Global Warming & You!

Dear One,

Bombay was a dreamer's paradise once, now it's a virtual nightmare for all. The overflowing people stuffed mercilessly in it's belly, the vehicles, the bumper to bumper traffic and the dark gutting smoke of pollution makes me sick and sad. What a plight it has gotten itself into or is it the outcome of careless people like us who care to lose nothing over it's abusive and systematic breakdown.

I fear a day is not far off when Bombay (and the world by far) will be a pitiful human dumping ground, deprived of vital oxygen, filled with dangerous emission smoke, no green patches in sight, only structures of black mortar and death. Trees and green patches are vanishing in alarming numbers, making the climate unbearably hot by the day and unpleasantly warm at nights. I get a feeling, I am sitting in a steam chamber all day and night, sweating profusely non-stop. The air conditioners (be it cars, home or office) are one of the silent killers, busy pumping out chilled air infused with a dangerous mix of chloroflourocarbons, for us to unwittingly feast our lungs on.

So is there a solution to the deadly effects of global warming, as it's slowly chokes the wheels of  times to a grinding halt? The answer is - Yes! There is a way. Awareness is the way. With awareness comes education and with education - action. This is the only way which will lead to a global solution.

Did you know that :

- At the rate our climate is changing, the world will soon be warmer than at any time in the last 10,000 years.
- The world has warmed by 0.5 degC over the past century and an average 2 degC warming is predicted by 2100.
- There is scientific consensus that air pollution from human activities is partly responsible for global warming.
- Climatic changes will alter natural vegetation, wildlife habitats, crop growing seasons, and distribution of pests and diseases.
- Global warming will cause a continued and accelerated rise in sea levels, threatening half of the world's most critical coastal wetlands.
- About 30 new infectious diseases have emerged in the past 20 years.
- Global warming will expose millions of people to new health risks. Infectious diseases are emerging, re-surging and undergoing redistribution on a global scale.
- Global sea level has risen between 10 to 25 cm in the last 100 years and will rise faster still in the coming decades.

- Climatic changes will alter natural vegetation, wildlife habitats, crop growing seasons, and the distribution of pests and diseases.

You can help control Global Warming by taking these simple yet highly effective measures -

Replace a regular incandescent light bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb (cfl) 
CFLs use 60% less energy than a regular bulb. This simple switch will save about 300 pounds of carbon dioxide a year.

Clean or replace filters of your air conditioner

Cleaning a dirty air filter can save 350 pounds of carbon dioxide a year.

Choose energy efficient appliances when making new purchases

Look for the Energy Star label on new appliances to choose the most energy efficient products available.

Do not leave appliances on standby mode

Use the "on/off" function on the machine itself. 

Defrost old fridges and freezers regularly

Even better is to replace them with newer models, which all have automatic defrost cycles and are generally up to two times more energy-efficient than their predecessors.

Cover your pots while cooking

Doing so can save a lot of the energy needed for preparing the dish. Even better are pressure cookers and steamers: they can save around 70%!

Buy intelligently

One bottle of 1.5l requires less energy and produces less waste than three bottles of 0.5l. As well, buy recycled paper products: it takes less 70 to 90% less energy to make recycled paper and it prevents the loss of forests worldwide.

Choose products that come with little packaging and buy refills when you can

You will also cut down on waste production and energy use... another help against global warming.

Reuse your shopping bag

When shopping, it saves energy and waste to use a reusable bag instead of accepting a disposable one in each shop. Waste not only discharges CO2 and methane into the atmosphere, it can also pollute the air, groundwater and soil.

Reduce waste

Most products we buy cause greenhouse gas emissions in one or another way, e.g. during production and distribution. By taking your lunch in a reusable lunch box instead of a disposable one, you save the energy needed to produce new lunch boxes.

Plant a tree

A single tree will absorb one ton of carbon dioxide over its lifetime. Shade provided by trees can also reduce your air conditioning bill by 10 to 15%. The Arbor Day Foundation has information on planting and provides trees you can plant with membership.

Buy fresh foods instead of frozen

Frozen food uses 10 times more energy to produce.

Eat less meat

Methane is the second most significant greenhouse gas and cows are one of the greatest methane emitters. Their grassy diet and multiple stomachs cause them to produce methane, which they exhale with every breath.

Keep your car tuned up

Regular maintenance helps improve fuel efficiency and reduces emissions. When just 1% of car owners properly maintain their cars, nearly a billion pounds of carbon dioxide are kept out of the atmosphere.

Drive carefully and do not waste fuel

You can reduce CO2 emissions by readjusting your driving style. Choose proper gears, do not abuse the gas pedal, use the engine brake instead of the pedal brake when possible and turn off your engine when your vehicle is motionless for more than one minute. By readjusting your driving style you can save money on both fuel and car maintenance.

Protect and conserve forest worldwide

Forests play a critical role in global warming: they store carbon. When forests are burned or cut down, their stored carbon is release into the atmosphere - deforestation now accounts for about 20% of carbon dioxide emissions each year. Conservation International has more information on saving forests from global warming.

Global Warming is a dramatically urgent and serious problem. We don't need to wait for governments to find a solution for this problem: each individual can bring an important help adopting a more responsible lifestyle: starting from little, everyday things. It's the only reasonable way to save our planet, before it is too late.

I pledge my support against Global Warming. Won't you too?

In peace.

S.R