Sunday, April 22, 2018

Earth Day 2018

I love nature and one of my favourite destinations is the jungles. The sylvan surrounding, the unpolluted air, the possibility of sighting different animals and birds... makes me happy.

But I don't know how long we can continue to enjoy these beautiful green surroundings. With deforestation being so rampant in India, and urban cities becoming concrete jungles, one barely gets to see any greenery anymore. Birds that were very commonly found, such as sparrows, are hardly seen. Air pollution is a matter of immense concern, and one of the reasons contributing to all of these is the unceremonious cutting of trees.

This article on Deforestation from Wikipedia has alarming facts about what deforestation is doing to our world.

One simple way of looking at our relationship with trees: humans breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide which is waste for us. Trees absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen which is waste for them. When we cut and burn trees, we are not only reducing oxygen that is required for our survival, we are adding more carbon dioxide by burning trees, and through various other means. Not only do trees help maintain this balance, there are a number of things that trees do so that there is a balance in our ecosystem. The other alarming thing that the incessant cutting of trees have resulted in, are the extinction of many other species. A lot of animals and birds have become, and are on the verge of becoming extinct because of loss of habitat. And unless we do something about it, this will continue until we have no ecosystem!

On the positive side, there are active measures being taken, forests are being protected, trees are being planted (although it will take years for the saplings to replace the trees that were cut, but at least it is a start) and alternative sources of energy are being explored as well.

On Earth day, wouldn't it great if each of us do whatever little we can to protect and preserve our Earth so that it continues to be habitable for our future generation.

Saturday, April 7, 2018

Sparrows of India

Eurasian Tree Sparrow
On the occasion of World Sparrow day, here are the five types of Sparrows found in India.

The Eurasian and Russet Sparrows are from the hilly areas; The Sind sparrow and Spanish sparrow are from the semi desert areas of India; And the House sparrows...  which were once seen  so often, are rarely seen these days:(

Alarming!

Pictures are courtesy Soma Jha.
House Sparrow
Russet Sparrow

Sind Sparrow
Spanish Sparrow