Every morning when he would open his window, a filth and plastic covered beach would greet him. Talk about a ‘Good’ morning. Afroz Shah is a lawyer by profession and a resident of Versova, living in his apartment that overlooks the Versova beach. The sorry sight of this once beautiful beach tugged at his heart and propelled him to wear his gloves and step out on the beach. His enthusiasm motivated other residents of Versova to join his cause and that gave birth to the Versova Residents’ Volunteer Committee. Around 30% of Asia’s coral reefs could be lost in the next 30 years due to #climatechange. Let’s #SaveOurOcean: https://t.co/PbtXdVdtwK pic.twitter.com/bb26bQB1fN — United Nations India (@UNinIndia) June 6, 2017 What started on October 25th, 2015, 87 weeks later, today, 5 million kilograms of trash has been removed, turning this into the world’s largest beach cleanup. The Versova beach cleanup attracted volunteers from around the world, including UN Patron of the Oceans – Lewis Pugh, who, along with celebrities, children, corporate houses and residents of Versova joined the effort to clear the beach of all the trash. Afroz has been awarded the UN ‘Champion of the Earth’ award, setting an example for the country. SHM Joins Afroz in the Beach Cleanup Drive All stakeholders r going to clean the ocean on 4th … Continue reading Versova Beach Clean Up Drive with Afroz Shah for World Oceans Day

A healthy ocean requires robust global knowledge of ocean science. We cannot manage what we cannot measure, and no single country is able to measure the myriad changes taking place in the ocean. – Irina Bokova, Director General, UNESCO The serene waters, the soothing blue and welcome splash of waves, Oceans take in all the good and bad in its belly. It is the last resort for humanity, just where it all started. Oceans are where life first formed on this planet. It is the real ‘Cradle of Life’. But, what Irina Boskova said about our Oceans is a blaring wake up call for all the earthlings. As humans, we were meant to possess the intellect and the ability to safeguard the planet but instead, we are set to do everything possible to degrade it. Plastic Pollution has rendered our oceans inhospitable. Plastic is like an epidemic and each person can relate to it. However, the big question is, “where does all this plastic go?” While some is recycled, some thrown into landfills and some is thrown loosely into the streets or our immediate environment, the loosely disposed plastic usually ends up into our waterways. Most of this plastic is found floating in the ocean waters most especially in Indian Ocean where a lot of plastic is disposed in its … Continue reading Combating Plastic Pollution this Oceans Day

“It is submitted that despite the collision warning issued by the Port Control, both vessels did not take appropriate steps, which resulted in the collision at 03:45 hours,” – The Chairman of the Kamarajar Port Trust Ltd, The Hindu, Feb, 21, 2017 It is estimated that in excess of 300,000 liters of oil per day contaminated the sea, equivalent to pouring 10 Olympic swimming pools of toxic sludge into the ocean over the months the spill continued – Timor Sea Oil Spill, 2009. The Jakarta Post dated Feb 21, 2017 Makes your souls cringe right? The frequency of these types of news clippings is increasing day by day due to various reasons, right from collision of vessels to a valve in the oil tanks that go unnoticed. No matter what the reasons are, oil spills can be easily categorized as the most dangerous type of pollution with long lasting effects. In Spite of the gruesome effects quite widely known, shipping companies fail to take necessary precautions, and poisoning the environment, head on. Oil spills are caused when dense liquid hydrocarbons or crude oil is released into the ocean or on land in disturbingly high amounts.. In water bodies, the spill occurs due to drilling rigs, offshore oil platforms, barges, pipelines, refineries, drilling rigs, and storage facilities and offshore wells. Barring … Continue reading Oil Spills- Causes and How to Combat them?