Towards safe boats and joyful picnics Essay Example

Towards safe boats and joyful picnics Essay Last week, coffee mug in hand, I idly stretched for the morning newspaper. The Thursday morning headlines on the local daily screamed at me† Fifteen kids, three teachers perish in boating tragedy at Thattekkad, Ernakulam†. God Lord, this couldn’t be happening in my own backyard, Kerala, with its tropical green cover, popular in tourist parlance as â€Å" God’s own country†, with its languid lakes, verdant backwaters! Little did I realize that my own state, my idyllic paradise, had a rather abysmal track record in observing even basic safety norms, in surface and water transport.In hindsight, all accidents leave us with scarred, benumbing thoughts on how it could all have   been avoided. As one read intently through the report, it struck me that a totally callous disregard for simple, straightforward safety norms, had invited the tragedy.On a pleasant Wednesday evening, what started off as a simple,merry ride down Periyar river, swiftly turned in to a nightmarish experience. About 100 schoolchildren and 12 staff members,were packed like sardines hurriedly on board three boats, which were floating contraptions, an apology for safe cruise vessels. Even though the vessels had a permit for cruising on river, the boat that met with the accident, lacked a mandatory certificate of safety. While the permitted capacity of the boat was around 15, it carried 37 passengers. The cruise extended well beyond the permitted time limit of 6’oclock. As and when the tragedy unfolded, late in to the evening, with poor lighting, rescue and relief operations became increasingly difficult. The unkindest cut was in the shocking absence of proper onboard safety equipment like liferaft, dinghy or buoys, which would have aided survival! For the picnic party, it was the final leg of a joyous one-day picnic. Mid stream, as the first sign of a leak developed, panic set in and the boat sank in no time in to a deep trench, a grim reminder of illegal san d- mining on the riverbed. It is a cruel irony that man and nature collectively conspired to provide a watery grave to 18 innocent, precious lives, that fateful day.This tragedy leaves more questions unanswered for me, as a professional associated with the safety department of   a transport organization. The booming tourism industry in my state has mushroomed in to many unorganized sub sectors in the hospitality   business, spawning in its wake, many unprofessional players who cut corners, while complying with basic safety norms. At the policy level, the need of the hour is for a   Surface and water tourism safety board, which would frame   comprehensive legislation for all river and lake bound vessels. All drivers should possess a competency certificate, besides emergency troubleshooting skills certificate. Perhaps it is time for the state authorities also to frame safety guidelines to be observed during school picnics and excursions, involving an extra risk dimension, say, ride on a boat or trekking in the woods etc. Otherwise, the heart-rending sight of a disconsolate dad, weeping over his dear departed twin daughters, a poignant photograph that brought a lump in every throat and a tear in every eye , would continue to haunt us for long. In any business, as in hospitality and tourism, it is safety first and foremost, forever.

Trees Make Oxygen, People Use Oxygen

Trees Make Oxygen, People Use Oxygen Trees alone can produce enough oxygen to support all human oxygen needs in North America. Trees are important and benefit the environment. A mature leafy tree produces as much oxygen in a season as 10 people inhale in a year. This quote was by an Arbor Day Foundation report.  For a number of reasons, including tree availability and other photosynthetic plants, human consumption of oxygen produced just by trees can vary dramatically. There is also some question as to how many mature leafy trees are in the United States, but a rough estimate using United States Forest Service (FIA) data would be around 1.5 billion that have reached maturity (assuming they are 20 years old or older). There are approximately three mature trees for every person in the United States... more than enough. Other Tree Oxygen Estimations Here are some other quotes from different sources which may be more or less conservative than  my report: A single mature tree can absorb carbon dioxide at a rate of 48 lbs./year and release enough oxygen back into the atmosphere to support 2 human beings. - ​ McAliney, Mike. Arguments for Land Conservation: Documentation and Information Sources for Land Resources Protection, Trust for Public Land, Sacramento, CA, December, 1993.On average, one tree produces nearly 260 pounds of oxygen each year. Two mature trees can provide enough oxygen for a family of four. - Canadas environmental agency, Environment Canada.Mean net annual oxygen production (after accounting for decomposition) per hectare of trees (100% tree canopy) offsets oxygen consumption of 19 people per year (eight people per acre of tree cover), but ranges from nine people per hectare of canopy cover (four people/ac cover) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to 28 people/ha cover (12 people/ac cover) in Calgary, Alberta. - U.S. Forest Service and International Society of Arboriculture joint publication. Considerations Several of these sources suggest that it all depends on the tree species and their local populations. Other things that will increase oxygen availability to humans is a trees health and where you live when computing tree oxygen availability per person.