The myth of zero emission vehicle

While studying "Environment Law" I came across the term "Zero Emission Vehicle"  (ZEV). The first question that came to my mind was, is it even possible? Can we consume energy without emitting anything? What happens to the energy that we consume? At least, the energy that we use needs to be converted into some other form of energy. The overhyped advertisement of ZEV's created a question in my mind, is "zero-emission" just a catchy phrase like "chemical-free" to attract customers, or does it really mean what it says? It seems that the main purpose of using this phrase is to create an impression in the consumer's mind that the vehicle they are driving is not emitting any harmful gases, that is, it is not doing "any" damage to the environment. These so-called zero-emission vehicles run on some type of batteries. Technically when we use energy stored in a battery they do not emit any harmful gases the way fossil fuels do (for example, carbon monoxide). However, if we analyze it carefully, batteries need to be manufactured and then recharged every time they get discharged. Each of these processes consumes electricity or some other type of energy, they use different chemicals to manufacture batteries, and these chemicals are manufactured in different process plants that use conventional energy sources. The electricity used by batteries might be produced by the process which results in some kind of emission of the very harmful gases which the battery purports not to emit. Therefore, indirectly these batteries do cause emissions which we do not see while driving these vehicles but they do impact the environment. Emissions caused by the use of batteries may be comparatively less than the emissions of fossil fuels, but this does not mean that there is a zero-emission. This means the phrase zero-emission vehicle is an advertising gimmick, just a catchy phrase with no real meaning behind it, designed and used to grab the customer's attention.

Thanks for reading and please share your opinion about this topic. 

Please recycle and reuse

I consider myself a recycle freak. I try to recycle as much as possible. If I see something in a trashcan that is recyclable I try to remove it from there and put it in recycle waste containers. It makes me really uncomfortable to watch recyclable waste dumped in normal trash. Many countries have recognized the need to recycle most of the waste generated by humans. Consumerism is at its peak in our society, because of the easy (and cheap) availability of a lot of stuff we are using more than required and then generating a lot of waste, and we don't bother to recycle it. So, we make two mistakes at the same time, we overuse the stuff (which is totally avoidable) and then don't even efficiently recycle the stuff. In many countries, especially in developed nations like the USA, they have made it very easy to recycle many things but still, I see that many people are not aware of these things or they don't care and dump all things in the trash. It's really bad to dump things that can be easily recycled in normal trash. People think that just one person doing all this recycling and other climate-friendly activities will not make any difference, so why do it. I agree with this to some extent but if everyone starts thinking like this then no one will do it. Someone has to start doing this and why can't that someone be us? Actually, many good things always start with one person, and then others follow.

As I said things are available so easily and cheaply nowadays that it's hard for people to think before they use them or throw them. Whether to print or not is not a very big decision nowadays, printers and papers are available everywhere (home, office, anywhere you go). Many organizations are trying to reduce the use of paper by switching to e-statements and e-bills rather than traditional printed format but still, many prefer traditional printed format. There is nothing wrong with it but at least make sure that to recycle that stuff. We teach many good things as part of our tradition and culture to our kids and I think we need to include the habit of recycling and using things more efficiently (so that we generate less waste) as a part of our cultural training. Our planet and environment are everyone's property, we all own it and use it and that's why we all are responsible for protecting it and taking good care of it. There is no single owner of this planet that doesn't mean no one should care for it. Rather we all are owners of this beloved planet so it should be treated with utmost respect and care by all of us but this is not happening. People care a lot about their own religion, country, family, and home but don't care much about their planet which is actually the reason for the existence of everything around us, it's very strange but true.

If we can't stop ourselves from overusing things then at least by recycling we can reduce the impact of our consumerism on the planet. This can also generate a lot of jobs in the recycling industry. There is no negative or side effect of this activity. This is a simple habit we need to incorporate into our lifestyle. Most of us are already very careful about not dumping any trash outside, we make sure that we throw it in a trashcan, and this is how we try to keep our surroundings clean. We need to do exactly the same thing but next time whenever we throw trash we need to make sure to throw it in the "proper disposal bin," that's all. It's not that difficult. Most of us are in search of many good habits to incorporate into our day-to-day lives and I feel the habit of recycling and reusing things as much as possible is one of the good habits which can make us better people and help our planet. Think about it, one simple habit can help our planet and future generations, so why not give it a shot.

Thanks for reading and please share your views about this topic. 

(Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing)

What if others don't care?

Human activities impact the environment, and there is enough data to demonstrate this. I try to follow a certain lifestyle where I try to minimize the impact of my behavior on the environment. It is also true that every living thing lives at the cost of another living thing (vegetarians and vegan people should stop thinking that they don't kill anything to feed themselves, we all do that). Our existence on this planet is bound to have some impact on this planet, whether we like it or not. We all need to consume things to survive, we all generate waste and our consumption and waste generation capacity is increasing day by day. What do we think about this? Do we care? Most of us don't. We think why should I care if others don't? Whatever will happen to others will happen to me also so why care?

Whenever possible I share my thoughts with my kids and people around me about this topic. During my discussion I encourage them to reduce their carbon footprint, some people care to listen, some of them care to follow certain things but most don't care. They think if they can afford the luxury then why not use it? They are perfectly right in their thinking and this whole thing is not at all about whether you can afford to enjoy certain luxuries or not but it's all about whether you care about this planet or not? You can enjoy most of the luxuries and at the same time contribute towards the welfare of this planet, showing concern towards our planet doesn't mean going back to the stone age.

We can practice many small things in our lives that can bring huge change, things like not using an elevator to climb up anything less than 5 floors or not at all while coming down from any building, walking wherever possible, or using public transport if possible, try to share a ride or carpool whenever possible, use lights in the home more efficiently, etc. If many people follow these things it can save a lot of energy, and some of these habits even have health benefits. Energy consumption is at its peak on our planet and it's going to increase as more and more people start using vehicles and big homes because they can afford it. Because of this, it becomes even more important to use available energy more responsibly and efficiently. Justifying our own high energy-consuming lifestyle by saying that everyone is doing is not a proper thing to do. I know that one person can not create a huge impact or change things but he/she can definitely have some impact and that's what my goal is. I know people might laugh at my ways, might dismiss it as some fad, or might even question my understanding of current living standards but that's not going to stop me from practicing what I believe. I am not talking only about India but people all over the world need to be conscious about their energy use. In the US also there is a huge waste of energy. People all over the world need to analyze their use of energy and try to bring the necessary changes. India has a huge population so if Indians care for energy and manage their consumption I believe that its impact will be huge. We call our planet 'Mother Earth' and we show so little concern about her health and welfare. Everyone is concerned about their own biological mother and her health and does whatever is necessary to take care of her. Our Mother Earth has so many kids but unfortunately, very few care about her, and most of her kids think that it's not their responsibility. Poor Mother Earth even after having so many kids, providing them almost every necessary thing is facing abuse at the hands of her own kids.

I know that it's not that easy but in my experience, it's not that difficult. It's a little inconvenient to travel in crowded city buses and trains but things are much better than they were 10 years ago. I traveled on the PMT (city transit bus in Pune) bus a few days back and it was not that bad, at least it was better than the experience of driving a four-wheeler on crowded roads in Pune. Water wastage is another issue that bothers me. Administrators in India just don't want to accept that we need a better water management system. People face the same problems repeatedly, water cuts every year in Pune but refuse to learn any lesson from them. At least some people are thinking about rainwater harvesting and other options to conserve some water which is a welcome sign but in general, there is no general awareness about this issue. Traffic on roads is horrible, and everyone complains about it but no one is willing to set an example (and again same explanation that no one cares then why should I?). Honking has become a habit of Indian drivers, hardly a minute passes by where you won't hear honking on the road. I just don't understand why people need to honk so much (unless they believe others are driving in their sleep and they need to honk to wake them up). Yesterday I rode our bike for the (first time on this India visit) and didn't feel the need to honk even once, I don't think people understand how to use vehicle horns properly here. I wish they knew and cared about the noise pollution which is caused by this unnecessary honking.

My aim is not to list the problems that I see around me and only complain about them. I want to question the attitude, if others don't care why should I? We don't ask this question while buying a car, if someone is buying fuel fuel-efficient car then why shouldn't I? We don't ask a similar question when someone is doing some philanthropic work, I can list many more instances like this. In most of these situations people do whatever they want to do, they don't follow others but whenever it comes to following the rules and caring about the environment everyone wants others to start first. No one thinks why shouldn't I? I think we need to ask this question and ask it very honestly. I am sure even if others don't care many of us do care and we need to show that in our actions. Let's show that we do care.

Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.

(Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing)