all can do is clean out our email id's, not store forwarded emails but only important ones, reduce the number of email id's we have, and also reduce the number of documents we store in yahoo briefcase or other such applications. so now everytime you read the sentence "you've got mail" hope you are reminded of this blog.