World Diabetes Day - 14th Nov 2012 (Think Blue, Wear Blue)

World Diabetes Day (WDD) is celebrated every year on November 14, to mark the birthday of Frederick Banting who, along with Charles Best, first conceived the idea which led to the discovery of insulin in 1922.

The campaign aims at encouraging people like us to take heed of the situation proactively and acknowledge the warning signs. It is also hoped that the increased awareness will lead to more resources to fight the causes of diabetes and help fund research into improved treatment options.

Today, Diabetes is one of the most common diseases prevailing in the lifestyle of every stratum of society. Diabetes is a health condition of a person that occurs when body is not able to utilize the hormone insulin properly. Most of the people suffering from diabetes are unaware of the fact that they are a victim of this disease due to lack of information and knowledge of the signs and symptoms of this disease.

Here are some common symptoms that can help you to diagnose the disease in its early stage and prevent it from being fatal!

v  Hereditary                                                                         

v  Blurry Vision                                                                      

v  Dryness of skin                                                                

v  Mental exertion                                                                              

v  Sudden loss in weight

v  Tingling or numbness in Hands, legs or Feet

v  Dizziness

v  Slow rate of healing wounds

v  Abnormal increase in appetite

v  Unusual increase of thirst and urination

Show you care. Think Blue. Wear Blue.

The colour blue reflects the sky that unites all nations and is the colour of the United Nations flag. The blue circle signifies the unity of the global diabetes community in response to the diabetes pandemic.

Help us advocate and bring awareness for diabetes and the people touched by it. Wear something blue and show you care.

People across the globe will be ‘rockin’ their blues on November 14.
Will you be?

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World Animal Day : Oct 4th

" The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated. "

                                                                                                                                                                    – Mohandas Gandhi

The aim of World Animal Day is to celebrate animal life in all its forms as well as humankind's relationship with the animal kingdom.World Animal Day, designated on October 4, has been historically celebrated since 1931 as a way of highlighting the plight of animals across the globe. Chosen on the date of the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals, it is currently celebrated in various ways throughout the world with no particular focus on nationality, religion, or political ideology.
The aim of the day is to educate and make people aware of beautiful creatures, while also providing information on how to look after and respect animals.

What You Can do ?

World Animal Day 4th October - Be a part of something special, Get involved and show you care about animals.Dont tream them as just they re animal. Treat them as a special one.World Animal Day presents such a wonderful opportunity for everyone who cares about animals to stand unite with animal advocates around the world in order to heighten public awareness of animal issues, an oppourtunity far too good to miss! Increase awareness of animal issues will lead the way to improve standards of animal welfare throughout the glove and what an achievement that will be.This day carries a level of importance beyond any religious observance. Many species of wild animal are increasingly threatened and endangered.

World Habitat Day - Oct 1

Wildlife is all-important for the eco-system to sustain and survive.And wildlife thrives on an ideal habitat.

The first Monday of October is World Habitat Day. October 1 to 7, every year, is celebrated as World Wildlife Week.It was officially designated by the United Nations and first celebrated in 1986.

Musk, ivory, rhino horns, tiger and leopard skins and much more demanded, endanger our wildlife. Even our constant search for land, forests destruction lead to a loss of habitat for wildlife which lead to an extinction of many of the important species.

ZeDay on September 21

Zero Emissions Day is a Global 24 hour Moratorium on Fossil Fuel Combustion to be held globally on 21.

The message, "Giving our planet one day off a year", was simple yet profound. This is a simple call for collective action to take some of the pressure off our dying world. It’s important because it shows us what a day without fossil fuel use can feel like, and it’s not that bad.

So mark this one in your calendar and this September 21 devotes a day to the planet we all love.

The Zero Emissions Day movement is inspired by the awareness that earth civilizations have been accelerating exponentially fed by the consumption of our finite fossil fuel resources – and this hasn't stopped for over two centuries. It's occurred to many that it would be a really good idea if we put the brakes on what appears to be runaway and completely out of control.

There are scores of campaigns which deal with different aspects of the problems we face (and these are all to be commended). Until recently though, these generally would either focus protest and anger against such and such or encourage an orgy of energy expenditure to draw attention to a cause.

ZeDay is completely different in this respect. It is simply stopping for a day. Going back to square one. It is not against anything. It's all inclusive, requires nothing save mindfulness, and promises general, universal benefit.

The moratorium might go by any name really. The 'Z' in ZeDay, stands for zero, and yet could just as well signify that we really have come to the end of the line (alphabet) at this point. The recently calculated Earth Overshoot Day from the Global Footprint Network highlights how we as a species are dead-ending, using more resources than our planet can produce in any giving year at an alarming rate (and we’ve been living like this for over 20 years now!).

You have the power to benefit everyone and everything on our planet. The Path is Easy!

The Guidelines are simple: 

1.Don’t use or burn oil or gas or coal. 

2.Minimize (or eliminate) your use of electricity generated by fossil fuels. 

3.Don’t put anyone in harm’s way: All essential and emergency services operate normally.

The Guidelines are simple:

1. Don’t use or burn oil or gas or coal. 

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2. Minimize (or eliminate) your use of electricity generated by fossil fuels. 

3. Don’t put anyone in harm’s way: All essential and emergency services operate normally. 

4. Do your best, be creative, have fun, enjoy the day!

If we're not able to stop the world completely, we can at least do our very best to slow it down for a day, and just that might make a big difference.

For more information visit

http://zeday.org

World Ozone Day - September 16th

World Ozone Day  16th September

           World Ozone Day  is celebrated every year on 16th September since 1995. This Day marks the importance of Ozone layer and its role in the environment. The United nations General Assembly has designated this Day to reflect the adoption of Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the Ozone layer.


What is Ozone ?


              Ozone is a gas that is naturally present in our atmosphere. It is made up of three oxygen atoms (O3). The word ozone is derived from the Greek word ó?e?? (ozein), meaning “to smell.” It occurs naturally in small (trace) amounts in the upper atmosphere (the stratosphere). Ozone protects life on Earth from the Sun’s ultraviolet (UV) radiation. In the lower atmosphere (the troposphere) near the Earth’s surface, ozone is created by chemical reactions between air pollutants from vehicle exhaust, gasoline vapors, and other emissions. At ground level, high concentrations of ozone are toxic to people and plants. 

What is The ozone Hole ?

             The ozone hole is not technically a “hole” where no ozone is present, but is actually a region of exceptionally depleted ozone in the stratosphere over the Antarctic that happens at the beginning of Southern Hemisphere spring (August–October). Satellite instruments provide us with daily images of ozone over the Antarctic region. The ozone hole image below shows the very low values (blue and purple colored area) centered over Antarctica on October 4, 2004. An atmospheric circulation pattern known as the "circumpolar vortex" builds over Antarctica in the winter, due to the very cold air mass that forms there. This vortex prevents stratospheric air from lower latitudes, which contains much more ozone, from penetrating into the atmosphere over Antarctica. At the same time, the long winter night deprives the air in the vortex of sunlight, which is necessary to produce stratospheric ozone. 

The result is that very low levels of ozone occur during September and October. While this natural phenomenon was originally called the "Southern Anomaly", the term "ozone hole" has become more popular since it was discovered that some man-made gases called "chloroflurocarbons" can interact with and destroy ozone. This process is believed by many scientists to have caused the ozone levels over Antarctica, which were already low at this time of year, to virtually disappear in some years. 

What is Ozone layer Depletion ?

           The ozone layer protects the Earth from the ultraviolet rays sent down by the sun.  If the ozone layer is depleted by human action, the effects on the planet could be catastrophic.As the ozone layer is getting thinner and thinner more and more harmful UV rays are passing into our atmosphere. These rays cause cancer, cataracts, and lowered immunity to diseases. In recent years, scientists have sounded alarms internationally about the depletion of the ozone layer, citing chemical pollution as the major cause. 

What Can We Do?

There are many ways individuals can slow the rate of ozone depletion. Some of them are...
* Immediately repair any leaks in your refrigerator and make sure all CFCs are recovered and properly recycled before any refrigerator is scrapped.
*  Avoid buying all products that contain Ozone depleting substances such as: carbon tetrachloride in dry-cleaning agents, halons found in fire extinguishers, methyl chloroform in degreasers and propellants, and anything insulated in Styrofoam. 
*  Consider alternatives to air conditioning systems in your houses, such as: insulating your homes, install fan cooling systems, apply coats of reflective seal on your roof to keep heat out, and vents hot attic spaces to get hot air out of your homes. 
*  Ensure maintenance of your cars air conditioning systems so that no Freon leaks.

Conclusion :

          The protection and conservation of our ozone is vital for the continuation of all biological systems and life forms on earth. If we decide to let things go on the way they are, extinction will start with the marine ecosystems, and then the plants will start to die out, the animals will starve or die of diseases and eventually the universe will come to an end.