A Parched World

Did we know that only 2% of the Water on this planet is fresh water that can be consumed by living beings and 90% of it is in Antarctica.   




A scary situation indeed when we know that icecaps are melting. Just have a look at the shrinking Arctic Ice cap over the years. Almost 50% ice has disappeared due to Global Warming.

As per WHO, access to safe drinking water reliably withing 1 km @ 20 Lit per person per day is the minimum desired  goal.

As per available data 780 Million People do not have access to clean water and 2.5 Billion to adequate sanitation. 

India has 16% of World population with only 4% of fresh water!

In the next post, we will look at water consumption and wastage that our modern lifestyles lead to. A classic case of bottled water is worth studying. More of it in next post. 

Keep tuned in.

Time is Running Out for Us : We Need to Slow Down

Time is Running Out for Us : We Need to Slow Down: By 2050 it estimated that we will add another 2.3 Billion more mouths to feed, that is almost another half world. Even we any stretch of ...

We Need to Slow Down

By 2050 it estimated that we will add another 2.3 Billion more mouths to feed, that is almost another half world. Even we any stretch of imagination, efforts and human innovation it simply impossible to support this burden. We are already seeing the effect of the stress.

The chart below is self explanatory on the berserk pace at which we have made our ancestors (proud?)... 

Another matter of concern is the demographic distribution of this growth. The population of developed world has almost stagnated, if fact in many region it is negative. The latest data from the Population Reference Bureau shows that there are 20 countries in the world with negative or zero natural population growth. This is unprecedented in history!  Some of the countries are :-
Ukraine: 0.8% natural decrease annually; 28% total population decrease by 2050
Russia: -0.6%; -22%
Bulgaria -0.5%; -34%
Hungary -0.3%; -11%
Romania -0.2%; -29%
Croatia -0.2%; -14%
Germany -0.2%; -9%
Czech Republic -0.1%; -8%
Japan 0%; -21%
Poland 0%; -17%
Austria 0%; 8% increase
Italy 0%; -5%

Japan is the only non-European country in the list and it has a 0% natural birth increase and is expected to lose 21% of its population by 2050 (shrinking from 127.8 million to a mere 100.6 million in 2050). The streets of Tokyo won’t be as crowded in a few decades as they are today!

This extraordinary growth in developing countries is concentrated in the poorest part of the World. Its impact on the quality of population, its productivity and contribution (or lack of) to the World development needs no explanation. 

No doubt, the writing is on the Wall. We not only need to Reuse, recycle and reduce, we need to slow down..... 

The One Degree Effect - Peep Into Global Warming

Isn't it surprising that 11 of the warmest years in the history of mankind have occured in the last 12 years.  The ecology of earth is so sensitive that a small 1 degree change in the average atomospheric temperature can have cataclysmic impact on the survival of the mankind and Earth that we are used to live in.

The average temperature rise has been 4 times faster in the last 25 years. No wonder that so much debate is being centered on climate change.  The impact is clearly visible, 
we have seen lakes disappears, glaciers vanishing, the weather pattern changing, disasters all over the World.  Look at the aerial photos of Lake Chad in Africa. 

Haven't we been having rains as if monsoons are on us when we should have bright sunlight for the crop to ripen and vice versa.

Lets look at what we call "The 1 degree Effect".  What looks as such a small change to us is huge considering that it an average temperature we are talking about. 

We are observing these changes around us for last few years. 

                                                                      

It is not that Global temperatures have not varied over the million of years. It has. The chart below shows these swings since 2500 BC and you can see as to how a small change of 1 degree takes the Earth to Ice ages or Hot Oven. 

In the next post we will see the phenomenon called the Green house effect which helps to maintain the temperature of the earth around 57 Deg F. 

It is a limited Earth that we inherit from our Children

The World has always been a fascinating place with its mysteries yet to be unfolded; why things happen the way we see it, how did we reach here and where are we heading to? My casual interest and inquisitiveness  took the shape of serious inquiry, study and over time made me discover an interest in Sustainability, Green technologies, environmental issues, policies and initiatives by the world communities.

“Sustainability” is essentially just a euphemism for “survival.” In plain  English, when our situation is “unsustainable,” that means that we must "change or die".  

What is it that the human race must change, in order to survive? This is an answer that we all seek. 

I have been fortunate to have an opportunity to work closely with people and places at remote areas, travel and study widely across the World as part of my 23 years in the Army Engineers and then more than 7 years with the leading Green Energy companies. I have developed a close understanding of the issues and complexities related to environment and green technologies specially in Solar and Wind energy. My education at Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur and Cranfield University in UK helped me greatly to expand my horizon, meeting new people from diverse culture and backgrounds. 

This series of posts is aimed to share my insights into this interesting and fascinating World of Sustainability with you and encourage you to participate in this revolution (in fact we have no choice). I want you all to join me in these discussions and debates on what we are doing, what we should be doing so that we can save the Earth for our Children and Grandchildren. 

Did we know that if everybody in China and India start imitating the lifestyle of Western World, we would need at least 5 such Earths. But we have only One. What is the answer to this dilemma, Does USA reduce its quality of life or India and China strangle its aspiration to a better lifestyle for its people? 

The World is not in compartments and events in one part have consequences in other. Geographical boundaries are artificial in nature. These are the questions  we will address in this series.


 We are estimated to have fossil fuels reserves of approx 1300 Billion Barrels. We are today consuming them @ 80 million barrels per day.  If we consume petroleum products at the pace we are doing today we will run out of known sources of petrol and diesel in next 40 years and gas in 60 years. Imagine a world without cars and aeroplanes. Do we go back to the days of sail ships, bicycles, horsebacks, bullock carts? Well if we continue at this pace, that day is not too far.   

Is it surprising that the human race in the last 40 years has consumed more resources than in the last 10000 years of evolution?  Well it's time to bring a change.


Together We can save the Earth...


Till we meet next week...

GreenEarth24x7