Since the last blog, in just one week, the earth saw –
- A big earthquake in Haiti. Around 2000 were killed and 7000 injured. If that was not enough, they were drenched in a storm after 3 days. Fortunately for mankind that these calamities struck a remote island, else deaths may have been 10 to 50 times more.
- Floods in Turkey, China, and Japan. Millions asked to shift to safer places.
- Wildfire in Algeria leaves 69 dead.
- Sicily reported the highest ever recorded temperature of Europe at a scorching 48.8°C.
On the positive side, in India, the government announced that we are on course to achieve our mid-term goals of Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GGE). Secondly, the PM proposed India to be the Global Hub for the production and export of Green Hydrogen. Thirdly, an oilseed policy called ‘National Mission on Edible Oils- Palm Oil has been proposed for the increasing area under production of oilseeds. We have to wait and watch as to how and when the changes on the ground fructify.
This article is about what the citizens can do to delay Climate Change (CC), not just reduce GGE. Each one of us has a role to play and we can do this by reducing our carbon footprint in the world. Carbon footprint is the number of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, fluorinated gases etc—that we produce as we live our life.
Most of the actions listed below can be done by us, in full or in part.
***Please note- I have highlighted specific actions that can be done personally by us as individuals in green.
1. Awareness – First and foremost we need to be convinced that unless we act, right from today, we are doomed. More natural calamities will continue to occur, more likely, next to our homes. We also need to spread the word, in language and means our audience understands. Our target audience is our family, friends including online media friends/ followers, relatives, and lesser-educated servants and vendors.
2. Advocacy – First action, we must VOTE. Second, we must ask our candidates about their proposed actions on delaying CC. Third, the candidates should be made aware of our vote clout, through our RWAs, office unions, village communities and so on, built on the WhatsApp/ Facebook nexus. Only then, will our elected members act.
3. Electricity Generation – Number one cause of GGE and CC. Due to our coal reserves, it appeared much cheaper to generate electricity from coal-fired units. Dams on rivers were built at the cost of displacing humans and disturbing the ecology. The concept of renewable energy has caught up in the last few decades. Solar and wind energy is popular. Renewable energy needs to replace coal/diesel-based energy. However, the interactions between politicians, bureaucrats, electrical engineers and consumers haven’t been very fruitful. Else, why shouldn’t every house owner have the right of installing Solar panels on their roof? Thus getting subsidized electricity bills based on the in-house production.
Another simple action we citizens can take is to reduce our consumption – in as many ways as possible.
- Switch to LED lights
- Set the temperature of your AC at 25 or 26°C
- Don’t wash clothes in hot water
- Switch off lights when not required
- Use Laptops rather than computers
- Indulge in paperless transactions
4. Agriculture. This is number two in the list of GGE in India. Growing crops need electricity, pesticides, and fertilizers. All consume energy and produce GGE. Farmers in many states of India have dug deep tube wells and use a considerable amount of free/subsidized electricity for the extraction of water. This water is used for growing crops like Basmati rice and Sugarcane, most of which is being exported. We are not only exporting our drinking water reserves but also using a considerable amount of energy causing CC in our country. Also, consider this. 70% of our edible oils is imported at a high cost. Percentage consumption has kept increasing despite rising in cases of heart diseases due to high cholesterol. Further, growing oilseeds crops require much less water, yet our farmers are wary of growing them. Another aspect is of millets. Maize and other millets need very little water to grow. Yet these are not been grown in areas having lesser irrigation facilities. Many of our readers have farmland. They need to think and act/ advise.
5. Transportation – This is the number three cause of GGE. To fulfill the aspirations of our citizens, large-scale production of motorized vehicles was encouraged. The cost of some cars and two-wheelers is affordable. Scrappage policy is not adhered to. The large number of non-road-worthy and polluting vehicles are seen on Indian roads. Apart from spending a huge amount on the import of petroleum products, we also have the 6 out of 10 most polluted cities in the world. The accident rate per vehicle is also very high. Some points to consider:
- Vehicles need to be bought for needs, not status.
- We must use our personal vehicles to go to places where we cannot go on foot or on a bicycle.
- Office goers may think of carpooling.
- Inter-city travel, especially by air should be avoided.
- Polluting/ unfit vehicles should be scrapped. Fortunately, a new policy has recently been announced and one must take its advantage.
6. Afforestation and growing trees/ plants – Needs no elaboration. Only after 30 to 50 years of age, a tree is considered GGE negative. Hence, full-grown trees should not normally be cut. Many cities/ towns have made footpaths and choked trees to slow death. In case this is happening in your locality, please raise your voice. Those who can afford may like to grow a tiny forest outside city limits. My earlier article on this platform has more details on it. Growing plants for food, even in flats (pots/ hydroponics) should be encouraged.
7. Minimalistic Lifestyle – The pandemic has taught us the value of a minimalistic lifestyle which is the first step in reducing our carbon footprint in the world. The following could be a few things you can start off with:
- Limit the use of single–use plastics. Carry own bags for shopping. Even paper bags are made by cutting forests.
- Buy clothes made of natural fiber like cotton, linen, and silk.
- As far as possible, do not buy mineral water bottles. They use a lot of energy to produce it.
- Don’t have pompous parties and celebrations. Too much decorative lighting outside our house and for many days is not recommended.
- Don’t waste food and drinks at restaurants and parties.
- Avoid buying excessive clothing, shoes, and other accessories when there are plenty in our wardrobe.
- Stop using toilet rolls and paper napkins. Toilet sprinklers and pocket napkins are more hygienic and economical in the long run.
- Switch to a simple diet. Foods with higher content of oil are neither good for health, nor for the environment.
- Red meat like beef and pork causes the most GGE and are best avoided. Vegetarian food is ideal, but to have a balanced diet with adequate protein and vitamins, vegetarians need to eat nuts, seeds, paneer/ tofu on a daily basis. This may not be possible for most except for the rich. Hence, they should think of consuming eggs, fish and chicken four to five days a week. These foods create much less of GGE than red meats and are more healthy.
- Compost the green waste of the household rather than putting in municipal bins.
The list of what we can do to save ourselves and children from natural calamities is endless. The question is to first convince our own mind – yes, I can do it and I will do it.
PS. An engineer left his job and went to his apple orchard in Himachal. He noted that a lot of wood waste of apple trees (yearly pruning) was being burnt. With his wife, they have managed to use this wood waste into disposal cutlery. Soon, their project will be put to commercial use. What a brilliant idea💡
Maj Gen Krishan Chauhan is a second-generation army officer. He studied in Sainik School Kapurthala, graduated from IG Medical College, Shimla and did his MD from AFMC/Pune University. He has served in the Army Medical Corps for 36 years and retired as the Addl DGMS army. He is an avid marathon runner and a writer. He first wrote articles for children in The Young Chronicles. Later, he started writing his own blog as Genkris, on WordPress where over 50 articles on various subjects can be accessed.
