Whispers to a friend

Hello everyone,
Today what I share with all of you is an extract of a beautiful conversation with a very dear friend, and I hope you read it not with your eyes, but with your heart.....

" I do know those moments of isolation and growing desire that build up and scream inside your head, wanting to know why it all ended.... a puzzle ground creating conflict with the mind and heart, and therefore leaving us to choose between living in the present or drooling over the that wondrous past.And the choice we make is critical; for it holds the power to destroy your present into a sad life governed only by memories of the past, or create hope and resilience to carry on and work towards what lies ahead. I chose the latter, and after a great length did I bear witness to my choice: I transformed my past into a beautiful memory and saw how it transfigured into something more beautiful than what you ever imagined.In fact, my love for it also gave us an opportunity like this, to get all of us together again. Louise, if there is one lesson I believe to be important to be taught in life, then it is this....'It does not do good to dwell in the past, because the past is never a truth or a lie. It is just there, and there will it remain so and decay if you do not stopper it with the cork of your mind'To tell you the truth, I too sometimes fail to control the chain of thoughts regarding the Cape Farewell and desperately wish that we could all be together to relive that experience once again.And I hope to do so to.... one day.. in the Arctic itself.
But such is life, never working on your terms but leaving you the freedom to choose your roads. So choose then right road Louise, and trust me, you will find what you are looking for.... "

The Contribution of a School

Success in life is guaranteed by the wings of education and creativity. While creativity is gifted, education is taught; and schools play an elemental part in the history of one’s education.
And though it is expected from a school (especially the best ones) to inculcate habits and virtues that lead a child from ignorance to bliss, a school cannot do anything for our own betterment, unless we ourselves wish to do the same. And if we do not wish to do something about it, we shall soon follow the path to our own doom and defeat.
An example to the argument could be that of a student. If a student is weak in his subjects and has a tutor, he cannot be helped unless the student is ready to show interest. Without such a mindset, however much a teacher tries, the student shall never learn. In the same way, the school does its best for our education, it gives us a vision which will be guided by wisdom, nurtured and grown to help build a new world to be bonded by the spirit of unanimity.
The mission of a school is to prepare children who have courage and heroism, scholars who demand themselves for tireless labour and inner discipline. It is the school which provides these younglings an insight directed towards self-control and self-mastery. A school is engaged in providing facilities and opportunities to students to develop strong and healthy bodies, clear and wide minds, resolute will power and ever-widening horizons of knowledge and even of wisdom. A school is dedicated to serve the highest interests of nation-building that can ensure vast synthesis of knowledge and harmonious perfection of the individual and the collectivity.
What makes a school important for students is its duty to ensure an all-round development of personality through efficient education and cultural caliber with total dedication. To import education to all, irrespective of their caste, creed and color is what a school stands for. In an atmosphere of purity, efficiency, discipline and fraternity is wisdom earned, and developed in fullness of versatile personality and self governance through training so that there is total dedication to the service of mankind.


A school gifts its kindred knowledge, and not the choice to use it, control it or ignore it. It can provide the encouragement to improve self-confidence and creativity through participation, but not the virtue itself. A school can develop creative potential of children through painting, music and other arts, but not the choice to imbibe them. Beyond that, a school cannot change a man to build a will to act or abstain.

What we see today is but a reflection of our own neglect. Today the young brawl to assert their act of ignorance and exemption. This does not confer sensibility but idiocy. Springing to a more alarming expanse to the problem, the concept of teaching( whether textual or incident) as a burden and a source of worthless inconvenience grows fast as an idea when one does not understand the essence of it- that education is not for the sake of anyone else but for their very own selves. Because education accounts for our own success, and not that of our parents or teachers; it is you to be the sufferer and the winner, the seeker and the prey, a symbol of success or a lingering shadow of darkness and neglect.
Once we truly believe and take a step to acknowledge our need for the school and the school for us, it shall be the end of those long sought demented quarrels.
A school is well aware about its duty towards its students and performs them too, but their hard work shall be in vain until those who are just not ready to understand its need as for their own, face that inevitable truth …..

An Open Mind

India has achieved a great name for itself as the biggest working democracy in the whole world. Sure, the Indian democracy is the biggest in the world with more than 500 million voters exercising their voting rights periodically. Moreover, democracy has been functional working but for a brief aberration in 1971, when the ‘national emergency’ was declared. Peaceful changes of governments have occurred on the power of ballot.

But is this what you really call a true democracy? A democracy that reflects the will of a true majority…. Does its true nature exist in all levels of political activity and organizations, in its representation and decisions? Unfortunately, the answer to that inevitable question would be a big no.

Crime and criminals are forming an unacceptably large part of our political scene. Corruption has become the major source of funds in politics and has been accepted as normal. Nepotism, hero-worship and sycophancy is what the bread and butter of politic stability is all about.

Conducting periodic elections cannot alone assure a real democracy. What we need is something more; something powerful enough to act and not be defied, to be looked up to as a symbol of enactment of our thoughts…. our voice.

The umpteen obstacles in the way of obtaining what we can claim truly as democracy are many; nevertheless they can be solved through meaningful debate within and across all political spectrum and governmental bodies.

What I propose to the reader is not a treasure chest of self acclaimed philosophy and novel ideas; they are to be humble, a mere collection of some of the choicest and best. As a country posed by equally trenomical problems as the evidently present gratifying solutions, a change in our system, even by the slightest measure must encompass the benefit of one and all of kind, and try to help elevate the standards of democracy by leaps and bounds.

For achieving such a balanced political system, we must make minds willing and tolerant enough to accept change as the only means for betterment. The first among such proposed changes could be to make sure that every political party is made to submit audited accounts on an annual basis. Also, the minimum qualifications criteria for contesting in various elections must indeed undergo revision. As a result, education, experience, service record and moral background should be the factors involved in making a candidate eligible for elections.

It is oft said by the various members of the political agenda is that meeting such requirements would strongly handicap the power of a common man to be a part of the system. However, the minimum requirements once set by the government would in turn encourage an entire change in the outlook of politics and encourage education and merit to be the foregoing factor of selection, ultimately driving enthusiasts from every small constituency to adhere to it. So, whether it is elementary education for candidature to Local bodies or graduation for candidature to the Parliament; such a change will indeed prove healthy in selecting a true and responsible leader. As an input, we may see good conduct and Social Service record to be the common criteria for selecting a worthy choice. But the true meaning of democracy must not end there but should be strengthened and immersed in grass root levels. To avoid what has become a shameful act of power in politics (namely corruption), election expenses by all political parties and candidates must be closely monitored. Also, any party or candidate spending more than the stipulated amount should be subject to disqualification. An important step towards the achievement of democracy is revolutionizing the concept of electoral voting, and that can only be possible by making sure every citizen is an active participant for voting. If not made compulsive, voting could indeed be encouraged, and such an encouragement could come in many innovative ways- from tax exemptions to eligibility for various government services. A very important step could be the introduction of electronic voting at all levels. Such a step would be critical in saving time and money which is unfortunately what that drains the economy at the time of electing representatives of a country of a billion.

But mere words never fulfill destiny, it is we alone who hold the power to drive forth: to make a change. And as each voice joins to become one in all and all in one, when the spirits and minds of men and women conjoin to seek what is needed and not desired; mankind will watch as change takes over to envelope the world in its fold. Then it shall not be an India to be its subject, the world shall witness a change leading them from darkness to light, and helping us reach that long forgotten path once contaminated with the venom of hatred, corruption and contempt. Then all that we shall see forward would be light.......

Understanding pollution

Recently I came across a very interesting study by the Cambridge university Press on what exactly is pollution all about.What it contained was not merely a collection of flowery terms and sugar coated text, but an earnest attempt to bring forth the facts of day to day advancement of pollution in everyday life, its impacts and our underestimated thinking about it.............

“The economy is a wholly owned subsidiary of the
environment. All economic activity is dependent upon
that environment with its underlying resource base.”
US Senator Gaylord Nelson on first Earth Day, 1970
What is pollution and why is it important? Why does pollution occur,
and is it harmful at all levels? What happens to pollutants in the
environment? What are the root causes of pollution?


Humans are massively changing the Earth
As described in an article in Science,1 Human domination of Earth’s
ecosystems, ‘‘Between one-third and one-half of the land surface has been transformed by human action; the carbon dioxide concentration
in the atmosphere has increased by nearly 30% since the beginning
oft he Industrial Revolution; more atmospheric nitrogen is now
fixed by humanity than by all natural terrestrial sources combined;
more than half of all accessible surface fresh water is put to use by
humanity; and about one-quarter oft he bird species on Earth have
been driven to extinction . . . All . . . trace to a single cause, the
growing scale oft he human enterprise. The rates, scales, kinds, and
combinations of changes occurring now are fundamentally different
from those at any other time in history; we are changing Earth more
rapidly than we are understanding it. In a very real sense, the world
is in our hands and how we handle it will determine its composition
and dynamics, and our fate.”

Nature’s services

In the past, we often did not even consider that we were changing
our environment, let alone how that could affect us. In the twentieth
century, many people willingly ignored gross pollution if its source
was a factory on which the community depended for employment.
‘‘That’s the smell of money” they might say. This still occurs in some
places in the world. If it took so long to recognize that pollution could
directly affect human health, think how difficult it is to recognize our
total dependence on the environment.

Protecting drinking water
Recently, New York City spent over a billion dollars to buy land to
its north in the Catskill Mountains in the watershed that provides
drinking water to New York City. The City then restricted how the
land could be used, forbidding activities that could pollute the watershed’s
streams and rivers. One action regulated was the application
of pesticides and fertilizers on land because these substances can run
off into local waters. By recognizing and protecting the Catskills’ natural
water filtration capability -- an ecosystem service -- the City avoided
having to build a treatment plant to purify its drinking water. The
plant would have cost about $6 billion, plus $300 million a year to
run. The City saved itself$5 billion.

Protecting ecosystem services
New York City protects much of the land it bought from development.Why?

• Trees and vegetation stabilize the soil preventing it from eroding during rainstorms, and being carried into Catskill streams as a pollutant.
  
• On undeveloped land, soil and tree and vegetation roots absorb rainwater lessening the risk of flooding during heavy rains.The water is instead slowly released to streams, while another portion seeps down into and replenishes groundwater.
  

• Undeveloped land acts as a home to wildlife and also provides timber, recreation and aesthetic value, and has the advantage of being cooler than cleared land.
• Its wetland areas also provide services. Aquatic plants and microorganisms purify polluted water carried into the wet lands with runoff. They trap eroded soil, preventing it from running into streams and lakes. Wetlands provide flood protection by serving as a sink during heavy rains.They also provide habitat to multiple bird and other species.
  

Natural services provided by urban trees
Not only rural, but city trees too provide valuable services. The organization
American Forests was concerned by the loss of tree canopy
in American cities. Using satellite and aerial imagery, they showed
that tree cover in 20 US cities had declined 30% over three decades.
This was disturbing: trees provide shade and cooling to the urban
buildings they shelter; they have aesthetic value; they trap polluted
storm water runoff via the soil held by their roots. And trees trap
air pollutants: they trap gaseous pollutants by the stomata in their
leaves; sticky or hairy leaves also filter particulates from air. Using a
computer-based geographic information system American Forests first
calculated how much air pollution urban trees remove, and then calculated
the economic loss of cutting the trees. In Washington, DC
trees lost to cutting would have removed about 354 000 lbs (over
160 000 kg) of major air pollutants including carbon monoxide, sulfur
dioxide, and ozone. This lost capacity costs the city about $1 million
a year in additional air pollution abatement expenses. And because
cut trees were not there to trap storm water, there was a 34% increase
in storm water runoff. It costs Washington, DC about $226 million
per year to process the additional runoff. Fortunately, the average
American city, despite its losses, still has about 30% tree cover.
American Forests believes that this could reasonably be increased to
at least 40%.

Other natural services
Ecosystems provide many services; a few of these services are outlined
in the following.

• Vegetation and trees absorb the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, while releasing the oxygen necessary to our lives.
  

• The atmosphere’s stratospheric-ozone layer protects us from the sun’s strongest ultraviolet radiation.
  

• Worms and other organisms, and vegetation enhance the fertility of soils that we need for agriculture.
  

• Healthy ecosystems provide insects, birds, and other animals that pollinate plants (including crop plants). Birds and some insects also reduce many agricultural pests.
  

• Natural systems provide seafood, wild game, forage, wood, biomass fuels, and natural fibers.
  

• They degrade organic wastes, both naturally produced and human-produced waste.
  

“Less forgiving than our planet.”
Economists often argue that technology can substitute for natural life-support systems.
One experiment in the ability of technology to support life is Biosphere 2, an
enclosed man-made structure built as a model for a self-sustaining extraterrestrial
colony in space. Completed in 1991 at a cost of $200 million, its 3.15 acres (1.27 ha)
were a closed-off mini-Earth containing tiny biomes – a marsh from the Florida
Everglades, an equatorial rain forest, a coastal desert, a savanna with a stream and
grasses from three continents, an artificial mini-ocean with a coral reef, plus an
orchard and intensive agricultural area. Its underbelly holds a maze of plumbing,
generators, and tanks.
Eight people moved into the Biosphere 2 for 2 years. The first year went
well, but in the second crops failed, and people grew thin. They became dizzy
as atmospheric oxygen levels fell from 21% to 14% – a level typical of 14 000 ft
(4267 m) elevation. This occurred because excessive organic matter in the soil
absorbed oxygen from the air. Atmospheric carbon dioxide “spiked erratically,”
while nitrous oxide rose to levels that could impair brain function. Vines and algal
mats overgrew other vegetation. Water became polluted. The Biosphere initially
had 3800 plant and animal species. Among the 25 introduced vertebrate species, 19
died out and only a few birds survived. All the Biosphere’s pollinators – essential
to sustainable plant communities – also became extinct. Excitable “crazy” ants
destroyed most other insects.
Much was learned from Biosphere 2, which was taken over in 1997 by Columbia
University to be used as an educational facility in which Earth stewardship is fundamental
to the curriculum, a place to “build planetary managers of the future.”
Among its research efforts are long-term studies of the effects of various levels of
the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide on plant communities.
Someone noted that Biosphere 2 is less forgiving than our planet. But Earth
too is a closed system, a larger version of Biosphere 2. History records examples
of civilizations that failed or grew weak after having a severe impact upon their
local environment. But survivors often could move on to other environments.
Today, Earth’s huge population cannot “move on” although many people struggle
to immigrate to better locales. And people cannot, not in inexpensive ways available
to everyone, substitute technology for nature’s services. How does one substitute
for breathable air?

Degrading human wastes
Think about biodiversity, the fantastic variety of species of animals,
plants, and microorganisms in our world. Among these species are the
insects and worms, bacteria, and fungi that degrade natural wastes
and the wastes we discard -- the sewage, garbage, and other organic
wastes and pollutants. These waste-degrading creatures could live
without us, but we cannot live without them. Some larger creatures
eat wastes too -- vultures are essential for scavenging dead animals
in some places. Which species are absolutely vital to our lives? We cannot answer that question, but we do know that a great many are
needed to maintain ecosystem services. And we know that humanity
is, through habitat destruction and disruption and pollution, destroying
species at a rate perhaps 100 times faster than the natural rate
of extinction. And we know that scientists increasingly emphasize
that we are exceeding the capacity of some ecosystems to absorb our
wastes.

Assessing Earth’s ecosystems
Given that Earth’s ecosystems are vital to human lives we need to
know how those ecosystems are faring. What is the health of our
planet? In 2000 the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP)
assisted by about 1500 scientists, embarked on a worldwide study
the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. Costing $5 million a year over
4 years, it is evaluating how well the planet’s ecosystems are functioning.
The ecosystems being monitored are: forests, inland waters
and coastlines, shrub lands, dry lands, deserts, agricultural lands, and
others. How well are they providing the ecosystem goods and services
that we expect oft hem including food, fiber, and clean water? How
are human actions affecting their capacity to provide these services?
The vitality of ecosystems is critical both to human life and health
and to the economic viability of nations. The Millennium Ecosystem
Assessment will provide reliable, scientifically reviewed information
on strengthening how we humans can better manage ecosystems
for our own use and for long-term sustainability. The assessment
received a great assist in the form of 16 000 photographs donated by
the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Taken
from space by satellite, the pictures show changes occurring in the
1990s in biomes as varied as coastlines, mountains, and agricultural
land.

Coral Trouble

After Austrailia the bad news seems to come from Taiwan where the coral reefs on southeastern coast have turned black with a disease possible due to the sewage discharge, thus threatening the entire fragile coastal ecosystem which would eventually lead to a huge loss in the tourism industry.
This long observed problem comprises of extensive coral erosion in Taiwan waters upto 5 meters deep and 300 meters offshore from the two outlying islands. Moreover, the problem seems to take a serious turn when the situation got graver due to plundering of coral reefs and continued dumping of waste in the sea.Fortunately, the government seems keen in getting things right on course.

Watch Out For The Big Meltdown!!!

While the Arctic thaw remains quite a worry, scientists seem to be sweating as problems arrive down south. A team of geophysicists from The University Of Toronto have predicted that the collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet would result in sea levels affecting the coastlines of North America. They also predicted that nations south of the Indian Ocean will face the greatest threats from the resulting rising sea levels. The trend is particularly worrisome. The West Antarctic is fringed by ice sheets which act to stabilize the ice sheet. Sensitive to global warming, fractures in the ice sheet will eventually result in a collapse due to the expansion of water. If that happens , the rise in sea levels is 25% higher than average. An estimated risk of a six to seven metres of sea level rise if the sheet melts away. Looks like we truly are in deep water this time.

News from the scene.....

Well, the world seems to be experiencing more than just an economic crunch; its the environment that calls our attention this time. And a very recent and satisfying example to this continuing problem is being observed right here in India. The Sunderbans as many would be aware of is the largest deltaic region in the world. This swampy archipelago spread over a 2600 sq km area is also a well known biological hotspot.
To everybody's knowledge, the rising of sea levels is a very concerning prediction regarding the consequences of climate change. With the sea level rising in some regions of the Bay of Bengal at 3.14 milli metres anually against a global average of 2.2 mm, it threatens the low lying areas of eastern India. Climate experts had warned that the the rise in temperatures would eventually result in a lot of activity in the Indian continent such as floods, storms and other natural disasters. With the aforesaid concerns, the situation got even worse when scientists observed a surprising growth of mangroves on the river Ganga.This was due to a phenomenon called the "extension of the salt wedge" which would eventually salinate the groundwater of the region and turn agricultural lands barren in the adjoining area.And that my dear friends means that the country's biggest river now faces an unprecedented flow of saline water, thus threatening various fresh water ecosystems depending upon the river.
The government of India has certainly given vent to the concerns regarding the river and I expect necessary action would be taken soon. But the question still remains- will a temporary solution be enough to change what requires a global incentive? I leave you to find that answer.....

FRIENDS....

Sometimes it takes a bit more than what is expected to make a change. Well that is how climate change works out to be a problem rather than just an issue meant to be discussed in conferences. As a matter of fact,climate change has indeed hit hard the blindfolded society that went on crooning that it was just a myth.
And that is just why I like to be linked to different people across the globe, who not only think and feel for climate change but are also involved in waging a war against it. Be it my meeting such wonderful friends through the Climate Champions Project, the unforgettable Arctic expedition or even my friends in Canada who are working hard to get different schools involve and bond with others on an international level through the ICC commit programme.

Now, one such friend I met recently in India was from Mexico who was also a fellow voyager with me on the Cape Farewell Expedition.and guess what, not only did we have a gala time around, I am planning to have Juan( yup that's him) work with me. And so, I have the pleasure of the recent involvement of my friend Juan Pablo from Mexico who was critical in the completion of a video project regarding documentaries and short movies made on climate change( as organized by the British council) which I have been working on.
On a visit to India Pablo and I had been working on, we got together and talked a great deal lot which helped merge creative ideas for the better. Apart from that, we also look forward to work on our respective long term projects regarding climate change awareness schemes through science and art both in India and Mexico, on which we have been working from the start of the Expedition in Canada. The whole idea is to get different international representatives from different countries and help raise an awareness call on the subject, and also involve themselves in being a part of the change which occurs not just in their respective countries but throughout the globe. And that redefines the concept of working together for change... WORKING WITH FRIENDS

Well,time to get back to work.

I have my exams to give soon....

Fleeting Meetings

Today was an eventful venture. Apart from my meeting Pablo, came this wonderful opportunity to get acquainted with Vicky Long is the Project Director of Cape Farewell. Vicky, who happened to have been travelling in India as part of the “Tata Jagriti Yatra” was in Lucknow on the 7th of January 2009.We met up at the SEWA ( Self Employed Womens Association) where I also had the opportunity to meet several enlightened members of the Tata enterprise. The time we spent together was both fruitful and exciting as we discussed on topics regarding ongoing global issues and objectives that concerned climate change. Vicky also told me about some recent projects and updates from London regarding the international youth and the blogging sessions. On my part, I told her about my objectives and undergoing plans in India. It was fun to talk to someone who reminded you of the great days and made you want to jump back into time. With a tour in SEWA(which involved lots of shopping), we ended our stride with a few more subjects to talk about and her leaving for Delhi in the evening.
As I head back home in raging traffic, I smile..... sometimes its nice to go into flashbacks.
We shall keep in touch soon.