Singapore - The unhealthiest country

  Singapore- a country that looks good economically- has been listed as the unhealthiest nation in a new economic and environmental index that includes 152 countries around the world.

   A growing world population, mixed with the threat of climate change and mounting financial problems, has prompted University of British Columbia researchers to measure the overall 'health' of 152 countries around the world.

 ''Pilling up ecological deficits is just as concerning as pilling up financial deficits- both have consequences for future generations,'' said Rashid Sumaila, director of the UBC Fisheries Centre.Using Data collected between 1997 and 200, researchers from the UBC Fisheries Centre and the Global Footprint Network created what they call Eco2Index.

   Economic figures for the Eco2Index came from the Wold Bank and take into account financial deficits, national debt and gross domestic product. Ecological figures come from the Global Footprint Network and measure resource consumption and waste produced by country in comparison to its carrying capacity as expressed in locally available resources such as agriculture land and energy.

  Spurred by the desire for higher short-term consumption, low and middle-east countries are following the lead of high-income nations, liquidating their ecological and economic capital. Sumaila says,''Our actions today may have even greater consequences later on. It is concerning that both our financial and our ecological security are deteriorating."

  "the Eco2Index should help countries in planning for the future- they can use this information to identify what they need to work on, whether that's financial or ecological productivity," added Sumaila. Sumaila's work was presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Association for the advancement of Science(AAAS).

                                                                                             - Summarized by Risshi Jain and Rohit Gupta

??? Makar Sankranti ???

Festival! Don't we all love them ? Diwali and Holi, both the peoples favourites. Bursting Crackers, throwing colours, playing with water and enjoying the lights and colours. But all of these things can be rewritten as noise pollution, wastage of of water, water pollution, air pollution and chemical danger. For so many years we have had post festival problems, but now we have added a completely innocent and harmless festival like 'Makar Sankranti' to it. Who would have thought that such a festival would leave the free flying birds of the city injured and wounded.

• Non-profit organizations such as PAWS(Plant and Animal Welfare Society) and The Bombay Society for the Prevention of Cruelty  to Animals (BSCPA) caried out rescue missions and treated injured birds at their clinics.
• The BSCPA treated treated close to 70 pigeons injured around their neck, feet and wings.
• The BSCPA treated seven barn owls, seven kites, two koyals and three crows.
• In the suburbs, PAWS reported 12 pigeon, two kite and an owl injuries.

Aren't we disturbing their lifestyles and interfering in their space ?? Is this the way our birds should live ?? the glass coated strings have been the culprit for these helpless birds for so many years 'Makar Sankranti' was a wonderful festival, now can we still say that ??? 

Resolution Unitedly

So, now lets take a new years resolution to make the earth a better and a cleaner planet to live in. And to fulfill this resolution lets choose some from the following steps :

• Prepare compost by using garbage, dung and other wastes.
• Protect the trees planted along roadsides.
• Keep public areas clean and avoid littering.
• Avoid dumping garbage on street. Dispose them in a garbage dump. You can also make a compost pit to convert garbage into manure.
• waste paper,plastic, glass and metal pieces can be recycled. This would reduce the pollution and conserve our resources.
• Avoid using plastic materials such as plates and carry bags which cannot be used again. Moreover when plastic is thrown away, it does not degrade but remains in the soil, polluting the surroundings.
• Request your family members to use automobiles only when necessary; walking or cycling can be a pleasure when the distance is short.
• If someone is causing pollution in your area, inform the authority through your teachers or parents.