AAACHHOOOOO!!!!
That morning sneeze…
That morning chill in the air….
That extra laziness to get out of bed…. [extra because I feel lazy to get out of bed daily! :D]
That reluctance to wash one’s face with that cold water….
Even more reluctance to have a bath….Thank god for geyser!
Applying lots of moisturizer on dry skin and lip balm on dry lips….
Eating peas stuffed kachori, vegetable cutlets, carrots, spring onion (pyaj koli to be precise) sabzi ….
Smaller days and longer nights….
That bump in the elbow hurting real bad….
Sipping that warm coffee….
When I got up this morning, I found that winter is here already! In October!
But will it stay?
I am wondering this because the duration and the magnitude of Winter season has been decreasing every year in my town. It gets cold for two days and then again it is as hot as in summer. Last year it was proper Winter only for two weeks, that too in January. December was quite warm. All my sweaters including the Allen Solly ones which I had been waiting to show off didn’t get a chance to come out of the closet. Sigh!
Those who say global warming is a myth should come and stay in my town for a year. The temperature in summer reaches 46 deg C , the monsoon is erratic, no more 4-5 days of continuous heavy rain like we used to have many years ago, no more cold winter months and the pleasure of sleeping under quilts. And after the so called winter, its Summer again. There is no Spring practically!
I guess all of you had read several posts on October 15 about Global Warming as many bloggers had participated in Blog Action Day 2009. As I was on my Diwali vacation during that time and as I don’t think blogging about an issue should be restricted to just one day, I am blogging about it now. Moreover I have not added my blog to that website [as it asked for my password] but still I feel strongly about the issue. Today when I felt the first winter chill, I was happy!! But that happiness was short-lived as I remembered last year’s winter season and the change in my town’s climate over the past few years.
Trust me, no matter how much water is found on the Moon or how many missions are sent to Mars, this is the only planet that can sustain life.
So save it while you still can. Or it will be literally hot as hell on Earth. Here a few things you can do at your level to stop global warming :-
Use Compact Fluorescent Bulbs
Inflate Your Tires
Change Your Air Filter
Use the washing machine or dishwasher only when they are full
Use Recycled Paper
Adjust Your Thermostat
Change the AC Filter
Choose products that come with little packaging and buy refills when you can
Buy fresh foods instead of frozen
Choose energy efficient appliances when making new purchases
Take a shower instead of a bath
Take Shorter Showers
Install a Low-Flow Showerhead
Defrost old fridges and freezers regularly
Buy Products Locally
Buy Minimally Packaged Goods
Cover your pots while cooking
Buy a Hybrid Car
Buy a Fuel Efficient Car
Carpool When You Can
Don’t Idle in Your Car
Reduce Garbage
Plant a Tree
Insulate Your Water Heater
Replace Old Appliances
Do not leave appliances on standby
Put on a Sweater
Insulate Your Home
Air Dry Your Clothes
Switch to a Tankless Water Heater
Switch to Double Pane Windows
Buy Organic Food
Bring Cloth Bags to the Market
Turn off Your Computer
Eat less meat
Encourage your school or business to reduce emissions
Ditch the Plastic
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On a lighter note, Global Warming may be helpful to some beings after all!!
Tips taken from StopGlobalWarming.Org
-
Use Compact Fluorescent Bulbs
Replace 3 frequently used light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs. Save 300 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $60 per year. Take the Energy Star pledge.
-
Inflate Your Tires
Keep the tires on your car adequately inflated. Check them monthly. Save 250 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $840 per year.
-
Change Your Air Filter
Check your car’s air filter monthly. Save 800 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $130 per year.
-
Fill the Dishwasher
Run your dishwasher only with a full load. Save 100 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $40 per year.
-
Use Recycled Paper
Make sure your printer paper is 100% post consumer recycled paper. Save 5 lbs. of carbon dioxide per ream of paper.
-
Adjust Your Thermostat
Move your heater thermostat down two degrees in winter and up two degrees in the summer. Save 2000 lbs of carbon dioxide and $98 per year.
-
Check Your Waterheater
Keep your water heater thermostat no higher than 120°F. Save 550 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $30 per year.
-
Change the AC Filter
Clean or replace dirty air conditioner filters as recommended. Save 350 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $150 per year.
-
Take Shorter Showers
Showers account for 2/3 of all water heating costs. Save 350 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $99 per year.
-
Install a Low-Flow Showerhead
Using less water in the shower means less energy to heat the water. Save 350 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $150.
-
Buy Products Locally
Buy locally and reduce the amount of energy required to drive your products to your store.
-
Buy Energy Certificates
Help spur the renewable energy market and cut global warming pollution by buying wind certificates and green tags.
-
Buy Minimally Packaged Goods
Less packaging could reduce your garbage by about 10%. Save 1,200 pounds of carbon dioxide and $1,000 per year.
-
Buy a Hybrid Car
The average driver could save 16,000 lbs. of CO2 and $3,750 per year driving a hybrid
-
Buy a Fuel Efficient Car
Getting a few extra miles per gallon makes a big difference. Save thousands of lbs. of CO2 and a lot of money per year.
-
Carpool When You Can
Own a big vehicle? Carpooling with friends and co-workers saves fuel. Save 790 lbs. of carbon dioxide and hundreds of dollars per year.
-
Don’t Idle in Your Car
Idling wastes money and gas, and generates pollution and global warming causing emissions. Except when in traffic, turn your engine off if you must wait for more than 30 seconds.
-
Reduce Garbage
Buy products with less packaging and recycle paper, plastic and glass. Save 1,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide per year.
-
Plant a Tree
Trees suck up carbon dioxide and make clean air for us to breathe. Save 2,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide per year.
-
Insulate Your Water Heater
Keep your water heater insulated could save 1,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $40 per year.
-
Replace Old Appliances
Inefficient appliances waste energy. Save hundreds of lbs. of carbon dioxide and hundreds of dollars per year.
-
Weatherize Your Home
Caulk and weather strip your doorways and windows. Save 1,700 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $274 per year.
-
Use a Push Mower
Use your muscles instead of fossil fuels and get some exercise. Save 80 lbs of carbon dioxide per year.
-
Unplug Un-Used Electronics
Even when electronic devices are turned off, they use energy. Save over 1,000 lbs of carbon dioxide and $256 per year.
-
Put on a Sweater
Instead of turning up the heat in your home, wear more clothes Save 1,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $250 per year.
-
Insulate Your Home
Make sure your walls and ceilings are insulated. Save 2,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $245 per year.
-
Air Dry Your Clothes
Line-dry your clothes in the spring and summer instead of using the dryer. Save 700 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $75 per year.
-
Switch to a Tankless Water Heater
Your water will be heated as you use it rather than keeping a tank of hot water. Save 300 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $390 per year.
-
Switch to Double Pane Windows
Double pane windows keep more heat inside your home so you use less energy. Save 10,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide and $436 per year.
-
Buy Organic Food
The chemicals used in modern agriculture pollute the water supply, and require energy to produce.
-
Bring Cloth Bags to the Market
Using your own cloth bag instead of plastic or paper bags reduces waste and requires no additional energy.
-
Buy The Bracelet
Made from 100% scrap leather by Roots — 100% of net proceeds go the Stop Global Warming Fund.
-
Turn off Your Computer
Shut off your computer when not in use, and save 200 lbs of C02. Conserve energy by using your computer’s “sleep mode” instead of a screensaver.
-
Be a Meat Reducer
The average American diet contributes an extra 1.5 tons of greenhouse gases per year compared with a vegetarian diet. Eliminating meat and dairy intake one day a week can make a big difference.
-
Ditch the Plastic
2.5 million individual plastic water bottles are thrown away every hour in the US. Start using a reusable water bottle and just say no to plastic!
My god!
am I first??
😀 😀 😀
yes you are 🙂
Its always summer here in chennai !
sad!!
Beautiful topic to post on 🙂
really a problem of the whole world….
good….
thank u
Peas stuffed kachoris… yummm! But I am not fond of pyaj koli…
“Those who say global warming is a myth should come and stay in my town for a year.” I second that… for Blr that is. Noone is sporting even a speck of woolies on them and we are already in late Oct…!!! And Blr is supposed to have a ‘salubrious climate’. Huh… ?!!
I forgot to mention tasty custard apples too!
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This diwali we were talking about the same thing. Earlier Diwali used to mean advent of winters but this time there isn’t even a trace of it!!!
Nice post!
thanks!
“Trust me, no matter how much water is found on the Moon or how many missions are sent to Mars, this is the only planet that can sustain life. ”
Thats a dangerous statement, may be it would be treated as a misquote sometime in future.
Taking about misquotes, “Everything that can be invented has already been invented” said Charles H. Duell, Commissioner, U.S. patent office, 1899 !
http://www.quotationspage.com/weblog/2005-08-26-239/
LOL 😀 my point is why spend millions searching of water on Moon when that can be invested for some real action under the Ganga Action Plan?
You’re lucky! here in bombay its as blazing hot as May and we everyday feel bless the ACs!
Ahhh all those acs running 24×7 😦
Very Nicely written and appropriate post.
You know even in Kanpur we slept with blankets in October, but these days we are sleeping with the fan on leave aside the blanket.
The world is changing seriously.
Thanks!! Oh yes my sister had told me Kanpur can get very cold.
I so agree with you. Those tips are really good and I hope we follow them seriously.
global warming is most serious threat to mankind and its time we woke up and took stock of the situation
yes I do hope we follow them!
the question is of development vs environment and people tend to neglect the latter…
sadly thats true!
Hi,
Hope you are doing well! This is Anamika Tiwari Chief Editor at Webneetech.com. At present we are interviewing entrepreneurs and now we are starting another section to feature (interview) bloggers and their blog on webneetech.com
Would like to feature your interview on our website.
I was not able to find any contact details of yours so using this comment box. Please let me know your email id or else contact us on i.webneetech@gmail.com, so that we can send you the questionnaire and feature you on webneetech.com Please visit http://www.webneetech.com to know more about us.
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Webneetech.com
I have given my id o blog page Reema the blogger. I will be mailing you soon.
Last few years Winters are now little longer and more cooler than it used be in Chennai. But Chennai is a more of summer city but winters i.e the period from December-January are much cooler and we need blankets on some nights this was not the case around 10 years back when the weather was warmer in December and Jan. Which town are you from?
I am from a town in Chattisgarh. 🙂
Its always cold in Bangalore and I put the fan only during May! I like cold weather during holidays as I can sleeeep a lot 🙂 But otherwise I prefer hot climates!
Destination Infinity
my fave is the rainy season 🙂
I do agree with most points mentioned here. It is true that climate has shifted. Here Autumn just started and already winter has taken over. Many areas are already getting snow falls.
How far does the temp go in winter?
Nice post!!!
It’s really an issue which requires urgent attention but most people seem to think it’s just a myth and don’t bother with it too much.
thanks! many leaders of various countries think that its a myth!!
A good post Reema. I liked that way you began it, by mentioning your personal experiences and notes about your town. It has been written in a very readable way! You really should blog more often! And yes, you are right, global warming is a subject that needs to be discussed on all days, all the time!
Thank you so much for such encouraging words!
So true! Winters just seem to come very late and end too soon!! The kind of cold we felt earlier is hardly there… Creating awareness will make a tremendous difference! Like we do notice how Diwali cracker noise and pollution is coming down, slowly but there is a difference.
Loved the pictures (cartoons) .. and the list of little things we can do!
thank you!
Climate has really really changed Reema….
this year, In Chennai until September it is 100 F… which is really uncommon.. and no signs of Rain until now 😦 😦 usually it starts by October 15…
We are having water shortage problem in October!
I was just wondering, since you hail from Bhilai… an area/region renowned for among other things… dacoits! The legendary ones as well as the unsung ones… but who too could be the protagonist for some riveting tales.
There are many aspects of these dacoits… many details, customs, behaviour, contributions… etc., that have not been brought out by the ubiquitous Bollywood movies.
We have just celebrated Kali puja… and Kali puja without dacoit tales are just not done. They still invoke childhood memories and a kind of romanticism…
Why don’t you write a post on them or may be a series of posts on them… ???
Bengal too has had several legendary dacoits. I have just written a post on them… titled, “Tales of Dacoits and one unique story… dating back three centuries!” Do let me know your thoughts on it.
I have already asked a couple of blogger friends.. hailing from Bihar and U.P. to try and pen down some tales from that region too. And then we could link them up… maybe. What say… ???
Dear, Bhilai is foremost known for being the steel city and winner of Prime Minister’s trophy 7 times! Dacoits were or maybe are present in the Bastar Region. Bhilai is relatively a new city and there are no such tales. As for Bastar Region I dont have that much idea. Also now the dacoit problem has been replaced by Naxals.
Hey Reema! I am aware of that.
But… you may have heard of some stories from grand parents and/or other relatives… friends/neighbours… or through the folklore of the land. May have read them in some book… possibly those restricted to that region due to the language.
Would be interesting to know… na… ???
And maybe delve into those aspects of the dakus that have been overlooked/unknown… what say… ???
It would be interesting 🙂
We realize global warming only when we sweat in winter.
I don’t recollect i have worn sweater for my regular travel to office for last 5 years, even in peak winter. While in school days we needed it entire day.
Phew i a sweating now as well! its HOT!
where are you from?
Not from very far, Amchi Mumbai they call it!
The main reason for global warming is Girls!! 😉 You know…. hot n stuff 😀 😀
Uffff!!!
Very nice posting, and responsible too!
I hope people around the globe are concerned and take immediate action.
I have done my part by following most of the DOs in the list you have given above, already.
Unless Global Warming Effect is spread over public media like AIDS and POLIO by Govt. agencies, common man will not even bother to look into this matter. Strict control policies should be made to stop carbon emission and fossil fuels should be left in the nature as it is IMMEDIATELY or our future generation is going to kick our Photos framed in their drawing rooms LOL.
Read my post at http://rahulshende.com/wild-life-animals-and-nature/arctic-is-melting-save-ourselves-act-now.htm
Regards,
Rahul.
Thanks a lot!
tank u…..gonna b very useful 4 ma speech…….
hey Reema, that was a good read!
I had written an article on Global Warming on my blog. You can have a read here…
http://niketgupta.blogspot.com/2010/04/earth-vs-man.html
thanks..will check out your post!