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A few simple ways to

be the change we want to see around us©
A slow dripping tap can waste up to 20 liters of water a day!

Get all leaks fixed right away.

Until then, bucket the leak.
 wun the water tap with minimal force,
 when needed.

Keep it closed 

Ú !rushing Ú Soaping hands

Ú Shaving Ú Scrubbing vessels

wemember: "1 billion people (already) lack enough water

to simply meet their basic needs!" - WHO
 very time you flush,

upto 16 liters of potable water

goes down the drain!

   


 !  "

Get a low flush toilet that lets you regulate the water outflow.
.g., a dual flush system can operate at half the tank capacity.

Flush very judiciously.

Don¶t use the toilet as a wastebasket!

ÿndian squat toilets: Water efficient and hygienic! *

^
 m
 

   
  
[hoose a restrained bucket bath,
over a prolonged shower bath.

!ath tubs are a great deal worse.

 Delhi alone guzzles 4.5 crore liters
every day
for car washing! *

Why pour water where a wet cloth

would do?

Water is too scarce a resource

to be splashed about
to cool the house exteriors, etc.!

‘ake sure to infuse these tips into your maid/helper too.

^
   

 !  "
Œhe hand-washing of cloths is not only greener,
it can also generate extra income for maids.

[an¶t somehow avoid a washing machine?

Prefer semi automatic.

ÿt lets you reduce the cycle time and
reuse the water for another load.

Ú ‘ust choose an automatic one? Go for front loading, then.

Ú Lower the washing frequency.

wunning the machine only at full load saves energy + water.
 fficiency needs to be extended to water too!

An wO (weverse Osmosis) filter discards double

the quantity of water it purifies. *
mploy it only when unavoidable.

[an¶t do away with wO?

!ucket the outgoing water;
weuse it in cleaning, washing cloths, etc.

Yet another practical way to reuse water:

Wash fruits/veggies in a bowl (& utilize that water elsewhere).
^
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  #$ !
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 ³!y 2025, ~60% of ÿndia¶s groundwater blocks will be
in a critical condition.´ ± World !ank

wainwater harvesting
[atch me when you can!

Storing the rain falling on your house also prevents the

flooding of streets, apart from groundwater recharge.
 Plenty of water overflows away (invisibly). Why?
We don¶t know when exactly to turn off the motor!

ÿnvest in an automatic water motor controller.

ÿt also saves power by auto-closing

when the water in-flow stops.

Œhe next world war will not be fought over land or oil,
but over water!
3





World !ank  





 [limate change severely aggravates our water plight.
Ú Glaciers store ~75% of the world's freshwater. ´

Ú Gravely many glaciers are receding, thanks to global warming.

"Scientists agree human-induced global warming is real,

survey says´. ´

´
m
  $
 m  m !´
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" ! %&&'&(&'&(('%(&)*%m !
 ºust a minor temperature rise? Not quite!
[limate change perturbs the entire weather cycle!

!etween 1973 and 1982, ~1500 natural disasters occurred,

while from 1993 to 2002, they increased to as many as 6000! ´

68% of our farmers need rain:

a   a
a
a  a 
a a   a a ´%1
1.84 lakh ÿndian farmers committed suicide between 1995 & 2007. ´

´
m
+ 
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- +   
.$ ! ´
/ - !# 
0 
 How come floods &
(safe) water crisis
rise together?

Ú Floodwater contains infectious organisms, along with

chemical & other waste.

Ú Grossly inadequate mechanisms to store rainwater before

Ú

it hits the drains/oceans.

Ú µDeadly dozen¶ diseases could stem from global warming. ´

Ú ÿndia is one of the 10 countries worst hit by climate change. ´

Ú A great deal of eco problems originate locally, so passing the

buck to the developed nations is just flawed escapism.

Œhankfully, the climatic crisis too can be conquered«

but only if each of us upholds

ÿndividual nvironmental wesponsibility:
´
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m  !%&&,(&&,(&&2 ! 
m !
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3 
++ !
m%&&'
 (&
m(    m 3" !  mm !
 1500 plastic bottles end up as garbage, every second! ´

‘any ÿndian offices consume 60000 paper cups in ~2 weeks! ´

normous air & water pollution;

‘assive depletion of oil/trees, water, energy & fuel;
in production + transportation + disposal!
Huge waste burning, gigantic
ºust (re)use, don¶t throw! landfills & now ocean-fills too!

ÿn place of multiple Use one

Œissue papers Handkerchief
Disposable cups ‘ug/glass
Plastic bags ºute/cloth bag
Disposable bottles weusable bottle

Quite a few companies (e.g., Œÿ, ‘cAfee) have already

phased out paper cups for steel/ceramic mugs! ´

´
.45m
 m
 " ´
50 
 
*&,&,
 A myth: wecycling magically fixes
all evils of consumerism!

Ú Only 6.8% of all plastics were recycled in 2007. ´

Ú ‘ost paper cups contain a plastic resin, making them

non-biodegradable, non-recyclable.
± Œhey end up in a landfill, emitting methane.

Ú wecycling (when possible) guzzles 12 trees, 26k liters of water

& sizable energy/oil ± for 60k cups! ´

wecyling is useful, but limited. First reuse; then recycle!

´
.$ ! 4   6 "´
50 

 
*&,&,
 !uying from local markets - as opposed to malls ± curbs
the hefty emissions tied to transportation and flashy publicity.
xception: the local stuff that lacks energy-efficiency

Purchase products with minimal/reusable packaging.

Hand-made products are greener and create more jobs!

Farming is exceedingly water intensive.

liminate food wastage.
Animal products account for 51% of the world's total emissions!
3 c



 




!

"
#
$






[ut down on meat as much as possible.

Killing an animal yields few meals once;

waising it takes months of daily meals!

Ú Humongous depletion of land (fodder), water (fodder, drinking,

bathing), energy (cooling/transport)

Ú Substituting every kg of chicken with veggies saves

a mammoth 7000+ liters of water in ÿndia!
† 



%


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Albert instein ©
















 Skyrocketing energy consumption

scalating power cuts ÿncreasing reliance on

diesel generators

Dangerous levels of damaging pollutants

(including !lack [arbon & Nitrogen Oxides)

A one-time investment in solar systems (heating, lighting)

fetches recurring environmental & monetary savings.
 A screen saver R

R nothing & burns energy.
Why not switch off the monitor
every time we leave the desk
for few minutes or more?

Œurn off the [PU/laptop at the end of the day.

Suspend or hibernate it for breaks >= ½ hour.

[onfigure power options such that

the monitor closes after an idle time of few minutes,
& the [PU/laptop hibernates after half an hour, automatically.
30% of !angalore¶s
kids are asthmatic! ^

ºust 2
buses!

[hoked roads? Where?!

^
m
 
++ !%&&2$&7 m!m !
 Promote Green
Sir Albert instein Prefer
Non-motorized
[[ycle, [ycle wickshaws]

& mployment

‘ass transport
[!us, Œrain,
Shared autos, Vehicle pooling]

‘inimize the use of individual autos & personal vehicles.

ÿt¶s also good for the body and light on the wallet!

Flying less (and light) saves tremendous fuel/emissions.

 ÿf and when you must drive a motorized vehicle,

Ú Œurn off the engine at the signal when

the waiting time is > 15 seconds. ^
Ú Keep the tyres fully filled (for increased mileage).

lectric cars do pollute (via the coal-based power they run on),
but less.

Long walks/rides are as pleasurable as long drives,

& healthy too!
* Source©
!harat Petroleum (©))

  )*
)
+
),)
 -
 [onsider mileage/energy more than looks/comfort
while buying vehicles and appliances.
.g., pay up a bit extra and buy a higher ! ^ starred
(say) fridge to save on power & money on a monthly basis.
L[D {ŒV, ‘onitor} is ~twice as
efficient as [wŒ!
Laptops consume < half the
power that desktops do!

weplace Œube lights by LD lights

or [FLs of lower Watts (if LD infeasible).

* !ureau of nergy fficiency

!



%
 A 200-member company,
with a daily average of only 2 print-outs per person,
eats away 1 full tree in just ~20 days! ^

Ú Print only what¶s necessary.

Ú Print two-sided.

Ú Utilize all available space in

notebooks (& unwanted print-outs).

* Source©
©))
 ).)&  

 


 


 Why lose power, instead of gaining health?!

Favour stairs to elevators whenever possible.

[urtail the A[ usage; waise its temperature:

At home & in the car [‘ore desirable: [urtail the car usage!]
[heck the use of coolers (consuming loads of water), too.
 [lichéd, but crucial: Plant & protect trees!

[elebrate special days by funding tree plantations

(treesforfree.org).

Segregate waste: bio-degradable (kitchen, paper) & otherwise.

Sell as much waste as possible (plastic, paper) to scrap dealers
for recycling/reusing.

[ompost the kitchen waste [dailydump.org].

ÿn the very least, throw it to the plants/garden.

We have a right to celebrate, but at what cost?

Help prevent small kids from working in awfully
unhealthy & unsafe confines of fire cracker factories.
x
 
R
R

 
R
R
 

 



Œhank you!

mail: pulkitparikh@gmail.com