New Delhi, Delhi, India
The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) in consonance with Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) celebrated Earth Day by creating awareness on the use of public transport. On this occasion, hundreds of school students from 50 schools of Delhi and NCR took a pledge to support public transport and committed themselves to proliferate the message through a signature campaign "Say Yes to Public Transport".
Speaking on the occasion via a video message, an interview taken by students, Dr RK Pachauri, Director General, TERI and Chairman IPCC, urged the use of public transport and car-pooling, a fast track to fewer emissions and energy independence. He said, "Public transportation is one of the most important tools to minimize carbon output and the most powerful weapon you can use to combat global climate change. Encouraging use and expanding public transportation should be a part of our national strategy and school children can become 'ambassadors of change' to assist the nation in achieving a sustainable transportation system."
Sh. Namo Narain Meena, MoS Environment, while emphasizing that maintenance of environment is of utmost importance for the whole mankind, urged students and people present at the occasion to exercise self control in consumption and use natural resources judiciously. He said "We should observe efficiency in use of energy by exercising self-control in consumption. Children must take special interest in following our traditions of living with modesty and compassion and help in spreading the message to the messes to protect our mother Earth which beholds us with love and affection."
This year the preparations had already started from the first week of April where children from more than 50 schools (class 8-12) in National Capital Region of Delhi participated in an Inter School poster making competition with the theme "Creating awareness on use of Public Transport". The best 6 posters were displayed at the interstate bus terminals of Kashmere Gate, Sarai Kale Khan and Anand Vihar and metro stations of Rajiv Chowk, Vishwa Vidhalaya, Chandani Chowk and Kashmere Gate.
Shri N N Meena felicitated 29 students, the State winners of the Green Olympiad 2007 at the Earth Day programme. The GREEN Olympiad, launched in 1999 on Earth Day (22nd April) is India's first national level environment examination for school children held annually in India and abroad with a focus on environmental concerns and needs of the present and the future.
The six students whose posters were displayed at Metro stations and DTC Depots were:
Name School Rank
Namisha Singh Somerville School First
Deepa Yadav D.A.V Public School, Sector 14 GurgaonSecond
Anjali Nair Springdales School, Pusa Road Second
Siddharth Dagar St Mark's Sr Sec School Third
Mansi Thakkar Amity International School, Saket Fourth
Arpit Mittal Darbari Lal DAV Model School Fifth
Also on the occasion the Hon' able Minister launched India's first Digital Environmental Atlas, an initiative by the MoEF. It is complete compilation of categorized thematic maps on Green (Forest and Biodiversity), Blue (Water resources) and Brown (Air Pollution) environmental issues and provides flexibility and versatility for users to visualize environmental spatial data using simple GIS functionalities.
On the eve prior to Earth Day, students conducted random interviews of regular commuters of public transport to highlight the benefits of this mode of transport as against personal transport, which was aired on Radio FM - Fever 104. Through this campaign the students requested the people traveling in personal vehicles to opt for public transport and distributed car stickers.
Environment Education and Awareness (EEA) division of TERI has been celebrating Earth Day with the MoEF (Ministry of Environment and Forests) for past 11 years keeping with the belief that children are the best ambassadors of the message.
Earth Day that started as an occasion to express concern about the environment has through the combined efforts of governments, grassroots organizations, and concerned citizens, evolved into a worldwide campaign to protect the global environment.
About TERI's EEA Area (Environment Education and Awareness):
EEA Area of TERI has dedicated itself to the task of creating an informed group of young citizens who will become the leaders of tomorrow and for whom environmental issues will become a part of their daily lives. The area has conducted several projects on issues related to water, air, climate change, energy, etc. It develops and disseminates resource material (both print and electronic) for effective communication, besides networking with like-minded institutes, for wider outreach at the national and global platform.
An annual international environmental examination - GREEN Olympiad for middle and senior school students is conducted in association with the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Govt. of India that culminates in the TERRAQUIZ, the first environmental quiz programme for school students on Indian television. School Health and Hygiene programme is being carried out in the government schools of Haryana (Gurgaon, Sonepat and Panipat) and Delhi under the Yamuna Action Plan - II. Workshops, seminars, training programmes and educational field trips on environmental issues are organised for teachers and students at regular intervals. nehag@teri.res.in rajivc@teri.res.in
Source: The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) (Business Wire India)
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