14 minutes of must-watch!

1
Many people have lived without love, but none
without water.
A few simple steps towards water sustainability
2
A slow dripping tap can waste up to 20 liters of
water a day! Get all leaks fixed right
away. Until then, bucket the leak.
3
Run the water tap with minimal force, only when
needed.
Keep it closed while

• Brushing
• Shaving

• Soaping hands
• Scrubbing vessels

4
Every time you flush,
upto 16 litres of potable water
goes down the drain!
Source Hunting Down Water, an award-winning
documentary
Get a low flush toilet that lets you regulate the
water outflow.
E.g., a dual flush system can operate at half the
tank capacity.
Flush very judiciously.
Dont use the toilet as a wastebasket!
Indian squat toilets Water efficient and
hygienic!
Source http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toilets_in_
JapanSquat_toilet
5
Choose a restrained bucket bath, over
an extravagant shower bath.
Bath tubs are a great deal worse.
6
Delhi alone guzzles 4.5 crore liters every day
for car washing!
Why pour water where a wet cloth would do?
Water is too scarce a resource to be splashed
about
to cool the house exteriors, etc.!
Source Hunting Down Water, an award-winning
documentary
7
Efficiency needs to be extended to water too!
Planning to buy a washing machine?
Prefer semi automatic. It lets you reduce the
cycle time and reuse the water for another load.

• Lower the washing frequency.
• Running the machine only at full load saves
  energy water.

• Must choose an automatic one? Go for front
  loading, then.

8
An RO (Reverse Osmosis) filter discards double
the quantity of water it purifies. Employ it
only when unavoidable.
Cant do away with RO? Bucket the
outgoing water Reuse it in cleaning,
washing cloths, etc.
Yet another practical way to reuse water Wash
fruits/veggies in a bowl ( utilize that water
elsewhere).
Source http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reverse_osm
osisDisadvantages
9
By 2025, 60 of Indias groundwater blocks will
be in a critical condition. World Bank
Rainwater harvesting
Catch me when you can!
Storing the rain falling on your house also
prevents the flooding of streets, apart from
groundwater recharge.
10
The next world war will not be fought over land
or oil, but over water! - Serageldin, former
VP, World Bank (among other experts)
11
Climate change severely aggravates our water
plight.

• Glaciers store 75 of the world's freshwater.
  1

• Gravely many glaciers are receding, thanks to
  global warming.

"Scientists agree human-induced global warming is
real, survey says. 2
1 http//ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/earthglacier.html
2 http//www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/
090119210532.htm
12
Just a minor temperature rise? Not quite!
Climate change perturbs the entire weather cycle!
Between 1973 and 1982, 1500 natural disasters
occurred, while from 1993 to 2002, they
increased to as many as 6000! 1
68 of our farmers need rain
the right amount (not less, not more), at the
right time. 2
1.84 lakh Indian farmers committed suicide
between 1995 2007. 3
1 www.washprofile.org/en/node/3381 2 Centre
for Science and Environment 3 National Crime
Records Bureau
13
How come floods (safe) water crisis rise
together?

• Floodwater contains infectious organisms, along
  with
• chemical other waste.
• Grossly inadequate mechanisms to store rainwater
  before
• it hits the drains/oceans.

14

• Deadly dozen diseases could stem from global
  warming. 1

• India is one of the 10 countries worst hit by
  climate change. 2

• A great deal of eco problems originate locally,
  so passing the
• buck to the developed nations is just flawed
  escapism.

Thankfully, the climatic crisis too can be
conquered!
What follows are components of Individual
Environmental Responsibility
1 http//news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/1
0/081007-climate-diseases.html 2
http//business.rediff.com/slide-show/2009/dec/10/
slide-show-1-countries-worst-hit-by-climate-change
.htm
15
1500 plastic bottles end up as garbage, every
second! 1
Many Indian offices consume 60000 paper cups in
2 weeks! 2
Enormous air water pollution Massive
depletion of oil/trees, water, energy fuel
in production transportation disposal!
Gigantic landfills,
Just (re)use, dont throw!
and now ocean-fills!
In place of multiple Tissue papers Disposable
cups Plastic bags Disposable bottles
Use one Handkerchief Mug/glass Jute/cloth
bag Reusable bottle
1 EPI http//www.earth-policy.org 2 ToI,
Bangalore, dated 30-8-08
16
A myth Recycling magically fixes all evils of
consumerism!

• Only 6.8 of all plastics were recycled in 2007.
  1

• Most paper cups contain a plastic resin, making
  them
• non-biodegradable, non-recyclable.
• They end up in a landfill, emitting methane.

• Recycling (when possible) guzzles 12 trees, 26k
  liters of water
• sizable energy/oil for 60k cups! 2

Recyling is useful, but limited.
First reuse then recycle!
1 Environmental Protection Agency 2 ToI,
Bangalore, dated 30-8-08
17
Buying from local markets - as opposed to malls
curbs the hefty emissions tied to transportation
and flashy publicity.
Exception the local stuff that lacks
energy-efficiency
Purchase products with minimal/reusable packaging.
Farming is exceedingly water intensive.
Eliminate food wastage.
18
Animal products account for 51 of the world's
total emissions! - Livestock and Climate
Change by Goodland and Anhang, World Bank
environmental advisers
Cut down on meat
as much as possible.
Killing an animal yields few meals once
Raising it takes months of daily meals!

• Humongous depletion of land (fodder), water
  (fodder, drinking,
• bathing), energy (cooling/transport)

• India can save 20 liters of water every day,
  per person, by
• replacing chicken with veggies!
• Using stats from National Institute of
  Hydrology, Roorkee

Nothing will benefit human health and increase
chances of survival as much as the evolution to a
vegetarian diet.
Albert Einstein
19
Skyrocketing energy consumption
Escalating power cuts
Increasing reliance on diesel generators
Dangerous levels of damaging pollutants
(including Black Carbon Nitrogen Oxides)
A one-time investment in solar systems (heating,
lighting) fetches recurring environmental
monetary savings.
A screen saver saves nothing burns energy.
Why not switch off the monitor
every time we leave the desk
for few minutes or more?
20
A computer that runs 24 hours a day uses more
power than an efficient fridge!
Turn off the CPU/laptop at the end of the day.
Suspend or hibernate it for breaks gt ½ hour.
Configure power options such that the monitor
closes after an idle time of few minutes, the
CPU/laptop hibernates after half an hour,
automatically.
Source http//www.juscoltd.com/energy-saving-ti
ps.asp
21
30 of Bangalores
kids are asthmatic!
Just 2
buses!
Choked roads?
Where?!
Source http//www.rediff.com/news/2007/nov/06as
thma.htm
22
Prefer Non-motorized Cycle, Walk, Cycle
Rickshaws Mass transport Bus, Train,
Shared autos, Vehicle pooling
Sir Albert Einstein
Minimize the use of individual autos personal
vehicles.
Its also good for the body and light on the
wallet!
Flying less (and light) saves tremendous
fuel/emissions.
23
If and when you must drive a motorized vehicle,

• Turn off the engine at the signal when
• the waiting time is gt 15 seconds.

• Keep the tyres fully filled (for increased
  mileage).

Electric cars do pollute (via the coal-based
power they run on),
but less.
Long walks/rides are as pleasurable as long
drives, healthy too!
Source Bharat Petroleum http//www.bharatpetro
leum.com/YourCorner/petrozine/quart2_2008/index.ht
ml
24
Consider mileage/energy more than looks/comfort
while buying vehicles and appliances.
E.g., pay up a bit extra and buy a higher BEE
starred (say) fridge to save on power money on
a monthly basis.
LCD TV, Monitor is twice as
efficient as CRT!
Laptops consume lt half the
power that desktops do!
Replace Tube lights by LED lights
or CFLs of lower Watts (if LED infeasible).
Bureau of Energy Efficiency, Government of India
25
A 200-member company, with a daily average of
only 2 print-outs per person, eats away 1 full
tree in just 20 days!

• Print only whats necessary.
• Print two-sided.
• Utilize the blank spaces of unwanted
• print-outs for rough work.

• Use notebooks thriftily, utilizing all available
  space.

Source http//wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_trees
_do_you_save_with_one_ton_of_recycled_paper
26
Why lose power, instead of gaining health?!
Favour stairs to elevators whenever possible.
Curtail the AC usage At home in the car
More desirable Curtail the car usage!
27
Clichéd, but crucial Plant protect trees!
Celebrate special days by funding tree
plantations, at a nominal price per sapling
(treesforfree.org).
Segregate waste bio-degradable (kitchen, paper)
otherwise.
Sell as much waste as possible (plastic, paper)
to scrap dealers for recycling/reusing.
Compost the kitchen waste dailydump.org. In
the very least, throw it to the plants/garden.
We have a right to celebrate, but at what cost?
Help prevent small kids from working in
awfully unhealthy unsafe confines of fire
cracker factories.
28
Only after the last tree has been cut off, and
the last river poisoned, will we realize that we
cant eat money!
Thank you! Email pulkitparikh_at_gmail.com