Natural Resources - Forests

 Natural Resources – Forests

                                 Natural Resources - Forests

Tags: forests, deforestation, afforestation, soil erosion, global warming

Nature has provided us many natural resources such as forest, land, water, energy, mineral etc. A resource is a source of supply held in reserve. Among them forest is one of the important resource. In the early periods,  man cut trees for getting timber for constructing his house, for obtaining fire wood and also for clearing forest for agriculture. But in course of time as population increased, his needs also increased and he started inflicting too much pain on the forest by clearing the forest area for constructing dams, industries, agriculture, air ports, high ways – like that for many infrastructure works. Trees improve our aesthetic environment ,absorb noise and create calm and peaceful atmosphere.

Forest can be defined as a community composed of trees, plants, shrubs etc serving as an abode for animals and birds. Approximately one third of the earth’s land area is covered by forests. The services rendered by forests can be grouped under three categories – productive, protective and regulative. People collect from forests fruits ,roots, herbs, fire wood , fodder for animals and timber for house construction. The main protective functions of forests are conservation of soil and water. The regulative functions are absorption, storage and release of gases like carbon dioxide and oxygen. Forests help in regulating atmospheric temperature.

                                                         Forest                                     

It has been reported that during king Ashoka’s rule emphasis was given to tree planting and its upkeep. Also in several parts of kerala people used to worship trees and did ‘ poojas’ in what is called as snake gardens. The per capita forest area available in India is only 0.06 hectares as against 0 .64 hectares of world average. Destruction of forests is going on at an alarming rate – approximately 10 million hectares per year.

The main causes of deforestation as mentioned earlier are clearing the areas for construction of dams, air ports, industries, high ways, agriculture and mining. Extreme weather conditions, over grazing by cattle and forest fires also contribute for deforestation. The deforestation causes many hardships such as reduced rain fall, increased soil erosion, decreased soil fertility, climate change and frequent floods. Deforestation causes loss of biodiversity, leading to disturbances in ecological balance.

As such, it is very essential for forest conservation as well as proper management of the resources. Tree felling should be matched by an equal number of trees planting.  Afforestation should be done in areas not fit for agriculture. In building construction, alternate materials should be used in place of timber as far as possible. Previously for railway sleepers, teak wood was used. But now it has been dispensed with and pre cast concrete sleepers are being used.                                       

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Mix veg Iddli

                                            Mix  Veg Iddli

  

                              key words: iddli, vegetable, rice

Ingredients

Rice & dal batter

Carrot                  2

Potato                  3

Salt

Turmeric powder

Preparation

Wash the potato and carrot

Cut them into small pieces

Add a bit salt and turmeric powder and cook

Keep the iddli - plate on a level  top

Fill  half the dip with the rice batter  

Take a portion of the veg. mix and spread over the batter

Again top them with rice batter

Steam the  iddlis  for about 8 to 10 minutes

Take out the cooked iddlis from the plate

Have  it with coconut / pudina chutney and sambar

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Problems of old age

Problems of old age

                 Tags: ageing, life style, diseases, free radicals, antioxidants

        Each and everybody in this world have to pass through different stages in their life time. The different stages are  - childhood , adolescence , adulthood and old age  In the old age , problems are manifold . They can be grouped as follows -  Physical ,Psychological . Financial , Family related. In the advanced age the old are more prone to face various      accidents. Their eye sight may get impaired, may be difficulty in hearing. various life style diseases like diabetes, blood pressure, cholesterol , memory loss (dimentia) etc . Elderly population in India is 138 million  in 20121. 

          As discussed, old age is an inevitable stage  in everybody's life. But the irony is that all  want to remain, youthful always. As days pass, one gets older and changes take place both physically and mentally. Ageing is a natural process which affects the whole body. Since it is a natural process, it can’t be stopped altogether but can only  be slowed down to a certain extent. The rate of ageing will speed up on account of lack of exercise, improper food, lack of sleep and mental worry. By correcting the lifestyle, the rate of ageing can be slowed down considerably.

        In old age skin loses its elasticity, eye sight gets impaired, muscles weaken, black hair turns to white, teeth get decayed and various other diseases increase. Heredity plays a very important role in ageing. Highly corrosive oxidising elements called free radicals attack our body. The main causes of free radicals are air pollution, strong sun light, cigarette smoking and absence of nutritious food. As  a remedial step, antioxidants should be taken which break down the free radicals. The main anti oxidants are vitamins - A, C and E and the mineral selenium.

 Summarising, the main effects of ageing are:

Increased chances for heart attack, arthritis , cancer

Impaired hearing, loss of teeth, cataract etc

Black hair turning white

Poor sleep, irritability

Bones turn more brittle due to loss of calcium

As mentioned earlier, ageing is a natural  process 

which can’t be stopped but can be only slowed down

to a certain extent  by changing the life style.

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      Mental Tension and Worry-  The disease of the modern world

                                        key words - tension worry calm peace

The other day Sindhu, a B Tech final year student told me that she   forgot to write her roll number in the answer book of the examination.

I asked her why?

She answered that she was under  mental tension and as such forgot to write her roll number.

People of all ages starting from a kindergarten student to a senior citizen from all strata of the society -  house wife, engineer, doctor, politician etc  all are under tension in one way or the other.

But is it possible to avoid this mental tension?

Swami Vivekananda says “The calmer we are, the less disturbed our nerves, the more shall we learn, the better our work be”. But seldom we can find a  person leading a calm and peaceful life. Now a days nervous tension has become a regular phenomenon. Some of the stress induced diseases are heart attack and high blood pressure. The degree of tension may differ depending on the place and situation. Some may be undergoing tension in his office , others may suffer in their home and some others may be undergoing both in their office and home as well.

Stress can’t be completely avoided but it can be controlled to a certain extent. Stress can be positive as well as negative. It is the negative stress which causes nerves tension, anger, jealousy and other problems.

If we are able to remain calm under any provocation, to a large extent tension can be minimized. For this we should have strong will power and faith in our self. We should learn to live in the present forgetting the past. By practicing meditation, to a large extent, tranquility can be maintained and also  regular   practice will help in removing negative feelings.

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Tapioca- Carrot Mixed Porotta

 

Tapioca- Carrot Mixed Porotta

Introduction

Tapioca- Carrot Mixed Porotta is a special vegetarian dish of Kerala. This is very suitable for school going children and employed persons for their lunch.

      

Ingredients

1. Wheat Flour (Atta)            3 cups                     
2. Tapioca 500 g                       
3. Carrot                             3
4. Green Chilies                   2
5. Oil                                  2 table spoon
6. Salt                                According to taste
7. Water                              1 cup

Method of Preparation
*Add water and mix thoroughly the wheat flour and roll into small balls
*Remove the skin of tapioca, cut into small pieces and boil it
*Wash the carrots and grate it nicely
*Knead the boiled tapioca, add salt, sliced green chilies and grated carrots
*Take one ball of atta and spread into circular shape of approximately 13 cms
*Take one portion of tapioca mix  and keep it at the centre ,fold from the sides and  spread again 
*Smear little oil on both sides, keep it on a  tawa and heat it till it   turns into brown colour
*Have this with tomato sauce, chutney or pickle 
   
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Posted by Ramachandran at 12:38 AM No comments: 
Saturday, December 10, 2011

Present day job opportunities

                                          Present day job opportunities

Key words – job, opportunity, scope, vacancies

Everybody in this world want to have a job to earn their livelihood. In good olden days people were mainly doing jobs associated with agriculture. Industrialization gave an impetus to job opportunities. Modern technology developed over the years  is a major factor in this area. More and more new disciplines are coming up and this helps in creating more jobs.

Some of the best modern day career options:

Generally there are some traditional careers  that are always good:

·  Business

·  Finance

·  Engineering

·  Medicine (including nursing)

·  Trades

·  Tourism including hotel industry

·  Military, Navy, Air force

 

There are also some traditional careers that are  poor choices, usually due to the large supply of people that want to do them and the small demand of opportunity.

·  Professional sports

·  Acting

·  Music

·  Dance

·  Graphic arts

·  Philosophy

 

However, to use the term modern day implies a change, often due to the new technology. The most vibrant area in the present day is IT. In the past 30 years software development  has risen from obscurity to become a strong subfield of engineering. Another field in which crores of rupees are spent is advertising. Graphic arts has a major role to  play in this field. Another area is TV and associated wwork,

All disciplines have got their own advantages and disadavantages. The students have to identify their interests and pursue the studies accordingly.

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Professional Ethics

Key words: profession, ethics, integrity, training, obligations

Profession is a vocation based upon education and training and professionals are those who have got specialized training and can take decisions of their own and can act accordingly which ordinary persons can’t do. Ethics is a branch of philosophy that involves systematizing and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior. Ethics are values and beliefs of an individual or a society as a whole. Ethical principles  are:  honesty, integrity, being fair and open minded, respect for dignity and accountable for one’s decisions and their consequences.

It is reported that Chanakya wrote “Arthashastra” in fourth century BC during Chandra Gupta Maurya’s rule. It is a treatise on statecraft, economic policy and military strategy. Professional ethics refer to the ethical obligations to be followed by professionals. Every profession has got its own obligations - Engineers have got their own values and beliefs, doctors have their own, lawyers their own and teachers their own obligations.

The main question that crops at this juncture is who decides what is ethical?  What is good at one point of time need not be good all the times. Each profession has got its own code of ethics. A code of ethics prescribes what a professional should do so that he can  do the best at the minimum cost. It also helps a professional to choose what to do when faced with a problem.  A professional has obligations towards his employer, client/customer   and society.

Ethics plays an important role in the workplace. General public are unlikely to do business with an unethical company. When a company is caught doing something unethical, that company often faces  different problems. Consumers may  boycott their products.  Ethics and work should go hand in hand. Maintaining ethics should be an integral part of the workplace.

 

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