CLEAN students of the Delhi chapter (DEAN) would like to share a few of their experiences with you. Read on...

Franklin D. Roosevelt once wrote " The nation that destroys its soil destroys itself". How true it is. But the implied meaning of Roosevelt’s statement is more evident now than it was then. Pollution has become an inevitable feature of our life and we are fighting against this evil in order to protect our lives. One of the ways in which we can achieve this is by environmental awareness which is being spread by various schools and NGOs. The Environment Awareness Club (EAC) of Carmel Convent School is also trying to contribute to this campaign in its own little way.
 
On July 23, 1999, the members of EAC with the help of DEAN (Delhi Environment Action Network), launched by Development Alternatives, planted one tree each and pledged to take best care of it. Twenty such saplings of Palash, Ticoma kadam, Gulmohar, Arjun and Acacia were planted in the school campus. All the students were then asked to plant trees near their localities. The students and the teachers were encouraged to exchange potted plants instead of gifts.
 
Another project that we undertook was the collection of old books. We requested the students to keep their old books and pass them on to their juniors through the EAC. The books that we collected were given off free of cost to the juniors to help save paper and to make them realise the importance of paper.
 
The response to both these projects was overwhelming.
 
How true was Robert E Sherwood when he said, ".... Nature is hitting back. Not with the old weapons - floods, plagues, holocausts. We can neutralise them. She’s fighting back with strange instruments called neuroses. She’s deliberately inflicting mankind with the jitters....She’s taking the world away from the intellectuals and giving it back to the apes."
 
It’s time that Delhi’s 13 million people realise that how close is their city to destruction. We as children can definitely make things better. THE TIME TO ACT IS NOW.

Dimpy Arora
XII, Carmel Convent School

MONITORING OF AIR QUALITY IN ATTAMARKET IN NOIDA

On January 11, 2000 DEAN students and a teacher of DPS Noida went for monitoring air quality in the local Atta market. This market is located along a main road with heavy traffic and faces an upcoming commercial area with tall buildings and a lot of ongoing construction. Atta, originally a village, is now transformed into a congested urban market. But, a lot of people continue to reside behind the market place. Therefore, it was very appropriate for us to test the quality of air there.
  
We placed the air monitoring kit – Pawan Tara – next to a shop in the middle of the market for four hours. The kit was adjusted such that it sucked 2 litres of air per minute, which is the rate at which humans breathe in air. A survey sheet was filled up by the students to record the prevailing conditions in the market and its surroundings.
 
In the course of the survey of the area, we found that the presence of tall buildings in front of the market place restricts the flow of air because of which all the pollutants (especially the particulate matter) remain stagnated and close to the ground. During winters, the condition worsens, causing smog and leading to low visibility. Across the road, there is a Dhallao, a huge dumping ground.
 
When we asked the shopkeepers and customers on what they felt about the air quality, the roadside hawkers said that it was difficult for them to sit in the evening due to the pollution from the heavy traffic on the road. The customers felt that when the generators were working it made breathing difficult. Also, the stench from the blocked open drain right in front made matters worse. The shopkeepers were not ready to acknowledge the problems faced by them due to the prevalent quality of air. Probably, they thought this might lead to a loss in their business.

Due to the location, size and "popularity" of this market, undertaking any action to reduce air pollution in this area would be a very challenging and difficult task.

Shibani Ghosh
XI-B, DPS Noida

THE DEAN MEET

The CLEAN-India MEET for me is one of the biggest environmental gatherings in India for students. It provides a forum for young activists to express their concern for the environment through art and declamation. Schools from all around India participate in this meet with great joy and enthusiasm.
 
The last CLEAN Meet was held in Januray 2000. All the participating schools were given different topics. The topic given to our school was - "The importance of trees". The young activists rom our school were thrilled about the whole affair and they made several beautiful and colourful posters under the caption - "TREES - the Pulse of Nature ". Putting their young minds together, the activists came up with several brilliant ideas.
 
The CLEAN Festival can be compared to an expanding network which is involving more and more people at a rapid pace. The CLEAN Meet transformed us into aware, young citizens who are ready to solve the environmental problems of the world. CLEAN also developed a computer database, which gave us the results of water monitoring conducted in different parts of Delhi and NOIDA. In the meet, we were also informed about actions which each one of us can undertake at an individual level, which would help solve our environmental problems.
 
Altogether, CLEAN has helped tremendously in channelizing the youth energies and focusing them on the environmental problems we face today so that we, the youth of today and the future leaders of the world, can find solutions to erase these problems from the face of the earth forever.

Ram G.
X–C, Amity International - NOIDA

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