On the other hand, believing that global warming exists, and we are the ones causing it, just because that happens to be the popular notion, does not make it a reality. (Didn’t man for centuries believe that the earth was flat till someone came along and turned the theory on its head?) And yet, having said that, I’m sure nobody in his right mind would want to find out otherwise, not even the sceptics! We can be sure they’ll happily embrace the ‘non-believers’ tag rather than ‘murderers’.
Although Dr. R K Pachauri, Chairman of the UN-led Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), has dismissed ‘ClimateGate’ (popular reference to the controversy around leaked mails from the Climate Research Unit server at the University of East Anglia alluding to scientific misconduct) claiming “IPCC procedures are very robust, very reliable, and completely transparent”, the likes of you and I can be forgiven for being clueless about an issue which has even the scientific community divided. In the words of Dr. Pachauri, “We will see a serious shortage of fossil fuels in India. Going by current demand, India will be importing 1400 million tonnes of coal by 2031-32.” Whether it’s really happening or not, a few lifestyle choices can go a long way in bringing down our energy bills, and if that makes the air around us a tad more breathable, it’s a win-win situation then, isn’t it? One could start by de-carbonising the workplace and avoiding ‘white collar crimes’; things like switching off that TV (or computer), turning out the lights (when not in use), and using energy-saving modes on computers (at all times) can help, apart from resorting to measures like harnessing wind and solar power and making rain water harvesting feasible, at a macro level. Flying less often (taking the train produces about half as much carbon dioxide), and printing on both sides of the paper for that internal office meeting are other greener options that can be adopted. Says Dr Michael MacCracken, Chief Scientist for Climate Change Programs at the Climate Institute, Washington, “Virtually all of these steps would have important co-benefits – reducing air pollution, improving public health, reducing waste, and reducing energy costs. Such efforts have already started in most developing nations – they just need to be accelerated. Such actions would set the stage for later actually reducing CO2 emissions along with the developed nations, heading to equal per capita levels.”
There’s no doubt that human activities have heated things up a bit for our planet, but there is a need to better understand the “intricate interplay of the climate’s many pieces” according to Dr John Christy, Alabama's state climatologist and former Lead Author of the International Panel on Climate Change, who thinks of the ongoing Conference as “another cosmetic moment for the bureaucrats who find meaning in such exercises.” Until we find out for sure, let it not keep us from doing our bit for Mother Earth, for there’s far less to lose in preparing for the worst rather than assuming all is well.
Although Dr. R K Pachauri, Chairman of the UN-led Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), has dismissed ‘ClimateGate’ (popular reference to the controversy around leaked mails from the Climate Research Unit server at the University of East Anglia alluding to scientific misconduct) claiming “IPCC procedures are very robust, very reliable, and completely transparent”, the likes of you and I can be forgiven for being clueless about an issue which has even the scientific community divided. In the words of Dr. Pachauri, “We will see a serious shortage of fossil fuels in India. Going by current demand, India will be importing 1400 million tonnes of coal by 2031-32.” Whether it’s really happening or not, a few lifestyle choices can go a long way in bringing down our energy bills, and if that makes the air around us a tad more breathable, it’s a win-win situation then, isn’t it? One could start by de-carbonising the workplace and avoiding ‘white collar crimes’; things like switching off that TV (or computer), turning out the lights (when not in use), and using energy-saving modes on computers (at all times) can help, apart from resorting to measures like harnessing wind and solar power and making rain water harvesting feasible, at a macro level. Flying less often (taking the train produces about half as much carbon dioxide), and printing on both sides of the paper for that internal office meeting are other greener options that can be adopted. Says Dr Michael MacCracken, Chief Scientist for Climate Change Programs at the Climate Institute, Washington, “Virtually all of these steps would have important co-benefits – reducing air pollution, improving public health, reducing waste, and reducing energy costs. Such efforts have already started in most developing nations – they just need to be accelerated. Such actions would set the stage for later actually reducing CO2 emissions along with the developed nations, heading to equal per capita levels.”
There’s no doubt that human activities have heated things up a bit for our planet, but there is a need to better understand the “intricate interplay of the climate’s many pieces” according to Dr John Christy, Alabama's state climatologist and former Lead Author of the International Panel on Climate Change, who thinks of the ongoing Conference as “another cosmetic moment for the bureaucrats who find meaning in such exercises.” Until we find out for sure, let it not keep us from doing our bit for Mother Earth, for there’s far less to lose in preparing for the worst rather than assuming all is well.
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