Footprints on the Mountainside

We live in a chemical world. They are in use all around us - from pesticides to cosmetics and baby bottles to computers. Some chemicals are known to be toxic and we know very little about many others.

There are simple actions you can take to reduce your exposure to harmful chemicals. And protect wildlife from the toxic threat.

Feeling defenceless against chemical contamination?

You can cut your risks by taking a few simple precautions when you shop and how you live…

In the living room and bedroom

Avoid

• dry cleaning wherever possible
• re-carpeting when you are pregnant
• synthetic carpets, carpet underlay or upholstery with synthetic foams, foam rubber, latex or plastic coverings, because these emit VOCs
• air fresheners, go for fresh air - open your windows! If you can’t do that, use natural odour eaters such as a bowl of baking soda, or natural fragrances such as potpourri

Buy

• carpets from organic natural fibres such as wool, cotton, rattan or jute
• machine washable clothes and clothes with fewer chemical treatments such as stain repellents

In the bathroom

Avoid

• cosmetics, toiletries and perfumes with synthetic fragrances
• long-term use of permanent hair dyes, especially those carrying a warning “can cause an allergic reaction”

Use

• beauty products such as soaps, shampoos, conditioners and hair care products made from natural ingredients
• fragrance-free products
• unbleached toilet paper and sanitary products

In the kitchen

Avoid

• tinned food products
• chemical air fresheners or heavily scented cleaning products such as dishwashing liquids, floor cleaners and washing powders
• cling film when reheating or cooking food in the microwave
• microwaving food in plastic containers unless they are designed for that purpose

Use

• organic products whenever possible
• fresh, frozen or dried food rather than tinned food;
• a water filter to reduce the levels of chemical contaminants in drinking water
• non-vinyl flooring

In the garden

Avoid

• using creosote-based preservatives or products pre-treated with creosote
• using pesticides indoors or in the garden - use alternatives and try gardening organically

Use

• paints, varnishes and glues labelled ‘Low VOC content’, or those that are water-based water-based
• organic or natural paints made from plants oils - ask in the store to find which products are available.
• garden furniture not treated with creosote

In the nursery

Avoid

• polycarbonate-plastic baby feeding bottles. The vast majority of plastic feeding bottles are made from polycarbonate which contains bisphenol A, a hormone disrupting chemical that can leach into the liquid inside. Polycarbonate can be identified by looking on the packaging for PC 7 or looking inside the recycling triangle for the number 7. Wherever possible, breast feeding is always the best option
• using old and worn plastic baby bottles

Use

• baby bottles that are not made of polycarbonate
• children’s teething products and dummies from a reputable source

Tagschildren,Environmentare applied to this post

The New Year is almost here, and the greeating cards with best wishes are flooding in. Just today, I received some 34 greeting cards. Many of them were from people I don’t even remember. I doubt if I am going to read them all - ever. Perhaps some of the really interesting ones, I might read.

If this is the state of my cards, what is happening around the world? How many trees have died, for cards, no one even bothers to read?

I rarely use paper for my work. And when I do, I use both sides, most of the time. It not only keeps the number of papers more controllable in terms of storage, but also helps me be more organised with a computer, leading to an efficient information storing and recovery method, which ends up saving a lot of time and effort for me.

Raka is also very particular about being careful with resources, and we often collect the clean plastic bags we have and return them to shops so that they can be reused.

I am sure we make a difference - however small. What if the many of us could actively involve ourselves into making tiny changes in our habits, to create a massive positive influence on our planet?

With this in mind, I went to the WWF website and got this information to share with the readers here, so that anyone interested, knows exactly what they can do and can begin, without further ado.

I’m not inviting anyone. It is your planet as much as mine.

Save Wood and Paper Return unwanted mail and ask for your name to be removed from the mailing list. Always use both sides of a sheet of paper. Use e-mail to stay in touch, including cards, rather than faxing or writing. Re-use envelopes. Always recycle paper after use. Share magazines with friends and pass them on to the doctor, dentist or local hospital for their waiting rooms. Use recyclable paper to make invitation cards, envelops, letter pads etc.

In your Home Turn off equipment like televisions and stereos when you’re not using them. Choose energy-efficient appliances and light bulbs. Save water: some simple steps can go a long way in saving water like for e.g: you should always turn off the tap when you are brushing your teeth. And try to collect the water used to wash vegetables and salad to water your houseplants. Let clothes dry naturally. Keep lids on pans when cooking to prevent your cooker having to work extra hard. Prefer to use gas ovens, Geysers etc in place of the electric ones. Recycle your paper, glass, plastics and other waste. Use rechargeable batteries. Send e-greetings instead of paper cards. In your Garden Water the garden early in the morning or late in the evening. This reduces water loss due to evaporation. Don’t overwater the garden. Water only till the soil becomes moist, not soggy. Explore water efficient irrigation systems. Sprinkler irrigation and drip irrigation can be adapted to garden situations . Make your garden lively - plant trees and shrubs which will attract birds. You can also put p nest boxes and put food. Try growing sturdy grass in bare patches of land , and convince people in your neighbourhood to do so too. Put waste to work in your garden- sweep the fallen leaves and flowers into flower beds or under shrubs . This will increase soil fertility and also reduce the need for frequent watering. If you have little space in your garden , you could make a compost pit to turn organic waste from the kitchen and garden to soil enriching manure . Don’t use chemicals in the garden - as they will eventually end up in the sea and can upset the delicate balance of lifecycles. Organic and environmentally friendly fertilisers and pesticides are available - organic gardening reduces pollution and is better for wildlife. Reuse and Recycle Use washable nappies instead of disposables if you can. Recycle as much as you can. Give unwanted clothes, toys and books to charity shops or jumble sales. Use mains electricity rather than batteries if possible. If not, use rechargeable batteries. Use a solar-powered calculator instead of one with a battery. Instead of a plastic ballpoint, use a fountain pen with bottled ink, not plastic cartridges. Store food and other products in ceramic containers rather than foil and plastic wrap While Shopping Buy fruit and vegetables that are in season to help reduce enormous transport costs resulting from importing produce and, where possible, choose locally produced food. When buying fish look out for a variety of non-endangered species and buy local fish if possible. Prefer vegetarian options for your meals. On-line Shopping Purchase solar powered products. Send e-cards, if you can, rather than buy paper cards. Shop online, not only will this reduce fuel consumption and emissions by not driving to the shops, but each time you buy something on-line WWF receive a donation. You may even buy products from the nature shop. At your workplace Use printers that can print on both sides of the paper ; try to look into this option when replacing old printers. Use the back of a draft or unwanted printout instead of notebooks. Even with a double-sided printer there is likely to be plenty of spare paper to use! Always buy recycled paper - for your business stationery and to use in your printers. Switch off computer monitors, printers and other equipment at the end of each day. Though in standby mode they’re still using power - and that adds to global warming. Always turn off your office light and computer monitor when you go out for lunch or to a meeting.

During Holidays Go on holiday during the off-peak period to prevent over straining resources - you’ll also avoid the crowds. Find out about your destination before you go on holiday - it may be an environmentally sensitive area. Doing this will also ensure you are informed of what to see and any local customs. Find out about places before you visit. You may be visiting a environmentally sensitive area, in which case you must take extra care to stay on footpaths and follow signs. Don’t travel by air if you can avoid it because air travel uses up large amounts of fossil fuels and creates greenhouse gases. Avoid taking things on holiday that you will throw away. Dispose of any rubbish responsibly - it can be hazardous to wildlife. Ask your travel agent or tour operator what they are doing to be environmentally responsible. Use public transport, cycle or walk instead of using a car. Use facilities and trips run by local people whenever possible. Don’t be tempted to touch wildlife and disturb habitats whether on land, at the coast or under water. Be careful what you choose to bring home as a holiday souvenir. Many species from coral and conch shells to elephants and alligators are endangered because they are killed for curios or souvenirs. Don’t leave any rubbish at the beach - turtles are often killed by plastic bags they’ve mistaken for jellyfish and many items take years to degrade as well as being dangerous. Boats and jet-skis create noise and chemical pollution which is disturbing to wildlife - don’t keep the engine running unnecessarily.

© [date of material] WWF. Some rights reserved.

Tagsdestinations,Environment,news,outdoors,people,ponderings,self-improvement-journey,travel,writingare applied to this post

I came across an interesting page that compares a piece of writing with an algorithm based on study of the differences of usage of language between the two sexes. This study can be found here. Curiosity is a virtue, or so I thought and promptly proceed to paste in a few articles from various areas of this site into the “genie” and see the results.

My results hit male as often as female. Is it that my writing style is masculine or that the genie is wrong? As far as I know, I’m female

The paper is quite interesting, and explains the findings from study of various samples and the differences the statistics bring out. Some differences are that females are more “involved, while males are more “informational”. This link to the genie puts these findings into a form, that you can submit writing into and have it see how the your writing reads out.

With a name like Vidyut, many people already confuse me to be male (all other Vidyuts I know of are male). Perhaps this is another thing that may be adding to the confusion?

Can’t say. Definitely worth exploring.

I often find behavioural differences between males and females, as well as differences in thinking styles. I find women more expressive and quick to reach out, while men often seem to be more into doing stuff, but not talking much about it, unles it is well within comfort zones. Women are quick to react to new events and try out new stuff, while men fare better in terms of consistency.

And so on…. but I’d better not bore people with unresearched findings. I’m just tickled about someone going to these extents to document the differences.

Comments and opinions welcome!

Tagsbizarre,general-stuff,news,people,ponderings,quirky,writingare applied to this post

I came across this press release in my relentless surfing (when I find the time). I found this to be an interesting concept. Most vacations are contributing to the degradation of the environment and global warming. These guys have come up with a novel idea. What they do is buy a certain amount of credits with money from client payments that goes toward projects targetted toward decreasing the amounts of methane in the atmosphere. Methane is one major culprit in the global warming scenario.

This money is used to fund expensive projects on livestock farms to capture the methane released in the area and convert it into energy for use on the farm, which also results in savings. Needless to say, such a project can be very expensive and this is where the money from aware citizens comes into play. Even if they cannot physically do the work, they certainly can support it. What a brilliant idea!

This is a programme not happening in India currently. I wonder how we at Wide Aware can do something about it, or perhaps create an initiative in a similar, constructive direction….

*Makes a mental note to figure out a way and share it with the people*

TagsEnvironment,initiatives,inspiration,tourismare applied to this post

I received a call from someone called Girish, who was enquiring about prices for a rafting trip for a group of 20-25 people. Assuming that this was a run-of-the-mill group of employees/friends, I provided the details with practiced ease. The conversation was comfortable, and once the basic details were sorted, we talked about other adventure tour possibilities.

He enquired about the possibility of participation of some elderly members of their group, and said they were reasonably fit and active. We talked about that some more, and then turned to discuss wildlife tours. He was also interested in a trip to the Pench Wildlife Sanctuary. This got me curious. The nature of discussions was quite free-flowing and non-sophisticated for this to be a corporate enquiry, and the number of tours spoken of didn’t suggest young people - in fact, older people were specifically mentioned, as were young people.

I asked him about the nature of their group. Imagine my surprise when he said that this was a family outing! A family this size heading into the outdoors with a specific interest in adventure is really rare to come by as is the willingness to rough it if need be in the quest for adventure.

To quote him, “We’d like to do something original and interesting, rather than the standard tours. The time now points to adventure sports as a very meaningful and constructive means of recreation. So we’d like to do that.”

If this is an upcoming trend among families as Girish said, I feel that this is a very welcome change in the overall Indian perception of “enjoyment”. This is indeed welcome news.

I still haven’t received a booking from him, we will be speaking about it in the first week of January, but I hope it works out. I would love to meet such an interesting family!

Tagsadventure,news,outdoors,people,rafting,travelare applied to this post