This article is for all those who care for the environment. And for those who don’t care for the environment, I am sure, they care for their money, at least. Read it and you will surely get tips to save money.
We all have heard so much about Global Warming, about Carbon footprints and Carbon credits. Carbon footprints refer to the amount of carbon dioxide (or green house gas) emitted into the atmosphere. Emitting greenhouse gas, along with other issues such as population, urbanization leads to the Global Warming. The issue of global warming is so alarming that corporations and countries now measure the amount of carbon emitted by them and even trade in Carbon credits.
Well, the governments and corporations across the globe are arguably doing their bit in making earth a better place to live. But that is not enough. Each one of us (specially in countries such as India and China) are personally responsible for ensuring that we avoid emitting carbon dioxide and other global-warming-related products in the atmosphere.
Mumbai is sinking
Did you know that research has shown that by 2040, a part of Mumbai will sink due to the continuously increasing water levels of the sea? Today, the polar ice caps are melting, the Himalayan glaciers are receding, large shelves of ice in the Antarctic are falling into the ocean. As they melt, coastal areas will sink in rising oceans and millions of people who live on India’s 7500 Kilometers of coastline will one day become homeless.
The average person in India today releases 1.1 tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere per year. Carbon dioxide has a direct link to temperature rise as it traps heat and therefore contributes to global warming which creates extreme weather events & other catastrophes collectively referred to as climate change.
But is this article relevant to a “finance blog”? We’ll see while we go through some of the tips that we ‘must’ follow!!
1. Dry and Wet waste
Did you know that in Bangalore, there is a road that has been made of close to 80% plastic and dry waste? Did you know that there are so many organizations that collect dry waste and utilize them for various purposes such as building roads, theme parks and so on? Did you know that you can use wet waste (e.g. waste from fruits and vegetables after cooking and even tea leaves after making tea) as a fertilizer even in your garden?
Yes. We can just keep two dustbins at home, segregate dry and wet waste and they both can be utilized in the most efficient manner.
2. Carpooling
Research has shown that if every Indian who drives to work now with an average distance of 20 km uses carpooling thrice a week can save INR 30000 per annum. Not only this, most of the petroleum fuel that India consumes is imported and only by carpooling, India can save the annual fuel import bill by INR 7000 crore.
3. Electricity conservation
If the families start following greener and more environmentally friendly processes at home like changing to CFL bulbs, turning off all electrical appliances from the mains and by unplugging devices like mobile phone once they are fully charged, they would not only reduce their electricity bills, but also contribute to the environment by reducing their carbon footprint by as much as 11%.
4. Save Paper
We need to print documents. We read books, newspapers. There are times when we are just not comfortable reading materials on the computer, or we may not have computers all the time. So we need to print “when absolutely necessary. Fine. But we need to consider the purpose of printing. Is it for a one-time reading, just references and not necessarily “presentation for a client”. How about ensuring that we print on both sides of the sheet, or even “2 pages per sheet”?
Most printers today provide this option. How about ensuring that we are using recycled paper? Needless to mention that we will save enormous amount of money annually on stationery.
5. Use video conferencing instead of flying
Research has shown that one hour of video conferencing is less costly that 10 km of flight. We all know how expensive is Air Fuel and how tiring air journeys can be. Use of video conferencing can be extremely useful and can be used instead of at least short journey travels by air. Save air fuel, save cost.
6. Borrow seldom used items
Real estate is expensive. Cost of space is a big constraint today. Why do you then need to buy and store rarely used items such as ladders, sew chains and other items that are made of wood and leads to damage to environment. Use banking methodology, pool money and space and store rarely used items so as to save money, save space and save environment.
References:
National Geographic - documentary on Cutting Carbon footprint
http://www.green.wikia.com/
We all have heard so much about Global Warming, about Carbon footprints and Carbon credits. Carbon footprints refer to the amount of carbon dioxide (or green house gas) emitted into the atmosphere. Emitting greenhouse gas, along with other issues such as population, urbanization leads to the Global Warming. The issue of global warming is so alarming that corporations and countries now measure the amount of carbon emitted by them and even trade in Carbon credits.
Well, the governments and corporations across the globe are arguably doing their bit in making earth a better place to live. But that is not enough. Each one of us (specially in countries such as India and China) are personally responsible for ensuring that we avoid emitting carbon dioxide and other global-warming-related products in the atmosphere.
Mumbai is sinking
Did you know that research has shown that by 2040, a part of Mumbai will sink due to the continuously increasing water levels of the sea? Today, the polar ice caps are melting, the Himalayan glaciers are receding, large shelves of ice in the Antarctic are falling into the ocean. As they melt, coastal areas will sink in rising oceans and millions of people who live on India’s 7500 Kilometers of coastline will one day become homeless.
The average person in India today releases 1.1 tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere per year. Carbon dioxide has a direct link to temperature rise as it traps heat and therefore contributes to global warming which creates extreme weather events & other catastrophes collectively referred to as climate change.
But is this article relevant to a “finance blog”? We’ll see while we go through some of the tips that we ‘must’ follow!!
1. Dry and Wet waste
Did you know that in Bangalore, there is a road that has been made of close to 80% plastic and dry waste? Did you know that there are so many organizations that collect dry waste and utilize them for various purposes such as building roads, theme parks and so on? Did you know that you can use wet waste (e.g. waste from fruits and vegetables after cooking and even tea leaves after making tea) as a fertilizer even in your garden?
Yes. We can just keep two dustbins at home, segregate dry and wet waste and they both can be utilized in the most efficient manner.
2. Carpooling
Research has shown that if every Indian who drives to work now with an average distance of 20 km uses carpooling thrice a week can save INR 30000 per annum. Not only this, most of the petroleum fuel that India consumes is imported and only by carpooling, India can save the annual fuel import bill by INR 7000 crore.
3. Electricity conservation
If the families start following greener and more environmentally friendly processes at home like changing to CFL bulbs, turning off all electrical appliances from the mains and by unplugging devices like mobile phone once they are fully charged, they would not only reduce their electricity bills, but also contribute to the environment by reducing their carbon footprint by as much as 11%.
4. Save Paper
We need to print documents. We read books, newspapers. There are times when we are just not comfortable reading materials on the computer, or we may not have computers all the time. So we need to print “when absolutely necessary. Fine. But we need to consider the purpose of printing. Is it for a one-time reading, just references and not necessarily “presentation for a client”. How about ensuring that we print on both sides of the sheet, or even “2 pages per sheet”?
Most printers today provide this option. How about ensuring that we are using recycled paper? Needless to mention that we will save enormous amount of money annually on stationery.
5. Use video conferencing instead of flying
Research has shown that one hour of video conferencing is less costly that 10 km of flight. We all know how expensive is Air Fuel and how tiring air journeys can be. Use of video conferencing can be extremely useful and can be used instead of at least short journey travels by air. Save air fuel, save cost.
6. Borrow seldom used items
Real estate is expensive. Cost of space is a big constraint today. Why do you then need to buy and store rarely used items such as ladders, sew chains and other items that are made of wood and leads to damage to environment. Use banking methodology, pool money and space and store rarely used items so as to save money, save space and save environment.
References:
National Geographic - documentary on Cutting Carbon footprint
http://www.green.wikia.com/
This blog is very useful to all and I like it very much and refer to my friend to see this blog and he learns how to keep our environment as cleans and safe.
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