Pride of Indian States

Deflecting the bounce

A new retention system that could reduce pesticide use

Pesticide spraying has a retention problem : only  two per cent of the spray sticks to the plants, while a significant portion bounces off the plants into agricultural lands, and the run off eventually pollutes our water sources .Now a team of researchers from the Massachusetts institute of Technology has found a way which could allow farmers to get the same effects by using just 1/10^th of the pesticide .They have developed a combination of two inexpensive additives to the spray -each  prepared with a different polymer  substance. One gives the solution a negative electric charge; the other results in a positive charge. When tow of the oppositely -charged droplets meet on a leaf surface, the form a hydrophilic (water attracting) ‘’ defect” that sticks to the surface and increases the retention. The researchers hope to conduct field trials of the new system in small farms in India.

Down To Earth 16-30 September 2016

LIghting an early spring

The use of artificial night light is causing spring to come early ,disrupting life cycle of plants and animals

BIOLOGISTS HAVE  have found that the use of artificial night time light is causing spring to come at least a week early .The study ,based on data collected by citizen scientists across the UK ,found that buds were bursting by up to 7.5 days earlier in brighter areas and that the effect was larger  in later budding trees .This has a cascading  effect on other organisms whose life cycles work in tandem with the trees.For instance ,the proliferation of the winter moth, which feeds on fresh emerging oak leaves ,is likely to be affected which may, in turn ,have some effect on birds in the food chain that rely on it for food .The finding is significant as it may enlighten municipal councils to manage light level in a sustainable way . 

Down To Earth 16-31 July 2016

TREE TALE

As one billion people in 192 countries pledge to do their bit to save trees this earth day on April 22 the conflict between human habitats and trees becomes clearer .Tree growth is condusive in wetter and warmer regions, which even humans prefer .As a result trees are now forced to grow in dry regions such as the American West.

Down To Earth 16-30 April ,2016

Dryland birds in 'wet' Kerala

Birdwatchers in Kerala have noticed a very unusual and disturbing phenomenon.They have otherwise been seen only in the drier parts of India."Our group has been tracking the spread of dry-land birds in Kerala systematically and we are seeing a pattern.Even though we need to do some more work correlating our observation from the field with historical weather and habitat data,our initial findings indicate that bird's that seek drier tracts are moving in to Kerala,"says P O Nameer,head of wildlife research at the college of Forestry ,Kerala Agricultural University,Thrissur,Among the bird species identified are peafowl,the Greater Spotted Eagle and Desert wheatear.
"The fact that these birds a are coming is an indication of changing temperature and also dryness',says Nameer.
Down to earth 16-30April,2016

FOREST

Vanishing cover

BETWEEN 2000 and 2012, the world lost more forest area than it gained -a net loss of 3.76 million sq km of interior forest area .what's worse,core forest areas--- remote interior areas critical for disturbance sensitive wildlife and ecological processes are vanishing even faster. There is also a widespread shift of the remaining global forest to a more fragmented condition . Down To Earth 1-15 March ,2016

Taxonomists in india have discovered 523 new species.

In 2015,India added 523 new living  species to this ever-expanding inventory . According to the documentations released by the country’s two premier institutes engaged in the exploration of flora and fauna –the Zoological Survey of India (ZIS) and the Botanical Survey of India (BSI) –and nonprofit  World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) scientists and taxonomists have identified 246 animal species and 277 plants species .

Seed plants (118) have accounted for more  than 40% of new plant spices discovered. And as every year,insect (119) have outnumbered other groups of animals.

New plants species

Seed plants  118      Fungi 52     Microbes 36      Lichens 33 

Algae 24       Bryophytes 8         Pteridophytes  7

New animal species

Insect   118       Fish  27     Amphibians 24      Archnidans 19

Cnidaria  16     Crustaceans  14   Collembola  10   Mollusca  7

Nematode 7  Reptiles 3  Birds 2  Trematoda 1  Polycheata 1

  

Down To Earth  16-31 January 2016
              

    

Heat beds

Human -made heat put into oceanshas doubled since 1997

Since 1997, Earth's oceans have absorbed human-made heat energy equivalent 
to Hiroshima-style bomb being exploded every second for 75 straight years .for long, scientists have know that more than 90% of the heat energy from human-made global warming goes into the world's oceans .The researchers used oceans observing data that goes back to the British research ship Challenger in the 1870s,and with the help of high -tech modern underwater  monitors and computer models,they tracked how much human -made heat has been buried in the oceans in the past 150 years.The world's oceans absorbed approximately 150 zettajoules of energy between 1865 and 1997,and then absorbed about another 150 zettajoules in the next 18 years .

Down To Earth -16-29 February 2016

"पक्ष्यांची मराठी भाषेतील नावे" प्रकाशित

दि.२३  जानेवारी २०१६ रोजी सावंतवाडी येथे २९ व्या महाराष्ट्र पक्षीमित्र संमेलनाच्या उद्घाटनप्रसंगी महाराष्ट्र पक्षीमित्र संघटनेद्वारा प्रमाणित "पक्ष्यांची मराठी भाषेतील नावे"  ह्या पुस्तिकेचे प्रकाशन करण्यात आले.  ह्या पुस्यीकेत महाराष्ट्र पक्षिमित्र द्वारा स्वीकृत ५७७ पक्षीप्रजातींची मराठीतील नावांचे संकलन केलेले आहे. ही पुस्तिका BNHS व महाराष्ट्र पक्षिमित्र ने प्रकाशित केली आहे.
ही नावांची पुस्तिका BNHS तसेच IBCN च्या संकेतस्थळावर उपलब्ध करून देण्यात आली आहे. डाऊनलोड करण्यासाठी कृपया खालील लिंक वर क्लिक करा.
http://bnhs.org/bnhs/files/Final_Marathi_Bird_Name_21-1-2016.pdf

Trees have slowed their pace of absorbing carbon dioxide

Forests play an important  role in stemming global warming  by absorbing carbon dioxide -- the most abundant Greenhouse gas -- from the atmosphere . But a study says that trees have slowed their response  to a warming climate. The trees were slowing  down the process  of sprouting leaves. The slowdown suggests a current and possible future weakening of forests' carbon uptake due to the declining temperature sensitivity of trees.The researchers  found that the trees' response (to earlier spring) had declined over the past three decades, and strong winter warming may further reduce it.The authors believe the trees may be trying  to protect themselves against  cold weather.

 Source. Down to Earth (magazine) 16-31 October 2015

This Diwali make a pledge to reduce environmental pollution, not increase it.

 Harm caused by fireworks:

1.      Air Pollution

A heavy smog hangs low in the air on Diwali night and a few days after that. While we ignore the smell - and some even claim to like it - we can't ignore the fact that we are inhaling poison. The pollutant levels are injurious to our respiratory passages, especially Asthma patients.

Toxic Element	Fireworks Usage	Toxic Effect of Fallout Dust & Fumes
Aluminium	brilliant whites	Skin allergy, lung irritation, bioaccumulation
Antimony sulphide	glitter effects	Toxic smoke, possible carcinogen
Arsenic compounds	colourants	Lung cancer, skin irritation and wart formation.
Barium Nitrate	glittering greens	Respiratory tract irritation, possible radioactive fallout.
Copper compounds	blues	Can bio-accumulate. Cancer risk.
Hexa-chlorobenzene (HCB)	Use was supposed to be banned globally.	Persistent environmental toxin. Is a carcinogen, mutagen and a reproductive hazard
Lead Dioxide / Nitrate / Chloride	oxidizer	Bioaccumulation, developmental danger for kids & unborn babes, may remain airborne for days, poisonous to plants & animals
Lithium compounds	blazing reds	Toxic and irritating fumes when burned
Mercury (Mercurous chloride)	chlorine donor	Toxic heavy metal. Can bio-accumulate.
Nitric oxide	fireworks by-product	Toxic by inhalation. Is a free radical
Nitrogen dioxide	fireworks by-product	Highly toxic by inhalation. SIDS risk.
Ozone	fireworks by-product	Greenhouse gas that attacks & irritates lungs
Perchlorate - Ammonium & Potassium	propellant / oxidizer	Can contaminate ground & surface waters, can cause thyroid problems in humans & animals
Potassium Nitrate	in black powder	Toxic dusts, carcinogenic sulphur-coal compound
Strontium compounds	blazing reds	Can replace calcium in body. Strontium chloride is slightly toxic.
Sulphur Dioxide	gaseous by-product of sulphur combustion	Acid rain from sulphuric acid affects water sources, vegetation & causes property damage. SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) risk.

2.      Noise Pollution

Fireworks can exceed 140 decibels and noise at 85 decibels or above can damage hearing. Prolonged exposure to such high levels of noise can lead to permanent damage of the eardrums. In the middle of the night fireworks often disturb people trying to sleep. There are also cases where people have suffered from heart attack due to the high noise.

Humans are not the only species affected. Birds and wildlife are known to suffer extensively. Numerous pets are reported to panic due to sudden and excessive noise. Their stress levels were reported to be higher during Diwali than any other time of the year.

3.      Garbage

The amount of garbage released on the day after Diwali is phenomenal. Approximately 4,000 additional metric tonnes of garbage are released in Delhi alone, and twice the amount in Mumbai. And this garbage, far from being eco-friendly, is extremely hazardous for the environment as it comprises of chemicals like phosphorous, sulphur and potassium chlorate, and tonnes of burnt paper. Fireworks use plastic plus paper & cardboard (which kills trees) and are all made at factories that pollute.

4.      Accidents

Numerous fire accidents occur every year. Rough estimates claim that nearly 10,000 people get injured by the crackers. Most of the injuries are minor, but cause an untold amount of pain. Most of the victims are children in the age group of 8-16. Other accidents cause extensive building fires, especially in places where crackers are stored in bulk.

5.      Child Exploitation

Our children are fortunate to be part of the privileged few that can afford firecrackers. But there are numerous children who are employed by the firecracker industry, who sit late into the night making crackers for our children to burn in an instant. Firecrackers are made using harmful chemicals and acids, and these children work from dawn to dusk, breathing such harmful fumes and coming into constant skin contact with the acids. They burn their hands, legs and eyes, and many get maimed for life. The conditions they work in are inhuman, and the compensation, pitiful.

Fireworks Alternatives

• Switching to an environmentally friendly laser light show
• A stunt kite show at night with some LED's
• Watching the stars or organize an outdoor movie.
• Some people are organizing community drum circles and drumming instead of lighting fireworks.
• Indoor fireworks projectors are small devices that can be used indoors that produce convincing reproductions of firework displays as well as simulating the noise of real fireworks.
• Electronic fireworks display lamps produce colourful explosions of light all night long without the pollution or noise of real fireworks.
• Electronic pyrotechnics don't use explosives either. Electronic blasts can form a canopy up to 25 feet in the air that rain down glitter, confetti, rose petals or even candy.

Just imagine all the possible more meaningful and beneficial ways we could use all the money spent on fireworks that wouldn't pollute our environment.

Wish you all Healthy, Safe, Eco-friendly and Prosperous Diwali......

 दुर्गम ग्रामीण जंगलाच्या आजूबाजूच्या भागातील आदिवासी बांधवासाठी तसेच विद्यार्थ्यामध्ये निसर्गातील घटकां  विषयी प्रेम आपुलकी निर्माण व्हावी म्हणून संस्था कार्य करीत आहे .त्या कार्याचाच  भाग म्हणून सातारा जिल्हातील जावळी तालुक्यातील डोंगर रागांच्या कुशीतील कोयना नदीच्या काठी  वसलेल्या खरोशी गावातील डॉ.कर्मवीर भाऊराव पाटील रयत शिक्षण संस्थेच्या  शाळेत साप आणि विंचू,त्याच्या दंशा विषयी आणि प्रथोमपचारा विषयी शास्त्रीय माहिती आणि  बॉम्बे नॅचरल हिस्टरी सोसायटीचे शिक्षकासाठी असलेले निसर्ग विषयक मार्गदर्शक पुस्तक निसर्ग विज्ञान संस्थेच्या वतीने शाळेला विनामुल्य भेट देण्यात आले.

शाळे भोवतालचा परिसर .

          कोयना  नदी 

कारवी  फुलली 

Artificial glaciers and Chewang Norphel

Glacier Man

CHEWANG  NORPHEL

 A retired civil engineer battles climate change in the Himalayas, building artificial glaciers that provide irrigation water to mountain villages

At more than 4000 meters above sea level in the trans-Himalayas, the air is so thin that it can be a struggle simply to breathe. Yet Chewang Norphel is almost jogging across the boulder-strewn landscape, with goatlike agility that belies his 80 years. Tonight, he will sleep in a tent 1000 meters higher up, at temperatures that dip 10°C below freezing, so as to continue his work in the morning. And what unusual work it is: Norphel makes glaciers. He takes a barren, high-altitude desert and turns it into a field of ice that supplies perfectly timed irrigation water to some of the world’s poorest farmers.

 So far, Norphel has built 10 artificial glaciers, which sustain crops that feed some

 10,000 people. It’s become his obsession. “When it is ver y cold and ver y diff icult work, I have to remain  focused. All I can think about is making the most successful glacier.

He was awarded Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award of India, in 2015

He spends his time at home tending to his garden along with his wife. Most of his household consumption vegetables & fruits are sourced from here. He has also developed an underground storage place to store vegetables. This natural preservation can keep onions fresh for over 9 months!