Do we really care?

Environment, largely as we know today is damaged by human beings. We have seen different types of damage being done by men, analysed it and found ways to curb it. But there are some issues or perhaps some known yet ignored cases are the use of vehicles by teenagers. I would like to present three different scenarios observed.

The very first appearance which struck me was during the coaching time for teenagers. The city didn’t have many public pool vehicles yet common tempos and rickshaws are obviously available. Yet some of friends (what I am supposed to call them) not only creates pollution both noise and air but also risks their life in clumsy traffic just to show off their how posh they are, their status and in terms called their real attitude. But, the most ultimate result is the sudden and the most unlikely death of one of friends during this so called circus drive. For this attitude not only are the teenagers responsible but the parents and the society which encourages such environment. The public pooled vehicles are given the status of being “poor” and treat them as “substandard” or “lower standard” people. To just travel a mile or “a short 10 min walk” they use so-called “standard” cars without being aware of the harm being done to themselves, society and very obviously environment.

The second scenario observed was the city in which I presently live. Not only are the public pool vehicles encouraged here but the people are not “ashamed” of being a part of such a system. The buses are evidently used by all “classes” of people irrespective of being called as rich and poor. The people might use private vehicles as well but according to my observation it is not as prevalent as observed in the 1^st scenario.

The third scenario is that of famous capital and metropolitan city which I recently visited, Delhi. The city perhaps the fastest life I have ever seen is so evident today, yet it is the most “managed” city I have seen so far. The city which has all types of public pool vehicles in the form of city buses, small transport vehicles, METROS, rickshaws, mini-buses and the list goes on. The metro trains are the most impactful means of transport I have found so far. Cheap, easy, cozy, organized and well maintained these metros have served as well. The Delhi residents have fairly enjoyed this service. I do accept that Delhi is the most polluted city But here we are comparing the scenario and tendency of people towards public pool vehicles.

I know that no one cares about these vehicles and towards its tendency yet it is a known fact that after reading this we will surely count how irresponsible we were and how many times we ignored public vehicles just because of some sheer reasons...

But ultimately the question remains, do we really Care?

Green Attitude

Mini garbage dumps inside the campus being partly burnt at convenient intervals of time. An everyday scene at one of the top engineering institutes in India. No, this is not a post that’s going to slam the way our institute runs or deal with such issues. There can be various complaints, from, “There aren’t enough street lights” to “Why are these lights always on?”

But, amidst all this, what are we doing? Bathroom lights are always switched on throughout the day, and when someone takes out 15 seconds to switch them off, there’s bound to be some other student who “utilizes” his time to switch them on within 5 minutes, claiming “There’s not enough light da/yaar!”  Almost as if there’s some activity of great precision that needs to be executed inside the washroom.

The other common reason to keep all the lights on is “College is paying for the electricity, why do you care?” (And it’s more informal translated forms with more slangs than sense in various languages)  It’s ridiculous how students can claim to be "educated" at a premiere institute like ours and yet be so ignorant.

In an era where Global Warming is taught about way back from primary school, can we really blame the country and all its authorities for not being too serious about the issue? Alright, maybe we can, but can we all stand up and say, “I’m doing my bit”? Are we making a conscious effort to not litter and throw the smallest of candy wrappers in the dust bin? Are we making an effort to not keep our mobile on charge overnight? Are we making an effort to switch off the main switch outside our rooms, and rooms of others in case they’ve forgotten (yeah right!) to?

We at LEAP hope to change and make the campus greener. Ah well, we claim to. Truth is, we aren’t as serious as we should be ourselves. Taking my own case as an example, I’d volunteered to write for our blog about 2 months back and needed a reminder to write something. Most of us LEAP members are busy attending Pragyan and Festember meetings instead of taking LEAP forward. Which is a more pressing issue, the environment or the reputation of our tech/cultural fest? A 2 minute thought would lead us to the obvious conclusion. What do the students from other not-as-good-as-NITT institutes come and have a good hard think about whether they were better off to have not got into a “better” institute?

We, my friends, need to bring about a change. And by “we” I mean each and every student at the institute and not just members of LEAP. We LEAP members are merely those who’ve come forward for various reasons but the real results can only be obtained if we all work together and cooperate. We students need to understand our responsibility and act in unison.

And if not, we’ll probably soon be paying for the electricity we waste, in the form of ever increasing taxes that our government imposes on us. The AAP has already made amends to reduce the electricity charges in Delhi and if the others try to follow their lead, such a situation cannot be far away!

I’ll end with a quote from Albert Al Gore,

“Future generations may well have occasion to ask themselves, "What were our parents thinking? Why didn't they wake up when they had a chance?What we take for granted might not be here for our children."