reduce plastics use and global warming

PLASTICS - BOON OR BANE?

ByPratima Pandey Objective – To create awareness about Global Warming and (Ab)use of Plastics

04/13/2023Each one can make a difference!

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FAMILIAR SIGHT..?500 billion plastic bags distributed annually worldwide , and less than 3% of those bags recycled.They are typically made of polyethylene and can take up to 1,000 years to biodegrade in landfills that emit harmful greenhouse gases. (Time, 2007)

04/13/2023Each one can make a difference!

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PLASTICS - WHY SO POPULAR?

Water-proof

High tensile strength as compared to paper

Light weight

Multipurpose

Usually comes free with purchased goodsWhy So Popular?

04/13/2023Each one can make a difference!

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HOW PLASTICS ARE HARMFUL?

•Clogging of the drainages, a civic menace •Disposed Plastics result in littering; an eye-sore

No natural process of degradation

•Animals consume plastics disposed in landfills and water

•1 million sea creatures killed every year (www. green.ndtv.com)

Danger to animal life

Contd.

04/13/2023Each one can make a difference!

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HOW PLASTICS ARE HARMFUL?Human health

hazardPhthalates, a chemical used to make plastics pliable, may have hormone disrupting effects on unborn baby boys; also linked to obesity and diabetes in men ( CBC News (2008), URMC Press(2007))Enters food chain as it is ingested by sea and land animalsFor more negative health effects, see http://www.ecologycenter.org/factsheets/plastichealtheffects.html#plastichealthgrid

Contd.

04/13/2023Each one can make a difference!

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HOW PLASTICS ARE HARMFUL?

Plastics in land fills emit greenhouse gases which trap heat and contribute to Global Warming

(GW)

For more on GW, click me!

04/13/2023Each one can make a difference!

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IS THERE A WAY OUT?

R – REDUCE

R – REUSE

R – RECYCLE

3 R Mantra from Green Peace Contd.

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IS THERE A WAY OUT?

Using refillable containers and reusable bags

Buying in bulk

Buying things that don’t need much packaging, and buying things in recyclable and recycled packages

04/13/2023Each one can make a difference!

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INITIATIVES ROUND THE WORLD

Click for India

Click for UAE

Click for Other countries

Efforts by mega-marts and retail chains in this direction can go a long way.

04/13/2023Each one can make a difference!

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INDIA

Lalji Tandon, BJP Candidate from Lucknow, for a plastic-less campaign in 2009 elections

•(Guardian (UK), January 2009)

Delhi to outlaw use of plastic bags – implementation to be carried out in phases

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UAE

Geant supermarket putting nominal charge to discourage use of plastic shopper bags (Gulf News,2008)

Gulf News “No to plastic bags” campaign for creating awareness in UAE in March, 2008

04/13/2023Each one can make a difference!

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OTHER COUNTRIES

Rwanda, Bhutan and Bangladesh imposed bans on use of plastic bags (Guardian (UK), January 2009)7 Supermarkets in UK (including Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury's and others) sign up a voluntary agreement that obliges them to halve the numbers of single use carrier bags compared with 2006 levels. (Guardian, December 2008)National phase out policy by Australian Govt in 2002 led to a reduction of 34% from 2002 to 2005 saving 2 billion bags from being produced

‘Say no to plastic bags’ campaign by Environmental Society of Oman started in March, 2009 seeing enthusiastic response (Khaleej Times, March 2009)

04/13/2023Each one can make a difference!

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REFERENCES Australian Retailers Association (2008),

http://www.noplasticbags.org.au/home/default.aspx ,accessed April 6, 2009.

BBC (2004), http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/3666474.stm, accessed April 6, 2009.

CBC News (2008), http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2008/06/04/f-phthalates.html, accessed March 17, 2009

Khaleej Times (2009) http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?col=&section=middleeast&xfile=data/middleeast/2009/March/middleeast_March247.xml, accessed April 6, 2009.

Guardian (2009) http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/16/plastic-bags-india-delhi-ban, accessed April 6, 2009

National Geographic http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/gw-effects.html, accessed April 6, 2009

Time (2007) http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/environment/article/0,28804,1602354_1603074_1603179,00.html, accessed April 5, 2009

URMC Press Room (2007), http://www.urmc.rochester.edu/PR/news/story.cfm?id=1405, accessed March 17, 2009

04/13/2023Each one can make a difference!

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Thank You

04/13/2023Each one can make a difference!

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WHAT IS GLOBAL WARMING?

It is the increase in mean temperature of Earth due to increase in green house gases in the atmosphere, which trap in the sun’s infrared rays.

Greenhouse gases are Carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, methane and water vapours.

04/13/2023Each one can make a difference!

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GLOBAL WARMING AND CONSEQUENCES

Ice melting - includes mountain glaciers, ice sheets covering West Antarctica and Greenland, and Arctic sea ice

Researcher Bill Fraser has tracked the Decline of the 7 April 2009 penguins on Antarctica (from 32,000 breeding pairs to 11,000 in 30 years)

Movement of butterflies, foxes, and alpine plants have moved farther north or to higher, cooler areas

Precipitation (rain and snowfall) has increased across the globe, on average.

Sea level rise became faster over the last century

(So: National Geographic)

04/13/2023Each one can make a difference!

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GLOBAL WARMING AND NATURAL DISASTERS

1990 20030

100

200

300

400

261

337

No. of Natural Disasters

1990 20030

20000

40000

60000

80000

100000

53000

83000

Death from Nat-ural Disasters

Risk factors: City growth, climate change, environmental degradation(So: International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, UN Agency , reported to BBC, September, 2004 )

04/13/2023Each one can make a difference!

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GLOBAL WARMING – A REALITY – WORLD SPEAKS…

Nine out of ten say that action is necessary to address global warming .(BBC World Service poll in 2007 of 22,000 people in 21 countries)

“We now know without a doubt that global warming is threatening us with higher temperatures, more drought, more wildfire, more flooding, and more erosion of our coastal communities…the overwhelming scientific evidence has proven this over and over again. We must act now with the rest of the world to curb emissions” Barack Obama, President, US

04/13/2023Each one can make a difference!

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EFFECTS OF GLOBAL WARMING

Why go far…Just recall the last time we remarked or discussed about the climate change in our area?

04/13/2023Each one can make a difference!

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TO KNOW MORE ABOUT GW..

(Co: www.globalwarming.org.in)

Important Sources of Information •http://www.stopglobalwarming.org/sgw_learnmore.asp•http://environment.about.com/od/faqglobalwarming/f/greengases.htm•http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_gas•http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/

•http://www.globalwarming.org.in/global-warming-facts.php