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The joke in Copenhagen where world leaders gathered to cut a climate deal but failed is that Barack Obama told the intractable Manmohan Singh and Wen Jiabao of China: “Ask not what the world can do for you — ask what you can do for the world.”
“Yea, give us time and we’ll match you in per capita contribution of pollutants to the world,” replied Man & Wen, who to their pleasant surprise found themselves on the same side of the table in the Danish capital.
Poor Obama. The President, whose speeches are written by past — and dead — US Presidents who throw in a line each, had this time invoked the words of his favourite past President, the late John F. Kennedy. Still, no deal.
Nonetheless, the words suited the occasion.
As world leaders argued over which country would do how much for the world and decided to agree that it’s best not to commit to do anything because in the long term when the planet will become unfit to be lived in we’re all dead, it turned out that the answers might lie in Calcutta and not in Copenhagen.
In a survey of 25 Indian cities, other than Mumbai and Delhi, Calcutta has topped the league of carbon dioxide emitters, spewing into the atmosphere each year about 9.3 million tonnes equivalent of CO2 through energy used by homes, offices, industries, street lights, transportation and water pumping stations.
Over one-fourth of the carbon dioxide emission comes from residential houses and commercial establishments. Around 4.5 million residents of the city consume more than 1,000 million KW of power, 75,000 tonnes of LPG and close to 300,000 kilolitres of kerosene every year.
Most sources of pollution are beyond individual control but some are if you know how.
“The first step towards energy consumption and preventing pollution is to know how much energy each individual is consuming. It is very easy to find out. One just needs to calculate one’s carbon footprint (see box),” said Niladri Chakraborty, the head of the department of power engineering at Jadavpur University.
Carbon footprint is a measure of the impact of the day to day activities of an individual or an organisation or an event or a country on the environment or climate in terms of total greenhouse gas emission caused.
We list below some simple tips to reduce your carbon footprint. In the bargain, it will also reduce your cost footprint defined as the emission of currency notes from your purse or wallet.
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Save power, save pelf
1. Switch off lights and fans and other electrical gadgets while going out of the room. “It’s the most basic thing. And yet, it can save up to 5-10 per cent of the power consumed,” according to Biswajit Mukherjee, the chief law officer of state environment department.
2. Replace ordinary bulbs by compact fluorescent lights (CFL). “A 13-watt CFL is almost equal to a 60-watt old-fashioned bulb,” according to Subhash Dutta, environment activist. The bulb is already a threatened species in the West, which is embracing the LED (light emitting diodes) technology. LED has arrived in India but is still a little expensive.
3. While buying electrical appliances, look for a 5-star rating by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE). They save 15-20 per cent energy, sometimes more. Ensure all appliances and motor pumps are ISI or BEE marked.
4. During Puja or other festivals use LED for illumination.
5. Use solar water heater, and solar lanterns in a power failure. They are available in markets and at the West Bengal Renewable Energy Development Agency office in Sector V. Heater price starts around Rs 17,000 and that of light around Rs 1,500.
6. Don’t leave mobile chargers plugged in.
7. Turn off TV sets, computers and music systems at the main switch instead of leaving them on standby. It can save up to 50 per cent of a household’s energy cost.
Building tip: Conservation starts at the planning stage, said Mukherjee. “Most old houses are so designed that it doesn’t allow in any sunlight. One has to have the light on even during the day. That’s wasting energy.”
The knowhow is also available now to build houses that keep the heat off in summer, cutting energy costs.
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Water, water, not everywhere
1. A shower wastes water. Be swadeshi, collect water in a bucket for bathing and save 10-15 per cent of the water you’d otherwise spend in a shower.
2. Use smaller flushes in the toilet. Old toilets use a 5-litre flush but 2.5 litres, available with the modern contraption, is enough.
3. And may we suggest you use the toilet less frequently for the big bang by eating healthily?
4. Use the water left over from washing or cleaning to water plants.
5. Turn the tap off when brushing your teeth or soaping hand/face. You save more than 30 per cent water every time that way.
6. Big apartments can harvest rainwater.
Gas is not all hot air
1. Plan your cooking and ready everything before you light the gas.
2. Pressure cooking saves fuel, says the Petroleum Conservation Research Association.
| How to calculate your carbon footprint |
1. Multiply your monthly electricity bill by 105 2. Multiply your monthly gas bill by 105 3. Multiply your monthly oil (petrol/diesel) bill by 113 4. Multiply total yearly mileage by 0.79 5. Multiply the number of flights you take in a year — of four hours duration or less — by 1,100 6. Multiply number of flights you take in a year — of more than four hours duration — by 4,400 7. Do you recycle newspaper? If yes add zero, if no add 184 (recycling is treating or processing used or waste materials to make them suitable for reuse and according to some experts, selling to the kabadiwala does not count). 8. If you recycle aluminium and tin add zero, if not, add 166 |
3. Use optimum quantity of water while cooking to save fuel; reduce the flame when the food begins to boil; use shallow, wide vessels; put the lid on to save heat loss; use a small and clean burner and allow frozen food to reach room temperature before cooking.
4. Remember, red meat takes more time to cook and is bad for health too. What, no mangshor jhol?
Big wheels are bad wheels
1. Use a small car even if you can afford a large one with a powerful engine and a demonic thirst. For those not convinced, it’s becoming fashionable to drive small cars in a recession in bigger-the-better America.
2. Drive the car at not more than 40-50km per hour where it’s most fuel efficient.
3. Switch off your engine if you have to wait more than 15 seconds at a crossing. And turn the AC off? Are you kidding?
4. Avoid using the brake or changing gears frequently. Ha ha, given Calcutta’s traffic, that’s easier said than done.
5. Regular maintenance keeps the car in good shape and energy efficient.
6. Get rid of old cars that use more fuel and emit more greenhouse gases.
7. Create a car pool for going to work or for ferrying children to school/college and back. Saves gas, and cash too.
8. Use the Metro whenever you can.
9. Many cities encourage people to ride bicycles by creating separate traffic lanes for them. Wish we could recommend that but Calcutta being Calcutta, let’s not invite suicidal thoughts.
10. The big energy saver is still round the corner: a car that doesn’t use petrol or diesel and is still efficient and cheap. Grab it when it comes.
Can do at home, can do in office
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1. Managements should ensure employees switch off lights and fans and shut down computers before leaving.
2. Offices should make it mandatory for employees to take the stairs while going down. The truly courageous can walk up the stairs.
3. Newer ACs or an AC fitted with the rotary compressor works at least twice as efficiently as older models.
4. Use double-pane glass. It takes more power to cool the room that it does to keep it well lit during the day.
5. Recycle paper.
6. Offices can introduce special incentives for employees active in conserving the environment.
7. Use solar heater. An old age home was running up mammoth electricity bills since the water heater was kept on all day. Costs dropped 40 per cent once it switched to solar water heater.
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8. If there are chimneys or devices that emit hot air, it can be used to heat water for laundry, etc.
Although India’s per capita CO2 emission is way lower than that of the West, an argument offered by our leaders to fight off pressure to commit to verifiable steps to cut emission, our cities have pollution levels far worse than those in many industrialised nations. Studies have also shown that the carbon footprint of affluent Indians is no different from that of western citizens. Which means the richer you are, the more CO2 you produce.
And the more you can ask yourself what you can do for the world.
