Project-Saving the environment through printers!

There are so many people that i know who always want to print everything they see. They want to print out articles they write, text books from the net. They are so crazy about printing. It is of course fine to print everything but you do not print out of thin air! Paper and ink are used and the more you print the more you are indirectly destroying the environment. Another important thing to be considered is what will you be doing with the print out once you have printed it? Say, a train ticket. You will use it once and then just throw it away. If you are the sort of person who recycles the paper, we salute you but still it is a waste of paper.
Fact is about 59% of the paper used for such purposes goes and ends up in landfills. Pathetic isn't it?!
So we thought of a way to reduce on the number of pages used for printing.
So, out project is an idea to reduce the font size and the print options to save paper and well, ink too!
In this project, you will explore ways to print out the same document using less paper. You’ll change the font size in a document and see how it changes the amount of paper required for printing. You will also change the print options in your word processing software and see how that changes the amount of paper required for printing. Maybe what you learn can help you avoid "wasting" paper!


This idea was already proposed and we thought it would be a simple and great idea to implement this because the field of software is where a lot of paper and printers are being used and hence our responsibility to pay back to what we take.


References : http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_ideas/CompSci_p041.shtml

Earthquake

Earthquake:
We all know what earthquakes are, how they affect the life on Earth and we all have also seen many live incidents happening everyday across the world. This makes Earthquakes one of the deadliest disasters of all times. How can we prevent ourselves from damage when an earthquake occurs? Or can we really prevent ourselves from damage when an earthquake occurs? Read On.

Formalities first, what exactly as in scientifically is an earthquake?
The Earth has plates in its magma called tectonic plates that are floating. Earthquakes are caused when tension is released from the rocks in the Earth's crust and upper mantle. Now, this tension is due to the friction between the tectonic plates. Another reason for the earthquakes is when the rocks in the Earth's crust bend and break. This causes shock waves to travel onto the Earth's surface and results in widespread destruction.
Earthquakes usually occur in  faults, a place where two tectonic plates meet. Earthquakes are mostly generated deep within the earth's crust, when the pressure between two plates is too great for them to be held in place. The underground rocks then snap, sending shock waves out in all directions. These are called seismic waves. The underground origin of an earthquake is called the focus. The point at which an earthquake originates on the surface is called the epicentre.
Too much of technicality right?
Onto some interesting facts about earthquakes,
The world’s deadliest recorded earthquake occurred in 1556 in central China. It struck a region where most people lived in caves carved from soft rock. These dwellings collapsed during the earthquake, killing an estimated 830,000 people. In 1976 another deadly earthquake struck in Tangshan, China, where more than 250,000 people were killed.
The earliest recorded evidence of an earthquake has been traced back to 1831 BC in the Shandong province of China, but there is a fairly complete record starting in 780 BC during the Zhou Dynasty in China.
When the Chilean earthquake occurred in 1960, seismographs recorded seismic waves that traveled all around the Earth. These seismic waves shook the entire earth for many days! This phenomenon is called the free oscillation of the Earth.
Most earthquakes occur at depths of less than 80 km (50 miles) from the Earth’s surface.
Each year the southern California area has about 10,000 earthquakes. Most of them are so small that they are not felt. Only several hundred are greater than magnitude 3.0, and only about 15-20 are greater than magnitude 4.0. If there is a large earthquake, however, the aftershock sequence will produce many more earthquakes of all magnitudes for many months.
The world’s greatest land mountain range is the Himalaya-Karakoram. It countains 96 of the world’s 109 peaks of over 7,317m (24,000 ft). The longest range is the Andes of South America which is 7,564km (4700 mi) in length. Both were created by the movement of tectonic plates.
REAL EXPERIENCES IN EARTHQUAKES:
BHAVESH SODAGAR
 (Gujarat Bhuj 2001 earthquake):
The below is the experience of Bhavesh  on 2001 earthquake;
“It was Friday, 26th January, 2001, the country started celebrating the Indian Republic Day. No one knew what will happen in the next moment. At 8:46hrs (Indian time) the earthquake of magnitude 7.9 struck Gujarat which was for almost two minutes and was worse in India. The epicentre was just north of the city of Bhuj which is in Kachchh district.

On that day I was in Mandvi, my hometown, and was about to leave for Bhuj to my office. Suddenly I felt shaking and heard a terrible noise. Slowly it started increasing and I could not understand what was happening. Then my mother said it is an earthquake and advised all of us to come below the “Umbhro”, a place just below a door. After this scary experience when everything becomes normal, my legs were feeling the shake for sometime. This was the first time, I experienced an earthquake. Fortunately there were very few buildings, which collapsed in my hometown Mandvi but we never thought what would be the situation in neighbouring towns. I went to Bhuj (60km from Mandvi), and shocked to see the damaged buildings, dust, people running here and there, some were crying in pain and some in the loss of their loved ones, some were still thinking what to do, some were sitting on the streets, some were trying to help others etc etc.. It was a painful sight. Most of the houses were collapsed and we tried to help whom all we can. Suddenly I saw one my uncle (Mama), and I asked him about everyone and he gave me a shocking news about my aunt (mother’s sister, her name was Jaya) who passed away. I don’t know how to react? Her loss added more to my pain. When earthquake happened, she came out of the house and asked everyone in the neighbourhood to come out, during this, a building collapsed on her and she died.

We went to get information about other friend’s relatives. That four stories building was completely destroyed and a rescue operation was going on. His sister’s family was in the building and we have to wait there till we get some information. His sister’s husband died in that building. While I was standing there, one woman came crying and asked me that whether I have seen her 12 year son who went to town in the morning? When I said no I haven’t then she cried more and started asking few more people. Similarly many deaths happen and many of you must know about the 200 school children in Anjar died during a Republic Day rally.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jJI5QOkHG0
 This is a video about Neeta who was paralyzed in the Gujarat earthquake of 2001. Since then she has been living with courage and dignity. She has written a book about her experiences which has been an inspiration to many other victims as well as disabled.

ANDREW PATERAS(Japan earthquake in march,2011):
The following is the personal experience of Andrew who is a professional photojournalist in Tokyo:
“As a photojournalist who aims to capture the beauty of our planet's cultures, I left my hotel room on Thursday morning excited to document the manic energy of Tokyo's sprawling megalopolis. There was no way I could have known that instead, I would end up taking pictures of one of the most frightening days of my life.

I had just emerged from the belly of the Tokyo Metro system, four floors beneath Shinjuku Station, the world’s busiest train station. Thousands of commuters and tourists jammed parallel train platforms and the shops in the arcade. It was around 3 p.m. I was lined up at the Bullet Train ticket counter to inquire about a trip to Nagoya, some 200 miles southwest of Tokyo, to shoot some photos there tomorrow. It was then that I felt the ground move under me slightly—it was almost imperceptible, like a subway rumbling through a tunnel far beneath my feet. I ignored it, as did everyone around me. Then, seconds later, a violent shuddering. Things started crashing to the ground, and signs hanging from the ceiling began swinging violently. I looked at an elderly man next to me. He smiled back at me and said one word: “Earthquake."
I ran for the door, about 60 feet away. The ground was shaking so violently that it was difficult to run in a straight line, like trying to sprint across the deck of a ship being tossed by swells. My heart was pounding when I reached the street and darted for a large park surrounded by skyscrapers; my mind replayed the image of the World Trade Center crashing to the ground.
The noise was unreal. You could hear the buildings creak and groan as they shook in their foundations. I wanted to get as far away from these buildings as possible, but in Tokyo, finding any truly open space is virtually impossible.
I turned to look at the building that I had just run out of; it was convulsing uncontrollably. You could still hear the ground rattling as thousands of people evacuated the buildings. I started to shoot photos of everything that was happening.
It was then that I felt the ground move under me slightly—it was almost imperceptible. Then, seconds later, a violent shuddering.
I stood in that park for a good two hours as did most everyone else.  During this time, the ground continued to tremble, albeit less violently. I would find out later that afternoon that the quake was a magnitude 8.9, the strongest earthquake to hit Japan in recorded history. Some people were visibly shaken. There were a few women crying, people pointing up at the buildings as they shook, but many others appeared calm and relaxed.
Making my way back to my hotel was an epic journey. The rail system in Tokyo was completely shut down and millions were trying to make their way home on foot. The streets were gridlocked, but I didn't learn how catastrophic the event had actually been until I got to my hotel and turned on the news. The coastal areas of Japan, especially a few hundred miles to the north, were devastated beyond recognition.
As I write this, the aftershocks are still hitting hard. I am on dry land and yet I feel seasick. I have lived through many frightening days—I nearly drowned last year while whitewater rafting in Africa—but this earthquake will be forever burned in my memory as the most harrowing experience of all. I saw hundred-story buildings sway like palm trees in the wind as the earth revolted beneath my feet. Now, I think I have seen it all.”

Earthquake preparedness :

To be prepared for a natural disaster is the most important thing in areas which are prone to them.

Here are a few mitigation methods and ways to be prepared in case of an earthquake.

Community preparedness : Community preparedness is vital for mitigating earthquake impact. The most effective way to save yourself is ‘DROP, COVER and  HOLD’.

Planning: The Bureau of Indian standards has published building guidelines in areas of high risk. These planning rules are formulated so that the building can withstand the effect of a quake.

If you are inside a building during and earthquake then move to corners or side walls.  Try taking cover under a desk/table. Move away from window glass or anything that is liable to break and fall( chandeliers, fans, etc. ).

If you are on a vehicle, stop the vehicle and move to open lands.

If you are outside then stay away from buildings, walls, power lines and other objects that could fall. Try finding open spaces to stand.

After an earthquake, it is adviced to stay calm and follow instructions of the rescue team. Try helping the rescue team to find people who are buried or those who need first-aid after you have got yours.


There are many possibilities where a person is when earthquake occurs. Some of the possibilities are described below: the person might be inside a building or the person might be standing outside somewhere or the person must be driving or the person might be in a mountainous area or a person might be in beach.
A plain area is the best area to be when an earthquake occurs. When the person is inside a building, it is better to hide under a heavy table and hold it. If the building is like a hotel, then it is better to go below the bed and be in foetal position and is better to keep away from windows. It is better to have pillows over the head to prevent head injuries. It is also not advisable to get down in steps because the steps might collapse easily in earthquakes.
When the person is outside the building it is better to stay away from large buildings and power lines because they have the possibility of falling down. If the person is inside a car, it is better to stay inside the car itself and avoid travelling on bridges which has a high risk of getting collapsed. But being inside the car also has a great risk since if there are some roads that are above the place where the car is being parked, it might collapse and fall on the car and the car might get crushed.
If the person is in some mountainous area, there is high risk since the rocks and trees might fell down at any instant. It’s better to stay away from high trees and rocks. If a person is in some seashore, it is better to move to a high lands since there is possibility of tsunami when an earthquake occurs inside the ocean.
After an earthquake has happened, the electric and gas connections must be checked thoroughly. Since, if there are some damages to the gas cylinders there is a risk of explosion of the cylinder which causes heavier destruction. The buildings must be checked for cracks and further damages. If there is huge crack in many parts of the buildings, it is better to get away from the buildings. It is not advisable to go near the seashores since there is risk of tsunami even after a long time after earthquake.

Environment

Look around you! What do you see?
One simple word would be ENVIRONMENT :)
True that!
Everything around us is environment.
The Environment is made up of four spheres, or is claimed to. Lithosphere, Atmosphere, Hydrosphere and Biosphere. Some scientists include, as part of the spheres of the Earth, the cryosphere, the zone having ice as a distinct portion of the hydrosphere, as well as the pedosphere of soil as an active and intermixed sphere
Now let us understand what the individual components mean :
1.Lithosphere:It is that which includes the crust and the uppermost mantle, which constitute the hard and rigid outer layer of the Earth. Under the lithosphere is the asthenosphere, the weaker, hotter, and deeper part of the upper mantle. The boundary between the lithosphere and the underlying asthenosphere is defined by a difference in response to stress: the lithosphere remains rigid for very long periods of geologic time in which it deforms elastically and through brittle failure, while the asthenosphere deforms viscously and accommodates strain through plastic deformation. The lithosphere is broken into tectonic plates. These are the plates that float on the magma in the Earth's mantle. The uppermost part of the lithosphere is called Pedosphere and this layer is the one which reacts with the other spheres of the Earth.
Now, would you believe me when I tell you that the concept of lithosphere was actually introduced by someone through a series of papers. A guy called Joseph Barrell.
So thank you sir! for letting us know about the lithosphere :)
There are two types of lithosphere :
Oceanic lithosphere
Continental lithosphere
Actually it is very interesting to know so much more about the lithosphere and as it involves a huge amount of technicality, I do not want a blog article to change into a class article. 
Hydrosphere:
We all know what this is all about. WATER WATER !
Yes. The combined mass of water found on, under or over the surface of a planet.One of the miracles that our Earth experiences or rather one of the miracles why we live is the water cycle.
We pretty well know this process where water can change many forms. The water from the seas evaporates and changes its form to vapour forms clouds and then condenses and comes back to the Earth as rain. Although there is a much bigger explanation for the process water cycle, as in scientific, I personally believe its a miracle how water behaves ! 
Another important component of the hydrosphere is the Cryosphere. This is the part of the Earth which contains water in the solid form like glaciers, snow, lake ice, snow caps etc.The cryosphere is an integral part of the global climate system with important linkages and feedbacks generated through its influence on surface energy and moisture fluxes, clouds, precipitation, hydrology atmospheric and oceanic circulation. Through these feedback processes, the cryosphere plays a significant role in global climate and in climate model response to global change.


Glaciers:

Ice sheets and glaciers are flowing ice masses that rest on solid land. They are controlled by snow accumulation, surface and basal melt, calving into surrounding oceans or lakes and internal dynamics. The latter results from gravity-driven creep flow ("glacial flow") within the ice body and sliding on the underlying land, which leads to thinning and horizontal spreading.Any imbalance of this dynamic equilibrium between mass gain, loss and transport due to flow results in either growing or shrinking ice bodies.

Ice sheets are the greatest potential source of global freshwater, holding approximately 77% of the global total. This corresponds to 80 m of world sea-level equivalent, with Antarctica accounting for 90% of this. Greenland accounts for most of the remaining 10%, with other ice bodies and glaciers accounting for less than 0.5%. Because of their size in relation to annual rates of snow accumulation and melt, the residence time of water in ice sheets can extend to 100,000 or 1 million years. Consequently, any climatic perturbations produce slow responses, occurring over glacial and interglacial periods. Valley glaciers respond rapidly to climatic fluctuations with typical response times of 10–50 years.However, the response of individual glaciers may be asynchronous to the same climatic forcing because of differences in glacier length, elevation, slope, and speed of motion. Oerlemans (1994) provided evidence of coherent global glacier retreat which could be explained by a linear warming trend of 0.66°C per 100 years.

While glacier variations are likely to have minimal effects upon global climate, their recession may have contributed one third to one half of the observed 20th Century rise in sea level (Meier 1984; IPCC 1996). Furthermore, it is extremely likely that such extensive glacier recession as is currently observed in the Western Cordillera of North America,where runoff from glacierized basins is used for irrigation and hydropower, involves significant hydrological and ecosystem impacts. Effective water-resource planning and impact mitigation in such areas depends upon developing a sophisticated knowledge of the status of glacier ice and the mechanisms that cause it to change. Furthermore, a clear understanding of the mechanisms at work is crucial to interpreting the global-change signals that are contained in the time series of glacier mass balance records.

Combined glacier mass balance estimates of the large ice sheets carry an uncertainty of about 20%. Studies based on estimated snowfall and mass output tend to indicate that the ice sheets are near balance or taking some water out of the oceans. Marinebased studies suggest sea-level rise from the Antarctic or rapid ice-shelf basal melting. Some authors (Paterson 1993; Alley 1997) have suggested that the difference between the observed rate of sea-level rise (roughly 2 mm/y) and the explained rate of sea-level rise from melting of mountain glaciers, thermal expansion of the ocean, etc. (roughly 1 mm/y or less) is similar to the modeled imbalance in the Antarctic (roughly 1 mm/y of sea-level rise; Huybrechts 1990), suggesting a contribution of sea-level rise from the Antarctic.

Relationships between global climate and changes in ice extent are complex. The mass balance of land-based glaciers and ice sheets is determined by the accumulation of snow, mostly in winter, and warm-season ablation due primarily to net radiation and turbulent heat fluxes to melting ice and snow from warm-air advection,(Munro 1990). However, most of Antarctica ever experiences surface melting. Where ice masses terminate in the ocean, iceberg calving is the major contributor to mass loss. In this situation, the ice margin may extend out into deep water as a floating ice shelf, such as that in the Ross Sea. Despite the possibility that global warming could result in losses to the Greenland Ice Sheet being offset by gains to the Antarctic Ice Sheet, there is major concern about the possibility of a West Antarctic Ice Sheet collapse. The West Antarctic Ice Sheet is grounded on bedrock below sea level, and its collapse has the potential of raising the world sea level 6–7 m over a few hundred years.

Most of the discharge of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet is via the five major ice streams (faster flowing ice) entering the Ross Ice Shelf, the Rutford ice sheet entering Ronne-Filchner sheet of the Weddell sea, and the Thwaites Glacier and Pine Island Glacier entering the Amundsen Ice Shelf. Opinions differ as to the present mass balance of these systems (Bentley 1983, 1985), principally because of the limited data. The West Antarctic Ice Sheet is stable so long as the Ross Ice Shelf is constrained by drag along its lateral boundaries and pinned by local grounding.

Eggplant!

Have you ever wondered how they genetically modify vegetables? If it is really safe to the people or creatures consuming them? Are they grown in safe conditions? And a lot of other questions. I was so surprised when i found out that brinjal is one of the vegetables that is genetically modified!
It goes by quite a common name, Eggplant or Aubergine. It is genetically modified by inserting a crystal protein gene from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis into the genome of various brinjal cultivars.

As with any other development in this world, there have been controversies about genetically modifying brinjal too.
Scientists feel that when brinjal is genetically modified, it requires  huge amounts of pesticides which will end up contaminating the soil. On the other hand, research has proved that growing bt brinjal has led to a 42 percent reduction in the amount of pesticide spray. It is also prospected to be a really valuable asset to increasing the economy of the country as our country is mainly thriving on crop production and it has also proven to increase the economy significantly.
Another controversy arose when the rats that fed on the genetically modified brinjal were seriously injured. Researchers argued that the bt brinjal is very injurious to the health of the farmers growing them as well as the people consuming them. But this is still a controversy and no such thing has been proven in reality.
Another gameplay that adds fuel to the fire is that some scientists are involved in producing their own variety of brinjal. so naturally these scientists will not support or authorize the growing of bt brinjal. so, some researchers claim that the scientist give wrong information which lead to controversies and that bt brinjal is very safe and has only added to the economy of the country.
Amidst the controversies that surround the growing of bt brinjal, it is still being genetically modified and people are actually buying it and has proven to be a good step to have been taken indeed. The issues involving brinjal are so important to be solved because brinjal was one of the first crops to be genetically modified and now many crops are finding their way behind it.
As it is said, a role model should be a role model indeed!

Field Trip For Awareness

pallikaranai visit :

Do field trips always mean going to pretty places, having picnics, having fun and taking beautiful pictures?
NO. I knew this only when we were taken on a filed trip to a marsh land called pallikaranai. You might think how can a marsh land not mean a beautiful place?! Did I forget to mention? Oh yeah. Pallikaranai - used to be a marshland. Now a dumpyard. Actually, before we visited this place, we had a small intro talk about the plight of the marsh land. But never did I ever realize that it would be so bad until I saw it with my own eyes. If you weren't told that this place was a marshland you could never have founf out. As far as the eye can see, it was garbage, garbage and garbage. Piles of garbage. Even worse, people live among this garbage. Small children live here. They walk on top of the garbage. People work separating the waste disposed off by the government. Now, you would say "This is all the government's fault!"
Actually, No. If the government had other ways of disposing its waste it wouldn't dispose it here. One of the biggest marshland of Asia, and a habitat to some of the rarest species of birds which migrate from across the world in specific seasons, the marshland has lost its glory.

The garbage is disposed off here everyday from all over the city and Chennai really produces so much of garbage!

Some birds swim in the lake which is a treat to the eyes although it might not appear so from the photo but these birds might also disappear given the rate at which the marshland is being converted to a dumpyard.
What can we do to make this right?!
Well, there is nothing we can do now to the already done damage. But, we could help the people living there. If they are left in the same situation they are in now, they will definitely die of some weird disease. We need to bring these areas to light these people to light so that something can be done. We also need to find other harmless ways of disposing waste. And most importantly, we as people should make sure that we dispose waste according to different categories. Separating them and disposing them will make many peoples' jobs easier.
If you ever get the chance please do visit this marshland at Velachery. It sure is a field trip. It brought awareness to people like me. I am sure it will to you too.

Starbucks-Has it taken steps to stop the environmental degradation it causes?

The largest coffeehouse company in the world, Starbucks is seattle based with over 19000 stores across the world.  People generally come to conclusions that when such a big company is running its centres all over the world, it would definitely be responsible for a lot of pollution and evnironmental degradation.
But it is always not the case. Like many other big companies, Starbucks also has environmental policies. Some of them are:

ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES:
RECYCLING:
Starbucks has a policy of making environmental friendly cups and also is currently expanding its efforts to resuce the amount of waste it creates.
ENERGY:
Once a user of LED bulbs, starbucks has now turned to the use of GE energy saving bulbs which are very beautiful to look at and environment friendly. Then, their next focus was to reduce the energy loss because of air conditioning. Starbucks started employing Energy management Systems(EMS) which reduces 20% energy consumption by the HVAC Systems.
WATER:
In 2011, Starbucks installed a Water filtration system which provides the same supereb quality of water and at the same time reduces the wastage of water by 50% compared to their previous filtration system. They also are in the process of installing low-flow faucets and efficient water fixtures to wash the dishes and in the toilets.
GREEN BUILDINGS:
Starbucks is trying to make its stores as green as possible by using responsible building materials and energy efficient designs to reduce their environmental impact

This is a link made by starbucks to show its support as an environment friendly company.
http://www.starbucks.com/responsibility
Awards:
Starbucks was ranked #7 on the Environmental Protection Agency's top 50, a list ranking the top renewable energy purchasing companies in the US.
http://www.epa.gov/greenpower/toplists/top50.htm

Vaio Laptops- Know the truth

Here is a scenario. You want to get a laptop. Let's say since Vaio is among the best ranked laptops today, you wish to buy it. What do you think about? You see if it's the specifications you want. You see if its economical enough. If it has got a long battery life. Long warranty period. slim sleek name it you will think abou it. But have you ever thought "Is this laptop environment friendly?" I guess not. Because neither did I and i own a Vaio. Not until I read about it did I know how much of a non-friendly laptop this is.

"Sony Vaio laptops are among the three worst laptops when it comes to environment". This is a fact. News infact from a survey.
How?
Okay. First let me enlighten the good things(good for the environment) about Sony laptops.
They show a high power efficiency and can save a lot of power. Especially if you get a 9-cell battery you would be running your laptop for 7-10 hours straight without power and it requires for you to just charge it for about 2 hours.
Next is they reduce noise pollution. You might wonder how. Here it is. They are quieter due to the presence of slower hard drives. They require slower and fewer cooling fans which leads to less noise.
Sadly, these are the plus points about the laptop. Now going on to the negatives, although laptop conserves a lot of energy when it is running, it's production requires a lot of energy. Laptop production mainly depends on fossil fuels which leads to their depletion and their extraction and burning leads to climatic changes and in turn global warming. The fabrication of microchip is the most dangerous process of the production which results in causing the exposure to harmful chemicals leading to health hazards of the communities. Many components of the laptop contain hazardous chemicals which poses a great threat to the environment. The display screen and keyboard of Vaio contain harmful chemicals like lead, cadmium, chromium, mercury etc. These when dumped in the landfills causes serious environmental problems. Obsolete and used laptop computers eventually add to the e-waste, which gets dumped in environmentally-unsafe landfill sites. The metallic parts of the computers especially contain numerous toxic chemicals such as lead and mercury, which are considered to be chief contributors to the chemical pollution of the environment.
So what is Sony doing?

Sony has taken many policies to stop some of its degradation process:
The complete list is available here:
http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/csr_report/environment/data/history/index.html
what i personally think is some big companies eventually start feeling guilty about the extent to which they cause harm to the environment and suddenly introduce environmental policies. But how much of it is true is actually very hard to tell. When it comes to the extent to which they cause damage the measures taken are zilch. Of course, I might be wrong about the whole assumption but then there can always be two sides to the story.