City Life - Traffic Jam + CO2

Jam! How sweet !
But instead of toast bread try fix ‘ traffic ‘ with ‘jam’. Contrary to all expectations and laws of chemical combinations , there is an exothermic reaction…an outburst in a fraction of a second. Like reflex action, you hear an outcry in a single voice from all the residents of big cities. “No, it is not traffic jam but bloody traffic jam”.(BTJ)

Because BTJ is in the air they breathe in and out.

Because all of them for their breakfast, lunch and dinner are forced to eat, drink and vomit this special recipe messed up with lots of wonderful ingredients…. Prolonged delays, frustration, tension ( low, high and super) , and shouting of bad words (according to each driver’s vocabulary), and bad signs (transmission and receiving), and mobile phoning, accidents , traffic police , traffic fines and what not …

Manufactured en masse, under the direct supervision of RTAs. No serving, but you are directly sucked into the hot oven and immersed free of any charges whatsoever, without any discrimination of colour, creed, sex religion, language, or whether you own a car or not…

All those who venture out to the roads have no choice except to enjoy , frown or vomit the harsh , bitter, disgusting taste of BTJ. You will be dipped , taken out and dipped again and again , rolled , rotated and finally thrown out of the oven at your destination.
Go to your niche, have a nice bath, food, TV and prepare for the same ritual for the next very good morning.

I am sad.

My mind is silently weeping… Like you or other friends of the environment or somebody who loves nature.. . The enchanting greenery, serene valleys, the spring, the flowers…all will vanish for ever. Such cooling soothing sights that took you to dizzy heights will be a thing of the past. No more natural beauty…

Instead, you will see around you , famine , severe drought , coastal flooding, submerging of low lying lands , untold human miseries due to mass migration of environmental refugees etc.

Global warming is more than a ‘forest fire’. It was ignited and is being fuelled by human beings. The heat is engulfing the whole of the earth.

Time is running out. The earth is fast heading for the inevitable disaster. The velocity at which we are heading for the dooms day could be reduced if we are able to protect the environment and tame the main villain of the GHGs i.e. CO2. Only the human beings can solve it. Each of us has a duty, however small, to perform to achieve that goal.

The ban on public smoking by many governments is a drop of cold water straight into the centre of the fire of global warming. Let the transport authorities around the world take the next important step - REDUCE THE CO2. EMISSIONS ON THE ROADS.

This can be achieved by applying a simple formula. Where the last digit in the Reg.No of a vehicle coincides with the last digit of the current date such vehicles will keep off the roads on such days. For e.g. all the vehicles ending with digit 5 will take a holiday on 5th, 15th and 25th of each month. The next chance will be for the digit 6. And so on.

I am sure the whole world will follow because nobody looses anything but only gain.

It will reduce the petrol bill by1/10th
.
It will reduce CO2 emissions from motor vehicles also by 1/10th

It will reduce traffic jam by 1/10th

It will give a clear awareness to the common man throughout the world, about climatic change, global warming and its disastrous consequences.

When considered globally such reduction in CO2 emissions amounts to thousands of tons per year.

If the ban on public smoking is a drop of cold water, the proposed action formula for RTAs will have the effect of at least a small rain on the fire of global warming.

I believe the Environment Protection Agencies Around the world will exert pressure on RTAs to reduce the traffic jam and consequently the CO2 emissions.

We all know the road from Kyoto to Bali was not very smooth and it still is not. There fore to reduce almost 1/10th of the present carbon dioxide emissions from motor vehicles by a simple stroke of the pen will be like a bloodless revolution. Definitely the above formula deserves global attention.

Greenosphere

I wonder if the term “ Global Warming “ conveys the real depth and seriousness of the situation we are fast heading to. Instead “ Global Fire “ would have aptly conveyed with “ awe and shock“ a picture of the horrible future. The earth is on fire except that there is no flare up. The heat is slowly increasing and engulfing the whole of the earth..


Very recent newspaper reports says about 20000 cubic kilometers of ice in the polar region are melting every year and that all the ice caps in the North Atlantic polar region will melt by September 2009. Whether these reports could be true or not, one thing is sure. The dangers of global warming are not centuries away. It is already on our door step.

Not one or two hundreds but more than a billion people may die due to hunger , epidemics ,cancer , drought , flood, and mass migrations and even war in the various parts of the world ( UN Reports). And nobody will ever know the countless number of micro and macro animals and plants that will perish.

If we do not act at least now, the consequences will be devastating. We will never be able to deliver to our children the same beautiful earth our parents entrusted to us. Or who knows Life will …

The world clearly knows the causes of global warming are the GHGs. How the GHGs are emitted have been analysed , identified and quantified. The impacts of such gases on the environment are measured as Carbon Footprints. Until and unless the CO2(the biggest villain among the GHGs ) balance in the atmosphere are reduced to the optimum level , the global climate / the global warming cannot be tackled.

We have to adopt a highly comprehensive approach to reduce the carbon footprints .
It has to be dealt with in three ways.

(1) Reduce the CO2 emissions
(2) Off set CO2 in the atmosphere And
(3) Protect the terrestrial area of the earth from the direct heat of the sun.

Reduction of CO2 emissions.
Discussions are still going on to bring the CO2 emissions to prior 1990 levels. Lack of clean energy and the inability to avoid fossil fuels are the major impediments towards reaching a successful reduction schedule.

Off set CO2 in the atmosphere. The process has already been started by planting trees in various parts of the world. This will reduce the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere.

Protect the terrestrial area of the earth from the direct heat of the sun.

Sun’s rays directly falling on the earth makes the earth’s surface hot. Hot and humid weather conditions result in increased consumption of a lot of items and there fore enhances carbon footprints :-
a) Increased consumption of electricity.
b) Increased consumption of petrol / diesel by vehicles for using air conditioners.
c) It forces the use of in house air conditioners / fans
d) Increases the rate of evaporation of surface water .
e) Increases the consumption of water/soft drinks
f) Increases the rate of depreciation of tyres of motor vehicles plying on the roads etc..

The answer to the second and third item is a sustainable environmental system the basis of which is biodiversity( various kinds of flora and fauna ) which in turn requires the presence of water , appropriate climate and rich soil. It is important to note that biodiversity , presence of water , appropriate climate and rich soil are all inter related.

The system of Nature designed to ensure fresh air and maintain a comfortable climate to support the life on earth, unfortunately have been destroyed partially and/or are not being utilized to the full extent of the available space.

We cannot afford to ignore these two very important aspects of life ie. fresh air and favourable comfortable climate. To a very limited extend, these can be very easily and quickly achieved by making “CREEPING PLANT CANOPIES “ (natural green houses)
wherever possible. And in other places, of course, it should be the forests / agricultural fields.

CPC is creeping plants allowed to grow and spread on a network of nylon ropes fixed at a height on a steel structure erected on the ground. The height of the CPC from the ground may vary.

The CPC acts as a green layer at a height from the ground.

The benefits of CPC:

1. The heat from the sun will be absorbed by the plants on the CANOPIES.
2. The area covered will have a shade and hence will be cooler
3. Fresh air will always be available below the CPC
4. The percentage of CO2 will be slightly less compared to the area out side the CPC
5. Prevents the heating up of the earth together with other objects in the area
6. Slight breeze or at least a movement of air can be expected.
7. Complete elimination of heat radiation from the otherwise highly heated earth and other objects therein, if any.
8. Reduced cost for maintaining the in-house temperatures in the area

This is ideal for schools, residential areas with buildings of lesser height, roads, car parks, warehouses etc.

Now every day we hear about green building, district cooling etc. Such concepts aimed at reducing the carbon footprints are good but have only a limited effect. The best and perfect idea is the” GREENOSPHERE “ as it spreads a green blanket almost all over the land protecting it as a shield or umbrella from the hot rays of the sun above as well as providing a cool, comfortable and healthier atmosphere underneath for the LIFE to survive.

To sum up , our aim should be to create a “ GREENOSPHERE “ to blanket the whole terrestrial area of the earth other than agricultural fields , either with thick forests or the CPCs.
The net result will be a tremendous decrease in the carbon foot prints.

Try to walk on the sands in an open area on a hot and shiny day , barefooted. After walking ( running ? ) for ten minutes you reach the shade of a tree . Compare the two situations . You will know the magnitude of heat the CPC will reduce from the atmosphere.

In the first case you will be very uncomfortable because your feet is burning as the sands are too hot to step in , the whole of your body is sweating as the surrounding air is hot and in addition , the sun is directly pouring heat on your body . The temperature range could be 30 C to 50 C depending on the season and the country / place where you are in.

In contrast , under the shade of the tree it will be cool and comfortable with a slight soothing breeze.

There have been a lot of seminars and discussions on national and international levels regarding global warming . However, in spite of all the concerted efforts by the international community , the earth is fast heading to embrace the disastrous consequences of global warming.

Definitely , we dearly need a GREEN REVOLUTION.