Kaun Banega Paryavaran Ambassador (KBPA)

KBPA was a nation wide Climate Change campaign initiated by Ministry of Environment and Forests in the year 2008 and implemented by Centre for Environment Education in parternship with Arcelor Mittal. i-dream was proud to be present during the fecilitation ceremony.

The objective of the campaign was to create awareness on climate change and picking up right habits to preserve our environment. But most importantly, it was search of for a paryavaran ambassador, search for someone who can inspire people from all walks of life esp the younger generation to work positively for the environment and ensure a green future.

The campaign was conducted across 2 Lakh schools and the students were asked to nominate one name of their choice. Gladly, as Mr. Jairam Ramesh pointed out during the fecilitation ceremony, the choice was unanimously Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam and not any film star or sportsperson.

Dr. Kalam has been one of the best Presidents India has ever had and he has significant influence over the young students. Nomination of Dr. Kalam as India's first paryavaran ambassador is certainly a step in the right direction and also at the right time. If Dr. Kalam can work the same magic as he did during his days at DRDO while designing India's missile program or during his presidentship, I am confident that we can inspire our young generation to act as change agents and not take environment preservation as a compulsion.

Time for action is now and I am sure Dr. Kalam would understand that his role as a paryavaran ambassador will be very critical in inspiring a youth movement because we do not want another generation to have the Kya Farak Padta Hai attitude.

A girl and a plate of aaloo chaat

1:30PM - The school had just ended and the girl was really excited to get back home into her mother's lap. The girl was a regular 14 year old Delhi girl studying in class X at one of the reputed schools in Delhi. She was wearing her school uniform with a blue shirt, grey skirt and navy blue blazer to beat the cold.

Before she hopped on to the rickshaw, she and her friend decided to indulge themselves to a plate of aaloo chaat. Quickly, they turned around and ran towards a road side vendor and ordered for one plate of one of the most popular and common snacks enjoyed by Delhiites irrespective of the time of the day. The two girls relished it, enjoyed every piece of potato (aaloo) and just as they were finishing the last bite, the rickshaw puller yelled out for the girls to join the others for the journey back home. The girl finished the last piece, threw the thermocol plate (on which she was served the aaloo chat) on the road and rushed towards the rickshaw.

This looks like a very regular incident happening outside most of the schools and provides for a nice read. However, if one re-reads the last three lines, the entire incident turns out to be a shocking read. Without even caring for where she was standing, without even considering if anyone else was standing besides her and without even looking for a dustbin in the close vicinity, the girl just threw the thermocol plate on the road. For her, it was as if a very normal thing to do. Her face expressions wore a very casual look. She was a perfect description of what I refer to as Kya Farak Padta Hai attitude problem.

Now consider the fact that the girl is currently just 14 years old and will therefore be a part of our future generation. But with this attitude at this early age, she would most certainly grow into an environmentally irresponsible citizen. She would therefore cascade down the same mindset into her brother/sister, husband, kids and her colleagues. And therefore one individual suffering from a negative mindset will end up impacting the mindset of so many individuals over her lifetime.

The question is, what can we do so as to avoid such a mishappening? One simple way is that we should take it as our responsibility to teach young students about environmental issues / problems and make them aware about healthy environment habits and green lifestyle. These young students can act as change masters and influence our future. Only if they wish, I am sure we can still ensure a green and healthy tomorrow. We talk and discuss endlessly about climate change and other environment issues but we end up neglecting the genesis of the problem. We must ensure that our young students get the right set of education and values which would sensitize them to consider environment preservation as a default activity rather than a choice. At the end of the day, it's all about Making your own choice.

PS: The incident is a real life incident which was observed by the author on 25 November, 2009 at 1:30 PM outside a prominent school in Pitam Pura, Delhi

Mosquitoes in Himalayas

According to a recent report published in the New York Times,

" There are other signs of climate change in the Himalayas. Flies can can now be found at Mount Everest base camps. Mountain populations nearly 3,500 meters above sea level are reporting mosquitoes for the first time. In the past, cooler temperatures protected populations from these disease-carrying bugs”

Strange as it may sound, one may wonder the relationship between mosquitoes and melting of Himalayas. However, the breaking link between the two lies in a phenomenon called the Climate Change.

In order to understand climate change, , it is important to understand the paradox associated with it. In one state it can result in floods and at the same time it can also result in droughts in the neighbouring states. Similarly, at one place it can result in extinction of few species, at the other place it can also result in proliferation of certain other species. And it is this paradox only, which is resulting in major catastrophe, with our entire country in the grip of one or the other problem and the reason to all of them being one, Climate Change.

Coming back to mosquitoes and Climate change, a number of cities across the world were set up above a certain height which we refer to as Mosquito Line. The idea behind the concept was that the mosquitoes need warmer temperatures to breed and increase in number. And as we go above the sea level, the temperature begins to drop and above a certain standard height, the mosquitoes cease to exist. Therefore a number of cities were set up at a certain height above the sea level with the assumption that since the conditions at this height do not suit the mosquitoes, they would be forever secure from the terror of these disease causing bugs.

However, with the rise in average temperature of earth because of climate change, the mosquito line if shifting upwards. . As a result, the conditions are becoming hospitable for mosquitoes even at those heights which were earlier considered safe. Because of which, the occurrence of diseases like malaria, dengue fever is bound to increase much more in the times to come. This rise in mosquito line has resulted in the presence of mosquitoes even at the Himalayas as reported by the New York Times.

An example closer home is a recent warning issued by the Delhi government to be careful of dengue fever. Presence of mosquitoes in the month of November is not a regular phenomenon in Delhi because temperature by this time of the year is usually low enough to support any mosquito breeding. However, warmer temperatures in November as a result of climate change are resulting in Delhiites asking for cover from these menacing mosquitoes.

The government is doing its bit through awareness campaigns, health camps etc but at the same time it is also the duty of all of us to take steps to combat the problem of climate change. We can no longer afford to maintain our “Kya Farak Padta Hai” attitude to the presence of mosquitoes in Himalayas. We must act and Make our own Choices.

Yamuna Vigil Campaign, Sept’09

From 1 Sept, 2009 to 30 Sept, 2009, over a period of an entire month Yamuna Vigil Campaign was organized under Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan by Peace Institute in collaboration with Centre for Environment Education (MoEF). i-dream was also a proud partner of the campaign.

A very common behaviour exhibited by Delhites is throwing of puja samagri and other household stuff into the river Yamuna through any of the bridges over the river. People consider this as an act of virtue in accordance with their religious sentiments. This contributes significantly to the pollution in the river which is anyways suffering significantly from the burden to city’s industrial and domestic waste. The most polluted bridges are those at ITO, Hazrat Nizamuddin, Wazirabad and DND. Except DND, the other three bridges have barricades constructed by the PWD (MCD). However, people have made big holes in those barricades to facilitate throwing of stuff into the river.

Openings on the bridge made by people

Under the Yamuna Vigil Campaign, the Hazrat Nizamuddin bridge was chosen for the campaign being one of the most crowded and it was covered with our posters, banners informing people about the kind of damage being done to the river. The various organizers along with a number of volunteers and school students from several schools in Delhi used to stand daily covering the entire length on both sides of the bridge.

Our banners covering the openings on the bridge





School Students standing on the bridge

Several collections points were also set up along the bridge so as to encourage people not to throw the material into the river but deposit the same at those points. At the end of the day, the entire waste was segregated into plastic, paper and other organic material. All the organic material was sent for composting, the plastic was sent for recycling with CEE whereas for paper recycling, there was a tie-up with the Development Alternatives.

A man depositing his offering at the collection centre






Collections made during the day at one of the collection centres




Plastic waste sent for recycling

As a result of our month long campaign, PWD relented and they managed to send in their workers to repair the bridge. During the last day of the campaign, an experiment was conducted wherein none of our representatives were made to stand at the bridge or at any of the collection centres. It was heartening to see that 1 in every 4 Delhiite deposited their offering at the collection centre voluntarily. This clearly means that if given a choice, some people are certainly ready to contribute to not polluting the river.

However, at the same time it is also very sad to see the attitude of other people who consider throwing material into the river as a pious act. They fail to understand a very simple logic that the river Yamuna was given the godly status so that people will protect it and not make it dirty. But there are people who still think otherwise.

Though the campaign was just a small drop in the ocean, it certainly has made some impact into the minds of thousands of people passing the bridge daily. More so, it is also now clear that if we desire, we can actually take steps so as to protect our river. The learnings from the month long campaign would be compiled and send to Lt. Governor of Delhi and MCD and we certainly hope that in the times to come, steps would be taken to revive the river.

Most important thing, are we ready to shed our "Kya Farak Padta Hai" attitude. If yes, half of the problems would be solved automatically. As we say, Make your own Choice.

The Real Truth of River Yamuna

The water present in almost the entire stretch of river Yamuna in the city of Delhi does not actually belong to the river. It is nothing but sewage, both domestic and industrial, which is dumped into the river flow from all parts of the city. However, that does not mean that there is no water in the river. The water is in plenty but the truth lies somewhere else.

The Yamuna River before entering into the capital city passes through Hathnikund Barrage. The amount of water in the river till this point is around 82 cumesec (cubic meter per second, representing the flow of the river). From this point onwards, the river is divided into three portions:

1. Western Yamuna Canal (which takes away 67.5 cumesec water)
2. Eastern Yamuna Canal (which takes away 12 cumesec water)
3. The actual river flow which is left with only 2.5 cumesec water)

The water taken away through the two canals is used to provide water and electricity to the states of Haryana, UP and Delhi. But in doing so, the river is left with absolutely no water of its own. In fact, several escapes have been built along the canals so as to allow some water to come back into the river but unfortunately none of the escapes are today operational. No river along the duration of its entire course would ever appear steady. The Yamuna in Delhi however is left to become a stagnant pond of sewage and waste coming from households and industries.

Supreme Court in 1996 had ordered that a minimum of 10 cumesec of flow be maintained in the river at all times. However, it’s been 13 years and nothing has yet been done in this direction. All the money which is being used under Yamuna Action Plan will go down the drain unless the river gets back some if its original water. This is because even if through some miracle, authorities are able to clean the river, the sewage will anyways return back into the river because no mechanism would have been made to either divert the sewage or treat it before being dumped into the river.

It is also not that we do not have Sewage Treatment Plants. We have them but their efficiencies have always been questionable. As unfortunate as it can happen with the river, Yamuna forms a borderline between three states of UP, Haryana and Delhi and so all the three states want to take all the benefits of the river but none wants to take on the responsibility to preserve it. This is a perfect case of “Tragedy of Commons” wherein a common resource is being perished owing to the greed of few individuals who are benefitting from it. The Kya Farak Padta Hai attitude exhibited by all the officials sitting on the boards of numerous institutions and bodies constituted to preserve the river continues to bring about the downfall of our lifeline.

It is extremely difficult to change someone’s mindset but let us all at least make an effort to do that. There are several policy suggestions which can be made to improve the situation (some of which will be the point of discussion in our next blog) but on our front, all we need to do are two simple things, Save Water and Do not dump waste into the river (whatever little of it exists in our city). As we say, Make your Own Choice.

Green India Student Club Member Contribution

What's Water For?

Water's for drinking and making tea
For helping plants grow
and washing me and my brother
and making him run...

Water's for fish
that swim about fast
For boats that move
With sail and tall mast

Water's for kingfisher
red, white and blue
Water's just great
Do you like it too?

- As contributed by, Priyanka Kansal, Class: VII-D, New State Academy School, Pitam Pura, Delhi.

She also says in that, " If we will not save water,, one time will come when their will be no water in Future!!"

A small child can think so highly of our environment. Can you or do you still say, " Kya Farak Padta Hai"? Make your own Choice.

Warmest Sea on Record

As reported by Sydney Morning Herald:
" For as long as people have taken temperature of the sea, they have never been so warm. Global Ocean surface temperatures for June were the highest since records began, in 1880, breaking the record set in 2005. The average sea temperature for June was 0.59 degrees above the 20th century average of 16.4 degrees."

What this would do is lead to warmer temperatures over the adjoining areas as well. It is being projected that global temperautres next year could near those of 1998, the hottest year on record ( as if the temperature this year is any less). Moreover, higher is the sea surface temperature, higher are the chances of development of a cyclone or a hurricane. Bangladesh and parts of North India have already experienced one cyclone this year, namely AILA.

If you would think deeply, you would realize that somewhere down the line, we are also to be blamed for such a scenario. We can still control this and save our future or we can simply say, " Kya Farak Padta Hai". As we say, MAKE YOUR OWN CHOICE!

We may survive, our kids won’t

The State Environment Report India, 2009 is out and one look at it testifies the comment made in the topic of the post. Just consider these facts and you will know it for yourself:

1. 70% of Indian rivers are polluted
2. Underground water in 19 states of India is contaminated and not safe for drinking
3. 50 million cubic meters of untreated sewage (enough to fill entire Delhi) is released into our water bodies every year. This is an increase of 30% over 1995. This is also affecting the aquatic life in our rivers and oceans.
4. RSPM levels of 90% of Indian cities is rising. In 2000, RSPM levels in Delhi, Mumbai were 150 ug/m3 and 80ug/m3 whereas in 2008 the figures are at 192 ug/m3 and 110ug/m3 respectively

The state of water pollution is very much evident from the above mentioned points. As a matter of fact, 500,000 children under the age of 5 die every year due to diarrhoea. 80% of all illness in Uttar Pradesh happens because of water pollution in Ganga and Yamuna.

If you are wondering what is RSPM, please understand that not all pollutants which come out from our vehicles and industries are equally harmful to us. All the particles coming out from vehicles and industries can be classified on the basis of size. Our body at all places provides us natural immunity against a number of pollution causing particles. The largest sized particles are stopped by our nose itself. There are then medium sized particles which are stopped by our wind pipe. However, there are a large number of smaller sized particles called suspended particulate matter and respiratory suspended particulate matter (RSPM) which cannot be stopped by our body systems and they end up reaching our lungs. They are so small in size and so large in number that they are difficult to detect and monitor. It is these particles which cause extensive damage to our body and are responsible for majority of the respiratory diseases.

The reason RSPM is increasing in most of our cities is due to rising number of vehicles. In 1991, India had 2 crore vehicles whereas in 2008, the number of vehicles has increased to 8.6 crore. Delhi alone has 56 lakhs vehicles which is more than the number of vehicles in Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkatta taken together. A record says that around 1000 vehicles are added to Delhi’s roads daily.

Now, please do not stand back and say “Kya Farak Padta Hai”. As we say, Make your own choices. And you can make a choice to use more of public transport. But before that our government would need to make a choice to improve the public transport system. The logic is very simple, if cities, towns and villages will have excellent public transport system, people would automatically begin to use them, thereby bringing down the level of pollution and making this planet a safe place even for our kids.

History and Now - Is Climate Change Real

Throughout Earth’s History, ice caps and glaciers have grown and melted in response to changes in the Earth’s energy balance, what we refer to as ice age cycles. To understand more simply, ice or glaciers melt in summers and regain some or all of the loss during winters. The current melting of glaciers can therefore also be attributed to a natural phenomenon with no human involvement. However, unfortunately such is not the case.

As reported by Extreme Ice Survey, the difference between the summertime loss and the winter growth is negative and therefore most glaciers in the world are retreating. Simply put, the loss in ice during summers is much more than the gain in winters. Scientists in fact predict that by 2035 all of central and eastern Himalayas would be gone. The largest glaciers in the world are found in Antarctica and Greenland. If the Greenland ice sheet melted, the sea level worldwide would rise to 20 feet and in case of ice sheets melting in Antarctica, the sea level rise would be 200 feet thereby drowning the entire world.

Wilfried Haeberli, Director at World Glacier Monitoring Service claims that the average melting rate of mountain glaciers appears to have doubled after the turn of the millennium in comparison with the already accelerated melting rates observed in the two decades before. The previous record loss in the year 1998 has already been exceeded three times i.e. in the years 2003, 2004 and 2006 with the losses in 2004 and 2006 being almost twice as high as the previous 1998 record loss.

Have a look at the graph below:

Source : Extreme Ice Survey

In 2004, the carbon emissions stood at 8000 million metric tonnes which is equivalent to 30, 000 million metric tonnes of Carbon dioxide (a green house gas). Oceans can absorb only 30% of the total CO2, which is therefore also affecting the properties of the ocean water by acidifying it more thereby endangering the aquatic animals. With so much of CO2 in our atmosphere, the temperature of the earth is bound to increase, which would lead to faster melting of glaciers thereby increasing the rate of rise in temperature. It is a cyclical process of which we have become a part now.

Our glaciers are the most visible impact of global warming, however, we sitting in our comfortable offices and homes, far from the melting glaciers fail to realize this. Majority of us end up saying, “KYA FARAK PADTA HAI”. As we say, MAKE YOUR OWN CHOICE.

Climate Change and Action Sports

Jammu and Kashmir’s Sonmarg district organises an annual white Water Rafting Event. After the stupendous success of the first edition, 2009 was supposed to be the second edition of the Kashmir Cup. The event is organized every year in the month of July. However, this year the event has been postponed to August from the earlier schedule of July 12-19. AND THIS HAS HAPPENED BECAUSE OF CLIMATE CHANGE. The connection seems strange but if you look closely, it is very much apparent.

According to International Rafting Body, for any rafting event of international repute to take place, a minimum of Grade III rapids need to be formed. In the Sonmarg district, usually one can find Grade IV and Grade V rapids at this time of the year, but this year not even Grade III rapids have developed so far. This is happening because of less snowfall in the region and a delayed monsoon. Even India’s favourite rafting location near Rishikesh has received lesser than normal rainfall which is affecting the industry there leading to economic losses for the locals.

The climate change phenomenon has a certain paradox attached to it. On one hand it can cause excessive rainfall in a region, on the other it can also lead to little or no rainfall in the neighbouring region. This year as we can see, some parts of India have received some rain; the northern part of our country has received almost no rain. The reasons can be easily traced down to climate change or global warming.

The event which was supposed to happen in J&K invites participation from countries such as Brazil, Czech Republic, New Zealand, Slovakia and Canada. This year, it was all the more important to hold a good show as next year India would be hosting the water rafting world cup. This means more tourists coming to J&K bringing in more income for the people in the state. However, if the current state of events continue, it might just be difficult to hold such events in future.

Now, did anyone say, “Let J&K suffer, “KYA FARAK PADTA HAI”. As we say, MAKE YOUR OWN CHOICE.

Mayawati and Climate Change

In the heart of Noida, is being constructed a Babasaheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar Memorial and Museum with a total budget of Rs. 187 crore. The project is spread over 33 acres of land and as reported by HT, it is threatening the inhabitants of Okhla Bird Park and Wildlife Sanctuary. This fact is supported by a study conducted by Bombay Natural History Society which reports that that bird population in the park has fallen from 24,166 in March 2007 to 21,272 in March 2009 which is a significant difference of 2, 900 birds.

6, 003 trees have been cut for the project which would obviously affect the birds as they use these very trees for inhabitation and nesting. Permanent illumination system has been installed all around the construction site so as to aid construction at night and also to enhance the beauty of the museum once it is constructed. This is bound to affect the breeding cycle and the general behaviour of the birds because bright light through the day will make it difficult for them to distinguish between day and night. This is very similar to you travelling from India to USA and suffering a jet lag due to time difference. Moreover, the current construction work is resulting in an increase of temperature and emission of particles which are also harming not only the birds but also the human population living in the vicinity of the construction site.

Please note that this blog is not against construction or infrastructure development as it is extremely critical for a developing economy like India. However, we need to question the reasons for every construction. If the Bhim Rao Ambedkar Memorial and Museum would have added some value into the lives of people living in Noida, it would have still made sense. But as we see it, the museum is not expected to contribute in any manner to the infrastructural or social/cultural development of Noida and therefore our country. Rs. 187 crore could have been easily spent on fighting more grave issues in Uttar Pradesh such as poverty, education etc.

And even if Mayawati ji feels that it is extremely important to construct the museum, at least it should have obtained environmental impact assessment certificate. All the 6,003 trees as reported earlier were cut without permission. Ministry of Environment and Forests has made it mandatory for any construction project to get an Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) done before going ahead with the construction. However, as it happens with majority of government schemes, the implementation in this case is also questionable. The criticism is not directed only at Mayawati but towards all those people who continue to defy the law and bribe their ways to obtain the certificates.

The government must tighten the norms because as mentioned in one of the previous posts, we must work towards the development of our economy in a green way. We should not stop any of the construction projects but at the same time ensure that the projects obtain EIA certificates. For if, Mayawati would have done a proper EIA, it would have been possible to not only construct the museum but also protect the Okhla bird park with the help of suggestions and recommendations coming out of the EIA report.

Now, did anyone say, “ Kya Farak Padta Hai.” But as we say, MAKE YOUR OWN CHOICE. Mayawati made hers.

Climate Change : G8 Summit & India

In the recently concluded G8 Summit held in Italy, one of the agendas was the world’s struggle against Climate Change. To keep climate change as the agenda of such an important summit is certainly appreciable but if it was kept just to show that world governments are concerned about climate change, then maybe it was not worth it. It would have been better for the G8 nations to focus energies on issues for which they seriously seek accountability and actionability.

The reason we say this, is because there is a significant divide between the developed and the developing countries on sharing the responsibilities to control green house emissions. In a decision which can put immense pressure on countries like India, G8 has called for the developing nations with much lower per capita emissions to undertake specific emission cuts. India’s per capita emission is 20 times less than that of the US which makes the call by G8 countries quite unfair.

It needs to be understood that there is a direct relationship between GDP growth and green house emissions. Since, India is a developing economy, as it grows; India’s per capita emission is bound to increase. This however does not mean that we make the transition to being a developed economy irresponsibly. We must as a nation take all the necessary steps to ensure that our per capita emission stays within the safe limit and we must develop our country in a green way.

What is more disheartening is that even though G8 countries have verbally assured to reduce their emissions by 80% by the year 2050, they have failed to define a specific roadmap on how to do it with no mention on any immediate or short term goals. This makes us believe that what G8 countries intend to do is to continue on their path of growth and put all the blame of global warming on the developing countries. This is very similar to their attitude towards nuclear weapons. “We can keep it but we have issues when someone else develops the same technology because we support world peace.”

In Copenhagen this December, all nations will meet to define a roadmap to a low-carbon world. US agreeing to attend the meet is a good sign, but if such an attitude as mentioned above continues to prevail, global warming would continue to threaten the entire world.

“It is mentioned in the blog that India’s per Capita emissions are lower compared to developed nations, however please do not take this as a sign to become careless and stop working for environment preservation. Even if someone does not wish to, let us not move away from our responsibilities.” Did you say, “ Kya Farak Padta hai”????

Water coolers v/s AC

If you have experienced the usage of water cooler in your home, you would agree with the fact that when it comes to cooling the entire house during those hot dry days, there is nothing that can beat a simple water cooler.

However, coolers work best when the levels of humidity are low. This is because when humidity goes up, the rate of evaporation goes down. And since evaporation causes cooling, high humid seasons make coolers less effective. And it is in these conditions that ACs work best.

Traditionally, May and June are ideal cooler months and as monsoon begins to come down during late parts of June and July, it is the ACs which begins to become more effective to fight the heat.

So, an ideal scenario would be to have one cooler and one AC at homes. Use the cooler during complete dry days and switch on the AC as and when the monsoon arrives. Moreover, people should try sharing the rooms thereby saving significant amount of energy. Unfortunately, such is never the case. Both people and the changing pattern of our climate are responsible for this. More so since, climate change is also a result of irresponsible human activities, ultimately it is only we humans who are responsible for wasting energy and in turn jeopardizing our future.

Let us look at what is happening to the weather pattern particularly with regards to the humidity levels. Have a look at the following table (source: TOI) which plots rainfall and relative humidity patterns for May and June for Delhi.

It is easy to observe that in almost all the years, the level of humidity for both May and June are above the normal relative humidity levels. As explained above, higher levels of humidity means low evaporation which means that water takes a lot more time to evaporate. What this phenomenon is doing is to make water / desert coolers less effective. People are therefore shifting to ACs and their usage is on the rise. These are dangerous signs.

It must be noted that an AC can only cool a particular room in which it is operating. So, if someone wishes to replace his one cooler, he would usually replace it with not one but two ACs. This therefore increases the amount of energy consumed which is also reflected in the monthly electricity bills.

Moreover, a cooler can run for an entire day and still consume less energy compared to an AC running for 8 hours.

Even if need of the hour is to use ACs, we need to see to it that we are using one responsibly. It is always advisable to set the temperature at 25-26 degrees so as to optimize the energy consumption. Also, while sleeping one should set the timer to about 5-6 hours thereby avoiding the unnecessary wastage. People should also try to share rooms while operating the AC. This would again help save energy. An ideal scenario as mentioned above is to use one cooler and one AC as and when required and with a lot more responsibility. This way one can help prevent a further rise in temperature due to global warming and within their own individual capacity contribute to the task of environment protection.

Did anyone say, “ Main do nahin teen teen AC lagwaonga, KYA FARAK PADTA HAI YAAR”

As, we say, MAKE YOUR OWN CHOICE.

What we need to do?

United Nations Conference on Climate Change is going to be held this year in Copenhagen, Denmark from Dec 7 – Dec 18. The conference is a sequel to the Kyoto Protocol which runs out in 2012. The new agreement which would therefore be a successor to the 1997 Kyoto Protocol aims to cut down the green house gas emissions by between 25-40 % from the 1990 levels starting 2012 to 2020.

27 countries in EU have already agreed to cut down their CO2 emissions by 20% of 1990 levels by 2020 which they claim may go up to 30% if other countries start to contribute as well.

The USA which moved away from the Kyoto Protocol is now shifting directions and beginning to move towards a Green world under the leadership of President Barack Obama. On 26 June, 2009 itself, House of Representatives approved of a bill which aims to cut green house gas emissions by 17% from 2005 levels by 2020. Though it is still not a very high figure considering significant contribution of USA to green house gas emission, it is nonetheless, a step in the right direction and indicates a positive change in the mindset of the people, both in the government and the industry.

However, experts claim that even though developed economies have promised emission cuts, it would still reach only two-thirds of the target and the world would miss the minus 25% mark by a significant margin. It therefore means that it is extremely important for countries like China, India, South Africa, Brazil etc which were exempted under the Kyoto Protocol to start contributing to the task of environment protection.

The need of the hour is to define a framework under which emission cuts are planned out ensuring the involvement of all the parties involved including the government, the industry and the common people. As India makes a transition from being a developing country to a developed one, it is important that we do not commit the mistakes as done by the developed economies like USA or countries under EU. We should rather choose the Green way and set a benchmark for the rest of the world.

However, we cannot achieve this unless each one of us realizes the importance of going green, unless environment protection becomes a choice for all of us and not a compulsion.
As we write this, we see someone there saying, “United Nations conference on Climate Change..huh! Kya farak padta hai, It is not happening in my home”.

As we say, MAKE YOUR OWN CHOICE

Terrorism and Climate Change

As the levels of Carbon Dioxide increase in the atmosphere, the phenomenon of global warming will begin to become more and more powerful. And so, when temperature will rise due to global warming, our glaciers and mountains will begin to melt. They are in fact already melting. Specifically, for the Himalayas, scientists claim that by 2035, they will cease to exist. And therefore, in the times to come, the threat from terrorism is also bound to increase.

Now, one may question, how are climate change and terrorism, two entirely different yet equally serious issues are inter-related? There is no rocket science to it and the relationship is rather very simple to understand. Consider this:

When the temperature rises due to climate change, the snow in the glaciers will start melting. This melting would therefore make it much easier for people to trek across these mountains. And it is not very difficult to guess that the major transition of people will be unofficial and from across the bordering nations who are known to support terrorism. This would therefore have a serious impact on the security of our nation and for the rest of the world.

If we continue to waste water, our rivers will soon dry out thereby making Mumbai like attacks a lot easier for terrorists to carry out.

Forget the politicians, the army, the police, the NSGs etc, we in our own individual capacity can also contribute significantly to the security of our nation. All we need to do is work consciously to bring down the levels of carbon dioxide, bring down the level of air pollution and try and save a little of water.

The good point is that all of us have a choice, if we want, we can actually make our nation and the world a lot more secure. All it comes down to is what choices we make.

MAKE YOUR OWN CHOICE AND SAVE YOUR WORLD.

Ab kya hoga re....

Maximum temperature in Delhi today is 43 degree C and the projected temperature for the next two days is 44 degree C while for even the next two days is again 43 degree C. By now, it is very much clear that the monsoons all over the country have been delayed. Moreover, with the mercury rising, the demand for electricity is also going up completely in disproportionate terms compared to the supply.

In the Bhakra Nangal Dam, water level is receding by 2 feet daily. At such a rate all irrigation and power generation from the dam will come to a halt in the coming days. In HP, apple production is likely to fall by 30-35% which may rise further if the dry spell continues. In Gujarat, all cash crops such as sugarcane, banana, groundnut and cotton are expected to get affected. The Hirakud Dam in Orissa is losing its water which would have serious impact on the rice production in the state.

These are just some of the examples; the situation is same across the country. Such dramatic changes are going to have serious impact on we humans.
- High temperatures and continuous heat waves can have a serious impact on human health leading to deaths as well in many cases. In AP in 2002, record death toll was observed due to heat waves
- Frequent power cuts of uncertain durations will have a serious impact on your daily life and schedule. Power cuts in the night can affect your sleep and lack of sleep in such weather can have damaging impacts on your fitness as well
- With crops being affected due to lack of monsoons, the prices of vegetables and fruits would go up in the coming times. In these times of recession, this would mean a further bigger hole in your already over burdened pockets

Now, coming to the most important question of who is to be blamed for all this? Is it just the nature or is it much more than that? The Delhi government is blaming the states, the weather, weak infrastructure and just about everything else but itself. People have come all out blaming government, getting frustrated talking about demand - supply issue and some even suggesting that we should have even more power plants. There would also be large number of people who would say “ Kya farak Padta hai”, "ye to har saal ka natak hai, sarkaar kuch karti hi nahin hain”.

What people do not realize is that all of it is actually in our hands as well. When people drive cars irresponsibly and pollute the air, they do not think about the repercussions. Majority people do not think about the impact when they waste electricity. They take pride in the fact that every member of their family has an individual AC to them. To have many ACs is not such a bad thing, but to use them all at the same time certainly is.

We are a family of four members with two ACs, but when we sleep in the night, we ensure that only one AC is on and all of us try and adjust accordingly. It is just about being a little conscious of what we are doing and making small changes.

So, let’s not blame anyone else for what is happening right now, but let’s work together to bring about a change. Remember it’s all about MAKING THE CHOICE.

Cyclone AILA: Another Cyclone or just another Human created disaster

Pic: Satellite Image of Cyclone AILA

On May 27, 2009, headlines across most national daily read about 200 people being dead in Bangladesh and eastern India with India alone accounting for 82 of those deaths. The reason behind the sudden catastrophe was not another terrorist attack but Cyclone AILA, a threat bigger than any terrorist organization can ever be. As per Associated Press, more than 2.3 million people have been affected by the cyclone. More than the human loss, large areas of crops have also been affected in both the countries. Many farmers have lost their rice just ready to be harvested.

Forest wardens in the Sunderbans fear that the flooding across the mangrove forests might have killed at least a dozen of the highly endangered Bengal Tigers. As per the last census, there were only 265 tigers left. Some tigers have sneaked into the nearby villages and are creating problems for the local residents.

And as the cyclone water would recede the death toll is only expected to rise due to spread of epidemics like cholera, diarrhoea etc.

However, majority of the people would look at those facts and say, “ Kya Farak Padta Hai”. This is just another cyclone, a natural tragedy and no one can do anything to prevent it. And this is exactly where one needs to understand that this is not a natural tragedy but an event which is created by humans and could have certainly been averted.

If you look at the basic physics of cyclones, it is very simple to understand. A storm gets its potential energy from the oceans and the warmer the ocean is, the more energy the storm should be able to draw in. Climate Scientist, Kerry Emanuel from MIT published a report stating that warming ocean temperatures are making hurricanes more powerful.

The data from 1855 to 2005 throws some very interesting results. If you look at the data during this period you can clearly see that the number of cyclones per year have doubled in that time from an average of 6 to an average of 14 over the past decade. And going forward, with increasing temperatures, scientists are estimating an average of at least 15 storms every year.

More importantly, globally, the areas of warmer oceans have nearly tripled in size since the beginning of the 20th century from roughly 17 million square miles to more than 46 million square miles. There has been an average of one additional cyclone for each 0.1 degree Celsius increase in sea surface temperature and one hurricane for each 0.2 degree Celsius rise.

The current average temperature of earth is around 14 degree Celsius and in the coming times it is expected to go up to 18 degree Celsius. And who is to be blamed for all that. Certainly not the nature alone. If we want, we can bring the temperature down and with it bring down the number of cyclones, hurricanes affecting us and ultimately bring down the number of so many innocent deaths around the world. MAKE YOUR CHOICE NOW!

Welcome

This blog is a medium for us to reach out to as many people as we can throughout the world and make them realize the power of an individual when it comes to environment preservation.

Yes, even you can save your planet, your earth, your home. All it takes is to MAKE A CHOICE.

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