New Year Resolutions for Earth's protection.

First of all, I would like to wish a very happy New Year to all of you. Hope you forget your old worries and rejoice in the awakening of 2010.

Here is a quote- ‘ An optimist is a person who waits till midnight for the new year to begin. A pessimist is a person who waits till midnight for the previous year to end.’

Okay, as promised here is a post for the common man, the everyday citizen of India.
I am sure many of you must have made New Year Resolutions, which on every count, you will eventually break(if you don’t, that’s excellent). But here are a few things you can do, to make life better not only for you, but for millions of others. Just close your eyes, and for a few minutes only, think of the underprivileged people. Think about those destitute people who do not even get to eat 2 meals a day. Obviously just thinking will not help them, or yourself. But you can certainly act for their sake. I am not saying to go and denote loads of money to charity (most such acts are just publicity stunts), but do something which will dispel global warming and prevent extreme climate change.

Here are a few things which anyone can do:

1) Switch off the lights and fans, when you are not in the room. I know this sounds a bit too repetitive, but the thing is most people don’t do it. They think that they will return to the room after half an hour, so why bother switching off the light. Some people keep the lights turned on even in the daytime. Why not simply open the windows and take advantage of Nature’s gift instead? Pure sunlight also has many other benefits. Just by switching off the fans and lights on a daily basis, you can save a huge amount of energy (and reduce your electricity bill as well).

2) Avoid using equipments that use too much electricity. For example, Air Conditioners, Geysers, Computers, etc. Minimize their usage. Unfortunately most people keep the A.C. running throughout the day during summer, and I don’t even have to say how much time the modern day youth spends in front of the computer. In this case laptops are a tad better, if they are operated via battery. Try using alternatives for the A.C. For example, there are special cooling fans available, along with items which keep your house cool.

3) Try to minimize water wastage as well. Most of us have the habit of letting the tap water run(and get wasted) while we are brushing, shaving, etc. Moreover, an average person wastes too much water while bathing. That does not mean we should become unhygienic and stop bathing. It only means we should be a bit frugal, while consuming water. Remember, there are millions of people who do not even get clean water to drink, let alone bathe. Avoid taking long showers. Do not keep the tap open un-necessarily. If you see water over-flowing anywhere, do try to close the tap/minimize the leakage. Don’t just remain a mute spectator, thinking that it’s not your responsibility.

4) Start walking more, instead of using that motorcycle/car for every small purpose. It’s good for your health, and will also minimize pollution. Nowadays, the young people have a tendency of flaunting their possessions like bikes and cars. Many a time, they simply go off for joy rides along with their friends. This not only wastes petrol and money, but is also pernicious for the environment. Try utilizing car pools for reaching your destination. Or better still, use public transport (I know the condition, but still).

5) Finally, this is one thing which few of us bother to do. Recycling waste products. If you can’t do it yourself, distribute such waste products to the concerned Waste Management Agency in your town/city. Do not litter away trash anywhere you like, especially plastic. Moreover, try to avoid wasting paper. Most of us do not think twice before doing so. Do not buy too many copies or exercise books at once. Try to make each copy last for a long time. If your handwriting is too big, try to make it small, so that you don’t have to rush off to buy a new exercise book after every few days. Similarly, avoid wasting food and other non-durable items.

6) Donate your old clothes to the needy. Do not waste food, and eat healthy, organic materials (cultivating them will be excellent) if possible. Try planting more plants(trees), and avoid burning excessive wood during winter.


I could keep on going on and on, but its better to do things one step at a time. Start small, but carry on with what you started. If you follow the basic steps above, I can assure you that our planet will be very grateful. We can still avoid catastrophe, by doing our bit. Remember, no problem is too small or too big. There is always a solution. Do not think that the things I mentioned are too trivial, and that everyone knows them. Knowing is not enough, and as the Martial Artist Bruce Lee remarked, ‘We must do.’

Take care, citizens of India and the world. Let us join hands to make the world a better place to live in, for all.

Oh My World!

Okay, it feels nice to be back after a long break. To tell you the truth, I really wasn’t excited about updating my blog. Anyways here goes another attempt.

One of the current hot topics in the news is climate. Yes, the same old redundant topic. Climate change, greenhouse gas emissions, rise in global temperature and the height of sea level, etc etc. So whats new about it? Well, recently the Copenhagen summit ended, with 192 countries(or rather their delegates) taking part in it. Many economists and politicians have termed the summit to be a failure, whereas Obama feels that a good progress has been made, and is looking forward for the next summit in Mexico(I wonder if he will repeat the same thing there). Anyways there has been quite a hullabaloo about these events, pertaining to the pernicious effects of global warming on mankind(Who was responsible for this in the first place?)

Basically, let us sum up the summit talks in a nutshell:

1) The US and the other developed countries refused to accept any legally binding carbon emission cuts. Which basically means that they are free to pollute the environment as much they want and nobody can do anything about it.

2) Instead the developed countries want the developing countries like India and China to increase the restrictions imposed on the emissions so that they can protect their own skins.

3) There is a total confusion as to the financial aid to be provided to the poor and developing countries. No specific amount has been set aside, and all those hyped talks about implementing clean technology and providing capital investment to tackle global warming in poor countries, have remained just talks. In fact its highly unlikely that the poor countries will get any money from the rich fanatics.

4) India and China decided to join together for once, putting their differences aside and also alienating themselves from the G-77. They are not ready to accept legally binding cuts and want the developed countries to shoulder more responsibility for tackling climate change.

5) So ostensibly no action has been taken, and while it has been unanimously decided that climate change and global warming is a threat, it seems that all the leaders and politicians are simply passing the buck, blaming one another while the common man suffers.


So why do politicians make such hyped talks and conferences and meetings and parties and God-Knows-What-Else but refuse to act when the time comes? ‘We will do this and that. We have to do this and that.’ Why don’t you actually go forward and do it then? Nice question. And it has no simple answer.

Isn’t Homo Sapiens the most amazing species which ever existed? We have managed to achieve what no other species has. For our own greed and materialistic gains, we have successfully managed to hurt and almost annihilate Mother Nature- our planet, Earth. We have built up industries; we have increased our population to an unprecedented limit. And we have misused all the natural resources and as a result obliterated the environment and our atmosphere. We cut down trees to make furniture; we destroy wildlife and natural habitats without a second thought. We create weapons of mass destruction which can wipe out life within seconds. Which other species could have done what we have done? But after polluting the environment for over a hundred years, finally man seems to realize his misdoings. Now, he wants to redeem his faults. Or at least, he is talking about it. And after watching glaciers melting, natural disasters cashing in, and the planet getting warmer by each passing day, he has accepted the upcoming dangers.

Now is the time to wake up and stand together for a cause. We cannot change what we have done in the past. But we can make sure that the future generation gets to see and live in a better, cleaner Earth. For this we have to do a lot of things. But every task starts with a single step, so we must not delay and act fast.

In the next post, I will write about some of the steps we(i.e. the Common Man- Not many of us are politicians or Global Leaders) can take in order to keep global warming in check.

*To be Concluded.