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Is there anything that people can do to save the planet?

We depend on nature for everything from air, water, food and shelter to sources of energy to run our factories and businesses. So, conserving nature and preserving its biodiversity must be our priority. Here are ten simple tips to do your bit for the planet.

1. Plant trees

Trees are carbon sequesters and increasing the tree cover is perhaps one of the easiest ways to conserve nature. A tree can absorb approximately 25kg of CO2 per year. So, plant a tree to mark this day. Make it a tradition to plant a tree during prominent or celebratory occasions of your life. It can be your birthday or when you finish your academic year or any moment you feel is worth celebrating. If you do not have enough space in your home, see if you can adopt your friend’s yard or make use of the space managed by your area’s residents’ association. Where you do it, make sure that the plant is taken care of Encourage friends and family to take up the practice as well.

2. Conserve energy

 We derive our energy from nature. Everything that is manmade runs on energy obtained from nature. Quite often, a lot of energy also goes to waste. By changing a few habits you can help save energy at home. These include small actions such as turning off the lights (when not in use or when you can depend on daylight), unplugging appliances when not in use, not charging your phone overnight, turning off your faucet when you aren’t using water, taking less time in the shower, reusing waste water in the kitchen gardens and so on. This will help reduce carbon footprint and in turn help in conserving nature. PHOTO: UNSPLASH IMAGES

3.3Rs

The 3Rs of “Reduce”, “Reuse”, “Recycle” is perhaps one of the ultimate mantras for nature conservation. These three small words will help manage waste, save the ecosystem, prevent marine animal casualties and address climate change. The first step is to reduce the waste you generate. This will ensure that less waste ends up in landfills or oceans. Effective waste segregation is the key to this. This helps recover materials for recycling and composting. Reuse articles that you can. And lastly, recycle. This helps prevent soil and water pollution. PHOTO: UNSPLASH IMAGES

4. Use public transport

 One of the major polluters is the global transport sector. It is responsible for approximately one-quarter of greenhouse gas emissions, according to experts. And 95% of the world’s transport energy is still obtained from fossil fuels. Personal transportation adds to the probelm, adding to the greenhouse emissions. The easiest way to avoid this is by switching to public transport. If this is not a practical solution every time, you can still choose public transport twice or thrice a week or during specific hours. This, when done on a regular basis, can significantly help reduce carbon emissions. Alternately, switching to green modes of travel such as a bicycle can help prevent your carbon footprint.

5. Stop using single-use plastics and disposables

 Single-use plastics and disposable cups and utensils have infiltrated our day-to-day life and upended it. Those disposable grocery bags and disposable utensils you use eventually ends up on the earth, polluting our soil. oceans, and marine life. These disposables can easily be replaced with environmentally responsible counterparts. Make a commitment to take out at least one disposable article from your lifestyle. Perhaps. carry a cloth bag to the supermarket instead of asking them for a plastic one. Maybe switch out your lunch box for one made of metal. This can be a good start. And slowly you can make a lifestyle switch by eschewing other disposables. PHOTO: UNSPLASH IMAGES

6. Eat less meat

It is estimated that 80% of forest loss is caused by the conversion of forest land to agricultural land. It leads to habitat destruction and loss of our green cover. Eating less meat can help prevent this and preserve biodiversity and the ecosystem. Since we all have our food preferences, it may not be easy to switch to vegetarianism or veganism. But you can be more aware and mindful of the food on your plate and choose to eat less meat. For instance. you can limit meat consumption to one or two days a week or reduce the number of meals with meat. PHOTO: UNSPLASH IMAGES

7. Use windows and not AC

 Our world is heating up and the surging heat has made us all dependent on air conditioning, the demand for which is increasing by the day. Did you know that air conditioners are also a contributor to the climate crisis? They consume more electricity than any other appliance in your home and consume about 10% of global electricity (along with electric fans). So next time, when possible, open the windows and let the cool breeze in.

8. Explore thrifting

 Fast fashion is one of the greatest threats to the environment. Did you know that it takes about 2,700 litres of water to make just one t-shirt. Or that a pair of jeans requires 7,600 litres of water? With a consumer base that updates its wardrobe according to trends in the fashion industry, the damage to the planet has been exponential. This trend depletes natural resources and harms the planet. This is where thrift shopping comes in. Anyone who has had an older sibling would be no stranger to using their toys, books, or school paraphernalia, thus giving the article a fresh lease of life. This is the concept of thrift shopping. It means using hand-me-downs or second-hand articles. It applies to all forms of merchandise such as clothes, games, toys, shoes, books, appliances, furniture, and so on. It’s time to break the cycle of single-use apparel or appliances and shop at thrift stores. Also, remember to let your friends and family know you are using a thrifted article and the positive impact your move has on nature’s conservation.

9. Embrace minimalism

 Minimalism is a lifestyle choice where you make mindful, deliberate choices of buying only what you truly need. As such you make do with less and avoid overconsumption, which is one of the major contributors to the exploitation and depletion of natural resources. By consuming only what’s essential for your living, your ecological footprint gets reduced. Thereby, the individual environmental impact is limited. Replace consumerism with eco-minimalism. PHOTO: UNSPLASH IMAGES

10. Spend time volunteering

 One way to help conserve nature is to help organisations that are working in the field directly. You can do this by volunteering your time and services at non-profit environmental organisations. These organisations run on donations and they are always on the lookout for people who can help them. Here you may get to actively participate in the community and work on projects aimed at conserving nature and get on-field experience.

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What is Erich Maria Remarque’s purpose for writing ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’?

Erich Maria Remarque’s ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ stands tall as a paramount piece of anti-war literature, capturing the harrowing tale of a generation vanquished by World War 1. The first-ever non English adaptation of this literary masterpiece is honoured with nine Academy Award nominations this year. Let us revisit this classic and see what makes it relevant today.

About the author

Erich Maria Remarque was born in Osnabruck, Germany, in 1898 into a lower-middle-class family. As a young man of 18, he was pursuing higher education at the University of Munster when fate intervened and drafted him (along with a number of his classmates) into the German army. Amidst the turmoil of war, he discovered his passion for storytelling and began writing fiction.

After six months of military training, his unit was sent to the Western Front. The horrors of World War (1914-1918) cast a long shadow on Remarque’s writing, shaping him into the author he would become. He found himself thrust into the trenches of Flanders. Belgium and experienced the brutal reality of trench warfare firsthand. In 1917, he was injured by the fierce barrage of British artillery, and a year later was sent back to the front lines, post-recovery. It was during his recovery that Remarque thought of writing a novel about the war. He gathered material for his book from personal stories sent by his friends from the battlefield and also interviewed wounded soldiers, to come up with authentic scenes for his story. Shortly thereafter a revolution led to the overthrow of Germany’s imperial government and the establishment of a republic. On November 11, 1918, the newly- formed government signed a formal agreement with the Allies, effectively bringing an end to the fighting. These wartime events, coupled with the loss of some of his comrades, left a profound impact on Remarque, inspiring him to pen his most influential novel, ‘Im Westen Nichts Neues’. Published in Germany in 1929, Remarque’s literary masterpiece sold over 1.2 million copies within a year, solidifying his place as one of Germany’s most celebrated writers. The English translation of this novel, ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ was published in the same year and garnered similar success. It went on to be translated into more than 20 languages and was made into a celebrated Hollywood film in 1930.

What makes it a classic?

The horrors of war

The novel describes the physical and emotional toll that war tikes on soldiers, and highlights the senseless violence and destruction that war creates. It is the author’s attempt to highlight and document how despite dodging death in the trenches and making it back home, a soldier’s soul is irreversibly crushed by what he witnessed at the war front.

Today, as conflicts (like the Russian invasion of Ukraine) continue to occur around the world the novel serves as a reminder of the human cost of war and the need for peaceful solutions to conflicts.

Dehumanisation of soldiers

The soldiers in the novel are forced to abandon their individuality and become part of a machine-like military system. This is still relevant today, as soldiers continue to face the challenge of maintaining their own identity in the face of military discipline. One of the most striking aspects of the novel is the way it depicts the soldiers as being treated as expendable objects, rather than human beings with lives, families, and aspirations.

They are constantly reminded of their duty to the state and the importance of sacrifice. The book describes how the trauma and the unspeakable acts of violence soldiers witness on the battlefield transform them into brute tools of war, devoid of humanity.

Disillusionment

The novel also explores the theme of disillusionment. As the war drags on, Paul and his comrades become increasingly disillusioned with the ideals of patriotism and duty that drove them to enlist in the first place. They realise that they have been fed lies and propaganda to justify a war that has only brought them suffering and death. The novel also portrays the difficulty of these soldiers in returning to civilian life after the war, as Paul struggles to reconnect with a society that does not understand or appreciate the sacrifices he and his fellow soldiers made.

In this way, this German classic highlights the devastating effects of war on both the individual and society as a whole and serves as a powerful critique of the glorification of war and how it is justified as nationalism.

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What makes a documentary?

Documentaries are a realistic portrayal of life events based on facts, are regarded as ‘historical records, and often utilised for educating viewers on certain critical areas. The documentary ‘An Inconvenient’ Truth deserves a special mention for portraying the deadly effects of global warming to caution people.

The entire world is fascinated with films, and the advent of social media has made it easy for anyone with a smartphone to create videos and upload them to the Internet, so much so that reels and short videos have become a rage today. Our teacher deliberately took a detour to talk about films in order to drive home to us the distinction between feature films and documentary films; we were under the impression that ‘film’ referred only to the feature film.

Adding to our confusion was the expression ‘cinema’ which referred to three things-film, filmmaking, and the building wherein films are screened. She pointed out, “All these are used interchangeably now, and people understand it depending upon the context. Films, more than anything else, truly globalised the world even before the concept of globalisation was known widely.”

At the initial stages, she mentioned, the term ‘film’ referred only to a motion picture which has taken various forms now, such as short films, indie films, art films, experimental or avant-garde films, commercial films, animated films, and documentary films. One feature that is common to all, except the last category, is that they have a storyline and are mostly enacted by professionals. But documentaries are made by anyone with an imaginative bent of mind, with or without a budget. Documentaries are always a realistic portrayal of life events based on facts, are regarded as ‘historical records, and often utilised for educating viewers on certain critical areas.

Although documentaries are based on factual details, they share certain similarities with feature films: writing a script (based on serious research into a subject), developing an interesting narrative around it, involving real people, shooting, and editing. Documentaries also, like feature films, should offer an interesting experience to audiences, otherwise they would fall flat.

Documentaries deal with a wide-ranging aspect of people’s lives – cultural, social, psychological, economic, racial, gender, poverty, illiteracy, homelessness, other concerns, such as technology, plastics, pollution, education, addiction, parenting, sports, and anything else that would capture people’s attention. They also lay emphasis on instructing people and persuading them to take some kind of action; not merely entertaining people as feature films often do. Some of the top-grossing documentaries made so far have dealt with themes such as gun violence, the healthcare industry, and events such as behind-the-scenes preparation for Michael Jackson’s 50th concert and the aftermath of the 9/11 attack-exemplifying their vast canvas.

An Inconvenient Truth, among all, deserves a special mention – Al Gore, former Vice-President of the U.S., portrayed the deadly effects of global warming to caution people. He emerged as a global crusader and conscientised people across the globe; till then activists were merely talking about it in a muffled voice. The full text of this documentary has been archived on the Internet and those interested in making documentaries can get a feel of it.

Finally she said, sometimes documentaries are confused with reportage but there is a distinction: reportage is described as reporting of news by journalists for television, radio, or newspaper. In reportage, text is important, which is supported by images, but for documentaries both are of equal significance to narrate a story.

We imagined that only feature films have theatrical releases, but in recent times, she pointed out, documentaries also have such releases but not many get released. Besides, several awards have been instituted for the category of documentaries as a way of recognition, like feature films, in different countries, including Academy Awards in the U.S. popularly known as the Oscars, European Film Awards, and Hot Docs Audience Awards in Canada.

Happy making documentaries/ videos / reels! she wished us as she wrapped up her speech.

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Who wrote the book The Story of Doctor Dolittle?

British-American author Hugh Lofting crafted the fictional account chronicling the peculiar life and astonishing adventures of Dr Dolittle with the intention to entertain his children. Little did he know that these narratives will immortalise him in literary history. Let us revisit ‘The Story of Doctor Dolittle’ and see what makes it a classic.

About the author

Hugh John Lofting was one of six children born to Elizabeth Agnes and John Brien Lofting on January 14, 1886, in Maidenhead, Berkshire, England. His love for animals and storytelling was evident from a very young age. As a child, he loved concocting stories for his family and is said to have used his mother's linen cupboard to store his miniature zoo and wildlife museum. He attended Jesuit boarding school before he went on to study civil engineering and architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and London Polytechnic. As a civil engineer, he was constantly travelling to new places. His job took him to Canada, Africa, and the West Indies, before he returned to America in 1912, married Flora Small, and settled in New York City to begin a writing career.

A coping mechanism

In 1916, Lofting enlisted to fight for England in World War I. Instead of destressing his family with the gory details of what he witnessed on the battlefields, Lofting chose to write imaginative letters (complete with illustrations) detailing the astonishing adventures of Doctor Dolittle to entertain his children. Researchers speculate that gifting the character of Dolittle a special ability to communicate with animals was Lofting's coping mechanism to deal with the animal cruelty he witnessed in the trenches.

At the 1967 premiere of the story's big screen adaptation, Christopher Lofting (the youngest son of the author) said, "There were thousands of cavalry horses in the war, and also farm animals and pets who got caught in the crossfire. My father invented Dolittle… as a superhero who could do things he could not do."

The first book in the Doctor Dolittle series, titled ‘The Story of Doctor Dolittle’ was published in 1920, three years after Lofting was wounded and invalided out of the war.

The Story of Doctor Dolittle

The book follows John Dolittle, a reputed English country doctor who lives in a little town called Puddleby-on-the-Marsh He transitions from human medicine to veterinary practice after he is taught how to communicate with animals by his parrot. Polynesia, Risking a stable income and losing most of his patients do not dissuade him from going to Africa to cure a monkey epidemic. This book chronicles the peculiar life of Doctor Dolittle and his misadventures with a crew of animals that he befriends.

What makes it a classic?

The importance of communication

Through the interactions between Doctor Dolittle and his animal friends, the story highlights how important effective communication is in resolving day-to-day problems and conflicts. The unique personalities and perspectives of the diverse cast of animal characters in the story emphasise the importance of keeping an open mind and valuing other individuals' opinions.

 Empathy and compassion

The compelling narrative of this book promotes animal welfare, teaches empathy, and encourages us to think about the importance of treating all living beings with respect and kindness. It also presents an opportunity to address the treatment of animals and the need for their conservation, an idea which is all the more important because of the climate crisis at hand.

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What are the contributions of Prof. Ashoke Sen?

We meet another theoretical physicist who works on string theory. Prof. Ashoke Sen is a distinguished professor at the Harish-Chandra Research Institute, Allahabad. He is also interested in black hole entropy. We have already seen black holes. Now, entropy is the measure of disorder in a system. Dr. Sen applied string theory to black hole entropy. He studied at IIT-Kanpur and got a doctorate from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, U.S.A.

He has authored and co-authored many important papers on string field theory. Prof. Sen holds the position of Honorary Fellow in the National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER), Bhubaneswar. He is also a Morning- star visiting professor at MIT and a distinguished professor at the Korea Institute for Advanced Study.

Prof. Sen was one of the nine winners of the first Fundamental Physics prize started by Russian billionaire Yuri Milner – each of the winners getting $ 3 million. This is twice the amount of the Nobel prize. He was nominated as a Fellow of the Royal Society, won the Padma Shri and was a recipient of the Bhatnagar Award in 1994.

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What made Ganesan Venkatasubramanian famous?

Ganesan Venkatasubramanian is a professor of psychiatry at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bengaluru. (NIMHANS). His areas of interest are schizophrenia, transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS), brain imaging, neuroimmu nology, neurometabolism and other areas of biological psychiatry.

He hails from Tamil Nadu and did his MBBS from Stanley Medical College. He completed MD and Ph.D in Psychiatry from NIMHANS. He was a clinical research fellow under Sean Spence in the University of Sheffield. Sean Spence developed the first brain scan lie detector. He was thus trained in advanced brain imaging techniques.

Venkatasubramanian’s brilliant achievements in the field of psychiatry brought him many awards and recognitions. He received the Young Scientist Award at the 12th Biennial International Winter Workshop on Schizophrenia in Switzerland in 2004 and the Elsevier Scopus Young Scientist Award for Medicine in 2006. He won three awards in 2009 namely, the Young Psychiatrist Award of the Indian Psychiatric Society, Shakuntala Amir Chand Prize of the ICMR and the Young Scientist Medal of the Indian National Science Academy. He also got the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology in 2018.

He is in the editorial committee of the Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine and Asian Journal of Psychiatry published by Elsevier.

He is a member of the Indian Psychiatric Society and co-chaired its Biological Psychiatry section during 2010- 11.

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