“What we are doing to the forests of the world is but a mirror reflection of 02 what we are doing to ourselves and to one another.” Chris Maser ENVIRONMENT

about Food for... trash? India’s first ‘garbage cafe’ to offer meals for plastic

ungry, but don’t have cash? No prob- lem, bring plastic waste and get a free Frequently referred to as the planet’s lungs, this treasure may be lost soon to deforestation meal at the country’s first ‘garbage H cafe’ scheduled to open soon. Photo: GETTY IMAGES The small restaurant in the eastern city of Why is everyone talking Ambikapur (Chhattisgarh) will provide hearty The Politics food to homeless and poor people and encour- about it now? age citizens to keep their streets clean, said may- Environmentalists have or Ajay Tirkey. Throughout the Amazon region, human ac- warned that right-wing Single-use plastics are banned in many tivities like agricultural production, infra- President Bolsonaro is states, but Indians still generate 26,000 tonnes structure development and emboldening Brazilian of plastic waste every day, according to gov- logging are leading to alarming levels of defor- loggers, ranchers and estation. After impressive land speculators to advances like the tripling of destroy forests. He protected areas in Colombia, we Deforestation has railed against are now seeing back- sliding or insuffi- in Brazil’s environmental fines for cient improve- Amazon rainforest accel- farmers and called for ment throughout erated in the first 15 days indigenous reserves and the basin. Poli- of July with more than a cies that are other protected areas sound on paper 1,000 square kilometres to be opened up for often succumb to of the jungle development. the combination of cleared weak institutions and inadequate enforcement, coupled with powerful eco- ical forests are in the Amazon, and economic development is nomic forces, both legal and illegal, driving yet deforestation produces more net glob- not at odds with conserva- activities that destroy forests. al emissions, than the entire European TRENDING NOW tion to avoid reaching the tip- Union. Scientists warn that we may be close Rare video of one of Brazil’s last ping point. At the same time, we Why does the world need to a ‘tipping point’ – a degree of deforesta- uncontacted indigenous tribes has must remember that the agriculture sector tion at which the Amazon basin will no been released to help raise aware- — a leading source of deforestation in ernment data. The waste is often dumped in this rainforest? longer be able to generate its the region — is a major source of em- streets, drains and landfills. The Garbage Cafe, own rainfall by recycling mois- ness about threats to ployment, investment and government inspired by similar cafes that have opened The Amazon rainforest plays a crit- ture and thus cease to get sup- their survival. The revenue, but unsustainable practices of- in countries including Cambodia and Bel- ical role as a carbon sink, medi- port from the World Wildlife Guajajara live near the ten lead to inefficient use of land. In gium, wants to change that. ator of the global water cycle Fund as much as half of Awa, and are described as Ecuador, for example, the agricul- In exchange for one kilogram of plastic, the and cradle of biodiversity. wildlife in the world’s richest tural sector uses but generates cafe will serve a curry with rice, lentils, and pa- Massive loss of the Amazon forests, like the Amazon, could as the world’s most just 6% of gross domestic prod- padams, said Tirkey, estimating that would take rainforest would spell ca- be at risk of extinction in the threatened tribe. uct. EXTRACTED FROM AN NYT FEA- a couple of hours to collect. tastrophe not just for the next century. TURE For half that weight, punters will receive a 30 million people living in breakfast of samosas, lentil doughnuts or stuffed the basin but also for the deforestation. Effective conservation poli- flatbreads. world. Half What can be be done? cies have proved successful, but enforce- A waste management system set up in 2015 of the Countries in the Amazon are falling be- ment is lacking. We must quickly reverse and run by women who go door-to-door collect- world’s trop- hind their targets to cut current trends and ensure that ing plastic for recycling, has helped make Am- bikapur one of India’s cleanest cities. The city built a road made entirely of plas- tic in 2015, India’s first and earns 1.2 million ru- pees a month selling plastic and recycled paper to private companies, according to Tirkey. REUTERS ENVIRONMENTALIST OF THE WEEK HAVE AN ECO-FRIENDLY RAKSHABANDHAN Go green this 1. Do-iit-yyourself: Anything handmade is much more eco-friendly than something that’s mass produced. The same holds true for rakhis. Pick natu- Rakshabandhan ral materials like cotton, wool, wooden beads and make a rakhi for AFROZ SHAH Here’s a lowdown of how you can make this occasion a yourself. The Mumbai-based lawyer is credit- sustainable, plastic-free affair. But don’t take our word for 2. Remember: Buying an eco-friendly ed with having organised the it. Do you research too! rakhi is pointless if the packaging is world’s largest beach clean-up proj- not made from biodegradable ect in Versova Beach in 2015; he WHERE DO PLASTIC RAKHIS million rakhis are dumped in waste materials. received ‘Champions of the Earth award’ that never decomposes every year. 3. Buy local, from United Nations. Shah extended this GO IN THE END? Moreover, this waste generates 1.18 billion tonnes of carbon footprint. handmade clean-up drive to seven beaches in Mumbai Around 60 crore people celebrate What’s worse, many of the rakhis WHAT CAN YOU DO? Gift a ‘living’ rakhi: ‘SeedRakhi’ rakhis that city – Dadar, Cuffe Parade, Bandra, Worli, 1 Raksha Bandhan across the world 3 that you may want to buy in the Buy a rakhi made from upcy- 2 is made of seeds of sunflower, engage local each year. Ever wondered where all market, typically have synthetically cling waste: Look out for rakhis amaltas, papaya, rice and basil. Once Erangal, Madh, and Juhu. Currently he is on 1 artisans and his next mission – clearing the Mithi river of the rakhis end up after the grand cel- plastic, plastic ‘pearls’, embellish- made by upcycling artists and start- the festival is over, you can simply ebration is over? ments and glitter, which is non ups in your area, or in the market you plant them. Besides, you could also handi- plastic waste. AGENCIES According to Nitin Jain, co- degradable, and adds to millions of frequent. You could also look for them look out for terracotta rakhis and ed- craftsmen. founder of a start-up Indibni, 620 existing tonnes of garbage. on social media. ible rakhis. 2 AGENCIES ECO TIP OF THE WEEK THIS EMU HAS GONE ROGUE Student’s Tony Demin/The New York Times Time your showers ‘The New York Times’ has corner reported that an emu has Did you know every minute you spend in a power shower, you Pop Quiz been running loose in end up using up to 17 litres of water? Why not North Carolina (US). For set a timer on your phone to keep your show- Will Extinction Rebellion over three weeks now, the ers short, sweet and water-efficient? bird has managed to stay IDENTIFY THESE Switching to an efficient shower one step ahead of animal make a difference? head will allow you to lather up in control officials who have SPECIES less water, which means you will Abbreviated as XR, Extinction Rebellion is a socio-politi- approached it at least save water. You can also cut water cal movement whose members use civil disobedience twice. The fugitive is 1 2 use by watering plants manually and nonviolent resistance to protest against climate around five feet tall, instead of sprinklers. breakdown, biodiversity loss, and the risk of social and weighs over 100 pounds, ecological collapse. But will it truly have an impact? NIE and wears a thick coat of Got an idea to conserve the environment? Mail us at youth reporters weigh in on the issue... grey and brown feathers. [email protected] Environment activist groups like XR aim to spread awareness. They demonstrate that we have people in this world who are 3 ready to remind governments and citi- Glow in the dark sharks zens, that the continued destruction of t is only the third of more A new species of shark which glows in the dark has been opened. “I’ve been in science the environment must stop. They do make than 500 known shark about 40 years... I can usually an impact but some of us are still oblivious to it. species which is believed to discovered in the Gulf of Mexico make a pretty good guess [about I secrete fluorescent liquid. a marine animal’s identity]”, he DIYA RAJADHYAKSHA, class VIII, said. “I couldn’t with this one.” Ryan Global School Chembur, Mumbai Meet ‘Mollisquama The only other pocket shark known to science — a 16-inch Instead of staging non-violent protests or mississippiensis’ adult female caught in the Pacif- ic Ocean off Peru in 1979 — also performing other acts of civil disobedi- It has been named the ence, they could plant more saplings or 4 American pocket shark, ➤ Its muscular glands are lined with approach the authorities to frame guide- Mollisquama mississippiensis, lines on how we should all care for the due to its diminutive pocket- pigment-covered fluorescent projec- environment. size and the mysterious pocket- tions, indicating they squirt luminous like pouches near its front fins BHUSHAN J KAUSHIK, class IX, which, it has been revealed, are liquid. The shark also has clusters of Cambridge Public School, Bengaluru used to squirt little glowing light-emitting cells dotted over its 5 clouds into the depths of the stomach. The work of XR will not make a difference in ocean. DISCOVERED our society unless we come forward to

ANSWERS The specimen — a 5.6-inch

5. Orangutan 5. newborn male shark — was col- has a pouch next to each front fin, take steps against biodiversity loss, cli-

4. Iguana 4. lected during a 2010 survey to find which scientists were unable to mate breakdown and also make a concert-

3. Gannet Gannet 3. out what Gulf of Mexico sperm determine what its function was. ed effort to conserve our planet . 2. Crocodile Crocodile 2. whales eat. Scientists trawled in But with this one, they realised

SHREYA PARTI, class 11, 1. Scorpionfish Scorpionfish 1. an area and at a depth where mospheric Administration tifying the collected specimens, what they did – squirt little tagged whales had been feeding. ichthyologist (fish scientist) Mark and this one, still showing an um- clouds. EXTRACTED FROM THE INDEPENDENT PMLSD Public School, Chandigarh National Oceanic and At- Grace had spent three years iden- bilical scar, was in the last bag he