Hydrofluorocarbons
(HFCs), organic compounds that contain fluorine and hydrogen atoms, are the
most common type of organofluorine compounds. We use them regularly albeit not knowing what
it is all about !!! ~ more so by
affluent sections of the society !
Deepavali,
the festival of Lights enthuses
everyone and is celebrated all over the Country with so much of
enthusiasm. People wear new clothes, eat
lot of sweets and celebrate with crackers.
For decades now, we have had the pleasure of celebrating Deepavali with
all its abundant fervour. The very
thought of the festival would enthuse – as it would provide everything in
abundance – sweets, visiting and sharing with friends and relatives, watching
movies and more….
pic credit : Sripriya Ayyangar.
For the past 5
decades as I can vouch – great mornings on Deepavali day started with customary
‘ganga snanam’ ~ wearing new clothes, falling at the feet of parents, rushing
out to explode crackers [bijili and kuruvi vedis mostly] – getting gleeful on
seeing them explode, visiting elders and relatives, sharing sweets, talking to
people – happy, very happy moments .. ** fire crackers – the small explosives designed to
produce noise and the eye-capturing fireworks – both on the ground and on the
air have captivated people. Every year
you get to hear newer names – this year, they say AK47, Break dance, Golden
Bonanza, Mumbai Indians, Oh Calcutta are some of the names quoted in the
circles as wonders………
For ages the
crowded Parrys would get more congested as Bunder Street, Badrian Street, Anderson
Street all will look similar – only shops selling crackers. All roads would lead to shops selling fire
crackers of various manufacturers including – Standard, National, Sri
Kaliswari, Ayyan ….. – you can see hundreds of shops - still all do roaring business. Are we not missing them ? – what is the
present day youth getting to celebrate ??
Somehow one gets a
feeling that there have been attempts to somehow dampen the spirits of
Deepavali (as is the case of many other festivals) – as every year, we hear of
more and more restrictions from various Governmental authorities. Earlier, some hue and cry was raised about
child labour in the fire works manufacturing – it the concern was real, why the
same was not raised in candle manufacturing, hotel industry and other places – where child labour is
apparent. Then, talk about the pollution control.
Can any of these
authorities think of a similar ban on say – sale of liquor, at least
restricting the timing or say screening
of cinema etc., In 1987 the Montreal Protocol, an international
environmental agreement, established requirements that began the worldwide
phaseout of ozone-depleting CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons). These requirements were
later modified, leading to the phaseout in 1996 of CFC production in all
developed nations. In 1992 the Montreal Protocol was amended to establish a
schedule for the phaseout of HCFCs (hydrochlorofluorocarbons). HCFCs are less
damaging to the ozone layer than CFCs, but still contain ozone-destroying
chlorine. US and other European Nations would want all third World countries to
stop using all comforts but they
themselves would do little. Dare your heart – will you stop travelling in a diesel
vehicle, can you sleep without an airconditioner, travel in a non-a/c vehicle,
be in Office without centralized air conditioning – and what else pollution is
?? conveniently forgotten when it the daily utility of rich and affluent
Deepavali ‘the
festival of lights’ is always enchanting – an occasion to wear new clothes, eat
sweets, burst crackers, be with friends and relatives – a festivity which
brings enjoyment…. – the festival grandly celebrated all over the country – at Triplicane, it coincides with Acharyar
Sri Manavala Mamunigal Uthsavam and there would always be grand purappadu of Sri
Parthasarathi Swami with Acharyar on the
mada veethis taking 4 hours or
more – ‘hundreds of 10000 walahs and
beautiful fire works lit the air’ as people celebrate Deepavali.
Air
conditioning was a luxury even in Europe 40 years ago, now-a-days, air conditioning no
longer seems extravagant and its popularity has soared. Air conditioners consume huge amounts
of energy, though, and that’s adding to climate change. The US uses as much
electricity to keep buildings cool as the whole of Africa uses for all its
electrical needs. That power largely comes from polluting power stations,
adding to the warmer climate. And air-conditioning in vehicles burns more fuel,
making even more greenhouse gases. With the demand for air conditioning rising
worldwide, it’s reckoned that in around 30 years’ time more energy could be
used for cooling than for heating. Air
conditioning also pumps out heat straight into the atmosphere. Like a fridge,
it takes heat from the inside of a building or car, then transfers it to the
warm outside. That extra heat makes cities hotter, raising night-time
temperatures by up to 2C, which then encourages people to turn up their air
conditioning even higher. Air conditioning systems also use powerful greenhouse
gases called hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), thousands of times more potent than
carbon dioxide. And as the climate grows hotter, there’s more need to
stay cool. It’s a vicious circle.
Now get to know the
context of Writ petition and the present directive in Arjun Gopal and Ors. Vs.
Union of India and Ors.- the order in Delhi prohibiting sale of crackers. Firstly, the order comes so close to the
festival on October 19 that makes it extremely difficult for authorities to
enforce it. It would have been desirable if the court had given ample time to
both authorities and traders before taking such a decision.
Media reports suggest that it is around this time every year that air quality
in the capital and its adjoining areas starts plunging -due to the onset of
winter, coupled with crop burning in Punjab and Haryana and bursting of
firecrackers on Diwali. Pollution did worsen considerably in the last
fortnight, with PM2.5 levels rising by up to 11 times between September 22 and
October 8. This is primarily because of crop burning in Haryana and Punjab,
which shot up considerably in the last two weeks. Weather has played its part,
too. On most days of October so far, winds have been blowing from north to
southeast, bringing haze and toxins into Delhi. Data from last three years
showed air quality worsened on Diwali and the day after -it was especially bad
last year ~ now this time, by
order, the children of Delhi would be forced to miss the assortment of dazzling
fireworks while people would travel emit noxious gases – by design, the decline of the tradition — which has been
linked to Diwali for 300 years or so — still feels regrettable. It wasn’t just
the children of our family who looked forward to the thrill of the fireworks,
it was the adults as well, who recollected their own childhoods in the process.
Fireworks industry
here is shocked over the Supreme Court banning sale of crackers in the National
Capital Region (NCR) around New Delhi, a major market for the Sivakasi
fireworks. Had it been some other
industry, ‘those center opposing leftist intellectual parties’ would have
gathered to raise hue and cry !!
It is read that
according to the plea, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) rendered a decision on
10th November, 2016 in Original Application and other connected matters in
which it is recorded that there are seven major contributors of air pollution
in the NCR and these are: 1. Construction activity and carriage of construction
material; 2. Burning of Municipal Solid Waste and other waste; 3. Burning of
agriculture residue; 4. Vehicular Pollution; 5. Dust on the roads; 6.
Industrial and power house emission including fly-ash; 7. Emissions from
Hot-Mix Plants and Stone Crushers.
In other words, the
submission of the applicant was that fireworks are not a major contributor of
air pollution. Now cometh the ban on crackers only !! - if only the motive is to ensure
air pollution is minimised, then why not take action against the big polluters?
The air quality in NCR is at most affected for a week by firecrackers during a
period of 52 weeks. The remainder weeks witness high pollution levels mainly
due to road-dust, vehicular pollution and burning of bio-mass as per a report
by IIT Kanpur.
Delhi, so also many
other cities use diesel generators extensively - in
malls, hotels, hospitals, and apartment complexes among others which add to the
rising PM10 levels. Construction is a roaring business in every city and most
of the brick supply comes from kilns from areas like Noida, Ghaziabad, and
Sohna which also add to the pollution. Social media is full
of comparisons in which people are questioning the reasoning behind this
decision. Some find it akin to banning Christmas trees on Christmas and goats
on Bakr-Eid, which does not happen.
Those against
crackers – first stop driving and riding your rickety diesel vehicles seeing
diesel cheaper than petrol. Travel by
public transport, save fuel, emit less of pollutants and in office do not use
elevators or air conditioners and at home learn to sleep under fans and not
power sucking airconditioners. Are
people willing to regulate these and fight against tanneries and other
industries that pollute air and water – simply blaming firecrackers for overall
rising pollution is just a convenient excuse… .. and those who raised your
voices against Sivakasi manufacturers for child-labour, never eat in any hotel
employing child labour, don’t buy sport equipments including Cricket bats from
places employing child labour and certainly no garment emanating from child
labour oriented markets.
Let us
celebrate Deepavali in style in the same tradition that we have been doing in
the last century !
With regards – S.
Sampathkumar
11th Oct
2017.
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