Water Crisis in China

Was going through a report in Economist (Oct 12 , 2013 Edition) on Northern China's water crisis. The water table in Beijing has dropped by 300 meters since 1970's.

Beijing has the sort of water scarcity usually associated with Saudi Arabia ; just 100 cubic meters  per person a year. China's average water consumption is around 400 cubic meters per person which is 25% of what an average American uses and less than half the International definition of water stress.

Scary.....

Marine Debris - The Great Pacific Garbage Patch

Marine debris is any man-made object that enters the coastal or marine environment. From the tiniest piece of plastic to giant free floating fishing nets,ocean pollution causes many challenges for animals in the wild. The concentration of marine debris is called garbage patch.

Ocean currents and circulation pattern trap the material in a cyclone of water creating large areas of ocean trash.

There are two garbage patches located in the North Pacific Ocean. The  Great Pacific Garbage Patch is comprised of marine debris brought together by slow moving ocean currents. The patch's size is not known but some scientists estimate it to be twice the size of Texas (by the way the size of Texas is 696,200 Sq. Km.) and weighing approximately 3.5 Million Tons.

Lungs of our Planet

Amazon Rainforest has been described as the "Lungs of our Planet" because it provides the essential environmental world service of continuously recycling carbon dioxide into oxygen.More than 20 percent of world oxygen is produced in the Amazon Rainforest.

A Great Line..

"We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors,We borrow it from our children."

Oxygen Vs CO2

Ø  One tree can produce 130 Kilograms (kg) of oxygen per year. Two trees can provide sufficient oxygen for four members in a year.
Ø Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a greenhouse gas. When its concentration increases in the atmosphere, it causes global warming which leads to climate change.
Ø  Carbon dioxide (CO2) emission on burning of fossil fuels:-

S.Nos	Name of the fuel	Quantity	CO2 emission in kg/fuel unit
1.	Diesel	1 litre	2.653
2.	Petrol	1 litre	2.296

      Ø  A single tree on an average can absorb 20 kg of carbon dioxide (CO2) from atmosphere in a year. One tree in its lifetime can absorb 1000 kg of CO2.
Ø If, we reuse or recycle one tonne of paper…15 trees can survive

Plant a tree, green the earth, clean the air, Live happily.

Trees…precious natural resources of the earth. Let us conserve it.

RISING SEA LEVEL

Recent flooding in Thailand including Bangkok is clearly a manifestation of rising temperature and sea level.  Bangkok is among the top 10 cities of the world facing the biggest potential impact of coastal flooding over next 50 years. The other top 9 cities facing the threat of extinction due to rising sea level are: London, Miami, New York, Maldives, New Orleans, Mumbai, Cairo, Amsterdam and Tokyo 

Climate change is making its impact felt.  I understand, pumping ground water also raises sea levels.

Are We Responsible Ancestors?

Nargis, was the name given to the Indian baby who was symbolic of the 7 billionth baby born this year. As a world we have grown by 1 billion in the last 12 years!

Can anyone guess how we plan to meet nutrition, health, shelter, apparel and energy needs of next billion without depleting the world’s finite resources?

Happy Birthday Nargis!