Clean India

In response to the clarion call given by Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi for Swachh Bharat (Clean India), the Nation witnessed a wave of enthusiasts wielding the broom and taking up the cleanliness pledge. Earlier, the Prime Minister wrote a message to citizens stating, “A clean India is the best tribute we can pay to Bapu when we celebrate his 150th birth anniversary in 2019. I urge every one of you to devote at least hundred hours every year towards cleanliness. We can't let India remain unclean any longer.” On 2nd October, the launch of the mission was followed by Prime Minister flagging off a walkathon at Rajpath. Shri Modi visited Rajghat followed by Valmiki Basti (a housing colony), where he swept streets for a symbolic start. The mission has extended to every nook and corner of the country. Various tasks and discussions relating to Swachh Bharat Abhiyan also featured on the MyGov platform in order to involve more and more people in the mission. To propel the campaign further, MyGov has introduced a creative and collaborative platform, http://sbchallenge.mygov.in where citizens can share their contributions to this remarkable movement with pictures and videos. Another platform, http://sbupdate.mygov.in brings together various efforts by government departments and organizations in cleaning public buildings and nearby localities. Government employees and organizations can directly log in with their @nic.in or @gov.in accounts to publish their activities under the campaign.

Wake Up Before It Is too Late.

By 2050 the urban population would cross the 60% mark making things more complex. Urbanization means power,steel,cement,plastic,drainage,transport and carbon emissions.

Still in India we do use  bullocks,horses,donkeys, camels and buffaloes to carry out farming work and pull carriages and carts. They are used to draw water too. But making everyone a resident of a concrete jungle causes undue strain on environment.  The concept of white collar jobs and market driven economy make people migrate towards cities. For instance cities like Mumbai has got 20 million people- an equivalent of a continental population like Australia.

The awareness on global warming is picking up. But the remedies are not coming up fast.  Progressive nations like Norway, Sweden and Denmark and Germany do lead us by examples.
But the developing nations like the BRICS (Brazil, India,China and South Africa) should do more and not argue for scoring points.

The question is not who polluted more and who has got a right to pollute more but how not to pollute?

In this context the populations of  China,Bangladesh,Pakistan, Indonesia and India are worrisome. The world has to do something immediately and advise these nations about controlling the exploding populations.  Lest a day would come when the whole world would be filled by people of these nations alone and big scarcity in every city for every thing. The recent news where Maldives has to import water from her friends is a case in point. For instance we read that Chinese and Indian students make  a beeline to go to the U.S. in droves. But how long and how many more?

The contention of this piece is that we have to reduce our consumption whether it is power or food or water or land. Because just around 2% of the earth's surface is livable and the same % of water is potable. 

THE ANSWER TO GLOBAL WARMING IS SIMPLE. REDUCE THE RATE OF POPULATION GROWTH. 

HOPE SOMEONE WILL REALIZE AND TAKE POSITIVE STEPS.

The ten countries with the largest population in the world are China, India, United States, Indonesia, Brazil, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Russia and Japan.

TOP TEN COUNTRIES WITH THE HIGHEST POPULATION # Country 2000 Population 2010 Population 2014 Population 2050 Expected Pop. 1 China 1,268,853,362 1,330,141,295 1,355,692,576 1,303,723,332 2 India 1,004,124,224 1,173,108,018 1,236,344,631 1,656,553,632 3 United States 282,338,631 310,232,863 318,892,103 439,010,253 4 Indonesia 213,829,469 242,968,342 253,609,643 313,020,847 5 Brazil 176,319,621 201,103,330 202,656,788 260,692,493 6 Pakistan 146,404,914 184,404,791 196,174,380 276,428,758 7 Nigeria 123,178,818 152,217,341 177,155,754 264,262,405 8 Bangladesh 130,406,594 156,118,464 166,280,712 233,587,279 9 Russia 146,709,971 139,390,205 142,470,272 109,187,353 10 Japan 126,729,223 126,804,433 127,103,388 93,673,826 TOP TEN Countries 3,618,894,827 4,016,489,082 4,176,380,247 4,950,140,178 Rest of the World 2,466,012,769 2,829,120,878 3,005,478,372 4,306,202,522 TOTAL World Population 6,084,907,596 6,845,609,960 7,181,858,619 9,256,342,700 NOTES: (1) The Top 10 Most Populated Countries of the World Table was updated for August 12, 2014. (2) Detailed data for individual countries may be found clicking on each country name. (3) Demographic (population) estimates for years 2000, 2010, 2014 and 2050 are based mainly on mid-year data from the US Census Bureauwebsite, and verified with local census agencies, when available. (4) The China population data is for the mainland only. (5) Data from the Internet World Stats website may be cited, giving the due credit and establishing an active link back to Internet World Stats. (6) For definitions, navigation help and methodology, see the Site Surfing Guide. Copyright © 2001 - 2014, Miniwatts Marketing Group. All rights reserved worldwide.

Elephantine Issues

When did the animal sought a motor ride?

Photo:metrovartha

All over Asia elephants are used for various activities that are to be done by man. Their size is their enemy. The large size of the animal makes it a wonder animal and people harass it in numerous ways.


On a single day in Gods' own paradise (Kerala) 5 elephants have turned violent. 

These elephants are used to carry idols of  gods and goddesses. They are made to drive cycles for the amusement of kids, carry wooden logs and the worst they were used in war fronts. Each big army of yesteryear India had a unit/ battalion of elephants. At times they are made to walk for days on the bitumen surface much to the discomfort of their wide feet. Poaching is rampant in South Asia and they are killed for their ivory. The chains that tether them are so heavy and are made to stand for months. Cruelty thy name is humanity!

Swedes Lead Us in All Ways and Always

Facts about waste

• In 2012, 2,270,000 tonnes of household waste was burnt, and that way turned into energy.
• The first incineration plant was set up in Stockholm in 1904.
• The 32 plants in Sweden today produce heat for 810,000 households and electricity for 250,000 private houses.
• Heavy metal emissions have been reduced by 99 per cent since 1985, even though Sweden emits three times more waste today.

Source: Avfall Sverige

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THE SWEDISH RECYCLING REVOLUTION

Less than one per cent of Sweden’s household waste ends up in a rubbish dump. The rest is recycled in different ways. In that, Sweden is one of the world leaders.

START READING

Photo: SRV

Towards zero waste

Wouldn’t it be great if no household waste was wasted? If each and every item of refuse was turned into something else – new products, raw materials, gas or at least heat?

Sweden is almost there. More than 99 per cent of all household waste is recycled in one way or another. This means that the country has gone through something of a recycling revolution in the last decades, considering that only 38 per cent of household waste was recycled in 1975 (see chart).

Today, recycling stations are as a rule no more than 300 metres from any residential area. Most Swedes separate all recyclable waste in their homes and deposit it in special containers in their block of flats or drop it off at a recycling station. Few other nations deposit less in rubbish dumps.

Facts about waste

• In 2012, 2,270,000 tonnes of household waste was burnt, and that way turned into energy.
• The first incineration plant was set up in Stockholm in 1904.
• The 32 plants in Sweden today produce heat for 810,000 households and electricity for 250,000 private houses.
• Heavy metal emissions have been reduced by 99 per cent since 1985, even though Sweden emits three times more waste today.

Source: Avfall Sverige

Stepping up recycling

Weine Wiqvist, CEO of the Swedish Waste Management and Recycling Association (Avfall Sverige), still thinks Swedes can do more, considering that about half of all household waste is burnt, that is, turned into energy. He explains that reusing materials or products means using less energy to create a product, than burning one and making another from scratch.

‘We are trying to “move up the refuse ladder”, as we say, from burning to material recycling, by promoting recycling and working with authorities’, he says.

Meanwhile, Swedish households keep separating their newspapers, plastic, metal, glass, electric appliances, light bulbs and batteries. Many municipalities also encourage consumers to separate food waste. And all of this is reused, recycled or composted.

Newspapers are turned into paper mass, bottles are reused or melted into new items, plastic containers become plastic raw material; food is composted and becomes soil or biogas through a complex chemical process. Rubbish trucks are often run on recycled electricity or biogas. Wasted water is purified to the extent of being potable. Special rubbish trucks go around cities and pick up electronics and hazardous waste such as chemicals. Pharmacists accept leftover medicine. Swedes take their larger waste, such as a used TV or broken furniture, to recycling centres on the outskirts of the cities.

At the Gärstadverken in Linköping, waste is turned into energy. The chart shows how much recycling has grown in Sweden over the last decades.

Photo: Åke E:son Lindman

Waste to energy

Let’s take a closer look at the 50 per cent of the household waste that is burnt to produce energy at incineration plants. Waste is a relatively cheap fuel and Sweden has, over time, developed a large capacity and skill in efficient and profitable waste treatment. Sweden even imports 700,000 tonnes of waste from other countries.

The remaining ashes constitute 15 per cent of the weight before burning. From the ashes, metals are separated and recycled, and the rest, such as porcelain and tile, which do not burn, is sifted to extract gravel that is used in road construction. About one per cent still remains and is deposited in rubbish dumps.

The smoke from incineration plants consists of 99.9 per cent non-toxic carbon dioxide and water, but is still filtered through dry filters and water. The dry filters are deposited. The sludge from the dirty filter water is used to refill abandoned mines.

In Sweden, burning waste to produce energy is uncontroversial, but in other countries – like the US – it is a much debated topic.

Doing better

Hans Wrådhe heads the section for waste and chemicals at the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (Naturvårdsverket) and considers proposing a higher levy on waste collection.

‘That would increase everybody’s awareness of the problem’, he says.

Together with government agencies and corporations, Wrådhe has developed an action plan for waste prevention, including how to encourage producers to make products that last longer. The agency also considers proposing a tax deduction for some repairs.

‘Government-sponsored ads on how to avoid food waste might also help’, he says. ‘And less toxic substances used in production would mean fewer products that require expensive treatment.’

Pantamera
On TV, sandwiched between other commercials, the Pantamera videos try to encourage people to return used bottles to grocery stores – ‘panta mera’ means recycle more. Well-known artists record songs substituting ‘panta mera’ for ‘Guantanamera’ in the classic song.

See for yourself: Pantamera videos

In this stationary vacuum system, users throw their waste into ordinary inlets, where the bags are stored temporarily. All full inlets are then emptied at regular intervals through a network of underground pipes.

Photo: Envac

Companies joining the effort

Some Swedish companies have voluntarily joined in the struggle. For example, H&M has begun accepting used clothing from customers in exchange for rebate coupons in an initiative called Garment Collecting.

The Optibag company has developed a machine that can separate coloured waste bags from each other. People throw food in a green bag, paper in a red one, and glass or metal in another. Once at the recycling plant, Optibag sorts the bags automatically. This way, waste sorting stations could be eliminated.

The southern Swedish city of Helsingborg even fitted public waste bins with loudspeakers playing pleasant music – all in the name of recycling.

Back to Swedish Waste Management and Recycling Association CEO Wiqvist, who thinks perfection in recycling is possible, an idea worth striving for.

‘“Zero waste” – that is our slogan’, he says. ‘We would prefer less waste being generated, and that all the waste that is generated is recycled in some way. Perfection may never happen, but it certainly is a fascinating idea.’

Source:https://sweden.se/nature/the-swedish-recycling-revolution/

Jonas Fredén

Jonas Fredén is a freelance journalist. He has worked for Finanstidningen (Finance news), Sveriges Radio, Sweden’s public service radio broadcaster, and the daily Dagens Nyheter.

Environment Goals for Sweden

• Sweden is striving to ensure that the next generation can take over a society where the major environmental problems have been solved. The ‘generational goal’ involves 16 environmental quality objectives to be achieved by 2020.
• Reduced climate impact
• Clean air
• Natural acidification only
• A non-toxic environment
• A protective ozone layer
• A safe radiation environment
• Zero eutrophication (excessive richness of nutrients in a lake or other body of water, frequently due to run-off from the land, which causes a dense growth of plant life.)
• Flourishing lakes and streams
• Good-quality groundwater
• A balanced marine environment, flourishing coastal areas and archipelagos
• Thriving wetlands
• Sustainable forests
• A varied agricultural landscape
• A magnificent mountain landscape

DID YOU KNOW THAT…

Swede Svante Arrhenius (1859–1927), winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1903, discovered the greenhouse effect. As early as the 19th century he produced calculations that anticipated global warming.

Swedish meteorologist Bert Bolin (1925–2007) was the first person to chair the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). In 2007, the IPCC was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, which it shared with Al Gore.

How Vienna Goes Green?

Green Efforts, Polices and Activities

Recycling Office Paper, Aluminum Cans and Bottles The Town of Vienna has placed recycling bins around Town Hall to help reduce the amount of waste and material that is sent to landfills.

Use of Recycled Paper / Envelopes Where Cost Effective The Town of Vienna has increased the use of recycled paper products. Paper made from recycled paper requires 40% less energy than making paper from unrecycled material. (citation)

Lights-Out Policy at Night / on Weekends Lights are turned off during night and weekend hours to conserve electricity. When not in use, certain lights are turned off during normal operating hours.

Nonessential Computers Off at Night / on Weekends All nonessential computers are shut down at the end of each day and during weekends.

Running Nonessential Servers on One Power Supply Source Most servers are equipped with two or more power supply units. This allows a server to be plugged into multiple outlets at once, in case a failure occurs in one of the units. Town servers only utilize a single power supply unit, which is connected to a battery backup system.

LED Traffic Lights to Replace Incandescent Lights LED traffic lights are brighter, last longer and use less energy.

Automatic Light Switches Where Appropriate Certain rooms are equipped with motion sensors which will activate the lights automatically. After a brief period of no motion in the room, the lights automatically switch off.

Low-Energy Lightbulb Conversion Replacing incandescent lightbulbs with low-energy bulbs greatly reduces the overall energy consumption of town facilities.

Outdoor Dark-Sky Compliant Light Fixtures Where Appropriate The use of dark-sky compliant lighting helps reduce light pollution, as well as the effects of unnatural lighting on the environment.

Town Chapter 9 on Anti-Idling Policy for Government and Private Vehicles By restricting idling for government and private vehicles, needless fuel consumption and pollution is greatly reduced.

Low-Flow Toilets The use of low-flow toilets helps to reduce excess water consumption.

Green Earth-Friendly Cleaning Products Where Appropriate In order to reduce the negative impact of industrial cleaners on the environment, the Town of Vienna has switched to the use of biofriendly cleaning products when possible.

Hybrid Vehicle Testing The Town of Vienna currently has one hybrid vehicle, and is in the process of determining efficiency, maintenance requirements, reliability and overall cost requirements for the usage of hybrids as town vehicles.

Formed Green Team of Existing Employees to Evaluate and Recommend Ways to Conserve Resources This team of employees routinely reviews town practices and procedures and looks for ways to improve the efficiency and reduce the environmental impact of town operations. http://www.viennava.gov/index.aspx?nid=334

Incredible World!

Just as the oil prices are cooling down due to a combination of factors, water is increasingly becoming scarce across the world. A litre  of  the 'best' water is  close to an American dollar  and it is half the dollar around the world if they are from poorer companies. Soon water would become costlier than GAS/PETROL.

Unbridled growth of population , urbanization &  industrialization have made the living  conditions of our peoples miserable. The world's top performers - population wise, the South Asia and China would swallow the entire human races' resources so soon. These nations are so proud of their human resources which they continue to export to various countries without any check. Men are not materials to be stored and cooled. Over a period of time conflicts would emerge as it is known no two men can think alike.

The latest news of carrying water across oceans to Maldives is the funniest/cruelest   thing that man has ever conceived. This is just a beginning.

Most households in the capital rely on MWSC for their daily water needs, with well water – the traditional method of acquiring water – having become unhygienic due to poor drainage and leakage of contaminants into groundwater.

Indian aircraft arrives to ease Malé water crisis

An Indian aircraft has landed  in the Maldives capital Malé to alleviate in the continuing water crisis, as the government reveals it could take between three and five days to restore the capital’s water supply.

The first flight landed at Ibrahim Nasir International Airport at 1:15pm, with two additional flights expected to bring a total of 100 tonnes of fresh water for the people 130,000 inhabitants of  the Maldives’ capital.

A statement from the Maldives Ministry of Foreign Affairs this afternoon has stated tha India, Sri Lanka, the USA and China have pledged assistance.

As well as the flight from India, two Indian ships with desalinating capabilities and one from the US naval vessel are headed to the Maldives, while water is being brought on every flight from Sri Lanka, explained the ministry.

“The president, the people and the foreign minister of Maldives expresses their gratitude to all nations assisting the Maldives is these harsh times,” read the statement.

The Indian High Commission in the Maldives has confirmed that INS Sukanya will arrive in Malé tonight, equipped with two reverse osmosis plants in order to produce water “round the clock”.

“Mindful of the strong friendly and close relations between India and Maldives, India reacted with alacrity and promptness to the request from Maldives for timely provision of water,” said the high commission, revealing that the second flight in expected at 3:40pm.

Large queues quickly formed outside shops yesterday evening as the demand for bottled water prompted the government to declare the situation a disaster, with the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) giving water away at ten designated distribution points.

Source of news:http://minivannews.com/society/indian-aircraft-arrives-to-ease-male-water-crisis-91468

Women in Rajasthan  fetching water in the desert state