1/1/2007, Happy New Year to all of You.
And do we need any New Year resolution? If so what it can be?
Let me try this one since we quizzers are supposed to be the more enlightened citizens of this world.
What is referred to as 'Trash Vortex'?
Can u be more specific?
What forms the major portion of such trash?
Yes, Plastics
The very thing that makes plastics useful to us, their durability & stability, also makes them a problem in marine environments. Its life span can be 100s of years. When plastic reaches our oceans, it eventually breaks down due to the action of the sun, wind, & currents into small, bite-sized pieces that wildlife confuse with food.
Trash Vortex is one of the most studied areas of plastic accumulation in our oceans. At its maximum its area can reach the size of Maharashtra, Gujarath & M.P. put together!!
The issue of plastic debris is one that needs to be urgently addressed. The Greenpeace ship Esperanza is currently cruising into one of the world's largest trash vortices, in the middle of the Pacific. Referred to as the North Pacific garbage patch, it's the epicenter of a system of currents & winds covering most of the North Pacific. The North Pacific subtropical gyre covers a large area of the Pacific in which the water circulates clockwise in a slow spiral. Winds are light, currents tend to force any floating material into the low energy central area of the gyre. There are few islands on which the floating material can beach. So it stays in the gyre, in huge quantities estimated at 6 kilos of plastics per kg of naturally occurring plankton. The equivalent of an area, the size of Texas, swirling slowly around like a clock.
As trash swirls through the world’s oceans to such vortices, it leaves a trail of death and destruction along its path. Plastic is often mistaken for food & has been found inside marine life of all sizes, from whales to zooplankton. It has been directly blamed for the death of a wide range of animals including albatrosses & sea turtles. While massive trash like ghost nets can ensnare and trap 1000s of creatures, even the smallest pieces of plastic may pose a problem. As it accumulates in the digestive tract, many animals essentially choke on plastic intake. Others like the Laysan Albatross chicks
starve to death from a lack of nutrition despite a full stomach.
What we Can Do:
We’re all responsible for this mess, & it will take all of us to stop it from getting worse. It’s time to
completely rethink how we as a society use (or abuse) plastic. Here are some things that you can do right
now:
• Every time you see litter, pick it up & dispose of it properly.
• Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – you’ve heard it before, but now you know what happens when you don’t. Be conscious of all that you buy, & be sure to avoid products with excessive packaging, especially in disposable products.
• Demand more & better recycling facilities in your area.
• Take part in a local stream, river and beach clean-ups or organize one yourself. Though these don't solve
the problem, they are very effective at drawing attention to the greater problem offshore.
• If you live near the ocean, or a river that drains into it, your storm drains are probably washing
garbage right out to sea. Be conscious of this & any other potential sources of marine litter in your area.
Demand that these are eliminated. Be very conscious of your ecological footprint. Encourage change though your decisions and do not accept the current paradigm of use and waste What we need to do is start demanding more responsibility from each other in our use of plastic, and stop living as if everything is disposable and that the future will not be impacted.
So much of our trash ends up in the oceans, so think twice the next time you toss away something after you use it, and think about what the life cycle of that ridiculous plastic packaging wrapped around nearly
everything that we buy. It's going to be a big change, but it's a change we have to make, for the sake of our oceans and for the ability of future generations to enjoy them.
Now, does that qualify for a new year resolution in a community like ours'?
For today (8/1/2007), let’s discuss a pledge..
What was the pledge or a resolution for 2006, half-jokingly named The Compact after the Mayflower Pilgrims, took by ten environmentally conscious friends from San Francisco and which spread through the Internet to other cities, about?
y no participation?
Well, I had to search on google to get the answer..
Its that "Non-Consumerism campaign" in the U.S.A.. I read 2 - 3 articles abt it.. Its interesting.. But I think its better if the Quiz Master himself explains it .. :)
True Jobin.
Others might be busy with the exams!!
One fall out of consumerism in the globalized world is that people began to shop for recreation. And we know by now, from our previous discussion, where a large chunk of it all will end up. So the group from San Francisco decided to take a shopping sabbatical for a year & the experience was said to be so liberating that they decided to extend it for another year.
Most of us are thankful to have the money to spare but remember that we are often drawing down our resources and making people miserable around the world.
Several cities already have communities of people, ‘freegans’, whose contempt for consumerism is so complete that they eat food foraged from dumpsters & sleep in abandoned buildings!
‘The Compact’ however exempted items coming under health and safety such as food, toothpaste, inner garments, etc.
That’s one thing we can try to emulate.
Prepare a list of items, especially those harmful to the environment, which we can avoid buying for a year. And try sticking to the pledge; you are immensely contributing to saving the planet.
To make it simple, just keep in mind that when you are throwing away a used-up ballpoint pen, you are hitting another nail in the coffin of ‘Mother Earth’.
just happy...
I'm really feeling good to have heard bout the new info related to consumerism...thnx a lot...
For today 15/1/2007
The trip to San Francisco proved useful in more ways than one. Now we have a remarkable woman from that beautiful city in our community. And speaking of women, we may have women as Presidents for France & U.S. in the not too distant future. They are storming every remaining male bastion. Female cosmonauts, fighter pilots, loco pilots, and even a female Beefeater!! Errrrr… female what?! Beefeater?!!
Now can anyone tell me who is a Beefeater?
Good guess...
but off the mark, the question passes to the next member 
well I don't know about others but I feel all Abhijith cares about is eating
anyway...after going through wikipedia I found out that Beefeater has very little to do with food...
beefeaters is the colloquial name of the Yeomen Warders, who are the ceremonial guards of the London tower...
and the first female beefeater is a lady by the name Moira Cameron...
Bull’s Eye.
Since 1485, the Yeoman Warders a.k.a. the Beefeaters- all men - have patrolled the parapets and passages of the Tower of London on the banks of the Thames. From the summer of 2007, they will be joined by the first-ever female Beefeater.
William the Conqueror and his army landed in England from France in the year 1066. In 1078 he started to build the Tower of London. Its primary functions were as a fortress, royal palace, and a prison, but it has served as a place of execution, an armory, a treasury, a zoo, a mint and -- since 1303 -- the home of the Crown Jewels.
The guards at the Tower are called Yeoman Warders or Beefeaters. The name Beefeaters is thought to come from the French word - buffetier. Buffetiers were guards in the palace of French kings. They protected the king's food. Another version is that the name originated from the rations of meat they were being given during medieval times.
Beefeaters were originally established in 1485 as King Henry VII's bodyguard, immediately after his victory at Bosworth. Today, they work mostly as guides for the two million visitors from around the world who come to the Tower of London every year.
They are also responsible for the Tower's ravens -- six coal-black birds which, according to legend, must always reside in the fortress on the banks of the Thames to ensure the future of the Kingdom of England.
Question for 22/1/2007
The wanderings inside the London Tower remind me of the relevance of Architecture in the history and cultural heritage of civilization. It’s “Poetry in Motion”. Each stone carving can tell you several stories spread over centuries. Although poor by the other indicators, the South East Asian nations are immensely rich with their Architectural heritage.
So, one from South East Asia for today; what is ‘dok-sofa’?
Sir, I don't know if this is correct.dok-sofa is`a frond-like ornament which surmounts temple roofs in Laos'. it is described as `a bucket of flowers'. Ten or more flowers indicate a king built the temple.
Well done, Mathew
Laos is one of the least known nations in the World. I just wanted you to take a look at it next time you see a map.
Lao art is well known for its wealth of ornamentation. As in other neighboring Buddhist countries, the focus has been primarily religious in nature. However, most Wats (Temples) in Laos are constructed piecemeal with donations from the local communities. Royal Wats can be identified by the number of dok sofa, (flowers), displayed in the building design. If more than ten dok sofa are used, it signifies that the Wat was built by a king, as Mathew mentioned.
Temple murals and bas-reliefs usually tell the story of the Buddha's lives, the Jataka tales. There is not as wide a range of art in Laos as in Thailand, as the country has been constantly dominated by foreign powers that tended to suppress indigenous culture. Much of Lao history and culture has been destroyed over the centuries by the plundering neighbours, Siamese/ Thais, Chinese and Vietnamese. The Ramayana, the famous Indian epic, has become a part of the Lao cultural heritage, and is known as the Phra Lak Pralam. Doors and windows of some temples are engraved with scenes from Ramayana. Prime examples are the huge teak shutters at Wat Xieng Thong in Luang Prabang.
29/1/2007; Muharram
Let's learn a bit of Islamic History. Who is revered as the "Prince of the Martyrs"?
Hazrat Imam Hussain, the youngest grandson of the Holy Prophet Muhammad.
For Today, 5/2/2007
Something from Economics!
In 2004, John Perkins, a former employee of Chas T. Main, an International consulting firm based in the U. S., published a book titled 'Confessions of an Economic Hit-Man'. Any idea what he meant by 'Economic Hit-Man'?
Economic hit men (EHMs) are highly paid professionals who cheat countries around the globe out of trillions of dollars. They funnel money from the World Bank, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and other foreign "aid" organizations into the coffers of huge corporations and the pockets of a few wealthy families who control the planet's natural resources. Their tools included fraudulent financial reports, rigged elections, payoffs, extortion, sex, and murder. They play a game as old as empire, but one that has taken on new and terrifying dimensions during this time of globalization.
Perfect Dhiraj
The book gives a first-person account of how seemingly happy societies are lured into debt traps and economic disaster by the 'vultures' lurking around in search of 'chicks'. And it happens everywhere, even in our neighbourhoods. Please find out the information by yourselves and be alert to the threat to our coming generations. "Aattin tholitta chennaykkal nammude idayilum undaavam!"
Today 12/02/2007,
let's pay attention to the plight of the Palestinians.
Any idea to which country, other than those in the middle east, did the maximum number of Palestinians migrate?
The USA?
Sorry Sir
I too would have given the same answer, had I not seen an article on the same, which in fact surprised me!
Let's see if anyone can come up with the 'right answer' before Monday.
Norway..
I am not sure.... if I have to go by my childhood Sunday school classes, it shd be Israel and Jordan
Sorry Again
It's far away, at the other end of the earth!
Sorry Nisha
It’s Chile! More Palestinians migrated to Chile than to any other country outside the middle east. ‘The Last Moon’ by the legendary Chilean photographer & filmmaker Miguel Littin, whose paternal Grandfather migrated from Palestine in 1915, is an attempt to find out why.
19/02/2007
The previous one was the first question that went unanswered since the beginning of this weekly forum. The source is an interview with Littin himself, published in a leading daily. Hope the info was useful.
So for this week, let me pick up the thread from the last week’s question, a sitter for regular quizzers.
Miguel Littin is a living legend whose real-life adventures are chronicled in a famous work by a Nobel Laureate. Can you identify the work?
Correct
Littin went into exile after the bloody military coup which resulted in the ouster and the assassination of Chile's democratically elected Marxist President Salvatore Allende. He returned to Chile disguised as a foreign businessman to report the excesses of the oppressive regime of Auguste Pinochet. It's said that when he went to meet his Mother even she failed to recognize him! To learn more about the adventures of Miguel Littin, lay your hands on a copy of 'Clandestine in Chile'.
26/02/2007; Now for this week.
The invention of the incandescent bulb by Thomas Alva Edison is considered a major landmark in the history of science and technology. Which is the first country to ban the use of Incandescent Bulbs?!
Abhijith Scores Again....
Australia has announced plans to ban incandescent light bulbs, and replace them with efficient Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs, a move that will cut its greenhouse gas emissions by four million tons by 2012, according to Greenpeace. This will make Australia the first country to ban the incandescent bulb.
Incandescent bulbs lose 90% of the energy that goes into them as heat while a compact fluorescent lamp uses about 20% of the electricity to produce the same amount of light. A 20-watt CFL gives as much light as a 100-watt conventional bulb, lasts up to 12 times longer, and can save consumers around Rs.750/- a year in electricity costs.
Greenpeace India has called on the Indian government to enforce a ban on incandescent bulbs. By only banning the bulb, India could save up to 12000 MW of electricity, which is equivalent to almost 4% of India’s CO2 emissions. Every watt of electricity produced involves CO2 emissions because a major source of electricity in India is still coal-fueled power plants.
No comments:
Post a Comment