Environmental Justice

I had written an earlier blog post:

Industries over Environment

Just saw a program on how indusries (especially foreign industries) are built by covering dried water bodies. Even though these industrial programs have programs towards greening the environment, they have done everything against environment in building these industries in Sriperumbudur, India.

Another earlier blog:
Eco Vs Eco

One future environmental engineer asked me the following question regarding the above blog post:


hello dr.makesh,

Considering your opinion on the Environment Ministry's decision on disallowing Vedanta from mining bauxite in Orissa I have a doubt. Where do you think should we draw a line between environmental importance and economic importance? Since I am new to this field I am still confused what viewpoint to take! I have an opinion that in the name of environmental protection we should not be a barrier to development (in this case bauxite is very important for us too).

Please correct me if I am wrong...

And, my classes have started and I have taken up courses on Solid/hazardous waste management, Chemical Principles of Environmental Design , Environmental Regulations and Policies.

My answer to it:

Thank you for the email. What I am talking about is the greed. We don't have enough forest resources in India. Already deforestation is taking a toll. We need some forest lands to be saved.
I know we need bauxite. If we allow to take the bauxite, do you think our greedy people will stop mining bauxite in limited quantity? NO. They will wipe out the whole area. They will remove the whole hill top, which will affect the environment (soil, land, water, ground water) and affect the climate. This environmental effect also have an economic cost and will easily out number the cost earned by mining.

I am also for economic growth, however it should be sustainable. If they remove hill top and mine, what are the plans to replenish it.

Why India has most tanneries than any other countries?. Is there any tannery or similar industries in Developed nations?. No. Because we just let the effluents directly to the land and do not care about the environment, people (hexavalent chromium is dangerous to people - it affects brain).

Recently I read Indians have the most Swiss bank accounts (more than 1trillion $). If they just spent few percent of that, it will be a most developed nation. Because of greed of money and not caring for our environment, lots of foreign industries are coming into India (on the basis of economic development) and polluting India. We don't have any standards and we do not implement them. Cell phone companies, car companies, etc (long lists) are flocking there. In this case POSCO - a Korea based company is showing interest in our mountains. They have beautiful mountains. Will they remove their hill top? NEVER. What we need to do is - ask them to take care of our environment too. That is what we are lacking. Day by day agricultural lands, forest lands are taken away by industries. It is also becoming dumping ground (I have written so many articles about it). Environmental Pollution will cause more economic damage than what industrial growth economy produces.

Good that you are taking up Solid/hazardous management courses. Regarding Solid waste management - you have to think that prevention is the best option rather than management. But that is not going to happen in the near future. We have to take slow steps. If we don't act now India will lose its natural resources at very fast pace and living conditions will become worst. I hope you got my point. We need economic growth but in a sustainable way.

Pl. concentrate on Environmental Regulations and Policies courses. By studying such courses, young people like you can devise policies to make sure industries have environmental sustainability plans to save the environment that they are destroying. We can bring new industries to make our economy improve, but we need proper regulations and policies in place for that and take care of our great environment.

In this case we not only saved environment, but also indigenous people (who lived there for centuries).

I have traveled to many countries and see the differences (how they protect their environment and how proud they are about it).

If you carefully account for the environmental cost of the environmental deterioration over the years, the development benefits by mining will be negligibly small. (That is what big companies do - give hard blue collar jobs to our people in the name of economy, destroy our resources and leave the mess for us to clean ).

His answer back:

Dr.Makesh,that was such an interesting mail! I have so much to learn from you. I had to read the mail thrice just to comprehend the depth of certain things. You are so very true about so many things,for example, the companies exploiting us and leaving up a mess for us to clean.

I'l surely take up Regulations and Policies seriously.

Hopefully I made a person to take this Environmental Regulations and Policies seriously and help saving our land and environment. These industries who advertise that they are going GREEN, should actually take steps to GO GREEN (even if it is a growing nation where they create their branch).


MakeSH

Water Air Food Outdoor Energy Sleep - Living Healthy

Water:

  Water wars are already starting in the world. We are already paying for water than most of the commodities. Think about poor people - it is going to be tough for them. We all know water is important and it is important that we manage it properly. Water bodies are abused for selfish purposes and polluted at alarming rate. Most of the people are already drinking toxic soup water rather than normal water. Sewage, pharmaceutical products waste, other industrial effluents and non point sources taint water bodies. We are also depleting ground water at an alarming rate.

It is time to manage fresh water resources, properly.

Food (from Land - Soil):

   It is really hard to say that we are eating good food. Foods are prepared from produce grown using contaminated water, chemicals including pesticides. Apart from that, they are also genetically modified and are also tainted with antibiotics and hormones. Lands for food growth have become scarce. Buildings take over trees and cities are growing, Sea level rising will also decrease the coastal area lands.

It is time to properly manage land especially agricultural lands.

Soil is important part of the agriculture. Fertile soils are enriched from mountain's run off  and it's flow through the wonderful rivers. People are destroying both mountains and river's soil beds. Quarries affecting mountains and improper sand mining from rivers affect the soil fertility which is a very important resource. With that artificial chemicals input destroys total soil fertility. That is the reason one should follow natural organic sustainable agriculture to save soil, which is an important resource for the local, county and the Globe. 

 Soil with Earth Worm at EAFARMS

Zero Budget Natural Farming.

Air:

  If we do not take care of air pollution, soon we will have to pay for air as we do for water. Our future generations have to  carry oxygen cans as breathing aid.
They will have to be dressed like they live in another planet. Cities are getting affected by smog and other air pollutants from various sources. We also cut down trees which are sinks for these
air pollutants, so it is affecting us more.

It is time to curb air pollutants and be strict on emissions.

Outdoor Energy:
  We need energy from Sun (Vitamin D) and most of us are spending time in indoors than outdoors. In indoors  we are exposed to lots of  chemicals from various indoor sources, To curb that we need to grow indoor helpful plants (snake plants, Areca palm etc) - for better air in indoors.
We live in air conditioned houses and drive around in air conditioned cars. Summers are getting hotter and I have heard people complaining that they cannot withstand heat and spend more time indoors. Children are playing more indoor games than outdoor games. There will be more cases of vitamin D deficiencies and it is not good.

It is very important to spend some time outdoors to get some Sun's energy.

Sleep:
  We all need at least 8 hours of sleep and most of us don't even sleep  for 6 hours. Electronic devices - cell phones, laptops, tablets and desktops do not help either.
Think about how much time we spend on these devices even before sleep. Disturbed sleep is cause for many diseases.

It is very important to sleep for at least 7 hours to maintain proper health.

Big companies and owners are investing for curing diseases, If these necessities ( such as good water, unpolluted air, healthy food (eating is to be done as meditation - slowly, properly chewed food is half digested) , spending quality time outdoor in Sun and sleeping properly)   -
are properly followed, people will be healthy.

It should start from individuals.

One more important aspect is to avoid toxic substances -  Tobacco - Smoking, Alcohol and Drugs.

All these practices will improve the key immune system and make the body ready to fight Infectious diseases.

Prevention is better than cure.

Live Healthy.

EnviroApps Save Series

SAVE ENVIRONMENT

Save Water and Conserve 

Water Please Conserve

Save Trees 

Save Mountains 

Save Birds

Save Wildlife 

Environment Journey

If Environment is protected everything else will be too.

EARTH DAY 2014 Beautiful Visitors and Praying for Peace

EARTH DAY 2014

 “Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not every man's greed.”

“What we are doing to the forests of the world is but a mirror reflection of what we are doing to ourselves and to one another.”

“The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”

“Poverty is the worst form of violence. Recall the face of the poorest and weakest man you have seen, and ask yourself if this step you contemplate is going to be any use to him.”

“If we are to teach real peace in this world, and if we are to carry on a real war against war, we shall have to begin with the children.”

“Always aim at complete harmony of thought and word and deed. Always aim at purifying your thoughts and everything will be well. ”

― Quotes from Mahatma Gandhi

“Keep close to Nature's heart... and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean.”

“When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world.”

“In every walk with Nature one receives far more than he seeks.”

“Between every two pines is a doorway to a new world.”

― Quotes from John Muir 

I love environment. Nature always fascinated and fascinates me. When I see greenery, chirping birds, wonderful animals, grand trees, water bodies, and mountains (all the nature), I feel happy from my soul. Good that I could complete a PhD in Environmental Sciences. I have been involved in Environmental Sciences from my under graduate degree and worked on several projects including EAFARMS.

 Earth day 1988 - Demonstration of Pollutants affecting Environment

Some Visitors to my place on Earth day 2014:

Beautiful Male Red Cardinal

Dove Quenching Thirst

 Dove waiting for Food

Old Duck

 Duck Couple

Mom and Daughter (Sand Hill Cranes)

Turtle

Yellow Warbler

I was glad to see all of them. It was fulfilling Earth Day 2014. Had a wonderful bike ride.

Hope and Pray that we will move way ahead and Positively Progress in our Environmental Projects. 

Already so many tragedies happened this year in the world. Praying for all of the victims and their families.  

Another prayer - Need peace all over the World. Let us pray for the peace. 

MOTHER EARTH is RICH and can provide for everyone. 

We should learn from the past, move ahead peacefully and pass our Earth as a safe and wonderful place to live,  for our future generations. 

Makesh Karuppiah on Earth Day, 2014

Save Farmers

I never thought I would write a blog article with a title Save Farmers. Every human at least for now depend on Food for survival. The way it is going, one day we would be living just on Pills. Until then we should respect and support farmers who work in the dirt to produce our food. Every health article talks about fruits, vegetables and grains. These food items does not come magically. It is the hard work that is being put in by the farmers with the help of the nature. Yes they need natures's help such as rainfall. When the rain Gods ditch them they undergo severe hardships that they could not withstand. Some of them in Tamil Nadu commit suicide, which gives us heavy heartache.  Now they are protesting in Delhi. As always I support them. I kindly request the government to work on this immediately and provide support as soon as possible.
Those who are protesting and fasting are not Rich,

They are the farmers who give us Food on the table by working hard. Because of their work we eat wonderful Rice, tasty and healthy vegetables, greens, grains and fruits. They work hard in Sun without proper covering, clothing in the dirt and uncovered feet in wet paddy fields among snakes and other animals. It is not easy. Comparing to sitting and typing in a AC room with a state of art computer (what I am doing right now) it is very very tough to do farming activities.. 

We understood this when we tried traditional farm work at EA FARMS:
However I am glad that I support them, pray for them and write for them.. They are not asking government's help to become rich. Even if they receive support they are not going buy lavish things, they are going to invest in their agriculture land to produce more food. For living healthy we need good Food along with other elements.
If they receive normal monsoon rains, they would not even come to this state. That's the reason I always pray for normal Rain all over the Globe. But as nature's rule, droughts cannot be avoided. But we need to take necessary steps to counter the drought. We should curtain air pollution that contributes to climate change. We need to use renewable resources.
Water management is very important. When there is heavy rain, it needs to be conserved. There are ideas to merge Rivers. Rain water harvesting should be done everywhere. Swales need to be created in the farm to recharge ground water.

A Swale at EA FARMS

Water should be used as if we are in drought even when there is ample water. We have to conserve soil, rivers, mountains and forests (whole environment). Future technologies such as Graphene Sieves should be embarrassed soon to provide water in severe drought conditions.
Farmers including poor farmers should jump into Sustainable Natural Integrated Farming.

Growing cattle for Dairy Products and manure

They should do multi layer crops instead of single crop.

There are wonderful gurus who guide us on best agricultural practices.

Families need to buy produce from them. Youngsters and every citizen should support them.Then they will not face this situation.
Government, politicians and officials should support farmers and farming activities.

With Farmers at EA FARMS

They should stop activities and projects that affect agriculture.

Our Deiva Pulavar Thiruvalluvar said this long back and it is for a reason;

உழுதுண்டு வாழ்வாரே வாழ்வார்மற் றெல்லாம் 

தொழுதுண்டு பின்செல் பவர்

Simple explanation - Farmers life is the best and others follow them for the food.

So it is very important to save the life of a farmer. We need to support every farmer in the Globe, because they give us the ingredients of tasty food on our table. Praying to God to Save Farmers.

Saving National Parks - Florida Senator Mark Rubio - Good Words

Great Naturalists with the help of wonderful Presidents saved the National Parks with their great efforts.
You realize and thank them when you visit such great National Parks.

I just requested my Florida Senator to save our National parks and got an enterprising, promising and positive reply:


Dear Dr. Karuppiah,

Thank you for contacting me regarding our national parks and the impact they have on our country's businesses, communities and historic identity. I would like to take this opportunity to address your concerns.

As a native Floridian, I understand the importance of parks, and I value their contribution to our state's tourism-oriented economy and ecological diversity. I will continue to monitor ongoing developments, and will remain mindful of your concerns as we address legislation that would impact our national parks system.

Again, thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts with me. It is an honor and privilege to serve the people of Florida. If I can be of any further help to you, please do not hesitate to contact me.


Sincerely,

Marco Rubio
United States Senator

I Thank our Florida Senator from bottom of my heart for his enthusiastic effort to save National Parks.
For sure, Future Generations will reap the benefits of such savings. In this era of environmental abuse (seen all over the globe), it is good to hear such words from the senator.

Everglades National Park - Map

A scenic view at Everglades National Park

As Environmental Scientists and Naturalists, we will do our part for the future generations:

SAVE TREES

SAVE MOUNTAINS

SAVED ENVIRONMENTS

Makesh Karuppiah, Ph.D
Environmental Scientist

Teach In Environmental Sciences Green House Gases

Teach In Environmental Sciences Green House Gases to Kids:

Last Year's Teach In

This year again, I had the opportunity to teach environmental sciences and information technology to fourth graders.
My topic was Green House Gases. I started with the atmospheric layers and talked about the lower layers:

                        Stratosphere: 12 to 50 km (7 to 31 miles),
                        Troposphere: 0 to 12 km (0 to 7 miles).

Took a small car and globe model and compared them to explain the Green House Effect by showing how the car gets heated when parked in Sun. Explained to them that similar to the car, Earth gets warmer because of these GHGs acting like a windshield in the car. 

Then I started to show them the box model. I created a beach environment with sand and water (added blue color to make it look like ocean). In middle of the ocean I created a small island. I placed some small buildings made of Lego pieces on the coast and on the island. In one end of the box apposite to the beach I packed frozen ice (to simulate the Arctic frozen Tundra). 

Box Model - Frozen Area, Ocean, Island and Coastal Area

I closed the box with a glass lid and left a space to heat the ice using a hair dryer acting as a heat source (Sun). Ice started melting; water level rose and at one stage Whole Island was under the Ocean, Lego buildings were under water and beach area resided. Now they understood the greenhouse effect clearly and the damage it can cause.

Snow Covered Mountains

Then I talked about the Green House Gases and their sources:

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) , Methane (CH4), Nitrous oxide (N2O), Ozone (O3), and CFCs 

CO₂    -   Burning Fossil Fuels – Energy Uses – Fuel used for Electricity Generations, Petroleum and Natural                gas emissions.

CH4   -   Landfills, Coal Mines, Oil and Gas production, and Agriculture

N2O   -   Agriculture, Transportation and Industries

O3      -   Fuel combustion

CFCs -   Paints, aerosol sprays, cleaning solvents and coolants

Told them about the Environmental, Human Health and Economic impacts of GHGs

As the overall average annual temperatures of the globe are expected to increase:

Snow, Sea Ice and Glacier areas will decrease by melting, which will cause  

Sea levels to rise, coastal flooding to increase and  climatic condition changes.

 Storms and heat waves will occur more along with dreadful disease, famine and increase in invasive species.

Dehydration, heat stroke, respiratory, cardiovascular, skin problems and diseases such as cancers, and diseases from water, food, and rodent-borne will increase. Human health effects will not only affect health and social support systems, but also cause economic stress.

Agriculture, forestry, tourism and recreation and events including sporting events will be affected. Damage to human made structures such as roads, buildings, bridges will happen from extreme weather conditions.

I explained them how you can help at individual levels:

I asked them to turn off the bulbs when they left their rooms.

Tell their parents to combine trips when they go out.

I asked them to conserve water.

I told them to reduce the use of polluting materials, reuse and recycle as much as you can.
Also, told them to plant trees and plants whenever they are able to do. 

These are some of the small steps they could take to contribute towards protecting our planet. I told them how I analyze data that we acquire from the environment to model and predict after effects.  To do our part we created EA Farms and planted so many trees. This is how as an environmental scientist and as an information technologist, I contributed and still contributing to the benefit of the Globe and future generations to come.

My Scientist Friend Dr. Hatha in Arctic Area:

Collaborating Environmental Scientists

I know there are several people including some scientists who do not believe in GHGs causing these effects. But as an environmental scientist, I believe they contribute to some extent, at least. However, deforestation makes the effects grow more exponentially.

At the end of the teach in section, all the kids were worried about the effects of GHGs, effects of Climate change on islands, coastal areas, its inhabitants, people who will be affected by storms, hurricanes, cyclones, typhoons, tornadoes, heat and drought. They all immediately wanted to contribute to protect the planet, our Mother EARTH.

I felt like I achieved something as an Environmentalist.

Latest GHG gas founded by researchers - That can contribute to GHG effect at an alarming rate - PerFluoroTriButylAmine (PFTBA) from fossil fuel burning.