sahiti

Take 15 minutes out of your day to watch the following video of John Doerr, a man who is to venture capital what Elvis was to music. (Well, I have not watched it, I read it at the link that i provide below) At the TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) conference in March this year, Doerr broke down in tears describing how a conversation with his daughter about the climate change crisis spurred him on a mission to see what he, and other VCs and entrepreneurs, can do about it. (For vedio http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/128).

Doerr is only the latest in a long line of luminaries to expressed in a very public way their very real fear of a coming eco-apocalypse — or, as I prefer to say, epocalypse. it’s hard to believe sometimes, especially for those of my generation who grew up with the threat of instant Apocalypse, and I find I have to keep reminding myself in very simplistic terms that the Earth’s atmosphere is a fragile thing, a membrane we are clogging up with the mucus we call carbon dioxide. I have to keep thinking of the drowning polar bears at the iceless North Pole, of the vanishing snows of Kilimanjaro, of Katrina and her likely descendents. it’s hard when there is no daily reminder. The way our news media is set up works well when the threat emanates from a particular country or group of people. But how often can you repeat dry facts about carbon molecules in the air and Greenland’s ice shelf sliding into the sea? It gets dull, too dull for the front page, even though the subject is of such staggering importance that it should be on the front page every day. it is easy, way too easy, to bury your head in the magical retail world we live in; the world that is, however imperceptibly, causing the problem in the first place. That’s why we need more people like Doerr to stand up and say they’re afraid. We need more emotional resonance. We need more leadership. We need everyone to know in their guts that this problem will not be solved without full on participation. When the smartest guy in the room talks about the end of the world and starts crying, that’s when you know panic is an appropriate response.

http://www.lunchoverip.com/2007/03/ted2007_serious.html Read here the actual speech of Doerr.

http://money.cnn.com/2007/05/25/magazines/business2/climate_change.biz2/index.htm Read here that 8 years is all we have to steer the earth clear of the imminent ecological breakdown towards which we are headed at full throttle!

So do you say “I am concerned but i don't see how I am going to effect the global policies?” Ya, you may not directly effect the policies, but each of us can contribute a lot to saving the earth by learning to live effectively and efficiently, right away, as well as in the long run. Like say, at least switching off the monitor while leaving for the day or better still shut down ur PC?! Or at least, shutting down the PC on friday, before you leave for the weekend? :-))

In the long run “environment aware” consumer will force the market to deliver along those lines! That's the power of us, the consumer!

To begin with, this is the list of simple/healthy efficient living that i follow n that i had come up with and feel free to share yours..

Drive less:

Use car only IF necessary. Walk to the near by grocery store. Try to see if u can cycle there if not walk. Use walking/cycling, 2 wheeler, 4 wheeler in that order of preference. I know Public transport is out of Q, at least in blore. I am planning to buy a bicycle soon. (Actually I have asked it as our wedding anniversary gift. Seems my hubby dear forgot. Anyways, I shall buy it myself n get the bill reimbursed ;o))

Check the mileage of ur vehicle from time to time and get it serviced regularly. Use AC in ur car sparingly. Get the filters of your car AC cleaned regularly. Get your vehicle emission tested.

Save electricity

Use ONLY energy saving CF bulbs. Switch off lights/fans when not in the room. Normally all the family members are in the living/dining/kitchen area during evenings, so avoid leaving the bedroom lights, balcony lights..ALL of them ON. Use zero watt bulbs in the areas like balconies that could do with basic lighting.

I even read that it is better to switch off the electrical appliance than leave it in stand by mode. When done across all homes, even this seemingly trivial gesture saves enormous amount of electricity. (Instead of switching off the TV with a remote, switch off at the power button)

Go solar for your hot water requirements. We installed it and we saw a 250 Rs drop in our electricity bill from the next month! (Out of 850 Rs, that makes it 30% ) Solar water heater is particularly helpful for a family with kids/infants which have hot water requirement all thru the day. The installation is costly agreed, but that's the reason govt gives loans at 2% interest rate!  :-)

Save water

Make sure you/your family members/servant maid dont leave the taps open when not required. When using a fully automatic washing machine, use it at full load as much as possible. It would save lot of water and electricity.

I have seen ppl with aquaguard ROS systems waste the water frmo the outlet. leave the outlet in the washing machine so that it can be re-used. For those who do not know, thats a device that takes ground water as input and gives highly purified water equivalent to the commercial mineral water we buy through Reverse Osmosis . The catch is, for every one bottle of pure water, 6 bottles of ground water is needed as input. Remaining 5 bottles are wasted if the outlet is left in the wash basin/sink, which i have observed more than one of my friends do!!! That is GROSS wastage of water! Please take care that YOU are not one of them!

Particularly be watchful about ur servant maid…mine used to leave the tap open while soaping the dishes!!!! Had to coax her more than couple of times to make her give up that habit.

Get rain water harvesting done at your building/apartment complex. It is easy, not expensive, efficient way of re-charging the ground water.

I have written the above mail to my colleagues and know what? The HR has come up with an idea to start an eco club in our office yuppie!

And yes, there is a little progress on the tree planting planned at hyd. One of my friends volunteered to do the paper work and has applied for the tree guards and permissions with HUDA. And then…we wait!

There is plenty of Monsoon rain in the south and for a change the monsoons are bang on time…but with most of the lakes encroached upon and poor urban/rural drainage planning, there is only deluge and floods!

So for us it is Damned if it rains and Damned if it doesnt!!!

Paganism has been defined broadly, to encompass many or most of the faith traditions outside the Abrahamic monotheistic group of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In another sense, as used by modern practitioners, Paganism is a polytheistic(worship of multiple gods or deities)religious practice, often nature-based.

Looking at the environmental hazards that the mankind faces now, I can say without batting an eyelid that the hazards would have been much less had we all remained nature worshipers!!! You cannot abuse sth that you worship! Now man has got the attitude that Nature is there is serve him ! Even blind faith in Nature worship would have done miracles!

I want to present the real incident that happened in Bishnois tribe in Rajastan

Origin of the Bishnois

The sect was founded by Guru Jambheshwar (b. 1451) after a drought in marwar region of India. He had laid down 29 principles to be followed by the sect. Further the Guru told to worship lord Vishnu (Bishnu). Thus the sect called vishnoi or Bishnoi. Killing animals and felling trees were banned. One of his 29 principles says “JEEV DAYA PALNI, RUNKH LILA NAHI GHAVE” means protect trees and animals. That’s why the trees and animals are considered to be sacred by the Bishnois.

Amrita Devi and the Khejarli Massacre

On a Tuesday (The 10th day of the month of Bhadrapad according to the Indian lunar Calendar) in 1730 A.D., Amrita Devi, a Bishnoi woman was at her home with her three daughters (Asu, Ratni and Bhagu bai) when she came to know that a number of people had descended on their otherwise sleepy village of Khejarli. The name Khejarli was derived from “Khejri”, since these trees were found in abundance in the village. The people were a party of men sent by Maharaja Abhay Singh, the ruler of the kingdom of Jodhpur in the Marwar region, who wanted to fell green Khejri trees to burn lime for the construction of the Maharaja’s new palace. Since there was a lot of greenery in the Bishnoi villages even in the middle of the Thar Desert, the king ordered his men to get the wood by cutting the Khejri trees. The Chipko movement people must have take inpiration from this insident of the Bisnois.

The martyrdom of Amrita Devi

Amrita Devi protested against the Maharaja’s men who were attempting to cut green trees as it was prohibited according to Bishnoi principles. The malevolent feudal party told her that if she wanted the trees to be spared, she would have to give them money as bribe. She refused to acknowledge this demand and told them that she would consider it as an act of insult to her religious faith and would rather give away her life to save the green trees. It is at that stage she spoke these words:

Sar santey rookh rahe to bhi sasto jaan (If a tree is saved even at the cost of one’s head, it’s worth it)

Saying these words, she offered her head. The axes, which were brought to cut the trees, severed her head. The three young girls Asu, Ratni and Bhagu were not daunted, and offered their heads too.

The Khejrali Massacre

The news spread like wildfire. The Bishnois of Khejrali gathered and sent summons to their counterparts in eighty-three Bishnoi villages in the vicinity to come and decide on the next course of action. Since the supreme sacrifice by Amrita Devi and her daughters had not satisfied the royal party, and the felling of green trees was continued, it was decided that for every green tree to be cut, one Bishnoi volunteer would sacrifice his/her life. In the beginning, old people voluntarily started holding the trees to be cut in an embrace as in the 20th Century Chipko Movement.

Despite many valiant old persons giving away their lives, the Hakim (the royal party’s leader) , Girdhar Das Bhandari taunted the Bishnois that they were offering unwanted old persons. Soon, young men, women (including recently married ones) and children were sacrificing themselves in a similar manner.

There was intense pandemonium. The tree-felling party was badly shaken. They left for Jodhpur with their mission unfulfilled and told the Maharaja about what had happened. As soon as he learnt about it, he ordered the felling of trees to be stopped.

By that time, three hundred and sixty three (363) Bishnois, young and old, men and women, married and unmarried, rich and poor had already become martyrs.

Tree felling banned

Honouring the courage of the Bishnoi community, Maharaja Abhay Singh, apologised for the mistake committed by his officials and issued a royal decree, engraved on a copper plate ordering the following:

* All cutting of green trees and hunting of animals within the revenue boundaries of Bishnoi villages was strictly prohibited.
* It was also ordered that if by mistake any individual violated this order, he would be prosecuted by the state and a severe penalty imposed.
* Even members of the ruling family would not shoot animals in or near Bishnoi villages.

Although, Bishnois paid a huge price for saving a few trees, this incident had inspired, and will continue to do so in future, many others to fight and protect trees and wild life.

A must read link: Latest account of Bishnoi tribe
http://www.lifepositive.com/spirit/traditional-paths/tribal-faiths/bishnoi.asp

PS: If u remember, it was Bishnois who caught salman khan and mansoor ali khan patoudi hunting deers.
source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bishnois