Green IPL or just a show off

Indian Premier League, a phenomenon which has caught the attention of one and all has tied up with UNEP (United Nations Environment Program) with an idea to make the games green. This as the wesbite claims they are doing by calculating their carbon footprints (amount of carbon emissions happening because of the games), by making team captains take a pledge to reduce their team's environmental impact, by asking players, sponsors and partners to be more mindful of their footprints and by creating awareness amongst the general public through " Tip of the day" which the commentator announces just before the toss for every match.

Let us look at the above initiatives and some other aspects of games to understand if IPL is really going green.

I have been following the tip of the day since a few matches and this is what some of the tips are like:

1. Save electricity by switching off electrical appliances
2. Save water by closing your taps
3. Reduce, reuse and recycle

Now, even if we have someone who is totally against the idea of working for environment and we ask him/her to tell us three ways to protect the environment, he/she with a very high degree of probability might give out the above three points . If we ask students in school about three ways to save environment, they might as well tell us the above mentioned ways. The point is that these tips are so basic and regular that they neither enhance the knowledge of the spectators nor add any value to them. If at all IPL had to include the section of "Tip of the day", they could have been more specific in guiding people on how they can adopt green lifestyle habits and make a contribution to the environment.

Similarly loose is the initiative of asking captains, players and sponsors to take a pledge to reduce their carbon emissions. A pledge turning into an action is a very rare possibility. Rather it would have been better to provide green options to our players and make them choose the same. This is so because in a number of cases it has been observed that people want to contribute to environment but they don't know how. This is a similar situtation as well, wherein players might be willing to help the environment but if we will not provide them options or solutions to choose from, they will be unable to do so on their own.

The initiative to calculate the carbon footprints is certainly a step in the right direction. But I do hope that this is just not another exercise to showcase to the world that IPL is going green when the reality may be far from it. If we look at the existing scenario there are a number of situations/actions which might be resulting in excessive carbon emissions. Some of the actions are mentioned hereunder:

1. Travelling of players across cities though air planes
2. Travelling of players from their hotels to the stadium and back
3. Travelling of spectators from their homes/offices to the stadium and back
4. Loud music being played in the stadium
5. Firecracker show at the end of every match (sometimes even in between)
6. Unhealthy food being provided at the venues in the form of burgers, patties, cold drinks, alcohol etc
7. Waste leftover by spectators and players after the match
8. After match parties which extend to early hours of the next morning
9. Players residing in 5 start hotels

Now, I am not someone who is against the games neither am I saying that above activities should not happen. I am thoroughly enjoying watching all the matches and also fully supporting Delhi Darevevills (who unlike last time are not doing so well in this edition). All that I am trying to say that if we take a close look especially with the intention of making the games green, some of these activities could be totally avoided (like the firecracker show), some could be toned down (like the number of times the loud music is played can be reduced, post match parties can end a little early) and in some cases people can be provided several green options to choose from. Some of the green options can be:

1. Using electric vehicles to move the players from hotels to stadiums and back
2. Improve public transport facility and stop parking of private vehicles near the stadium. This can be achieved asking the local goverment for support and also hiring a few buses to enable people to travel together
3. Provide healthy/organic food inside the stadiums
4. Set up a proper mechanism of waste collection and recycling post the match
5. Ask the 5 star hotels to comply to some basic environment standards so that minimum usage and wastage of energy happens (Players staying in 5 start hotels is infact resulting in highest carbon emissions)

Because environment has become such a hot topic of discussion these days, it is being used by individuals and corporates to project a certain image of themselves which is inclined towards a critical social cause. IPL seems like no exception as is clear from the above analysis.

Making a difference to the environment is all about making the right choices. And if you would make the right choices, the results would show automatically and you wouldn't have to indulge in showoff.

World Water Day - Do we need this?

22 March is celebrated worldover as World Water Day. Water Pollution and providing access to good quality drinking water are one of most serious challenges being faced by countries worldover especially the developing countries like India.

We, living in urban cities are lucky to get water which at most times is sufficient to fufill our daily water requirements. However, how many of us really thank God for this. I say so, because there are still so many people in our country including small kids who are dying just because they do not have access to clean drinking water. We, humans can still survive without food for a certain number of days, however if you are left with no water for 2-3hours in the hot weather conditions which exist today you would find it difficult to survive.

Let us look at various areas where water is used by people in urban centres:

1. Drinking
2. Bathing
3. Brushing
4. Shaving (for men)
5. Washing clothes
6. Cleaning floors
7. Cleaning Cars/vehicles
8. Cleaning Utensils
9. Flushing
10. Watering of plants

I am sure there must be other uses of water as well, please help me out in compiling an even comprehensive list. The point that I want to make is we are lucky to get and thereby use water for so many things which we feel are essential for our daily survival. Whereas on the other hand, there are people who do not even get enough water to satisfy their requirement of point no. 1 in the list above. Now, few of you might say, "Kya Farak Padta Hai" and some of you my dear friends may say, so what can we do sitting at our home.

Well, the least anyone can do is to save and recycle water. Use only that much water you feel will be sufficient for your bathing/shaving/cleaning purposes. Trust me, you do not need a bucketfull of water to clean your car, howsoever big it may be. All you need is one bottle of water (1 litre or even less). Next time you go out to clean your car, carry only one bottle of water and you would see it for yourself how almost magically your car will appear like new with that much water only. There are just some of the pointers which I am suggesting. I am sure most of you would be smart enough to know how you can save water at home/school/office.

Only thing we need is to get away from our conventional mindset which often tells us " What would happen only through my actions". We need to understand that there are millions of people out there who are also thinking the same and therefore so is the condition of our water bodies and we are facing acute water shortage. However, if all these millions of people start thinking "I can also make a change and my own individual actions do matter", it would not take us even a week to solve the problem of water crisis.

World Water Day stands for nothing else but only calls out to everyone to change their mindset and Make their own Choices. The choices which can ensure that no one in any part of the world at any time dies because he/she could not get clean and healthy water to drink. AMEN!

Chidiya Udi Udi Udi...phurrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Every year from far across the various corners of the world, a number of migratory birds visit Delhi and make Yamuna river basin their home for a few months. It is a wonderful scene to look at these birds of different colours and sizes enjoying the river water and playing with each other. However, the Asian Water Bird Census - 2010 has revealed some very saddening facts for the bird lovers in Delhi and also its residents. The findings are summarized hereunder:

• 112 bar-headed geese came this year compared to 212 in 2009
• Number of gadwal was down to 72 from 302
• Northern Shoveler to 484 from 854
• Norther Pintail to 172 from 272
• Only 231 common coot were spotted in place of 355 in 2009
• The mixed flock of brown headed and black headed gull dropped to 345 from 877
• Number of common pochard fell drastically to 28 from 320 in 2009
• Somebirds which gave Delhi a miss this year includes avocet, bar-headed and black - tailed godwits, cob ducks and garganey
• Grey - leg geese remained constant at 411 insteas of 416 in 2009
• Number of Eurasian spoonbills increased from 16 to 6
• Common teal increased from 78 to 184 in 2009

Is there anyone saying "Yayyyyy", there are three species of birds whose numbers have gone up? This is how a typical climate skeptic or someone with "Kya Farak Padta Hai" attitude problem would react to the above information. I can still understand someone if he/she is wondering what impact does the above findings have.

To understand this, we must appreciate that if the number of birds are going down there must be some reason behind the same. One reason which is very apparent is the deteriorating condition of our river Yamuna. With 52% of Delhi's sewage being dumped into the river, the city's lifeline is turning into a "ganda nala", to which even birds have now refused to inhabit. The other factors which affect the migration of these birds are temperature and change of weather. These two factors are also self explanatory. The temperature is rising every year (2009 was the second most warmest year in the recorded history) and the change in weather is becoming as unpredictable as the mood of my girlfriend (if I would have have one). It is clear that summers are becoming longer and winters are not only becoming shorter but are also arriving late.

It is therefore easy to establish that climate change and increasing pollution in the city (both air and water) is contributing to the decreasing number of birds visiting our city. And hence, it is also correct to say that the above findings are an indication to we humans that something terribly wrong is happening to our city.

For a detailed analysis of other factors responsible for the above mentioned state, you can log on to http://yamunajiyeabhiyaan.blogspot.com/2010/03/migratory-bird-count-falls-sharply-in.html.

It is upto us to do some action else Delhi's winters will slowly and gradually lose their charm and romanticism. It is all about "Making your own choices"

Inputs : report published on The Hindu on March 08, 2010

Paani

Economic Times has reported that in 20 years from now, our country India will face acute groundwater shortage. Let us look at what their report says through following bullet points:

• Groundwater supports approximately 60% of irrigated agriculture and more than 80% of rural and urban water supplies
• India is the largest user of groundwater in the world with an estimated use of 230 cubic kms of groundwater every year - more than a quarter of the global total
• Out of a total of 5, 723 groundwater blocks in the country, 1,615 are classified as semi-critical or over exploited
• Today, 29% of groundwater blocks are semi-critical, critical or over exploited
• By 2025, 60% of India's groundwater blocks will be in critical condition
• Almost 54% of the groundwater blocks in Gujarat, Haryana, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Tamil Nadu fall in these categories

So, what does this mean for all us. Should we stop using ground water completely? Only a fool would say Yes to that question. Point is, groundwater like any other resource exists to be used by humans and animals for their survival. The key word however is survival. Unfortunately, the trend today is that people are using it for greed and not mere survival.

Only if we could put some restraint on the usage of groundwater, only if we could choose to use our resources cautiously, we could definitely avoid the situation of deep crisis as mentioned in the report above. We cannot even afford to display our Kya Farak Padta Hai attitude to this because there is absolutely no rocket science in understanding that "Paani" is the most critical thing required for our survival. We all would cease to exist without "Paani".

All I would say is Make your own Choices.

Key Green Features of Budget 2010-11

Key Green Features of Budget 2010-11

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