A wake up call that fell silent in the city bustle!!

It is official. The biggest causative agents  for global warming all over the world  are industrial and auto emissions.  The situation is no different in Kerala as well. Kochi, the business hub of this state is infamous for its staggering number of vehicles that push through the bad roads, causing terrible traffic congestion and emissions. Cochin has  one of the highest car densities in India, which is ten times more than the national average. Most of the vehicles on the city roads do not pass the emission standards and one can see thick plumes of dark smoke emanating from the tail as these vehicles of all shapes and sizes  wait at the traffic signals! Blame it on adulterated fuel ( many drivers mix additives to petrol to increase the mileage!) or lure for profits- the fact is that the damage goes unnoticed!

What we need  now are hybrid cars that run on battery. Till these are ready to hit the roads at prices that are affordable to you and me, the only option is to use the available resources sensibly. Public transport is the best mode of transport to commute; if  you find it too slow or crowded; ( Cant we run more Volvo buses at rates that are affordable to the common man?) the next best option would be the shared private cars. Yes; you heard it right. People who stay in adjacent flats and share the work space can very well share their vehicles with their colleagues! However, the irony is that most of them prefer to turn a blind eye. Is it that we have become too narrow minded that we do not feel like picking up our next door neighbor or is it that we wish to be at our own pace and do not want to reschedule our timings for another person? In either case, if we all could make this small adjustment, it would be a big step in the right direction!

So, next time when you see someone from your gated community, ram that brake and offer a lift! It can save the world! By taking turns, we all can save fuel and money; above all, foster friendship and good will:)  If your work place happens to be near your residence , you would  be  one of those few lucky souls who could tuck in a work out regimen into the day  if you decide to chuck out the car and walk back home from work! As they say necessity is the mother of invention and the time has come for all of us to put on our thinking caps to come up with novel ideas to save this world  from being a cauldron of burning gases.

Let us admit it; Keralites have  a penchant for the gas guzzling luxury cars, which they buy to satisfy their vanity rather than to meet  their needs. These air conditioned road rulers with just one person behind the wheel  are not just adding up to the congestion of city roads but are also adding up to the green house effect. Increasing the taxes of luxury cars could help bring down the numbers to some extent; better still, the city administration can bring out a law that allows a person to take out the car only on alternate days as is the system in many foreign countries. The alarm bells  are in the air. And if we choose not to do anything now, there might not be a second chance or a  tomorrow!

[Via http://news.karmakerala.com]