Earth Day celebrated

 22^nd April Monday New Delhi 2013:

Heart Care Foundation of India and World Fellowship of Religions in association with Ministry of Earth Sciences Govt. of India and Delhi Public School Mathura Road observed World Earth Day 2013 by organizing inter school competitions on the theme ‘Future Earth’. More than 15 schools from different parts of Delhi participated in these competitions.

 Speaking on the occasion, Padma Shri and Dr B C Roy National Awardee Dr K K Aggarwal, President Heart Care Foundation of India said that Environmental Education among school children is an important step towards ensuring a sustainable and safer future. We need to keep on motivating them to think positively about the atmosphere they live in and have to live and how they can help in sensitizing their parents and other members of society about the same.

The activities included painting and slogan writing competitions. The best paintings and slogans would be submitted to Ministry of Earth Sciences as entries for their national competition on painting and slogan writing.

Ministry of Earth sciences organizes competitions amongst the winners of these competitions held earlier by NGOs on World Earth Day in the country. The winners are awarded Prizes and certificates.

 The activities will continue on Tuesday with a walk and other competitions.

 Recycle your e-waste

• Electronic waste, or “e-waste,” is a term used to describe any electronic device that is outdated, obsolete, broken, donated, discarded, or at the end of its useful life. This includes cell phones, computers, laptops, PDAs, monitors, televisions, printers, scanners, and any other electrical device.
• With the rapid expansion of technology, combined with the relatively short shelf life of many present day electronic devices, more and more e-waste is generated each year. Often, these discarded devices end up in landfills or are incinerated, which can cause major environmental problems in our communities.
• Many of the materials found in electronic devices are extremely hazardous. These include lead, mercury and cadmium. When these electronics end up in landfills, many of these chemicals leach into the soil during rainfall or are released into the atmosphere when burned. These chemicals can have dangerous impacts on the health of plants and animals and when inhaled can lead to serious respiratory problems. Fortunately, the simple solution to limiting the dangerous effects of careless e-waste disposal is safe and responsible recycling. 
• Each year, the United States alone produces up to 50 million tons of e-waste. Of this, only 20-25% is recycled safely and responsibly. The other 75% ends up in landfills. As a direct consequence, hazardous materials found in this waste routinely contaminate our air and water supplies. By safely and responsibly recycling your e-waste, you can help protect your community and the ecosystem from these dangerous chemicals.
• Everyone should collect all old electronic materials and take them to an e-waste recycling facility to make sure they are properly handled.