Adopt These 10 Green Good Deeds And Do Your Bit To Save The Planet
To protect environment and promote good living in the country Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Dr Harsh Vardhan has appealed the citizens to join the #GreenGoodDeeds campaign which was launched by him in January, 2018. "It is our duty to give back clean and green environment to next generation", he had said. Here are 10 green good deeds which if adopted in daily life can go a long way in curbing environmental degradation.
#2 Ensure vehicles are properly maintained and the service is done regularly on-time. The clean air filters will improve the vehicle's mileage which will reduce the fuel consumption further reducing combustion and emission of toxic carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide which are major greenhouse gases. Also, remember to switch off vehicle engine at traffic red-lights.
#3 Avoid using private vehicles and try to find more eco-friendly alternatives. For shorter trips, try walking or cycling on road. It is healthy and it is economical. For longer trips, adopt carpooling or take public transport like metro and buses. 'Avoiding private vehicles can help to reduce carbon dioxide emissions up to 63 kg per person per year', said Dr. Harsh Vardhan.
#4 Add air-purifying indoor plants in the house and plant terrace garden. Houseplants like palms, peace lilies, ferns, schefflera, and anthuriums have such air-purifying properties that can curtail harmful toxins like acetone, ammonia, benzene, toluene and xylene. Houseplants also beautify the house along with spreading freshness and reducing the indoor temperature by 5-6 degree Celsius.
#5 Vow to eliminate single-use plastic from your life. 50 per cent of the plastic we use is single-use or disposable plastic which includes disposable spoons, cups, plates, drinking water bottles and more, which are not degradable. Each year, at least 8 million tonnes of plastic end up in the oceans, which is equivalent to a full garbage truck every minute, posing a threat to the marine life and ecosystem.
#6 With rapid urbanisation, the country is facing massive challenge of waste management. Do not litter and try not to generate garbage. Make more eco-friendly choices while disposing of the waste from homes and offices. Practise waste segregation and bio-composting to reduce the burden of garbage dumping on landfills.
#10 Save energy. The more electricity consumed, spikes up carbon footprints as bulk of the electricity produced is thermal energy generated from fossil fuels. To save electricity keep electric items clean and well maintained. Use LED/solar lights wherever possible it can reduce 278 kilos of carbon dioxide emissions in a year.
NDTV in partnership with Luminous has launched an awareness campaign ‘Be A Bijli Donor’ to promote the idea of ‘save power for more power’. The idea is to conserve energy today in order to get more power tomorrow.
We inherently know that saving energy results in low energy bills, but we also need to understand that a unit of energy saved today makes it available for people still living in the dark or facing regular power cuts.
Saving power or conserving energy is about knowing the sources of energy, and areas of wastage and thereby eliminating these through technology and lifestyle changes. For instance, a 100 W (Watt) incandescent (ICL) bulb can be replaced with a 9 W LED bulb offering similar performance in terms of light output, but at far lower consumption of energy.
While a 100 W ICL bulb, used for four hours a day, consumes 146 units of energy per year, a 9 W LED bulb requires only 13.5 units per year. Clearly, switching to LED is a smart choice as it provides the same output while consuming 90 per cent less energy.
The focus of the campaign is to instill the idea of ‘save power for more power’ and in order to do so, the initiative will create awareness about energy efficient products and services, smart ways to reduce power consumption, alternate sources of energy like solar energy and the need to conserve energy. The idea is to address the rising need for energy conservation in India.
As part of the campaign, we will highlight the stories of individuals and organisations who are championing the cause of energy conservation by switching to renewable sources of energy, adopting innovations to reduce energy consumption while enjoying the same output. The initiative will provide a platform for all stakeholders to share their ideas and work towards the common goal of, ‘Save power for more power’.