Recapitulating the prestigious Green Schools Awards and felicitating the commendable and inspiring work of all the awardees in different categories.
*********************************
Ater a three-year hiatus, the Green Schools Programme (GSP) of the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) was back with a bang in February this year – as its annual audit drew to a close, a one-and-a-half day national Green Schools Carnival was announced. The cornerstone of the event was – of course – the GSP Green Schools Awards, but...
Performing tangible actions to achieve credible solutions—making eco-friendly cleaning agents and raising awareness on chemically-intense products to control pollution.
********************************************************************************
The unsettling sight of the Bellandur Lake—a foamy, cloudy demon gargling bubbles—and plastic litter—baffling mounds disposed irresponsibly—motivated me to act and revive our wonderful world. We all know that the climate crisis is going off the charts and the practise of ‘Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle’ is gaining alarming urgency. Thus, it’s high time that we all think about saving our nature...
A refreshingly sweet and innocent observation by a child of an otherwise very worrying issue of—river pollution—with a heartwarming appeal for water conservation.
Once upon a time, during the holidays, I was travelling from Delhi to my village nearby. On the way, we guys came across the Yamuna River. Looking at the river, my younger brother instantly commented, “It doesn’t snow in Delhi even during winters. But here, on the river, it seems to have snowed in peak summers!”...
Then, I explained to him that the white foam on the river surface is not snow but the chemical effluents emitted by huge factories. He was shocked to know this. Then, he uttered very dishearteningly, “I so wished to play with the snow…” My Mom and Dad chuckled on listening to his crushing desire and so did I.
Summarizing the Union Budget in a cool, simplified, less dreadful, more interesting, nowhere mind-boggling, and in quite a thought-provoking manner.
***********************************
11am, 1st February: a moment for which people across the country wait anxiously every year. Why?...
Kick start this new year on a wise and healthy note with a mouthful of millets. Learn more about their varieties, benefits, and environmental importance.
*************************************
Hi friends! Have you ever reflected upon the usual grains that we eat every day? Apart from the most popular, wheat and rice, there are a lot of other cereals that we consume like sorghum (jowar), pearl millet (bajra), finger millet (ragi), and buckwheat (kuttu). Most of these are local foods and are prepared on special occasions like fasts or festivities...
A comprehensive wish-list sent from an avid reader to Gobar Times, providing details on what her dream magazine looks like.
***********************************
Gobar Times has been around since 1998, which is a long time. It is an insightful read, for sure. It’s great to find it online as in this way, it is available anywhere and anytime...
An interview with Deepak Bhati and Gauri Arora, Programme Officers in the Sustainable Food Systems team of the Centre for Science and Environment, New Delhi, simplifying the complicatedness of antimicrobial resistance for our young readers.
********************************************
Hi Deepak and Gauri! We’ve been hearing about this complex and scary thing, ‘Antimicrobial Resistance’ (AMR). Can you please unpack it for our kids?...
Flood, drought, rainfall, snowfall, heatwave, cold wave, storm, cyclone, cloudburst, forest fire… You name it, we have it! But the biggest question is how and why?
*************************************
The modern life we have created is good for us but not for the environment. This energy-hungry human lifestyle is heating up the world at a rate that is not sustainable for the planet. In the past 170 years or so, industries have flourished and have made the Earth hotter by over 1oC. India, for instance...
An alert issued regarding unhealthy packaged foods, and how food nutrition labels can and cannot help us to become aware.
**************************************************************************************
I know you all kids must be excited about Dusshera and Diwali. The whole month you’ll be exchanging sweets and offering scrumptious feasts. Our friends and families will enjoy beautifully wrapped gifts of savouries— chocolates, candies, chips, soft drinks, and what not! Their advertisements will flood our television screens and social media, and even masquerade as a renewed form of celebration with the days of homemade delicacies…
From food waste composting, avoiding single-use plastics, promoting metal containers, recycling paper, and harnessing solar—this place has it all!
******************************************
Environment education does not advocate a particular viewpoint or course of action. Rather, it teaches individuals how to weigh various sides of an issue through critical thinking and enhances their problem-solving and decision-making skills...
A unique experiment in ‘nature-based learning’ is in progress on the banks of the Atreyi River in Balurghat, a small town in West Bengal, near India’s border with Bangladesh.
********************************************
It was 2004. I had started teaching in a school close to the verdant Jaldapara National Park. I have always nurtured a deep love and respect for nature and environment (maybe a legacy of my mother), and the natural beauty of Jaldapara was a motivating factor as well...
Commemorating the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav with a brief tale of our peoples and environment from c. 1872–2022, spanning about 75 years before and after our tryst with destiny.
*************************
'Why was India lost?’ asked Mahatma Gandhi in his famous little book of philosophies, the Hind Swaraj, in 1909. Without any pun intended, he answered some lines later: ‘The English have not taken India; we have given it to them.’...
France passed a new law that mandates car advertisements to dissuade people from using more cars. This regulation is implemented with the aim of curbing global warming. French car commercials have to display messages encouraging alternate means of transport. For example, ‘Consider carpooling,’ ‘For day-to-day use, take public transportation,’ and ‘For short trips, opt for walking or cycling.’
This ruling will impact over all media, including print, TV, radio, and Internet...
What are Micro-Plastics?
Micro-plastics have not been defined in particular. They are just tiny particles that result from the disintegration of bigger plastic materials. However, most researchers say that any plastic smaller than 5 millimetres in size is a micro-plastic. Hence, these are really, really teeny-tiny!
Plastics are made up of polymers, which are derived from fossil fuels. A whole lot of chemicals are added to the polymers—close to 10,000—to ensure that a given plastic has the desired properties...
Environment is not only about trees and tigers; it incorporates a variety of other concerns and subjects such as air, water, food, proper management of waste, etc. In addition to all these, energy is another area which is of vital importance for us...