TerraGreen Magazine - May 2022

In this issue

This month’s cover story ‘Microplastics in Ganga River’ delves into two recent studies that have revealed the high prevalence of microplastics in the Ganga River basin, and pointed to the risks involved to freshwater biodiversity in the region. The
first of these studies, “Quantitative Analysis of Microplastics along River Ganga” by Toxics Links, was done by examining the waters of the Ganga River off Haridwar, Kanpur and Varanasi at several points in the respective cities, and documenting the
kinds of microplastics present in the waters. The second study, “Risk Assessment of Plastic Pollution to Migratory Species in the Mekong and Ganga River Basins” done for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Convention on
Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) examined the waters at several points of the Mekong and Ganga basins.

Purple Sunbird

Our Winged Guest

3 mins

Pacific Northwest Wildfires

Altering Air Pollution Patterns across North America

4 mins

Creating An Educational Ecosystem For A Circular Economy

Concepts and ideas in this article by Ram Ramprasad embellish the NEP 2020, and are not contradictory. Individuals, companies, and leaders at all levels must embrace that addressing climate change and building a circular economy is of paramount importance. Training and education of the youth is the quickest enabler. Creating the right ecosystem for education and training of our youth is the need of the hour.

10 mins

Saving Water and Reducing Waste

Evonik Opens its First Zero Liquid Discharge Plant in India

5 mins

Microplastics In The Ganga River How Dangerous Is The Situation?

Microplastics are recognized as a main source of marine pollution. The plastic products and waste materials dumped in the Ganga River break down and are eventually broken down into micro particles and the river finally transports large quantities downstream into the ocean. Untreated sewage from many cities along the Ganga River’s course, industrial waste and religious offerings add pollutants into the river as it flows through numerous thickly inhabited cities. In this article, Dr Rina Mukherji talks about two recent studies that have revealed the high prevalence of microplastics in the Ganga River basin, and pointed to the risks involved to freshwater biodiversity in the region.

9 mins

3Rs of Food Waste: Reduce, Rescue, and Redistribute A Couple in Malaysia Takes Innovative Action

Around the world, more than enough food is produced to feed the global population—but as many as 811 million people still go hungry, as per Sustainable Development Goal 2, Zero Hunger. After steadily declining for a decade, world hunger is on the rise again, affecting 9.9 per cent of people globally. From 2019 to 2020, the number of undernourished people grew by as many as 161 million, a crisis driven largely by conflict, climate change, and the COVID-19 pandemic, as per Action Against Hunger’s International Nutrition Security Policy. In this regard, Anita Khuller writes about a couple in Malaysia that started the What a Waste (WaW) initiative in 2018 to reduce food waste and poverty hunger.

6 mins

An Insight into CSR Funds for Education By India's Top Companies

A four-decade-old school is run by an old couple in a remote village in Uttar Pradesh on personal savings and donations. During the lockdown, they had no option than discontinuing classes. Students did not have any laptops, tablets or smartphones. Teachers visited respective households, but the outcome was no match to the routine. Since then, they have been struggling to set up a computer centre. Government schemes come with their own set of challenges. They have heard of CSR funding but don’t know whom to approach. Which company will support them? How challenging will it be? Will they even consider a non-governmental school? Ritika Mahajan and Monica Sareen tried to explore some of these questions by analysing CSR reports of India’s top ten companies (based on market cap) from the last decade and interviewing experts. The article discusses their CSR budgets for education, significant projects, locations, governance, and associated challenges.

6 mins

Car Sharing The Perfect Solution To A Guilt-Free Holiday

Car sharing is helping to protect the environment. This article takes you through the benefits of sharing your vehicle with other people in different destinations.

3 mins

Automating the Process of Picking Cotton Project by Students of Lovely Professional University

D Dilip Kumar talks about his university project where the students tried to provide a solution to automate the process of picking cotton using the technology so that the manual intensive job could be automated and man hours could be saved—ultimately leading to the profits for the cotton growing farmer.

2 mins

Enactus Kirori Mal Foster a Greener Future with JanBhoomi

Enactus Kirori Mal is a student chapter of the international non-profit organization ‘Enactus’, striving to formulate and implement social business modules for the economic upliftment of underprivileged communities. Guided by educators and supported by business leaders, Enactus Kirori Mal akes a kind of entrepreneurial approach that empowers people to be a part of their own success. With over 0 members, their team currently operates three projects: Project Dor, Project Syahi, and Project JanBhoomi.

2 mins

Tharu Tribe of Dudhwa A Remarkable Example of Human-Wildlife Coexistence

In this article, Mudit Gupta takes us through his vivid experiences during his service in Dudhwa where he got an opportunity to understand Tharu community and engaged with them on wildlife conservation aspects.

7 mins

Mindful Travel With Rare For Better Planet And People

Call it green, eco-friendly, sustainable, responsible or regenerative tourism, here are the hotels in the Indian Subcontinent where the emphasis is given to taking a stand to better the planet and people. The following article has been authored by Shobhana Jain, Head of Sustainability, RARE India, which is a community of some of the finest conscious luxury boutique hotels, palace stays, wildlife lodges, homestays, and retreats in the Indian Subcontinent.

5 mins

Read all stories from TerraGreen

TerraGreen Magazine Description:

TerraGreen is one of the most respected monthly magazine dedicated to informing and enlightening its readers on issues of environment, energy, and sustainable development. Launched in 2004, TerraGreen has made an indelible impression on the minds of readers, both in India and across the world. Today, it enjoys a readership of over 40,000 and a subscriber base of close to 5,000. Helping the magazine along in its endeavour to take issues of absolute importance to the people is the fact that it is the only publication of its kind in the market; not only does it inform and educate, it does so in a subtle and reader-friendly manner. After all, the aim is to reach as many people as possible!

Table of contents
• News • Comments • Worldview • Features • In Conservation • Red Alert • Cover Story • Special Reports • Perspective • TerraYouth • Wild Wonders • Green Product • Pioneer • Breakthrough • Review
• Environmental Research • Green Events • Wake-up Call