Conserve Energy Conserve Life

One aspect of knowledge is that is tends to make its possessors cynical. When the hidden complexity of seemingly simple systems makes itself apparent our incapacity to master the system in its entirety is the first realization we afford ourselves. This, I am speaking in reference to the environment. With awareness and scientific attitude on a rise it is becoming increasingly stark that the numbers of things we have contributed negatively to the planet majorly outweigh the positives, which happen to be zero. We like to think that the special status we have that has been provided to us by chance as the dominant specie also sanctions the license to use the planet as a workshop and see how much of our products it can take before it starts giving things back.

Most activities that can be associated with human habitation are in some way or the other harmful to the environment. For example, electricity, the most revolutionary human discovery comes with tremendous harmful emissions to the environment irrespective of the generation method. Hydro electricity releases superheated water in the water bodies which charge aquatic extinction as fees for keeping our houses lit. Thermal electricity releases fumes, which after going through various layers of the atmosphere and causing havoc there, returns back to us in some or the other form that is not appreciated by humans. There’s some justice here, if you are looking for it, as in this case we are the ones causing damage to ourselves to keep our houses lit. But then we pay the electricity bill anyway. We, however, fulfill our responsibility as caring species of the planet by mulling over which method will cause lesser damage and try to implement that with a greater gusto.

Modern structure of the world is such that there are provisions made for most concerns that a considerable section of the population can have. Sounds ideal? Now you should know that the concept of ideal is a total abstract. There is nothing ideal in this world. The downside of this facility is that unless your concern becomes a concern to a major section it does not merit a hearing. This is where the need to be able to take measures on your own comes to the foreground. A single person, a single locality, a single district, a single town, a single state and even a single country cannot undo changes happening in a foreign country that cause havoc in your backyard. There’s no point in waiting for international legislation to come to your rescue. You can start with changes in your own life. Energy conservation doesn’t have to be a public undertaking.

Global warming and warming up to responsibility

Our general discourse daily spans a wide variety of topics. We take sides in national politics, pass judgment on politicians, make unrealized suggestions on civic matters and ardently support our national team. We have sure solutions for corruption and the crowded public transport. We are all, without a doubt, tremendously knowledgeable on world history and the culture of India. Furthermore, all these activities are accomplished while maintaining a healthy interest in the private lives of actors, actresses, cricketers, politicians, businessmen and the girl/guy from the opposite building. Life is busy.

We even have ingenious solutions to all the environmental problems plaguing our planet. Take global warming as an instance. Our simple understanding is that earth is getting warmer and ice is melting. That’s comprehension enough for us to provide environment altering solutions or at least account for half an hour of office travel time on certain weekdays. We however fail to realize that the casual resignation that we practice towards most other aspects of modern life will be of fatal consequence to not only ourselves but to the entire planet in case of Global Warming. There’s always someone or the other to pass the responsibility onto about everything else. In this case the responsibility will have to be shouldered by all of us. Together.

The above-mentioned basic understanding of Global Warming is of little use in getting people to move towards making environmental changes. That’s the shortcoming of easy-to-consume, fast-food variety descriptions of important issues. They are consumed real fast and real wide, real quickly, but fail to leave any noteworthy impact. Global Warming is essentially a scientific issue. Unless we have an understanding of the scientific basis for tall claims by environmental organizations, we will not be able to promise full support to the cause. The earth is getting warm but how and why do we need to be bothered by it? Do we realize how close the problem is to every one of us? Have we contributed to the crisis?

Here’s a quick description.
Any activity which unbalances the amount of carbon dioxide in atmosphere contributes to global warming. Carbon Dioxide absorbs heat which should ideally escape back to space and thus ends up increasing the temperature of the planet. Increased temperature melts ice, changes climate and causes havoc. Some of the major activities responsible for global warming are as casual as burning of fossil fuels, using vehicles and deforestation.

The casualness of these activities has a two-fold aspect. It is what makes them widespread and at the same time leaves the possibilities of change in the hands of each and every one of us.

We all dream of playing a part in the shaping the planets future. A potential global catastrophe like environment shift can surprisingly serve as the reason to bring everyone together. With information dissipation on a rise and awareness of environmental issues gaining importance it is only a matter of time before the big corporate interests are made to relent into giving way to big legislation changes leading to betterment in our handling of the environment.

There is however no reason to wait for governments and businessmen to play heroes who save the earth against disaster. There are small steps we can all take that will go a long way eventually and also serve as proof that we have, though on a small level, made a change we can be proud of.