#TheGoodYouCan: Simple effortless steps that can result in Major difference
There’s a saying- Tiny drops make mighty ocean. In our daily life, there’re several instances where we do some simple mistakes which we don’t even realize it as a mistake. When thousands of individuals do the same mistake day after day, the impact compounds and affects the whole ecosystem. If each one of us can take some minimum precautions and avoid these mistakes, the benefits also naturally compound and benefit the whole city, country and the world. It doesn’t take lot of effort to do these- just the presence of mind and a will to take that little extra effort. Let us see few of them:
Running engines in stuck traffic
We drive to office on our cars and bikes (even if we had options of using public transport or car-pooling, many of us prefer the flexibility of having our own vehicles). Any ride to office or back home is not complete without waiting for several minutes at various traffic signals on the way. We tend to keep the engine running, even after seeing that green light is few minutes away. All it takes is one turn of the ignition key to turn off the engine and another to turn it back on, but we are either lazy or do not want to lose that 2 seconds spent in starting the engine. We feel “what will happen in a minute”- but think about this- Assuming an average 90 minute commute per day, at least 20 min of this is spent at traffic signals. That is 1 KG worth of CO2 per day, 25 tons over a lifetime. (only idle time count, not full 90 min travel). Think of the impact when every driver on the road is doing the same. Switch off your engines in signals, encourage your friends and colleagues to do the same.
Better option: Buy a car equipped with micro-hybrid technology. Such cars cut off fuel supply to engine if it is idle for more than certain no of seconds. Engine starts automatically once you press the accelerator. Most Mahindra vehicles like Scorpio and XUV have these.
Even better: Use public transport or car-pool, saving even more precious fuel. Driving Solo in a 5 seater car is such a waste of fuel and road space. I have not bothered to buy a car till date and managing without one pretty fine. You can do that too, if you stop thinking of car as a social status symbol. The amount of money you will save by not buying the car- EMI, Maintenance, loan interest amount, toll, parking charges etc- you will thank me later for giving this suggession.
Food:
Many of us are financially well off to be able to afford decent meal every day, while there’re millions of people who find it hard to survive for another day, due to poverty, malnutrition and non-availability of food. More and more agricultural land is being used for commercial purposes, consistently reducing farmland and number of farmers. Because of all these, we should think really twice before wasting the precious food.
300 grams of food wasted every day, adds-up to 7 tonnes over a lifetime for one person. This much food can feed 3500 people for one day. Order only what you can eat, eat less, eat all, do not waste. If there’s excess take it as parcel and consume later, than throwing it away and buying fresh food later in the day. Instead of ordering multiple items in one go, order second or third round only if you think you can consume.
Water:
3 mins of wasting water while brushing adds up to 15 lakh litres over a lifetime. That’s enough drinking water for an entire village for one full month. We also waste water in washing cars- instead of using a direct hose which keeps dispensing water non-stop, use a bucket. Bath tubs waste lots of water- use shower or bucket instead. Recycle water for secondary purposes such as flushing, watering plants etc.
Paper:
Most of us use about 55 kgs worth paper in a year, that is about 4 tons over a lifetime. If we can use recycled paper instead, 100s of trees can be saved, plus think of the CO2 they can eliminate and oxygen they can provide. Plus lakhs of tons of water needed to process these trees into paper is also saved. Use digital modes where possible.
It takes very minimal effort to do the above tasks- all you need is some motivation and will. The impact of your act- good or bad- may not be obvious the very next day, but it will be felt over years to come. Watch the video below for better understanding of how each of can make a difference. This new year, let us make some meaningful resolutions.
Running engines in stuck traffic
We drive to office on our cars and bikes (even if we had options of using public transport or car-pooling, many of us prefer the flexibility of having our own vehicles). Any ride to office or back home is not complete without waiting for several minutes at various traffic signals on the way. We tend to keep the engine running, even after seeing that green light is few minutes away. All it takes is one turn of the ignition key to turn off the engine and another to turn it back on, but we are either lazy or do not want to lose that 2 seconds spent in starting the engine. We feel “what will happen in a minute”- but think about this- Assuming an average 90 minute commute per day, at least 20 min of this is spent at traffic signals. That is 1 KG worth of CO2 per day, 25 tons over a lifetime. (only idle time count, not full 90 min travel). Think of the impact when every driver on the road is doing the same. Switch off your engines in signals, encourage your friends and colleagues to do the same.
Better option: Buy a car equipped with micro-hybrid technology. Such cars cut off fuel supply to engine if it is idle for more than certain no of seconds. Engine starts automatically once you press the accelerator. Most Mahindra vehicles like Scorpio and XUV have these.
Even better: Use public transport or car-pool, saving even more precious fuel. Driving Solo in a 5 seater car is such a waste of fuel and road space. I have not bothered to buy a car till date and managing without one pretty fine. You can do that too, if you stop thinking of car as a social status symbol. The amount of money you will save by not buying the car- EMI, Maintenance, loan interest amount, toll, parking charges etc- you will thank me later for giving this suggession.
Food:
Many of us are financially well off to be able to afford decent meal every day, while there’re millions of people who find it hard to survive for another day, due to poverty, malnutrition and non-availability of food. More and more agricultural land is being used for commercial purposes, consistently reducing farmland and number of farmers. Because of all these, we should think really twice before wasting the precious food.
300 grams of food wasted every day, adds-up to 7 tonnes over a lifetime for one person. This much food can feed 3500 people for one day. Order only what you can eat, eat less, eat all, do not waste. If there’s excess take it as parcel and consume later, than throwing it away and buying fresh food later in the day. Instead of ordering multiple items in one go, order second or third round only if you think you can consume.
Water:
3 mins of wasting water while brushing adds up to 15 lakh litres over a lifetime. That’s enough drinking water for an entire village for one full month. We also waste water in washing cars- instead of using a direct hose which keeps dispensing water non-stop, use a bucket. Bath tubs waste lots of water- use shower or bucket instead. Recycle water for secondary purposes such as flushing, watering plants etc.
Most of us use about 55 kgs worth paper in a year, that is about 4 tons over a lifetime. If we can use recycled paper instead, 100s of trees can be saved, plus think of the CO2 they can eliminate and oxygen they can provide. Plus lakhs of tons of water needed to process these trees into paper is also saved. Use digital modes where possible.
It takes very minimal effort to do the above tasks- all you need is some motivation and will. The impact of your act- good or bad- may not be obvious the very next day, but it will be felt over years to come. Watch the video below for better understanding of how each of can make a difference. This new year, let us make some meaningful resolutions.
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