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Greenathon Part-1

Eco Facts


		Ice caps are white, and reflect sunlight, much of which is reflected back into space, in turn cooling Earth; but with the ice caps melting, the only reflector is the ocean. Darker colors absorb sunlight, further warming the Earth.

		Scientists blame global warming for the declining penguin population, as warmer waters and smaller ice floes force the birds to travel further to find food.

		Stressed by cyanide fishing, harbor dredging, coral mining, deforestation, coastal development, agricultural runoff, careless divers, and now global warming, there is a devastating loss of coral across the world.

		With accelerated global warming, and the ice covering melting, the earth would be absorbing more sunlight, and is on its way to becoming hotter than before.

		Due to global warming the polar ice cap in the Arctic region is shrinking and rupturing; if this continues, summers in the Arctic would become ice-free by the end of this century.

		Everytime we burn oil, coal and gas to generate electricity and power, we produce the heat trapping gases that cause global warming.

		Deforestation is one of the main causes of atmospheric carbon dioxide; burning and cutting millions of acres of trees each year, it is responsible for 20-25 per cent of all carbon emissions.

		Water vapor is the most prevalent and most powerful greenhouse gas on the planet; it holds onto two-thirds of the heat trapped by all the greenhouse gases.

		Every week about 20 species of plants and animals become extinct!

		Rainforests are being cut down at the rate of 100 acres per minute!

		One-third of the water used in most homes is flushed down the toilet.

		A single quart of motor oil, if disposed of improperly, can contaminate up to 2,000,000 gallons of fresh water.

		Plastic bags and other plastic garbage thrown into the ocean kill as many as 1,000,000 sea creatures every year.

		A modern glass bottle would take 4000 years or more to decompose -- and even longer if it's in the landfill.

		Recycling one glass bottle saves enough energy to light a 100-watt bulb for four hours

		Energy-saving lightbulbs last around ten times longer than ordinary lightbulbs- over 10,000 hours.

		A laptop is more environment friendly than a desktop. It consumes five times less electricity.

		An aluminum can that is thrown away will still be a can 500 years from now!

		A single tree will absorb one ton of carbon dioxide over its lifetime. Shade provided by trees can also reduce your air conditioning bill by 10 to 15 per cent.

		Tissue paper is a major source of waste. It takes 60,00,000 trees to make 1 year's worth of tissues for the world.

		A ton of recycled paper equals or saves 17 trees in paper production.

		A plant on your desk acts as a natural filter, absorbing airborne pollutants and computer radiation while replenishing oxygen levels.

		Lawns only need watering once a week, post rain only after two weeks. Do watering early morning for minimal evaporation and water conservation.

		Crawling traffic contributes eight times as much air pollution as traffic moving at regular highway speed.

		Avoiding just 10 miles of driving every week would eliminate about 500 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions a year!

		Turn off the tap when brushing your teeth and soaping your hands. This can save around 16 litres a day. That's 11,000 litre of water per person per year.

		A dripping tap can waste over 20,000 litres of water every year.


		Pollution: Each kind of pollution- air, noise, water- has significant impacts to our everyday lives, affecting all living and non-living factors in the biosphere and the atmosphere and also involve socio-economic factors. These impacts have caused significant changes to the environment we are living in.

		Deforestation: They are the earth’s largest depository of natural resources and house half of the planet’s dryland species. But man’s greed is putting a saw through the fragile ecosystem and over the years half of the world’s forests have been transformed into a concrete jungle. Indiscriminate felling of trees for fuel and timber or for housing and agriculture purposes has gone on unabated despite the clichés mouthed by environmentalists and a line of successive governments.

		Soil Erosion: Floods and soil erosion are two of India's greatest problems. Neither is new, but there can be no doubt that in recent years floods are taking an increasing toll on crops and the rapid progress of soil erosion in different parts of the country has caused grave concern. India is thought to be losing 4.7 billion tons of topsoil a year, mostly through water erosion. Its monsoonal climate, with the concentration of rainfall during a few months of the year, leaves its exposed soils vulnerable to erosion. About 60 percent of soil that is washed away ends up in rivers, streams and lakes, making waterways more prone to flooding and to contamination from soil's fertilizers and pesticides. Soil erosion also reduces the ability of soil to store water and support plant growth, thereby reducing its ability to support biodiversity.

		Land Degradation: Decline in land quality caused by human activities has been a major global issue during the 20th century and will remain high on the international agenda in the 21st century. The importance of land degradation among global issues is enhanced because of its impact on world food security and quality of the environment. High population density is not necessarily related to land degradation; it is what a population does to the land that determines the extent of degradation. People can be a major asset in reversing a trend towards degradation. However, they need to be healthy and politically and economically motivated to care for the land, as subsistence agriculture, poverty, and illiteracy can be important causes of land and environmental degradation.

		Waste Management: Urban India is likely to face a massive waste disposal problem in the coming years. Until now, the problem of waste has been seen as one of cleaning and disposing as rubbish. But a closer look at the current and future scenario reveals that waste needs to be treated holistically, recognising its natural resource roots as well as health impacts. Waste can be wealth, which has tremendous potential not only for generating livelihoods for the urban poor but can also enrich the earth through composting and recycling rather than spreading pollution as has been the case. Increasing urban migration and a high density of population will make waste management a difficult issue to handle in the near future, if a new paradigm for approaching it is not created.

		Increasing Energy Consumption: India faces a huge energy deficit: till 2001, only 44 per cent of Indian households had access to electricity. But consumption’s galloping: between 1947 and 2001, India’s per capita power consumption rose from 15 to 592 units. If India has to move ahead economically, it must find ways to bridge the deficit.

		High Carbon Emissions: Carbon dioxide emissions are causing the Earth’s climate to change and warm, which will have catastrophic results if we do not act to reduce them. Carbon dioxide emissions in our atmosphere are at their highest levels in recorded history, spanning over 650,000 years. The effects of climate change can be seen now. Temperatures are increasing, glaciers are receding at unprecedented speeds and storms are becoming more frequent and severe.



		"Going Green" doesn't have to be a daunting task that means sweeping life changes. Start by planting a tree in your backyard or neighbourhood. It's good for the air, the land, can shade your house and save on cooling and they can also improve the value of your property.

		When taking a short trip, choose to walk or cycle. This reduces carbon emissions considerably.

		Staying within the speed limit and smoothly accelerating can save upto 25 per cent of a vehicle's typical gasoline use.

		Switching off one bulb for one hour saves upto 22,000 watts per year.

		Lighting an empty office wastes enough energy to boil water for a 1000 cups of coffee and doubles a company's annual electric bill

		Plug your computer, monitor and other home appliances into a power strip and turn them off when not in use- don't leave them in sleep mode. Sleep mode adds immensely to the electricity bill and unnecessary greenhouse gases.

		Recharge your batteries. Batteries contain heavy metals, such as mercury and cadmium, which have become a major source of contamination in dump sites. They either break apart and are released into the soil or are incinerated and the deadly heavy metals are released into the air.

		Plastic bags are not biodegradable. Even if they say they are, they do not decompose fully. Also the ink is made up of cadmium, and is highly toxic when it is released. Whereas paper bags are reusable and biodegradable. If your purchase is small don't take any bag, this alone could save hundreds of millions of bags. Bring a cloth bag when you shop, or use string bags.

		Our oceans provide the earth with most of our oxygen, moisture, and weather patterns. To keep our oceans clean we have to start with our beaches. When you go to the beach you can help by bringing a trash bag and spend a little while picking up litter, or you can join a beach clean-up crew.

		As little as ten years ago there were over 1.5 million elephants on the earth. Today there are only 750,000. By the year 2,000 they may become extinct. Over 80% of the ivory that is taken, is from elephants- Americans buy 30% of it. Over 6.5 million dolphins have been killed by tuna fisherman. To help you can: not buy endangered animal products.

		Do not dump oil, grease, antifreeze, pesticides, fertilizers, paints, cleaners, and other toxic household products down the storm drain. These drains, found in the gutters on the sidewalk, are not treated by the sewage treatment plant--they go straight into rivers, lakes, and maybe even the ocean! By putting these toxic chemicals down the drain, there is a great biological threat to marine life.

		Use CFC free products. ChloroFluoroCarbons destroy the ozone layer, which protects us from harmful UV rays.

		One less meat-based meal a week helps the planet and your diet. For each hamburger that originated from animals raised on rainforest land, approximately 55 square feet of forest have been destroyed.

		Recycling just the Sunday papers would save more than half a million trees every week.

		You can reuse gift bags, bows and event paper, but you can also make something unique by using old maps, cloth or even newspaper. Flip a paper grocery bag inside out and give your child stamps or markers to create their own wrapping paper that's environmentally friendly and extra special for the recipient.

		Nearly 90% of plastic water bottles are not recycled, instead taking thousands of years to decompose. Buy a reusable container and fill it with tap water, a great choice for the environment, your wallet, and possibly your health.

		Brush without running your tap dry. You'll conserve up to five gallons per day if you stop.

		Adjust your thermostat one degree higher in the summer and one degree cooler in the winter. Each degree celsius less will save about 10% on your energy use!

		If you must water your lawn, do it early in the morning before any moisture is lost to evaporation. Have a few weeds? Spot treat them with vinegar. Not sure if you should rake? Normal clippings act as a natural fertilizer, let them be. If you've waited too long, rake by hand — it's excellent exercise.

		Most lighters are made out of plastic and filled with butane fuel, both petroleum products. Since most lighters are considered "disposable," over 1.5 billion end up in landfills each year. When choosing matches, pick cardboard over wood. Wood matches come from trees, whereas most cardboard matches are made from recycled paper.