Author: Ritika Kapoor

Ritika Kapoor completed her graduation from the University of Delhi and her Master's in Environmental Science from Furgusson College, Pune.

Recently published posts:

Jun42017 by Ritika Kapoor2 Comments

Wasting Food Akin to Carbon Crime

Articles

"If global food waste was a country, it would be the third largest greenhouse gas emitter after US and China." - World Resources Institute Here is some food for thought, imagine disposing off one of the three shopping bags after you go grocery shopping in the nearest garbage bin. Feel some guilt? Basically, that's exactly what's happening with our food globally. One third of all the food produced in the world is either lost or wasted. Every year world leaders meet at the UNFCCC led Conference of the Parties (CoP) to agree on global agenda for tackling climate change. Diverse issues including energy generation, transportation fuels, forest conservation and food production, among others are addressed. But one domain that needs more focus at present is how to tackle food waste and i...

Aug152013 by Ritika Kapoor1 Comment

Urban Lifestyle Diseases: Prevention & Remedy

Articles

He who has health, has hope; and he who has hope, has everything. - Thomas Carlyle In my previous article on this topic, I highlighted an aspects of urban lifestyle which is proving a menace to the society. Long working hours, eating processed junk food and no physical work is resulting into the creation of unhealthy urbanites. Conditions like diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, obesity and infertility problems have become really common in India especially in metropolitan cities like Delhi. So, how does one go about addressing this problem? How do we keep these diseases at bay, that are engulfing even the youth of the country? Well, the answer lies simply in “going back to our roots.” Yes, people! Eating right, sleeping at time, going for regular work-outs and leading a str

Aug152013 by Ritika KapoorNo Comments

The Art of Bobbing: Info & Tips on Pruning of Trees

Articles

Growth in the right way always yields good results. We go to salons every now and then to ensure good growth of our hair. If we do not pay attention to it and let it grow, obviously, the quality of the hair would decline and they won’t seem pretty too. Likewise, I remember my mother cutting the stem of plants in our terrace garden every month. As a child, I always wondered as to why did she cut it? But now I know the answer. It was basically done to remove the non-productive or dead parts. This process is called “pruning”. Pruning is the process of selective removal of parts of plants like buds, branches or roots. There are many reasons to it including deadwood removal, shaping, improving or maintaining their health, preparing nursery specimens for transplanting and increasing yield

Aug72013 by Ritika Kapoor1 Comment

Urban Living and Lifestyle Diseases: Causes and Concerns

Articles

Cities and urban centers are known to attract people since time immemorial. Better job opportunities, good educational facilities, better infrastructure and medical facilities etc in cities are some of the reasons why large number of people are attracted to big cities. In having improved services and amenities, cities definitely offer a better standard of living for its citizens. However, just like there are two sides to a coin, urban lifestyle comes with its own share of problems. Lack of open spaces, pollution, increased cost of living, hectic and stressful lives that urban people lead are some of the negative aspects of urban life. In fact, as pointed out by a recent study, urban life can make people susceptible to problems of obesity, infertility and depression. People in cities

Jul312013 by Ritika KapoorNo Comments

‘Reinventing the Wheel’ To Prevent Rural Women From Carrying Water on Their Heads

Articles

Water wheels: You will kick yourself for not having thought of it yourself! Water Scarcity is the biggest problem being faced by the world today. Shortage of freshwater resources like lakes, streams and rivers and then depletion of groundwater resources by mankind for their increasing demand attributes to the primary cause of water shortage. Recently, Franklin Templeton Investments partnered the TEDxGateway Mumbai in December 2012 and one of the ideas of combating the increasing demand of water and lowering the pressure on rural women by Cynthiya Koenig was an eye-opener. I totally admire the concept and would want it to reach out to the people. It is a pity and a wonder that it has not been though of before. It has been shown in the video that, in India, the water scenario is w

Jun292013 by Ritika Kapoor1 Comment

United Nations Calls for Global Action on Drought

Green Alert

The World Day to Combat Desertification was recently observed on 17th June. The day is being celebrated every year since 1995 to promote public awareness relating to international cooperation to combat desertification and the effects of drought. The present decade is also being marked as the UN Decade for Deserts and the fight against Desertification (UNDDD). However, since the day falls during the monsoon months in India, it therefore does not invite much attention. This year, as India reeled under the monsoon-flood crisis, drought is not the first or the second thing on anyone's mind. However still, droughts are known to claim more lives than any other disaster. At the same time, it is predicted that in the near future, droughts are expected to be more severe, more frequent and more

Jun152013 by Ritika Kapoor3 Comments

Greening the Undergraduate Curriculum: FYUP and Beyond

Articles

DU students planting saplings as part of the student initiative for protecting the environment. R. M. Rilke, the Bohemian-Austrian poet once noted, "If we surrendered to earth's intelligence we could rise up rooted, like trees." What could therefore be better than integrating earth and environment in the education system so as to create an evolved society which is simultaneously deeply rooted and strong. The forms for the University of Delhi undergraduate programme this year became available to the students on 5th June, the World Environment Day! I believe this was a good omen since the new Four Year Undergraduate Programme (FYUP) includes a mandatory paper on Environment. For me,"Environment" is everything that surrounds us. And our this surrounding is facing a lot of problem nowa

Jun142013 by Ritika Kapoor2 Comments

Ford India’s Sustainable Strategy: A Green Step in the Right Direction

Corporate Greening

The development of a nation's economy and more comfortable lifestyles of the people of that nation go hand in hand. Economic development at the outset, is thus a required transition. However, enormous population growth worldwide in the second half of the twentieth century has aggravated the factors that threaten human health as well as the health of the Planet. Ozone depletion, climate change, depleting natural resources and extensive loss of biodiversity and habitat are all a direct result of the aforementioned. A key solution to all these problems is sustainable development. And it is indeed the corporate houses, who have the resources and the incentive, to adopt practices which cause minimal negative impact on the global or local environment. This World Environment Day, we bring you...