Fresh Water

We had another week of heavy rains, with associated hardships to all daily commuters, courtesy of our poor roads and drainage system.  Hopefully, public anger against the government and the municipal corporation should result in better situation in the near future, at least for the Ganesh festival.

The rains also lead to a considerable increase in the lake water levels. Some of the lakes like Tulsi and Vihar have almost reached their maximum capacities. (The large Bhatsa reservoir is still only about 40 percent filled to its full capacity).

Very soon, everyone, including the officials and elected representatives will forget about the threat of water shortage and cuts in water supply and continue squandering this previous resource. The vast majority of the people do not seem to understand, or choose to remain indifferent, to the fact that fresh water supplies are sparse and must be used with utmost precautions to prevent wastage.

In India, although we realize the importance of water and the problems arising from water shortage and contamination of fresh water bodies (rivers, lakes and ponds), seldom do we taken concrete actions in preserving and preventing destruction of the same. Just look at the amount of rubbish (plastic, thermocol, old puja offerings wrapped in plastic, etc) dumped into our rivers and lakes. In fact, ancient Indian philosophy and sciences, including Vaastu shastra, mention that wasting water and destroying natural resources, is one sure way of draining out material wealth from one’s homes.

Water is the basic ingredient of our planet, with unique properties without which life as we know it, would cease to exist. It has a high dielectric constant; due to this almost all ionic compounds get dissociated and dissolve in it. Water thus forms the medium for transport of nutrients and waste materials for all living creatures. Water covers more than 70 percent of the Earth’s surface, but about 97 percent of it is in the oceans and seas and is unusable due to its high salinity. It is estimated that of the remaining 3 percent, most of it is in the form of frozen mass in polar ice-caps. Only a small portion of this, may be 0.003 – 0.004 percent is available for use; even this is not equally distributed throughout our planet. Considering the growing population, the per capita availability of water is decreasing alarmingly.

We must take drastic and immediate measures in conserving water. Let us SAVE WATER – the most previous of our natural resources.
 
And now, about the birds.
Red vented Bulbul 
Hindi: Bulbul
The Bulbul is a dusty-brown colored bird, slightly larger than the sparrow. It is commonly found in pairs or groups of 3 – 4, in the upper parts of fruiting trees. It also feeds on insects. You can recognize it from the slightly pointed black head with red and white bottom. It is seen throughout the plains of India and also in tree-covered urban regions. 

Another sub-species is the Red whiskered Bulbul. This can be identified from a small crest on its head.  

More photographs can be viewed here:  http://picasaweb.google.com/home?source=bloggerpromo&pli=1&gsessionid=z36CfDxwSKPodfXK7-LQmw. 

PS: An excellent collection of bird photographs can be viewed on Rahul Dongre's facebook page.    

Environment Conservation

People involved / interested in environment protection / conservation are often asked questions, such as:  “What difference does it make if the mangroves are sacrificed for high-rise buildings; why should we protect the forest when our own survival is at stake; how can saving the tiger better our lives”.
These are very difficult questions to answer. The easiest answer would be that humans are not gods and hence do not have a right to take something away from other species.
 
True reasons for conservation are difficult to explain and to convince people is a monumental task. All of us have to first be convinced that we do not have a right to all the biosphere’s resources and certainly have no right to use them indiscriminately. A sustainable biosphere depends on the continued existence of all species, in their specific niches and their interdependence on each other. All of the species perform their tasks which contribute in the satisfactory functioning of the ecosystem.  Humans are part of the ecosystem and our survival is dependent on the overall satisfactory functioning of the system. We are also the only species who can modify our environment to suit our short term needs, without thinking of the long term consequences of actions. Continued modifications of the environment can lead to ecological disasters with the possibility of wiping out large numbers of the population.
An example of the dependence of humans on nature is the Indian monsoon. For all the progress that we have made, we are still at the complete mercy of nature for our supply of fresh water through rains. We have no means of creating artificial rains; no ways of influencing the distribution pattern of rainfall over the country and definitely no expertise to prevent destruction brought about by floods.
 
Rainfall is necessary for our very survival, for growing of crops and other plant materials, which form the basis of human survival. It is in our own interests that we take small steps to conserve and protect the environment and ensure our continued existence on Planet Earth.
 
As a beginning, let us make a start by cutting down the use of plastics bags. SAY NO TO PLASTIC.
 
As we enjoy the monsoons, so too do the birds. After heavy spells of rains (in the past few weeks),  birds and other creatures always use the opportunity of a dry spell to warm themselves in the mild sunshine.  

Photographed below: Small Green Bee-eater, Magpie-robin, Red-whiskered Bulbul, Drongo, Grey Squirrel.

The Monsoon

The Monsoon
The rains are back in the city and everyone is breathing easy – for the moment – as the preceding week brought in good news for the residents of Mumbai and Thane.  The rising water levels in the lakes that supply water to the residents always is a matter of relief.
However, towards the end of the week, we were witness to the sad incidents of bomb blasts disturbing the peace in the city. Our prayers are with all those affected by the blasts. One can only hope that the perpetuators are caught and punished at the earliest.
Human beings are the only species which have the power to alter the environment in which they live, leading to conflict with other species and destruction (of the other species). On the other hand, nature teaches us that several species – including humans - can co-exist peacefully, in their specific niches. No two animal species can exist in the same niche. When this happens, then one of the species has to move on to a different niche. It is through a network of co-existing species that a community comes into existence. This understanding of the laws of nature can be of immense help in bringing about peace, harmony and ecological sustainability.
All of us exist in the ‘biosphere’, our Earth, and are entangled in the ‘Circle of Life’, so aptly brought about in the song from the popular movie, ‘The Lion King’. We interact with other species (the biotic component) and the non-living or physical environment (the abiotic component). The circle of life forms our ecosystem.
Ecosystems are highly resilient and have a great capacity to recover themselves from misuse or mismanagement. An example would be regeneration of the forest after forest fires have destroyed most of the vegetation, or growth of the jungle over abandoned farmlands, ancient places of worship (Ajanta-Ellora) and temples (Angkor Wat). But, there always exists a threshold beyond which, recovery - in terms of human timescales – becomes impossible. The melting of the ice-caps, for example, would need several hundred years before it can be reversed - provided we stop the global warming process now. The time has come for humans to understand the limitations of the ecosystem to recover from mismanagement, and start working towards conserving the environment.

Now, something about the Grey Tit.
Hindi: Ramgangra
The Grey Tit is of the size of a sparrow and is distributed throughout the Indian plains. It is not so common in the Mumbai region. It is very active and is found in groups of 2 or 3, as it hunts for insects. It has a loud chirpy call.

Golden Oriole

Golden Oriole; Hindi: Peelak
The golden oriole is widely found throughout India. The male of the species is bright yellow in color, with black wings, while the female is dull greenish yellow.
It has a melodious call, but sometimes also makes a sort of screeching noise as it flits through the trees.It is quite common in Mumbai and Thane suburban regions. These photographs were taken on different dates in Thane region.

You can find the photographs here: http://picasaweb.google.com/home?source=bloggerpromo&pli=1&gsessionid=z36CfDxwSKPodfXK7-LQmw

Drongo

Black Drongo or King Crow; Hindi name: Kotwal.
The bird is jet black in color, with a fork in its tail. It is commonly found in open grassy areas, strategically perched on tree tops, on the look out for insects. These photographs were taken in Kalwa, Thane.

Here is link to all the photographs:  http://picasaweb.google.com/home?source=bloggerpromo&pli=1&gsessionid=z36CfDxwSKPodfXK7-LQmw