Green Somethings: The Blog

Magic of Seeds

Concrete jungles, exploitation of underground water and pollution is making our planet a dangerous place. The only solution to change this situation is to plant more and more trees and increase the green cover.

The Youth Wing of CII - Confederation of Indian Industries, Young Indians (YI) have recently taken up project Seed Ball. True to its name, this project literally focuses on making balls of seeds used for increasing the green cover across the country. The YI organization has about 25 chapters with approximately 12000 members all over India.

Method

Take some seeds add soil and water and make balls. Throw them around and let the ‘green’ cover the land. This method of making seed balls is ancient but has been developed in its present form by a Japanese ecologist Fukuoka Masanobu, who is also a founder of ideas of 'natural farming'

These seed balls can be used in a barren lands, driveways, roadsides and country side. You can take the seed balls while you are traveling by road or train and throw in the country side. The clay covers the seed while protecting from harsh sunlight, wind and the animals. It also provides the required nutrients to the seed almost immediately while trapping the moisture. When the conditions are right the seeds can sprout.  It is an effective method to vegetate any area. This method is inexpensive simple and requires less time than other traditional methods of farming. It can be introduced in schools, colleges and social institutions. Individuals and groups working for environment can help propagate this seed ball method.

YI will be working on One Million Tree Plantation (OMTP) over the next year. 

Article inputs by Nupur Roopa

Ramayana Tales

In ancient India, trees were always revered and environment was respected and worshiped. Our wise sages had realised the importance of planting trees and protecting the bio-diversity long back. Ramayana enjoys a hold on Indian masses which no other epic has. Tales from this mythological treatise have been a source of inspiration for ages. Amazingly, this epic has helped in spreading awareness for combating the green house effect in the present times. 

An NGO in Sonbhadra district, about 250 Kms from Lucknow has found a unique way to deal with the global warming. This NGO Raunak Evam Jagruk Samaj Sanstha (REJSS) is fighting climate change by conducting recitation of the Ramayana and of distributes saplings as prasad to the devotees. As prasad is revered the saplings are happily accepted and planted. 

The program was started in June 2009. They have conducted in many places as Varanasi, Chandauli, Mirzapur and Sonbhadra. It has distributed more than 18,000 saplings  

Initially, they had organised environmental awareness programs for school students in Uttar Pradesh. However, it lacked mass appeal. Connecting religion and environment proved to be a powerful way to create impact, which is followed with positive and concrete action. 

Green living is all about an open mindset while finding and incorporating such ideas by implementing these in our daily life. 

Article inputs by Nupur Roopa

A Box Life and the Lives It Touched!

I just love it when these innovative organizations come up with such quirky ideas that almost instantly connect with the customers. Columbia Sportswear has recently launched 'A Box Life', a green initiative that gives its online customers the option to receive their purchases in used boxes. 

Each (re) used box is labeled with a unique QR code that allows buyers to track where the package has traveled. Simply punching in the QR code on their website tells you where the box has traveled.

You can even post pics and share stories of the box you used and check out it's entire journey on aboxlife.com. Imagine connecting with so many emotions and memories through a box, a fine repository for a living friendship. Reminds you of 'The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants', eh?!

Customers can enter a box's unique tracking number or QR code and see where it's been, how far it has traveled and find out about the other people who have passed the box on. In just over one month after A Box Life's launch in 2009, over 66% of all Columbia's orders were being shipped in reused boxes.

Organic Cotton Tees & Bags - Bollywood Ishtyle

There's cool stuff and then there's COOL stuff. Indigreen, a Mumbai based start up by two young entrepreneurs recently launched a special, limited edition of organic cotton tees and bags, with funky Bollywood art on each.

In a country where the only religions that remain dispute free are cricket and Bollywood, Nidhi S. and Gaurav G. have managed to capture the pulse of the nation by not only getting some real cool Bollywood designs on their tees and bags but ensuring these are done with minimal environmental impact. 

Started with the basic idea of making eco friendly fashion easily available to more and more people, Indigreen's tees and bags are a perfect choice for those who care about issues like climate change, global warming and feel the need to make conscious green choices when they are out shopping.

The theme of Indigreen tees is Go Green Bollywood Style! Nidhi and Gaurav believe that if reaching out to people with a cause, capture their imagination with a strong visual message. Most of us don't want to watch a boring documentary on global warming and climate change. And infact not many really care to save the planet - but most people do care to look hot !

Their tees and bags have trendy Bollywood art hand painted by erstwhile artists who painted big Bollywood movie posters before the digital print invasion. 

Pick up any of their tees and it is sure to tickle your funny bone! A perfect blend of humor and entertainment that is certain to catch some real attention. Small hand painted patches that look like Bollywood film posters carry quirky ‘go green’ messages that are incorporated into the original theme of the poster or film.

I am sorry for my non-Indian readers, these are as Indian as it gets...

 As Indians, we all have a weak spot for Bollywood and by mixing global warming, climate change, pollution and environmental degradation with Bollywood to create a quirky yet extremely effective mix for their eco friendly merchandise Indigreen has hit the mark for what I call smart & sustainable entrepreneurship.  

The t-shirts are made of 100% organic cotton and the dyes used are low impact or vegetable dyes. The paints used for the Bollywood art are non toxic, eco friendly and child safe. Even the painted patches stitched on to the t-shirts and bags are done by women who are paid almost four times the usual market rates. 

The eco-friendly bags are made of organic cotton and organic Khadi (one of the most eco pure fabrics on this planet!!).

Purchasing an Indigreen t-shirt or bag will damage your pocket anywhere between Rs. 2400 to Rs. 3000 (US$ 50-70); but keep in mind how much this will drive down your eco-footprint and drive up your 'oomph' factor!!

 Visit Indigreen.co.in for more information.

Environ-Mental

The steering wheel is made from Carrots, powered by Waste Chocolate and Vegetable Oil,with Potatoes used to produce the bodywork,and it goes 125mph round corners!

Following the recent turmoil in Formula 1 arising from the high costs of running competitive motor racing teams, and doubts in sponsors’ minds over the commercial value of their involvement, the viability of motor racing is being critically questioned. With this in mind the Warwick Innovative Manufacturing Research Centre (WIMRC), part the of the University of Warwick, are seeking to prove to the motor industry that it is possible to build a competitive racing car using environmentally sustainable components.

  

 

The new WorldFirst racecar is a clever piece of lateral thinking. It is the first Formula 3 racing car designed and made from sustainable and renewable materials, putting the world first by effectively managing the planet’s resources. The project truly is a World First as the team have examined all the components of the vehicle and attempted to introduce a green and sustainable element into each aspect of the car. Components made from plants form the mainstay of the car’s make up, including a race spec steering wheel derived from carrots and other root vegetables, a flax fibre and soybean oil foam racing seat, a woven flax fibre bib, plant oil based lubricants and a bio diesel engine configured to run on fuel derived from waste chocolate and vegetable oil. It also incorporates a radiator coated in a ground‐breaking emission destroying catalyst.

 

 

 

The WorldFirst project expels the myth that performance needs to be compromised when developing the sustainable motor vehicles of the future!