World Oceans Day

#WorldOceansDay 2021 - June 8th

The theme for this year - 'The Ocean: Life and Livelihoods' says a lot about the idea of marking this international day.

Covering over 70% of the Earth, our oceans are a life source for all organisms. It is a main source of #biodiversity, #Food and even #employment. But as with all things #nature, we are depleting resources at an alarming rate, more than can be replenished and hence the need to start preserving and protecting our oceans. The world population needs to unite on this call for #sustainable management of the #oceans, strengthen international cooperation, and develop #research and #Technologies to attain this goal.

I leave you with a #poem written last year by my then eight year old daughter, capturing the essence and beauty of the lives in the ocean.

Under the Sea

Hello, come with me

Take a dive under the sea.

Before we go, Gather your gear

What’s your favourite fish? Mine is the seer!

Look, a jiggly jelly fish!

Heads up! That mackerel made a big swish.

Oysters can…... open and shut,

And that pile of seaweed looks just like a hut!

Dive in and make a big splash,

But be extra careful not to crash!

Dive in and make a big splash,

But be extra careful not to crash!

Now we’re down in the heart of the sea

Look! That eel is covered lots in Algae.

But that’s not just any old eel,

It’s an electric eel, if you dare to feel!

That leopard shark is a pro at swimming.

And that brown sea lion, is back flipping!

Bye Bye sea, Bye Bye sea creatures,

We absolutely loved your fun features.

Dive in and make a big splash,

But be extra careful not to crash!

Dive in and make a big splash,

But be extra careful not to crash!

Hand sanitizers - a word of caution

Of course we live in the times of COVID-19, where hand washing and/or use of hand sanitizers are heavily promoted. Even before the outbreak, I have seen worried moms use hand sanitizers generously in their attempts to keep theirs and their children's hands clean. This has always scared me and I'll tell you why:

1) When you read the big list of things that go into making of a hand sanitizer, can you easily identify most of them and are you comfortable in using them on your skin? High concentrations of alcohol, parabens and pthalates lead to problems from Eczema to hormone imbalance!

2) One of the ingredients in many sanitizers, soaps and even toothpaste - triclosan deserves a point of its own. Here are areas of issues due to triclosan alone:

a) Resistance to antibiotics

b) Hormonal disruptions

c) Compromising immune system 

3) Bacteria will develop resistance and evolve, making many antibiotics useless to human beings. So in the event of another infection, the common antibiotics used may not work.

There is no substitute to hand washing with clean water and common soap. In the event of emergencies, please do carry hand sanitizers, but please avoid overuse. Antibiotic resistance and release of toxic substances are not a problem to only an individual using them but to all living creatures inhabiting our one Earth! The age-old belief - 'Everything in moderation' continues to prove true. Stay safe.

In the news April 22nd 2013

Finally one piece of good news, encouraging for environment and farming!

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/1-million-trees-raised-in-5-districts/article4640431.ece?homepage=true

World house sparrow day!

Today March 20th, is observed as World House Sparrow Day http://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/kids/article3006413.ece
How nice it was to grow up with sparrows in our childhood along with so many other birds. We should all do our small bit in saving these beautiful, important creatures around our house and keep them from becoming extinct in the ecosystem.
Amazingly we have plenty of them in Doha, in spite of the crazy weather variations. My morning routine begins with a cup full of rice for them :)

Agriculture, environment and politics!

The Agriculture Minister of India has admitted to the use of banned pesticides! http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article1529735.ece
He has said that they are considering the interest of the farming community! Are they the experts in the use of chemicals? Scientific community has approved the use of these chemicals too....would love to read their justifications on the same. The benefit of the doubt should be given to the harmful effects that these chemicals possess and their use banned; but here everything is the other way around. The article also goes on to say that the Kerala and Karnataka state governments have requested ban of the use of endosulfan, which has and is being approved by the Central government respectively. I wonder if they are the only people with brains. Can't say anything about the Tamil Nadu government- we all know how busy they are with money swindling, family seats negotiations and continuing overall corruption. They don't have time for all these policy issues or care for agriculture, the main line of Indian economy!