2. “ Many people have lived without love, but none without water.” Yes, to a massive degree! Here are a few simple steps towards sustainability : Can simple life style changes bail us out of today’s grave water crisis?

3. A slow dripping tap can waste up to 30 liters of water a day! Get all leaks fixed right away. Start accumulating the leak in a bucket/mug instantly. Dropping some (food) colour in the toilet tank could help detect the leakage. On how many days a year, does your home/office bear NO water leak at all?

5. - A dual flush system can operate at half (& full) the tank capacity. Flush very judiciously. Get a low flush toilet that lets you regulate the water outflow. * http://www.wikihow.com/Convert-Any-Toilet-to-a-Low-Flush-Toilet Indian squat toilets: Extremely water efficient and hygienic! Don’t use the toilet as a wastebasket! upto 16 litres of potable water Every time you flush, goes down the drain! Source: “Hunting Down Water”, an award-winning documentary

6. Choose a restrained bucket bath, over an extravagant shower bath. The shorter, the better. Bath tubs are a great deal worse.

7. Clean vehicles, floor, etc. water economically. to cool the house exteriors, etc.! Why pour water when a wet cloth could do it? Water is too scarce a resource to be splashed about Delhi alone guzzles 4.5 crore liters of water for car washing!* * Source : “Hunting Down Water”, an award-winning documentary

10. Rainwater harvesting Catch me when you can! Collecting rainwater is inevitable for meeting the rapidly rising freshwater demand. It also prevents the flooding of streets. A one-time solar investment fetches recurring power and monetary savings. Btw, cold water baths (if used judiciously) offer several health benefits [e.g., accelerated blood circulation]. Solar systems for water heating (& lighting)

12. Just a minor temperature rise? Not quite! [1] www.washprofile.org/en/node/3381 [2] Centre for Science and Environment [3] National Crime Records Bureau Climate change perturbs the entire weather cycle, inducing more & mightier calamities. Between 1973 and 1982, about 1,500 natural disasters occurred, while from 1993 to 2002 they increased to as many as 6,000! [1] 68% of our farming needs rain - the right amount (not less, not more), at the right time. [2] 1.84 lakh farmers committed suicide between 1995 & 2007. [3]

16. A screen saver saves nothing & burns energy. Increasing reliance on diesel generators Skyrocketing energy consumption Dangerous levels of damaging pollutants (including Black Carbon & Nitrogen Oxides) Escalating power cuts Why not switch off the monitor every time we leave the desk for few minutes or more?

17. Configure power options such that the monitor closes after an idle time of few minutes, and the CPU/laptop hibernates after half an hour, automatically. Suspend or hibernate it for breaks >= ½ hour. A computer that runs 24 hours a day uses more power than an efficient fridge! * Turn off the CPU/laptop at the end of the day.

18. Buying locally made food & goods - as opposed to imported items from malls - averts the hefty emissions tied to transportation. Exception : The locally sold stuff that lacks energy-efficiency Food production (farming) is exceedingly water intensive. Goods production is a prodigious polluter and energy-eater. Eliminate food wastage. Shop only what you need. Purchase products with minimal/reusable packaging.

19. Cut down on meat as much as possible. “ Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances of survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet.” Animal products accounts for 51% of the world's total emissions! - “ Livestock and Climate Change” by Goodland and Anhang, World Bank environmental advisers Several times higher water footprint (compared to the same quantity of veg food) Enormous agricultural (& forest) land occupied for cattle breeding, aggravating the already alarming crisis of food (& tree-cover) Albert Einstein : Years of resource consumption (to raise animals) for one-time output!

20. 30% of India is asthma-hit! Choked roads? Where?! Just 2 buses!

21. Prefer Non-motorized (Cycle, Walk, Cycle Rickshaws) & Mass transport (Bus, Train, Shared autos, Vehicle pooling) It’s also good for the body and light on the wallet! Minimize the use of individual autos & personal vehicles. Flying less (and light) saves tremendous fuel/emissions. Sir Albert Einstein

23. Consider mileage/power consumption more than looks/comfort while buying vehicles and appliances. CRT LCD For instance, pay up a bit extra and buy a higher BEE * starred (say) fridge to save on power & money on a monthly basis. The same holds for TVs LCD is almost twice as efficient as CRT. CFL Tube lights can be replaced by CFLs of lower Watts, too. * Bureau of Energy Efficiency, Government of India Laptops consume less than half the power that desktops do!

25. Curtail the AC usage – at home and in the car [More desirable: Curtail the car usage!] Favour stairs to elevators whenever possible (e.g., while coming down).

26. * Source : http://dailypioneer.com/202087/Plug-the-Carbon-leaks.html Help prevent small kids from working in awfully Unhealthy & unsafe confines of fire cracker factories. We have a right to celebrate, but at what cost? Compost the kitchen waste [ dailydump.org ] . In the very least, throw it to the plants/garden. Segregate waste: bio-degradable (kitchen, paper) & otherwise. Sell as much waste as possible (plastic, paper) to scrap dealers for recycling/reusing. Clichéd, but crucial: Plant & protect trees! Celebrate special days by funding tree plantations, at a nominal price per sapling (treesforfree.org) . A mature leafy tree produces as much oxygen in a season as 10 people inhale in a year (on top of absorbing tons of CO2). *

27. Only after the last tree has been cut off, and the last river poisoned, will we realize that we can’t eat money!