10 Little Things you can do for the Environment

1. Use a glass when brushing your teeth. Every year, billions of liters of fresh water is wasted by simply not using a glass when brushing your teeth.

2. Don’t use straws. They say the straw is the most stupid invention. They are unnecessary and only add to our waste problem.

3. Say NO to plastics when shopping. Bring your own reusable bags when doing your grocery, or when buying single items like books or cd’s, a plastic bag, or even a paper bag is unnecessary.

4. Turn off the lights. When there is ample daylight or when no one is in the room. You not only save on electricity, you also lower temperature as light gives off heat.

5. Walk. Take the stairs. Or car pool or take public transportation. You not only lower your carbon gas emissions, you are also doing your heart good when you walk regularly.

6. Unplug cell phone chargers after use. As well as all unused electronic appliances. Some appliances use more electricity even when not in use. Microwave oven with timers uses more electricity on stand by mode the entire day than when you cook dinner with it.

7. Use both sides of the paper. And make sure to recycle it after. You not only lessen your wastes but you also help stop the unnecessary cutting of more trees.

8. Turn off shower when soaping. And make sure to avoid long and frequent showers. Showering three times a day not only uses precious fresh water, but also creates more waste water that goes into our rivers and lakes. It dries your skin too.

9. Never burn anything. Burned resources are lost forever. Burning also releases harmful substances into the atmosphere. Reduce and reuse always. Compost and recycle what you can.

10. Tell your friends about this. Spread the word, and together we can make a difference.

Excessive Mobile Phone Use Makes You Mad

Now the scientists have discovered that cell phone damages the cells in brain and makes the person suffer from the brain related ailments ranging from small time memory loss to fatal Alzheimer's. To prove this they have shown the result practically.

Two cell phones are placed in opposite direction. They were connected to different tape recorders and left for sometime. The sounds recorded on tape are now emitting out from the cell phones. An egg was placed between the two. After 65 minutes to the surprise of all the egg was fried and started emitting little smoke. This is an illustration for Radio Activity and Radio emitted by cell phones. Scientists say that brain cells damage easily with cell phone usage. They say, "First it affects on emotional channels of brain. Person becomes blunt to emotions slowly and he or she will not find any sexual arousal eventually by speaking for longer hours on cell phone. Slowly the damage increases and it may even lead to madness".

Here are a few remedies to overcome this:
"Never put the cell phone near your ears if you are going to speak for more than 2 minutes. Use ear phones. Even then restrict your talk to 6-7 minutes", says a scientist.

In Case of Emergency(ICE)...

We all carry our mobile phones with hundreds of names/numbers stored in its memory but yet nobody, other than ourselves, know which of these numbers belong to our near and dear ones?

In case we are involved in an accident or had a heart attack and the people attending us get hold of our mobile phone but don't know which number to call to inform our family members. Yes, there are many numbers stored but which one is the contact person in case of an emergency?

For this reason, we must have one or more telephone numbers stored under the name ICE ( In case of Emergency) in our mobile phones.

Recently, the concept of "ICE" is catching up quickly. It is simple, and important method of contact during emergency situations.

As cell phones are carried by a majority of the population, just store the number of a contact person or person who should be contacted at during emergency as ICE" (meaning In Case of Emergency).

The idea was thought up by a paramedic who found that when they went to the scenes of accidents, there were always mobile phones with patients, but they didn't know which number to call.

He therefore thought that it would be a good idea if there was a nationally recognized name for this purpose.

Following a disaster in London, the East Anglican Ambulance Service has launched a national "In case of Emergency (ICE)" campaign.

In an emergency situation, Emergency Service personnel and hospital staff would then be able to quickly contact your next of kin, by simply dialing the number stored as "ICE".

Please spread this message around. It really could save your life, or put a loved one's mind at rest.

For more than one contact name simply enter ICE1, ICE2 and ICE3 etc.

A great idea that will make a difference!

Let's spread the concept of ICE by storing an ICE number in our mobile phones today! Please inform all your nearest and dearest.

Ear and Cell Phone

Please use LEFT EAR while using cell (mobile), because if you use the right one it will affect brain directly. This is a true fact from Apollo medical team. Please send this link to all your well wishers.

Winners are those who never quit

Nice To Know This

1. Chewing on gum while cutting onions can help a Person from stop producing tears. Try it next time you chop onions!!!!!!!!!!
2. Until babies are six months old, they can breathe and swallow at the same time. Indeed convenient!
3. Offered a new pen to write with, 97% of all people will write their own name.
4. Male mosquitoes are vegetarians. Only females bite.
5. The average person's field of vision encompasses a 200-degree wide angle.
6. To find out if a watermelon is ripe, knock it, and if it sounds hollow Then it is ripe.
7. Canadians can send letters with personalized postage stamps showing their own photos on each stamp.
8. Babies' eyes do not produce tears until the baby is approximately six to eight weeks old.
9. It snowed in the Sahara Desert in February of 1979.
10. Plants watered with warm water grow larger and more quickly than plants watered with cold water.
11. Wearing headphones for just an hour will increase the bacteria in your ear by 700 times.
12. Grapes explode when you put them in the microwave.
13. Those stars and colours you see when you rub your eyes are called phosphenes.
14. Our eyes are always the same size from birth, but our nose and ears Never stop growing.
15. Everyone's tongue print is different, like fingerprints.
16. Contrary to popular belief, a swallowed chewing gum doesn't stay in the gut. It will pass through the system and be excreted.
17. At 40 Centigrade a person loses about 14. 4 calories per hour by Breathing.
18. There is a hotel in Sweden built entirely out of ice; it is rebuilt Every year.
19. Cats, camels and giraffes are the only animals in the world that walk Rightfoot, right foot, left foot, left foot, rather than right foot,left Foot...
20. Onions help reduce cholesterol if eaten after a fatty meal.
21. The sound you hear when you crack your knuckles is actually the sound of nitrogen gas bubbles bursting.
22. In most watch advertisements the time displayed on the watch is 10:10 because then the arms frame the brand of the watch And make it look like it's smiling.
23. The color blue can have a calming affect on people.
24. Depending upon the shade, the brain may send up to 11 tranquilizing Chemicals to calm the body
25. Leonardo DA Vinci could write with the one hand and draw with the other simultaneously. Now we know why his pictures were exquisite!!
26. Names of the three wise monkeys are: Mizaru (See no evil), Mikazaru(Hear no evil), and Mazaru (Speak no evil).
27. The only 2 animals that can see behind itself without turning it's head are the rabbit and parrot.
28. The only 15 letter word that can be spelled without repeating a letter is uncopyrightable.
29. Babies are born without knee caps. They don't appear until the child Reaches 2-6 years of age
30. The names of the continents all end with the same letter with which they start.
31. Electricity doesn't move through a wire but through a field around the wire.
32. All U.S. Presidents have worn glasses; some of them just didn't like to be seen wearing them in public.
33. No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver, and purple.
34. Raw cashews are poisonous and must be roasted before.

Breaking the realty-black money nexus

Author: Jayaprakash Narayan

In the midst of robust growth indicators, one issue which is causing concern is the black economy and the role of real estate in that. Some estimates put this parallel economy between 25 and 50% of the accounted GDP. The negative consequences of such a large parallel economy are all-too-evident.
Corruption is both a cause and consequence of unaccounted money.
Competition is eroded with tax evasion, and genuine tax-payers find it difficult to survive in the market.
Tax, GDP ratio is depressed as a large part of the economy is unaccounted.
The consequent failure of public services and decline in infrastructure are all evident in India. With poor quality public goods, the poor suffer disproportionately. The consequent decline in productivity affects the whole economy. Parallel economy encourages wasteful expenditure, and resources are misallocated at the cost of pressing national needs. Unaccounted and untaxed money breeds envy and discontent in society. All these causes and consequences of parallel economy are well-known.
In India, real estate is the sector which feels the impact of black money most. Our land prices are shooting up irrationally. True, land is a scarce commodity, and cannot be created. This supply constraint is further aggravated by our cultural obsession with land. Far too many people are in search of land as a safe investment outlet. While land is a scarce commodity by definition, the demand-supply gap is aggravated by bad policies and misgovernance. Despite our small land mass (2.5% of the world's land surface), India accounts for almost 12% of the global agricultural land. There is also huge potential for developing residential and industrial areas. Mere building of roads and creation of infrastructure will open up vast areas for utilization. Instead, development is limited to small pockets, and real estate prices are reaching the stratosphere.The new development of townships and special economic zones is hampered because land holders typically want to hold on to their property for speculative purposes. Experience teaches us that land prices shoot up a hundred times or more with even modest development, and therefore no farmer or land-holder is content with the measly 'compensation' offered under the Land Acquisition Act. Even if above market prices are offered to owners, there is severe resentment as farmers do not share in the anticipated prosperity.High stamp duties have traditionally fueled black economy, as sellers declare sub-market prices to reduce tax liability. In a market dominated by unaccounted money, those who wish to disclose real prices are at a great disadvantage. The seller has to pay high capital gains taxes with full disclosure. If he wishes to buy a property, in turn he has to pay a large part of the sale consideration - typically 50 to 70% - in cash, which in turn needs black money! Most people are therefore forced to evade taxes and further enlarge the parallel economy.Land registration has always been a source of corruption. Rent seeking for placement of officials dealing with land records and transfer of property is ubiquitous. In turn, the officials extort payments from citizens for all land-related documentation and sale registrations. Absence of periodic land surveys and poor record-keeping have added to the woes of citizens and corporates. Land ownership is difficult to establish, and many innocent buyers have been cheated by unscrupulous real estate agents. This further shrinks supply of reliable land with assured titles, and leads to escalation of land prices.Corrupt state politicians and bureaucrats are increasingly using their control of government land and land records as a source of patronage and extortion. With the decline of license-permit raj, control of land has become one of the key sources of corruption. The state politicians can dramatically alter the fortunes of favoured individuals and corporates by allotment of land.
There is no rational policy for land allocation, nor is there a proper assessment of realistic needs.
In alienation of government land, market does not operate, as there is no competition and all decisions are discretionary.
On the few occasions when land is auctioned, the prices are inflated unrealistically as realtors indulge in strategic high bidding to enhance the market value of their other assets, or some buyers pay unreasonably high sums in a state of irrational exuberance.
Rent control laws have further inhibited development of land, and created scarcity by diminishing supply.Clearly, unrealistic real estate prices, huge black economy and phenomenal corruption are a drag on the economy. This will eventually inhibit growth and enhance the risks to individuals and businesses.The government can act in a few simple ways to disentangle the complicated mess we have created over the decades.First, supply can be enhanced by opening up more land for development by building roads and infrastructure.Second, stamp duties need to be rationalized, and land records updated by periodic surveys and computerization with full public access to all information.Third, in all developmental projects like special economic zones, land losers can be given equity in the form of ownership of a portion of the developed land. This will give farmers a share in the prosperity and make available more land for development.
Finally all alienation of land for profitable activities should be non- discretionary and by public auction.Simultaneously, a few concomitant steps need to be taken to curb black-money in land related transactions.
Giving right to charities to acquire land at 50% above the declared purchasing price within 6 months.
High vacant land tax to inhibit speculation without development; and
A reasonable estate duty on inheritance of non-agricultural land are measures which promote transparency and equity.The governments need to act with clarity and good sense before our growth is hampered by irrational land prices and the growing black economy.

First World People and Third world politics...

Author: Jayaprakash Narayan

I have always believed in the ability of Indians to succeed wherever they are placed, whatever their circumstances maybe. Since the 90’s tales of Indians blossoming abroad or in India itself despite the various social, political and economic odds they are challenged with have become increasingly common. These successes are largely due to our compatriots ability to endure and adapt, coupled with their capacity to strike the right balance between our civilizational ethos and progressive social outlook.
While admiring their zeal and capabilities which are on par with people across the developed world, we all perceive the possibilities that can further open for all Indians in the coming years. But this is accompanied by doubts and concerns, as I acknowledge how far behind Indian politics is lagging when compared to the required ways of a modern democracy based on rule of law and fostering competence.
This paper, one very close to my heart, is the outcome of ruminations about the change needed in the very nature and culture of politics in the nation, so that governments and politicians are able to keep up with the dynamic people of India. Don’t our world class citizens deserve better than third world politics?