What to do, what to do? Hey, here’s an idea! How about celebrating a very ecofriendly Easter this time? Contrary to the very popular belief, ecofriendly can also insinuate fun. You don’t have to actually compromise on fun to do good to the environment, you know. How do you go ecofriendly without letting go off the fun then? It is easy!

Think about the most important component of Easter: Easter baskets! They are usually wasteful and you can change that this year. How? Read on:

Ecofriendly Easter Basket

The Basket Itself

Do you really have to buy a new Easter basket each year? You’ll only use it for that one day and then throw it away. Why waste money and contribute to environment pollution each year? Simply, use the same basket every year! If you want to buy a new basket, make sure you recycle the old one. You can even make ecofriendly baskets at home using fabric bags, felt bags, and shoe boxes. Let your imagination loose!

Easter Grass

Plastic Easter grass is an absolute waste. The sad part is that it can’t even be recycled and the packaging is also wasteful. Why not replace plastic grass with ecofriendly grass this time? Use shredded magazine pages and newspaper instead. If the basket is for someone younger, you could use a nicely colored blanket too. Spanish moss is another option.

Chocolate

Easter chocolate is a must in every Easter basket. You should buy fair trade organic chocolate this time. There are numerous fair trade brands that sell chocolates with the Easter theme. There are also organic lollipops for you to buy. If you can’t find them in the local stores, look over the Internet for options.

Toys

Make your own toys! Get artistic and involve your kids to make beautiful toys such as handmade necklaces, wooden toys, wooden Easter eggs and so on. If you can’t make them on your own, go for fair trade organic and handmade toys!

See? You don’t need to compromise at any step and the result will be beautiful! You will have a very Happy and Joyous Easter while subtly doing your bit for the environment.

Think about it.

The question remains where it is, though. Has the worse passed or is it fast approaching? Environmentalists have been yelling warnings from rooftops that if we don’t act fast, the world will indeed reach the end very soon.

But do we care? The answer is a single-syllabled ‘no’.

Most are under the impression that if a thousand year old prediction didn’t kill us, nothing else will. Oh, how shallow we are! Each and every one of us is writing the future of life and sadly, it is tenebrous. We are the cruelest creatures on Planet Earth and not only are we destroying the habitat of other animals and pushing them into extinction, we are also obliterating our own lives at a pretty fast pace.

Through pollution we are beckoning our end closer and because of us, poor animals have to suffer endlessly due to the fact that our doings [deforestation and pollution] are resulting in the end of their habitat and ultimately causing a lot of imbalance in the ecosystem. Globalization actually seems to have done more harm than good for us. It has led to acid rains, terrible air pollution, water pollution, ozone depletion, soil pollution, overpopulation, and the dreadful global warming.

Not many actually realize but every year, one in five people dies because of at least one of these environment issues. Most of these issues are a result of inappropriate use of resources and energy. Thankfully though, we can actually solve these issues. To begin with, we should dial down the consumption of natural resources and make sure we cut down pollution from its prime. It can indeed be done.

The solution to all these problems is recycling.

Know that a number of products can be recycled with ease. By recycling we can actually bring down the environmental strain that we are facing today. Besides paper and plastic, you can recycle cell phones and other electronic devices too. By doing so, you will also reduce the need to cut down trees.

Along with recycling, we should start reusing materials of plant origin so that the need to exploit natural resources goes down considerably.

We created the problem and we know the solution to it. All we have to do now is implement the solution and save ourselves before it is too late. [It already IS late by the way.]

Organic Foods: Organic foods are those that are manufactured and processed by organic means. Yes, they are processed too but the processing does not involve chemicals or anything that is even remotely harmful.

Natural Foods: These foods are NOT manufactured and processed at all. They are not altered in any way and are sold just as they exist – in their very natural form. Sometimes, they may be processed by the processing is highly minimal.

If you buy organic foods, you are actually buying foods that are processed but by organic means with no use of fertilizers and other chemicals. If you are buying natural foods you are buying foods in their natural state.

Because of the fact that many people do not know the difference, they pick organic foods and think they are having natural foods. Those who know the difference have a difference of opinion. While some feel safer buying natural foods, with no processing involved at all, others feel safer knowing that the organic foods have no chemicals in them at all.

Coming to health benefits, no one has proven that organic foods are better. It is all about perception. However, one must note that organic milk has been shown to bestow a number of great health benefits on the consumer. This has attracted people towards organic foods.

If you compare the shelf life of these foods, you will see that organic foods have comparatively more shelf life than natural foods because of the obvious reason that the prior is processed.

While you can find organic foods with ease these days, natural foods are sold in a few special stores only. Both types are more expensive than conventional foods and are healthier.

So, it boils down to you as the consumer to choose between the two types of foods.

Recycling mainly involves dismantling. All the parts of the device are first separated. They are then separated into ferrous and non-ferrous components. The printed circuit board is also kept aside. Copper, gold, and lead are removed using strong acids. Appropriate technologies are being used these days as opposed to the poor, old ones thanks to which, the recycling is actually very efficient.

A lot of energy and time goes into making electronics. The raw materials used are expensive and instead of just throwing these into landfills, it is ideal to recycle the electronics so that the energy and raw materials used are reused. Dumping cell phones and electronics into landfills is very harmful for the earth. This is because the harmful components contained in these devices seep out after a period of time and enter the soil, thereby causing a lot of harm to plants, animals, and also polluting water. Aren’t we harming our natural resources enough already?

Along with environmental hazards, electronic waste can also cause health hazards. As aforesaid, they are made up of a number of chemicals, some of which can be very toxic. When these seep into the soil and enter plants, they not just affect the plant but also the fruit. If you consume such contaminated foods, you will be subjected to a number of health problems.

Our natural resources are very limited and by recycling cell phones and e-waste, we are actually doing our part to preserve some of our natural resources. The manufacturing of cell phones and electronics requires a number of natural resources and when you recycle them you are saving at least little. This little accounts to a very significant amount in the big picture.

These are just a few of the many reasons why recycling is a must. Call it lack of awareness or simply carelessness but not many even bother about it today. There are several NGOs and schools that are making an effort to make people realize its importance.

Wake up, it is high time!

Heard of it a million times, haven’t you? You must have also heard of how it protects you from the harmful ultra violet radiations emitted by the sun. Sadly though, the ozone layer is being depleted at a rate of 4% per decade. The chemicals responsible for this are known as ozone-depleting substances or ODS. Methyl chloroform, carbon tetrachloride, chlorofluorocarbons [CFCs], halons, and hydrochlorofluorocarbons [HCFCs] are some of the ODS.

The reason why they are popular is that these are stable and non-toxic as long as they are in the atmosphere. However, their stability causes them to rise and reach the stratosphere, where they are split into bromine and chlorine. These two substances are responsible for demolishing the ozone layer. Their stability also implies that they will stay in the stratosphere for many decades to come. This means that what is being emitted now will have a negative effect on the ozone layer for almost an entire century! Alarming, isn’t it?

How can you help, you must be wondering. Oh there are lots of ways. Do you know that refrigerators and air conditioners use CFCs? Don’t recharge them. This step will contribute to the environment. If you are buying a portable fire extinguisher, make sure it is free of halons. If you have an old vehicle, have it serviced. Old vehicles have CFCs while the newer models [1995 and later] are CFC free.

Why should you help, you must be wondering now. “Okay, so UV rays will penetrate through the layer into the atmosphere. I can see no harm yet. I can move out in the sun anytime without feeling a thing.” If this is your train of thought, CHANGE IT IMMEDIATELY. Sure you don’t feel a thing but every minute you spend exposed to the sun adds on. These minutes will cost you too much in the future because UV radiations are capable of causing not just rashes and itching sensation but deadly cancer. These radiations can also cause blindness, cataracts, and other eye problems. Wait there’s more, – they can also weaken your immune system.

Mind you, you aren’t the only one affected. UV radiations affect animals, marine creatures, and even materials such as wood, fabrics, rubber, and plastic.

On your part, you should make sure you follow the aforementioned steps and take precautions such as avoiding the sun from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., using sunscreen which protects from both UV A and UV B radiations, using sunscreen even during the winter season [honestly, just because it is cold, doesn’t mean the sun is not shining!], and saying no to tanning [there is nothing called ‘healthy’ tan] in order to steer clear of the harmful effects of the ultra violet radiations.

Be aware. Stay safe!

This two day festival is likely to attract footfall of students, academia and professionals with its 5 zones- techvriddi, techpirates , literati, workbench and merging minds. Techelone’12 will be showcasing the talent of budding professionals. From workshops, guest lectures and core competitions to quizzes and technical fun games, Techelone is all set to challenge the brightest minds all over the country to turn the blue prints into reality and to explore their potential.

The founder of Green Dream Foundation, Ashish Sachdeva is conducting a workshop on Green Buildings at Techelone on Friday, 19th October, 2012. The workshop aims to guide the attendees to work with eco-friendly measures with minimum resources, while generating maximum output. The basic idea behind this workshop is “Sustainable Development”.

Members of the governments, international financial institutions, regulating agencies, and utility, and power operators came together during the inauguration of the MENA Solar Power Forum held in Abu Dhabi from September 17 through September 19, 2012. The main focus of the conference was solar power development. Ongoing solar projects and future approaches to spread the word about solar energy were explored and presented. Rajit Nanda, CFO of ACWA Power, Phillippe Costerg, Deputy Director PV Solar for Total, Phillipe Lorec, Deputy Director General for Energy and Climate for Ministry of Ecology, France, and Iñigo Viani Desplats-Redier, Business Development Director CPV, Abengoa Solar Spain were among the big names, which graced the occasion.

Our founder, Ashish Sachdeva delivered a session on challenges and difficulties faced by solar power development in India and other similar developing nations. He also elaborated on the road ahead for ongoing and new solar projects in these regions.

Other topics discussed included the creation of a regulatory and investor-friendly environment in the MENA region for solar power plants to be established, identification of models in order to build project finance, providing support in order to build a strong connection between MENA and the European market, development of new technologies for the betterment and enhancement of the strengths and adaptation to the numerous challenges faced in the MENA region, and discovering more developments for ongoing projects including Sahara Forest, Ouarzazate, and Desertec Initiative.

More information on the event can be found on its official website: www.menasolarpower.com.

The iFest 2012 was held in all its glory recently. This online technical festival by IEEE student chapter, IITR served as a podium for young engineers to highlight their intellectual talents and to put them forth in front of the entire world. Green Dream Foundation was the event partner of this online festival. Students from all over the world participated in this grand fest and competed to show off what they are capable of. The main focus of this event was to help engineering aspirers let people know what they hold inside of them and how much talent they actually possess. This was a grand union of intellect, science, and technology.

Students were required to come up with their own idea and design of a ‘green city’, true to its name in all aspects. The challenge was to design a city, putting their imaginary skills in motion, which not just eats green but also works green and lives green completely. This not just drew the attention of the young minds, it was also successful in letting people know of the future of our planet and how it is being destroyed each day. The aim was to spread awareness about population – which is on a constant rise – and the rapidly vanishing forests. The aim was also to let people know that it is indeed possible to live green and save the planet before it is too late.

Indeed, green cities must be developed in order to meet the living demands of people and also to reduce wastage by a significant percentage.

The founders of Green Dream Foundation delivered a seminar on green technologies and their impact on the environment and the movement to save it. More than 100 students from the IITR campus participated in this seminar and interacted with the founders. Abhishek, the Executive Vice President and Co-founder of the organization talked about students’ social responsibility and the myths behind Global Warming. GDF’s Founder and President, Ashish talked about the ways students can go green in today’s modern day perspective. The seminar concluded with the prize distribution for Green Tech, the online event.

We have all heard about it but I am not sure all of us actually comprehend it. You may have studied or read somewhere that solar projects are being taken up to save energy. Never tried to grope further now, have you?

Well speaking about it in simple words, solar energy refers to the sunlight or radiant energy that is used to fulfill the power requirements of your house. Sunlight is both, a source of light energy and heat energy. This energy is used instead of other sources of energy. But why take the pains and have solar panels installed when you have steady supply of energy in your house? Interesting question. We don’t do anything unless it has a big list of benefits for us now, do we? Expecting only benefits is stupidity. Comparing and making sure the pros overshadow the cons is wise.

Firstly, solar energy is unlimited. Install the panels once and forget about the power supply problems until the sun ceases to shine. [After that you won’t need energy at all anyway seeing the no one will survive after that happens.] Secondly, solar panels make sure you have free energy supply. Oh yeah, I can feel that sharp intake of breath and those widened eyes. Funny how words like ‘unlimited’ and ‘free’ can grasp attention, isn’t it? And when they are used in the same sentence, it is magic! Anyway, yes. It is true. Solar energy is both unlimited and free.

Let me rephrase the cost bit quickly before those of you know that installation charges are high thinking about suing me for spreading false information. Well, installing the panels will of course cost you considerably but once you take care of the initial charges, you can forget about having to spend even a penny on energy and power after that. I’d much rather get rid of all the costs initially and lead a peaceful life after that, wouldn’t you? I am sure you would. Think about living a life sans hefty electric bills each month. Wonderful, yeah? You will save a very significant amount of money over time and the money you spent initially will easily be redeemed.

Another benefit [and the most important and yet the most neglected] is that solar energy is 100% green! In other words, there is absolutely no pollution with solar energy and you can thus do your significant bit for the environment. Well, you can concentrate on the two big benefits aforementioned if saving the environment doesn’t interest you. This benefit will come as a gift for those of us who actually are worried.

There are only two downsides to solar panel installation. You will need a backup source for night times because duh, the sun doesn’t shine at night! But that much will definitely not make a difference because consumption of power will be very less anyway. Pollution affects the efficiency of solar panels but now, whose fault is pollution?

In his talk, Ashish Sachdeva talks about whether going green is just a trend or more.