Think before you vote @ Elections

Since elections are just around the corner, thought this would be the perfect time to post this article.

The Sunderbans tiger is falling prey to poaching. Thousands of families in the tidal region are losing their homes and livelihoods due to rising sea level and tidal currents. Unscientific construction and illegal felling is denuding the Himalayan foothills of its forest cover and triggering landslides. The Bhagirathi is gobbling up land as it changes course in Malda. But does anybody care? No, since these are not poll issues in Bengal.


Politicians are insensitive to environmental issues, their counterparts in districts are no better. Any talk of environment that has come up in the last few months is merely an offshoot of some other issue from which direct political gains can be expected. Environmental issues have finally entered the arena of electoral politics, though not directly as it happens in the US or Europe. Here, environmental concerns have emerged out of resistance against land acquisition for industrial development. In Nandigram, for instance, environmental concerns came as an off-shoot of the save farmland' movement. Though environment has emerged as a leading issue in elections worldwide including Barack Obama's US Presidential campaign, politicians here continue to shy away from it. The leaders here fail to address environmental issues that will hurt the poor. Politicians need to talk about sustainable development. Environment must figure in the development agenda. The demand should be for environment management systems to combat pollution during construction and actual operations, Ashden Award (Green Oscar) winner S P Gon Choudhury, a serving technocrat, also believes it is time for environment to figure as a key issue in elections. "If cities, towns and villages become healthy to live in, it will be politically beneficial. The new generation is more environment-conscious. If parties are to woo this section of the electorate, they have to address their concerns," he suggests.

Havoc on the Environment @ Plastic Bags

Plastic bags are not only dangerous to the environment but also to your health. It takes literally an estimated 400-1000 years for 1 plastic bag to breakdown in the environment. Meaning we really have no idea what the long term effect will be on ecosystems and the humans, plants and animals that make them up. Right now there is a movement that will hopefully catch on to ban plastic bags worldwide. The only problem is the damage has been done. What will the after effects be like? Will future generations pay the price for our carelessness? It's time to step up to the plate and take the fate of the world into our own hands.

Plastic bags became popular in the mid 1980's. It was seen as a cheaper alternative than paper. Which is correct. Unfortunately worldwide use of plastic bags has grown to 500 billion to a trillion pieces a year. With only less than 1% of these bags being recycled that figure is astounding.

The bags are clogging up landfills, waterways and killing animals. Not to mention the cancer causing effects these bags are having in our everyday environments. Plastic bags contain a host of chemicals that over time break down into petro polymers which contaminate our soil and water. It is sad to realize that is simply cheaper to produce more bags than to recycle them.

Breast cancer is being studied as a major effect of the plastic bag epidemic. Due to the environmental estrogen's BPA & BBP that are introduced into our surroundings from to the breakdown of these plastics. It is actually affecting our health as humans! Not to mention all that is yet unknown about what else it is doing to us physically. It is simply alarming.

Plastic bags are made from chemicals derived from oil production. Namely polyethylene thermoplastic. This not only wreaks havoc on our health but also our dependency on foreign oil supplies. It takes over 100 million barrels a year to produce the world's current plastic bag supply and demand.