These days I am constantly told that conserving the environment and protecting our planet must be a civil society’s number one priority, people should want to make a difference and live greener lives.
However ‘Go Green’ is always a scary slogan for me. It kind of rhymes with Mo-clean and makes me scurry around with mop and mope till I drop.We keep hearing that we are but caretakers of this legacy of mother earth and that we need to pass it on to our children to create a better environment.
As they say, child is the father of man and the children have it taken it upon themselves to educate us all about preserving Mother Earth. The amount of poster work that gets done to ram this singular point across, is no one’s business. Err about the number of trees that went into making those papers.. Well, never mind. Suffice to say, they have managed to instill a sense of duty, in the society.
Chastened, I have done my share of homework, finding all about sustainable living and the ways I could reduce my carbon imprint. Wise ones have laid out some commandments for greener lives. It is pretty easy actually. All I needed were few lifestyle changes.
1. Think and shop – Whoever said that ‘Sale’ is a four lettered work, couldn't be more correct. NCR with its unpredictable seasons needs constant wardrobe updates. How does one think green in such cupboard defining moments? Where there is a will, there is a way. Stretch your cloth to its maximum, wear it out. Go in for natural fabrics. More earthy so to say.
2. Taking care that the big electronic purchases are environmental friendly and have enough star credentials – To be frank, the first and foremost thing, I worry about is how wallet friendly is my purchase. I then look for devices carrying the Energy Star service mark, which generally use 20–30% less energy than required. The government should make sure that India doesn’t become the dumping ground for iffy and dated technologies. So easy it is, to be a part of green brigade.
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3. Ditch the plastic – If I do that, how do I line my trash can? How do I store stuff in my fridge or carry my drinking water? I discovered, I could use jute lined bags. For carrying water, one could go in for those lovely colored bottles, which would perfectly match with the wardrobe. How chic is that! Fashion and passion!
4. Pay attention to labels and boycott products that endanger wildlife and me – Easier said than done that. If only that tiny minuscule print at the back could be made bigger! I’m Game
5. Green your home. Choose renewable energy – All right! where is the sunlight ? The match boxes that we live in, have been specially designed by the architects to make sure that hardly any light comes through. The tiny homes have fewer spaces for greenery too. We need greener homes at affordable prices. The good news is that there are many oxygen giving indoor plants. It’s pretty easy to develop a green thumb albeit a bonsai one
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6. Be water wise. Bathe with buckets. Wash clothes less frequently and use less water for dishes – Yeah right! Start using the organic stuff that our granny used. Say no to artificial chemical stimulants. Now you know why her skin glowed so much and why she had minimal hair fall?
7. The segregation of waste – By the time the maids understand and implement, armageddon would be here. But keep trying. For a better tomorrow!
8. Drive less, drive green – Invest in viable public transportation. Alarmed with the smog levels, the Delhi Government did come up with 15 days of odd even vehicles experiment. It was too short lived. There are no safe cycle tracks too, if one needs to do short distance travel. But car pooling is a great option and is good for the pocket and the air.
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9. Have a Green Diwali – Just imagine this festival without the ear splitting noise of loud crackers or smog inducing Anars!! Only simple diyas and no more ‘De Dabba Le Dabba' drives. Cuts down the vehicular pollution immensely you see. Actually a much better way to celebrate.
10. Choose to have a smaller family- I like this the best ! Amen to that!
On a serious note, people would love to lead greener lives. It’s just that, it’s too time consuming and there aren't enough resources that can help people make the right choices. India is slowly transforming into a haven of startups. When science and emerging technologies become people centric by solving vexing problems, there will be a big difference in attitudes because life style changes become much easier now.
Feature Image source :sociallygreener.com
