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?...

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...

Water is colourless. But when we observe any large water body, it appears blue. When it has a lot of impurities (or nutrients), it can vary from red, green, white, grey, brown, black to anything that is weird and filthy. Read about some important terms related to different colours of water that we come across in common parlance or which researchers use to understand better this elixir of life. Bluewater: ‘Why is water blue in colour?’—humans must have raised this question since time immemorial. But in 1921, this query was resolved when Sir CV Raman raised and answered it successfully...

A vow from an environmentalist to pledge his duty to preserve Mother Earth. *********************************************** If I was the editor of Gobar Times, I would appreciate and highlight all those people in my magazine who try to keep our environment clean. This would include people who save and plant trees and conduct public programmes to spread awareness about environmental issues...

Do we ever stop to think where all the trash that we produce goes? Most of it heads to a dumpsite – yes, those mountains of waste that you might have seen on one of your trips around the city. Let's dig into this subject a bit, shall we? ********************************** A huge dark mountain is looming up amidst houses and buildings, with a flock of crows and eagles circling over it. As one goes closer, you can see people on it...

A snippet of the vibrant activities conducted from the kindergarten tiny-tots to the high-school teenagers under the Green Schools Programme ************************************************************************************** Online education became the talk-of-the-town in 2020 when the entire globe succumbed to an unknown lockdown for more than 300 days. Students became weary and so the entire education community sprung up to the challenge. Country-wide they took to their screens like wildfire, proving their resilience in a jiffy. At the Pawar Public School, Chandivali, we went a step beyond with the Green Schools …

To burst or not to burst?’ is a question many young humans might be asking as the patakha (firecracker) season begins. Teachers and doctors tend to advice against firecrackers but there’s always a paan-chewing uncle or a macho friend who’ll bully you kids into becoming enthusiastic arsonists. It’s usually a tough choice to make. Some additional information is always a good help in firming up ones’ resolutions. Therefore, let's throw some light on the history, chemistry, and eco-friendliness of patakhas.