I have usually seen people purchase new ink cartridges instead of getting the used one refilled. Probably the reason is that people find it too cumbersome to go and get the cartridge refilled and easier to purchase a new one instead. How about encouraging the shopkeepers/ traders/ manufacturers to always ask the consumers for the used cartridge in lieu of a new one? They can then refill these used cartridges and sell them at a little lower cost or recycle them. It would certainly reduce the size of the landfills to some extent and thereby also decrease the amount of harmful pollutants produced by these cartridges when they are disposed off.
Sunanda Jain
If you must print slides from a power-point file please ensure that you change the background colour from black or any other dark colour to stark white. Go to the slide sorter view, select all the slides, right click on them and go to the 'Background' menu and change the colour. Another option is to select the ‘grayscale’. This would help us save tonnes of ink and thereby reduce the carbon emissions.
Subrata Dey
Did you know we can actually conserve energy and reduce cooling costs by increasing the temperature of our air-conditioners? Similarly, we can also reduce the heating costs by lowering the temperature. Each degree you turn down the heat saves 3 percent of heating costs, while each degree you raise the temperature of your air conditioner saves 3-4 percent of cooling costs. By changing the temperature by 2 degrees all year, you can save about 900 kgs of C02 a year.
sweta shrivastava
In a country where sun light is available in plenty, why aren’t we making the right use of it? How about having all street lights and outdoor lights as solar lights instead of the sodium vapour lamps or incandescent lamps generally used? This would not only conserve huge amounts of energy, but also reduce the dependence on artificial lights.
Sunanda Jain
Households in villages across India are still dependent on firewood and coal as cooking fuels. These can cause air pollution and release lot of greenhouse gases. A better option for them would be to rather collect the leaves fallen from the trees. These leaves can then be made into a solid mass rolled inside a paper bag or box. Such a leaf bag burns longer, and generates more heat than wood and as much heat as coal. Leaves when left to decompose release methane, whereas burning them releases only the carbon absorbed during the time they were on the tree. Since they don’t add any additional carbon to the atmosphere, therefore they are carbon-neutral. Fallen leaves can also be utilized for composting, making them literally a green boon.
P Venkatesh
Every house must create a waste management strategy, with steps for identifying what household activities generate waste, how to minimize waste generation, and choosing the right disposal option for each kind of waste. Biological waste is the most common type of waste and should be converted into compost for use in garden. Dry waste such as metal scraps, glass and plastic waste can be given to dealers for recycling and recovery. Paper waste can be reused in the house for different purposes. Waste of animal origin should be buried deep into the soil at a specific site. Sharps must be collected in special bins and sent for incineration. E-waste can be donated or handed back to the manufacturer. Wastewater can be used for flushing toilets, and for cleaning car, floors, and so on.
Vaneet Gupta
We all understand the importance of water as a natural resource and the rate at which it is being consumed. Only 1% of water on the earth is fresh water. This explains the need for water conservation. At the household level the following tips may be useful: washing clothes and utensils in a tub / container instead of a running tap, taking short showers or better still using a bucket to take a bath, analyzing your water bills and setting goals of reducing the water consumption by say about 10-15% every month, reusing the water used for washing fruits and vegetables for watering plants, fixing leaking taps on immediate priority and so on. Also, incase leaking taps can not be fixed immediately; you could collect the leaking water in some container and then use that water.
Raman kheterpal
In India, we all have become used to of traveling in cars even for a short distance. The amount of pollution caused by running vehicles can easily be reduced if we all decide to either walk down short distances or use a bicycle to cover such distances. This would help individuals build good health and also reduce their carbon footprint. For people who may find it difficult to walk or cycle, such as people in old age could use small cars which are practical to get around and have high fuel efficiency. Besides, reducing pollution levels, this will also solve the problem of traffic jams in metro cities.
Sunanda Jain
Creating an energy efficiency plan for your house can go a long way in ensuring that your personal carbon footprint is minimized. You can start with an energy audit of your house, and keep a track of how long each electrical appliance is kept ‘on’. You can start with an achievable goal of reducing the power bill by 1%, and then by 2%, 3% and so on. Accordingly, you can take the energy-saving measures, such as using BEE-rated appliances, LEDs, CFLs and so on. You can check your monthly power bills and find out whether these measures are actually reflecting in terms of reduction in your expenses. You can communicate to your family members through awareness charts posted in several rooms as to how they can contribute to limiting the power bill. Once you accomplish this, you can extend your plan and help the entire neighbourhood to ensure energy efficiency.
shivani
There are many simple and effective ways of reducing one’s personal carbon and energy footprint as well as that of the workplace. It is best to take the stairs in case your office is not on the top floor of a skyscraper, and especially when you are the only person using the elevator. If you know that you will be away from your PC for more than 30 minutes, it is better to switch off the monitor as it consumes a substantial amount of power. Avoid pressing the ‘Print’ button for just any document, and always use both sides of paper for printing. Judicious use of water in the washroom and switching off unused lights can go a long way in efficiency measures. The time has come for workplaces to link employee productivity with their carbon footprint.
Roshni Puri
While travelling, it is best to carry one’s own water bottle and get it refilled at drinking water coolers. Buying a water bottle every time one feels thirsty accumulates unwanted plastic waste that needs to be recycled. This also drives up the sales of these bottles and adds to the demand for such packaged products. If organizations and communities collectively decided to refrain from mass buying of packaged products, it will automatically push the demand down. Moreover, government can impose a tax on sale of plastic bottles, since there is an environment cost associated with their disposal; this will put a check on the supply.
Ankur Maheshwari
Corporate and institutions should boost ‘work from home’ culture. If the nature of work is such that it requires less face-to-face interpersonal interaction, employees should be encouraged to work from home on a regular basis.
This has many benefits including
• Saving of transportation cost and hence carbon emission
• Saving office infrastructure uses
• Saving from physical drainage from home-office transportation
• Enhancing work-life balance
Many corporate are actively encouraging the ‘work from home’ culture. It’s time we start thinking in a modern way and utilize advancements in communication technology for a greener world.
Subrata Dey
Festivals are important occasions for celebrating our tradition and culture. But, they also generate a lot of waste, apart from polluting the natural resources such as air and water. As the festive season approaches, we should be prudent in things we buy. For instance, send electronic greeting cards instead of paper cards; gift a plant sapling or a recycled product instead of an expensive plastic or metal item; light candles and lamps instead of bursting crackers; create a shopping list for the family and buy the items on a single trip; use eatables and decorative items made out of natural ingredients, rather than those containing chemicals. A green choice made by us in the short-term can help the environment in the long run.
P Venkatesh
Using a laptop instead of a desktop computer can reduce the electrical use by three quarters. This is due to the amount of carbon emitted in both the cases. A desktop computer would have higher amounts of carbon emissions as compared to a laptop. In fact organizations could provide their employees with laptops instead of desktop computers and encourage them to use those.
Sunanda Jain
the rain water in towns is also getting wasted. all the water is poured directly into drain directly. As it was made compulsory in cities to harvest rain water, even in towns also it should be made compulsory. A proper campaign about how to harvest water must be conducted in towns, schools & colleges.
Nagendra
A mobile phone battery keeps getting discharged as long as it is kept ON. Identify those times when your phone will not be needed to make or receive calls, and switch off the phone during those times; this can do away with the need for frequent recharging. Until the time, mobile companies start manufacturing mobile phones powered by solar batteries, this is a good way of saving power. Considering the ever growing population of mobile phone users across the world, this simple action can add up to lot of energy savings.
P Venkatesh
Use of plastic bags has already been banned; does that mean we can use paper bags more liberally?? The campaign of ‘do not use plastic bags’, could rather be ‘use only cloth or jute bags’. In malls, now-a-days, the trend has become to use paper bags and we need to create awareness regarding how many trees have to be cut to produce 1 kg of paper. So, let’s just pledge that we all are now going to use either cloth or jute bags for shopping and urge others too, to do the same!! This is the least we can do to express our concern for the environment!!
Sunanda Jain
Their is a new kind of degradable plastic that has just recently been invented. We should all write to major companies and try and make their use mandatory for all companies.
Rami Amer Genson Hourani
The most practical scheme we can do easily is forestion because deforestation emits 30% of the world toal carbon emission annually.
So we can reduce carbon emission easily by preventing imprudent logging in developing world.
Lim Tae Hun
Reel lawn mowers are an eco-friendly alternative to gas-powered rotary models and a true boon to energy conservation. Reel lawn mowers are muscle-powered, so there no engine involved. Using them not only promotes energy conservation but also clean air.
sweta shrivastava
Green vehicles (e.g. Hybrid car,Hydrogen Car, Fuel Cell car,Biodiesel Car etc) are considered the “wave of the future” because they are changing the way that consumers contribute to the sustainability of the environment. As more cars go green, society will be able to maintain a healthy quality of life that will have a positive impact on future generations.
Raman kheterpal
DO-IT-YOURSELF: 100% Eco-friendly Paper Bag
1) Take a double sheet of old recycled paper (newspaper, magazine, calendar or chart paper).
2) Take 4 tablespoons of refined flour (or cooked rice) and dilute by adding water. Heat the mixture until it thickens like glue.
3) Stick both the edges of the sheet together using the natural glue, and flatten it.
4) On the shorter side, fold the sheet as you would do while wrapping a gift.
5) A simple paper bag is ready. Use natural strings (jute or coir) as bag holder, and natural objects for decoration (such as dry leaves and flowers). Be creative.
6) Have fun and make paper bags in different shapes and sizes. Use some for home, and you may like to gift a few to your neighbour and donate the rest to the local shopkeeper.
P Venkatesh
Compost the household organic waste such as dry leaves, waste vegetables, weeds etc by using a simple technique called Vermicomposting. This can also be tried in a pot if you dont have a garden. Put all your organic waste in a pit/pot. Add some friendly red worms, let them play, eat and feed on the organic waste. Add some moist soil, sprinkle water everyday. After two months, lightweight, pleasant, earthy smelling compost will be ready.
The best nutrition for your plants!!
Neha
We should all try to avoid cleaners which contain chlorine (i.e bleaching agents), phosphates, and other dangerous chemical substances. These toxins enter the atmosphere and waterways causing environmental damage.
Vivek Kumar
A mini nature park can be created over garbage dumps. Trees of a particular species can be planted over these dumps, thereby acting as natural sinks for major greenhouse gases and harmful pollutants. This will help in regulating the temperature of the area and also restore the natural phenomenon such as water cycle, groundwater replenishment, pollution buffer, and so on, thus reducing the catastrophic impacts of climate change. The dump can also be developed into a bird sanctuary to attract various species of migratory birds.
Bannick Swagat (International Climate Champion 2009, British Council)
In any locality, a group of young volunteers can collect waste paper from households and give it to a paper supplier. Processed sheets can be bought from a manufacturer. A local SHG (Self Help Group) can be identified for punching, printing and manufacturing of paper bags. The volunteers can then reach out to various bookstores and retail outlets, and encourage them to offer these paper bags to customers at a marginal price of Rs. 1-4 per bag. This will help reduce the usage of plastic bags, provide an eco-friendly alternative to consumers, offer an avenue for employment to a SHG, and also involve the youth in creating awareness about climate change.
Sruthi Chandrasekhar (International Climate Champion 2009, British Council)
A cool, green roof can be used to reduce the
cooling energy requirements of a building, thereby
resulting in a reduced carbon footprint. Plants
of choice can be grown on such a roof, which
would capture a fairly good quantity of carbon.
Moreover, the altered albedo of the roof would
also reduce the Urban Heat Island (an area significantly
warmer than its surrounding areas) effect. Such
a roof will reduce the energy consumption per
building per year by 10%-25%, and the local
surroundings will also get cooler and cleaner.
The maintenance costs of a cool, green roof
are low; wastewater and storm water can be used
for irrigation purposes.
N Ram (International Climate Champion 2009, British Council)
Street vendors and hawkers can be trained as Green Messengers. They will ask drivers at major red light junctions to undergo regular pollution checks and also urge the drivers to turn off their engines while waiting. They will also sell plant saplings to motorists and passengers at these junctions, and encourage people to sign up for tree plantation drives and other environmental campaigns. This initiative will serve as a viable employment opportunity for the street hawkers, result in an increase in the green cover of the city and spread environmental awareness amongst the public.
Pulkit Khanna (International Climate Champion 2009, British Council)
Asphalted and tarred roads are dark in colour and absorb heat. Such roads can be changed to lighter-coloured and more reflective concrete roads. Since roads make up 25-35% of the layout of a city, changing their colour to lighter shades and increasing their reflectivity will cool the immediate surroundings by 2-3 °C and also contribute to power savings. Combine this with avenue plantations and tree shading on roadsides, it can contribute to the micro-environment and biodiversity, and there is increasing evidence that on a larger scale, it can reduce global warming.
K. Saiganesh (International Climate Champion 2009, British Council)
The extensive cultivation of Vetiver (khas), a perennial grass native to India, is an effective defence against carbon dioxide, and can help reduce global warming. It can be planted by the riversides, roadsides, and in industrial sites and urban areas. The plantation of vetiver in campuses can be promoted by making available tillers at a low cost. To highlight the economic side of vetiver plantation, an exhibition of handicrafts made of vetiver grass can also be held in villages.
Mathews Vincent (International Climate Champion 2009, British Council)
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