Eco friendly wall

Origami workshop

Visit of traffic police station

Child Rights

FACT SHEET: A summary of the rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child

Article 1 (Definition of the child): The Convention defines a 'child' as a person below the age of 18, unless the laws of a particular country set the legal age for adulthood younger. The Committee on the Rights of the Child, the monitoring body for the Convention, has encouraged States to review the age of majority if it is set below 18 and to increase the level of protection for all children under 18.

Article 2 (Non-discrimination): The Convention applies to all children, whatever their race, religion or abilities; whatever they think or say, whatever type of family they come from. It doesn’t matter where children live, what language they speak, what their parents do, whether they are boys or girls, what their culture is, whether they have a disability or whether they are rich or poor. No child should be treated unfairly on any basis.

Article 3 (Best interests of the child): The best interests of children must be the primary concern in making decisions that may affect them. All adults should do what is best for children. When adults make decisions, they should think about how their decisions will affect children. This particularly applies to budget, policy and law makers.

Article 4 (Protection of rights): Governments have a responsibility to take all available measures to make sure children’s rights are respected, protected and fulfilled. When countries ratify the Convention, they agree to review their laws relating to children. This involves assessing their social services, legal, health and educational systems, as well as levels of funding for these services. Governments are then obliged to take all necessary steps to ensure that the minimum standards set by the Convention in these areas are being met. They must help families protect children’s rights and create an environment where they can grow and reach their potential. In some instances, this may involve changing existing laws or creating new ones. Such legislative changes are not imposed, but come about through the same process by which any law is created or reformed within a country. Article 41 of the Convention points out the when a country already has higher legal standards than those seen in the Convention, the higher standards .

Article 5 (Parental guidance): Governments should respect the rights and responsibilities of families to direct and guide their children so that, as they grow, they learn to use their rights properly. Helping children to understand their rights does not mean pushing them to make choices with consequences that they are too young to handle. Article 5 encourages parents to deal with rights issues "in a manner consistent with the evolving capacities of the child". The Convention does not take responsibility for children away from their parents and give more authority to governments. It does place on governments the responsibility to protect and assist families in fulfilling their essential role as nurturers of children.

Article 6 (Survival and development): Children have the right to live. Governments should ensure that children survive and develop healthily.

Article 7 (Registration, name, nationality, care): All children have the right to a legally registered name, officially recognised by the government. Children have the right to a nationality (to belong to a country). Children also have the right to know and, as far as possible, to be cared for by their parents.

Article 8 (Preservation of identity): Children have the right to an identity – an official record of who they are. Governments should respect children’s right to a name, a nationality and family ties.

Article 9 (Separation from parents): Children have the right to live with their parent(s), unless it is bad for them. Children whose parents do not live together have the right to stay in contact with both parents, unless this might hurt the child.

Article 10 (Family reunification): Families whose members live in different countries should be allowed to move between those countries so that parents and children can stay in contact, or get back together.

Refernces:

http://www.childlineindia.org.in/pdf/Law-Manual.pdf

http://www.unicef.org/crc/files/Rights_overview.pdf

life cycle assessment of plastic and glass

Plasttic

The life cycle of a plastic bottle starts, obviously, with the creation of the plastic used to make it. The vast majority of plastic bottles are manufactured from petroleum, some of which comes from deposits as much as three billion years old. Some manufacturers use bioplastics made from plant materials to create their plastic bottles, out of concern for the environment.

Once oil has been extracted, it is typically moved into container tankers for shipping to refinery facilities. At a refinery, the oil can be submitted to a variety of distillation processes, such as fractional distillation, where the crude oil is heated, causing its various components to separate so that the refinery can make gas, fuel oil, plastics, and a variety of other products. Crude oil can also be “cracked” with chemical catalysts to generate hydrocarbon chains of a desired length; this practice is common, because demand for various petroleum products constantly fluctuates, and cracking ensures that oil is used extremely efficiently and generates the maximum possible profit.

Most plastic bottles are made from polyethylene terephtalate (PET) plastic, and almost all water bottles come from virgin plastic; an estimated 30% of the world's PET goes into plastic bottles. The plastic used in plastic bottles is made by mixing hydrocarbons extracted from crude oil with chemical catalysts, triggering polymerization.

 Next, manufacturers produce plastic pellets, which are melted down into “preforms,” which look like small test tubes; the preforms, in turn, can be heated, causing them to expand and turn into conventional water bottles. Typically bottling companies order preforms, expanding the water bottles at their own facilities as needed.

Water bottles produced from bioplastics are made from plant materials which are processed to form polymers. Bioplastics are believed to be better for the environment, since they do not require the extraction and handling of crude oil, a non-renewable resource, and companies which manufacture them often try to use the best possible environmental practices. Furthermore, bioplastics decompose rapidly; the life cycle of a plastic bottle made from bioplastic is extremely short. In fact, some bottles made from bioplastics will even start to deform and leak if they are kept on the shelf too long.

However, bioplastics are not without environmental issues. The production of such plastics requires dedicating large areas of farmland to the production of crops for plastics, rather than food, and these crops eat up a great deal of water, fuel, and other resources. Bioplastics must also be manufactured with the assistance of a variety of chemicals, and, like regular plastics, they require shipping to an end destination, consuming more fuel along the way. Because they are designed to be disposable while still being relatively environmentally friendly, some activists fear that they may also distract consumers from more environmentally friendly choices, like reusable glass and metal containers.

Depending on the size of a bottling plant, a company will either order preforms and use them as needed, or it will order plastic bottles which are ready for use. The plastic bottles must be sterilized so that they are safe for beverages, and then they are filled, capped, labeled, packed into cases, and prepared for shipping. At this stage in the life cycle of a plastic bottle, the bottle could end up in any number of places, from a relief camp for refugees to the shelf at a high-end supermarket.

When a plastic bottle enters a landfill, it can take hundreds of years to decay, and it can have a profound environmental impact. The route to the landfill is often quite long, as plastic bottles are a very common form of litter around the world, requiring volunteers or government agencies to collect such bottles and bring them to a facility for recycling or other forms of disposal. As plastic bottles decay, they take up precious landfill space, and some leach harmful chemicals into the ground, potentially polluting the soil and water.

Glass

From the 19th century, various types of fancy glass started to become significant branches of the decorative arts. Objects made out of glass include not only traditional objects such as vessels (bowls, vases, bottles, and other containers), paperweights, marbles, beads, but also an endless range of sculpture and installation art as well. Colored glass is often used, though sometimes the glass is painted, innumerable examples exist of the use of stained glass.

Following the glass batch preparation and mixing, the raw materials are transported to the furnace. Soda-lime glass for mass production is melted ingas fired units. Smaller scale furnaces for specialty glasses include electric melters, pot furnaces, and day tanks.

After melting, homogenization and refining (removal of bubbles), the glass is formed. Flat glass for windows and similar applications is formed by thefloat glass process, developed between 1953 and 1957 by Sir Alastair Pilkington and Kenneth Bickerstaff of the UK's Pilkington Brothers, who created a continuous ribbon of glass using a molten tin bath on which the molten glass flows unhindered under the influence of gravity. The top surface of the glass is subjected to nitrogen under pressure to obtain a polished finish Container glass for common bottles and jars is formed by blowing and pressing methods. Further glass forming techniques are summarized in the table Glass forming techniques.

Once the desired form is obtained, glass is usually annealed for the removal of stresses. Surface treatments, coatings or lamination may follow to improve the chemical durability (glass container coatings, glass container internal treatment), strength (toughened glass, bulletproof glass, windshields), or optical properties (insulated glazing, anti-reflective coating).

CNG Vehicle

CNG stands for compressed natural gas. It is one of the most viable alternatives to traditional fuel 
energy resources for the automotive industry. CNG is low in pollutants, high in calorific value and 
heat yield, economical and available in abundance globally. Reasons for switching over to this 
alternate fuel are mainly: 
1. Economic benefit: the cost of CNG is almost a third of the cost of petrol in terms of calorific value 
resulting in substantial saving in fuel cost, and investment on the CNG kit is paid back in a short 
period 
2. Environment friendly: the use of CNG as a fuel reduces vehicular exhaust emissions significantly. 
Carbon monoxide emissions are reduced by 70 to 90% and hydrocarbon emissions by 40 to 60% as 
compared to vehicles that use the conventional fuel - petrol. Carbon dioxide emissions, a cause for 
global warming, are also reduced significantly by 10% 
3. 100% income tax depreciation: corporate organisations, firms, etc. Can claim 100% depreciation 
on a CNG conversion kit as this is a pollution controlling equipment. Organisations that buy CNG 
conversion kits should consult their income tax consultants and avail of the depreciation benefits 
4. Flexibility and ease of use: the basic engine characteristics of a vehicle are retained while 
converting it to run on CNG. The vehicle therefore is capable of running either on petrol or CNG at 
the flick of a switch on its dashboard. 
Disadvantages 
1. loss of luggage space. 2. CNG cylinders take up a lot of storage space and generally have to be 
placed in the boot of the car. 3. The body of the cylinders too have to be made of good grade steel 
capable of handling the roughs and toughs of travelling. 4. The cost of conversion too is another 
major determining factor. The conversion kit can cost from Rs. 25,000 to Rs. 35,000. But experts 
claim that this cost can be recovered from the fuel savings. Finally, based on its characteristics. CNG 
may slightly hamper vehicle performance. 

Food Adulteration

Food Adulteration Detection Home Based Methods

Common spices:

Common spices like turmeric, chilly and curry powder are also adulterated by colours.
Spices (ground) are adulterated by red bran and saw dust. Sprinkle on water surface. Powdered bran and sawdust float on the surface.
Coriander powder is adulterated with dung powder. To find out, soak in water. Dung will float and can be easily detected by its foul smell.


Cumin seeds:

Grass seeds coloured with charcoal dust is used. Rub the cumin seeds on palms. If palms turn black adulteration in indicated.

Asafoetida (Heeng):

Items like soap stone and other earthy matter is used for adulteration. Shake a little quantity of powdered sample with water. Soap stone or other earthy matter will settle at the bottom.

 TUMERIC
Adulterant
Metanil Yellow and Kesari Dal (Added to enhance the yellow color of a food substance)

Test
Dissolve half a spoon full of turmeric powder in 20 ml of lukewarm water. Add a few drops of lemon juice or any commonly available acid at home. If the water turns pink, violet or purple, it shows the presence of Metanil yellow.


Harmful Effects
It's highly carcinogenic and if consumed over a continuous period of time it can also cause stomach disorders.




2. GREEN CHILIES, GREEN PEAS, OTHER GREEN VEGGIES

Adulterant
Malachite Green (To accentuate the bright, glowing green color of the vegetable)


Test
Take a small portion of the sample and place it over a moistened white blotting paper. Colored impressions on the blotting paper indicate the presence of Malachite green.


Harmful effects
It's a colored dye that has proven to be carcinogenic for humans if consumed over a long period of time.




3. MUSTARD SEEDS AND MUSTARD OIL

Adulterant
Argemone seeds (used to add bulk and weight)


Test
When pressed or crushed, argemone seeds are white inside and have a rough outer surface whereas mustard seeds are smooth on the outside and are yellow on the inside.


Harmful effects
The consumption of these could cause epidemic dropsy and severe glaucoma. Young children and senior citizens with poor immunity are more susceptible this.



4. EVAPORATED MILK, CONDENSED MILK AND SOME SOY MILKS

Adulterant
Starch (used to give it a thick, rich texture)


Test
Take a small sample of the product in a test tube, add 20 ml of water and bring to a boil. Cool to room temperature and add a drop or two of iodine solution. If the solution turns blue, it marks the presence of starch.


Harmful effects
Unhygienic, unprocessed water and starch can cause stomach disorders. Starch greatly reduces the nutritional value of the ingredient.



5. ICE CREAM

Adulterant
Washing powder (used to add a bright white sheen and lightness of flavor)


Test
Squeeze a few drops of lemon juice on the ice cream. If it starts to froth and bubble, it marks the presence of washing powder.


Harmful effects
It can cause severe stomach and liver disorders



6. BLACK PEPPER

Adulterant
Papaya seeds (used to add bulk)


Test
Float the sample in alcohol. Mature black pepper corns will sink where as papaya seeds will float to the surface.


Harmful effects
Papaya seeds can cause serious liver problems and stomach disorders.



7. INSTANT COFFEE

Adulterant
Tamarind seeds, chicory powder (used to add bulk and color)


Test
Gently sprinkle coffee on the surface of water in a glass. The coffee will float whereas chicory will start to sink within a few seconds. Also, the falling chicory powder will leave a trail of color behind due to the large amounts of caramel it contains.


Harmful effects
These can cause diarrhea, stomach disorders, giddiness and severe joint pains.