Environment Action Toolkit ; Part 2

In the last post, I tried to outline the basic toolkit for individuals willing to contribute positively to the environment.

As mentioned in the last post, this is the second out of the three-part series intended for individuals willing to take proactive action towards creating a cleaner and greener environment. 

Part 1 of the series called the Basic toolkit discussed very basic steps that one could start right away without much lifestyle compromises or investment.  

Let us see what are the few more initiatives that one can take as a part of an individual action towards contributing towards the climate cause.

1. Have a White Roof: When sunlight falls on the dark surface like a rooftop, it warms the surface heating the building below. On the other hand, when sunlight falls on a white surface, much of it is reflected back through the atmosphere. So it is not converted into heat. Technically, white surfaces have a higher degree of solar reflectance and emittance. 

Painting the Roof White is Simple, cheap, and Doable.

Advantages of White roofs are 

1. Reduces the energy consumption inside the building. 

2. Increases the Life of the roof. 

3. Increases the rainwater runoff from the roofs. 

4. Reflected Light increases what is called Albedo, slightly increasing the energy input into the solar panels (If present). 

5. Drastically reduces the conversion of light to heat.  

2. Make your Bio-Enzyme: The vim bars and the rin bars that we use daily are some of the reasons for the poor quality of our water bodies. Frothing in the lake, eutrophication of lakes is because of the heavy chemical discharges into the lakes. 

Preventing Industrial effluents and domestic sewage from entering our water bodies may be difficult at the individual level. But one can start from his or her home. Switching to organic locally made soaps and detergents or even better making your own Bio-Enzyme is one of the best ways to stop chemical effluents from entering the water bodies. 

I will not go into details on how to prepare Bio-Enzymes here. It is pretty easy. Hundreds of videos are available on YouTube on how one can make Bio-Enzymes. Making Bio-enzymes at home also reduces the wet waste that one generates and aids in the circular economy. 

Making bio-enzyme is a little time taking and demands some commitment. But it is a wonder material for one's own health and the environment's health. 

3. One tree per Person per year: In my last post, I mentioned having few plants at home. The natural extension is to graduate to a tree. It is said that one person needs seven trees to provide him with adequate oxygen for his living. So it becomes our natural duty to Plant and nurture trees for our own well-being and the well-being of our children. 

A simple way to care for the trees is for everyone to plant at least one tree per year. Many of us may not have or may not find space for planting a tree. We can first start by planting trees on the roadside. Next is the neighbuorhood. One may not find any space anywhere. In that case, a good idea is either to buy or make seed balls and throw them on every patch of soil. The success rate of even 1% is good. 

Many towns have tree clubs that are mostly into organized tree planting. Weekly or monthly programs are organized where volunteers plant hundreds of trees. One can volunteer there or contribute to the cause. 

A small word of caution here. Post pandemic, I have seen many over-enthusiastic folks planting trees on the roadside without any cognizance of the tree species. One must plant native, 'slow-growing trees' that have deep roots and solid girth. So-called fast-growing trees are more a problem than a solution in the long run. 

4. Conserve Rainwater: In my last post, I mentioned the true cost of water and the true energy footprint of water. To reiterate, Sourcing, pumping, filtering, and conveying water is one of the most energy-guzzling and polluting infrastructure activities in the urban scenario. For political reasons, the true cost of this process is never discussed in the public domain. 

So any environment-conscious individual must conserve as much water as possible and augment as must water as possible locally. On the demand side of the water, one must become more efficient by having aerators, water meters, etc. On the Supply-side, harvesting rainwater is one of the simplest ways. In my next post, I will talk more bout rainwater harvesting. Here, it suffices to say that one can start small, as small as keeping the bucket in the rain to save a few drops of water. The joy and the pleasure of harvesting cloud juice will naturally encourage and inspire him or her to take more proactive steps in conserving rainwater. 

5. Stop Using RO water: RO or reverse osmosis is an energy-guzzling and water-wasting process of filtering water. RO is generally used to filter rather; soften the hard water. RO process does not eliminate any bacteriological contamination in the water. 

Wasting water is criminal and RO does exactly that. RO does not just consume excess energy to waste precious water, it also eliminates some of the useful minerals in the water that are very must essential for the human body. 

Before getting into the alternatives for RO, let us first see if we need a RO in the first place at all. If the source of drinking water is river water or shallow aquifer water or tap water through the municipality, it will have hardness much below permissible limits and does not require RO filtration. One can use a simple UV filter (Water passes through the ultraviolet light that destroys micro-organisms) and be done with so-called Filtration.  If one is not sure about the source of water, one can get the water tested (Or buy a TDS meter Which costs about 400 rupees) for hardness and then decide on filtration. {It is important not to be carried away by marketing gimmicks of water purifier companies.} 

RO must be used for filtering water above a TDS (Total dissolved solids) of  800 PPM. For lesser than 800, UF or Ultrafiltration is good enough to treat the TDS. UF does not use electricity or waste any water to treat TDS. (The video here gives some information on different water filtering technologies)

Recently, something called AWG or atmospheric water generators have come into the market. These use the humidity in the atmosphere, condense it to make it into potable water. These are good options in coastal areas. 

6. Switch to Solar water heaters:  Solar water heaters are the best alternative to energy-consuming water heaters. Particularly for a tropical country like India, it makes a lot of environmental and economical sense to use a solar water heater than an electrically powered geyser. 

7. Demand Action: Apart from making changes in one's lifestyle and taking actions at the individual level, one must start by demanding action from political and "religious" leaders on environmental matters. 

As a start, one can start by meeting the local politicians on the issue of tree cover, on the issue of rainwater wastage from streets, on the issue of waste management. Problems solved as locally as possible are good for the government as well as the environment. 

I shall conclude this second part of the toolkit by reiterating again that the most important and most powerful proactive action that one can take is to simply consume less. 

In the next and final part of the toolkit, I shall dwell on the next set of actions that involve some serious lifestyle compromises, a bit of time and financial investment, and a little more commitment towards the environment. 

 

 

Environment Action ; Basic Toolkit

I have been working in the area of environment for over 15 years now.  Barring a couple of years where I was an activist, most of my career,I have been on the field designing and executing water conservation and solar energy projects. 

In the course of the last 15 years, I have met thousands of people and had hundreds of discussions on the environment. I have also attended countless seminars and workshops (Most of them merely talk shows with very little or no real outcomes). 

One of my observations over the last decade has been on how people are reacting to issues like climate change or sustainability. Over the years, there has been a remarkably better response or at least a better acknowledgment of the issue of climate change. People have become more proactive and action-driven. Most people really want to do their bit towards a better environment.  (Ironically the climate crisis is also increasing exponentially) 

One of the riding feedback that I receive from people particularly from the younger folks is; what is that they can do. In other words, how one can contribute towards a better environment. All of them want to be a part of the solution but are not sure how they can achieve it. 

The idea of this blog is to come up with the most basic "doable" toolkit for a starter wanting to be a part of a positive change. I have made an attempt to list a few basic and easy things that one can start practicing right away. One can build on the baby steps and take bigger actions as they move in the journey being a part of the solution. 

No doubt we can talk big and come with a long list of "to-do" things from installing solar panels, leading a frugal lifestyle, installing RWH units, Using EV, etc. (signing petitions, doing roadshows ?).

But the idea of this post is not to talk big but to help with the first step. I plan to write 2 more blogs on the next steps that an individual can take. (By the way; my personal initiatives towards sustainability are in this post). 

So here is a list of few things that one can start at this very moment; 

1. Say no to Bottled water: This needs no explanation or elaboration.

It is a well-established fact that companies that produce bottled water do not actually produce water but produce plastic. Worldwide use of bottled water had perhaps increased 100 times in the last 15 years. All the water bottles either end up in the oceans or in the landfills. These landfills are one of the biggest reasons for water and soil pollution. All the water bottles that we have used so far are still lying somewhere on the planet. Also one of the reasons for an exponential increase in cancer cases in India is the excessive and indiscriminate use of plastics. Water stored in transparent plastics over a long time does more harm to the body than good. 

One of the immediate actions that one can take right away is refusing to use bottled water.  The easiest replacement is to carry one's own copper or steel bottle and refill the water. It is a healthy option as well. I will not run the numbers here and make the post lengthy. A simple shift to "Carry your own water bottle" will reduce Thousands of tons of plastic entering the landfills (and the food chain). 

The same argument holds good for plastic bags as well.  This action is simple and is very doable with very very least effort. It not only reduces pollution but also helps one improve his or her health. 

2. Compost your Organic waste: This is slightly more difficult but one of the greatest ways to combat climate change. 

Organic waste (Food and agriculture) is the single largest contributor to methane gas in the world.  Locally composting organic waste will significantly reduce the build-up of harmful gases in the earth's atmosphere. Composting also improves soil health and as the popular adage goes "Country's health is directly proportional to Soil Health"  

3. Say "NO" to Flower bouquet: Giving and receiving a Flower bouquet wrapped in plastic or paper is a crime on the environment. It just adds up to mixed waste. A flower bouquet has unfortunately become a symbol of love. A better gift or a token of respect would be a flowering plant or a tree sapling. A live growing plant that gives oxygen is any day better than a dead flower.  I will not elaborate on the carbon footprint of the flowers and their transportation. One must note that the flowers come over large distances with related energy and carbon footprint. 

In my opinion, this change in behavior just does not take any effort at all. 

4. Measure your water: Water Carries an enormous carbon footprint. Sourcing, pumping, filtering, and delivering the water is a hugely energy-guzzling process. For political reasons, the true cost of water is never levied on the end-user leaving the latter with no incentive to save. One of the first acts of an environmentally conscious individual or an organization is to put a water meter at his or her house and limit the water usage. Cutting water consumption by 25 % will reduce exponentially more carbon emissions. 

One can also install water-saving fixtures and faucets to be more water-wise. 

5. Have a plant at home: I have heard the common argument from many people that they do not have space at home for a plant or a tree. While I do understand the space constraints in an urban setting, there are many plants that one can keep inside the home that requires very little or no sunlight. 

One can keep plants like areca palm, snake plant, money plant, etc which not only adds oxygen inside the house but also adds to the beauty of the house. Maintaining one plant per person in the house is very doable and practical. 

6. A small contribution for the future: I can go on by saying it is better to invest in a forest than an FD or mutual fund. But the idea of this post is something much simpler. We spend a lot of money on may unnecessary stuff. While keeping one's lifestyle intact; One can commit a small part of their earnings for the sake of the environment. Like a yearly contribution of 1% or 0.5% of their earnings to a well-meaning NGO working towards afforestation or water conservation. 

7. Walk your way: Walking or cycling to the local store is good for the health and the environment. 

8. Avoid packaged food particularly imported food: Packaged food has a huge carbon footprint and is very very unhealthy. In particular, imported chocolates and drinks have a heavy amount of preservatives and an enormous carbon footprint because of the transportation involved. 

9. Reduce Consumption: This does not need explanation and strictly does not feature in this basic toolkit. However, one must feel that every time he or she buys something (Most often something that he or she does not need), they are adding harmful carbon into the atmosphere. 

I feel the above are very simple and can be adopted into our lifestyle right away. 

In the next post, I will dwell on version 2 of the toolkit with things that needs a little effort, little maintenance, and little investment.