The previous decade has been the hottest ever since man began to record temperatures and it has also been the decade where mother earth has let us know her anguish and despair at what we have done to her and her inhabitants, with an alarming frequency that can be taken for a warning, a warning that if we ignore, would threaten the existence of all that we see around us and ultimately even our existence. Climate change is for real and it is happening at a speed that has amazed even the most pessimistic of global warming predictions. There have been stronger floods, cyclones, storms and landslides and these have occurred at previously unknown frequencies. The world is getting hotter and we can afford to ignore the facts only at our own peril.
We are mercilessly killing the world through increased emissions of Greenhouse gases, release of CFCs, deforestation and other environmentally degrading activities. There are more cars on the road each day, more people to share our limited resources with, more factories coming up, more people are travelling and more appliances being purchased each day. All this is putting immense stress on the precious little resources that we have. We already have enough environmental activists and climatologists to describe to us what is global warming & its effects which will lead to melting of the polar ice caps, leading to a rise in ocean water levels which will flood many coastal regions and thousands of other after effects of increased temperatures. So, this is an ordinary person's view of the affair and an individual’s effort to contribute towards helping this planet overcome this major threat.
Three simple things can go a long way-reduce, reuse and recycle. Reduce consumption of all resources. For example, it is easy to reduce power consumption without affecting our daily lives or our professions. A little bit of carefulness can go a long way. About 12% of the power we consume is used to keep machines on standby. This means that, we are not actually using the appliances, but power is consumed to keep the machines in a state of readiness. It is not at all essential to keep our TVs, computers, microwave ovens etc on standby for long. If we just turn them off, we can cut down on power consumption immensely. Another major source of power wastage is the incandescent bulbs that we use. They are power sucking devices that have very low efficiency and drink up huge amounts of power to provide the small amount of light they offer, as a huge quantity of power is lost in the form of heat. If we replace these incandescent bulbs with fluorescent lamps, in spite of the high initial cost of purchasing one, they consume far lesser power and provide better light which is also softer on the eyes than ordinary bulbs, which means low post purchase costs. Heating our homes during winter is another area where we can make drastic cuts in the power we consume. If we use an extra layer of warm clothes or insulate our homes in a better way, we can reduce our dependence on heaters and reduce power consumption. Do remember to turn off lights and fans when you leave, as every small step goes a long way towards saving our fragile environment. We can reduce emissions if we reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and gas guzzling vehicles. Use more of public transport and, walk or ride a bicycle as it is also the easiest of ways to a better health.
Do not keep the tap running unnecessarily and do not use potable water for gardening and washing your car etc. Remember, potable water is also a scarce commodity and it must be consumed judiciously. Reuse carry-bags, plastic containers and other items before throwing them away as waste. This leads to efficient use of resources and reduces the amount of waste produced. Reduce consuming products obtained from animals, like fur etc as it is a sin to take a life for our own amusement and pleasure. Vegetarianism should be encouraged as it is more eco-friendly and more merciful. It takes around ten times more resources to obtain the same nutrients through meat than through fruits and vegetables. I would consider this wastage of resources and also a disregard for our fellow inhabitants who have as much right as we have to live in this world and utilise its resources for their own survival. But we are threatening their survival by destroying their habitat by deforestation, pollution and killing them mercilessly for various purposes like obtaining meat, skin and even for pleasure.
Recycling also reduces wastage and drastically increases efficiency as the things we discard are converted back into usable products and used again reducing resource consumption, pollution and also creates employment. This leads me to the fact environment conservation should go hand in hand with human welfare. If protecting the environment might affect our development, then no one will be ready to protect our world although in the long run, if we do not protect it, all of us will suffer. If we make environment conservation create employment, and lead to better lives for the people, then our task will become simple. For example, carbon offsetting, although a controversial topic and opposed by many because of the reason that it gives rich nations the right to pollute more and gives them a chance to justify their acts simply giving money to carbon offsetting has the ability to bring together environment protection and economic welfare for the people. If used in the right way, this could be one of those ideas that might just save our planet from total disaster. Carbon offsetting is a way of compensating for the carbon emissions you have done by investing in organisations that work on projects to reduce carbon content in the atmosphere by planting trees and also work on charity projects like providing solar power, potable water and other ecological programmes that compensate for carbon emissions. This generates employment, provide basic amenities like lighting, sanitation etc for the rural and urban poor across the world. We can also compensate for our own emissions by planting trees that use up the carbon dioxide and provide cleaner air.
Storing and using rainwater, will prevent depletion of the limited stock of potable water that we have and also makes efficient use of the cleanest source of water that we have. Governments should provide tax deduction for hybrid cars, fuel cell and battery powered cars that have very little emissions as this will encourage the public to adopt such a mode of transport, which will cut emissions and be the first step towards providing a cleaner air to breathe.
On an individual basis, we must reduce dependence on fossil fuels, consume less electricity which is easily achieved by reducing wastage and unnecessary consumption, stopping usage of animal products, using pubic transport, reusing some of the things that we throw away and recycling. Making efficient utilisation of resources like using fluorescent lamps, are simple steps that all of us can do to protect our environment and conserving the limited resources that we have. This is definitely a case where one person can make a difference and when the efforts of many individuals accumulate, it can definitely have an impact on the world for the good of all inhabitants of this planet. Generation after generation of human beings have lived on this planet in total harmony with the environment, yet it has been in the last few centuries that we have critically damaged our planet. If we do not reverse the trend of leaving a more polluted world for the next generation, a trend that began with the onset of the industrial age, we will be condemning our children, our future and the beautiful world that we inhabit, to decay and destruction. Let us take a pledge to our impact on this planet, to make this world a better place for generations to come and to restore its beauty and glory to the days when there was clean air, water and land and man and nature struck a balance between each of their needs and requirements and duties.
1 comment:
very useful post dude !
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