Earthian

Production and Consumption Biodiversity Water Our group consists of five members J. Sruthi Sree, Simi Johnson, Christy Shaji, Alison Crasto and Anisha George.

Introduction

We all know that now-a-days, Mumbai The City of Dreams is facing many problems such as land degradation, extinction of animals, water pollution, etc. The root cause of all these problems can be termed as Population which is increasing at an alarming rate day by day.

Production and consumption refers to the making and using of

products. It consists of many complex activities including complex processes. These products consume large amounts of energy and many harmful chemicals. Some of these products are use and throw type ones which go wasted just after a couple of hours of purchasal. These wastes are then dumped into landfills or into water bodies without proper treatment and as such these wastes disturb the ecological balance.

Biodiversity refers to the varieties of life forms found on the

earth. Mumbai itself has a rich melange of flora and fauna. From the past few years, there has been a noticeable change in numbers of the flora and fauna. What is happening to them??? Where have they gone??? Can we restore them again????.......

Water is an inexhaustible resource found in nature. Its cycle is

dynamic. But now-a-days these lines do not seem to be true. The water available to us is getting depleted rapidly. Are there other sources that can fulfil the properties of water??? If yes, where is it??? If no, what can we do???........

Reasons and Problems Population Explosion is the overall reason for all the problems crated in this world...to be exact Mumbai. Mumbai is mostly seen as the city where plenty of jobs are available and there is enough space for all the people of India to settle in. But only when people come here they understand that there isnt enough space for all. And when these people sell their property and come here, only then do they understand that their dreams can be....have to be broken down into smaller ones...enough for daily sustenance.

Production and consumption increases due to population. As such peoples greed for need results in the production and consumption of more goods than actually required. The greed of a few concentrated people also results in the formation of poor people, i.e., poverty. It not only creates poverty but also loads of junk that has to be gotten rid of.

Depletion of Biodiversity also has one of its roots relating to the population. Other reasons can be categorized as Habitat change, and Over-exploitation. In Mumbai, the loss of biodiversity has been very evident. Navi Mumbai, a newly born area in Mumbai, used to be a forest-like area at one point of time, most probably, just a couple of years earlier. But now, due to many people migrating, houses had to be built for these people to reside. As such the indigenous species had to be cleared for the people to encroach on the land. Due to this, birds like sparrows who were used to building their nests on trees had no choice but to build their houses on humans residences(balconies). Yet again, people found this disturbing and cleared all these nests. As a result the population of sparrows started decreasing rapidly....Not only sparrows but also other animals are nearing their extinction stage.

The concentration of usable water is decreasing at an alarming rate. Here, the main reason can be termed as Water Pollution. Water pollution is due to two main activities 1) Effluents and 2) Indian rituals. Effluents from factories are directly let into the water bodies nearby. This makes the water unworthy. Even if used, it might cause serious problems in both animals and humans. This will mostly affect the animals as would not know how to differentiate between fresh and unusable water. Such polluted rivers also destroy the marine life by helping the algae present

in the water bodies with favourable conditions for their rapid growth. These are known as algal blooms. These blooms can prove harmful for marine life by forming layers over the surface of the water body and cutting the access of sunlight and oxygen from the atmosphere. Indian rituals cannot be stopped all at once....of course our ancestors would rebel against it!!!! Indian rituals such as immersing the idols of gods and goddesses in ponds and other water bodies cause this problem.

Solutions Production and consumption Products that do not decompose in a couple of years, such as plastics, should be reused. Products that cannot be recycled should be refused (avoided). Biodiversity Planting of trees should be encouraged. Children can go on rallies and perform a few street plays depicting the importance of ecological balances. Festivals such as the Van Mohatsav should be taught about and practiced in schools so that the students understand the importance of the flora and fauna. As for sparrows, we can offer them residences in our own balconies by placing cardboard boxes for the safeguarding of their nests.

Water As for Indian rituals, we can request the government to provide us with professionals who would clean the ponds twice or thrice a year. Here again, we can conduct rallies and perform street plays to portray the importance of water.