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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