Consequences of Global Warming

Our earth is facing various problems like Terrorism, Poverty, Population explosion, Climate changes,Environmental changes, Global warming etc. But we are least aware of the effects of global warming here is some facts and figures related to our environmental degradation.

Do you know that number of category 5 & 4 hurricanes has almost double up in last 30 years US set up all time record of 1,717 tornadoes while Japan set all time record of 10 typhoons. The 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was the most active, repeatedly shattering previous records. . The impact of the season was widespread and ruinous with at least 2,280 deaths and record damages of over $128 billion USD . Of the storms that made landfall,five of the season's seven major hurricaness—Dennis, Emily, Katrina, Rita, and Wilma—were responsible for most of the destruction.total storms in 2005 is 28,hurricanes 15,major hurricanes(CAT3) -7.

The current year also saw powerful hurricanes - Bertha, Dolly,Gustav, Ike, Hanna.
Malaria has spread to higher altitudes in places like the Colombian Andes, 7,000 feet above sea level.

At least 279 species of plants and animals are already responding to global warming, moving closer to the poles.More than a million species worldwide could be driven to extinction by 2050.

Heat waves will be more frequent and more intense.Year 2003 saw all time records in deaths resulting from Heat waves. 15,000 deaths in France, 1,400 deaths in Netherlands, Portugal 13,000 deaths, Italy 20,000 deaths, UK 900 deaths, Spain 100 deaths. India saw 1400 deaths in 2003. The flow of ice from glaciers in Greenland has more than doubled over the past decade.The Arctic Ocean could be ice free in summer by 2050.Global sea levels could rise by more than 20 feet with the loss of shelf ice in Greenland and Antarctica, devastating coastal areas worldwide.Droughts and wildfires will occur more often. Severe droughts in West Africa and in many other parts of the world will simply increase. Wildfires have also drastically increases
We all must do something about it before its too late.

Saurabh Das

Condemned for what?

For past few days I was just thinking of a news that went unnoticed in a leading newspaper. It was about a girl Pratyusha from Wrangal who died of AIDS because of contaminated blood at children’s hospital. Why the doctor did not check the blood before giving it to the poor 7 year old child is a different issue. My major concern here is aftermath of the girl’s death.

The family was boycotted from the village as soon as the villagers came to know the reason behind her death. The life of her parents and siblings has become worse than the hell after this incidence and they now wish that they too have died. The family tried to convince the villagers and went through the blood test but all of their appeals to prove their innocence went unheard. According to them the family had done a major crime for which they will be convicted and punished.

Here again comes the question who is to be blamed for this? The villagers cannot be fully held guilty for whole of the situation as there are less number of initiatives taken from the side of the government and NGOs to educate the masses that it does not spreads by touching or eating together and the like. This story is particularly important as legal battles surrounding rights of positive persons are bound to be few and far. Its simply because often the high risk groups are also the ones that already inhabit the peripheries of the social system and HIV only entrenches this isolation.

We need to tell the people are also human beings. When environment- earth, water, wind does not distinguish them then who are we to abolish them? Besides that what is the mistake of the family? Life is a gift for everyone by the almighty and we are no one to take it from them. There should be vast awareness programme on the AIDS related issues that can help them more. Wake up Guys! It is an issue that is really a taboo in many parts of India as of its diversity. Both the lack of information and abundance of misinformation are at the heart of the continuing discrimination faced by positive persons both in terms of access to health care and social exploitation and victimization which denies them and their families even basic human rights.

Shikha Garg