From the Green Mans Desk...

Water is easily one of the most used commodities in our everyday

lives. We splash it on our faces the first thing in the morning when
we awake and we then use it continually all through the day. But
what we are probably aware of is the visible water the water we
see and touch when used by us not the millions of litres of
invisible water that we constantly consume.
For example, when we eat a slice of bread, do we think of the large
amount of water gone into growing the wheat needed to produce the
flour from which the bread is made? Or again, every time we use our books, are we aware of
all the water gone into growing the trees from which paper is made, as well as into the actual process of paper making? All the goods and services we daily consume, have in turn, consumed millions of litres of water in the course of their production. However, this water,
since it is not physically visible to us, goes unnoticed it is the invisible water I earlier
mentioned.
Today, we are often defined as a consumer society, precisely because of our huge appetite
to consume not just food, but gadgets, appliances, clothes, vehicles, entertainment, travel,
and a host of other such things. Definitely no earlier generation has had such a voracious
appetite as us! And this insatiable appetite has led to a rapid depletion of the earth s resources, including water. We are selfishly and irresponsibly using up far more than we actually need.
I think it would be interesting to sit back and calculate all the water we daily consume; I am
sure we would be in for a surprise! And yes, as responsible green citizens, we then need to
ask ourselves: How can I reduce this consumption?
- Savio Silveira

EnviroNews
News from here and around the world!
Overfishing Puts Sharks On The Verge of ExtinctionWWFJuly 14,

Shocking

2016, 1:05 pm
Shrunk to 300-metre, Damdama lake inSohna to be restored by July

endIpsita Pati, Hindustan Times, Gurgaon: Updated: Jul 14, 2016

12:17 IST
The

Inside this issue

Video

Tutorial - Calculate
your Water footprint

Picture

Hidden Consequences of Food WasteAnnie Leonard

12/07/2016 1:23 AM ISTUpdated July 14, 2016 02:29

Facts on Water

Gallery

Quiz!

'Global warming may affect Bhutan's biodiversity, impact India' -

IANSKolkata July 21, 2016 Last Updated at 13:40 IST

Copyright
Copyright
2016
2016 GreenLine.
GreenLine. All
All rights
rights reserved.
reserved.

01
01

Now that we have introduced the theme of this

years campaign JAL KA JHOL, let us look at
some of the shocking facts on water.

If the entire worlds water were fit into a

4 litre jug, the fresh water available for
us would equal only about one tablespoon

Each day the sun evaporates

1,000,000,000,000 (a trillion) tons of
water.

Youve lost about 1% of your body s

water by the time you feel thirsty.

It takes 200,000,000 litres per second to

grow food for the planet.

There is about the same amount of water

on Earth now as there was millions of
years ago.

The water from your tap could contain water molecules that dinosaurs
drank.

Copyright
Copyright
2016
2016 GreenLine.
GreenLine. All
All rights
rights reserved.
reserved.

02
02

Task for July

Calculating your Water Footprint - Video Tutorial
Here is the YouTube link tutorial video for calculating your
Personal Water Footprint
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uw7eT1u4yIQ

A look at the First Sessions of the Green Schools Campaign till now!

Copyright 2016 GreenLine. All rights reserved.

03

Wetlands and flood mitigation

in urban areas.
If you wait until it floods, itll be too late - Paul Parker
Monsoon floods are common occurrences in urban areas, contributing to
social and environmental
havoc.
They
submerge
homes of those living on
streets, hinder commuter
movement and endanger
plants and animals, who
are also vulnerable to this
natural calamity.
An efficient drainage system is one of the few infrastructural interventions that can help in reducing the impacts of
floods. However, there are many natural flood barriers in cities like
Mumbai, which are under threat due to a range of anthropogenic activities. Mangroves, wetlands in Sewri and other areas, lakes, saltpans and rivers like Mithi which flow through Mumbai play a major
role in absorbing flood water and reducing the impact of floods.
Mumbai Floods 26 July 2005

However, these flood protectors are often treated as dumping

grounds for waste and are destroyed for construction activities,
thereby, increasing the vulnerability of the city to floods. The devastating floods occurring all over the globe, indicate the need to protect our green saviors. They urge us to implement efficient waste
management strategies and to view development from a holistic perspective. A perspective which considers the impacts of unplanned
development on the natural flood barriers of our city.
Nature has provided us with natural disaster managers, who function efficiently, unless they fall prey to human intervention.
Heres an urgent call to save our wetlands before its too late.
- Vinita Rodrigues
Copyright 2016 GreenLine. All rights reserved.

04

QUIZ TIME
1. Which is the longest river on Earth?
2. Which is the longest river in India?
3. Nimbus, cumulus and stratus are types of what?

4. Which is the wettest place on Earth, with an annual rainfall of

11,872 millimetres (467.4 inch)?

Comic Strip

Copyright 2016 GreenLine. All rights reserved.

05

For ming a Water Committee in your school

Form a Water Committee comprised of students selected by the

teacher in charge.

Name the committee using the word JAL in it!

Make creative badges for your squad.

List the number of taps and toilets in your school.

Don't forget canteen taps, staff room, school grounds/gardens taps,

etc.

Check for leaks in the taps/pipes or toilet flush tanks.

Make a note and Report it to the teacher/principal.

Keep a periodic check on leaks in school campus

paired with help of staff.

and get it re-

Answers for the quiz on Page05

1. Nile

2.Ganga

3.Clouds

4. Mawsynram
Copyright 2016 GreenLine. All rights reserved.

06

We welcome a new member - Janice Vaz

Janice Vaz has a Masters degree in Wildlife Biology from
A.V.C. College, Tamil Nadu and Bachelors degree in Botany
and Zoology from St. Xaviers College, Mumbai. She is passionate about all things related to the environment. Being
an animal enthusiast, her past experiences include working
on the mangroves of Thane Creek, various Indian zoos, the
animal hospital and private vets clinic. She is interested in
the role education can play as a solution to sensitize people towards animals and environmental issues. Janice is
currently the Programme Officer at Greenline.
Read More from Janice at : http://greenline.org.in/2016/07/04/janice-vaz-a-new-member-inthe-greenline-family/

Do visit the blog (http://greenline.org.in/blog/) for more interesting articles!

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07