So You Want to Know About the Environment

by Bijal Vachharajani

  If you tried cleaning up the mess, then you know that water and oil don’t mix. So imagine a shipload of oil falling into an ocean.

  Yes, the ocean is vast but the damage that the oil does is HUGE. Especially to marine life and birds. It’s really awful.

  On 9 December 2014, an oil tanker had an accident and spilled some 3,50,000 litres of heavy fuel oil into the Shela River in the Sundarbans in Bangladesh1. Sundarbans is known for its tigers, dolphins, and mangroves and is a UNESCO World Heritage and Ramsar site.

  Wonder how do you react to that? ‘Uh, Oh, Sorry!’ doesn’t quite make it okay.

  Alright. Now it’s time to simulate an oil spill in your home2. Here’s what you need to do.

  Fresh water

  Fill a glass bowl almost to the brim with cold water. Add a few drops of food colouring and mix.

  Crude oil

  Take a mug and mix 3 tbsp vegetable oil with 2 tbsp cocoa powder.

  Now slowly contaminate the fresh water by pouring in the ‘crude’ oil. What happened? Does the oil float above the water? Record your observations.

  Next, dip a bird feather into the oily water. What happened to the feather?

  The impact of an oil spill is horrendous for the ecosystem1.

  •The oil slicks over birds’ feathers and they can’t fly. They eventually die from the cold. Any oil on their eggs will also harm the chick inside.

  •Oil also damages the internal organs of birds.

  •Otters need clean fur to stay warm. But when oil coats their fur, they become cold and fall ill.

  •It also impacts snails, clams and other life that live on beaches.

  •Even small amounts of oil can cause major problems in baby fish.

  1 http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-34376988

  1 http://www.downtoEarth.org.in/interviews/detergents-threaten-indias-waterbodies-16470

  1 base.d-p-p-h.info/es/fiches/dph/fiche-dph-7825.html

  2 http://www.waterworld.com/articles/wwi/print/volume-30/issue-2/technology-case-studies/urban-water-management-in-india.html

  1 news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/10/141001-aral-Sea-Shrinking-drought-water-environment

  1 http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2012/03/06/india-groundwater-critical-diminishing

  2 http://www.righttowater.info/rights-in-practice/legal-approach-case-studies/case-against-coca-cola-kerala-state-india/

  1 http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/97fuaF2aQkO9IjPiPAjMyL/Six-charts-that-explain-Indias-water-crisis.html

  1 http://www.treehugger.com/clean-technology/how-many-gallons-of-water-does-it-take-to-make.html

  2 http://thecsrjournal.in/food-wastage-in-india-a-serious-concern/

  3 http://www.imeche.org/docs/default-source/reports/Global_Food_Report.pdf?sfvrsn=0

  1 http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2014/02/wheres-californias-water-going

  1 http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/feb/09/global-water-shortages-threat-terror-war

  2 https://globalvoices.org/2012/06/08/india-bangladesh-water-disputes-and-teesta-river-diplomacy/

  1 http://www.rainwaterharvesting.org/policy/legislation.htm

  1 http://www.eecentre.org/ReportDetails.aspx/id/51/lan/en-US

  2 Source: Minister of Supply & Services Canada, 1994

  1 http://response.restoration.noaa.gov/oil-and-chemical-spills/oil-spills/how-oil-harms-animals-and-plants-marine-environments.html

  WILDLIFE

  WHEN TWITTER IS DOWN

  Suhani woke up one day to no twittering. She couldn’t understand where her sparrow and parakeet pals had gone. She had gone to her grandparent’s place for the summer holidays and got back late last night. Usually she woke up to the birds’ tweets and chirps, along with her mother’s rousing yell. But today it was only her mum going, ‘Suhani, wake up.’

  She rubbed her eyes, ‘I am awake, Mum,’ she said. ‘Calm down now.’ Suhani clambered on to her window sill and looked out.

  ‘Mum!’ Suhani said frantically. ‘It’s gone. Our jamun tree. They cut it down.’

  Suhani’s mother came running into the room and joined her by the window sill. ‘Oh no,’ she said softly, caressing Suhani’s hair. ‘I am so sorry, darling. I fought the committee against the decision to cut down the tree, but Rai Uncle insisted that the tree’s branches were creating problems in our neighbours’ houses.’

  ‘How can trees cause problems?’ Suhani bit her lips and tried not to cry looking at the sorry state of the tree. It had been hacked—its branches sawed away, all its shiny, green leaves carted off to some other location, and no more promise of fat, purple jamuns. And its citizens—the birds—had left the tree in search of a new home.

  Suhani was going to miss the sparrows and rose-ringed parakeets. And the butterflies and insects.

  Suhani’s bird friends left because their tree home was cut down. But sparrows and bees are also disappearing. Any clue why?

  Plants need pollinators such as bees, butterflies, beetles, bats, and hummingbirds for fertilization and reproduction. However, the indiscriminate use of pesticides is killing bees and other pollinators. That’s because pesticides don’t know the difference between good and bad pests always—so for them an evil weevil and awful aphid is the same as a busy bee and a beautiful beetle.

  The other problem is that as we have more and more concrete around us, and less green spaces. This habitat destruction is threatening bees. But without pollinators, there’s not much scope for food for us.

  These are pretty much the same reasons you’re seeing fewer house sparrows around. In fact, scientists also say that electromagnetic pollution from mobile phone towers is affecting sparrows’ reproduction.

  But I do see more crows, and kites around

  Yes, as our garbage increases, so do the scavengers. Crows and kites are pretty effective scavengers—they feed on dead animals and plants as well as our garbage now. What they do is pick through our trash that’s overflowing everywhere for tasty morsels for themselves. And which is why they are thriving.

  THAT’S NOT ALL. SOMETIMES EVEN THE MOST INNOCUOUS LOOKING THINGS CAN THREATEN A FOREST.

  Lantanas are those tiny flowers that grow wild on roads—white, pink, orange, yellow, in colours. You must have seen them while on a hike? Lantanas are pretty and they attract butterflies, but they are also weeds. Because lantana adapts and spreads easily, a lot of trees are being replaced by lantanas, which makes them an invasive species. Today they can be found on 13 million hectares land in India1! Researchers estimate that this invasive species made its way to the country sometime in the 1800s.

  Animals that depend on those trees for food find that a problem. The lantana is a bush like shrub and has thorns and makes it difficult for animals to pass through.

  Imagine a plant that was brought for the garden has now become a threat to our plants and animals! Who knew such a small action would have such big effects?

  According to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity2 alien plants and animals constitute ‘one of the greatest threats to biodiversity, and to the ecological and economic well-being of society and the planet.’ And already because of climate change, 20 to 30 per cent of plant and animal species are at an increased risk of extinction.

  SORRY TO INTERRUPT, BUT I HAD TO ASK—CAN TREES MOVE? (AND WE DO NOT MEAN THOSE FICTIONAL TREE ENTS FROM J.R. TOLKEIN’S LORD OF THE RINGS.)

  Here’s a real-life story that will give you a clue.

  Karthikeyan S. is the chief naturalist at Jungle Lodges and Resorts. He loves trees. Once when he was taking a walk down Cubbon Park in Bengaluru, he stopped to pick up a core of the mahogany seed. The core was brown and looked like flat wings. The seed were neatly arranged around the woody core. Karthikeyan took a seed and flung it in the air, where it whirled like the blades of a helicopter. ‘That’s seed dispersal,’ he said. ‘And people say trees don’t move. Then what is this?’

  When you go on a walk, look out for fallen seed pods. They come in different sizes and shape. Some ra
ttle, others swirl in the air, and some are thick and clumpy.

  RACK YOUR BRAINS

  How do trees communicate? Can they smell? Can they count? In fact, they grow in such a way that they don’t block each other’s sunlight. Now that’s Tree BFFs. Actually, it’s called Canopy Shyness.

  So, how do you think trees talk to the birds and other animals that drop by to say hello?

  Do some research, find out how intelligent are trees.

  Check out the book The Hidden Life of Trees:

  What They Feel, How They Communicate

  – Discoveries from a Social World by Peter Wohlleben.

  Or simply, go and observe just one tree for at least a few weeks.

  WHAT’S THE BEST WAY TO CONSERVE AND SAVE ALL THESE AWESOME TREES, ANIMALS, AND FORESTS?

  Leave them alone! Nature doesn’t need our help. Rather, we are dependent on Nature for everything—air, water, food, the works. Nature can survive without us, but we can’t.

  Our forests are falling to poorly-planned development—highways are being built through jungles and trees being cut down to make way for more agriculture or industries or houses. We need to stop using so much and taking so much from the forests.

  Not only that, animals are poached for their skin, their teeth, their claws for really silly human greed. That horrible trade needs to be stopped by the stringent protection of forests and empowering forest guards to be able to combat poachers. We can do our bit by not buying anything made from wildlife—such as shell paper weights, peacock feather fans, and ivory bookmarks.

  ANCIENT MAN AND ANIMAL DEPICTIONS

  In the late 1950’s something strange and wonderful happened. Dr Vishnu Wakankar, who was an archaeologist at the Vikram University in Ujjain, stumbled upon a set of prehistoric rock shelters outside Bhopal. The rock caves of Bhimbetka in Madhya Pradesh has paintings from the Lower Palaeolithic Age to the Early Medieval Ages. That’s rock art which is 15,000 years old and can still be seen!

  What’s wonderful about the paintings are that the people back then used natural colours—red, ochre, and white—from leaves, flowers and so on. The scenes depict everyday life—dancing, hunting, riding horses and elephants, collecting honey, and lots of animals. There are elephants, tiger, leopards, bison, boar, deer, and peacocks painted across the rock shelters.

  It shows how our ancestors had a complex relationship with animals. They were hunters and food-gatherers, and depended on the animals for food.

  Look closely at these paintings, go on, pretend to be an art critic. And you will realize that there’s a certain sense of awe for these animals and how majestic and beautiful they are. For instance, the Boar Rock is one of the most famous ones—it shows a giant boar, complete with troll-sized horns and whiskers chasing a human who is running frantically. Animals were clearly a big part of our ancestors’ lives, whether it was for food, storytelling, art, and companionship.

  RACK YOUR BRAINS

  Today if we were to draw our lives, many of us would not have animals central to our story, or even trees as a matter of fact. Would we?

  THE TIGER-FOREST-WATER CONNECT

  There’s a saying that Bittu Sahgal, the wonderful editor of Sanctuary Asia, often tells children. He says:

  ‘If you save the tiger

  You save the forest

  You save our precious water resources’

  How you ask?

  The tiger sits at the top of the food chain. That means tigers are also indicators of a healthy forest and that there is the correct balance of prey and predator.

  Forests are home to over 600 rivers and streams that provide drinking water for us. Moreover, forests are carbon sinks—they take carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. When it rains, the jungle acts like a sponge, taking in the water, retaining it in the soil, making it rich and fertile. And of course, storing water.

  For Bittu Sahgal, the Maths is simple:

  Tigers = Forests = Water.

  Postcard from Prerna Bindra

  The bear necessities

  On most days, Prerna would prefer to be in the forest. But because she has to write about them and fight to protect them, she often ends up being chained to her desk. An author and wildlife conservationist and a fierce protector of wildlife, Prerna explains why meeting a bear in the wild is special.

  I wander around a lot of forests, and people always ask me: Aren’t you afraid, being in forests among wild animals? No, never. Unlike what most people think, wild animals are not ferocious, out to kill you, or attack you. They will only strike back in self-defence, if we attack them, or if they feel cornered or frightened, or when defending their babies. I have walked in forests for years, and met elephants and bears, and lions and leopards. But, look, I am alive to tell the tale! Like the time when I met a Mama Bear and her cub. We were walking in the Dachigam forest in Kashmir. I was with a forest guard, a small-statured, brave man who had walked in these lovely forests for many years. We had gone inside the park for some work, and decided to trek back. It was getting dark.

  As we turned a corner, we almost stumbled onto a Himalayan black bear, taking the same turn from the other side! We were shocked and so was the bear! She was carrying her young one on her back—bears carry their cubs like that. The guard pushed me to the back. And the Mama Bear? She quickly set her cub down, tucking it inside the bushes by the side of the path, and then turned around to face us. She stood on her hind legs and lifted her front legs…it was a pose that made her seem bigger, brawnier and scarier. We stepped back, slowly.

  Having given a warning not to mess with her, she quickly gathered her cub and vanished into the jungle.

  And we sighed in relief.

  The encounter taught me many lessons that day. We must always be careful in the forest, and never be out after full daylight, when animals are most active. It disturbs them, and can lead to bad accidents. Talk loudly and make noise when you walk, so as not to surprise and alarm wild animals, who may panic and attack.

  I learnt that animals warn you, give you a chance…if you read their language.

  Most of all, Mama Bear taught me that animals love their children too, that their first instinct is to protect them from any danger—just like our parents do.

  HOW LOVELY. MEETING A BEAR! IT REMINDS ME OF AN ELEPHANT I SAW IN A CIRCUS. HE WAS PLAYING CRICKET. IT WAS GREAT FUN.

  Not for the elephant, it wasn’t. Wild animals don’t belong in circuses or entertainment zones.

  If you’ve been to a circus, then you may have seen elephants standing on two legs, bears riding a cycle, and tigers jumping through hoops of fire. They don’t do this in the wild. This isn’t natural behaviour for them. (Don’t give silly arguments like there are no cycles in the wild.)

  Instead, they are trained to perform these silly tricks through starvation and cruelty. Thankfully, now wild animals are not allowed to perform in circuses in India. There’s a law against it.

  For those of you who have been to places like Sea World, it’s lovely to see a dolphin or a seal up close. But they belong in the oceans and rivers. Imagine having an entire ocean to swim in and then suddenly being made to balance a ball on your snout in a tiny swimming pool. It’s like being confined in a room for the rest of your life. And they didn’t even do anything naughty for being grounded.

  These animals live in groups and living solitary lives in a tank isn’t fun for them.

  What you can do is not visit so-called entertainment places. If you want to meet animals, then observe them in their natural habitat.

  OKAY OKAY, BUT WHAT IF WE CAN’T GO TO A FOREST? THEN WHAT?

  To see animals, birds and plants, you don’t always have to head to a forest. (Though it would be nice to be able to do that.) There is plenty of wildlife around you in cities.

  Lizards on your wall that call tock, tock, tock

  Woodpeckers on trees that go knock, knock, knock Owls in the trees who hoot, hoot, hoot. Though it sounds more like a hiss, hiss, hiss.

  Bats that make h
igh-pitched sounds and fly over your head. No, they don’t want to get entangled in your hair. That’s a myth, please.

  Birds, oh so many kinds of birds, rose-ringed parakeets and peacocks, and sparrows that know how to keep their cool when it’s hot.

  Butterflies flitting about in cities. If you’re in Mumbai look for the Atlas, the world’s largest moth.

  Even snakes are sometimes curled up in a tree hole, mind you.

  Slender loris on tree tops are quite a few,

  Flamingos visiting city swamps,

  Vultures roosting in old monuments and having a romp.

  How did you miss all of those now?

  How, how, how?

  All you need is a keen eye, no don’t frown,

  And a dash of curiosity, to make some wild friends around town.

  RACK YOUR BRAINS

  Make a better poem about the urban wildlife in your city.

  Flamingos you say?

  Every year, Mumbai’s skyline becomes tinged with pink as tens of thousands of flamingos visit the Sewri Mudflats between November to March. This otherwise marshy and polluted industrial area suddenly looks like someone has blown pieces of cotton candy on it, letting it settle down and giving the landscape a vibrant hue.

  The term flamingo is said to have come from flamma, the Latin word for flame, leading to its other name—the firebird. Apart from the flamingos and the extremely noisy seagulls, people can spot the Indian pond heron, egret, ibis, black-tailed godwit as well as various species of eagles.

  Most people puzzle over the fact that there are two kinds of flamingos at the bay. While some are pink, the others are grayish white. The reason? Flamingos are born gray-white and turn pink after two years. Their plumage turns pink due to a carotenoids-rich diet—blue-green and red algae, insects, crustaceans, mollusks, and small fishes. In fact, birds in captivity have been known to turn pale, unless their diet is supplemented.