Wake up before its time to close your eyes!!
A typical scene at Richa's home: She gets up in the morning & switches off the AC (which has been continuously running for the past 8 hours or more), toasts breads while filling the bucket so that she can bathe her 4 year old son. The bucket overflows every single day & Rahul brushes his teeth with the tap open all the time. Her husband Raj needs bulb light to shave during broad daylight & of course takes a shower bath. Her in laws are busy watching Aastha channel on TV with fans of all the rooms switched on.
Doesn't this scene look familiar & quite related to most of us? Haven't we read & heard the following over & over 'n' no. of times:
(1) Switch off lights/ all electrical appliances when not in use, save electricity.
(2) Instead of a shower, use the bucket; save water.
(3) Do not throw litter on the roads, we need a clean environment to live.
(4) Plastics should be recycled or they end up in the stomachs of poor ruminating cows & other animals on the road.
(5) Switch to unleaded petrol.
(6) Walk/ bicycle to work.
(7) Avoid wastage of food..and many many more.
Now, how many of us actually practice what we preach?? I am sure, a very small percentage. What also shocks me is the fact that most of us even after being so educated & knowing the grave situation that we are heading to, take things so lightly or even ignore them!!
We saw, We heard, We are hurt
Sometime back,
a group of us went to parts of Gujarat to find out how climate change was
affecting small farmers there. In villages in eastern Gujarat, they told us
that the winter maize crop had been getting hit. Because winters had been
getting warmer, the dew has
lessened, or stopped entirely for the last few years. For those without wells –
most of them poor households – dew is the only source of moisture for their
crop. With less or no dew falling, either their crop dried up, or they were
being forced to leave their lands fallow. Maize is a very important source of
nutrition for poor households in these and nearby regions. In other villages in
north Gujarat, we were told of other effects: that nowadays, it is not raining
when it should, that lots of rain happens in little time, people are facing new
illnesses and cattle are falling sick more often, pest attacks have gone up, etc.
The people’s response there to all this was interesting. When we asked them why these changes were happening, they would say, “Prakruti ki baat hai (it has to do with nature).” It is striking that they did not consider it even imaginable that human beings had the power to alter nature on this scale.
I wouldn't call CO2 a villain. This earth's razai keeps it warm & makes our planet habitable. But of late, thanks to the industrialization & urbanization era, CO2 concentrations have increased so much that it is leading to Global warming on a huge scale!!
Interesting way of viewing the unwanted change
Every square metre of our globe, on average, now gets excess energy of 2 watts. If you have a home of 50 square metres – many middle class homes tend to be at least that much – you could light up a 100-watt bulb with the excess energy being trapped in that space.
What is important here is to note that all changes adverse wouldn't happen altogether at this very moment. It takes some time for the nature to respond & that it will, is for sure. Hence, the effects of the billions of tonnes we have emitted over the last few years are yet to be felt. Are we prepared for it or isn't prevention better than cure??
Startling Statistics
Of India’s emissions of 1,904 million tonnes of CO2, 719 mt (38%) was from electricity; industry was 412 mt (22%); agriculture 334 mt (17.6%); transport 142 mt (7.5%); and homes 137 mt (7.2%). Land use changes, in forest lands, cropland, grasslands, wetlands, etc cause a net absorption of 177 million tonnes, hence India’s net emissions were 1,727 million tonnes.
Who are getting impacted in India?
The disparity tends to hit the poor much more, in India and elsewhere. Capitalism, industrialization & unequal distribution of income tends to make rich people richer & poor one's poorer.
As per the latest figures given by RBI, Anyone who spends more than Rs. 32 a day in villages and more than Rs. 47 in cities is not poor. Even then nearly 363 million people in India are below the poverty line!!
As per the latest figures given by RBI, Anyone who spends more than Rs. 32 a day in villages and more than Rs. 47 in cities is not poor. Even then nearly 363 million people in India are below the poverty line!!
Also please understand that other species have as much a right to the commons, to energy, etc as we
do. That humans are only one among 1.7 million known species!!
Concerns as an aam aadmi
While walking on a road, so many times I observe the street lights on during daytime. I have even tried finding a switch to switch it off but to no avail. Whom do I contact for this? How do I reach the government?
The water tankers waste so much water on the roads. How do I, at my level, being an ordinary citizen stop this?
Whenever I see a brawl on the road, my heart really wishes to ask people to stop & not to harm each other like this. But will my voice be heard or will the gun shot fired from their guns on my head point blank be heard instead?? Where is safety??
The water tankers waste so much water on the roads. How do I, at my level, being an ordinary citizen stop this?
Whenever I see a brawl on the road, my heart really wishes to ask people to stop & not to harm each other like this. But will my voice be heard or will the gun shot fired from their guns on my head point blank be heard instead?? Where is safety??
Being the change, we wish to see
Agreed that its not a rosy picture at present but we, today's youth, have to completely stand by what is right. It has to come from within each one of us. It has to be a national movement..a revolution. We have to sensitize the masses. It is our moral responsibility..each & every one of us is responsible to grant a better tomorrow to the next generation. Some measures already taken are:
- Issues in Delhi, for example, that overlap with global warming concerns include the campaign to extend the BRT corridor, which is exclusively for buses and public transport. There’s an opposition to a waste-into-energy plant in South Delhi, and against the ongoing privatization of water in three localities as pilot projects. A campaign to expand rooftop solar power is also beginning.
- Large employment is also possible in towns, in creating water harvesting structures, in planting trees, in digging new or cleaning existing water bodies, in re-laying the water distribution network more equitably.
- The pressure of a popular campaign is needed to pressurize governments to create the infrastructure for rainwater harvesting along roads and public places. Along with this, equitable distribution of water, so that every single person or household can access a minimum volume for decent living, is essential.
But this won’t
happen without pressurizing governments to move away from subsidizing and
promoting coal and other fossil fuels, and strongly promoting solar and wind. One
reason why solar power has spread so much in Germany is because there has been
a sustained people’s movement demanding it. Alongside, we also need to power
down as a society. Ensure the cutting of wasteful use (which happens only by
the well-off).
Educate, educate, educate
Yes, the children of today..future of tomorrow, need to be educated thoroughly about sustainability of our planet. We must practically show them how energy wastage must be avoided so that they imbibe what they see in themselves.
Also, the good efforts being put by NGO's in this direction in rural India must be encouraged.
Why should we go to Mars? Why should existence of life be checked on other planets? Instead why can we not channelize our energy & concentrate on Mother Earth? She has more than that is required for the survival of different species together in harmony. Its just about how we do not waste her gifts & sustain it for everybody.
Friends, its not that very difficult. It's about consciously making the right choices. Lets start from today because as they say 'better late than never'. Time is less but on a positive note, there is still some time. Lets join hands in together making our planet a better place to live in because everybody deserves it.
Yes, the children of today..future of tomorrow, need to be educated thoroughly about sustainability of our planet. We must practically show them how energy wastage must be avoided so that they imbibe what they see in themselves.
Also, the good efforts being put by NGO's in this direction in rural India must be encouraged.
Why should we go to Mars? Why should existence of life be checked on other planets? Instead why can we not channelize our energy & concentrate on Mother Earth? She has more than that is required for the survival of different species together in harmony. Its just about how we do not waste her gifts & sustain it for everybody.
Friends, its not that very difficult. It's about consciously making the right choices. Lets start from today because as they say 'better late than never'. Time is less but on a positive note, there is still some time. Lets join hands in together making our planet a better place to live in because everybody deserves it.
