DHAR DHAR

Do we really need Earth Day? What difference would a single day make when for the rest of the year we remain oblivious to the environment and the Earth? If I am asked that question, my response would be yes, we need Earth Day. There are always two ways of looking at things. The glass is either half full or half empty. People asking these question have their glasses half empty. I have mine half filled. So looking at the brighter side I would counter that even if we are doing all sort of things to make the situation more critical throughout the year, still if for a single day we become conscious and make amends then that is a step forward in the right direction. If we cannot make things better we shouldn’t make them worse. There are a couple of points which I would like to highlight here. Though this is supposed to be a design and art blog, please bear with me.

THE RISE OF INDIA AND CHINA

A few days back I was reading an article about how the rapid growth in the developing world particularly India and China has increased the level of pollution and effected the environmental situation. It’s true that as US and most of Western world had done in the past; these developing countries are also trying to race ahead on the back of the fossil fuels. They too like their western counterparts have paid less attention to the environmental cause and instead have given higher priorities to the cause of human development. Often the US and the EU try to pressurize these countries to create environment centric policies. Most of the time these countries tend not to heed these warnings and argue that when the west was developing during the early 20th century there were no restrictions of such kind, so why should there be one now.

I totally agree to their sentiments, but when you are trying to develop and grow into a future superpower, you should take on some added responsibilities as well. As Peter Parker in Spiderman says, “with great power comes greater responsibilities”, so India and China should also take steps to ensure that development goes hand in hand with environmental conservation. They should take initiatives to develop newer and better technologies to curb the pollution and environmental problem. Grass root level measures in the schools and villages should be started to educate the future generation in environmental studies. They should promote alternative forms of energy and lessen their dependence on fossils fuels. Only when they bear the same responsibilities as the now developed countries, they can truly become global superpowers.

The other point I would like to highlight is

ALTERNATIVE FUELS IN INDIA

We have all studied in school how alternative forms of fuels like the solar energy, wind energy, nuclear energy, biogas and others are better and cleaner than the fossil fuels. But how many of us have really used any one of them. A very small minority of the population can boast of using anything similar to these. The problem is not in the concept or the attitude of the people, but it is in the implementation. Apart from the social studies books nowhere you can find information about how and where these forms of energy are available and the lax attitude of the government is exacerbating the already sorry situation. So what can be done? The solution would be to use resources (as they say in economics) effectively and efficiently. What I mean by that is use the natural materials local to a region to generate sources of energy. For example, the North East has ample water resources, so harnessing the hydroelectric power would be the most viable option. Coming to the North, the eternal shine there can be effectively trapped to create energy sources. In the coastal regions, the sea can be used as a mighty source of constant energy. Along the same lines, windy places like the Lower Himalayan region can be used to produce cheap wind energy. Similarly mini bio fuel plants can be installed in every town and village. These can collect the excreta from the entire community and produce cheap and easy fuel for the masses. Many such solutions can be devised to make the reliance on fossil fuels lesser.

Finally, Save the Planet Earth. It’s the only place we have got.

The font is a free font available on the internet. I am searching for the original font author, I will update as soon as possible.

CRY stands for “Child Rights and You”. It is a non-profit organization devoted towards improving the living conditions of millions of children across India. This banner has no commercial purpose at all.