There are so many small -small things that could make the change to environment system. We all are aware still we look for a bigger change; a change made by someone else, some MNC come and ask you to be a part and you join it for showoff. Let’s start from ownself. Please, stop fooling ownself. Going green is not a trend, it’s your NEED & DEED.

Start using what is needed, don’t create unnecessary requirement. Don’t discard your old mp3 player for the sake iPod or switch to new mobile just because it has that extra* feature, like GPS. Or really want to track, when get lost in a concrete jungle! Before disposing off the old xyz GB Hard disk, dispose off the useless stuff that’s lying on your computer and you too know, you are never going to check it.

Change your lifestyle; else this world will change so drastically that you will not find any comfort. So better adapt now rather than making adjustments later.
Please check Greendex 2009: Consumer Choice and the Environment survey report (as per report Indians are most Greenest! )  and also take this quiz and you will be amazed to know, how each of us are demolishing the nature.

If you want to know, how you can make an impact in saving environment, read these useful daily tips.
Also check my similar post on environment Green Alphabets and Start acting to save Earth and Need an earthy treatment.

Make a greener world for your own sake!

So what special you did, forget about the other day through Every day is earth day.

Did you grow some plants? Save water by not wasting while bathing or cleaning cloths and took a bicycle to go to nearby place and pooled car with office colleagues.
Few simple things can make our earth SIMPLER.

I am not asking about what children will see in future but I am saying what WE will have in present even.
Fuel prices are going high, cooking gas price and electricity bill increasing. Do we really need Air conditioner life every time we step in (home/ office) and step out (Car). So many small things can make big difference.
Think and act. Time is now.

And here, my take on artificially created environment for animal’s survival.

Do we really need a showcase or a real show window to save our earth

Man must feel the earth to know himself and recognize his values…. God made life simple. It is man who complicates it.

Please Take care!

Have you ever noticed what are the colors used for your favorite blue shirt? Are they natural or synthetic and artifically made? How much are they harmful to the enviroment or our body? Yes, I am talking about the colors and its impact on health and environment.
Dry colors, vegetable colors or natural dye colors are more skin friendly, and good. Its more like a family, region based business for making colors and implementing the same on products like-carpet, toys and printing etc.
The color that you are wearing, using will not only have colors to soothe your eyes but fragnance of the ingredients will also smells nicely. Colors derived from nature have some depth which chemical dyes lack.

China, Rome, Brazil, East Indies, France and many more countries are coloring the world in natural way. In history, India is painting naturally approximately since 327BC and has been a metaphor of excellance.

Natural colored dyed and handspun Carpet from nomadrugs.com

These natural, hand made, eco-friendly dyes are biodegradable and non-carcinogenic. They are obtained from dried flowers, leaves, seeds & barks and from stones at times from insects also! These are soft and low toxic colors generally non-allergic.
And use for dyeing of Textile like fibre, wool, yarns or garments etc. Paper coloring, on Toys and other Wooden products, making handmade Soaps, Candles; possible areas are unlimited.
From Indigo dye used in ‘Ikat’ (textile from Orissa, India) and food colors added in the form of Indian spices like Turmeric.
Nature colors.
Natural colors and dyes are extracted by the process of fermentation, boiling, and treatment with chemicals. Colors can be obtained from a single dye by the use of different mordents with which the fabrics to be dyed are treated.

 
Indigo Dye and wool dyed in same. Pictures taken from http://www.aurorasilk.com/

Naturally Printed.
Fiber has cellulose and it will easily absorb natural dyes. Indian textiles are famous for naturally dyed cotton cloths. Gujarat, one of the major center for dyed and block printed textile. Rajasthan tie & dye (Bandhini) is worldwide famous so are Kasmir carpets that have interesting patterns by using vegetable dyes colors and Bihar Madhubani paintings painted delicately in natural colors.
Both western & eastern coast of India have beautifully printed cotton but technique is bit different. If south indian artists uses brush to paint then Gujarat uses wooden blocks for printing nice patterns.

Techniques
Printing blocks are made of teak wood, on one side design is etched. Other side has a wooden handle for holding and drilled cylindrical holes to pass the air and allowing the release of excess colors. New blocks are soaked in oil for 2 weeks or so to soften the wood grains.
In south a bamboo pen is used. That’s how Kalamkari- kalam (pen) and kari (means Work) method of painting on cotton or silk happen. Andhra Pradesh in India is famous for Kalamkari work.
Natural Dyes are supposed to use but gradually artificial and chemical colors are replacing the Indigo blue and Turmeric yellows.

Images courtesy- http://www.fabindia.com/craftsProfile.asp

Dyes making
Most of natural dyes are produced in situ means the coloring substance is extracted form the raw material and used. Which has disadvantage of non-reproduction, mass production, storing is also limited and it’s not standardized.
If techniques are used to produce in powder form than these drawbacks can be remove. Power would be available for long period of time, easy to carry & use and can be standardized by following the guidelines. Color variations in different lot can be also minimized.

Chemical Connection.
One side Natural dyes are organic, eco friendly, bio degradable and much more alive other side synthetics or chemically composed colors are inorganic, flat, and dead. A quick difference can be seen by checking the tonality, depth of naturally dye fabric to flat and unchanged artificial colors used textile.

But natural colors are now fading towards artificially made commercialized colors as it’s easy to get, ready to use. It is impractical to restore all our age-old practices with the versatility of man-made products still it s more about making a right choice and going nature way. To create a good and healthy and more alive work, natural dyes made work is better any day. It is not about saving time and producing quantity its more about retaining the craftsmen identities and making a greener and eco friendly choice.

Tags: Natural dyes, Vegetable colors, Indigo, Indian natural dyes, eco-friendly colors, handicraft, craft, Textile

Someone is asking for help badly. Yes, our dear earth is in pain and need help from her 6.5 billion children. But are we listening, and / or doing something?

Not many of us have really thought of what we can do other than having long discussion or talking about ‘green design’ or sustainability to global warming etc.
Well, you can do some really basic things: 7 days and 7 tips !

1. Think about plants & trees as your lungs, whenever you smoke!2. Use your brain when trashing garbage or even a coke can.
3. Carry your bag when going to buy grocery.
4. Use technology but don’t let technology consume you!
5. Show your creative side, reuse the products.
6. Have/use water as it the most expensive liquid.
7. and last Being gadget freak is geek, going green is coolest!

After all, our earth is not well and we all are doctors and it’s high time that we show dedication for this single yet precious patient!

Driving clean means going green or improving the environment quality. As CNG started getting grown as a major fuel source more and more car making companies giving option for CNG model. Compressed Natural Gas or CNG is a substitute for gasoline/petrol or diesel. It is an environmentally “clean” alternative to fuels. It contains methane (CH₄) extracted from natural gas and stored and distributed in hard containers (cylinders). CNG cylinders can be made of steel, aluminium or lightweight composite (fibre-wrapped plastic).

In India few cities have only CNG based public transportation system. Like in capital (New Delhi) it was implemented by Supreme Court in 1998 that all auto rickshaws & Buses in and around city would be CNG or LNG fuel based. According to a study issued by the Centre for Science and Environment, New Delhi, by 2002 all diesel city buses, 3 wheeler auto rickshaws and taxis in New Delhi have been converted to CNG and air pollution levels are noticeably down.
With the opening of more and more CNG stations and easy way to go CNG, private vehicles are also changing to CNG. The Delhi Transport Corporation now boasts it has largest fleet of buses in the world that use a clean fuel like CNG.
Natural gas burns cleaner than other fossil fuels, such as oil and coal, and produces less greenhouse gas per unit energy released. For an equivalent amount of heat, burning natural gas produces about 30% less carbon dioxide than burning petroleum and about 45% less than burning coal.CNG-propelled autorickshaws are green and yellow in colour and buses have green & yellow colors stripes. By following cleaner and greener impact of CNG public transport other countries are also going CNG, like, Pakistan (Punjab) and England, Bangladesh etc.

So are you ready to pick a green fuel vehicle BTW Delhi has DTC (Delhi Transport Corporation) buses- which’s the world largest pollution free chain.
Read about CNG and CNG kit here. Ps: The picture used here is of a CNG Auto rickshaw driver, who is Duplicate of A.P.Kalam. Image is (C) 2007, Paavani.

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