“God forbid that India should even take to industrialism after the manner of the west…. It would strip the world bare like locusts.” Mahatma Gandhi Willie Cauley-Stein Authentic Jersey , 1928
Rural India is currently undergoing rapid transformation at a pace unprepared for by the government. Advent of mass communication and side effects of globalization are ushering affluence and ability to millions in rural India. This sudden influx of technology is taking a heavy toll on the traditional livelihoods which were environment friendly. The consequence is uncontrolled deforestation Vlade Divac Authentic Jersey , pollution of water bodies Skal Labissiere Authentic Jersey , widespread wastage of non renewal resources Peja Stojakovic Authentic Jersey , and poisoning of the earth with strong chemicals. In this context the need for environmental education for the masses assumes critical proportions. The lack of awareness about environmental issues often acts as the major hindrance to sustainable programs by government Oscar Robertson Authentic Jersey , NGOs and corporate houses.
The Challenges to Environmental Education
There are several challenges which stare at the environmental initiatives across rural India:
• Widespread illiteracy among rural masses.
• Vast and diverse country necessitating customized approach to every part.
• Lack of synergy between government and non government agencies.
• Cost effectiveness of large scale awareness campaigns.
• Exploring and identifying the right human as well as financial resources to spread awareness.
• Hindrance to government sponsored sustainable programs for development in face of easy and cheap means that are anti environment.
• Making environment relevant to the daily existence of masses in rural areas. The Urgent Need
Percolation of semi urban lifestyles and industrialization into rural India is a matter of grave concern for the government as well as environmentalists given the back drop of complete lack of environmental awareness. This fast evolving scenario has posed serious threats to the ecological balance in major parts of rural India with new and dynamic issues cropping up constantly. Some of the pressing problems currently are:
• Rapid disappearance of social forestry from villages across India.
• Widespread use of plastic leading to the near extinction of several local species such as the sparrow and the Indian vulture.
• Heavy pollution of community water bodies such as ponds and lakes leading to frequent occurrence of diseases among the users.
• Excessive use of pesticides leading to infertility of soil in many parts.
• Unrestricted bore wells drilling that has resulted in the ground water level falling at alarming rates. Opportunities for Implementing Sustainable Programs
However amidst this gloomy backdrop lie excellent opportunities waiting to be harnessed. The outreach of mass communication media has opened new avenues for government as well as non government initiatives to spread awareness on a large scale. The presence of NGOs in rural India has increased many folds over the last decade providing the right human resource to carry forward the environmental objectives. There are several corporate houses ready to invest in implementing sustainable programs as part of their CSR efforts implying availability of financial resources to aid government initiatives. Technology has improved substantially to enable minimizing costs of environmental friendly solutions for every walk of life.
The aim of any environmental education should be to allow individuals to explore and gain a deeper understanding of environmental issues and have the skills to make informed and responsible decisions. Such awareness among the rural masses will lead to the willing adoption of sustainable programs and thus aid the process of conservation of the environment. Empowerment of the stakeholders through awareness is the key to environmental education in rural India.
Computers have become a routine part of our lives and kids are no exception to it.
An average Canadian child spends up to three hours on the computer and about 90% of school going children have access to computers at their homes. According to a survey conducted over college students Nemanja Bjelica Authentic Jersey , 20% of them began using computers at the age of nine.
So how is this computer use affecting the vision of children?
Many doctors specializing in eye care of children asserted on the fact that early age computer use put kids on a higher risk for childhood myopia. Though 25% of our population is affected by Myopia Mitch Richmond Authentic Jersey , nearly 50% of adult computer users with college education are nearsighted.
Several studies conducted by the schools of optometrists have found a strong correlation between amount of time spent on computer by young children and their development of nearsightedness.
Why computers prove hard on kids eyes.
Computer put more stress on kids than reading a book or magazine because it is harder to maintain focus on computer generated images than printed ones. This is specifically true to young children whose vision is not properly developed.
According to optometric association Mike Bibby Authentic Jersey , children may be more vulnerable to computer related vision problems because –
Children have limited self awareness. They may keep working on computer for hours without breaks. This prolonged activity can cause eye strain and focusing problems.
Children presume that their eye sight is normal even if their vision is deteriorating and impaired.