Let's keep it healthy for now and the future

The U.N. Environment Programme’s fourth Global Environment Outlook study says Planet Earth is in dire straits because of mismanagement of resources by humans. Speak Up asks Mumbaikars whether they really care about the environment and how they are doing their bit to reduce their carbon footprints

Global warming is a farce
The concept of global warming is an absolute sham. A few people have started these conspiracy theories just to make money. All talk about global warming is humbug.  I don’t care if India is polluted because I am planning to settle in Singapore after a few years. Until then, I want to live life to the fullest. I wouldn’t have bought a car if I had to car pool.
—Siddhartha Pradhan. Parel

We can’t save the environment
All the hue and cry about the environment is just to open new markets for investment. I can’t do anything as an individual to help save the environment. I only have one life  and I don’t really care if the world is going to end soon. 
—Ricky Andrew. Bandra

I am not worried at all
I really don’t care about the environment. It is not like the world is going to end because of pollution.
—Kunal Saxena.  Colaba

The future is far away
The environment will disintegrate completely only after a thousand years. I won’t even be alive then. I haven’t seen any visible signs of global warming.
Everything seems the way it has always been.  
—Nathan Nair. Worli

Stop wasting your time
I don’t want to waste my time thinking about the environment. I have bigger concerns and more important work. Global warming is a myth. So I’d advise people to utilise their efforts for better and more fruitful things.
—Rohinton Barucha. Santacruz

It’s up to the individual

In order to meet Mumbai’s water requirement, water is taken from  places outside the city thereby making that place water deficient. The same happens with electricity. Mumbai wastes so much electricity that villages are deprived of power for their very basic needs. We need to become sensible and sensitive when it comes to the environment.

At an individual level we can do a lot that will make a huge difference. Simple things like not using paper napkins and toilet paper can decrease paper consumption substantially. Electricity used to make that paper will be conserved as well. People should start using public transport in order to decrease pollution and fossil fuel consumption. Once we start taking these baby steps, we can force the government to better public transport. We may have to make sacrifices, but the end result will be a healthier environment. The youth today are aware of the dire situation of environment. Now, they have to take care of it.

With each passing day, our environment is suffering. It’s high time we took care of the planet, because at the moment we have not fully realised the extent of the environmental damage.
—Rakesh Kumar. Deputy director, Mumbai zonal lab, NEERI 

There’s still time to help

The threat of climatic change is real and very, very grave. The reason why many people are not taking environmental damage as seriously as they should is because it means a change in their basic philosophy and direction in life.

However, it’s not like we can’t do anything. According to very stingy estimates, an incandescent bulb consumes 360watts of electricity compared to a Compact Fluorescent Light (CFLs) that consumes just 90watts. Switch to one CFL and you save almost 270watts of electricity each day. And if each household in the country switched to one CFL, almost 12,000 megawatts of electricity can be conserved — enough to light up half the villages in India that are yet to get electricity. We are more or less committed to a 1.8°C rise in temperature globally. We need to keep the temperature rise below 2°C as far as possible. Simple actions, like buying air conditioners that go on standby mode once the desired temperature is achieved, switching off computer screens, buying electricity-efficient household appliances, can slow the damage.

An energy efficient water-drawing motor, for instance, uses almost four times less electricity than an ordinary motor. There is a need to watch our carbon footprint carefully; we can’t afford to cause any more damage to the planet.
—K Srinivas. Expert, climate and energy, Greenpeace India

I am giving up fire-crackers

I am making a difference by giving up fire-crackers. When I was eight years old, I realised I was literally burning my father’s hard-earned money and also hurting the environment by
bursting crackers. Now, it’s about discouraging child labour in fire-cracker factories too. 
You can start by adopting a positive approach. Instead of saying don’t use plastic bags, say let’s use paper bags.
If you don’t care, it’s nothing unusual. After all, there are cynics in every sphere of life. Non-believers brush off environment theories because they lack a core belief and philosophy in life.
—Yukta Mookhey. Former Miss World

Conserve water and car-pool 

I am making a difference by saving water and car-pooling. I was told recently that the amount of water wasted in Mumbai is the same as the amount consumed in Pune. So I ensure that I use water sparingly.
You can start save the environment by contributing in your own small way. Don’t burst firecrackers this Diwali. Since we know the gravity of the situation, let’s take corrective action.
If you don’t care about the planet, at least do little things that cost you nothing. You don’t need to stage dharnas to make a difference to the environment.
—Neha Dhupia. Former Miss India

Stop throwing garbage

I am making a difference by stopping people from throwing rubbish on the road. I know many people who want to leave India as they think other countries are cleaner. But they fail to realise that it is the citizens who make it that way.
You can start by keeping the city clean. Civic sense is a weapon to fight  environmental degradation.
If you don’t care about the environment it is high time you did.  As citizens, we must all do our bit to take care of Mumbai and keep it clean. The future can be scary if we don’t realise our responsibilities and start acting now.
—Nikita Anand. Former Miss India