Little Kids Environmental Awareness

My four year old grew her first organic tomato:



My six year old niece's drawings regarding environment:
Save the Earth:


Recycling:


Woman Enjoying the Environment

One more Dumping Site - Thekkampatti Village

The ITC Paperboard facility at Coimbatore was acquired from BILT Industrial Packaging Company in March, 2004. The Mill is located at Thekkampatti Village, near Mettupalayam, in Coimbatore Dist of Tamil Nadu. The commercial production under ITC management began on 29th March, 2004.
Source: ITC


Source - Article in Kumudam Magazine
This article indicates that solid wastes which includes plasics, pesticides, and medicinal wastes (even fetus) has been imported to this village - Thekkampatti. Sub-contractors separate these materials and give it to the above mentioned ITC. However the remaining wastes are dumped in the land. These wastes should be properly treated and disposed instead of dumping in poor farmer's land. Pollution control should regularize these waste imports by implementing and following proper Environmental laws.
Another dumping - Tannery Effluents
I have done research on Tannery Effluents during my MS and Mphil degrees. It is one of the worst industrial pollution source. In Dindugal area these effluents are dumped into the land without any treatment. While travelling from Pollachi to Srivilliputtur, I could tell that we arrived at Dindugal just by the nasty stench from tannery effluents. I was very much worried at that time thinking of future of those area. Making my worries to be true, I read an article in Dinamalar, indicating that the area water bodies including ground water has been completely contaminated by tannery effluents. There are 61 tanneries in the area and they dump these effluents directly into the land. Several villages surrounding Dindugal, have been affected by this. Kids who are daily drinking this contaminated water have completely damaged tooth and skin.

Also 500 acres of fertile land have been contaminated by these effluents.
Authorities should build low-cost centralized tannery effluent treatment to treat this tannery effluents or else chromium in the effluents will do its damage which would be irreversible.

Also read about Mr.Loganathan, who works two jobs (Welding and Toilet Cleaning). He uses money from welding job to take care of the family. He completely gives away the money from the other job to poor orphaned children's Education(Children in Sathya Ammaiyar Govt. Orphanage School).

Hats off to Mr.Loganathan. If all people have this mentality of helping (All Politicians should learn from him), Our planet would have been a better place.

Another Note on Environmental Concern:
Last week I attended a meeting regarding building a Hindu temple in Orange county, Florida. Meeting had several people - county officials, local neighborhood people and people willing to build the temple. Most of the neighbourhood people opposed the temple proposal, even though the neighbourhood is surrounded by Churches. One of the concerns was:
Oil leakage from these thrity cars that will be parked (when people worship) will affect Ground water.

See the Environmental Concern of the these people and everyone should learn from them to be Enviromentally concise. Oil pollution from these cars is negligibly very little compared to the solid wastes sent to India (Plastics, Pesticides, Medicinal wastes, and E-wastes):

eWastes Dumped

Industries flocking into Tamilnadu - Must do Pollution Control also

Tire manufacturing Industry is coming to Gangaikondan, Tirunelveli in near future.
Commercial Vehicles Manufacturing Industry and Nokia spare parts manufacturing coming to Orakadam, Chennai very soon,
Cuddalore - Petroleum Refinery & Ship building Industry,
ThiruChopuram - Building Harbor for private sector,
along with several other industries.

These industries are good for the Economic development of the state.
However the above areas: ISLANDS, CORAL REEFS, MANGROVE FORESTS, WETLANDS, and FORESTS are as important as the Economic development and are very sensitive Environments. Also these industries should consider effects on HUMAN HEALTH.

Cuddalore is already a polluted and environmentally sensitive area. It has been affected by Tsunami.Mangrove forests have been helping the coastal areas from fierce force of cyclones. So, Mangrove forests are needed to protect the coastal areas.
Even though these industries are vital for economic upliftment, these industries must consider Environmental issues (Mandatory) also.
Watch Cuddalore Environmental Problems:








Tire manufacturing plants emit Volatile Organic Compounds. These emissions should be controlled or else there will be irreparable damage to these sensitive Environmental areas in the future. Hopefully these industries take into account the pollution that will be created and treat them properly.

Will these industrialists take care of pollution abatement or should we worry about these damaged Environment in the future?

Only time will answer.

Disney/Pixar Wall-E - Environment

Disney/Pixar Wall-E movie has a very strong environmental message - according to the movie director.

Hopefully the plastic toys that will be sold after this movie's Wall-E, EVE and others do not end up in the environment and are properly recycled.

Also Disney should be testing these toys for hazardous materials before they end up recalling these toys.

Because: Disney Store has recalled about 8,000 Tinker Bell toy wands because the paint on the pearl beads in the flowers of the wands contains excessive levels of lead, in the past.

iPhone 3G and Environment

Cool iphone 3G is here:

iPhone3G

The original iPhone, sold for $399 (1.4 million pieces were sold by October 2007), had flaws and already tech wizs are discussing in blogs to buy them by saying $199 seems very reasonable for 3G. Hopefully Apple will sell 2million 3G iphones because they are cheaper - $199.

So where will all these 1.4 million (at least half of it) original iphones will end up?

In the environment - loaded with:
Brominated flame retardants (BFRs),
Poly Vinyl Chlorides (PVCs),
along with traces of Lead, Cadmium and Mercury.

Environmental Information Management System (USEPA):
An abstract from USEPA
Effects of Brominated flame retardants (BFRs)
represent a large and diverse class of high volume industrial chemicals which have been developed to provide fire safety. There are many other BFRs which have been used and are under development.
Historically, polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs) were used but they were banned because of their persistence, bioaccumulation, and toxicity. Some of these are being detected in environmental samples. The three major BFRs in use today
are tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA), hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) and the polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), which involves three commercial mixtures, Penta, Octa, and the only one still in production, Deca. TBBPA is the largest
volume chemical and is used both as an additive and reactive flame retardant, primarily in electronics. It has moderate persistence, little bioaccumulation, and relatively low concern for toxicity, although it may have some endocrine
disrupting properties. HBCD is also used in electronics, but is more persistent and bioaccumulative. Its isomeric composition changes as it undergoes fate, transport, and metabolism. It is found in increasing concentrations in wildlife and human samples, and there is growing concern for its potential toxicity. The PBDEs are also additive BFRs, but their properties and uses differ. Penta was used largely in polyurethane foam; Octa in office equipment; and Deca in polymers
for electronic equipment and textile backings. Increasing concentrations of PBDE congeners have been found in environmental samples, wildlife, and people. The congeneric profile in biota differs from that in the commercial mixtures.
The major pathways to human exposure are uncertain, although both dust and food are likely. Penta and Octa have been banned in Europe, and production withdrawn in the US, in part because of growing concern for their toxicity, including
enzyme induction, endocrine disruption, and developmental reproductive and neurotoxicity. Deca is the major use PBDE product worldwide. Recent studies have demonstrated that it can be broken down in the environment by light and microbes,
and metabolically in mammals. Some concerns for its toxicity, or that of its breakdown products, come from reports of its carcinogenicity in two year rodent studies and developmental neurotoxicity. Recently, it has been detected in wildlife and people.
Alternatives are being suggested and use. Questions remain about their safety, as well as that of the existing BFRs.

Poly Vinyl Chlorides (PVCs):

PVC
PVC is the number one use of chlorine world-wide.
Dioxins are chlorine based by-products of the production and disposal of chlorine compounds such as PVC plastics.
More than half of most PVC products are composed of chlorine.
Dioxins, furans, PCBs and HCB are all among the toxic accidental by-products of PVC production.
These POPs are also found in the emissions and ash of incinerators that burn PVC and other chlorinated wastes.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
dioxins travel thousands of miles by air and are deposited on the land concentrating in our food supply accounting for 90 percent of human exposure.
Dioxin contamination of humans occurs in two ways, near and far.
There is an abundance of credible data and independent studies on the harmful and unsustainable impacts of vinyl or PVC plastics.
PVC clearly threatens human health and the environment:
- contaminate the air, water and land,
- leaving residents with elevated levels of dioxin in their blood and workers and residents with serious illnesses.
Vinyl or PVC plastic requires more toxic additives than any other plastic including heavy metals (lead, cadmium, chromium and organotins) and
plasticizers such as phthalates, all of which are bio-available and put the health of vulnerable populations, such as children, at risk.
The disposal by incineration or accidental burning (including landfills fires) of vinyl products releases dioxin into the environment adding to the already dangerous levels that exist in human tissue.
Fortunately, there are many safer available substitutes for virtually all uses of vinyl.

Most of us know the effects of Lead, Cadmium and Mercury.

As excited as we are for Apple 3G iPhones, soon we may need more technological capabilities and upgrades. So these 2 million 3G iPhones will also be obsolete and dumped in the environment.

One Good news: Apple is also concerned for environment:

Apple Environment

Hopefully they will also spend some on proper recycling of the iPhones.

I am talking about only Apple iPhone . Think about other phones:

Nokia, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, Samsung, LG, etc......!!!
Their accessories such as chargers, car chargers, bluetooth, etc.....!!!

Cell Phone Article

Also ipod Nanos, Touches, Classics and Shuffles and its competitor products. These are also selling in millions.

Recently cell phone and cancer issues popped up again after Pittsburgh cancer institute research:
Environmental Oncology

Specific absorption rate (SAR) is a measure of the rate at which radio frequency (RF) energy is absorbed by the body when exposed to radio-frequency electromagnetic field.

It is defined as the power absorbed per mass of tissue and has units of Watts per kilogram.

SAR is calculated either over the whole body, or over a sample volume which is typically a 1g or 10g of tissue.

For a phone to pass Federal Communications Commission (FCC) certification, that phone's maximum SAR level must be less than 1.6W/kg (watts per kilogram).
Europe - 2W/kg
Canada - 1.6W/kg.

Ex: Apple iphones radiation levels

Apple iPhone (4GB) 0.974
Apple iPhone (8GB) 0.974
Apple iPhone 3G (8GB) 1.38
Apple iPhone 3G (16GB) 1.38

Check other phones SAR data at CNET
Read more on Environment, Health and Safety Online ,
Wiki
and Electro Pollution

Sweden - has long history of cell phone users and some research have shown some effects are happening.

Indian Scientists have published this article:
Cell Phone Radiation and Developing Tissues in Chick Embryo - A Light microsopic Study of Kidneys.

Ingole IV & Ghosh SK
MGIMS, Sevagram, M.H.

Abstract : Phenomenal increase in the number of cell phone users during late 1990s has become a matter of
concern regarding the safety of the users exposed to radiation emitted from cell phone. There have been plenty of
researches reportedly establishing the damaging effect of radiofrequency radiation emitted from cell phone on the
biological tissues. The hazardous effects on the biological tissues as reported varied from it’s effect at the molecular
level causing an increase in single and double strand DNA breakages to causing an increase in the mortality in chick
embroys exposed to radiation emitted from cell phone. Conversely many have reported it to be safe to the biological
tissues within the stipulated standards set. by the regulatory authorities.
Considering these discrepancies, the present work was taken up to investigate any effect caused by such exposure
on the developing tissues of chick embryo at the histological level. Embryos were exposed to radiation emitted from cell
phone for different durations resulting in different dose schedules. It was observed that exposure to radiation caused
damage to the developing kidneys which was more extensive with longer duration of exposure inspite of discontinuing
the exposure and giving an exposure free period before sacrificing.

Key words: Cell phone, radio frequency radiation, biological tissues, chick embryo, kidney.

Many developing nations are moving progressively because of cell phones. Cell phone has become part of our life. It cannot be eliminated completely. Research needs to be done at a fast pace to reduce the SAR levels. People have to reduce their usage especially when getting less signal and speaking while moving(such as in car) during which the radiation levels will be higher. Children under age of 5 should not use it all.

As a scientist, anybody(including me) can prove anything right or wrong by manipulative statistics. For example you can prove 1 = 2 and if I am a tobacco industry scientist, I can prove tabacco may be good and if I am against it I can prove it is the most hazardous thing in the whole earth.

People with good health die at a younger age and people who smoke regularly live longer.

All that matters is if there is a way to reduce the cell phone radiation, then the industries should do that, if not they should research more vigorously to reduce the levels. Ultimate aim - We have to make the world a better place to live - not only for us, but also for future generations to come. Sustainable technologies are the way to go.

Nonvegeterian to Vegeterian

I was brought up in a family where we love to eat non-veg food. If guests were invited and not provided with some kind of non-vegeterian food, it was referred as ill treatment. I loved to eat meat. Whatever meat - from chicken, fish, to beef (I used to play and feel very hungry and we used to go to a Muslim restaurant in Coimbatore and check out chili beef instead of chicken because it was cheaper and no difference in taste. Though I am a Hindu I had beef because of the above reason) and any kind of meat available. When I came to US for higher studies, I had only non-veg food. Me and friends used to eat lots of chicken (Spicy chicken by Andhra roommates), beef (Punjabi room mates, Philli Cheese Steak & McD Big Mac), Pork (Chinese friends & Pepporoni Pizza). We used to go to a Chinese restaurant so often and order the same food routinely. The owner used to prepare the ribs as soon as we entered the restaurant. In childhood days, my aunt prepared the best fried fish in the world and we never stopped eating those fish. I even boycotted eating lunch without any meat and argued with my wife that some kind of meat should be there for lunch.

Once my close friend’s father (visited for my friend’s graduation from India) told me to give up non-veg food. After his words I still had meat and totally forgot his advice. In 1997, my beloved aunt passed away. At that time my friend’s father’s advice came to mind and once and for all, I gave up eating non-veg food. I gave up egg also (I used to eat all forms of egg – Scramble, Omelet, Half boiled and raw egg along with Poriyal and Karandy). I feel so good after that. Even amidst the criticism of avid non-veg loving family, I eat only vegetarian food and no craving for non veg food!!!!

Reason for writing this:

Today my friend sent me a link:

Poor Chickens & Poor Animals


Poor Fishes
And now I feel good that I am a vegetarian.

He also emailed me the following:

A review of available research indicates that the more processed meat people eat, the more likely people are to develop stomach cancer.

Processed meats include bacon, sausage, hot dogs, salami, ham, and smoked or cured meat. The review looked at 40 years' worth of studies on the relationship between these meats and stomach cancer. Some of the studies examined hundreds and thousands
of people.

Calcium Carbide - Mangoes, PCBs - Vadai !

Fruit Ripening using Calcium Carbide:

Even though fruit ripening is banned using Carbide, still Mangoes are ripened using Calcium Carbide without any conscience:

Calcium Carbide is a grayish-black, lump-shaped solid or crystal (sugar or sand-like), which has a slight garlic-like odor. It is used to make Acetylene and other chemicals, and in metallurgy.

HAZARD SUMMARY
Calcium Carbide can affect you when breathed in.
Contact can severely irritate and burn the eyes and skin causing permanent eye damage and ulcers on the skin.
Exposure can severely irritate the mouth, nose and throat causing sores, cough and wheezing.
Breathing Calcium Carbide can irritate the lungs causing coughing and/or shortness of breath.
Higher exposures may cause a build-up of fluid in the lungs (pulmonary edema), a medical emergency, with severe shortness of breath.
Calcium Carbide is a FLAMMABLE and REACTIVEchemical and a DANGEROUS FIRE and EXPLOSIONHAZARD.
Calcium Carbide is on the Hazardous Substance List because it is cited by DOT, NFPA and EPA.
This chemical is on the Special Health Hazard Substance List because it is FLAMMABLE and REACTIVE.
It also has impurities which include Arsenic.

Cooking Vadai using Transformer oil(PCBs):
PCBs are a class of industrial chemical that contain 209 individual compounds or congeners.

Chronic inhalation exposure of workers to PCBs has been reported to result in respiratory tract symptoms, such as cough and tightness of the chest, gastrointestinal effects including anorexia, weight loss, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain, mild liver effects, and effects on the skin and eyes, such as chloracne, skin rashes, and eye irritation.

An epidemiological study of women occupationally exposed to high levels of PCBs suggested a relationship between PCB exposure and reduced birth weight and shortened gestational age of their babies; however, limitations of the study limit the strength of the conclusion.

They are also classified under potential Carcinogen:

Some days back I read an article that some hotels were using Transformer oil (PCBs) to fry "Vadai" for crispiness!!!.

???