Category: Environment

The best way to understand Agriculture is to actually get into it. I suggest school children to start doing it at school and repeat it at home. The produce can be sold or distributed at carnivals or amongst family and friends. This has the additional benefit of teaching and experiencing Accounting and Marketing . I am a strong advocate for Carnivals at schools as both educational and providing experience in a cooperative milieu. Getting involved in a Caenival is an educative experience and often teaches children initiative, leadership, accounting and marketing. Amongst many other things. Though these maybe at a basic level, they are enough to set a spark and lead the child to think at a long term and possible future career. It also helps the child bring out hidden talents.  A point about learning about Agriculture is to empathize with farmers and better understand empathy too.

Plastic has the challenge of being difficult to get rid of and being toxic for living beings if imbibed.

While we may be unable to avoid the usage of plastic, we can certainly reduce its usage by adopting alternatives.

Some common ideas are.

Use glass or metal bottles to carry water If plastic bottles cannot be avoided, use reusable bottles that are food safe and avoid bottled water. 

Shaving is a frequent activity by many men. Instead of using disposable razors, it is better to use old fashioned safety blades (which are all metal and no plastic)  or modern disposable blades that use reduced plastic or better still use an electric razor . Many modern electric razors or shavers are not only rechargeable but also can be used wet or dry. There are plenty of affordable shavers that are reliable and last for many years. I personally have used shavers from Philips / Norelco, Panasonic and Braun. 

One thing that has me worried and wishing for something better is plastic tubes for toothpaste. Earlier, there were toothpastes sold in aluminium tubes, these were biodegradable and recyclable but somehow plastic tubes have taken over the market and the old fashioned aluminium tubes have not returned. Just think how much plastic gets dumped every month particularly in a big country like India.Mind boggling !.

Images used as an example

Today’s trend is to simply buy a new item if the older one gets faulty or just outdated. In some cases technological improvement makes it necessary to buy a new product but in most cases it is not so but just a way of keeping up with the Joneses due to peer pressure. As opposed to this, we have the fixit mentality where if something doesn’t work, we fix it and don’t simply replace it. The counter to this is the buy new or replace mentality which is more common amongst youngsters looking to keep up with their peers. 

In the not so distant past, it was the norm to fix something if faulty or even get it refreshed like repainting in the case of a larger asset like a car or house. Sometimes it can include remodelling apart from just repainting. There was no stigma against buying preowned items and people happily did it to save money. Many of the text books I had during school were preowned ones given by seniors. 

I used to own a bicycle which I disassembled and put together regularly . This not only helped save on repairs but also increased the life of the bicycle and increased my confidence and knowledge. It was common to see shops that sold parts and did repairs like fixing punctures. These puncture shops were very common and any cyclist could easily find one to fix a puncture or fill air. Those were the times when bicycles were common transport (until the early 90s) and not just for recreation unlike now. . 

It was common to see repair shops at most localities and they usually specialised in electrical / electronic items, bicycles or bigger items. People even took a flashlight to them to get it fixed and did not throw anything away but gave or sold them. Products were made to last and planned obsolescence was not an oft heard of thing. Even desktop computers were easy to fix or upgrade and all one had to do was to swap out the part to be upgraded or fixed for a new one and this could be done by knowledgeable users or engaging a local shop. Laptops brought in convenience but were harder to fix or upgrade and in most cases had to be replaced by a newer one. I once had to discard a laptop after the graphics card failed and a fix was rather expensive. Only thing that worked for me (for free!) was when I did a dual install of Ubuntu Linux on an ageing Compaq laptop after it slowed down. I had retained the Windows 95 o/s to play Midtown Madness and run some small apps that were still running. After a while I disposed of the laptop and got a new one. 

The fixit mentality also results in sending lesser stuff to the landfill and therefore is more “eco friendly” and better for the environment. 

This is something that was perhaps not talked about much up to the 80s. Though it was part of life and and agriculture used it to collect water for irrigation

Today’s challenges include erratic seasons and pollution of water sources. Population moving to places with inadequate water supply is a newer challenge due to people seeking cheaper housing and increased population and consequent increase in usage and possible health impact of lower consumption of water or quality.

This means that saving water becomes of paramount importance and Rainwater Harvesting becomes a viable and necessary solution.

Rainwater harvesting is the process of collecting and storing rainwater that falls on surfaces such as rooftops or open land, rather than letting it run off, to use it later for purposes like irrigation, domestic needs, or groundwater recharge. During earlier times it was common for houses to be built as individual ones and the ground around them was typically open or paved with runoffs that led to wells or open grounds or even to irrigation channels for vegetation. In my old house. The path led to coconut and mango trees. In more modern construction it is common to use paver blocks laid over a layer of sand of the original soil is clay. 

Rainwater harvesting involves the accumulation and storage of rainwater for reuse, often from roofs or specially designed surfaces, directed into storage tanks, cisterns, or used for recharging underground water sources. It is a practice with ancient roots, used to combat water scarcity and manage resources in residential, agricultural, and community settings

Common Methods

• Rooftop Harvesting: Collecting rainwater from roofs and channeling it into tanks, barrels, or underground storage for later use. This is standard practice mandated in Jamaica due to lack of freshwater resources. 
• Surface Runoff Collection: Diverting rainwater running off ground surfaces into storage pits or reservoirs for irrigation and other uses.
• Recharge to Groundwater: Using structures to allow rainwater to infiltrate the ground and replenish groundwater aquifers. As already explained , this includes usage of paver blocks for percolation to aid seepage and help groundwater replenishment.
• Both storage and groundwater replenishment have become commonplace in commercial multihousehold projects in Chennai and were notified as a salient point for house buyers as witnessed in 2018 when I was looking to buy property. The government made it mandatory for builders of housing complexes to incorporate rainwater harvesting during the later 1990s itself. I was a witness to it when an old family property was converted to a multi household complex during 1997/1998. The rainwater harvesting was effective and benefits were lasting and seen during summer months of the 2000s per the feedback of residents

Key Benefits

• Reduces dependency on municipal water and helps lower utility bills.
• Provides water for gardens, livestock, toilet flushing, cleaning, and fire protection.
• Helps mitigate floods and soil erosion by directing runoff into controlled storage or recharge systems.

Uses of Harvested Rainwater

• Supplement drinking water and other uses around the home 
• Gardening and landscaping
• Cleaning (laundry, car washing, etc.)
• Toilet flushing
• Irrigation
• Groundwater recharge and environmental management.

Rainwater harvesting is a practical, eco-friendly answer to water challenges, suitable for both individual homes and large communities, especially in areas facing water shortages or irregular supply This can supplement normal utility water supply and in a house I have lived in the past was the only supply and fulfilled drinking water supply with usage of a water purifier. 

Ancient systems have been showing effectiveness over the ages and still work across the world even during modern times.