“No more talk, no more excuses, no more 10-year studies. This is the body that can do what is needed, all of you sitting in this very hall. The world is now watching. You will either be lauded by future generations or vilified by them.”
This quote by acclaimed actor Leonardo Dicaprio manifests that either climate situation is not under control or we are too stupid to acknowledge it. In India, 12 lakh people are dying prematurely from pollution and 2.6 years earlier as per the State of Global Air Report 2019. Situation is so worst that, media entity like The Guardian changed the terminology it uses for climate change. The Guardian replace the term “Climate Change” with terms like “Climate crisis, emergency, breakdown” and “Global warming” with “Global heating”. These small steps will change our attitude towards the environment but these are not enough. People should have to take the collective action against the pollution and force the government to add these in their issue diary. Recently, people of Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia file a lawsuit against the government for the intense air pollution prevailing in the society.
In the latest Parliament election, we all see how media played an important role in creating discourse among audience. There are many media entity like Downtoearth.org, Youthkiawaaz.com and Letmebreathe are working on this problem. But the apathy of mainstream media is disappointing and they should focus on climate issue instead of focusing on mass rovers.
Along with this there are several problems on the ground, that will be resolved only by working on grounds. The Government should speed up multi-sectoral action to ensure the implementation of BSVI emissions on April 2020. Subsequently, Government should create an integrated public transportation system and work on walking and cycling infrastructure.
Industry sector has big contribution in both air and water pollution.In this sector, quick implementation of new power plant standards. New Nitrogen Dioxide and Sulphur dioxide power plants should be installed in big industries to eliminate harmful fuel emission.All brick kilns should improve kiln technology.
As mentioned above, policy should be form as per the ground problem. In my area of East Delhi,daily burning of plastic waste is quite common. There is need to strengthen municipal services for segregation and recycling of waste to prevent plastic waste.
Construction, Demolition, stone crushers and mining contribute a large part of dust in the air. Government should make stringent policy for these work area, so the harm will be lesser of less.
In the last two decades, technology has become the new pet of humans. Government should reinforce on the new technologies from the foreign countries which sets the example in pollution control. As per the article published in Yale environment 360, Geoengineering technologies are helping in controlling the temperature. These includes managing solar radiation, removing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
Government, Policymakers and Citizen should rethink on this problem which is hanging over our planet like an axe. Because, If we do late then …