The NEED for GREEN DIWALI

Happy Diwali to All of you.

Indeed i would love to say HAPPY GREEN DIWALI. but i know that you guys will still destroy planet earth on this auspicious day.

So i will just try to remind you gys why we need to go green this diwali.

Diwali celebration brings joy and fun for millions of people around the world. However, the usual way of bursting lots of noisy fire crackers, using excessive packing for gifts as well as electricity for illumination make the festival harmful to human health and environment and wasteful as well.

The fire crackers made of a kind of gun powder create noise in the range of 100-150dBA which is well above the human tolerance of 80-90dBA. Such noise can cause hearing loss, increase in blood pressure and even heart attack. The crackers along other fireworks cause smoke with contains high amount of Sulphur di-oxide, Nitrogen oxides and heavy metals like Lead, Cadmium etc. According Government of NCT, Delhi, the air pollution level in the city manifolds upto 10 times during diwali. Exposure to such smoky air, could lead one to diseases like asthma, anaemia with kidney damage.

The unburnt parts of the fireworks containing harmful chemicals like lead, copper, cadmium, sodium nitrite or potassium nitrate can contamination to water bodies. The wrapping for gift and other items piles up substantial amount of solid waste across the country.

Harmful effects of Chemicals used in crackers
Let's do a little analysis of crackers and list out in actual terms the harmful effects posed by each of its chemicals.

Copper :Irritation of respiratory tract

Cadmium :Anemia and damage to kidney

Lead :Affects the nervous system

Magnesium : Its dust and fumes cause metal fume fever

Sodium :Reacts violently with moisture and can attack the skin.

Zinc :Leads to vomiting

Nitrate : Could lead to mental impairment

Nitrite : Could lead to coma.

Not to mention the fires and burn cases that occur in plenty on this day. Lots of people lose their wealth and some even their lives thanks to the fun you have while burning crackers.

Plus in this time of recession , consider the prices of crackers and the hole they will make in your pockets.

A small 20 pataka laddi will cost you 20 INR . higher end explosives start from rs 100 and go all way to 10000 for great rockets that you will enjoy for what, a 10 15 sec maximum.

Think about this. Also we light our houses with oil lamps, candles and electrical illumination. All of these darken our atmosphere and our pockets. The fumes from oil lamps and candles burnt on this day along with crackers raise the carbon level of the Delhi city 15 times by an estimate. And The Delhi city is not clean on any given day too, so you can imagine the extent of environmental damage we make.

So please people. Think before you go all ga ga over Diwali cracker shop.

At lest try to do the following this Diwali and make a little contribution to protect the environment.

@ Buy and sell fire crackers which are tested not to create noise above 100dBA.
# Use fire crackers in the open field, during the days of Diwali only and within 10 pm.
$ Buy and send gifts with minimum wrapping.
% Collect the residues of fireworks and gift items and discard them to municipal solid waste collection system only.
@ Use earthen diyas or pradeeps or handmade candles to illuminate your home, reduce or do not use electric bulbs.
# Use public transport or pack up your new car with relatives or neighbours to have efficient usage of fuel.
% Be responsive to the inconvenience of your neighbours.
@ Go for community celebration, share the joy and happiness.

At the end A VERY HAPPY GREEN DIWALI TO ALL.

A special thanks for these pages:

http://syinfo.blogspot.com/2007/11/make-your-diwali-green.html

http://www.diwalifestival.org/environmentally-safe-diwali.html#air-pollution-through-firecrackers