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deev yage green edition june 2012 discovering excellence

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deev yage green edition june 2012 discovering excellence

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the editorial team of deevoyage proudly presents the green edition we are extremely excited as we present the green theme in the current times where awareness action towards our environment has becomes a must we have tried to contribute in a small way the information this edition is not even a particle in the big space of environmental issues let us all do our bit so little done so much to do as a conscious effort this edition of deevoyage will only be available as an e-copy in our endeavour to go green in this issue 10 ways to go green the paper trail visual treat greenest cities of the world a bleak future india s eco friendly hotels top ten companies in painting india green after thought green revolution frequently asked questions did you know deev wishes internal updates world news

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save energy to save money 10 ways to go green and save green set your thermostat a few degrees lower in the winter and a few degrees higher in the summer to save on heating and cooling costs install compact fluorescent light bulbs cfls when your older incandescent bulbs burn out unplug appliances when you re not using them or use a smart power strip that senses when appliances are off and cuts phantom or vampire energy use wash clothes in cold water whenever possible as much as 85 percent of the energy used to machine-wash clothes goes to heating the water use a drying rack or clothesline to save the energy otherwise used during machine drying save water to save money take shorter showers to reduce water use this will lower your water and heating bills too install a low-flow showerhead they don t cost much and the water and energy savings can quickly pay back your investment make sure you have a faucet aerator on each faucet these inexpensive appliances conserve heat and water while keeping water pressure high plant drought-tolerant native plants in your garden many plants need minimal watering find out which occur naturally in your area less gas more money and better health walk or bike to work this saves on gas and parking costs while improving your cardiovascular health and reducing your risk of obesity consider telecommuting if you live far from your work or move closer even if this means paying more rent it could save you money in the long term lobby your local government to increase spending on sidewalks and bike lanes with little cost these improvements can pay huge dividends in bettering your health and reducing traffic eat smart if you eat meat add one meatless meal a week meat costs a lot at the store-and it s even more expensive when you consider the related environmental and health costs buy locally raised humane and organic meat eggs and dairy whenever you can purchasing from local farmers keeps money in the local economy whatever your diet eat low on the food chain this is especially true for seafood skip the bottled water use a water filter to purify tap water instead of buying bottled water not only is bottled water expensive but it generates large amounts of container waste bring a reusable water bottle preferably aluminum rather than plastic with you when traveling or at work.

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10 ways to go green green think before you buy go online to find new or gently used secondhand products whether you ve just moved or are looking to redecorate consider a service like craigslist or freesharing to track down furniture appliances and other items cheaply or for free check out garage sales thrift stores and consignment shops for clothing and other everyday items when making purchases make sure you know what s good stuff and what isn t watch a video about what happens when you buy things your purchases have a real impact for better or worse borrow instead of buying borrow from libraries instead of buying personal books and movies this saves money not to mention the ink and paper that goes into printing new books share power tools and other appliances get to know your neighbors while cutting down on the number of things cluttering your closet or garage buy smart buy in bulk purchasing food from bulk bins can save money and packaging wear clothes that don t need to be dry-cleaned this saves money and cuts down on toxic chemical use invest in high-quality long-lasting products you might pay more now but you ll be happy when you don t have to replace items as frequently and this means less waste keep electronics out of the trash keep your cell phones computers and other electronics as long as possible donate or recycle them responsibly when the time comes e-waste contains mercury and other toxics and is a growing environmental problem recycle your cell phone ask your local government to set up an electronics recycling and hazardous waste collection event make your own cleaning supplies join the million car carbon campaign by purchasing your earth-aid kit today the big secret you can make very effective non-toxic cleaning products whenever you need them all you need are a few simple ingredients like baking soda vinegar lemon and soap making your own cleaning products saves money time and packaging-not to mention your indoor air quality.

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the paper trail once upon a time there was a piece of paper it could do all sorts of cool things like bend flex fold lie flat stand up even make paper airplanes the kids loved playing with it they would draw on it cut it out make shapes make airplanes on it but one day the paper found itself old and wrinkled too used up for the kids to keep playing with it and it was sad before it knew what was going on it found itself stuck at the bottom of the trash can it got sent out to the big dumpster where the trash men came and picked it up the little piece of paper was thrown into the truck with all the other papers who were old wrinkled and quite grumpy the journey was bumpy and windy too long for such a tired piece of paper it went from light to dark from wind to rain it was grabbed at and squished and finally thrown onto a conveyer with the rest of the paper it quickly got sorted and pushed and moved around the poor little piece of paper could do very little in its weak condition soon it saw a massive crusher and realized o no this is the end there was so much i wanted to do i wanted to be a pamphlet for hawaii or a legal binding document but alas this is the end and before it knew it it was crushed back into a thin piece of paper hm it thought that s not so bad then it saw the slicer and the crusher o no the paper tried to run it tried to fight with the other papers but it had one corner caught it started to tear as it was trying to pull away it barely broke off just a fragment got stuck i can make it but it was too late the crusher and ripper sucked in the rest of the papers and the paper closed its eyes slowly it blinked and realized it was perfectly quiet even a bit sunny looking around the paper realized it was sitting next to a batch of fresh paper it looked down at itself completely clean smooth with a fresh coat of bleach then bending over to examine the rest of itself to see what was going on it noticed a fine watermark on its back what is this it asked a recycled logo deev ao

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a visual treat flower power by deev aditi mavani

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greenest cities of the world reykjavik iceland this city is run entirely on green power including geothermal and hydroelectricity their transit system also uses hydrogen buses and it s motivated to become europe s cleanest city portland,oregon,united states although many u.s cities are now jumping on board this was the first to focus upon alternative transit with lightrail and extensive bike path networks to encourage people to leave their cars in the driveway it was also one of the first to pledge to reduce emissions and start transitioning buildings to use sustainable materials curitiba brazil this brazilian city focuses upon maintenance using green methods for example parks that are trimmed by sheep they are also known for one of the best transit systems so commuters are encouraged to leave their cars at home malmo sweden this is one international city that is focused on green space they are well-known for their parks but also upon sustainable urban develop it s one of the largest cities in sweden and it s truly urban they ve been transforming neighborhoods to make them environmentally friendly vancouver canada vancouver has been recognized for trying to make the winter olympic games sustainable but it s their day-to-day focus that really allows this canadian city to earn its ranking ninety percent of vancouver is powered by hydroelectricity.

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the bleak future of our cities ecology today deep beneath the façade of environmental globalism marked by annual hallmark conclaves a strong focus of the concern for sustainability is and should be on managing urban challenges the un s world urbanization prospects the 2007 revision report quotes some spellbinding figures from merely 3 in 1800 and 30 in 1950 the global population for the first time in 2008 split evenly into urban and rural with more than 400 cities over 1 million and 19 over 10 million 2050 s expectations of urbanization are pegged at 70 needless to mention how pressing a challenge it is for us in india with mumbai slated to soon be the most populated urban agglomerate just behind tokyo as the population keeps progressively rising our cities and towns ecosystems face volatile threats with the potential of permanent damage a struggle for open spaces with clean air acute scarcity of potable water supply steady decline of the green lungs ­ trees green parks mangroves etc cascading extinction of the symbiotic animal-plant ecosystems urban sparrows wetland birds crucial scavengers like crows cattle and the peripheral wildlife an uncontrollable avalanche of respiratory diseases gastric ailments congenital abnormalities and dangerous deterioration of public health ­ rendering urban human life a curse and crushing the very notion of urbanization-industrialization as modern-progressive or simply good hence our united striving as citizens and our cities administrators must be to fold up our sleeves and get working to save our urban habitats some critical measures for mumbai city hey skip this if u ain t a crazy civil service aspirant enhancing the capacities modernization efficiency time and safety and comfort of public transport systems ­ the railway network the best other bus services and feeder services ­ thus aiming to minimize the reliance on private transport strict implementation of road traffic and pollution control regimes and preventing overloaded heavy vehicles from plying in the daytime reviving the 18 km long mithi river that runs through mumbai to make it a global model riverfront brimming with greenery and natural life reviving the mangroves the green lungs of the city and sustaining citizen driven urban afforestation greening by growing trees regulating land-use and by the real estate industry by establishing land/property price indices and encouraging high density development exploiting the potential of young minds from schools and other educational institutions to build an urban eco-tourism model out of mumbai ­ the sanjay gandhi national park the mahim nature park the mangroves the beaches etc establishing strict regulatory regimes for industries and relocating the unorganized sector leather tanning recycling chemical manufacturing etc from their current bases in dharavi and along the mithi river to the outskirts of the mumbai metropolitan region mmr and incentivizing their movement by enhancing pan mmr connectivity reviving a robust water supply distribution use metering pricing and regulation system that disciplines our relationship with water cracking down on illegal sectorwise mafia adulteration solid waste garbage management water tanker utilities coastal sand real estate slum lords etc the list will go on if i don t stop myself though this painstakingly crazy piece above is only for the authorities that manage the city ask yourselves if given the best local government like that of singapore hong kong or seoul would you match up to its enthusiasm in thought and action or would you as the reluctant citizen have to be forced and fined into complying start at home by recycling intelligently and using resources judiciously do some gardening as a hobby maulik mavani is mumbai based hence ecologically concerned about his environment s future.

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india s top green hotels the raintree anna salai chennai the hotel group is 100 energy self-sufficient it produces energy through its own windmills generating exactly as much energy as it requires by reducing the flow rate of bathroom showerheads and washbasin taps from the standard 12-15 litre per minute to 8-9 litre a minute has cut its water consumption by half nameri eco camp nameri assam the ethnic cottages and thatched tents blend into the verdant surroundings and make for an ideal setting for 300 odd bird species that inhabit the sanctuary what s cooking freshly caught fish from the river alongside what else alila diwa goa all the material used in building the hotel was sourced locally for instance an abundance of the region s eco-friendly brick red laterite stone can be seen throughout the hotel from the design stage due consideration was given to leaving the existing forest intact and conserving the surrounding paddy fields this makes the property a bird watcher s paradise the orchid mumbai it is a zero garbage hotel among the first in the country to achieve this goal the hotel has an ongoing vermiculture project on site that not only eliminates the garbage but also takes care of the gardens in and around the hotel floatel kolkata the floatel the only floating hotel in kolkata offers you everything for a fun-filled and a unique holiday with splashing waves silent and serene surroundings a romantic evening the hotel maintains 49 rooms which feature host of amenities and modern comforts to make for a comfortable stay standing tall at the edge of the hooghly river our 4 star luxury hotel in kolkata offers some world class and unique facilities which includes a landscaped garden area and a promenade walkway by the river our hotel in kolkata also offers a host of rejuvenating and recreational facilities like steam bath massage centers jacuzzi.

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top 10 companies that paint india green suzlon energy the worlds fourth largest wind-turbine maker is among the greenest and best indian companies in india tulsi tanti the visionary behind suzlon convinced the world that wind is the energy of the future and built his factory in pondicherry to run entirely on wind power suzlons corporate building is the most energy-efficient building ever built in india itc limited itc strengthened their commitment to green technologies by introducing ozone-treated elemental chlorine free bleaching technology for the first time in india the result is an entire new range of top green products and solutions the environmentally friendly multi-purpose paper that is less polluting than its traditional counterpart tata metaliks limited tml every day is environment day at tml one of the top green firms in india a practical example that made everyone sit up and take notice is the companys policy to discourage working on saturdays at the corporate office lights are also switched off during the day with the entire office depending on sunlight tamil nadu newsprint and papers limited tnpl adjudged the best performer in the 2009-2010 green business survey tnpl was awarded the green business leadership award in the pulp and paper sector the initiatives undertaken by this top green firm in india includes two clean development mechanism projects and a wind farm project that helped generate 2,30,323 carbon emission reductions earning rs 17.40 crore wipro technologies the list of top 10 green indian companies is never complete without wipro which climbed to the top five brand league in greenpeace s guide to greener electronics ranking despite the global financial crisis wipro held fast to its commitment towards energy efficiency and was lauded for launching energy star compliant products in the market hcl technologies this it major may be considered as the icon of indian green initiatives thanks to the go green steps taken in solving the problem of toxics and e-waste in the electronics industry hcl is committed to phasing out the hazardous vinyl plastic and brominated flame retardants from its products and has called for a restriction on hazardous substances rohs legislation in india indusind bank green banking has been catching up as among the top indian green initiatives ever since indusind opened the countrys first solar-powered atm and pioneered an eco-savvy change in the indian banking sector the bank is planning for more such initiatives in addressing the challenges of climate change idea cellular one of the best indian companies idea paints india green with its national use mobile save paper campaign the company had organized green pledge campaigns at indian cities where thousands came forward and pledged to save paper and trees idea has also set up bus shelters with potted plants and tendril climbers to convey the green message hero honda motors hero honda is one of the largest two-wheeler manufacturers in india and an equally responsible top green firm in india the companys philosophy of continuous innovation in green products and solutions has played a key role in striking the right balance between business mankind and nature.

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the digital dawn the cable amendment act 2011 has made digitization compulsory for delhi mumbai kolkatta chennai from 1 st july november 2012 yes the date has been changed to 1 st november 2012 this message which was bombarded on all television channels was taken off after the information broadcasting ministry postponed the much awaited digitization by four months at a time when the entire media industry was waiting for cable digitization to be implemented a notification from the ministry shattered all plans but will the postponement of digitization help are all stake holders ready for the big digital dawn will the deadline be met at least now things are still not clear as there are mixed responses from all quarters of the fraternity the unhappy lot right now due to the postponement is broadcasters they were banking heavily on digitization as that would have meant transparency between all the links like local cable operators multi service operators government as per them local cable operators under declare the subscription revenues forcing broadcasters to depend on advertising income but what about the cable operators they have been demanding time till 1st january 2013 as enough set boxes are still not available set up boxes are low vis-à-vis the number of homes and hence it s becoming difficult for operators to meet demands at the same time millions of tv viewers are still ignorant about cable digitization making it very difficult for service providers to move ahead after going through several suggestions i came across one from a veteran media personality the gentleman suggested that the announcement to postpone the date should have been 29th july 2012 as at least some work would have happened under pressure by then though not the best suggestion it would have worked don t we like to study for our final exams till the eleventh hour?

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green revolution in india the world s worst recorded food disaster occurred in 1943 in british-ruled india known as the bengal famine an estimated 4 million people died of hunger that year in eastern india which included today s bangladesh initially this catastrophe was attributed to an acute shortfall in food production in the area however indian economist amartya sen recipient of the nobel prize for economics 1998 has established that while food shortage was a contributor to the problem a more potent factor was the result of hysteria related to world war ii which made food supply a low priority for the british rulers when the british left india in 1947 india continued to be haunted by memories of the bengal famine it was therefore natural that food security was one of the main items on free india s agenda this awareness led on one hand to the green revolution in india and on the other legislative measures to ensure that businessmen would never again be able to hoard food for reasons of profit the green revolution spreading over the period from1967/68 to 1977/78 changed india s status from a food-deficient country to one of the world s leading agricultural nations until 1967 the government largely concentrated on expanding the farming areas but the population was growing at a much faster rate than food production this called for an immediate and drastic action to increase yield the action came in the form of the green revolution the term `green revolution is a general one that is applied to successful agricultural experiments in many developing countries india is one of the countries where it was most successful there were three basic elements in the method of the green revolution continuing expansion of farming areas double-cropping in the existing farmland using seeds with improved genetics the green revolution resulted in a record grain output of 131 million tonnes in 1978/79 this established india as one of the world s biggest agricultural producers yield per unit of farmland improved by more than 30 between1947 when india gained political independence and 1979 the crop area under high yielding varieties of wheat and rice grew considerably during the green revolution .

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frequently asked questions faqs ­ plastic recycling why can t i recycle all plastics just as with different types of paper all plastics could be recycled if there were a market i.e a manufacturer who would use them to make a new product there are some problems with plastics recycling that limit the market for some types why do most plastics have a recycling symbol on them if they can t be recycled the recycling industry has been butting heads with the plastics industry over this misleading practice unfortunately with no results the symbol is meant to indicate the type of plastic not its recyclability are the plastics i bring in really being recycled any non-recyclable plastic that you leave at the drop-off center will be landfilled and ecocycle will have to bear the cost of disposing of your garbage so please don t try to slip it in on eco-cycle please recycle only acceptable plastics through your curbside program or at the drop-off center what are the problems with recycling plastics when glass paper and cans are recycled they become similar products which can be used and recycled over and over again with plastics recycling however there is usually only a single re-use most bottles and jugs don t become food and beverage containers again for example pop bottles might become carpet or stuffing for sleeping bags milk jugs are often made into plastic lumber recycling bins and toys a recent development has been the bottles-to-bottles recycling of regenerated pop bottles though it is technologically possible to make a 100 recycled bottle there are serious economic questions also some critics claim that the environmental impact of the regeneration process is quite high in terms of energy use and hazardous by-products currently only about 7 of all plastics generated is recycled compared to 62 of paper 25 of glass and 35 of metals recycling papers glass and metal materials that are easily recycled more than once saves far more energy and resources than are saved with plastics recycling.

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recycling and environmental facts ·in the past 50 years humans have consumed more resources than in all previous history ·between 1950 and 2005 worldwide metals production grew sixfold oil consumption eightfold and natural gas consumption 14-fold in total 60 billion tons of resources are now extracted annually about 50 more than just 30 years ago today the average european uses 43 kilograms of resources daily and the average american uses 88 kilograms worldwatch institute 2010 state of the world 2010 ·between 1970 and 1995 the u.s represented about one-third of the world s total material consumption with less than 5 of the world s population the u.s consumes 33 of paper 25 of oil 15 of coal 17 of aluminum and 15 of copper ·nearly three quarters of what we throw away is products with organic materials food and yard waste make up the remaining 25 epa 2009 municipal solid waste generation recycling and disposal in the united states facts and figures for 2008 ·more than 100 billion pieces of junk mail are delivered in the united states each year which comes out to 848 pieces per household the production distribution and disposal of all that junk mail creates over 51 million metric tons of greenhouses gases annually the equivalent emissions of more than 9.3 million cars forestethics 2008 climate change enclosed junk mail s impact on global warming ·the u.s buried or burned more than 166 million tons of resources paper plastic metals glass and organic materials in landfills and incinerators in 2008 we recycled and composted only one-third of our discards municipal solid waste generation recycling and disposal in the united states detailed tables and figures for 2008 ·recycling reuse and remanufacturing account for 3.1 million jobs in the u.s one out of every three green jobs ·making copy paper from 100 recycled content fiber instead of 100 virgin forest fibers reduces total energy consumption by 44 net greenhouse gas emissions by 38 particulate emissions by 41 wastewater by 50 solid waste by 49 and wood use by 100 ·between 1990 and 2000 americans wasted a total of 7.1 million tons of cans enough to manufacture 316,000 boeing 737 airplanes or enough to reproduce the world s entire commercial airfleet 25 times since the first earth day in 1970 americans have thrown away 910 billion cans worth over $25 billion in current dollars ·it only takes about 6 weeks total to manufacture fill sell recycle and then remanufacture an aluminum beverage can ·methane is 72 times more potent than co2 over the short term as measured by the 20-year time horizon ·the hole in the stratospheric ozone layer over the antarctic ­ the layer that protects people from harmful ultraviolet radiation ­ is now the largest it has ever been and is not expected to recover until between 2060 and 2075 ·nearly 80 of the world s energy comes from oil coal or gas worldwatch institute 2006 ·half the world s tropical and temperate forests are now gone ·75 of marine fisheries are now overfished or fished to capacity ·more than 2 million people globally die prematurely every year due to outdoor and indoor air pollution deev sd

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