BARODA, JULY 19, 2008: Till a few years back words such as ‘global warming’ and ‘climate change’ had a distant ring to them. One may even have been tempted to relegate them to the category of myths and fairy tales. At best, they served as exotic gibberish for sloganeers and other rabble rousing activists. And even if by 
some far shot it did turn out that there was some truth in these words that few of us understood and even fewer cared about – their effects would be felt by generations yet to come, so we believed. But no, those days of pretending that we cannot see the writing on the wall have quickly vaporized. Climate change is already making its presence felt here and now. Take this year’s monsoon season for example, and nothing more needs to be said! And so Don Bosco School, Baroda, has decided to play an active role in the environmental arena. As a first step, a Tree Plantation Day was organized on July 18 in the school campus. The Provincial Fr. Michael Fernandes himself planted the first tree on this occasion. The teachers and students then planted trees in the campus and in the surrounding areas. Not only did this activity have the effect of adding to the ‘green cover’ in the neighbourhood, but it also awakened the students to the fact that each one of them needs to contribute their mite towards preserving and enhancing the environment. We hope that a host of such activities will help reverse climate change and renew the life of our planet!
Anthony Fonseca sdb