Celebrating An Eco Friendly Ganesh Festival in Goa

1. Clinton Vaz Celebrating An Eco Friendly Ganesh Festival Celebrating An Eco Friendly Ganesh Festival in Goa

2. Clinton Vaz Celebrating An Eco Friendly Ganesh Festival Fireworks Firecrackers are traditionally perceived as being the highlight of Ganesh celebrations. Moving from simple sparklers to elaborate fireworks All available crackers contain large amounts of toxic substances. These affect people in different ways. Store Safely: Toxic substances are harmful to all living creatures. Wash hands with soap twice after handling fireworks. Reduce the unnecessary use of fireworks, as their harmful effects are experienced long after Ganesh celebrations are ended.

3. Clinton Vaz Celebrating An Eco Friendly Ganesh Festival Fireworks Toxics In Firecrackers Copper: Causes irritation in the respiratory tract, which leads to respiratory ailments. Cadmium: Reduces the oxygen carrying capacity of blood, leading to anemia. It also causes kidney damage. Lead: Lead in the body has a harmful effect on the nervous system. Magnesium: Magnesium fumes cause a condition known as metal fume fever. This is a fever accompanied by a metallic taste in the mouth. Zinc: Also causes metal fume fever. In addition, it also induces vomiting. Sodium: Sodium is a highly reactive element. It combines with moisture in the air and on the skin, causing burns.

4. Clinton Vaz Celebrating An Eco Friendly Ganesh Festival Fireworks Other Problems Air Pollution: Toxic fumes in the smoke also causes air pollution. However, people suffering from asthma and other respiratory conditions could have an attack by slightest smoke inhalation. Noise Pollution: Some fireworks can produce a sound of 100 decibels when they are burst. Any sound beyond 50 decibels is classified as being noise. Sudden noise can cause temporary hearing loss. Crackers burst indiscriminately cause long term problems to babies and elderly people. Child Labor: Some fireworks are made by over 50,000 child-laborers in India. Due to diseases by toxic substances, many of these children do not live beyond their teenage years. Burns & Injuries: Careless handling of fireworks causes countless accidents of burns, blinding and maiming each year. Fireworks Scare Pets: Animals like Birds, Cats & Dogs get extremely stressed during festivals like Ganesh. This could cause unpredictable behavior.

5. Clinton Vaz Celebrating An Eco Friendly Ganesh Festival Solutions Look for ‘child-labour free’ labeling on firework box. Larger manufacturers like Sivakasi have done so, but smaller factories, and agents still employ children. Light fireworks with adult supervision. Wear proper clothing, Ensure fireworks are lit away from body, and fuse wires are long enough. Reducing the number of fireworks used, reduces air pollution. Wash face, eyes once fireworks display has ended. Choose low-noise fireworks such as sparklers, fountains and ‘zameen chakkars’ instead of ‘atom bombs’ and rapid fire-crackers. Low noise rockets are available as opposed to traditional bursting rockets. Do not light fireworks near cowsheds, huge trees or stray animals. Keep pets indoors during fireworks display. If possible, close all windows, doors and keep curtains closed to reduce animal’s stress. Fireworks

6. Clinton Vaz Celebrating An Eco Friendly Ganesh Festival Ganesh Idols Forgetting Traditions Traditional clay to make Ganesh idols has slowly been replaced by Plaster of Paris (POP) over the years. POP contains chemicals such as gypsum, sulphur, phosphorus, and magnesium that do not biodegrade. Traditional natural dye paints replaced by heavy metal based paints that contain mercury, cadmium, arsenic, lead, and carbon Fruits, garlands, decorations replaced by disposable plastic or thermocol alternatives that do not biodegrade.

7. Clinton Vaz Celebrating An Eco Friendly Ganesh Festival Wells, Beaches and Riverbanks are dirty for days after Visarjan causing an eyesore. Water gets toxic with idol remains, plastic garlands, coconuts, crowns etc as they do not break down easily. Fish mortality is common after immersion, proving the effects of toxic substances. Ganesh Idols

8. Clinton Vaz Celebrating An Eco Friendly Ganesh Festival Ganesh Idols Solutions Reuse the same idol every year. Brass or copper idols can be symbolically immersed. Choose clay idols over POP even if slightly more expensive. Buy idols painted with vegetable based dyes. Else, buy an idol with least amount of paint. Avoid idols with excessive gold, silver or glosssy paints. Buy locally grown fruit. For decorations, use only cloth, wood or paper based items. Avoid plastics, laminates and thermocol as they are non recyclable. Encourage people to immerse the idols in tanks of water rather than in natural water bodies.

9. Clinton Vaz Celebrating An Eco Friendly Ganesh Festival Ghumats: The top of a Ghumat, used during Bhajans and Pujas is made with monitor lizard skin, secured with cotton string. This causes scores of monitor lizards to be illegally slaughtered for their skin. Domestic animal skins and materials are available as an alternative. Power Consumption: People decorate their homes by lighting them up. This places a huge load on the power supply system. Electric lights are used to decorate entire homes, offices, and roads. Sometimes, these lights are even left on even during the day. This is a waste of energy. It is better to switch to the traditional oil lamps. Even though they consume oil, these lamps are usually used only for a short time. Consumerism: People believe that this is an auspicious time to purchase goods. The newspapers are full of advertisements offering discounts, sales, and free gifts. Deluded by these claims, consumers tend to go out and buy items that they do not really need. These items like television sets, DVD players, etc. tend to lie unused and are then discarded. This results in wastage of precious natural resources that go into making these items. In addition, most of these items are non degradable. When they are discarded, they lie in landfills and garbage dumps, sometimes for years on end. Ghumats & More

10. Clinton Vaz Celebrating An Eco Friendly Ganesh Festival Thank You Mr. Clinton Vazklintvaz@gmail.com+91 9890936828