More Pictures Of Empty Bottles Temple

There are more pictures of Empty Bottles Temple from greenupgrader.com

Zulu Cold Treatment Geranium Kaloba Legalized

A Zulu herbal medicine which has been used by tribes for centuries has been passed for sale in Britain. By Chris Irvine, Telegraph.co.uk Zulus have taken extracts from the geranium plant for hundreds of years to stop coughs and sneezes. They say the extracts are particularly good at reducing the amount of phlegm. Now Kaloba, a key ingredient from the flower, has been given the green light for sale in Britain as a medicine. And because it is a herbal remedy, the manufacturers do not have to prove it is effective, but just that it is safe.

Kaloba is derived from a species of geranium called Pelargonium sidoides and comes in drop and tablet form. It will cost around £7.50 for 20 millilitres. The medicine has been available in Germany since 1983 but has only just been licensed by Britain’s Medicines and Health Products Regulatory Agency. One on four people in England and Wales visit their GP every year for coughs and colds. Doctors hope an effective herbal remedy can be found over concerns too many antibiotics are prescribed. Recent finds by NICE - the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence - found that almost £200 million a year was spent on prescription antibiotics for cold and flue. Research by the Cochrane Review showed it to be "effective in resolving all symptoms including headaches and nasal discharge in adults when taken for an extended time period." Another recent study however found Kaloba had "limited effectiveness" when treating coughs and colds.

Buddhist Temple Built From Empty Bottles

SISAKET, Thailand (Reuters) - A Thai Buddhist temple has found an environmentally friendly way to reach nirvana, using discarded bottles to build everything on the premises from a crematorium to toilets.

The Wat Pa Maha Chedi Kaew temple, about 600 km (370 miles) northeast of Bangkok, is better known as “Wat Lan Kuad” or “Temple of Million Bottles” because of the glittering from countless glass containers on the walls.

The temple first started using discarded bottles in 1984 to decorate the monks’ shelters. This attracted more people to donate more bottles to build other buildings such as a pagoda, ceremony hall and toilets. Bottle tops were also used to decorate murals.

Many bottles and tops are from alcohol containers even though alcohol consumption is a sin in Buddhism.

“The more bottles we get, the more buildings we make,” Abbot San Kataboonyo told Reuters.

Buddhist Temple From Empty Bottles

See more pictures here

Green Tax To Save Himalayan Ecology

Alarmed by the recent havoc wrecked by climate changes in sensitive Himalayan eco-zones, chief minister of Himachal Pradesh Prem Kumar Dhumal has turned environment protection into a priority area, setting up a fund for it - a one of its kind initiative in the country.

Cabinet colleagues, shortly after giving a nod to setting up of an environment fund, on Saturday became the first to commit a voluntarily contribution of Rs 100 per month towards it, in lieu of the cars they own.

A day earlier mooting the proposal at a workshop, the chief minister lamented the nations attitude towards environmental issues saying, “we are unpaid custodians for rendering environmental services and our efforts to conserve the green cover is not being duly compensated by the central government.”

“For a start I turn to the state residents,” said Dhumal, “in concern for the damage fossil fuels cause to the environment, vehicle owners could voluntarily pitch in a green cess. The corpus collected would be used solely for environment protection and promotion,” he said.

Professor NH Rabindranath, chairman sustainable technologies centre at Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore at the same workshop set alarm bells ringing when he disclosed that scientific models forecast a rise of as high as 6 degree Celsius in mean temperature in the Himalayan zone by as early as 2050.

Effects of such a scenario are becoming visible as an unusually long rainy season through the year has left the states road, electricity, drinking water and irrigation infrastructure fractured. The losses still being counted have already surpassed Rs 2000 crores.

“Cropping of apples, wheat, rice and other fruits will be hit as it beings to rain more, says the scientist, “and temperature sensitive forestry including the majestic deodar trees may wither away.”

However, the leadership here is one of the few states where concern for environment is high and an environment fund is a mature way of sensitizing people about it, said Rabindranath.

The governments move for a green cess is justified but just picking on private vehicle owners is not, differs Ajay Vaidya, a lawyer. Under a High Court ruling a green cess on cars is already being imposed in Manali and is a norm in many countries.

To validate a green tax in the state, cement units which are the biggest pollutants in the state and other industries that have been identified as environmentally unfriendly should be brought into the ambit, said Vaidya.

Source: himachal.us