Gobar Times (Down To Earth's Supplement) -- Centre for Science and Environment (CSE)

Grow Growing Groaning

At this rate, one day the octopus will destroy itself and other places.
Can we afford to to go on like this?

Text by Mandakini Khanna

This issue has been produced by us children, or rather young Gobar Times reporters. We want to spread awareness about the environment and what damage we are doing to it. We share our experiences of the ecotours we went for in the capital city of Delhi, organised by the Environment Education Unit of the Centre for Science and Environment.

22nd April, 2000 was celebrated as the first Earth Day of the millennium. It is high time now that we and all the eco-friendly nations across the globe join hands and make the world a better place to live in !

So let’s pledge on the auspicious occasion of Earth Day to protect our Earth. Clean and save it from enemies like pollution.

The Gobar Times
Young Editorial Gang

"It does not concern me, I am least bothered!!" Is’nt this the attitude of the youth today? But it soon needs to be changed. Each of our metropolitan cities is turning into a huge, hungry, enormous, thirsty, monstrous octopus. Most of urban India is groaning under it’s own uncontrolled growth. We produce mountains of garbage everyday, our factories and vehicles spew tonnes of dangerous smoke and soot into the air and we are busy making the rivers into drains by throwing muck into it. Our own Delhi has utilised nearly all its resources and thus is now reaching out its greedy arms to other rural areas and sucking their natural resources – rivers, forests, agricultural land, etc. People from the villages are now being forced to come to cities due to the stealing of their resources by us. We people have a huge ecological footprint which extends far beyond our city’s limit. How many of us are even aware about our actions and their consequences, on us and others? We all want to live as ‘Maharajas in Taj Mahals’. We want to live a life of luxury. But is that actually possible or needed? There is nothing like a free lunch.

Coal for us comes from Bihar. Our water is now supplied by Bhagarati river in Tehri, wood comes from faraway Assam and now the octopus hands are ever spreading to other areas. At this rate, one day the octopus will destroy itself and also other places. Can we afford to go on like this ? Do we just scream HELP...or do we begin to take a close look at how we live and change our ways to make things better for us and all the other creatures who share our planet?

Suffering from indigestion!
Text and drawing by Parth Gupta

Suffering from indigestion!

BACKACHE: I have to bear the load of 11 million people and have to fulfill their needs too. This heavy load can crush anybody. Even a poor cow.

INDIGESTION: I have 2 major stomachs — the ‘amir’ and the ‘garib’. Well, even though the rich are smaller in number than the poor, their consumption of resources is very high. Thus there is no balance and I suffers from indigestion.

Fodder Hungry? The same am I, very hungry. My fellow cows (states) have to work hard to feed me. Won’t it be good if I went on a hunger strike? I have two major stomachs i.e. food consumers : the ‘rich’ and the ‘poor’. The rich eat a lot for their needs and greeds while on the other hand the poor barely get a chappati for themselves.	"Polluted Land" Whenever you go to a vegetable market, you carry things in a polybag which is later thrown as waste. This polythene is non-biodegradable and thus does not mix with soil and chokes it. All such inorganic matter that remains in the soil makes it suffer more and more. For providing more food for me, fertilisers and pesticides are used in excess which, in turn, pollute the land. ‘Can Gandhi kiss our soil today?’
Water Gut-Gut-Gut ! Isn’t that the way ‘I’ drink water? Hear that sound, it’s the water flowing in the wash basin. Now let’s tell you about that nala, Err…r, Yamuna... you must have seen on the way. It is the main source of water for me. Again comes the question of the biggest drunkard …. I mean the biggest consumer, and again, the rich are to be blamed. Those relaxable bathtubs with gallons of water in them have become a part of their life while the poor not only bathe in but even drink the water in which the rich have a nice time.	"Waste Water" The flowing water we talked about flows into the Yamuna and mixes with the dirty water to become dirtier. A lot of waste water like this flows into the Yamuna and all the chee-chee and su-su goes into the great river. The industries, too, are not lagging behind. Lots of chemicals and untreated wastes flow into the Yamuna. Don’t you think that all this makes the river water taste ‘good’.
Fuel I consume a lot of fuel too. Electricity is one of my basic needs. As I am ‘self-deficient’ I try to grab electricity from other states - making them suffer. The aim is not only electricity; the mission to consume petrol, diesel, etc. is also being accomplished. To tell you the truth, I have become habitual to luxury and I have a hell lot of cars and other vehicles – and for racing these cars on the road, I need a lot of petrol.	"Exhaust Air" The air is majorly affected by the exhaust gases released by the vehicles. Due to incomplete combustion of the fuel, gases like carbon monoxide are released which are hazardous my health.