Tag: #earth

What are Agro-Climatic Regions of India?

 Geographers use the term “area” to refer to any particular portion of Earth’s surface. It may be as small as a park or a neighborhood, or as large as a continent or an ocean. Metropolitan areas, for example, help define the borders of large population centers for a census and other official purposes. The metropolitan area of Delhi, Mumbai are urban geographic areas.  Area is also an exact measure of the size of a surface with specific boundaries.

The geographical area of India is divided into 15 agro-climatic regions. These are further divided into more homogeneous 72 sub-zones. The 15 agro-climatic zones are:

  • Zone 1 – Western Himalayan Region: Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh
  • Zone 2 – Eastern Himalayan Region: Assam, Sikkim, West Bengal and all North-Eastern states
  • Zone 3 – Lower Gangetic Plains Region: West Bengal
  • Zone 4 – Middle Gangetic Plains Region: Uttar Pradesh, Bihar
  • Zone 5 – Upper Gangetic Plains Region: Uttar Pradesh
  • Zone 6 – Trans-Gangetic Plains Region: Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and Rajasthan
  • Zone 7 – Eastern Plateau and Hills Region: Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Orissa and West Bengal
  • Zone 8 – Central Plateau and Hills Region: MP, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh
  • Zone 9 – Western Plateau and Hills Region: Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan
  • Zone 10 – Southern Plateau and Hills Region: Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu
  • Zone 11 – East Coast Plains and Hills Region: Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry
  • Zone 12 – West Coast Plains and Ghat Region: Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Goa, Karnataka, Maharashtra
  • Zone 13 – Gujarat Plains and Hills Region: Gujarat
  • Zone 14 – Western Dry Region: Rajasthan
  • Zone 15 – The Islands Region: Andaman and Nicobar, Lakshadweep
Geographic Areas Examples
Tropical Rainforest Assam and parts of the Sahyadri Mountain Range
Tropical Savannah Sahyadri Mountain Range and parts of Maharashtra
Tropical and subtropical steppe Parts of Punjab and Gujarat
Tropical Desert Most parts of Rajasthan
Moist subtropical with winter Parts of Punjab, Assam, and Rajasthan
Mountain climate Parts of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttaranchal
Drought Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Haryana
Tropical semi-arid steppe Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, and other parts of South India

Structure of the Earth

 The earth’s interior is divided into three layers: crust, mantle, and core. The crust is the earth’s outermost layer, and the core is the earth’s innermost layer, located at a depth of 2900 kilometers. This article provides a brief overview of the earth’s three interior layers.

Core

The core is the source of the Earth’s internal heat. This is due to the presence of radioactive materials, which emit heat as they degrade into more stable materials. The core is located at the center of the Earth. It has two layers –
  • Inner core
  • Outer core

Inner Core – The inner core can reach temperatures of up to 4000°C, while the outer core can reach temperatures of up to 3600°C. The Lehmann Discontinuity is a liquid-solid boundary that exists between these two layers. This is the most intense part of the core. It’s as hot as the Sun’s surface!

The inner core is approximately 1216 km thick. It’s made of solid iron and nickel. These heavy metals would have sunk to the centre of the young Earth. The liquid outer core rotates around the solid inner core.

Outer Core – The outer core is approximately 2270 km thick. It’s made of liquid iron and nickel. Because it is under less pressure than the inner core, it is liquid. This layer is also electrically conductive. This produces the electrical currents that make up the Earth’s magnetic field.

Mantle

The mantle is located above the core. The mantle is composed of two layers of hot, dense, semi-solid rock. The mantle, like the core, has two layers – 

  • Lower Mantles
  • Upper Mantles

These are approximately 2885 km thick. This layer is so massive that it accounts for approximately 84% of the total volume of the Earth! The mantle’s temperature is lower than the core’s. It only gets to about 3000°C. The material becomes less dense as you move from the lower to upper mantle.

A transition zone exists between the lower and upper mantles. It is located 400-660 kilometers beneath the Earth’s surface.

The upper mantle is located above the transition zone. This zone extends from 400 km below the Earth’s surface to the crust layer. The asthenosphere is the uppermost part of the upper mantle. The asthenosphere is composed of fluid, soft rock.

Crust 

The crust is our planet’s solid, rigid outer layer. The crust is not a continuous layer of rocks, but consists of large masses called plates, which are free to drift slowly on top of the asthenosphere. It ranges in thickness from 5 to 80 km. The lithosphere is made up of the upper asthenosphere and the crust. 
The ocean floor contains the thinnest parts of the crust. It contributes to the formation of the oceanic crust. This section of the crust may be as thin as 5 km.
The continents contain the thickest parts of the Earth’s crust. It contributes to the formation of the continental crust. This layer of the crust can be up to 80 kilometers thick.
The crust closest to the mantle has a temperature of about 500°C. The temperature of the crust near the Earth’s surface is roughly the same as the temperature of the air.

“Earth’s core may spin in opposite direction” says expert

The study published in Nature Geoscience states that the globally consistent pattern suggests that inner-core rotation has recently paused. The rotation came to a grinding halt in 2009 and then it surprisingly turned in an opposite direction. Researchers have long believed that the inner core rotates, relative to the Earth’s surface, back and forth, like a swing.

“This globally consistent pattern suggests that inner-core rotation has recently paused,” they wrote. “We show surprising observations that indicate the inner core has nearly ceased its rotation in the recent decade and may be experiencing a turning-back.”

With a radius of almost 2,200 miles, Earth’s core is about the size of Mars. It consists mostly of iron and nickel, and contains about one-third of Earth’s mass.

The Geological time scale

Geologists subdivide timescale by events that happened in geological history . These time intervals are unequal in length, geological timescale describes the timings and relationship of those events that changed Earth’s geology. This time scale is developed by carefully studying and analysing the rock layers ,evolution of species, rock dating, fossil samples and atmosphere.

Eons

Eons are the largest divisions in geological Time and span to millions of years . There are four eons catalogued till present day, these are — Hadean, Archean, Protozoic and Phenerozoic eon . The first three eons are collectively referred to as the Precambrian super eon.

Hadean Eon

The Hadean eon began when the earth formed about 4.6 billion years ago and ended 4 billion years ago . The planet’s condition was very dynamic , earth was still very hot and frequently collided with other planetary bodies.

Archean Eon

It began about 4 billion years ago till 2.5 billion years . The earth’s crust slowly started cooling and stabilising to form landmass .The earliest lifeform probably anaerobic microbes called stromatolites survived. example – Cyanobacteria, Proteo bacteria , microbial mats. Volcanic activity was very high and Archean rocks were often metamorphosised water segments like volcanic segments and mud rocks.

It is further divided into eras:

Eoarchean

( 4000 mya-3600 mya)

(mya- million years ago)

  • The first Supercontinent Vaalbara appeared.
  • Earth possessed a firm crust for the first time.
  • Prokaryotic microbes called Archaea appeared.

Paleoarchean

( 3600-3200mya)
  • Earliest confirmed evidence of life.
  • Stromatolites may have been created.
  • Microbial mats work present.

Mesoarchean

( 3200-2800mya)
  • Tectonic plates subduction.
  • Expansion of microbial life.
  • Ocean temperatures around 55-85°C
  • High levels of methane and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Neoarchean

(2800-2500 mya)
  • Major development in complex life and continued formation.
  • Rise of oxygen in the atmosphere.

Proterozoic Eon

It spanned the interval from 2500-541 mya . For the first time oxygen appeared in the earth’s atmosphere . Mountain formation activity began because of the continuation of continental accretion .Glaciers began to form . Processes like subduction were active due to high tectonic plate movement. It is further divided into 3 eras-

Paleoproterozoic era

(2500-1600 mya)
  • Longest era
  • Continents stabilised
  • One day duration was 20 hours.
  • Enormous increase in oxygen.
  • Anaerobic life form largely died because oxygen was highly toxic for them.
  • First mass extinction happened.
  • Eukaryotes emerged.
  • Periods in which this era is divided- Siderian, Phyacean and Orosirian.

Mesoproterozoic era

( 1600-1000 mya)
  • Evolution of sexual reproduction.
  • Development of multi cellular organisms.
  • Break up of Columbia supercontinent.
  • Periods – Ectasian and Stenian .

Neoproterozoic era

( 1000-541 mya)
  • Most glaciation.
  • Ice sheets reached equator.
  • Snowball Earth formed.
  • First appearance of Trilobites ans Sponges.
  • Periods- Tonian, Cryogenian and Ediacaran.

Phanerozoic Eon

It covers timeline from 541 million years ago to the present. At the start of this eon , complex plants and multi cellular organisms with hardshells appeared . There was a single landmass known as Pangaea. It is divided into 4 eras:

Paleozoic era

(541-252 mya)
  • Most rapid diversification of life called Cambrian explosion.
  • Evolution of arthropods ,fish and amphibians.
  • Life transition to the land.
  • Forests of primitive plants appeared.
  • Largest extinction event called Permian- Triassic extinction event happened.
  • Appearance of invertebrate animals phyla.
  • Reptiles prospered.
  • Periods- Cambrian, Ordovian, Silurian, Devonian, Carboniferrous and Permian.

Mesozoic era

(252-66 mya)
  • Dominance of reptiles like dinosaurs.
  • Abundance of Conifers and Ferns.
  • Breakup of Pangaea.
  • Dinosaurs appeared in mid Triassic period and remained till early Jurassic period (about 150-135 mya).
  • Archaic birds appeared in Jurassic period.
  • Flowering plants appeared in early Cretaceous period.
  • Periods- Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous.

Cenozoic era

( 66 mya – present)
  • Dominance of mammals , birds and flowering plants.
  • Cool and dry climate.
  • Complex life evolved.
  • This error started with mass extinction event called Cretaceous spell Eugene extension event in which many species including non-even dinosaurs became extinct possibly due to a large asteroid impact
  • The Quarternary period saw Mammoths and wooly animals. It was marked by ice ages due to the cooling trend of earth.
  • Around 50 million years ago , Earth entered a cooling period mainly due to the collision of Indian tectonic plate with Eurasia. This caused the rise in the Himalayas.
  • Periods- Paleogene, Neogene and Quaternary.
The  Earth went through many violent and beautiful events before Homosapians arrived . We must make sure to protect and cherish our dear planet .

Global Warming

Global warming’ is the term used to describe the rise in global surface temperatures. The term is often used interchangeably with ‘climate change’. The phenomenon revolves around the rise in surface temperatures – over land and oceans – that have led to an accelerated increase in temperatures. This has in turn led to the progressive shrinkage of the glaciers and polar ice caps, leading to rise in sea level. Another observed effect has been the disruption of cyclical weather patterns and the rising number of freak natural disasters.

The rise in temperatures has been attributed to the build-up of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane, at especially accelerated levels as a result of the industrialisation of the past 100 years. A concerted global effort to counter and mitigate the effects of this phenomenon has been elusive, with developed nations and developing countries facing off over the respective levels of emission cuts they would have to effect domestically.

However, there is also a considerable minority, especially in the US, that holds the assumption that global warming as a hoax perpetrated by certain countries for their own benefit.

Climate change: Everyone Focused on saving lives till now, time to save livelihood as well:

According to a Climate Central map, hundreds of cities on India’s eastern coast will be under water by 2050. CEEW says more than 80% of India’s population is vulnerable to “extreme climate risks”

According to a map created by Climate Central, hundreds of cities on the eastern coast of India will be under water by the year 2050. Over 27 states and union territories in India and more than 80% of the country’s population are vulnerable to “extreme climate risks”, says a report by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water.

These statistics show that the lives of many communities are put in danger due to climate change, and that a significant number of them lose their livelihood to it as well. Ritayan Mukherjee, a photojournalist, shares that while covering the pastoral nomads in the Himalayas, he came across the Changpa community who take their yak and sheep to grazing grounds that are 10,000-11,000 feet above the sea level. “The livelihood of these people is directly dependent on nature, because they move with their herd from one place to another,” says he.



Mukherjee shares that because of global warming, rising temperatures and the winter months getting shorter, the pastoralists have to take their herds to even higher grazing grounds. A report that Mukherjee worked on for the People’s Archive of Rural India said that the yak population in Leh fell about 57% between 1991-2010, according to the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying. A lot of these pastoralists don’t just depend on yak for their economic incomes, but they also use the yak-wool to build traditional tents, called Rebos. However, Mukherjee shares that these residential tents have disappeared over the past few years for reasons that can be attributed to climate change.

According to a Climate Central map, hundreds of cities on India’s eastern coast will be under water by 2050. CEEW says more than 80% of India’s population is vulnerable to “extreme climate risks”.

How many headlines and news articles did you come across in the last month that told you the condition of the climate is deteriorating? That a big chunk of our lives will be lost battling global warming in the next few decades? It’s no secret that climate change is impacting lives every single day, but let’s take a look at how it has been affecting us and what we can do to change its course.

New NASA Earth System Observatory to Help Address, Mitigate Climate Change

May 24, 2021

NASA will design a new set of Earth-focused missions to provide key information to guide efforts related to climate change, disaster mitigation, fighting forest fires, and improving real-time agricultural processes. With the Earth System Observatory, each satellite will be uniquely designed to complement the others, working in tandem to create a 3D, holistic view of Earth, from bedrock to atmosphere.



“I’ve seen firsthand the impact of hurricanes made more intense and destructive by climate change, like Maria and Irma. The Biden-Harris Administration’s response to climate change matches the magnitude of the threat: a whole of government, all hands-on-deck approach to meet this moment,” said NASA Administrator Sen. Bill Nelson. “Over the past three decades, much of what we’ve learned about the Earth’s changing climate is built on NASA satellite observations and research. NASA’s new Earth System Observatory will expand that work, providing the world with an unprecedented understanding of our Earth’s climate system, arming us with next-generation data critical to mitigating climate change, and protecting our communities in the face of natural disasters

What are Carbon Markets ?



Carbon Markets: Carbon markets facilitate the trading of emission reductions. Such a market allows countries, or industries, to earn carbon credits for the emission reductions they make in excess of their targets. These carbon credits can be traded to the highest bidder in exchange of money. The buyers of carbon credits can show the emission reductions as their own and use them to meet their reduction targets. Carbon markets are considered a very important and effective instrument to reduce overall emissions.



A carbon market existed under Kyoto Protocol but is no longer there because the Protocol itself expired last year. A new market under Paris Agreement is yet to become functional. Developing countries like India, China or Brazil have large amounts of carbon credits left over because of the lack of demand as many countries abandoned their emission reduction targets. The developing countries wanted their unused carbon credits to be transitioned to the new market, something that the developed nations had been opposing on the grounds that the quality of these credits — the question whether these credits represent actual emission reductions — was a suspect. A deadlock over this had been holding up the finalisation of the rules and procedures of the Paris Agreement.


The Glasgow Pact has offered some reprieve to the developing nations. It has allowed these carbon credits to be used in meeting countries’ first NDC targets. These cannot be used for meeting targets in subsequent NDCs. That means, if a developed country wants to buy these credits to meet its own emission reduction targets, it can do so till 2025. Most countries have presented climate targets for 2025 in their first NDCs.

The resolution of the deadlock over carbon markets represents one of the major successes of COP26.

Achievements of the Glasgow Summit 2021




What was achieved?

Mitigation: The Glasgow agreement has emphasised that stronger action in the current decade was most critical to achieving the 1.5-degree target. Accordingly, it has:

1. Asked countries to strengthen their 2030 climate action plans, or NDCs (nationally-determined contributions), by next year.

2. Established a work programme to urgently scale-up mitigation ambition and implementation.

3. Decided to convene an annual meeting of ministers to raise ambition of 2030 climate actions.

4. Called for an annual synthesis report on what countries were doing.

5. Requested the UN Secretary General to convene a meeting of world leaders in 2023 to scale-up ambition of climate action.

6. Asked countries to make efforts to reduce usage of coal as a source of fuel, and abolish “inefficient” subsidies on fossil fuels
Has called for a phase-down of coal, and phase-out of fossil fuels. This is the first time that coal has been explicitly mentioned in any COP decision. It also led to big fracas at the end, with a group of countries led by India and China forcing an amendment to the word “phase-out” in relation to coal changed to “phase-down”. The initial language on this provision was much more direct. It called on all parties to accelerate phase-out of coal and fossil fuel subsidies. It was watered down in subsequent drafts to read phase-out of “unabated” coal power and “inefficient” fossil fuel subsidies. But even this was not liking to the developing countries who then got it changed to “phase down unabated coal power and phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies while providing targeted support to the poorest and the most vulnerable in line with national circumstances…”. Despite the dilution, the inclusion of language on reduction of coal power is being seen as a significant movement forward.



Adaptation: Most of the countries, especially the smaller and poorer ones, and the small island states, consider adaptation to be the most important component of climate action. These countries, due to their lower capacities, are already facing the worst impacts of climate change, and require immediate money, technology and capacity building for their adaptation activities.

As such, the Glasgow Climate Pact has:

Asked the developed countries to at least double the money being provided for adaptation by 2025 from the 2019 levels. In 2019, about $15 billion was made available for adaptation that was less than 20 per cent of the total climate finance flows. Developing countries have been demanding that at least half of all climate finance should be directed towards adaptation efforts.


Created a two-year work programme to define a global goal on adaptation. The Paris Agreement has a global goal on mitigation — reduce greenhouse gas emissions deep enough to keep the temperature rise within 2 degree Celsius of pre-industrial times. A similar global goal on adaptation has been missing, primarily because of the difficulty in defining such a target. Unlike mitigation efforts that bring global benefits, the benefits from adaptation are local or regional. There are no uniform global criteria against which adaptation targets can be set and measured. However, this has been a long-pending demand of developing countries and the Paris Agreement also asks for defining such a goal.



Finance: Every climate action has financial implications. It is now estimated that trillions of dollars are required every year to fund all the actions necessary to achieve the climate targets. But, money has been in short supply. Developed countries are under an obligation, due to their historical responsibility in emitting greenhouse gases, to provide finance and technology to the developing nations to help them deal with climate change. In 2009, developed countries had promised to mobilise at least $100 billion every year from 2020. This promise was reaffirmed during the Paris Agreement, which also asked the developed countries to scale up this amount from 2025. The 2020 deadline has long passed but the $100 billion promise has not been fulfilled. The developed nations have now said that they will arrange this amount by 2023.

What does the Glasgow Agreement say?

Following are the major observations of the Glasgow Summit :

1. A deal aimed at staving off dangerous climate change has been struck at the COP26 summit in Glasgow.

2. Expressed “deep regrets” over the failure of the developed countries to deliver on their $100 billion promise. It has asked them to arrange this money urgently and in every year till 2025.

3. Initiated discussions on setting the new target for climate finance, beyond $100 billion for the post-2025 period.

4. Asked the developed countries to provide transparent information about the money they plan to provide.

5. Loss and Damage: The frequency of climate disasters has been rising rapidly, and many of these cause largescale devastation. The worst affected are the poor and small countries, and the island states. There is no institutional mechanism to compensate these nations for the losses, or provide them help in the form of relief and rehabilitation. The loss and damage provision in the Paris Agreement seeks to address that.


Introduced eight years ago in Warsaw, the provision hasn’t received much attention at the COPs, mainly because it was seen as an effort requiring huge sums of money. However, the affected countries have been demanding some meaningful action on this front. Thanks to a push from many nations, substantive discussions on loss and damage could take place in Glasgow. One of the earlier drafts included a provision for setting up of a facility to coordinate loss and damage activities. However, the final agreement, which has acknowledged the problem and dealt with the subject at substantial length, has only established a “dialogue” to discuss arrangements for funding of such activities. This is being seen as a major let-down.

What are Carbon Markets ?

Glasgow Summit 2021



Carbon Markets: Carbon markets facilitate the trading of emission reductions. Such a market allows countries, or industries, to earn carbon credits for the emission reductions they make in excess of their targets. These carbon credits can be traded to the highest bidder in exchange of money. The buyers of carbon credits can show the emission reductions as their own and use them to meet their reduction targets. Carbon markets are considered a very important and effective instrument to reduce overall emissions.



A carbon market existed under Kyoto Protocol but is no longer there because the Protocol itself expired last year. A new market under Paris Agreement is yet to become functional. Developing countries like India, China or Brazil have large amounts of carbon credits left over because of the lack of demand as many countries abandoned their emission reduction targets. The developing countries wanted their unused carbon credits to be transitioned to the new market, something that the developed nations had been opposing on the grounds that the quality of these credits — the question whether these credits represent actual emission reductions — was a suspect. A deadlock over this had been holding up the finalisation of the rules and procedures of the Paris Agreement.


The Glasgow Pact has offered some reprieve to the developing nations. It has allowed these carbon credits to be used in meeting countries’ first NDC targets. These cannot be used for meeting targets in subsequent NDCs. That means, if a developed country wants to buy these credits to meet its own emission reduction targets, it can do so till 2025. Most countries have presented climate targets for 2025 in their first NDCs.

The resolution of the deadlock over carbon markets represents one of the major successes of COP26.

Five terms that came up at the climate change conference in Glasgow 2021


The main task for COP26 was to finalise the rules and procedures for implementation of the Paris Agreement. Most of these rules had been finalised by 2018, but a few provisions, like the one relating to creation of new carbon markets, had remained unresolved.

After two weeks of negotiations with governments debating over provisions on phasing out coal, cutting greenhouse gas emissions and providing money to the poor world, the annual climate change summit came to an end on Saturday night with the adoption of a weaker-than-expected agreement called the Glasgow Climate Pact.



The Glasgow meeting was the 26th session of the Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, or COP26. The main task for COP26 was to finalise the rules and procedures for implementation of the Paris Agreement. Most of these rules had been finalised by 2018, but a few provisions, like the one relating to creation of new carbon markets, had remained unresolved. However, due to clear evidence of worsening of the climate crisis in the six years since the Paris Agreement was finalised, host country United Kingdom was keen to ensure that Glasgow, instead of becoming merely a “procedural” COP, was a turning point in enhancing climate actions. The effort was to push for an agreement that could put the world on a 1.5 degree Celsius pathway, instead of the 2 degree Celsius trajectory which is the main objective of the Paris Agreement.

POLLUTION

Pollution is defined as introduction of harmful particles in the environment.It can be man made or natural.The reason for pollution is many like toxic gas from industry, plastics in water,sound from vehicles etc.

TYPES OF POLLUTION:-

* Land pollution

* Noise pollution

* Water pollution

* Air pollution

* Light pollution.

LAND POLLUTION:-

Land pollution means that contamination of soil or land. Land pollution leads to contamination of ground water.Land pollution is caused due to urbanization, deforestation, mining and throwing plastics in the land.

NOISE POLLUTION:-


Noise is,defined as unwanted sound. Sound which pleases the listeners is music and that which causes pain and annoyance is noise.Noise pollution is majorly from vehicles,industrial works.Noise pollution leads to hearing problems, sleepless,cardio vascular issues and psychological problems.

WATER POLLUTION:-

Water pollution is defined as introduction of unwanted materials in the water.It is one of the serious type of pollution Harmful to human, plants and animals.water pollution is caused by industrial waste,oil spills,marine dumping plastics,sewage,mining activities.It leads to serious problems like cancer,diarrheal disease, respiratory disease, neurological disorder and cardiovascular disease.

AIR POLLUTION:-

Air pollution is a mixture of solid particles and gases in the air. Car emissions, chemicals from factories, dust, and mold spores may be suspended as particles. Ozone, a gas, is a major part of air pollution in cities.Some air pollutants are poisonous.It is harmful to all living organisms in the world.Air pollution leads to breathing problems, asthma, heart attack and stroke.

LIGHT POLLUTION:-

Light pollution is unwanted over usage of artificial light.It wash out star light in the night, disturb ecosystem,interferes with space research.Light pollution alters their night time environment by turning night into day.spark from artificial lights can also impact wetland habitats that are home to amphibians such as frogs and toads.

CONTROLLING MEASURES FOR POLLUTION:-

* By controlling wastes.

* With the practice of recycle.

* Going with natural ways.

* Using eco friendly products instead of plastics.

* planting trees.

” Save nature

Save world”.

Global Citizen Live 2021

Global Citizen Live is a charity concert organized by the Global Citizen Organization founded in 2008. It hosts an annual music festival, one of the main objectives of the event is to raise awareness of global poverty and climate change.

Broadcasting from sites on six continents, including New York’s Central Park and in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Global Citizen also secured pledges from France for 60 million COVID-19 vaccine doses for developing countries and corporate pledges for planting 157 million trees around the world.

This year’s festival held across six continents, was the largest, part of global citizen’s 2021 Recovery Plan For The World Program. Added to the festival mission was an aim to help bring an end to the COVID-19 pandemic. The main focus was on equity.


Artists and politicians alike from around the world had converged for the cause of the festival. International artists like Shawn and Camilla Mendes, Ed Sheeran, Doja Cat, Billie Eilish, BTS, Metallika, Coldplay, Lizzo, One Republic, Jennifer Lopez, Paul Simon, Demi Lovato, H.E.R., among many others.

Personalities from India included Priyanka Chopra as the host. Others like Amitabh Bacchan, Anil Kapoor, Amit Trivedi, Farhan Akhtar, Badshah, Tanishk Bagchi, Ayushmann Khuranna, Dia Mirza, Hritik Roshan, Sonakshi Sinha also played their considerable part in the event.

Vaccine pledges, which also came from the governments of Croatia and Ireland, followed numerous pleas, including from Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, onstage at Central Park on Saturday afternoon.

“This year, the world is expected to produce enough doses to meet the target of vaccinating 70per cent of people in every single country,” Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, said to cheers from the Central Park crowd. “But it is wrong that so much of the vaccine supply has only gone to just 10 wealthy nations so far, and not everyone else.”

Written by : Ananya Kaushal

PERMACULTURE-ETHICS,PRINCIPLES,METHODS

BY DAKSHITA NAITHANI

INTRODUCTION TO PERMACULTURE:

Permaculture is a method of design in agriculture that emphasises whole-systems thinking and the use of or stimulation of natural patterns.

Bill Mollison, a senior lecturer in Environmental Psychology at the University of Tasmania, and David Holmgren, a graduate student in the Department of Environmental Design at the Tasmanian College of Advanced Education, coined the term.

These principles are being applied in a growing variety of industries.

HISTORY:

Permaculture as we know it now was created in the 1970s t happened approximately a decade after the world became aware of the risks of pesticides like DDT and the damage they represented to humanity and the environment.

Because it was created for the development of long – term (in other words, permanent) systems, the phrase was coined from a combination of the words “permanent” and “agricultural.”

It was one of the first agricultural systems to recognise that local actions might have drastic implications.

 Holmgren is credited for popularising permaculture but it’s worth mentioning that various books on topics like agroforestry and forest farming have been around since the 1930s or earlier.

3 ETHICS:

Permaculture has 3 core tenants:

•             Care for the earth. To put it another way, assist all living systems in continuing to exist and multiply. But a healthy world is required for existence, it is important to understand the principles of nature and how it functions.

•             Care for the people. Allow people to have access to the resources they require to live. Members of the community who are in need of assistance are supported by the community (e.g. after someone dies, help build homes).

•             Fair share. We should take only what we require and reinvest any excess. Any surplus can be used to assist satisfy the other two basic tenets. This involves reintroducing waste products into the system so that they can be reused.

PRINCIPLES:

All sustainable community design initiatives should use Permaculture concepts.

They are the most important rules for putting it into practise. They may aid in improving and protecting the land, ecosystem, and people, as well as maximising efficiency and productivity.

These principles promote innovation while maximising outcomes. Every location, every circumstance, and every family is unique. As a result, each project’s plans, procedures, plants, animals, and building materials may differ. Even yet, the same principles apply to any location and endeavour, big or little.

1. Observe and Interact

2. Catch and Store Energy

3. Obtain a Yield

4. Apply Self-regulation and Accept Feedback

5. Use and Value Renewable Resources and Services

6. Produce No Waste

7. Design From Patterns to Details

8. Integrate Rather Than Segregate

9. Use Small and Slow Solutions

10. Use and Value Diversity

11. Use Edges and Value The Marginal

12. Creatively Use and Respond to Change

BENEFITS OF PERMACULTURE:

Reduced water usage

Wastewater and rainfall are used in permaculture. This is useful for homes, but for farms with larger areas, it becomes a more cost effective and efficient means of watering the produce.

Reduced waste

Nothing is thrown away. Garden waste, leaves, table scraps, and other waste products are composted or fed to animals as food. Some people go beyond and utilise compost toilets to fully live a zero-waste lifestyle. Permaculture is only sustainable if it makes use of leftovers.

Economically feasible

It is cost effective since pesticides are not required, and most systems require minimal upkeep. All you have to do is water the plants and mulch them once in a while.

Less pollution

Permaculture is a more natural manner of growing food, tractors and other powered agricultural equipment are rarely used.

Improved values

You’ll automatically acquire more ethical and good principles like consuming little, just using what you need, minimising pollution, and helping others if you practise.

More self-sufficiency

A farmer or gardener who practises permaculture may grow a broader range of crops on their property. It allows you to be self-sufficient by allowing you to grow whatever you desire or need to eat.

Applicable to existing systems

 Agricultural systems and lands that already exist can be converted to principles. Permaculture may be practised on a big or small scale wherever that you can normally grow food.

COMMON METHODS OF PERMACULTURE:

1) Agroforestry

Agroforestry is a technique that incorporates trees, shrubs, animals, and crops. The term is derived from a blend of agriculture and forestry. These two apparently disparate professions collaborate to produce systems that are more resilient, healthy, lucrative, and productive. Forestry farming, which is a permaculture technique also falls under the category of agroforestry. However, the main concept is to construct your food forest using a seven-layered method. A canopy layer, a low tree layer, a shrub layer, a herbaceous layer, a rhizosphere, a ground cover layer, and a vertical layer are all included. Silvopastoral and silvoarable are two other agroforestry systems.

2) Hügelkultur

Hügelkultur is a German word that means “hill culture.” It’s a method of burying huge volumes of wood in order to increase the soil’s ability to retain water. This rotting wood behaves like an absorbent, soaking up water from the ground.  Plant materials which behave as a compost are usually placed on top of the mound and decomposed into the soil. A Hügelkultur mound generally lasts 5 to 6 years until the wood rots completely and the procedure must be repeated.

3) Harvesting Rainwater and Grey water

Instead of letting rainwater wash from the property, you may collect it and store it for later use. Roofs gather the majority of rainwater. Eaves troughs, which collect and transport water away from buildings, are likely already installed on your farm’s homes, barns, and other structures. To collect rainwater, just connect a big tank to your downspout and catch the water rather than having it seep into the ground and go to waste. Storm water harvesting is another way to collect water. It is distinct from rainwater harvesting in that it collects runoff from creeks, drains, and other waterways rather than from rooftops. Grey water is a last source of reusable water on the farm. This is water that is used in the house or on the farm for things like bathing and doing laundry.  Because grey water includes detergents, it cannot be used for drinking, but it may be utilised for irrigation purposes and other reasons.

4) Cell Grazing

Grazing is commonly seen as a negative activity that, if not carried out appropriately, has the potential to harm the ecosystem in various ways. Allowing animals to overgraze a region can have severe repercussions, and this is true. Cell grazing is the favoured approach in permaculture. This entails moving herds of animals between fields, pastures, or woodlands on a regular basis. The disruptions created by grazing animals, when done correctly, can actually improve the ecosystem and allow plants to recover more quickly. It also keeps an eye on how animals interact with the land. Plants require appropriate time to rest between each grazing and therefore it’s critical that a region receives a rest time after being grazed.

5) Sheet Mulching

Mulching is simply any protective layer placed on top of the soil to retain water and prevent weed development and is used by many farmers and gardeners. A variety of materials such as wood chips, cardboard, plastic, stones, and are frequently employed. Sheet mulching is an organic no-dig technique that aims to imitate natural soil building in forests, namely how leaves cover the ground. Sheet mulching is most often done with alternating layers of “green” and “brown” materials. Fallen leaves, shredded paper and cardboard, pine needles, wood chips, and straw are examples of brown materials. Manure, grass clippings, worm casings, vegetable scraps, hay, coffee grounds, and compost are examples of green materials. It’s possible to utilise 5 to 10 layers of materials. Sheet mulching adds nutrients and minerals to the soil, inhibits weed development, regulates weather and protects against frost, reduces erosion and evaporation, and absorbs rainwater.

6) Natural Building

Natural building is a more environmentally friendly alternative to purchasing materials from your local hardware shop or lumber yard. You should try to employ as much recycled materials as possible in a system. There are a lot of renewable resources on the land that you may employ in your next construction project. Most people ignore clay, pebbles, wood, reeds, straw, and sand, which are all easily available materials. Tires, which are less natural, can also be utilised for building. This is a fantastic method to recycle old tyres that would otherwise be thrown away or burned. Similarly, instead of purchasing new windows, discarded glass windows are frequently repurposed.

7) No-Till or Minimum-Till Farming

The goal of no-till farming is to leave the soil untouched. The soil is left undisturbed rather than being broken up before planting. This helps to keep water in the soil, keeps carbon from leaving the soil, increases soil quality, and lowers the quantity of weed seeds that are brought closer to the surface to germinate. The soil is disturbed by conventional agriculture methods. This allows carbon dioxide to enter the atmosphere while also over oxygenating the soil. Loosening the soil in this way can cause erosion and nutrient runoff, as well as obliterate important fungal networks. Tilling can be reduced or even removed altogether for some systems with the right approaches.

8) Intercropping and Companion Planting

Intercropping is the planting of more than one two plant species in the same region that mutually benefit one another. Companion planting, for example, involves growing strong-scented plants and herbs such as basil, oregano alongside primary. Many of these companion plants with powerful smells are repulsive to pests. Not only that, but some of them really help the plants they’re partnered with to grow and taste better. Others help to loosen the soil or provide additional advantages. While many plants get along well when grown together, there are some who don’t because they demand the same nutrients or for other reasons.

9) Market Gardening

Market gardening is an intriguing shift away from conventional style of agriculture, which is carried out on huge swaths of land far out in the nation, to smaller plots of land, even in metropolitan areas sometimes. Market gardeners, as the name implies, sell their vegetables at farmer’s markets, however some may also supply restaurants and grocery shops directly.

Cash crops are aggressively produced on a small scale in market gardening (usually less than an acre of land.) While cultivating on as little as a quarter acre of land, a market gardener may earn up to $100,000 each year.