Globally Green Living

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Good Morning!
The dizzying pace of growth comes with a compromise. Teaming millions in the race for their pot of gold have to accept that the gold will take more time than expected and that the waiting period has to be made as comfortable as possible. Progress makes vertical residences an accepted choice today. The refugees in a strange land have one thing in common. Knowingly or unknowingly they create replicas of the sprawling green homesteads they have left behind. Living in tower blocks of heat is made bearable with touches of green and a pause to smell the flowers. Tentative green thumbs graduate from window sill gardening to more ambitious projects. A Hong Kong surgeon Arthur van Langenberg is leading the way in showing that urban living need not be void of greenery. His manual on Urban Gardening helps in reconnecting our instinct to get back to nature by simplifying the challenges faced in a high rise environment.The sky is the limit for the Arthur’s in us.

high rise gardening, Hong Kong, Green Homes

Good Morning!
Those who have been scared by Hitchcock’s ‘Birds’ might also be glad to know that the birds are returning or at least one bird for sure. After a 40 year absence, a nearly forgotten recurve- billed bush bird has been spotted in Columbia. The National Geographic has proof of not just the rare bird but ‘the smiling rare bird’ posing for the camera! The ‘Mona Lisa’ smile and the wise glint in the eye seem to see something we have missed. Maybe its time to come to the negotiation table?Returning their green habitat, is a small price to pay ,to have more feathered friends co-existing peacefully with us.One has to admit, that a closer look at the photograph, definitely highlights an inscrutable smile.Alfred Hitcock’s thriller, was only fiction… but what harm would it do for more bird-feeders and bird baths and bird watching clubs being added to the agenda?

birds,Hitchcock,Columbia,National Geographic,bird watching,Mona Lisa,bird feeder ,bird bath,sustainability

Good Morning!
Leaving cities that never sleep and heading for tree filled dales is not everyone’s idea of green living. This idyllic setting has been known to trigger isolated cases of panic attacks. Diehard city breds have hot-footed it back claiming that they feel claustrophobic in the maze of trees. Twilight strolls have had them looking over their shoulder and breaking into a cold sweat, each time a wispy branch brushed against them. The eerie stillness of trees and more trees around them, have made them make tall claims of being watched. After settling back into the monotony of unimaginative drudgery, there have been a few sightings of tentative eco-warriors trying for environmental jobs. Today, with the increasing focus on global warming, environmental jobs are also hotting up. Reformed eco- citizens who could learn to love all things green, but who still shudder at the thought of trudging through the great outdoors, have some consolation. There are openings that allow one to do one’s bit for the planet by sitting indoors. The soothing green from the office window is said to provide a constant reminder, that there are miles to go in planning and implementing safe guards, for a job that will always be there. Here is a call to all professionals, wherever they may be, to use their chosen professions for environmental care. Sitting in your office your efforts can make a difference.
Environmental Jobs,Globetrotters,Sustainability

Good Morning!
There’s still time before an ark has to be built and definitely no reason to check if the sky will rain fire. A little worry, about the ice caps melting and raising the ocean levels and submerging everything in sight; could be excused as a reasonable worry for the brave-hearted near churning tidal coastlines. Caught up in fearful predictions of everything in nature hunting us down, we sometimes forget that the same natural forces may be hinting at a solution. The people living in San Francisco the City by the Bay, are on their way to testing the waters. They plan to embark on a long term goal of using the tides to generate power. This idea of using tidal energy to supplement the present shortage of power has sparked a wave of interest in the untapped energy of the ocean floor. When tidal power becomes an unpolluted energy resource, the nearly 400 billion gallons of water rushing through the mouth of San Francisco bay may be the next clean source of electricity. If environmental hurdles are cleared and interest doesn’t wane ,San Francisco may be even more on the global map for many more things besides the engineering marvel of 40 million odd cars whizzing by,on the Golden Gate Bridge.
sustainable energy,san francisco,tidal power

Good Morning!
A picnic in a silent grove of trees free of all traces of the one’s who came, saw and littered, is a treasured find. Even when they are in communion with nature voracious readers are known to read anything that falls into their hands. Running out of reading material, they have been known to even read the graffiti carved into the brown canvass of tree trunks. Confessed tree huggers have expressed bewilderment at these bottled emotions and artistic aspirations left behind for posterity to read .They are convinced that trees are averse to any such public display of emotion. But sometimes a little graffiti can save verdant spots from the ravages of time and the urban sprawl. In a rapidly growing suburb of Bangalore, locals marvel at the foresight of an unknown man who was determined that his tree would survive. A scrutiny of the words etched in the stone rim around the tree shows the shrewdness of a time gone by. The warning cautioned one from harming the tree as it would then be akin to harming one’s mother. The sixty –four year old ficus tree swaying in the wind today, is proof that scrawled words can sometimes do strange things like standing in as a tree guard.

environment litter,protect trees

Good Morning!
Apples and oranges are not just good for our bodies but for fuel health too. Chemists in the United States say that a low carbon fuel option, packing in 40% more energy than ethanol may come to fruition soon. Fructose powered vehicles running on the converted sugar of apples and oranges is a green alternative to traffic fumes of oil and gas. If this technology is commercialised, powered liquid transportation fuel, with fewer of the drawbacks of ethanol will be yet another option from the biofuel stable. Renewable and environment friendly fuel from biomass sources rich in plant energy could start off a healthy competition among biofuel engineers. This might begin the race to wean industrialized economies from the flaws of costly oil, to a more positive offering from the earth that has an energy density comparable to petrol too.
fruits,global warming,biofuel cars

Good Morning!
For most of us the weather can never be right. It’s either too hot or too cold or too in- between. If only, we groan and point accusing fingers. Could anyone be homesick for this over- populated, polluted, grimy, threatened piece of earth that we moan about? Sunita Williams space log book reveals that she is more than ready to return to the familiar chaos of planet earth. Hurtling around the earth at a hypersonic speed, she confesses of looking out of the window of the space station, and feeling an urge to reach out and stroke ‘the beautiful orb in the distance with its green countryside and red mountains.’ After spending time in space for more than six months, taken for granted pleasures like enjoying a rainy day, a swim in the ocean, lake or pool are on the top of the list. If absence can make the heart grow fonder, a little time spent in the dark bowels of coal mines or in damp, bat infested, caves may be the answer for the earth weary among us, to feel the forgotten urge to get back in touch with the earth.
Sunita Williams,space

Good Morning!
Littered Styrofoam packaging may look like growing heaps of snowflakes only to squinting, short sighted eyes. Myopic or not, the Chinese want a clear- eyed view of their surroundings. The flying Styrofoam packages, carelessly thrown from windows of trains and barges are being called ‘white pollution’. Mounds of waste dotting the landscape has been recognized as an environmental irritant that needs to be dealt with by a firm hand. Worries of being snowed under by this disposable problem have had suggestions coming up about alternative sources for the packages. Biodegradable material made of rice stalks, which are otherwise burned after harvest may be a possible source for future packages. If the idea is implemented, carefree travelers may find themselves being coaxed to throw litter and do their bit for planetary rescue.

biodegradable,styrofoam,China,rice fields
biodegradable,styrofoam,china,rice fields

Good Morning!
If plans are approved, the public will have access by foot to even more of the natural beauty of England. Suggestions to throw open the stretch of land around the English coastline will offer cliff top walks with uninterrupted sun and sand. Ramblers and walkers enjoying the right to roam on the wild sea cliffs may even get to walk along picturesque seashores that were earlier barred from entry. The Sandringham estate of the royal family in Norfolk is among the list of private property holders who have been asked to consider making the coastal walk a reality. While, the motions are in progress to complete the ‘unfinished business of opening Britain’s land to the people’ walkers with mature beachcombing habits can tip the scales in their favor.
beaches,English coastline,Beach holidays
beach holidays,beaches,english coastline

Good Morning!
Money grows on trees in the Tamilian town of Coimbatore, in India. Green gold farming or coconut farming is both a lucrative and pleasurable pastime for the locals in this southern belt. Those who have been discouraged from strolling in the sun- dappled groves may have gone away with a wrong impression of surly residents. It has come out that the worry about the shortage of agile coconut pluckers has been the reason for their inhospitality. Coconuts, growing on unreachable 30 to 40 feet high trees have occasionally rained down only to worsen matters. Stories of the odd nut meeting an unsuspecting head below was a common litany in the list of woes. While discussions were on about getting trained monkeys from Indonesia there was a breakthrough with the introduction of the new coconut tree climber. Job opportunities have been thrown open to women and men of all levels of fitness as the coconut tree climber promises to do more than its share of hard work. Last heard, amateurs have been finishing the whole operation in record time. Passers- by are thinking of taking a detour , as there is a limit to the coconut water a person can have!
coconut climbers,coconut ,Farming

Good Morning!
A four thousand year old idea from the Polynesians of using the Trimaran or the multi hull facility may soon give a cleaner, clearer horizon at the pier. Vessels docked at the harbor will have the wind and the sun charging motors to clean up the ugly plumes of white smoke and spiraling soot streams. Visitors to the Statue of liberty would by the end of the year see a Trimaran moving gracefully without spewing smoke and soot. Waterfronts without smog and greenhouse gases are possible with soot free transport. Tourists and commuters on tugs, ferries and ocean liners will gain some edutainment too from these ‘floating billboards.’ There is no better way to reduce emission than using cleaner, renewable energy out on the water. It is now the turn of the Hybrid vehicles on the roads to make their contribution!
Trimaran,Smokeless sailing,Tourism,Hybrid Cars

Good Morning!
Monitors of global warming say that the early signs will show up in the poles and underwater. The ice cap melt and the disappearing coral reefs hint at the effects of world wide soaring temperatures. Warmer waters have brought about a sea change in the delicate coral .Bleached by the rising heat of the sea water; colonies of tropical reefs are joining the dying numbers. Known to Caribbean snorkelers as lace- like sea ice, the coral reefs have been a draw to the underwater tourist. Growing sea temperatures have added tourism officials as well as the fishing industry to the list of concerned watchers. The coral reefs that stood witness from the days of Columbus crossing the Caribbean waters, today, is in danger of being a shadow of itself during the next tourist season. Reckless overspending of earth’s reserves on the shores tells the same story from the arctic to the ocean floors. Alarm bells faintly ringing with each rising degree should not fall on deaf ears!
Coral Reef,Snorkeling,Caribbean

Good Morning!
Race car drivers don’t want to be left behind in the race to be environmentally friendly. Thronging fans at racing series like the Formula 1 and Indy racing League will soon get educational entertainment. Spectators, sipping from biodegradable cups watching one of the most loved sports will appreciate lessons in lower carbon emissions in an atmosphere without heat radiation and smog formation. Plans of shifting gears to new technologies, alternative fuels and carbon neutrality will notch up high, energy credits as the show goes on. The environmental impact of racing cars zooming down tree lined tracks, may not only see green filters in use but also the message of a better earth reaching a wider audience. Soon the car lagging behind will also be cheered to the finish line, before the fans leave on a green note.

formula racing,Grand Prix,Carbon Neutrality

Good Morning!
Swirling, grainy, stinging arrows of dust have got the Chinese think-tank taking a leaf out their history books. The invading, warrior horsemen kept out by the Great Wall of China has inspired the idea of the green great wall. Faced with the ill-effects of shrinking forest cover the Chinese have rung in the forest year. The belt of trees at the edge of the Gobi desert guards the city of Beijing from the all pervasive yellow dust. The moving sands of the desert have been stalled by rows of green warriors. Their foliage traps the fine particles which have otherwise been choking the air. The marching ‘yellow dragon’ as the dust is referred to by the Chinese has been coating people, houses, and cars at a frightening pace. Rapid urban development, population pressure, over-grazing and extended drought are riding in as fast as the central Asian invaders did. Only time will tell if the growing, living wall of trees will find a place in history too.
desert,Great wall of China