Greener World Or Green-House World?

Ever wondered how the world would be with every single house owning a vehicle, let alone owning a car. With the possible entry of the Tata Nano, the Indian car market seems to take to the streets what was once the dream, inspiration, fantasy, promise of every single Indian who worked with a motor-company in India. To bring a vehicle that could be enough for a family of 4 to travel in a car, and for the common man to be able to afford the luxury of owning a car. The dream is now close to reality, and the Nano is the car that is going to bridge the gap between the people who own a car/bike and nothing.

But the major concern which most people are most ignorant of is the fuel, traffic and pollution situations across the globe. The introduction would no wonder increase the road-traffic and the number of cars and bikes that ply on the roads in a day. The ultimate end to the increasing number would be directly proportional to the number of traffic snarls occurring everyday. The implications would directly affect the citizens of a country that is already facing a uproar from the public for increasing fuel prices. The consumption of the fuel would go up considerably. Imagine a person using a motorcycle, which returns 50-60kmpl, would now be using a car that would end up returning a meagre 20-25kmpl. This would mean an increase of consumption of fuel in the country. The demand would increase, leading to a higher import of fuels and directly leading to depleting resources, which would cause an increase in the global fuel prices. This would be a situation that would not be imminent immediately but sooner than one expects it to crop up. Fuel prices have soared up to $100 a barrel this year and it is very much likely to touch the $ 150-200 a barrel in the very near future if the trend of purchasing a car takes precedence. The major cause of concern is the pricing of the car that causes a stir amongst competitors. A four-wheeler that could carry a small family costing a little over a lakh would definitely find more buyers than a bike costing nearly a lakh.

The traffic situation is also one to be under consideration. With lesser cars and bikes today than there would be tomorrow, we are struggling to eliminate traffic snarls. Imagine every single bike replaced by a car. We would maybe end up piling cars one atop another or riding on the pavements. We would be stuck in traffic for a longer duration leading to a vehicle idling. A vehicle consumes more fuel whilst idling than it does when running at its optimum speed. We definitely need better roadways to support and withstand the boom in the vehicular population that beckons to happen within the next few years. The joy from buying a car or any vehicle for that instance is too good to reject. However, there should be a check on excessive usage of fossil fuel. The people should be educated on how to preserve the non-renewable natural resources for the future generations to enjoy, conveying the importance of Sustained development. It is never a mistake or sin to enjoy the resources provided to us by Mother Nature, but it is always advisable to make best use of the available resources.

Fossil fuel is not only us to enjoy the comforts and benefits of it. It is for everyone, including the future generations to enjoy. We should consider adjusting our current lifestyle to incorporate a sense of concern and an ability to think beyond ourselves so that everyone benefits from the resources we have. We are entitled to have our share, but what is more important is letting others enjoy what we are enjoying. The European Union has set forth standards for fuel consumption for all vehicles that every manufacturer produces in order to get a green signal for mass-production. This intends to decrease the greenhouse gases going into the atmosphere and causing global warming.

We should be proud that an Indian that has taken the first step in developing the economy and placing India on the world market. The intentions are right, but the problem now is that, with most of the population looking to upgrade to a car that causes a stir, a commotion, a revolution, an increase in road traffic, a rise in fuel consumption resulting in higher pollution. A call for more stringent pollution norms might not be sufficient to save the earth from the depleting resources. We are facing a crisis that we should look to solve rather soon. The first flight making use of bio-fuel as jet-fuel took flight last week sans passengers and it is a major breakthrough.

Nobody likes to think of a time when there will be no fossil fuel to extract, no fuel to power that powerful, monster of a car of yours, fuel-prices soaring so high that selling your car wouldn’t be enough to purchase a litre, no bunks having enough supply to fill a bottle, and no automobile company to manufacture any cars. This is certainly, what we can look forward to without proper and wise utilisation of available resources to satisfy our dreams. Never get ruffled by the magnitude of your whims and fantasies. Always try an alternative that can drive you forward with an effort that drives away your deepest fears. Drive on to a better brighter future, a future where there is enough fuel to fill the desires of the next few generations, a future where there is a clean earth to enjoy, a future where everyone can dream as we are.

Dream and Let Dream!!!!