Let’s briefly survey the tsunami scenario. In a historic time scale, the number density (instances of Tsunami per year in 1000 A. D. was hardly 0.1. The density has gone up to 2000 at present. Even, earthquake free zones have become prone to quakes. This is a direct consequence of a large increase in the weight of the volume of water in the ocean and the pressure it exerts on geological plates.
So, what are the sources of clean energy which can save the earth? The first in the list is of course renewable energy ~ solar, biomass, geothermal, wind. India has made some progress in solar power, but is still way behind the expectation.
The second is hydro power, but this is limited by the finite number of hydro sources! Then comes nuclear energy, which is certainly a clear possibility. But the risk factor associated with it and the perception of the general public have placed many countries on the back foot, Germany has simply stopped it. India has an enviable record of safety with a steady and consistent growth in production of electricity from the nuclear power station. But the possibility of solar power is huge, yet untapped. Let us consider take the Sahara desert within an area of (210 x 210) km2 which is only 0.13 per cent of the great desert’s total global energy consumption of 15 TW /year, which can presently be met. In the model of United Nations, why can’t we have a “World Forum of Solar Power” countries which wish to avail of energy from this enterprise. It can be a shareholder and accordingly draw proportional power.
At present the total consumption in India in the renewable sector is only 3 per cent of the total requirement, hydro remains at 23 per cent , thermal power at 64 per cent producing an enormous amount of greenhouse gas, nuclear power still remains at the 2 – 3 per cent level in India.
The scenario has to change dramatically. However one can’t see any real and serious effort from India to contain the ecological devastation that is going on right now. It could be just too late.
Even the availability of water is in a mess. There is too much water in our oceans and rivers. In paralle, there is a huge waste of water, most particularly in the streets of Kolkata. Some taps are never dry. Street taps in our city serve as open air bathrooms, dressing room and even storage room for domestic consumption. People come and go but the tap water continues to flow. We suffer from that most ancient malady ~ “Don’t trouble unless trouble troubles you”
The younger generation the world over is going ballistic with their concern over climate change, a concern, not just for themselves but for their next generation too. No Government considers this a serious problem because politically this is not a savvy issue. This is a real issue for our notoriously disruptive agitations not over with the everyday petty issues, expressed in sentimental slogans.
The young Swedish girl, Great Thunberg is a global hero by now, although Sweden has the minimal environmental problem. She has become the mouthpiece of the young world, a gallant soldier fighting for checking the havoc of climate change. A brave teenager, she has just sailed to the US, crossing the Atlantic with no shower or toilet in her boat to join protests in the US. She calls it a zero carbon sailing! We have to ring the alarm bell and convincingly campaign from village to village, cities to cities. School children at a very early age have to be made aware. “DO IT OR PERISH” should be our cry, loud and clear.
Our tank is almost empty in terms of data and we are running on ‘theoretical vapor’. Climate science must carve an identity distinct from climate change policy issues. Only then will the science of the Earth be heard above the cacophony of controversy.
As we stand in the beginning of the 21st century, we see man relentlessly pursuing one singlular and dominant objective, i.e. prosperity and prosperity and often at any cost. Never in human history has a single objective been so dominant. This has been possible through thoughtless industrialization and the unprecedented growth of technology. We want more and more. In the process we have managed to destroy the essential equilibrium of our ecology. Thus, technology owes an apology to ecology. The final epitaph is: we have to live, generations after generations after us have to live, and, to live they have to breathe and we have to embark on “a new paradigm for conserving the ecological balance”.
Man has gone through many revolutions throughout history. The revolution that daunts us at this juncture is not a social or political revolution but a revolution of our basic perception, indeed the perception of how we should live and effect a revolution of the future and beyond, a revolution to usher in a quantum shift of our mindset. This is just the beginning. Will we do this? The answer, ultimately, is up to each and every one of us ~ thinking globally, acting locally. It is worth recounting Mahatma Gandhi’s prophetic appeal ~ “The earth, the air, the land and the water are not an inheritance from our forefathers but on loan from our children. So, we have to hand over to them at least as it was handed over to us”.