I recently started working on a project that aims to create a green equivalent to cement. Cement is an artificial material that acts a binder and an important ingredient in concrete. The burning of lime at a high temperature forms cement but releases 8% carbon-di-oxide (globally).
So while reading research articles, I came across Bill Gates' - 'GatesNotes', which is a very well written and updated blog on climate change.
While the developed nations talk, print, and research on climate change, what are the developing nations doing? Reading Mr. Gates' notes lead me to his book on climate change that I downloaded it on audible. Since I have subscribed to life-long learning, I find audible to be a great learning companion. I walk (mostly) to my lab with earphones plugged and listening to some book or lecture. It is an extremely productive promenade.
So coming back to what India or other developing nations are doing? I am not aware of other nations but India announced the program 'Mission Innovation'. But there is a lot more to do.
The researchers publish high impact data but the real life impact of the work maybe debatable. Also in the current culture of publish or perish mask the success of such mission(s). The translation from meso to macro scale is where funds play a significant role. If 'climate change' becomes our national anthem then building up funds will not be tough.
The Problems:
- Why our politicians never speak about climate change?
- Why our industrialists never speak about climate change?
- Why our celebrities never speak about climate change?
THE DIVIDE:
The developing nations are responsible for high consumerism that leads to high emissions of green house gases. They objected India's use of coal. But they forget that developing nations have their set of problems. We were looted, suppressed and ignored for the longest time span. Now is the time that we are developing and need all the resources, more effectively cheap resources. Rather than banning us from using coal, why wouldn't they cut down on consumerism, and green house gas emissions?
I usually like to listen to interviews and talks while doing some mundane work on my laptop / kitchen / workouts. Yesterday, while I was working on my laptop, I played Mr. Gates' interview on YouTube. The next was Steve Jobs, then Elon Musk, and then Jeff Bozos (thanks to the AI). My almost 10 year-old daughter joined me and watched Mr Musk, Mr. Bozos speaking about their space ventures SpaceX and Blue origin (if I remember correctly). They spoke about climate change, and earth being hostile as an effect of climate change. In short their space expedition experiments are their back up plans. When earth no longer remains livable, the developing nations by then will have found a livable planet some where else. She listened to them and later Mr. Sundar Pichai too.
While I was putting her to sleep, she asked me, 'They are looking for an alternative plan and planet? What will happen to us? We are a country with many poor people. We will die!' She clearly meant this is selfish. It pricked my heart. I said, 'yes'. We will be left behind to fend for ourselves. By 'we' I meant your generation or the next.
Picture: Alamy, Google.
I realized at that moment that we think of saving assets for our kids but we never thought of saving our planet for them. Some buy 4 houses, land, and gold. But if we do not leave a healthy planet behind then how would those materialistic things matter?
Our grand-parents, parents did a great job! They handed us a livable healthy planet.
What have we done? or What are we doing?
'Climate change is real.....'
Thanks,
trupti
