According to Journey to the end of the Earth, how does everything connect?

The author of the lesson, Journey to the end of the Earth, believes that everything connects. 'Take care of the small things and the big things will take care of themselves.' She takes the example of the microscopic phytoplankton that can be found in the region. These microscopic organisms will die in a situation where the temperature and the acidity of the oceans change even a little. These microscopic organisms can be found at the bottom of the food chain and thus their disappearance would cause the food chain to collapse.

A further depletion in the ozone layer would affect the activities of the phytoplankton. This in itself speaks volumes about the need to take care of the small things. You take care of the phytoplankton when you ensure that global warming is controlled and the depletion of the ozone layer is stopped. This is 'a great metaphor of existence', a 'parable' that reminds us how everything connects, even the small things.

We need to be concerned about the melting of the polar ice-caps invisible though it might be from the comfort of our living rooms, the fact is that when this happens it is bad. The retreat of the glaciers and the collapse of the ice shelves is an indication that global warming is a real threat to humanity and the planet as a whole!

Everything connects, the melting ice shelves in a faraway continent, the health of microscopic phytoplankton, the opening of Drakes passage, the disruption of the Gulf Stream, the Polar Bears, the Crabeater seals, all of them are connected. Our very existence is dependent on the health of the 'small things'.

You could also read the following posts:

1. https://rodrickwrites.blogspot.com/2019/07/analyzing-journey-to-end-of-earth.html

2. https://rodrickwrites.blogspot.com/2019/10/the-importance-of-antarctica-according.html

3. https://rodrickwrites.blogspot.com/2022/06/what-are-geoff-greens-reasons-for.html

The Importance of Antarctica according to Tishani

According to Tishani Doshi in her lesson Journey to the end of the Earth, there is a lot to be learned from a study of the Antarctic Continent. What can be learned can itself be divided into three parts:
1. The past: including the formation of the continents, the flora and fauna of the past, and the climate patterns that existed in the past.
2. The present: we can see how human industrial activity, burning of fossil fuels is impacting the planet Earth
3. The future: we can predict what the future annual global mean temperature will be like.

The past

A study of the Antarctic continent will reveal how the continents were formed, how a giant supercontinent called Gondwanaland once existed. We can also learn about how our Earth was formed by studying the rock formations in the Continent, the significance of Cordilleran folds and pre-Cambrian granite shields. The study will also reveal much about the flora and fauna that existed in the past. A study of the ice-core samples will reveal much about the amount of carbon dioxide that existed in the atmosphere in the past which in turn reveal how hot it was in the past. They say that greater levels of carbon dioxide indicate higher global temperature.

The present

Antarctica can also tell us about how healthy the planet is in the present time. We can learn about the impact of industries and fossil fuels on the planet. The impact of climate change is leading to the melting of ice and this can be seen more clearly in Arctic and Antarctic continents. The impact of climate change on the ecology can be studied through its impact on phytoplankton that nourishes the "entire Southern Ocean's food chain." Phytoplankton is highly sensitive to climate change. An increase in a few degrees of temperature is enough to wipe off the Phytoplankton resulting in a collapse in the food chain.

The future

Studying the Antarctic continent can help us learn more about the future of our planet. A study of the ice-core samples and their carbon content can tell us how hot it was in the past and how much more hot it will be in the future. Data analysis of temperature patterns in past and as revealed by the carbon dioxide contained in the ice-core samples could help predict, project future climate patterns. Melting of ice would lead to an opening of Drake's passage which in turn would lead to a disruption of the Gulf Stream. This in itself would have a catastrophic impact on the climate of the planet. According to Tishani, "for humans, the prognosis isn't good."

Sarus Cranes Serenading Photo by Rodrick Lal -- National Geographic Your Shot

Sarus Cranes Serenading Photo by Rodrick Lal -- National Geographic Your Shot: Sarus Cranes Serenading Photo by Rodrick Lal -- National Geographic Your Shot

A Barbet and a Roller Bird share a tree!

Yesterday when I once again visited the Sultanpur National Park it was to spot a Barbet and a Roller Bird sharing the same tree although different branches! I had at first thought that the Barbet was a Bee-eater, but then when I zoomed in, I realised that it was a Barbet!

I was also able to capture a fight taking place between two Egrets, possibly over nesting rights! I was barely able to turn around to capture the fight, it happened so fast and then it was over in the blink of an eye!

Of the Sarus Crane Pair, well they were definitely there, however, I did spot what appeared to be a solitary Sarus Crane a little way off in the dried up scrub. I did hear someone say that there are no less than twenty Sarus Cranes in the Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary though I doubt this to be true.

One of my favourite snaps of the day is the one above, Cranes, Antelope and an Egret foraging for food. This inter-species tolerance of each other is a lesson for all of us! 

The solitary Sarus Crane was a bit elusive though we were able to follow it into the brush. Hidden behind the scrub, the Crane kept glancing towards us. We advanced each time it poked its head into the underbrush.

During this visit, I was also able to spot a Shikra and a White-throated Kingfisher enter into a verbal fight and then settle on the same branch quietly looking into the water for a possible breakfast. I didn't bother too much about the Kingfisher as I have already seen it so many times!

The Shikra was difficult to spot in the branches, but then I had to play with the settings to get an acceptable exposure!

Have the Birds 'Migrated' from the Sultanpur National Park?

When I visited the Sultanpur National Park today, a send time after a fortnight, I was surprised to see that the Painted Storks had left! Of the numerous varieties of ducks, there were hardly one or two to be seen. Ironically enough, a signboard beside one of the paths in the National Park seemed to indicate that the birds had 'migrated' as in left the park.

I guess environmental changes have forced the migratory birds to stay away from the National Park. Diminishing water levels caused by the cutting away of natural rainwater runoff channels (due to construction activities in the area) have resulted in drying up of most of the park. While some of the hardier water-bird species continue to reside in the park, the migratory species probably don't find it viable to stay, what with diminishing numbers of fish and other amphibians and crustaceans. However, I was able to spot Grebes, Herons and Egrets.

This Little Grebe entertained us for a while, diving into the water only to appear in an area we least expected it to pop up. Strangely enough, it seemed to appear closer and closer to the edge of the lake. One pleasant surprise was the appearance of a pair of Indian Grey Hornbills! This breeding pair of Hornbills seemed to be oblivious of us as they were greatly engrossed in each other.

The antics of the Oriental White-Eye Birds offered some entertainment for a change. They seemed to be nibbling whole-heartedly at Neem-leaves. Flipping upside-down and then climbing up a stem, they seemed to be full of energy.

While walking down the path on one side of the Park we were startled by a couple of Asian Antelopes running towards us scattering the Purple Swamphen in the process. I wonder who was more startled, the Swamphen, the Antelopes or my brother and me!

The resident White-Throated Kingfisher however, seemed quite comfortable having us around. It seemed to have grown plump enough!

Picture Palace - Mussoorie

Yet again we decided to visit Mussoorie in the mountains. We left from Gurgaon in the afternoon on Saturday the fifth of October, broke the journey in Ghaziabad (at my inlaws who were accompanying us) and then continued to Mussoorie at 6:30 a.m. on Sunday the sixth. It was a round trip of 640 kilometres and although on the fifth we had no problems with the journey, the return journey on the 8th proved nightmarish as it took us one hour and nineteen minutes to cover a 16 kilometres stretch from Modinager to Rajnagar Extension in Ghaziabad. We hit Modinagar at about 6:30 p.m. and reached Ghaziabad at 7:45 p.m. I have snipped a part of the route and pasted it below. The journey to Mussoorie is on the whole pleasant with spells of highways where you can cruise along, but then the numerous "diversions" and rough patches do intrude into your journey. Another major issue on this highway (Raj-Nagar, Meerut by-pass, Muzaffarnagar-Saharanpur) is that there are numerous cuts from which tractors and slow-moving vehicles intrude. In many cases, you have trucks hogging the right lane preventing you from overtaking them.

While travelling to Mussoorie from Delhi, one must stop at the midway point at Mansurpur. One can relax, visit the washroom, have a great breakfast or perhaps even shop for ethnic stuff. Macdonalds and Haldiram have their outlets here.

This time when we'd decided to visit Mussoorie it simply to relax and chill out, and chill out we sure did, what with clouds literally pouring in so that the temperature dropped sharply and we were left grabbing for our jackets and sweaters! 

This time we stayed at a hotel near Picture Palace and the scenery was simply amazing! One could see the valley before us and Dehradun out in the distance ensconced by a ring of mountains. The lights in the night were simply mesmerising!

While no doubt, there are numerous spots to visit in Mussoorie, we, however, decided to forgo them for the main reason that parking our cars at the hotel parking lot and then taking them out once again was too difficult a task. We decided to just roam around the city enjoying the scenic views, window-shopping on Mall road having Butter-chicken at My Home and  South-Indian at Udupi.

A family of monkeys drew my attention and I just stood there clicking at them. There was something rather human about the mother holding her child while the child looked at her.

An unguarded basket of cucumber and carrots lay on the side of the road awaiting its consumers while the monkeys waited for the rest of the gang to join them. Mussoorie has a rather laid back easy-going atmosphere about it which turns into a frenzy during the peak months of May and June when the traffic jams and the crowd becomes really difficult to handle!

While there might not be much to buy from the shops on Mall road, the bits and pieces of trinkets and so-called souvenirs might draw your attention. The Cooperative shops and organic shops, however, do sell organic honey which I usually buy along with a bottle of Noni juice.

My experiments with slow exposure gave me a few interesting results, but then I guess light pollution is the greatest problem. It, however, looks simply amazing looking down towards Dehradun on a clear night with the lights twinkling in the distance.

If Books are the powerhouses of Knowledge, then Libraries are the Power-warehouses of Knowledge

If books are the powerhouses of knowledge, then libraries are the power-warehouses of knowledge! It is with this understanding that I advocate the use of libraries in schools for students of all levels, K-12. Unfortunately, many good schools have started ignoring the importance of libraries with the false assumption that books are on their way out. Such schools have jumped to the conclusion rather too hastily, and they have discarded their valuable books.

Books continue to be read despite the fact that many bookstores have shut down in the National Capital Region of Delhi. It gives me the greatest pleasure to see my students of grade eleven, and a few of grade twelve engrossed in their books. Every time I see them engrossed in their books, I make it a point to look at what they are reading and it gives me great satisfaction to see most of them reading some of the heavy stuff, philosophical or scientific, things that I would read at a much later age.

I was pleasantly surprised to notice that students of grade eleven and twelve were reading such heavy stuff as, The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran, Walden or Life in Woods by Henry David Thoreau, The Essential of Rumi (a translation), and Brief Questions to the Big Questions by Stephen Hawking. And if you thought no one read the classics, then I would like to tell you that you were wrong! Some of the classics that the students I met had in their hands or bags included titles like, A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo, Lord of The Rings, Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie. Amazingly enough, there were girls who were reading books that earlier only boys read. One of them was reading the book Mossad by Michael Bar-Zohar and Nissim Mishal.

A few other titles that the students had in their hands were, The Interpretation of Murder by Jed Rubenfield, Matters of the Heart by Danielle Steele, The Order of Time by Carlo Rovelli, Yesterday I was the Moon by Noor Unnahar, Looking for Alaska by John Greene, by Pamela Erens, I am Zlatan by Zlatan Ibrahimovic. I could go on with longer list of books but then the point is not to create an encyclopaedic list of books but rather to prove to the reader that the reading habit is quite alive and kicking and that students are reading books that have deeper themes. It is when I see students reading Kahlil Gibran or even Walden that I realise that the students of grades eleventh and twelfth have moved on to the more heavy stuff, stuff that my generation would have read at the graduate or post-graduate levels!

The challenge before all schools is to keep the reading habit alive in their students by allowing students of all classes to have a library period. Reading should not be limited to the teaching of the skill of reading, it should not be limited to the formal teaching of reading skills, rather it should be provided as an opportunity to take a break from the stress of life. Students should be indulged - allowed, as it were to read for pleasure and not for knowledge, not to pass a test nor even complete a task!

Innovation and the use of technology will make the library more versatile. Introducing e-books, e-journals and reading Kiosks can help a lot, but then books will continue to be the real constituents of the library. Just yesterday I visited the OM Bookshop at one of the Malls on M.G. Road and was pleasantly surprised to see how many young people were browsing through the books. Most ended up buying books, myself included. I wonder if some of the larger bookstores might not have been hastily shut down for fear of losses in sales of books.
It is important that schools should not be hasty in shutting down their libraries or even, for that effect discard their valuable books in favour of the electronic versions. Being a birder of humble resources, I used to depend on the books provided by the school library to identify each new bird I spotted. Unfortunately, when the library went for a revamp and the books were put away I was at a loss! I was forced to buy a visual book from the bookshop a couple of weeks back. More often than not, the physical, the printed book is better than the online because you can turn to a particular page, you can match the picture of the bird with the photograph you have taken, all without the distraction of pop-up advertisements. More often than not, the information in printed books is more authentic and accurate than the information found online.
Schools need libraries and they will continue to need them, not only for the fiction books but also for the reference books, encyclopedia, help books, journals and newspapers. The ambience of the library is most suitable for students who would like to browse through books and journals for a research paper. The library is equally important for the teacher who'd like to update himself about a particular topic that he or she will be taking up in class. Libraries are definitely power-warehouses of knowledge, and thus they are an integral part of any good school!