Vasudha, 3 issue

Vasudha

The producer and giver of wealth, our Mother Earth

go ng green

Waste no Water – Wednesday For me celebrating Green Week is not a mere symbolic gesture. One of the things that pushed me to participate and be part of this edition of the newsletter – “Waste no Water” was when I saw million gallons of water being wasted across the world in the name of Charity. Yes I am talking about the Craze – “Ice Bucket Challenge”. This is at a time when statistics say 780 million people in the world live without access to safe water. In India alone, 99.3 million people lack access to safe drinking water.

People acrosss the world have to go through various hardships to get water daily. And on the other hand look at how the privileged are wasting it and wrapping up the wastage in the name of charity.

Through this newsletter we would like the bring forth the urgent need for each one of us to take a step back and think about the current situation that we all find ourselves in. Small things that can be done by each one of us would ultimately make a world of difference. This edition of the newsletter intends to showcase various innovative and intersting steps undertaken by people like us in India and around the world to conserve water. So when you a see a leaking tap and ignore or let your water flow while brushing or shaving please think what would your next generation do for a glass of drinking water if you don’t ACT NOW AND SAVE WATER.

Ramaswamy Seshadri Senior Sales Manager, Books

Boond-boond mein paisa: Bottled water is big business The packaged bottled water industry in India is currently valued at INR 60bn (USD 1billion) in FY 2013 and has been growing at 15% for the last three years. ValueNotes estimates that the industry will be worth approximately INR 160bn (USD 2.67billion) by FY 2018, growing at CAGR of 22%.

The myth of the ‘safe bottle’ Ironically, bottled water that claims to be a ‘safe’ alternative to ordinary tap water is itself suspect, as was revealed in a high-profile expose by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). The CSE study in February 2003 showed that most brands of packaged water available in the country contain levels of pesticide -- several of them banned -- significantly higher than permissible limits. These pesticides include organochlorines, organophosphorous, chlorpyrifos, malathion and DDT, which can cause serious physical impairment ranging from damage to the central nervous system to various cancers and congenital malformations. The study found that while packaged water brands in Delhi had total pesticide content 36.4 times higher than permissible limits, Mumbai brands had 7.2 times the standard content.

आओ हम सब यह कसम खाएं, कल के लिये हम जल बचाएं; है यह जीवन अपना, अपनी पीढ़ी के

लिये बचाएं;

कुदरत का वरदान है यह, धरती का सम्मान है यह, इसके बीना ना कल था, ना इसके बीना कल होगा, इसकी हर एक बूँद में उम्मीदों का जहाँन है। आओ हम सब यह कसम खाएं... कल के लिये हम जल बचाएं... यूँ तो यह धरती पर फैला, पर

हम कर रहें

है मैला;

कुदरत की अमूल्य देन पर, हमने गन्दगी को दिया है फैला; हम करेंगे रक्षा इसकी , सुंदरता

को बचाएंगे,

आने वली पीढ़ी को भी यही पाठ पढ़ाएंगे; जल है जीवन सबका इसे सबके लिए बचाएंगे, आओ हम सब यह कसम खाएं, जल की हर एक बूँद बचाये। Praveen Dewal

News Clip on 8th September 2014 in the Times of India

GREEN – that is how we would like the world to be

Beautiful Nature!

It takes 24 gallons of water to make 1 pound of plastic? That’s why we recommend reducing, reusing and recycling.

Making paper from recycled content rather than virgin fiber creates 74 percent less air pollution and 35% less water pollution.

One cotton T-shirt takes 50 gallons of water and 150 grams of agricultural chemicals to make.

Bincy Menon

Innovative Ways used Around the World to Conserve Water

Create from Waste on Wednesday Today we are celebrating the fine art of upcycling (Awesome ways to use old stuff and creatively turn it into something new and useful). We present an opportunity to use your imagination in a land where old circuit boards can become table lamps, old floppy disk as note pads and recycled key boards as jewellery.

T&F makes a debut on TV Today!

Don’t forget to catch all the action live on GREEN TV, which will be showcasing all our Green Week activities. Be ready to be featured...

Taylor & Francis India | Green Week 2014 | 15-19 September 2014

Save Water: Don’t Take Shower

Save Water – Drink Beer!

Before you dismiss the idea of the title of the write-up, I must elaborate the heading to make my point clear.

It ain’t rained in four months

I’m sure we would all agree that we should inculcate habits in our daily lives that help in preservation of the various elements of the environment.

Water conservation is a crucial part of that endeavour. We are aware of the basic etiquettes like using water judiciously, not keeping the tap open when not required, and so on.

But there are a few things that slip our attention despite being very common. This is about one such thing.

That old well is plumb dry

I sometimes wondered what’s the better way to take a bath in terms of water wastage: A shower, or a bucket bath? So I checked at my home. And I found out that my shower runs water at the rate of 10 litres per minute. Assuming a shower time of 15 minutes, a usual shower consumes approximately 150 litres of water. Now consider a bucket bath on the other hand. My bucket has a capacity of 25 litres, which means a typical bucket bath consumes less than 50 litres of water. Therefore every time you choose a shower over a bucket bath, you are consuming more than 3 times the water which you could have saved. In terms of water conservation, we have a clear winner here. Nevertheless, taking a shower is usually more relaxing, and hence should be taken as a refreshing change from the daily bucket bath, rather than a daily bathing habit.

Think about it.

Ritesh Kumar

One cigarette spark will burn the whole town up The city put a limit on the water you can buy We don’t mind ‘cause ‘round here We save water and drink beer Ice cold, genuine, raise ‘em up, drip ‘em dry

Sonali Bhardwaj

Holler and swaller, y’all, support your local wildlife Do your part around here To save water and drink beer We’re goin’ green, hey, look at us We’re maybe even doin’ just a little too much Poppin’ tops, gettin’ tans And that’s the price we’ll pay ‘til the long drought ends We help the world around here

Namita Singh

We save water and drink beer Ice cold, genuine, raise ‘em up, drip ‘em dry Holler and swaller, y’all, support your local wildlife Do your part around here Save water, drink beer, drink beer Volunteer, who’ll start tonight Plant a seed and tell a friend And I think I could drink a little Ice cold, genuine, raise ‘em up, drip ‘em dry Holler and swaller, y’all, support your local wildlife Do your part around here To save water and drink beer Say it loud and say it clear Save water and drink beer, hey Drink Beer Writer(s): Jon Nite, Ross Copperman, Megan Moore Conner Copyright: Painted Desert Music Corp.,Emi Blackwood Music Inc., Ross Copperman Songs, 4 Tunes Music Publishing Ltd

GREEN – that is how we would like the world to be

Arsheen Kaur

Water Conservation

Rice from Dry River Farmers in an arid Andhra Pradesh district revive traditional irrigation system to tide over drought

Water conservation couldn’t get any simpler and economical!

For a country like India, such techniques can save gallons when it comes to saving water used for irrigation!

Check out the video to know more! http://w w w.ehow.com/video_4418533_newtechnology-home-water-conservation.html

Sachin Bats for Water Conservation

http://www.ndtv.com/video/ player/news/sachin-s-save-watercampaign/129166?#t=0 “We make sure that there not a single drop of water is wasted in our household. In fact, every person in my family uses just one bucket of water for bathing.”

Sachin Tendulkar

Taylor & Francis India | Green Week 2014 | 15-19 September 2014

http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/rice-dry-river

Bamboo Tower Creates 25 Gallons of Drinking Water per Day From Thin Air “…The 9 m tall bamboo framework has a special fabric hanging inside capable to collect potable water from the air by condensation…”

It’s called the WarkaWater: “…The name ‘WarkaWater’ comes from the Warka Tree, a giant wild fig tree native to Ethiopia, traditionally used for public gatherings and school education. The Warka Tree is an archetype of the Biennale theme ‘Common Ground’…”

The simple and practical, yet elegant design powers out ahead of any of the commercial atmospheric water generators on the market which cost thousands more to build than this.

This is a wonderful water generation idea, that’s inexpensive, and actually beautiful to look at. Water is life, and being designed after a tree. This is a real Tree of Life.

The Zabo Method Kikruma in Nagaland has its own system of water harvesting. Watch a farmer explain this unique method called Zabo, which helps manage water while nurturing the soil and optimizing agriculture.

Located at an altitude of 1270 metres, Kikruma, a quaint village nestled in a rainshadowed area of Phek district of Nagaland is a wonder. Centuries ago, the village evolved a self-organizing system to take care of its water, forest and farm management. ‘Zabo’, which means ‘impounding water’, is an ingenious method of catching rainwater from running off the mountains.

It involves the preservation of forests on the hill tops as they are the catchment for the water.

At the next level are the ponds dug out to hold rainwater, which is brought there through small channels. These channels are even dug across ‘pucca’ roads! They serve as reservoirs with their bottom and sides rammed and compacted so as to reduce seepage. The water is passed through cattle yards and let into the paddy fields located below. This water carries the dung and urine of the animals to the fields below- perfect to meet the nutrition needs of the soil.

These paddy fields are also used to rear fish, yielding about 50-60 kg of fish per hectare as an additional output. The bunds of the ponds also support a huge variety of medicinal plants and herbs. The ponds are constructed in a way that the distribution of water is uniform. Inlet channels are dug to carry water from one pond to the next.

Strangely enough, this system unique to Kikruma has not been replicated elsewhere.

Watch the video to learn about Zabo from a farmer at Kikruma. http://www.indiawaterportal.org/articles/ zabo-art-impounding-water

What is Rain Water Harvesting?

The concept of rain water harvesting lies in tapping the rain water where it falls. A major portion of rainwater that falls on the earth’s surface, runs-off from streams to rivers and finally to the sea. An average of 8% of the total rainfall recharges the ground water aquifers. Therefore, most of the rainfall goes waste in the form of surface run-off. The technique of rainwater harvesting involves catching the rain from localized catchment surfaces such as roof of a house, plain and sloping ground surface etc. The rainwater that falls on these catchment is diverted into dugout ponds, vessels or underground tanks to store for long periods. Construction of small barriers across small streams to check and store the running water is also an example of small catchment water harvesting.

Water harvesting means to understand the value of rain and to make optimum use of rain water at the place where it falls. In scientific terms, water harvesting (broadly) refers to collection and storage of rain water and also other activities such as harvesting surface water, extracting ground water prevention of losses through evaporation and seepage.

In general, water harvesting is the activity of direct collection of rain water. The rain water collected can be stored for direct use or can be recharged into the ground water

Yellow Rain by Aldeena Raju The wind sweeps through Every leaf, every grain of dust Making way Cleansing, purging.

Then the clouds A drop And then two Then a whole lot more Until the pitter patter turns to a roar The world changes Like a painting that changed colour Like a chameleon, The same remains not the same.

Pitter patter — Like the sound of corn popping Pushing against the lid to come out — They push against the glass to come in.

Cleansing, purging.

Then when the wind and the water have moved on The world stands Drenched in the shades of the sun Burnt yellow, with a touch of gold.

Until blue spreads its hue And the painting changes once more Silence, all that’s left of the roar.

Groundwater falling levels and contamination threaten India’s water lifeline. Urgent need for community-driven bottoms-up management.

A well at Lothal, possibly more than 4000 years old http://sandrp.wordpress.com/2014/08/11/groundwater-falling-levels-andcontamination-threaten-indias-water-lifeline-urgent-need-for-communitydriven-bottoms-up-management/

GREEN – that is how we would like the world to be

Rain water harvesting in a village Rimbik, near Darjeeling in Eastern Himalayas.

TIPS to Save Water at Home Water is essential to each of us every day. But it’s a limited resource, so we all need to rethink the way we use water on a daily basis. By following these water-saving tips inside your home, you can help save water every day:

Laundry Room • Use the washing machine for full loads only to save water and energy • Install a water-efficient clothes washer Save: 16 Gallons/Load • Washing dark clothes in cold water saves water and energy, and helps your clothes retain their color.

Kitchen The kitchen is a major consumer of water in the home, using around 10% of total household water consumption for cooking, cleaning, washing, or drinking • Run the dishwasher only when full to save water and energy.

• When washing dishes by hand, don’t let the water run. Fill one basin with wash water and the other with rinse water.

• Soak pots and pans instead of letting the water run while you scrape them clean.

• Wash your fruits and vegetables in a pan of water instead of running water from the tap.

• Cook food in as little water as possible. This also helps it retain more nutrients.

• Select the proper pan size for cooking. Large pans may require more cooking water than necessary.

• If you accidentally drop ice cubes, don’t throw them in the sink. Drop them in a house plant instead.

Bathroom • Take five minute showers instead of 10 minute showers. Save: 12.5 gallons with a low flow showerhead, 25 gallons with a standard 5.0 gallon per minute showerhead.

• Fill the bathtub halfway or less. Save: 12 Gallons • When running a bath, plug the bathtub before turning on the water. Adjust the temperature as the tub fills.

• Turn water off when brushing teeth or shaving. Save: Approximately 10 Gallons/Day • Be sure to test your toilet for leaks at least once a year.

• Plug the sink instead of running the water to rinse your razor and save up to 300 gallons a month.

• Turn off the water while washing your hair and save up to 150 gallons a month.

• When washing your hands, turn the water off while you lather.

“We forget that the water cycle and the life cycle are one” - Jacques Cousteau

“Water, Water, everywhere, nor any drop to drink.”

Before Coleridge’s words turn into reality, let’s pledge to develop Water Sustainability.

This newsletter has been put together by Namita Singh, Ramaswamy Seshadri and Anjali Maggon. Design by Deepak Chhabra.