Let the pampered city breathe

Elsa Lycias Joel

The India growth story has a darker side that's hardly ever mentioned but very much felt, in Delhi. Only when we started to choke did we know that we desperately need a new growth paradigm that can address the challenges of climate change, resource depletion and pollution. If Beijing followed Rome or Delhi found Beijing's road rationing a good idea to reduce air pollution then it's time we also borrow other sound policies for green growth from various countries across the world. Way back in 45 BC, Julius Caesar had the foresight for whatever reasons and it did take centuries for Road space rationing based on license numbers to be implemented in cities such as Athens in 1982, Santiago, Chile in 1986 and extended to 2001, México City in 1989, Metro Manila in 1995, São Paulo in 1997, Bogotá, Colombia in 1998, La Paz, Bolivia in 2003, San José, Costa Rica, in 2005),

I'm yet to believe that Delhi is one of the cities that has a planned tree line. Once trees are looked upon or treated as nuisances that take up road or side walk space, then people will continue to choke and die.

countrywide in Honduras in 2008 and Quito, Ecuador in 2010. As told to the parliament by Mr. Prakash Javdekar, 80 people die every day in Delhi due to health impairments associated with cumulative exposure to high level of particulate pollution. It's time for resolutions, right? Shall we resolve to make the place we live better and livable by the small yet wise choices we make by keeping aside our selfish being.
Yes, it's about better air, water and environment if not pure. Wait before you blame it on the sandstorms, our pseudo-concern will rectify nothing and let 'chalta hai Yaar' remain a movie and not our attitude.
If delhiites had thought that pollution and climate change would affect only the Alps's entire winter sports industry, then it's time they revised their basics. Levying a pollution tax does not solve the problem of curbing pollution. Since a fifth of the pollution in the city is caused by the traffic, then road space rationing might help a bit. It's certainly time that city dwellers across India realized that as much as we insist and invest on anything that's considered part of a community's infrastructure, we need to do the same with trees. Statistically, Delhi may be one of India's greener metros, but it isn't one of India's greenest cities, and it's certainly not in the top green cities in the world but the most polluted. The city sure cannot take pride in the abounding parks, gardens, and manicured lawns. I'm yet to believe that Delhi is one of the cities that has a planned tree line. Once trees are looked upon or treated as nuisances that take up road or side walk space, then people will continue to choke and die. The point is to engineer trees into infrastructure as such so that they don't get shoehorned as an afterthought. Again, urban forests act as some kind of sink only for the CO2 emissions and photosynthesis can't take care of the rest of the pollutants humans create and release into the atmosphere. Even though every single human is blessed with a conscience, excuses come from the privileged lot who could afford cars with odd, even and prime numbers. Education in the first place should help us lead a good, clean life. Any development a result of education is not worth it if it happens at the cost

I'm yet to believe that First things first. Before we ring in the New Year with fan fare, dinners and fireworks, please take some time, precisely 1 hr and 35 minutes to watch "The Lorax". It has everything that we need to take into our head. Most of all, it has an O 'Hare who doesn't want trees so that he can sell breathable air. Watch the movie attentively or you will miss his statement "The more smog in the sky, the more people will buy". This should definitely ring a bell to Delhiites.

of our health. Let's not be selfish. If you and I think real hard to roll down our windows, just imagine the plight of open- air commuters. We should resolve to not wait on the policy makers, but willingly avail the metro that we attempt to flaunt to the rest of India, use the bicycle tracks and not operate our ACs at 18 degrees because it's 19 degrees outside.
According to the Mercer 2015 Quality of Living Rankings, European cities dominate the top, Delhi, India ranked at 154. Mind you, all cities are becoming economically more prosperous, the number of rich persons growing by the day, with more money to spend in malls, restaurants and multiplexes. But then, economic growth doesn't seem like it's synonymous with human well-being.
Isn't it still so humiliating and sickening to not know that the US president had to bring along 20, 000 gallons of breathable air only because US secret service agents who had landed in Delhi sufferedweird symptoms of asthma, dizziness and cough also because we live in filth? Luckily our President and PM could also get some fresh air then. If or not the agent who slipped into coma was revived is another research to be done. How do we then vacuum CO2 or carcinogenic nanocarbon particles out of air? Companies that sold out diesel vehicles may have to recall them because they emit up to 40 times the allowable levels of air pollutants that are called nitrogen oxides. Sounds like a poor joke? Grapevine has that POTUS is still anxious about that 6 hrs of his life span being shortened by his 3 days visit to Delhi.
In our battle against pollution, technology was long been viewed as the ultimate savior. But sorry, so many times so many technologies are only clunky reminders how awkward or distant that dream is. Without resolving to change our lifestyles, our attitudes, we modern humans find technologies so alluring. If only we have had good reasoning we will know that the execution of any technology is fabulously expensive, complex and grandiose on a scale that boggles the logical minds.
For example, those space capsules and submarines extracting CO2 to maintain breathable air for crew members is not an easy job. The process involves putting one compound, say a hydroxide in contact with the air which sets off a chemical reaction that would grab CO2 thereby incorporating it's carbon atoms into a carbonate compound. It doesn't stop with this. Now, with large input of heat the carbonate compound have to be broken apart to reconstitute and trap the CO2. If you read the above sentences once again slowly, you might really understand the simple process. A physicist at Columbia University confidently says that the trapped CO2 can be pumped into the ground. To increase the pressure in oil wells? Geologists come to our rescue and declare there is enough room in the rocks to lock the CO2 forever. An yearly worldwide vacuuming bill might reach some $5 trillions. So any good mathematician may calculate the cost for Delhi. Is S.Kalmadi the right choice! Anyways, I contend that such blind faith in technologies is a dangerous distraction from the most urgent sacrifices we ought to make to control pollutions of many a kind. Be it the Kyoto protocol or COP21Summit or CMP 10, no matter how we go about it, there will be a lot of politics. So let's do our own bit, as citizens, as humans willing to learn and unlearn for the greater good. Each one of know what to be done. Small possible actions that resolve bigger, dangerous issues of concern have been said to and taught to us in as many languages as possible by activists and experts. Since our contribution towards emissions is mostly through the vehicles we overuse we can think about cleaning the mess we create though we are all aware of the famous quote "No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it". Let's try a bit of gardening the coming year, plant trees for they offer a wide range of functional benefits like sequestering CO2 and convert it into oxygen, remove sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide, counter the urban heat island effect, reduce wind speeds and absorb a lot of noise. Urban planners will recognize the ecological value of trees once people start to act. Remember, a banyan or a gulmohar belongs to a park and not on a relatively narrow road.

First things first. Before we ring in the New Year with fan fare, dinners and fireworks, please take some time, precisely 1 hr and 35 minutes to watch "The Lorax". It has everything that we need to take into our head. Most of all, it has an O 'Hare who doesn't want trees so that he can sell breathable air. Watch the movie attentively or you will miss his statement "The more smog in the sky, the more people will buy". This should definitely ring a bell to Delhiites.
Other than vehicular emissions that contribute to air pollution in a huge way, unpaved road dust or fugitive dust, construction debris, awful stench emanating from garbage sometimes accompanied by the smoke from its burning are testimonies of air pollution. Replacing deficient sidewalks, curb and gutter are as necessary as addressing the bewildering issue of mud strips between the road and the sidewalk. Why this impassable space is for the concerned departments to ponder over. The number of agencies, contractors, other public utility committees or civic agencies and departments involved should have proper project co-ordination so that whatever is in our limits can be dealt with efficiently as far curbing air pollution is concerned because any air pollution prevention or reduction program must be coordinated with other programs that indirectly result in escalating pollutions. We will still remain in an embryonic and inefficient state if government agencies engage in attempts peripheral to air pollution control program operations. An integrated approach can indicate actions that achieve maximum benefits at low costs and on time in the best interests of our country. When aiming for too many objectives without proper coordination, more often than not diverse values offset one another rather than create synergy. It's for us to discern how much offsetting impact the society can afford due to conflicting values between economy, lethargy and pollution. Emphasizing the active role of government and citizens in creating a model for a low carbon future, for pollution free cities will make sense only after the mechanical sweeping machines , an initiative of the New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) are put to use in the right places. Does this need political will? With the trend changing towards more mechanization, 4 people will be able to clean 40 kilometers without

I'm yet to believe that "Every country has the government it deserves". Very true. But then again, "Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services."

shifting blame or responsibility. Moreover, Streets and roads aren't the only places that need brooms.
Then again, the various recordings of the diameter of total or respirable suspended particulate matter levels or just the particulate matter, by various techniques, agencies or devices may look like back of the envelop calculation to many unless and until details like the time and place be mentioned for people to take relevant measures.
Did our PM exhort the world to 'Make In India'? But what has he made of India! Well, let's not get too finicky about that $1 bn loan backing from SBI for the Carmichael mine in Queensland. After all Adani is Indian and it's about "Making of an Indian" which doesn't make a big difference to "Make in India". It does indicate how big India's political decision makers care for the slogans they tout. Probably its esoteric philosophy only a certain breed can take in. Though we have drifted geographically we are all one and the same should be NaMo's conviction. Furthermore, there isn't any proof that the continents won't drift again to come together as one supercontinent. Remember Pangaea!! Whatever we shouldn't be drifting from what we ought to discuss here.
The Swacch Bharat campaign stumped many as all the "King's" men and their brooms cannot clean it all up. Remedial propaganda has been done and more planned. Clean change happens with enough facility and infrastructure not with a bewildering array of government bodies that don't always integrate ideas and coordinate activities. Governments take umbrage at any suggestion that they need to work on their credibility with citizens; they assume they already possess it like none else. Excuse me, doing their job is part of their job! We must resist the urge to categorize pollution as a problem that has to be solved only by governments alone.
If we could afford, let's buy a bicycle the coming year, one for each family. In countries like Belgium, Norway, Switzerland, Japan, Finland, Sweden, germany and Denmark people even the elite and public servants use bicycles a lot for commuting. Netherlands is even called the country of cyclists.
For those who may not know, Netherlands is an economic powerhouse ranked 16th in the world in terms of GDP. By all standards the country is rich YET the prime minister is NEVER driven in convoys. The most honorable man Mark Rutte rides a bicycle to work.
Six bicycles can typically fit into the road space used by 1 car. Parking advantages are greater. Cycling reduces chances of cardiovascular diseases, osteoporosis and arthritis in addition to strengthening the immune system. Long distance travel is quite impractical on a bicycle but it can be a supplemen for cars on a personal level. To promote an ecological culture, all parts of Delhi may be connected by bicycle paths. Governments should understand that promotion of bicycle use is required as a new paradigm of green transportation to resolve problems of pollution, energy and traffic congestion.
"Every country has the government it deserves". Very true. But then again, "Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services." This is just another universal declaration and it is up to us to make it happen in the real sense either by doing the right thing or by cooperating with the policy makers if the policies sound healthy.
At least on the brink of a collapse, will we gather our energies and senses to change for better? Support or protest, horses and cycles help a lot with separate lanes.