Environment

Right now, the rains are a distant memory, but it wasn't long ago that we felt our city was just soaking in water... and though we didn't have the major deluge that Chennai had, we too had our share of dampness and moisture. There are some organisms that thrive in this moist, humid environment, and though they have a short life, they still look beautiful, and intriguiging, when they appear. Mushrooms are a form of fungi... and in fact, the fruiting body of these organisms. Mushrooms come in varieties called bolete, puffball, stinkhorn, morel, and gilled mushrooms themselves are often called agarics.…

In the recent Marathi film Katyar Kaljat Ghusali the song "Ghei Chand Makarand" is sung by two singers in distinctive styles.The song which originally featured in a Marathi musical play or Natyageet was popularized by the late singer Vasantrao Deshpande. In the movie the song is first sung in a slow tempo by Shankar Mahadevan who also plays a lead character in the movie. Then the song is sung in a fast-paced manner by the character played by actor Sachin Pilgaonkar. The playback singer for Sachin is Rahul Deshpande who incidentally is the grandson of Vasantrao Deshpande. Both styles are…

ರಸ್ತೆಮೂಲೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಯಾರೋ ಎಸೆದುಹೋದ ಪ್ಲಾಸ್ಟಿಕ್ ಕವರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ನೀಟಾಗಿ ಸುತ್ತಿಟ್ಟ ಕಸ ಕಂಡರೆ ಎಲ್ಲರಿಗೂ ಮೈಯುರಿ. ಸ್ವಚ್ಛಭಾರತದ ಕನಸಿಗೆ ಹೀಗೆಲ್ಲಾ ಕಲ್ಲು ಹಾಕುತ್ತಾರಲ್ಲ ಅಂತ ಕೋಪ.ಅದರ ಫೋಟೋ ತೆಗೆದು ಕಸ ಹಾಕಿದವರಿಗೆ ನಾಕು ಉಗಿದು ಫೇಸ್ ಬುಕ್ಕಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಅಪ್ಲೋಡ್ ಮಾಡಿ ರೋಷ ತೀರಿಸಿಕೊಂಡರೆ ಮುಗಿಯಿತು. ನಾಳೆ ಇನ್ನೊಂದು ದಿನ, ತಲೆಕೆಡಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳಲು ಬೇರೇನಾದರೂ ಇದ್ದೇ ಇರುತ್ತದೆ.ತಮ್ಮ ಸುತ್ತಲೂ ತುಂಬಿದ ಕಸವನ್ನು ನೋಡಿ ನೋಡಿ ಬೇಸರವಾಗಿ ಇದನ್ನು ತಡೆಯಲು ಏನಾದರೂ ಮಾಡಬೇಕೆನ್ನುವವರಿಗಾಗಿ ಈ ಲೇಖನ. ಅಸಲು ಈ ಕಸದಲ್ಲಿ ಇರುವುದಾದರೂ ಏನು? ಕಸದ ವಿಧಗಳು ಹಲವಾರು. ಆದರೆ ದಿನನಿತ್ಯ ನಾವು ಸೃಷ್ಟಿಸುವುದು ಮುಖ್ಯವಾಗಿ ಮೂರು ವಿಧ - ಹಸಿ ಕಸ, ಒಣ ಕಸ, ಅಪಾಯಕಾರಿ ಕಸ. ಹಸಿ ಕಸ – ಇದು ಮುಖ್ಯವಾಗಿ ಸಸ್ಯಜನ್ಯ ಅಥವಾ ಪ್ರಾಣಿಜನ್ಯ. ಹಸಿ ಕಸದ ಪಂಗಡಕ್ಕೆ ಸೇರಿದ ಪದಾರ್ಥಗಳ ಮಣ್ಣಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಮಣ್ಣಾಗಿ ಹೋಗುವ ಸಾವಯವ ಪದಾರ್ಥಗಳನ್ನು ಹೊಂದಿರುತ್ತದೆ. ಅಂದರೆ, ನೀವು ಅದನ್ನು ಒಂದು ಜಾಗದಲ್ಲಿ ಇಟ್ಟು ಒಂದು ತಿಂಗಳು ಬಿಟ್ಟು…

Posting below, a mail from Anvitha S (Undergraduate student, St Joseph's College) on <bngbirds@yahoogroups.com>, requesting for volunteers for the Waterbird Survey 2015-16. We are reviving the waterbird survey which was conducted between 1987 - 1996 by the Bird Watcher's Field Club Of Bangalore. We request experienced birdwatchers and others to contribute to this effort.  In the 80s and 90s the Mid-winter waterfowl survey proved to be a great experience for novices and specialists in sharing and learning skills. Since then the water scape of Bangalore has changed dramatically. So an initiative is planned to revive waterbird survey in atleast the surviving…

Kere Habba 2016! The first of the new Kere Habba season will be at Kaikondrahalli Lake on 9th January 2016. Lots has been planned for the day: - be regaled with story sessions for children- learn to play traditional games- hone up your general knowledge for a quiz- run a relay race for the lake (details below)- talk to farmers about natural farming- interact with native cow breeders to find out about medicinal and general benefits of our Indian cow breeds- test your mettle by swinging and balancing on a rope course- participate in cool science experiments revolving around water-…

Bengaluru is in the grip of rising air pollution. Official ambient air quality monitoring has already shown 57% increase in particulate matter in just 4 years (2010-2014) and 23% in one year (2013-14- 2014-15). In more than 85% of monitoring locations the levels have exceeded standards. CSE exposure monitoring has provided clinching evidence of alarming dose that an average Bangalorean breathes on a daily basis in different parts of the city – 3 to 12 times higher than the ambient level recorded by official monitors. With growing vehicle numbers and resultant congestion and dieselisation, air pollution is a growing concern…

Since the time Chennai has been ravaged by the floods in early-December, we have been hearing stories of how Bengaluru has pulled through for the people of Chennai. This is one such story. Over 10 lakhs raised Members of the Facebook groups Drive Without Borders and Wake Up Bengaluru came together to raise funds to support the relief work in Chennai. In less than 10 days, funds in excess of 10 lakhs were generated by members of the two groups. We delivered the relief material in two phases. In the first phase, volunteers from the groups visited a few places…

At the last minute, on the morning of December 13th, I convinced 20 other birders that instead of going to Valley School, we should bird along the Kaggalipura-Bannerghatta stretch, and then go to check out Hulimangala. And there, at nearly the end of a long birding outing, we saw a migrant which has never before been sighted in the Bangalore area... the Demoiselle Crane. Can you spot the crane in its habitat?  Here it is: Demoiselle cranes undertake one of the toughest migrations in the world.... as tough as that of the Bar-headed Geese.  From late August through September, they gather in…

Such dumps will be a thing of past if the city starts segregating waste at source. Pic: Bhavna Anegundi Divide your trash, to conquer it. Segregate your garbage it into three categories, to make life easy for everyone! Put in simple terms, this is what the High Court of Karnataka ordered in the hearing of the Public Interest Litigation on garbage problem in the city, on December 17, 2015. Two bins and one bag, brought to the High Court of Karnataka by solid waste management activist Sandya Narayan captured the attention of the judges, who agreed with the way they…

In Part I of the series, the viewpoint of plastic manufacturing industry was captured. Part II of the series explored what could be done with plastic. Part III explored the green job options that will get created because of plastic ban. Here is part IV. Every time a city inundates in deluge, the primary reason seems to be the drains getting choked with plastic. Low weight plastic carry bags that are of low recycling value end up on roadsides or garbage dumps, causing water logs during unexpected rains. The health impacts of plastic are numerous. All this together prompted the…