Jiboner Akibuki - The Strokes of life

India in the last couple of years have seen several candle light protests. Protesters were seen holding candle while marching to protest during many recent protest marches. I do not know the ramification or the success rate of such protests and if those protests have yielded any positive results. I am though very sure that those protest marches were never environment friendly, as modern day candles are very rude to the environment. Given the fact that modern candles are prepared from not properly refined paraffin (a petroleum product) which makes it a major cause of environmental pollution. The smoke from the wick of the candles along with unburned hydro carbons can cause terrible disturbances with our health. The risk becomes manifold as candles are generally lit indoors and this particular fact multiplies the health hazards from burning candles.....

Junk food Lovers! Who doesn't love to gorge on those yummy roadside foods once in a while? Though due to health reasons we tend to keep away from junk food, there is no harm if we tease our taste buds occasionally. I guess, those fast foods and snacks are supposed to be great appetizers! I have seen that North Americans simply love junk food! Every month nearly 90 percent of the children in America eat at McDonald's! In the United States, the food industry spends more than $33 billion a year to advertise products rich in fat, sugar and salt. Despite all those risks of obesity and cancer, average Americans consume more food rich in fat and sugar, than their European or Oriental counterparts. Aerated soft drinks, milkshakes and smoothies contain twice as much fat as hamburgers. However, these are a huge craze among school, college and even office goers. Speaking of India, the fast food craze is rising among youngsters every day. People now consume more roadside junks and snacks ...

I have on my recent visit to Digha collected a small snake from the villagers who was about to kill it. I have kept it in a small glass jar but do not know what type of snake is it. If some one recognises it please let me know. Also indicate if you know anything about its care and maintainance.

An ever-increasing population is facing a major problem of availability of safe and acceptable food. Industrial pollution and food processing and packaging is one of the prime causes of poisonous effects of food and foodstuffs. About three –fourths of the human diseases in today’s industrialized world are caused by the environmental pollutants. Foods may be contaminated by substances of synthetic as well as natural origin present in that environment. Contamination of foods may also result from chemical spill or from the process of preparation and packaging of foods as well as certain chemicals added as food additives during food processing. Thus the major hazards from poisonous substances in food comprise: bacterial contamination naturally occurring toxins and chemical carcinogens, accidental chemical contaminants, pesticide contaminants and food additives. Tremendous increases in fertilizers, pesticides, and insecticides etc. for high agriculture yields have badly destroyed food chain...

Nature and mankind form an inseparable part of the life support system which constitutes of five vital elements namely air, water, land, flora and fauna which are all interconnected , inter-related and interdependent and have coevolved and are co-adapted. Since the present-day society largely depends on chemicals, the rapid pace of all round industrialization and modernization of life, there will certainly be more and more instances of a variety of chemical and biological contaminations leading to explosive state of environmental degradation and consequent health hazards. The major environmental problems include long term occurring acid rain, extensive contamination of surface and ground waters, severe air pollution both from automobile and industrial exhausts, uncontrolled hazardous waste sites, long range transport of pesticides and other deadly poisonous chemicals, estuarine and coastal water pollution, global warming because of increasing density of greenhouse gases, accidental rad...

The much maligned oil slick in the Gulf can be a blessing in disguise too. The marine microorganisms feed on hydrocarbons and other components of the oil and register a high growth rate and therefore are a greater source of nourishment for the fish and other aquatic life forms. This may lead to a much greater seafood production than in usual circumstances. It has been observed that the micro-organisms found universally in water columns and water sediments of the ocean are in abundance in the areas of high hydrocarbon concentration, some of these micro-organisms constitute an important link in the food chain and the productivity cycle. Since micro flora are actively oxidizing hydrocarbons in the ocean, oil may be considered as another source of carbon for use in the life cycle of micro flora. Nutrients cycled by bacteria may also improve growth of photo planktons. The best evidence in this regard is that a creel census in the Corpus Christi Bay, off Louisina coast in the USA showed that...