Will you join me in 10 10 campaign?

I am generally not very optimistic about campaign and summits but the Copenhagen's climate change meeting next months is something that I am looking forward to. I am ask to address the world leaders in the conference and I will make a strong pitch how India is doing its best in fighting against the climate change? How India, the government from local to regional to central level, never think about providing public transport at affordable price and millions of people from villages commute to town on highly inefficient jugadus (See picture below)?

I was kidding. There is nothing like this. I am not fortunate enough, if it is considered so, to address the world leaders. What I am excited about is that I have come to understand or I am convinced that these meetings and these leaders will not or cannot do anything other than having good champagne and nice sea food for dinner. They will give one or the other excuse for not pledging to reduce carbon emission in a realistic time frame. They will pledge to reduce 10 or 20% by 2050 by that time many of us will be dead or near to death. No one will remember this pledge and glaciers will continue to melt if any of them will be left by then. So it is hopeless to expect anything from these meetings.

If we want to make any real difference then we need to do something at personal level or technically speaking as economist prefers to say micro level. Ultimately to a large extent we, each or most of us, are responsible for the level carbon emission or global warming. China does not want to produce millions of plastic chairs and other things and fire crackers and cheap clothes if we are not going mad to buy them. We can not and it is not pragmatic to go and protest against a petrochemical factory in New Mexico or steel production plant in Shenzhen. We can do a little bit sitting at home and in our everyday life to save some energy and ultimately help in reducing carbon emission.

I am highlighting some, none of them is my original idea but reminding myself and my audiences, of them here. We can switch off the electric equipment while we are not using. I have started switching off my computer (rather than hibernating) and the router and modem as well. I am not sure how much energy it saves but definitely millions of us start doing this it will be significant to quote! Why not take your bag or not ask for a bag when we can manage without that. People go for to buy a quick lunch (sandwich or burger as American will call it and French fries or chips) and take a big plastic or paper bag and picks more than couple of tissue paper. Ask yourself do you really need those many even if they are free and Mc Donalds makes billions selling rubbish? you can come up with many more ideas. You and I will save some energy from now on. I am not sure if it will be 10% reduction of current consumption by the end of 2010 but lets target for that.

Amen.