There is no other element in the universe that emphasizes our interconnectedness than air. The very breath we exhale is inhaled by another and taken in once more by us. In such a context it is hard to see how we can behave with utter carelessness, giving no second thought to the atmosphere that surrounds us.
Today is World Environment Day and the theme for this year is Beat Air Pollution.
The problem is man-made and one of the current solution — the manufacture and selling of air purifiers — is oddly so very selfish and elite, and does not address the root cause of the wreckage we’re causing to the environment. If each one of us were to make a habit of questioning each of our actions, it would make a difference in the long run.
Four years ago, the statistics facing India inspired one young man, Tasmeel Hussain, to create several platforms on which air pollution could be documented and studied, using mobile networking for better reach. You can read his story on the global website for World Environment Day — Stories from the Street: a mobile discussion on air pollution. You can access his platform too — Let Me Breathe (LMB): Pollution stories from across India.
Change, after all, can only occur at the grassroot level if we want it to be sustainable.
Strands in the Weave of My Thoughts 